That was an interesting bit of information, and it did limit some of the experiments that would have to be done. If her power - this cloak that the note theorized - activated literally any time her blood was exposed to air... He rubbed his chin in thought. That was a very interesting trait. Was this unknown substance reacting to the increase in oxygen in the vicinity? It would explain why her power ramped up each time she was struck - some of the chemical was activated, then more and more, enhancing the substance's power each time that more was exposed to the air. Nevin drummed his pencil on top of the counter and stared at her intently, as if just looking at her would let him see into the very make up of what she was.
"Well. I have some ideas on this. Most likely, your magic is bound up with this serum and its effects on you - it might indeed be part of why your body accepted the change that the serum induced, since normally repeated exposures would be necessary for more permanent effects to occur. So, your magic may have helped speed up that process, but there's no way of testing that now. Additionally." He tapped the paper she had tossed down, indicating that he had read it before he spoke.
"The researcher here states that they don't know why this physical change is also affecting your mental and emotional states. But this substance is unknown, so there are two possible culprits that I can think of." The redhead lifted his finger up as he spoke.
"The first is that the chemical that has bonded with your body activates not just this energetic cloak when you bleed, but the reaction that occurs within it releases some kind of hormone or by-product chemical that is responsible for inducing the changed state in your mind. The second possibility is that the effects on your mind are actually the result of your magic working in harmony with the 'Cloak'. Taking advantage of the increase of strength and pain mitigation to increase your aggression, so that you can fully utilize the newfound strength. As people normally have a mental inhibition against using their full strength, this might be your magic working to circumvent that." It was an interesting conundrum. Unfortunately,
neither hypothesis could really be tested now - it would need another person who had been exposed to this serum who had been affected in a different way to see if they displayed the same characteristics as Felicity did.
"Now now, Miss Felicity. There is no need to be so down. While it is a mess, those can be cleaned up. And I can think of a few possibilities in handling this, ways to help circumvent this issue. The absolute easiest, and one that may or may not require alchemical help: Find a way to toughen your skin, so that it is harder to cut, so that you do not have these exposure situations." The alchemist paused to see if that thought had come to her before. It was possible it had, but also possible that it hadn't - sometimes, being too close to the problem would keep you from seeing options. "But, as you came to an alchemist, let's see. A normal alchemist would probably be able to offer perhaps after experimentation a medicine that just deadens this chemical in your system. It might work, but it might also be deleterious to you if your body has adjusted to having this substance. I have... other options available." He coughed into his hand and looked away for a moment.
"It has not been a major concern here in Stonevale so you may not have heard from whoever directed you here, but I have a talent for working blood magic. Specifically, I work with blood based alchemy. It might be possible for me to create a solution that temporarily reduces the chemical and target it specifically to you, lessening any harmful side effects. A more potent solution might actively reduce the effect this compound has on your system, while a weakened version might, and this is all currently hypothetical, might be able to prevent accidental outbursts from everyday mishaps." The trick would be, figuring out what could actually effect this unknown substance. And without...drawing blood.... there was no way of testing.
