up entry in Rising Stars of Manga. Markesh is serious, dignified, and very protective. He has a strong sense of duty, and is perhaps more than anything else, secretive. He is so much more careful and serious than Retrab that it seems nearly impossible that she is 5 years older than he is. He is an excellent fighter and alchemist. He likes spicy food, nature, and sleep, hates sweets, crowds, and bright lights. It is revealed in issue six of the manga that Markesh's face looks almost exactly like his father's, except for two distinguishing scars above and below his left eye. Race West A man with one eye in the middle of his forehead. He and Retrab have similar personalities, and become friends almost as soon as they meet. She allows him to call her "Millie" as long as she can call him "Captain Wombastic McFlingFlang the Third." Upon describing his occupation, Retrab gets the impression that he is a treasure hunter, but Markesh states bluntly that Race is a thief. Race sells what he finds in Academy ruins. He is well-travelled and amuses Retrab with jokes. Race is looking for an exit map himself, which is the whole reason he started exploring the academy ruins in the first place. His reason is that because he has one eye, humans hate him because they think he is a figment; and figments hate him because they know he is not. He wishes to get back home because people didn’t judge him on his appearance. Race also is wanted by the group Logos for possession of his alchemic weapon. His weapon was created by the academy out of mutated mass so that even people with no innate “alchemic pharmakeia” could transmute them. This ability however comes with a price, and the user must make a bond with and become one with it. Once it stabilizes itself into a solid mass, it apparently lives off the user like a parasite. Secondary Cara A skilled alchemist and Syndoll engineer, she is an old friend of Markesh, and knows at least some of what he's hiding. She is a narcissistic self-proclaimed genius. Built Mortimer among countless others. She is also, apparently, a member of logos and is on field duty. Professor Sevi An alchemist and scientist, as well as a friend and rival of Cara's, who was killed by LOGOS. Mary Alice is his