Thinking on my innate knowledge that came with receiving Refining Touch, I wince mentally when I realize it has a mana cost.

My mood brightens somewhat, however, when upon further review of the information I realize that provided I touch the plants I can boil out the aspects.

‘Well, it’ll take me a bit longer from double-boiling, but I guess it’s what I have to do until I have mana…’

Looking through my hold, I decide on trying to make a potion from clustersprings, simply because they’re one of the first new magical plants I discovered.

Listening to the innate knowledge Fledgling Alchemist gives me, I break apart the berry clusters into smaller pieces but don’t mash them completely.

The spring-shaped stem that holds the berries to their bush is also important, so I cut between each spring section to make several ring shapes.

Dropping the berries into boiling water and following with the stem rings, I let them boil. The water shifts, becoming a swirl of green and purple and emits a flash of light.

Grumbling while I look for the condensed aspect crystals, I realize I must have done something wrong and just made a potion.

“You did it, Lucas! Hooray!” Argo chimes happily, apparently satisfied with me making the potion.

“That wasn’t the intent buddy, I was trying to make aspect crystals, not a potion…”

“Oh.” The happy chiming ceases and his light dims slightly.

Level up! For realizing magical ingredients can be used for cooking or for alchemy and creating a new potion, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (36/50)!

Happy with some progress even if I’m disappointed with the result, I smile and fill another pan with water. Setting the pan aside to let it cool slightly, I set the other one on the stove to boil.

“I got a Fledgling Alchemist level out of it at least Argo, so that’s good!”

“Lucas! I am so proud of you!” The anchor’s cheery mood returns immediately.

Realizing what’s wrong, I frown. ‘Oh… That’s not good…’

Taking some zingpods this time, I break open the body lengthwise and chop the peapods up into bits. The pod itself is important as well, so I cut that up and drop them into the boiling water.

Taking a deep breath and preparing myself, I plunge my hand into the boiling water, wincing. ‘Aaaahhh fuuuuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck shit fuck.’

The burning makes it hard to keep my hand in, but I feel a hard something tap into my fingers. Taking my hand out of the water, I shake it, attempting to cool it off.

The pain goes away rather quickly as my health regen restores the flesh. Looking in the pan, the water is clear and there’s a greenish-yellow crystal sphere sitting at the bottom of the pan.

“Are you okay, Lucas?! The water attacked you!” Argo’s voice is filled with concern.

“I’m fine Argo, this is a necessary step right now, unfortunately… The water isn’t attacking me though, I’m just putting my hand in it and it’s hot.”

“Oh. Good luck defeating the water, Lucas! I’m going to nap now.” The anchor flies back to my ear, shrinking down and reattaching to the fishhook earring.

Chuckling at Argo’s antics, my mood brightens.

Taking the pan, I pour it through a strainer back into the cauldron of water. Blowing on the aspect crystal to cool it down, I pick up the still-warm orb and Inspect it.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Lightning Reaction

Description: The aspect of lightning reactions has been condensed into this crystal.

Level up! For creating an aspect crystal for the first time, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (37/50)!

‘Another level up? Nice. Low quality though? I guess I’m still only a Fledgling Alchemist…’

Upon further inspection, I note flaws in the crystal. It has low clarity and I can see some cracks running through the inside.

‘Hopefully this is easier once I have mana…’

Strangely, once I boil the aspect crystal in water once more, it breaks apart, forming into potion in the water.

Taking the potion I made with the clustersprings, I pour the swirling green and purple liquid into a potion bottle, cork it, and Inspect it.

Springlimb Potion

Quality: Low

Traits: Springiness

Description: This potion of refined clusterspring berry and stem grants a springy effect to the limbs. This effect will increase the speed of burst movement as well as decrease damage from falling and landing on the legs. Duration: 1 minute 38 seconds. Doses: 2

‘Wow, this is actually a pretty useful potion even if the duration is kinda low… The first try is always pretty bad anyway.’ Putting it away in my hold, I pour out the potion made from the lightning reaction aspect crystal and Inspect it.

Lightning Reaction Potion

Quality: Low

Traits: Lightning Reaction

Description: This potion grants quicker buildup and release of action potentials across the nervous system and the brain, increasing reaction speed. Duration: 1 minute 49 seconds. Doses: 2

Level up! For using an aspect crystal for the first time, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (38/50)!

‘Hm, that’s interesting, if I use an aspect crystal the description doesn’t include what it’s made from anymore.’ Shrugging at the not particularly important information, I stow away the potion.

Preparing a buoyoberry and its stem, I follow the same process as before to refine it into aspect crystals. After shaking my hand and letting my HP regenerate, I pick up the curious results.

One of the aspect crystals is light pinkish-purple in color while the other is a light green.

Inspecting both, I get my results.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Levitation

Description: The aspect of levitation has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Tethering

Description: The aspect of tethering has been condensed into this crystal.

‘Levitation and… tethering? That’s weird.’ A quick inspection of a buoyoberry confirms that the plant has these same traits.

‘Must have not had enough Insight to see that before I guess.’

Deciding to boil the two together and see what happens, I gain a light blue colored potion as a result. ‘Well the color isn’t what I expected…’

Pouring it into a bottle once it’s cooled, I Inspect it.

Featherfall Potion

Quality: Low

Traits: Featherfall

Description: This potion grants featherfall, causing the user to cancel out some of the effects of gravity and fall slower. Duration: 1 minute 57 seconds. Doses: 2

Level up! For combining aspect crystals for the first time, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (39/50)!

‘Wow, lots of first time bonuses today. I guess these aspect crystals make it easier to combine potion effects together over plants.’

Settling into a flow state, I boil all the plants I’ve picked and create aspect crystals out of each one. During the process, I also gain a level in Heat Resistance from sticking my hand in boiling water so much. It makes the action just slightly easier.

Looking at my results, it’s a wide variation of aspect crystals that I’m curious to experiment with. Having held off until now, I Inspect all the crystals.

Picking up a gray crystal, it has a strangely metallic texture to it despite the crystalline appearance.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Ironskin

Description: The aspect of ironskin has been condensed into this crystal.

Next up, I grab the two crystals that came from a Hermes’ sandal seed pod and the actual plant itself, a white crystal and a pale lavender crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Swiftness

Description: The aspect of swiftness has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Guidance

Description: The aspect of guidance has been condensed into this crystal.

While expecting the swiftness crystal, the guidance crystal is a surprise to me. ‘I guess there is some sort of magical guidance that brings these seeds to the ground…’

Grabbing a dark red crystal and a deep brown crystal that came from a colossus mushroom, I Inspect them, already having expectations on what they will be.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Strength

Description: The aspect of strength has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Growth

Description: The aspect of growth has been condensed into this crystal.

‘Pretty much what I expected here. I wonder how the growth crystal will work though. Maybe it can be made into some kind of powerful fertilizer? I don’t know if I want to test it on myself, this house is a good size for me right now.’

Palming a teal colored crystal that came from a hydrabean, The Construct prompts me.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Recovery

Description: The aspect of recovery has been condensed into this crystal.

‘This is getting dangerous, these look like candy and I really want to eat them even though I know it’s a bad idea…’

Resisting that impulse as crystals would be hard to bite into, I take the light pink crystal and a light orange crystal that came from a sheathestalk.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Internal Sheathe

Description: The aspect of internal sheathe has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Nutrition

Description: The aspect of nutrition has been condensed into this crystal.

Grabbing three more crystals that came from the thornshift plant, I inspect the burgundy, pale yellow, and emerald crystals.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Thorns

Description: The aspect of thorns has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Grasping

Description: The aspect of grasping has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Botanical Shapeshifting

Description: The aspect of botanical shapeshifting has been condensed into this crystal.

‘If it has a duration when I make it a potion, I might try the botanical shapeshifting. Become one with nature or whatever.’ Chuckling to myself, I grab the last three crystals I made on a whim. One is a bright red, another bright blue, and the last a pure white.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Healing

Description: The aspect of healing has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Mana restoration

Description: The aspect of mana restoration has been condensed into this crystal.

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Resonation

Description: The aspect of resonation has been condensed into this crystal.

An idea pops into my mind, looking at four of the crystals. I smile, hoping this plan will work how I want it to.

Level up! For making large numbers of aspect crystals and planning your next steps, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (40/50)!

For reaching your eighth Talent milestone in Fledgling Alchemist, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Dexterity, Intelligence, Attunement, Insight, and +240 XP.

‘Hmm, no Perk this time? Is a perk fusion coming up then?’ My excitement grows, the stat rewards from perk fusions are totally worth the lack of anything new ability-wise.

‘Now, let’s hope this works…’ Grabbing the bright blue, bright red, pure white, and teal crystals, I set them in a pot of boiling water.

For good measure, I cut my finger and let a drop of my catalyzing blood fall into the mixture. A chiming noise sounds out from the white crystal in the mixture, causing the other three crystals to break up and the pieces of them to glow brightly.

As they break into smaller and smaller pieces while I stir the mixture, it glows brighter and brighter. In an instant, the color condenses to a light blue with a bright flash of light.

Praying while I wait for the mixture to cool, I begin cleaning up from the mess I’ve made. Once the potion has cooled enough, I pour it into a bottle and Inspect it. ‘Please please please please.’

Magic Recovery Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Mana vessel recovery

Description: This potion will potently increase the recovery speed of mana vessels. Warning: Any mana added to the system during this recovery process may have catastrophic effects. Doses: 2

“Fuck yeah!” Pumping my fist in excitement, I nearly drop the potion and fumble to keep my grip for a moment.

Level up! For combining highly synergistic aspect crystals of a medium difficulty potion, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (43/50)!

“Nice, three levels from that! Okay, calm down Lucas…” Feeling weird talking to myself, I raise the potion to my lips and down a dose of it.

It’s minty, slightly bitter, and feels different from the recovery star Cassandra gave me, but she said hers came from a rare plant so that doesn’t surprise me.

The relief of pain is instantaneous, the whole-body sting I’ve been feeling for hours evaporates, leaving me feeling relieved.

Within minutes, the message I’ve been waiting for prompts me after waiting anxiously.

Condition cured: Severely mana burnt.

Your mana vessels have been damaged beyond belief but their recovery has left them sturdier than ever, you have been granted the Perk: Reinforced Vessels.

‘Woah, got a perk out of it. Perks.’

Perks:

Reinforced Vessels

Description: By recovering from severe damage, your mana vessels are heavily reinforced, massively increasing resistance to the mana burnt status. Intelligence and Attunement increased by 1. +1 Intelligence and Attunement per level up.

‘Hm, not a bad perk either. I definitely don’t mind being highly resistant to mana burnt.’

The feeling of mana flooding back into my mana vessels from my regen is euphoric at this point. Controlling water out of the cauldron, I smile to myself, feeling complete again. ‘Now I just need Colt to come home so he can teach me Aeromancy and Floramancy’

‘Now, let’s see how Refining Touch works when I don’t have to boil myself alive.’ Grabbing a sprig of vitaleaf, I activate the Perk. Mana flows out of my hand into the leaf. The plant clippings glow brighter and brighter until they become white light.

The white light condenses in my hand, turning into a familiar bright red crystal. Inspecting it, I smile at the result. ‘I think Flourishing Potency worked here too because I can use mana.’

Aspect Crystal

Quality: Medium

Traits: Healing

Description: The aspect of healing has been condensed into this crystal.

Deciding to explore more with potion making, I combine the growth crystal with the nutrition crystal in some boiling water. It’s far easier to bring the water to a boil now that I have Pyrokinesis.

With a drop of my blood to catalyze, the result ends up confusing me. All of the water dries up, leaving a larger, cubic orange-brown crystal. Feeling curious, I Inspect the result.

Growth Crystal

Quality: Low

Traits: Growth, Nutrition

Description: This condensed crystal contains the essence of growth and nutrition. It can be planted in soil to cause the plants to grow at an increased rate until the crystal is used up.

‘Huh. I made magic fertilizer. Neat.’

Level up! For using aspect crystals to make materials other than potions for the first time, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (44/50)!

‘Today’s progress has been incredible. I guess that’s what you get when you have a bunch of new ingredients to experiment with. I wonder what level Colt is. I kinda passed off a lot of the alchemy to him for a while, his Fae blood makes the potions so much stronger.’

Considering for a moment, I decide to ask Colt if he thinks the crystal will work on the pranaleaf plant when he gets back.

Condensing more sweetkiss chimes into medium quality aspect crystals, I store away 10 of them. ‘The struggle of making the crystals by boiling them seems to have given more progress in my Talent than just using mana. Guess that’s the tradeoff for convenience and quality.’

On another hunch, I use one of the sweetkiss aspect crystals and boil it with the guidance and grasping crystals. Once again, the sweetkiss chime crystal resonates, creating a harmonious sound while the mixture glows.

The glow condenses, leaving behind tiny shards of dark green crystal. Inspecting the pile, the result interests me.

Guidedgrasp Crystals

Quality: Medium

Traits: Guidance, grasping

Description: When imbued with mana and thrown, these crystals will burst into magical snaring vines upon touching the ground, ensnaring those you wish for it to target provided the guidance is given before the crystals are thrown. Quantity: 5

‘These seem pretty useful! Refining touch has lead to so many new possibilities.’

Level up! For creating new consumable items, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (45/50)!

For reaching your ninth Talent milestone in Fledgling Alchemist, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Dexterity, Intelligence, Attunement, Insight, and +270 XP.

‘I hope I’m close to this perk fusion. Not having new Perks to play around with is sad.’

Grabbing the strength crystal from the colossus mushroom and the internal sheathe crystal from the sheathestalk, I resonate them with a sweetkiss chime crystal. This time, it does end up creating a potion.

Physical Empowerment Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Strength, Internal Sheathe

Description: This potion empowers the body both in strength and durability. The combination of both is a decreased effect due to low synergy. Duration: 4 minutes 21 seconds. Doses: 2

Level up! For using aspects you’ve never experimented with before to create combo potions, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (46/50)!

‘This fast progress is kind of jarring. I can’t believe I’m growing so quickly. I’ll be an Adept Alchemist in no time at this rate. Not the best potion ever, the effects seem good but not great.’

Deciding to go back to basics somewhat, especially because I have no idea what to combine this crystal with other than a sweetkiss chime, I take the botanical shapeshifting crystal and boil just that with a sweetkiss chime.

The end result comes out as a deep forest green potion with a strong, earthy scent.

Botanical Shapeshifting Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Botanical Shapeshifting

Description: This potion allows the consumer to temporarily transform into a plant of their choice by thinking of that plant while imbibing this mixture. If transforming into a magical plant, the plant will not have its typical properties. Duration: 3 minutes 47 seconds. Doses: 2

Resisting the urge to try this potion, I continue on. Waiting for a moment, no message for a level up appears, disappointing me.

Taking the ironskin crystal that came from a ferrilium and combining it with the thorns crystal from the thornshift and resonating it with a resonation crystal from a sweetkiss chime, I create a rather interesting potion.

Iron Maiden Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Iron Retaliation Defense

Description: This potion grants enhanced defense that will strike back at physical attackers. The components of this potion are highly synergistic, creating an overall enhanced effect. Duration: 7 minutes 36 seconds. Doses: 3

Level up! For using aspects you’ve never experimented with before that are highly synergistic to create combo potions, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (48/50)!

‘Two levels? I guess the synergy of the two and not leveling up from the last potion pushed me past that boundary.’

Wanting to try one idea, I walk over to the buoyoberry patch and pick another berry from it. Condensing the berry and stem, I get a medium quality of both the levitation and tethering crystals.

Grabbing another Hermes’ sandal, I condense down only the plant itself, not a seed pod, replanting the seed pod afterward. This leaves me with another guidance crystal, this time of medium quality.

As I don’t need the tethering crystal currently, I store it in my hold. Taking the swiftness, levitation, guidance, and resonation crystals, I set them in a pan of boiling water. Dropping my blood in, I catalyze the reaction.

‘I hope this works how I think it will.’ Crossing my fingers, I stir the pan using Hydromancy.

The mixture sings and glows before flashing, indicating the process is finished. The resultant potion is a light golden yellow color. While I let it cool, I decide to try an experiment.

Equipping my sauna coat, I activate its effect and observe how it uses Thermomancy to steam water. Attempting to mimic this result, I find it a mental struggle. Looking at the runic matrix, it seems that it’s affecting things down to a molecular motion level.

Focusing in on an aspect of Shaper’s Soul that was too overwhelming for me to use before, I focus down to the atomic level. It’s strange to sense this far and I start to get a headache, but it also makes me understand the process much more.

Mimicking the process of the coat with my own mana, something clicks in my brain.

Congratulations Lucas Creo! By manipulating the minute forces that affect temperature, you have gained the Skill: Thermokinesis!

Congratulations Lucas Creo! Your perk Elemental Dominion has caused a Skill Upgrade to occur. Your Skill: Thermokinesis has become Thermomancy!

Level up! For learning a challenging “mancy” type Skill, your Talent: Fledgling Mage has reached (37/50)!

Testing this new ability, I focus on the still-cooling potion and bring it down to a temperature that I can pour it. It takes a lot of focus and begins to give me a headache as I truly need to focus on using my mana to gather, remove, or generate heat.

With a headache progressing, I let go of Thermomancy for now. It’s possible to use but extremely taxing to focus so specifically for so long.

‘Well, new skills are always nice to have anyway, and the Fledgling Mage levels are a bonus too.’ Turning back to the silky gold potion, I pour it into a bottle, excited.

Flight Potion

Quality: Medium

Traits: Flight

Description: This potion grants the Skill: Flight for the duration of its effect. This skill will require mana scaling with the weight of the individual and anything they carry with them. The components of this potion are highly synergistic, creating an overall enhanced effect. Duration: 5 minutes 12 seconds. Doses: 2

“Fuck yeah! Flight! This potion isn’t even that hard to make!”

‘Although... we actually don’t have too many Hermes’ sandal for the guidance aspect. I hope those aren’t too hard to grow.’ Looking at the plot where they grow, there’s plenty of planted seeds but not many plants of appropriate size.

A notification interrupts my pondering.

Level up! For creating your first temporary Skill potion with highly synergistic ingredients, your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has reached (50/50)! Talent upgrade will now occur!

Congratulations, Lucas Creo! Your Talent: Fledgling Alchemist has evolved into Adept Alchemist (1/50)! For reaching the Adept Talent Tier, you have been granted 5 unused stat points, double the original stat points given upon Talent milestones, and appropriate Perk power has been attained. Perk fusion in progress!

The Perks: Flourishing Potency, Overflowing Draught, and Refining Touch are now fusing.

Fusion Perk granted: Gift of Prosperity

‘Perks.’

Perks:

Gift of Prosperity

Description: You have several perks relating to the prosperous potential of creation. The Perks: Flourishing Potency, Overflowing Draught, and Refining touch have fused to form this new perk. You bring with you the gift of prosperity with a simple touch. You can heavily empower ingredients to give them far stronger effects. Consumables you make will have additional quantities above what they would have typically. When refining materials, you will now receive more aspects from them. Bonuses from the original perks have tripled. Attunement increased by 12. Willpower and Insight increased by 3. +12 Attunement and +3 Willpower and Insight per level up.

‘Damn, that’s a good perk.’

Taking some sweetkiss chimes, I fill them with mana to test this new ability, converting them into medium quality aspect crystals. Each flower gives two aspect crystals now instead of one, so I bring myself to 10 more total.

Storing these away, I smile, happy with a powerful new perk at my disposal. ‘The description seems vague enough that this doesn’t only work on potion ingredients either. I’ll definitely have to try applying it to some of my other Talents.’

Looking out the window, I realize it’s dark out and I’ve spent the entire day making potions.

“Wow, time flies by when you’re making progress like this.”

Just then, I hear the front door open and Colt’s voice greeting everyone else. Grinning, I stow away everything else I have and move to greet him.

He walks into the kitchen just as I’m walking toward the door. “Hey, Colt! How’d building go?”

“It was building. Kinda boring just sitting there shaping plants into a house but it’s not that bad. How’d your day go? What’s with the grin?”

Lifting a hand up, I use Hydromancy to generate a ball of water. He smiles and hugs me, causing me to lose my control so the water splashes on the floor.

“You’re not mana burnt anymore! Cassandra thought it was still going to take some time to recover! She’s here now, by the way, she heard about the shower at Ilmarinen’s.”

“Well, as you know, I spent all day making potions. I got this new perk called Refining Touch and it let me break down plants into these aspect crystals…” Spending the new few minutes catching Colt up on my day, he looks at me with shock when I tell him I willingly boiled my hand.

“You what? How did that not hurt?” He looks at his own hand as if he can feel it himself.

“Oh, it hurt immensely, but, health regen, anyway…” Explaining more, I get to talking about the flight potion and my new Perk.

“Woah, that potion sounds like fun. I can already kind of fly with Aeromancy, but it takes a lot of focus. I wonder what a flight Skill is like. The Perk sounds really useful too, I wonder if it works with things other than potion ingredients?”

“That’s what I wondered too! Oh and uh, remember when I mentioned Becky helped me with the water?”

“Yes…?”

“I uh, promised her you’d make her more food.”

Colt glares at me in a teasing fashion before grinning. “That’s fine, I was going to make everyone dinner anyway.”

Laughing, I walk into the main room to chat with everyone and see what they were up to all day. I note a few suspicious scorch marks on the floor, walls, and their clothes.

While we chat and wait for Colt to finish dinner, I slump into a chair and relax, feeling oddly exhausted for just making potions all day.

The dinner is delicious and it feels nice having everyone together like this. Colt is just happy that we can use the dining room upstairs finally. He even makes a table and chairs right then and there.

Watching the process is fascinating. It’s like seeing a sped-up video of a plant growing, but stranger because it’s flattening into a table shape.

After dinner, everyone settles into beds Colt made for them in the house. I promise myself to ask Colt in the morning to teach me more magic, but we’re both too exhausted to do anything but sleep now.

Lying down next to Colt, we cuddle up and I smile. ‘The first day I get to actually experience in this house has been a good one. Plenty of progress, delicious food, and plenty of friends to hang out with.’

“Goodnight Colt.”

“Night Lucas…” His voice trails off as he falls asleep almost immediately.

Following his lead, I close my eyes and I’m out like a light.