The one incident topping the list of things that truly convinced Alex of how key having the power of Elder Blodeuwedd’s mana ejection potion at hand would be, was the invisible Ravener-spawn attack against him, his friends and the other expedition members in the Research Castle courtyard. He’d saved lives thanks to the Elder witch’s potion, but only by a whisker, and as crucial as it was to have, using it in his staff posed certain problems he’d had to overcome.

First off, it wasn’t likely that an enemy would be obliging enough to just stand around while he slowly painted the tonic on them. So, a solution he’d tried was to use a bunch of Wizard’s Hands and some intensive training, keeping the goal of painting moving targets during combat in mind.

After a few experiments using the Mark, some gesso to paint the enemy, some Wizard’s Hands, and an unbelievably patient stone golem, he’d managed to paint a few symbols on something in motion.

But, two related problems had quickly presented themselves.

First, he’d wasted a whole lot of paint—which he couldn’t afford to do if he was using the potion—since the Wizard’s Hands splashed gesso everywhere, pursuing Claygon. Secondly, the supply of potion was limited, and getting more wouldn’t be easy: it wasn’t like popping over to the Crymlyn to help Drestra’s people rid themselves of a demonic horde every week wasn’t anything short of delusional. Which left him trying to find a solution based in reality.

So, the answer he came to was: replicating the potion’s effects in a magic item that would allow him to ‘stamp’ an enemy with a symbol, and produce mana expulsion power at will.

But, how to do it had been murderously tough to work out.

First, he had to break down the potion’s magical composition using his alchemy kit and several gruelling nights of painstaking testing in the Cells. Then, it was off to the library to grab every book he could find on staff-making and magic item creation.

Which had led to another near-sleepless night of work, but in all that, he’d uncovered an old method of transferring a potion’s effects to a more permanent magical item. Of course, as is often the case with alchemy, the method called for some very expensive ingredients that he would never have been able to afford before his deal with Toraka.

Even then, the price the alchemical supply merchant had quoted had nearly stopped his heart.

“But, it’s going to be worth it,” he muttered, sliding the box over to the mana processor. “At least, if all goes to plan, it will.”

Once he’d solved how to make his staff replicate a potion’s effects, he’d needed to resolve the problem of having that effect transfer onto an enemy. After another long night of consideration—the hypothetical solution had been simpler than he’d expected.

That’s, if the idea worked, because at this stage, it was all still theory.

He’d designed a custom force effect for his staff, one that would effectively be a giant stamp with shapes of the symbols Elder Blodeuwedd had painted with her potion.

Like a great, big rubber stamp made of force magic.

Ram would be proud, if it worked.

And if it didn’t—

“You know what a nice side-benefit is of how we’re making this staff?” He asked Claygon. “It’s that I get to fiddle with it later and make any changes I need.” He nodded to the fire-gems. “You know how your fire-gems power up faster now that you’ve evolved?”

‘Yes…’ Claygon said. ‘I remember…they were slower before.’

“That’s right, and that’s because they changed along with you,” Alex said. “They’re better integrated with your mana now so you can flood them with your golem core’s power, which lets them power up a lot faster. Now, the thing is, normal magic items…well, they don’t do that. For example.”

He tapped the fire-gem in Claygon’s palm. “Let’s say that gem wasn’t integrated into your body. Well—without some very finicky alchemy work and really expensive ingredients—that fire-gem would be static. It wouldn’t change, and it’d be hard to make changes to it. It’s like how regular golems don’t evolve or develop sapience over time. Like I said, you’re special.”

Alex felt a little spark of happiness through his link with Claygon, which he found quite adorable.

The golem looked at the aeld branch sitting in its pot of mana-treated soil.

‘You…are going to make the staff…special too?’ He asked.

“Oh yes,” Alex said. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ve got this special wood…and dungeon core essence, so why wouldn’t I make a special staff?”

‘Good…the aeld branch deserves to be a special staff. But how will it be special?’

“Glad we both agree,” Alex rubbed his hands together. “The thing is, Staff Incrementum creates a staff of living wood. One of the advantages is that once the staff’s initial powers settle in, I can always snap the fake roots on whenever I want, make more liquified mana core, and have the staff drink it up. And then, we’ll have all kinds of new effects, which’ll be really good since there’s other powerful ones I’d like to attach to the staff. For now, I don’t quite have the mana pool to forge them, but when I do, we’ll have some real fun. Anyway, enough talk, let’s get this next part done. Watch closely.”

Alex turned, gathering up his ingredients and prepping them.

The elemental essences were placed in suspensions of mana-rich oil to draw out their power, then he took the force magic-infused tesseracts and added them to the dungeon core essence.

Taking out his mana conductor—a new, far more sensitive model—he inserted it into the mixture, flicked a switch on the side of the pressurised mana processor and...

With a whoom of intense power, heat and pressure channelled into the substances. Alex was deep in concentration, pouring his mana into the solution. Sparks erupted as the tesseracts cracked, releasing force magic into the liquified dungeon core essence.

Liquid shuddered when mana conductive substance combined with the new power, pushing against the sides of the container as Alex steadily guided the reaction.

A long, slow breath, escaped him as he guided the pressurised mana through its reactions; the work was finicky, but if he hadn’t mastered Hsieku’s technique, it would have also failed.

Slowly, the powerful reaction began stabilising, signalling it had reached the point for more ingredients.

First, a powerful binding agent was added, uniting the rest of the materials.

Then came the elemental essences, flaring with magic within their oil-based suspensions.

With the utmost care, Alex stirred in each one as Claygon leaned over his shoulder, watching them undergo a startling reaction in the processor.

The elemental flame essence released jets of fire, spraying a sea of flame within the processor, only held in check by Alex’s skill in mana manipulation. Elemental earth caused crystallisation in the solution, creating tiny jewels, geodes, and veins of gleaming metal before quickly reverting back to liquid.

Now, the once black solution glowed with crimson light, thrumming with power as Alex introduced new ingredients.

‘It’s beautiful…’ Claygon noted.

‘Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,’ Alex thought.

Essence of elemental air sent wind and lightning dancing through the processor. Water created tiny typhoons of steam, rain and ice. Essence of flight magic caused the glowing substance to float for a heartbeat before settling down as the processor’s pressure redoubled.

Alex clenched his jaw.

Reactions sparked in volatility as dozens of magical forces—all enhanced by dungeon core essence—raged within the processor, shaking the magical device on the kitchen island from the sheer force of pressurised power it was fighting to contain.

For the first time since he’d begun his work, Alex felt a twinge of nerves.

This pressurised mana processor was one of the most expensive he could find in Generasi, reinforced with strong magics designed to contain the most violent of alchemical reactions. But, it wasn’t built with dungeon core essence in mind: an unknown substance that acted as the ultimate catalyst for magic.

‘Please hold,’ he pleaded. ‘I just bought this place, it’d be a shame to blow it …and myself up so soon. It’d be a shame to blow up m—Oop!’

A reaction flared, shaking the processor vigorously as the powers within threatened to spiral out of control, but Alex pushed his own power, guiding the reaction like he was guiding his body’s energy flow using the Cleansing Movements.

It calmed, soon quietening.

‘Just keep going, Alex,’ he thought, breathing a sigh of relief. ‘Better to get through this before anything nasty happens.’’

And just as he added the next ingredient: a drop of his own blood, light flashed.

The glowing liquid boiled, writhing with newfound life, then suddenly…it changed, taking on a familiar shape. Alex gasped as—for a breath—the solution transformed into an image of his face, trapped, struggling under the pressure of the mana processor, mouth contorted and screaming.

The young wizard recoiled, eyes wide, his concentration slipping.

Abruptly, the mirror–image shattered, scattering into a cascade of steam, rushing liquid, and pure, molten energy as the mana processor began beeping in warning, straining as the reaction spiked out of control.

“Shit!” Alex threw the entire weight of his power into the substance, trying to tame the reaction.

‘Father? Father, are you alright?’ Claygon cried in alarm.

“Just…give me a…second…” he squeezed the words through clenched teeth, bending his mind to the reaction. He called on the Mark, and it guided him through memories of mana manipulation, alchemy, and fighting mana reversals in his own body.

Through each memory—his experience crafting Claygon, hundreds of potions, and mastering mana manipulation—he let his power flow, redirecting the reaction, calming it, controlling the energy.

The roiling force began to stabilise; each disparate ingredient from across the planes, raging against each other only moments before, now began joining together harmoniously. They bonded to the dungeon core essence, mana flowing with perfect conductivity, each ingredient empowering the next.

For the better part of an hour, Alex controlled the reaction, monitoring it closely. At times, it seemed to flow as smoothly as warm oil, gently, calmly, seeming ready to guide itself, but in the blink of an eye, it would change, spiralling into chaos, forcing him to fight it like a ship’s helmsman on a stormy sea.

But, those storms passed, and with each one he conquered, they grew scarcer, until in time, the churning energy within the processor quieted to an easy simmer, allowing him to move on to the next step.

“Alright. Here goes.” Picking up the portion of crystallisation stabilising infusion, Alex gingerly added the transparent substance to the shining liquid in the processor and was immediately rewarded with a sharp snap like ice cracking in the heart of winter, the reacting fluid shining with all the colours of the rainbow, hardening within the processor.

Tiny crystals appeared, glittering like stars reflected on quiet waters, the hardening process crept across the liquid, rising in spectacular shapes like salt crystals. Alex moved the mana conductor in a spiral, guiding the crystals upward until they took the form of a glittering crystal flower in full bloom. Each ‘petal’ thrummed with a different form of mana, radiating power in symbiosis with each other.

The young wizard sighed, struck with awe; the heart of his staff was complete, and more beautiful than anything he’d expected. Carefully, he inspected the bloom with his mana conductor, sensing out each power, assessing his work, confirming whether or not it had borne the right fruit.

And indeed it had.

In that beautiful crystalline bloom, he found every bit of magic that he’d wanted his staff to hold. Summoning magic. Blood magic. Force magic. Even the mana signature of Elder Blodeuwedd’s potion. It was all there, just ready for the final touch: a body to hold it.

Alex glanced at the aeld branch.

“And it’s almost ready,” he said, looking up at Claygon. “You see this, buddy? This is what dreams are made of. This is what power and protection looks like. This is what progress looks like.”

The golem leaned over his shoulder, peering down at the crystalline mana core. ‘Beautiful,’ he said. ‘But…it will not fit.’

“Ah, and that’s where this comes in.” Alex reached for a tiny crystal bottle stoppered with a small gem. “This potion is called Form of Fluidity,” he explained, unstopping the tonic. “And apart from being horrifyingly expensive, when it’s applied to a living thing, it transforms their body into this flowy…oily material, much like certain oozes and slimes you’d find in the wild.”

He mimed chugging it. “One sip, and I could fit through those spaces between the floorboards. Of course, the effect is only temporary, but still really useful for slipping in and out of dangerous situations. Not that I’ll be the one drinking it, though. You see, magical botanists devised this very interesting way of applying the potion. And all I have to do is simply add it to our crystal here and…well, you’ll see.”

Alex poured the potion onto the bloom while increasing the pressure in the processor, then guided the potion’s mana through the crystal. The reaction was instantaneous.

‘No…father, the crystal,’ Claygon murmured as the flower once again collapsed into liquid, shining with dozens of coloured lights.

“As I said, it’s juuust temporary,” Alex lifted the processor. “And now…”

He carefully cut the heat source, flicking on the processor’s cooling feature. Immediately, the steaming liquid rapidly adjusted, cooling to room temperature.

“And now, for our final step,” Alex said.

He turned, ready to take hold of the plant pot where the aeld branch waited, shining with anticipation.