The Newt and Demon

As Theo did with a lot of the insane crap that happened in his life, he put the message from the random voice to the back of his thoughts. Instead of worrying about it, he took it as a big thumbs-up and moved on. He then shifted his focus to Tero’gal, closing his eyes as he sat upon the throne and considered the words Toru’aun had said to him.

“The power was inside you the whole time, Theo!” he said, trying not to mock the words of an ex-god too much. Still, it was frustrating.

The alchemist lamented for a bit, but soon took a deep breath to release the tension. As he did, he felt something from the realm push back. It was a kind of recognition of his plight which brought a satisfying sense of comfort. If only the world could speak. But Theo felt as though it heard his request. Even if it didn’t want to act on that right now.

But Theo planned to take the encouragement he had received from Toru’aun seriously. He hadn’t seen his infused potions as anything but a side-step from his standard potion crafting. Yet she had seemed genuinely amazed by the way they worked. Since it took a lot to impress the woman, he took this as a good sign.

The only conclusion he could draw was that he needed to craft more infused potions. No matter how stupid the combination seemed, one could turn out to be amazing. That was the fun of combining effects.

“And I think we might have some infusion stills…”

Reserving himself to the idea of finding no solution today, Theo fell through the space between places into the void. Although he felt a slight urge to visit the system, he resisted. Conversations with it were often one-sided on their part, and it seemed eager to act with little consideration. It was best to let it continue uninterrupted for now.

A strained yelp filled Theo’s ears as he reappeared in the lab.

“You really need to teleport outside and use the door,” Salire said, clutching her chest. “What if I was doing a sensitive experiment?”

Salire glared at him for a few moments before releasing a sigh. “Yes. Version 10 or something. I can’t remember.”

Theo watched as Salire regained her composure. She got back to work, but still gave him an untrusting look. The still in question wasn’t made from the normal Drogramathi Iron. Apparently, Throk was conserving the stock he had of the metal. This new still was made from mythril. The silver-white metal had been alchemically treated, giving it a faintly purple hue. The alchemist pressed his hand onto the surface, summoning the system interface.

[Custom Mythril Artifice Infusion Still]

[Alchemy Equipment]

Epic

Created By: Throk

A 50 unit capacity mythril still with two holding tanks and attached infusion chamber, protective plating, overpressure valves, and infusion pressurizer.

Effects:

Distillation time reduced.

Occasionally produces more essence.

Reduces the chance of explosive reactions.

Attachments:

[Custom Alchemically Treated Mythril Infusion Chamber]

[Custom Alchemically Treated Mythril Plating]

[Custom Alchemically Treated Mythril Infusion Pressurizer]

[Custom Mythril Heater]

“At least we’re putting this new metal to work,” Theo said, getting closer to inspect the still.

It wasn’t just that Throk had innovated on each step of the mana infuser’s design. He had made improvements all around. From the form to the function, the man was a genius with artifices. Theo foresaw that this new version of the still would be incredibly easy to work with, and Salire seemed to agree.

“I haven't worked with it yet,” she said. Salire was still working on potions of her own. “But I was impressed when he delivered it. It seemed like a point of pride for him.”

“I can see why,” Theo said, standing up after giving the still a good look over, “How about we make some test potions just for fun?"

"Did you have any potion in mind?" Salire asked. “Has your knowledge of magical things grown as expected?”

"Not really. That entire trip was a bit of a fiasco. I made little progress on getting access to new magic," Theo said.

"Ah, so as always, we're winging it," Salire said with a nod. "Sounds about right."

Theo smiled to himself as he got to work. Of course, although he didn't accomplish what he had wanted to get done, he still had access to many spells he could infuse his mana with. Base-level support magic gave buffs that varied from spells such as haste, protective spells, and all other manner of cool things. The problem was finding which one was compatible with which potion.

Rolling through his mental list of potions, Theo thought about which one would go best with the spell he had in mind. In this, he was limited to potions that he had on hand. Something he had not experimented with, in terms of infusion, were poisons. So, why not try those? Using Poison Essence to start the infusion process, he infused his mana with a spell he hoped would generate interesting results.

Since the poison was an offensive creation, Theo had thought about all the spells he had read that had debuffing qualities. Since he had already tested the haste spell, he saw a parallel in the Slow spell. He worked the infusion still, filling the mana side with his mana laced with the essence of the spell.To the other side, he put the poison essence and started the machine.

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Even the operation of this version of the still was smoother than the last one. It apparently made a sound as it heated, mixed, and condensed the two sides, creating a slow drip of essence that fell into a glass flask at the end of the line. Salire watched with moderate interest as the process rolled on. It filled the air with a strange scent that was almost like hot tar, but with a hint of disconcerting sweetness.

"If you take a simple mage's core, I'm sure you can do this part," Theo said, keeping a close watch on both sides as they worked. "The spell is incredibly easy to form, and I think you're at a point where you can do it too."

"I fear confidence in me is misplaced," Salire said with a weak shrug.

"Nonsense. The spell's so simple. It's only got like two parts. Maybe if we were doing something more complicated you'd have reason to be concerned, but you can handle this one," Theo said. "What we need to worry about now is expanding the lab. I can't believe we're already out of space, even considering the stills on the second floor."

"Well, since you're in charge of the building, I'll rely on you to expand it."

"You know what's funny?" Theo asked. "Although I check the markets very often, I have never seen an alchemy lab seed core. They just don't sell them."

"I know you're not entirely aware of this," Salire said, flashing a smile, "but alchemists are rarer than you believe. At least in Old Qavell."

Theo had heard plenty of stories about the ineptitude of those alchemists. He had always chalked it up to the inefficient guild system, but it was hard to say. They had a long road to walk since they could only do poultices at the start of their alchemical journey. The demon alchemists, on the other hand, had access to distillation from level 1. That was an incredible boon that put them at least 50 levels ahead of their competition.

And yet, those same demon alchemists weren't likely to have access to a building such as this. They were nomadic people who rarely stayed in the same place for more than a few days, let alone long enough to plant a seed core and actually grow the building. No, they were at as much of a disadvantage as the regular alchemists. Only this strange combination of events had produced alchemy, the likes of which this world hadn't seen since Drogramath’s time.

Theo and Salire chatted about whatever. Mostly, they talked about the various traders that were coming to town. It was hard to estimate how long it would take a person to get from Tarantham to Broken Tusk, and they were perpetually confused about supply chains. Those sailors had magically enchanted boats, not dissimilar to the ones crafted in the harbor here, but with a legacy of seafaring. The elves would have had secrets they could only imagine. Perhaps it only took them a few days to make the trip, which made up thousands of miles.

"I think you've got enough of the essence to make a potion." Salire pointed to the string attached to the flask at the end of the chain.

Theo had been so lost in his own thoughts he wasn't even paying attention. He turned, smiling to himself as he looked at the resulting liquid. It was a sickening mix of hues, something like purple-green that looked more brown than anything. He picked it up and gave it a sniff, finding the aroma to be equal parts horrifying and pleasant.

“Smells like death,” Theo said, heading to one worktable to craft the potion.

"Ah yes, death, the perfect smell for a potion," Salire mocked.

Of course, she wasn't wrong. Working with poison-style potions was never fun, and Theo had never enjoyed it. He had only done it to make Tresk happy. He got to work brewing the potion. It didn't argue with him much and took the enchanted water without an issue. When he added the catalyst, it bubbled a bit but seemed like an otherwise stable potion. It had a much longer brew time than he'd expected, stretching out to five minutes that seemed to go on forever. When it was finally done, he saw the message notifying him of the experience he had gained, and he inspected the potion.

[Infused Basic Poison]

[Poison]

Rare

Created by: Theo Spencer

Purity: 90%

Coat your weapon to deal additional damage over time to an enemy and significantly reduce their speed.

Infusion Array:

[Slow]

Effect:

Poison damage over time based on purity of this poison.

Target’s movement is reduced based on the quality of this poison

"That might be the most straightforward infusion I've ever done," Theo said, holding the potion up. "It might not be wise to let Tresk see it, but I'm quite proud of it."

"Yeah, the second she walks into the shop demanding more of them, that's the second I have to figure out how to do it," Salire said, folding her arms.

Theo smiled to himself as a thought crossed his mind. He had one more idea for a potion in mind, but this new plan seemed too tempting. When Salire went back to work, he waited for the infusion still to finish its work before clearing it out and starting another run. Then, without a word to his lab partner, he rushed out the door, heading directly for the market. The item he sought was available for fairly cheap. It was a basic-level item that would require a combination or evolution to become useful, but for his purposes, it was perfect.

With a big, stupid smile on his face, he rushed back to the lab, heading up to the third-floor work area. Salire picked up on his excited mood right away.

"Oh, gods, what have you done?" she asked, slapping her face.

"I don't think that's the appropriate thing to say when I come bearing gifts," Theo said, withdrawing an item from his inventory. "Well, I suppose it's just the one gift, but still. Happy birthday."

Salire winced as she took the item from the alchemist, shaking her head. "I know you think I'm going to magically figure out how to use one of these, but I've already got one," she said.

"Yeah, but now you have no excuse but to learn how to cast spells," Theo said, tapping his temple twice. "I've given you a Mage Core, which means you must now become a mage."

"That's not how that works at all," Salire said, placing her hands on her hips. But eventually she sighed and shrugged. "Well, if you're offering to teach me, I'm happy to learn."

Of course, that was the hard part. Theo's schedule was tight enough as it was, but he was committed to this. He thought about it before he said anything, though. The way Xol’sa taught him wasn't entirely efficient. The man had more of an academic mind than a practical one, meaning that he wanted the alchemists to learn absolutely everything before they got started on practical things. That had initially dissuaded him from learning magic entirely.

The alchemist withdrew a piece of parchment from his inventory, laid it flat on a work table, and scrawled three symbols. He pointed at each‌. "Decrease, Binding, and Flow," he explained. "These are the three concepts that make up the Slow spell."

“Okay,” Salire said, seeming more confused than before.

Theo had to go into the nuts and bolts of it a bit, but a spell this simple for her purposes was going to be very easy to learn. She didn't need to learn how to cast it, which was the hard part of casting spells, and instead, she only needed to create this spell in her soul and imprint it on her mana. Since she had been training with that concept for quite some time, it should have come naturally to her.

It still took a bit of effort, but by the time his next infused potion was done brewing, she had it down. Not even conceptually. She was producing mana that was perfectly aligned with the spell. Even she was surprised.

"I've already tried doing this a few times," Salire said, looking at the puddle of goo in her hand in surprise. "Why did the books make it sound so hard?"

"Well, there's an idea for our book," Theo said. "The revised edition that has a simplified alchemist-only version of spellcrafting."

Salire marveled at her new ability to infuse the simple spell into her mana, doing it a few more times to build her confidence. That was her way, though. She was always timid to approach a project, but once she got started, she took off in a sprint. The alchemist had no doubt she would now pursue it with fervor on her own. But he knew how she would move forward. Salire would take over the mass-production side of the infused potions.

“So, do you want to see what I’m cooking up?” Theo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I can already smell it,” Salire said with a heavy sigh. “Let’s see what kind of nightmare you’ve cooked up.”