Beastforged Bond

The Temple’s shop was extensive. It was also connected to the Alchemy Tower and the auction house. There were even a few offers from Houses and smaller organizations, though they were not particularly relevant to me.

The Alchemy Tower’s connection to the Temple caught my attention. Namely, the recipes I could purchase as a Proto Knight, but also the serums, Elixirs, and ingredients available there. Those would be important for later, once I’d gotten more used to the spirit flames offered by Max.

I was not sure what exactly Truthseeker Max did with the shop, but a new section depicting spirit flames had appeared in the Temple’s shop, with even the lowest being a high-grade flame.

A high-grade spirit flame was far from cheap, especially when it was imbued with the Light Spirit’s power. It contained purification properties, which would hopefully make the flame as potent as Volix’s phoenix fire had been, though that was highly unlikely.

Anyway, the high-grade spirit flame cost a grand total of five Spirit Coins as well as 200 platinum coins. It was a superior flame for alchemy, or so Max claimed. I tested it out right away.

The Temple’s alchemy rooms were rather simple. On one side was an enchanted cauldron and all the utensils needed to brew serums and Elixirs of the highest quality, but those were none of my concerns just yet. I focused on the other side of the alchemy room, which looked more like a laboratory than anything. Beakers, pipettes, and the like. That part suited me much better…for now.

“Here goes nothing,” I chuckled mirthlessly, retrieving a simple set of ingredients for a low-grade serum.

Before I could start and turn the alchemy room upside down, I had to bind the spirit flame. That didn’t take long, nor did it affect me a lot. My World resonated with the spirit flame, which nestled comfortably in my World. It absorbed a considerable amount of soul energy to stabilize its position and strengthen the bond enough to form the Fire Aspect, but that was about it.

No Gates formed, nor was there any empowerment to my soul or mind.

I took a deep breath and reasserted myself. The ether plants and minerals spread out before me had been harvested a while ago, but a preservation solution coated them. Even if some of their unique properties had been lost after a while, more than enough of them had been retained.

A flame that glowed like a lightbulb materialized in my palm. It split into several smaller portions and burned through the plants’ preservation coating before winking out.

Strands of ether flowed out of my palms and into the plants. The first strand that seeped into each of the herbs was a gentle stream. It carved a straightforward path through the ether plant, stirring its unique properties and impurities alike. The second strand was much less gentle since it was attuned and imbued with the spirit flame. The second strand surged through the new pathways and sorted through the impurities and properties that unraveled themselves. Both were separated from the ether plant, which lost some of its luster in the process.

It withered as the life and properties that kept it alive were stripped away by force, yet this was only the beginning. The second strand guided impurities and unique properties alike through the withering plant to extract them at the end of the first strand’s pathways.

But before it could reach the end, it was overtaken by the third strand. The third strand picked up the energy that had been left behind and merged with it. It burned hotter and accumulated ether until it reached and surpassed the spirit flame-attuned strand, starting the purification process. It was seen as the hardest part because it determined how many impurities would be extracted alongside the desired properties.

As the third strand reached the second, they collided. I couldn’t help myself as my brow creased, yet my control of the strands was iron-tight. A few years ago, I would have collapsed on the ground from the mental strain, but now? Now this was nothing. It would have been even easier with Volix and his Soulshare’s empowerment by my side, but this was fine as well.

I tightened my grip around the impurities and slowly burned them away while loosening the impurities’ grip on the properties I wanted to extract. The control required to do so was immense, and it ought to be even harder doing so with a fire I knew basically nothing about, yet that was no problem at all. It was surprisingly easy to use the spirit flame. Maybe it was because my World resonated with the high-grade flame, or because it was related to the Insignia glowing like an excited child whenever I used the spirit flame.

Regardless, I learned quickly enough that the Three Strand Purification technique still worked and that, in fact, I was even more proficient with the technique than I used to be.

Sure, it was a very complicated technique, but multitasking and straining my mind in ways I normally didn’t have to was actually quite nice.

Even as the second and the third strand collided, the third never slowed. It pushed further instead and dragged the desired properties to the end with it before the strands became one. Several repetitions of the same process were needed to pick up all the required properties, but that was fine since no impurities were carried into the vial filled with liquefied ether.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I considered using a Base to concoct my first serum in a long time but decided against it. Since I was no longer in the Bastion, I’d no longer revolutionize the Beaster’s concoction process by ignoring the Base they usually used. It was what Volix would have wanted, so I tested myself with a no-Base serum.

Taking another deep breath, I used the Three Strand Purification technique on the other plants and minerals as well. The Orik stone used in the concoction crumbled as soon as I extracted its properties, which was a shame since hollow Orik stones were highly sought after for certain Elixirs. Alas, preserving a hollow Orik stone was far beyond my expertise, and it wasn’t necessary for my serum.

Conjuring a much larger flame before me, I did something most, if not all, Beasters would lynch me for. I emptied the vials containing the liquefied ether fused with the properties into the glowing spirit flame.

Yet, instead of watching the liquefied ether suffuse into the spirit flame or evaporate, it gathered into small bubbles. One of the bubbles stirred and collided with another, trying to jumpstart a reaction, but I stepped in and stopped that at once.

My head churned and rattled from the multitude of processes that were happening simultaneously, but I could only smile as I proceeded. As a Beaster, I would have used a Base and various instruments to slowly merge the ingredients, forming a serum with the help of science. But as important as science was for Alchemists, concocting pills and serums was a little different from how Alchemists normally approached it. I learned that much from the Elemental Phoenix and the few alchemical records I’d skimmed through in the last few months.

Splicing one of the ether bubbles hovering in the spirit flame into equal parts with an effort of will, I guided them through the flame and toward their destination. The Lecua parts reacted to the Meru, Phoenix, and Pure Ether solutions and were absorbed as soon as they attuned to the solutions’ frequencies.

The bubbles were still mixtures of pure ether and special properties that had to be further refined. Hence, I first struck the solutions within them with Gravity at full force. The pressure tore through them, and it almost looked like they would fall apart before something curious happened. Increasing the flame’s temperature and focusing on its purification, all while Gravity worked its wonders, I guided the Meru, Phoenix, and Pure Ether solutions together.

That did not save me from spending tens of minutes carefully swirling the solutions to revolve around one another and react slowly to the neighboring solutions, but Gravity and the spirit flame’s heat and unique traits made the following process much easier. And faster.

I fueled the flame with more ether and, ignoring the headache creeping up the back of my head, I continued to stir the solutions. They slowly merged as the minutes trickled by, and I couldn’t help but grow more and more restless. Every moment, something could happen. A single mistake, and my effort would be for naught.

Two hours later – much longer than it should have taken – the serum was done.

***

“Even though the Purification Serum’s purity far surpasses the required threshold, its efficacy is very low. It can barely be considered a Low-quality Purification Serum.” One of the staff members stationed near the alchemy and refinement rooms said after concluding a series of tests. “We will purchase the serum, but as you should know, we won’t pay the full market price for any Low-quality serums.” The young man lowered his head ever so slightly. “I apologize for the inconvenience. If I can help you in any other way, feel free to ask. I would be more than pleased to help a Proto Knight, sir.”

That was certainly not what I expected. Honestly, I’d been rather satisfied with the result. Sure, the reagents took longer than expected to synergize and fuse, but the final result was only a Low-quality serum? The purity level of every reagent was close to 100%, and I’d even used liquid ether to jumpstart the process.

You have grown rusty.

Aureus reminded me, though I was already aware of that.

You wasted too much time.

Sapsie added, but I knew about that as well.

It was just a little annoying that I didn’t manage to create something better without a Base, especially since I knew that I would probably have concocted a Mid-quality serum with a Base. And that was the point. I could have used a Base, but that would have restricted my future. Instead of growing complacent, I should take multiple steps back to refine my foundation.

All to progress even faster once the time was ripe.

That sounded good enough to me.

“There are a few recipes I’m interested in.” I told the assistant before rattling down a list of no less than a dozen serums and Elixirs. “I want a hundred preserved sets of ingredients for each of those recipes as well as the finished products. Have someone concoct the serums with low, average, and high efficacy. If you can find a True Alchemist interested in the job, I’d also like them to concoct the serums and Elixirs at the highest efficacy they can manage.”

The request was unreasonable and would cost a fortune. I was fully aware of that, but it was necessary for my studies. The price for the finished products did not matter nearly as much as the hundred sets for each recipe. Especially not when it came to the Elixirs I planned to concoct for my Soulkins.

The Runic Tincture, a high-grade Elixir, used the heartblood of Monarchs or Emperors, if one was willing to share some of it, as well as Apex Essence. That alone was as expensive as it could be, but Aureus wanted some of it. A lot, actually. He didn’t want to say why he needed it, and it actually looked like he was not entirely sure why he needed Runic Tincture, but this was one of the few times the Earthheart asked for something. So, of course, I would give him as much as possible.

Nox, on the other hand, needed a pseudo-Elixir called Accelerator from what I understood. It utilized the Blade Essence, which was a specialized Essence that came to be through Alchemy. I wasn’t quite sure how it was created, but it was a concoction process that utilized regular Essence and beast parts – precisely parts of a Bladed Fiend. The Accelerator would help Nox learn more about Nullblade, or so was the plan.

Sapsie was not all that different, but she wanted something more life-imbued. She also needed an Elixir, a series of Elixirs to be precise.

Those three were the most expensive of my Soulkins. The others were either still evolving or would be given far cheaper concoctions.

Tessa and Cosmo were not as adamant about growing stronger. They were fine with how things were, and I didn’t plan on pushing them into doing anything they didn’t want to. If they were happy, so was I.