Master Of None

”The longer the crystal ginger lives the more mana it absorbs. The high amount of mana is why it formed in to crystal ginger anyways, but it can keep absorbing mana and become harder and harder. That is why I have it boiling at such a high temperature. That is the only way for it to release all the stored mana and start to take on the properties of the herbs I have added.” Remey was listening intently as the lesson being given.

Walker Was not sure how all of this fit together since he lacked a lot of the specific alchemical knowledge. However, he was learning slowly but surely the more Remey opened up to show off her knowledge. She was proving to be a lot more knowledgeable than anyone had expected. It was the same feeling that He had had when Gil started to demonstrate knowledge on farming or Su on healing.

”Now the next step is to keep it from solidifying while cooling. The best method to do that is slow and steady control of mana to pull the heat away. Any cooling skill can be used but the control of your own mana is where it will affect quality. If it solidifies then it is a waste and we need to turn it in to something else. So will you two be joining me in this? It is a good learning opportunity.” 

The two looked at Trish like they had just been asked to sprout wings and fly. The question of working on something so important was crazy to them. ”Are you sure we could work on something like this?” 

Walker wanted to hear her reasoning. ”Normally I can manage this myself easily, but if you two want to learn I can guide your mana to cool things properly. Just let your mana flow in your hands and we will see what you can do. My skill is called fire stealing. It takes the energy from the flames and potion. It is a slightly different ability but it works very well.” She had other cooling abilities but the situation needed this specific skill for the best result.

”The one I have is called quick chill. It stimulates the water elemental mana using mine. Then it will cool the potion.” Remey had learned this from the old master alchemist when she upgraded her system.

”I don’t have one, but my grand elemental manipulation should do the trick. Maybe I will learn a cooling skill as we go.” Walker shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he would use a cooling skill often since he could just manipulate the elements to make it cooler. But he had the feeling that learning a cooling skill would cost less mana than using grand elemental manipulation to have the same effect.

”Good, if you learn a skill then it should be easier. Mages have tried to do similar things by manipulating mana but it is always harder and tires them out faster. Your quick chill skill is pretty rare, your family must have been very excited to pass it down to you. I have only had two apprentices who were lucky to have the skill.” Trish was happy to hear that she had someone using the skill. To her, it was a lower level cooling skill. But for anyone at Remey’s level of alchemy, it was a massive boon.

Trish held up her hands and Walker could feel the fire elemental mana weakening. She was pulling it away and making the energy flow out of the pot. Remey was very similar. As soon as she raised her hands the entire room seemed to chill just like the old master alchemist had done before. 

Walker was the one who acted differently. He only held up one hand and started to feel for the flow of mana. He looked for the way the elemental mana in the potion was moving and what different elemental mana was pushing what. He found that the fire elemental mana was pursuing the cooler water elemental mana. But this wasn’t causing things to cool. It was making things hotter.

Walker added a little of his own mana to make the water elemental mana stronger. This had the instant effect of making the water elemental mana started to push back against the fire elemental mana. ”Bold choice directly enhancing the water elemental mana, but what about the wind elemental mana at the top of the pot? There is a lot of steam there and it is much warmer than the pot because you are focusing on the bottom.” 

Trish had caught his attention and directed him. He had been focusing on one part and not at all paying attention to the entire pot. ”Remey, please lower your mana output. You are letting the room get too cold without focusing the skill on the pot.” Walker felt an instant shift in the temperature around him. It seemed to pull inwards and try to wrap itself around the pot closer. 

”That’s it. You need to focus the mana in to one spot and use the skill. If you let it just expand like that then you will have a waste of mana and a harder draw on your body. It takes mental strength.” Trish was guiding Remey like she was her own apprentice. It was a wonderful experience to watch, the skills in teaching from years of doing so were pristine.

Walker imagined the entire pot and sensed the multitude of elements around it. The wind elemental mana had taken a lot of heat from the pit but was holding it and moving around crazily to each of the cooler places. This was keeping the temperature higher when it should be cooling. He focused on the wind elemental mana and tried to change its flow.

The result was a small breeze rotating around the pot and pushing the hot air upwards. 

’The skill updraft has been taken from the sun racer system. The skill updraft has been automatically learned due to user action.

Updraft- 1 mana cost

The user manipulates the wind and forces it to flow upwards. Increasing the mana used can increase the strength.’

”Oh, not that is the spirit. Dealing with the outside while the two of us are dealing with the potion itself will make things much more fluidly.” Tris was happy to see Walker change strategy. She knew it was hard to assist an alchemist even as an apprentice of a master. Bit this was the exact thing she needed. 

The three were able to steadily cool the potion leaving a bright blue color. There were no solid pieces anywhere and Trish looked very happy about this. The amount left after the cooling process was enough for five vials. ”This was a high yield. Normally it would lose so much liquid that it was only left with four when I am teaching this potion. It is usually just low quality and temporary. However, this one will be high quality, I can already feel it.” 

Trish grabbed the vials she had prepared. They had pieces of the solid crystal ginger to help keep the quality up. She was very quick and had them filled and sealed in a moment. ”Now they will sit under the natural light elemental mana from the next full moon. Coincidentally that is tonight. After basking in the moon light it will have enough mana to be an active potion.” 

Remey was sweating even though her skill had made the room much cooler. She had learned how to use less mana when using the quick chill skill and she was very grateful for it. When Trish had given her suggestions she felt Trish’s mana pushing her in the right direction. ”Thank you so much for your help. Your mana control is amazing, it was like you were guiding my hands.” 

”It was nothing. I was more surprised by the change of tactics from your leader here.” Trish was being honest. She had not met many alchemists in her people that would use the wind element to cool a potion. 

”I actually learned a new skill called updraft. I was just trying to make the wind element stop moving around as it pleased. When I made it go upward it formed a spiral and rushed upwards. I had a feeling that it would pull away from the warmer air and let the cooler air you made come near the pot to help.” 

”It did help. Normally it would take longer because the air was adding heat as it moved around. That is why the steam was all over the place. But with the updraft skill, it helped maintain an isolation of heat.” Trish was surprised by the new skill that Walker had learned, but she did not let him see it. It was amazing enough but the fact that the two had been able to adjust so fast trumped getting a new skill.

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