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7.69 - Mana Poison
Upgrading the arena brought to Theo's attention that the games he was partially helping to organize were approaching quickly. It was easy to ignore them when they were far off, but as everything came together, it became undeniable how close they were. He left the manor, walking the streets for a while and checking to see what Tresk would do. She had a role in a project he wasn't involved in.
“Less work for me,” Theo said with a sigh.
If one had a sharp enough nose, they wouldn't need to enter the lab to know that work was already being done. More than likely, Salire had told Eleanor to arrive early, likely to drill more of the basics into her. Alchemy fundamentals could carry a person through many tiers, and Theo wouldn't fault her for going over them so much. Although he wasn't sure how he would handle it, he knew his apprentice's approach was sound.
Instead of poking his head into the third-floor lab and interrupting whatever work they were doing, he focused on the second floor, where he had more than enough equipment to brew the two reagents he had selected. He felt excited to reveal what these properties would do. Since the second floor was limited, he started with the Deep Slug, running two of its properties, even though there was enough space for three. The first property was Pitch, one he had explored thoroughly in the past. Today he would take it easy, working at a leisurely pace that betrayed the busy work around him.
As Theo worked with the slug, he had an idea of what each of the two properties would do. The first, called Mana Poison, was indeed a poison, as Tresk had suspected. He felt it would afflict the target with something that damaged their mana, but the details were too far off for him to understand. So, he set the still to work and considered the second property. Ungulate was strange. It would create a potion with qualities he couldn't determine. Something in the back of his mind told him it was one of the many useless potions he had brewed., but it was best to check.
While the potions brewed, Theo concerned himself with organizing the second-floor lab. It had become something of a storage space, as the third floor was far better for performing alchemy. Theo doused most surfaces with cleaner and moved items around in the dimensional storage crates until the area was easier to navigate. After opening a window on either side of the room, he enjoyed a decent cross breeze, one that wasn't tinged with as much humidity as he had become accustomed to. The Season of Fire was truly dying and giving way to the Season of Death.
“Do we have any festivals for the new season?” Theo asked through his mental connection with Tresk.
"We used to do a lot of hunting," Tresk said. "But I don't think the swamp has as many wolves as it once did, so I don't think we'll be doing much more than the games."
Theo clicked his tongue in frustration. He realized they hadn't named the competitive games they intended to hold within the city. A few names filtered through his mind, but he wasn't certain about any of them. The alchemist didn't consider himself very good at naming things, and Tresk was even worse. If he mentioned it to her, she would call them the "Murderer Death Games" or something similarly foolish. It was best to leave it to the administration staff to come up with something interesting.
Leaving the stills to do their thing, Theo headed out into the city and followed a line of commotion to the docks. He noticed some people disembarking from afar and lingered only long enough to learn they were from Bantein. He hoped they wouldn't be offended by the lack of accommodations in the Southlands Alliance. After all, Ziz had built massive bunkhouses, intending to house large numbers of people rather than providing singular experiences. The alchemist got a decent look at the people who had disembarked from that ship. He had seen how regal they looked. Those kinds of people had particular tastes.
Theo retreated to the lab before anyone could snag him and found that his potions were ready for testing. He started with the mana poison property, brewing it and watching the reaction. It was about what he expected from a poison potion. The scent it emitted was sharp, stinging his nose and forcing him to recoil as the essence bubbled in the vial. He fanned away the air, coughing as he waited for the reaction to subside. When that was done, he inspected the result.
[Mana Poison]
[Poison]
Rare
Created by: Theo Spencer 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
Purity: 75%
Coat your weapon with a potent poison, affecting the target’s mana pool.
Effect:
Targets afflicted with this poison will have their mana pool tainted for 1 hour.
When the target attempts to use their mana, their spell has a chance to backfire. The backfire effect depends on which spell was cast, along with the level and skill of the caster.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Oh, that’s a nasty one…” Theo winced as he read the description over. There was a surprising number of poisons that targeted mages. The alchemist had to wonder if the system had it out for them, or if it was a reflection of the alchemy system itself. He shrugged, adding this to a list of useful poisons Tresk would like before moving on to the next property… Undulate.
As expected, it was weird. The color was a murky brown, and the reaction was very close to the tar-like reaction of the Pitch property. The result was a sludgy liquid that barely sloshed around in the container. It was beyond nasty, and Theo had no interest in drinking it. Still, the gentle flush of experience his core experienced was worth it. When the reaction had calmed down, he inspected the result.
[Undulate Potion]
[Potion]
Uncommon
Created by: Theo Spencer
Purity: 89%
Drink to undulate.
Effect:
Your body undulates one way or the other, depending on reasons.
Theo frowned as he read the potion’s description. The description of the potions could be vague, but this one was extremely unclear. Both the description and the effect provided him with absolutely no information about what the potion did, and he couldn't deny his curiosity.
"Rowan, did you want to make a shiny gold coin?” Theo asked.
“No, no, no. Not this time. You're not going to trick me,” Rowan said, appearing from the shadows and folding his arms. “I remember what happened last time you had me drink a potion like this.”
"Really?" Theo asked, shaking his head. "Don't you want to undulate?"
"I've never wanted anything less in my life," Rowan said. "Find somebody else to test it on. That stuff looks nasty."
Of course, Rowan was right. The potion looked unappealing on many levels. Not only did the substance itself appear to be little more than tar in a bottle, but the smell was terrible, and the effects were vague. Unfortunately, a potion like this could be powerful, but he needed someone to help him test its limits. Of course, he could wait until the dream walk, but the alchemist was impatient. He didn't want to delay starting on the next reagent and was eager to figure it out. After attempting to convince Rowan and Sarisa to take it, he finally gave up.
Theo prepared the stills to run three more properties. He would have to settle for testing the potion in the Dreamwalk for now and finally resigned himself to that fate. That's when a knock came from downstairs. It wasn't from the front door of the lab, but rather the door leading up the staircase. He raised an eyebrow and looked between Sarisa and Rowan before going to check it out. At the base of the stairs stood a half-ogre local with a moderately concerned look on their face.
"Got some fancy-looking official to see you," the half-ogre said, fidgeting nervously with their hands. "Over in the town hall."
“Thanks,” Theo said in a flat tone. It must have been from that ship he had seen earlier. He knew little about the people from Bantein. The cultures between that nation and Partopour seem to blend in his mind, as he hasn't had enough exposure to them. They were both very neutral and had little sway in the region. The only thing he was certain of was that they were a melting pot of races, drawn from all corners of the globe and brought together on a singular continent.
"I didn't expect today to be a politics day," Sarisa said, following behind Theo as he left the lab. He didn't bother telling his apprentice upstairs where he was going. They were still knee-deep in training sessions. Instead, he headed out and made his way to the town hall. As expected, there was some amount of fanfare there, with foreigners standing outside and looking around the city with confusion. Inside, administrators were scattering here and there, doing everything they could to make these honored guests happy.
“Theo!” Alise shouted from afar, stomping over with a sour look on her face. “Got some fancy asshole up in an office waiting for you. He won’t speak with me about whatever crap he wants. Insists he needs to talk to ‘the leader’ of the town. Whatever in the hells that means.”
Theo grunted a response, setting his jaw and looking at the stairs that led to the upper floors. “Think he’ll be a problem?”
“He’s already a problem!” Alise shouted, clapping a hand over her mouth as she said the words too loudly. Eventually, she sighed. “Just handle it, archduke.”
Theo locked his eyes on the stairs for a while before eventually climbing them. He found the office she was talking about and opened the door to discover a man dressed similarly to Fenian waiting for him. The man was as tall as most human men, standing at about six feet. He faced away from the alchemist, looking out the window and rubbing his chin. Eventually, he spun around and offered a faint smile.
"Archduke Theo?" he asked in a low, rumbling voice. He had an aging face with short brown hair poking out from underneath a wide-brimmed hat. The ruffles on his chest waved as he turned, reminding the alchemist far too much of the elf. “Sorry to summon you, but I had to meet you directly. I’m Thomas of House Farveil, heir to Bantein and extremely excited about these games you’re hosting.”
Before Theo even had a chance to respond, the man crossed the room, holding out a hand and shaking Theo's with a firm grip, but not firm enough to paint him as someone with a high strength attribute. The alchemist found himself slightly confused, but not altogether disappointed. He had something like a prince in his town, which meant his people had to be on their best behavior.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to give you a welcome," Theo said, finally releasing the man's grasp. "You're just here for the games? Are you planning on participating?"
"That's the idea," Thomas said, his smile widening slightly. "We've traveled far to see the end of the world in your lands. My father doesn't believe me, but from the rumors I've heard, you'll offer safe passage to the other side, won't you?"
"You should get to the other side just fine without my help," Theo said. "The only difference is that you'll appear on a predictable schedule compared to the reincarnation we’re expecting.”
“Perfect,” Thomas said. “Now, would you mind giving me a tour of your city? It’s quaint.”
Theo tried not to twitch too much as he considered the best way to pitch this man into the ocean. He eventually took a calming breath and gestured to the door. “Let’s go.”
