The Newt and Demon 5.7 - Aarok's Dream

5.7 - Aarok's Dream

Theo had grown to dislike laboring away in the Dreamwalk. When he went to bed that night, he corrected his thinking. The dream realm was a place to grind experience, while Terogal was the place where he could relax. With that in mind, he focused on raising his Drogramath cores, figuring they were the only way to increase his personal level. Now that both his cores matched in rarity, they leveled at about the sa speed.

The alchemist rested in his bed, eyes wide open as he looked over his interface. Alchemy, Herbalist, and his personal level had all ticked up to 26. His poor [Toruaun Mages Core] was still at Level 14. Xolsa might have been mad, but it often took him a while to work himself up to a seething rage. Theos attributes were all over the place at this point. Tresk had told him that generalization was a good thing, so he dumped the latest point into Dexterity. One more point and he would be at 20 Dexterity, which would co with a boost. Every 10 attribute points ca with the sa boost, often providing a new realm of power.

While those realms of power werent docunted very well, they were clear. Wisdom of the Soul suspected it was sothing to do with the way the system was incomplete. It was as though the mortal system wanted to segnt people into ranks, but couldnt.

Busy day, Tresk shook Theo, trying to pull him out of bed.

Theo reviewed his administrative interfaces, finding that Alise had created a schedule for the day. Nothing too intense. Open house at the Town Hall by mid-morning, tea with the administrators after that oh yeah, and a monster wave at midday! Xolsa had estimated the upcoming monster wave to be sowhere between Level 30 and 50. They had let the [River Dungeon] go for far too long, resulting in an accumulation of power. Since the dungeons converted that power into both quantity and quality of monsters, they were in for a ride.

Quick breakfast, Theo said, getting to his feet and slipping on his coat. Then we have a strategy eting with Aarok.

Yay, Tresk said, twirling her index finger in the air. Strategy etings. My favorite.

Honk!

At least Alex found her place in the army. Theo pat his familiar on the head. She was getting bigger by the day. If she stretched out her slender neck, it could reach up to his chest. Before long, she would be larger than Tresk.

The trio ate a quick breakfast before making their way to the adventurers guild. There were so new arrivals from Tarantham that would fight against the monster wave. Theo wanted to have hope in their abilities, but they looked worn down. Tired beyond anything that a potion would help, they needed bedrest and so leisure ti before they were in fighting form. There were still a few among the new elves that stuck out to the alchemist. There was a young man with a [Coresmiths Core] that shone amongst the rough gathering of laborers, artisans, and adventurers.

The problem with Coresmiths was their difficult learning curve. Or so Theo had heard. Like the [Drogramath Alchemy Core], the Coresmiths had a vast learning curve. The materials required to create any cores were also extrely expensive. It just reminded the alchemist that he still didnt have the coin mint that Fenian promised.

Aaroks office in the Adventurers Guild was always stuffy. Even with the air conditioner, he couldnt seem to get the stale scent of body odor and dried monster blood out of the air. The half-ogre leader of the guild sat at the head of the table with a series of maps strewn out before him. There was no difference in their strategy for defense. Since Xolsa could spawn the wave at will, they only needed to sit back and let the monsters co to them.

Theo could hardly pay attention as he thought of the [Living River Water] that the boss would drop. He interjected several tis, making sure the adventurers knew to use as many freeze-style attacks as they could. That would ensure that his yield of water was maximized. If the bosss water soaked into the river itself, or the ground, it would be useless.

We get it, Theo. Luras smiled over the table. Alchemy reagents are more important than lives.

In so cases.

Aarok shook his head, trying not to laugh. We know what were doing. Ive got units from Rivers and Gronro ready to go. They want to get out on the field and get so real-world practice.

Theo didnt like that part of the plan, but he didnt have Aaroks experience. If the grizzled half-ogre wanted to send so dwarves out to face fade or fald, that was on him. It wasnt as though either race of water-dwelling monsters were difficult. So long as they were out of the water. There was one main difference compared to the last ti Broken Tusk had defended against the [River Dungeon]. They now had a harbor, which bordered the southern section of the river. It stood to reason that the monsters would head there directly.

Were reorganizing the towers right now, Aarok said, jabbing his finger into the map. Stripping a few from the western wall, and installing one of Throks guns on the eastern wall just in case.

Aaroks finger traced a path over the wall. He pressed it into a section of the eastern wall nearest Mianas ranch. Theo wasnt sure they could mount a rail gun there, but he nodded anyway.

Well need Theo to use his magic on the walls before we kick the wave off, Luras traced his finger along the map.

They wanted Theo to ward most of the wall. It would require complex, interlinked wards that would take him hours to complete. The alchemist suppressed a groan, only looking up to nod resolutely at his commanders. He was comfortable overriding much of what his administration team told him, but matters of war? Yeah, that was best left to the experts. None of Earths spycrafting thods would work on a wave of monsters, so it was best to leave it there.

Aarok and Luras went over a few things. To Theos surprise, Zankir had a few things to say. Since he was now the captain of the newly ford defense-based unit, he had much to say. He mostly complained about having only one gunnery team.

Your squads will still be at the piers, Aarok gestured to that section of the map. Were not dropping our guard just because theres a wave.

Understood, Zankir said, nodding. Youll see the Sandscourge Company pull its weight today.

Theo smiled as the pair patted each other on the back. It had taken Zankir a while to get over Khahars arrival. Well, if the alchemist really thought about it the Khahari man had betrayed Broken Tusk. Since the result was a [Kingdom Core] and a reunion with his old best friend, he let that all go. He also reflected on how nice it would be to have more Khahari in town. It was becoming more of an elven town with each passing day.

Thats it, Aarok said, clapping his hands together. Everyone knows their post. Well have a town alert before we start. Youre all dismissed unless you have other duties.

Theo, Tresk, and Alex lingered in the office as the others departed.

Are you living out your boyhood dreams? Theo asked, smiling at Aarok.

The half-ogre chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. Sohow, I didnt imagine it would be this stressful.

Luras elbowed Aarok in the ribs. Cheer up, commander. You were made for this job.

Hah! Sothing like that. At least we have the dungeons under Xolsas yoke.

Tresk and Alex remained in the commanders office while Theo headed off. He made his way to the Newt and Demon, finding Salire handling town-related business. She was handing out their stock of bombs, enhancent potions, healing potions, and so on. Those things were earmarked for the town during ergencies, so they were either sold at a massive discount or given for free.

Im going to work on the new potions, Theo said, patting Salire on the shoulder. She gave him a smile-grimace hybrid expression. Let know if you need help.

Up in the lab, there was enough clutter to occupy Theos entire morning. He cleared away the ss into a crate, vowing to clean it properly later. Of course, he wouldnt. Creating a proper third tier suffuse-based potion was going to be difficult. But the first part of that task was to distill as much liquor as possible. Banu had already delivered absurd amounts of [Zee Kernels] to the lab, allowing him to get ten mashes started. Once the distillation had started, the alchemist turned his attention to the bottles of [Refined Sow Essence] and [Refined Hallow Ground Essence].

Wisdom of the Soul popped, giving him so much-needed information. To create a proper tier three suffuse potion, he would need to use both essences to create an unbound dilution. It was a concept that was effortless to think about, but almost impossible for Theo to approach. Essence didnt play well together. The [Suffuse Potion] took the essences and made them play nice. A [Unbound Enchanted Dilution] was just mana-infused alcohol that had an essence mixed in.

Theo clenched his teeth, tapped his foot, then drumd his fingers on a table for good asure. Another ssage claid it could work if he introduced essences directly to the dilution. Maybe. An experint was required.

The alchemist dug through his crates, finding a few bottles of liquor. He tilted his head to the side, searching through his near-perfect mory. There were at least three bottles missing. Soone had been getting drunk off of alchemical hooch. He shrugged, withdrawing a few flasks before heading downstairs. Salire was struggling to deal with the massive number of adventurers in the shop, so he sent a ssage to Gwyn. She arrived promptly, bowing at the door before entering with a gaggle of junior administrators.

Theo pointed at several crates within the lab. Bombs, attribute potions, restoration potions. Prices are listed at the desk. Co on, Salire.

The alchemist dragged the shopkeeper out of the building by the arm, despite her objections. They found their way to a secluded section of town, far enough away to prevent the spread of any fires. Without my gravel yard, I need a new place to test explosive experints.

Explosive? Should I be worried?

Explosions are a part of this life, Salire, Theo said. It was hard not to smile at her. She was always so excited to explore new alchemy, then worried when they got to the part where things blew up. He placed a flask of liquor on the ground, then stepped back. Third tier suffuse potions. So, I often thought of those potions as third tier already so

Does this an youre going to craft a fourth tier potion?

I guess we could think of it like that. Maybe third and a half? No, this batch is strictly third tier. Were going to bind two second tier essences, then brew them into a suffuse potion. This is sothing else entirely.

Let see if I understand the plan. Were experinting to see if we can make an [Unbound Enchanted Dilution] with two essences, which lets us brew third tier essences of either essence and uh we

Theo scratched his head. Yeah, were doing sothing else entirely. Were taking base essences and priming them to be only suffuse-made potions. We could distill each one on its own, then just bind it as a standard suffuse combination.

Seems like the result would be more powerful this way, Salire said with a nod. The potency would increase, because youre telling the essence what its going to be in the end.

That was a fun way to think about it. Since each essence, no matter how pure, had elents of another property from the base reagent, they were always imperfect. While a perfect potion didnt exist, if they tailored each step toward the suffuse route, the resulting [Hallow the Soil] potions would be more potent by default. It might also affect the speed that the suffuse potion brewed.

Phew! Theo mopped his forehead reflexively, but he was perfectly comfortable. He experienced the sensation of being in a humid environnt, but was perfectly content. His coat was paying for itself. He chugged a [Greater Vigor Potion], pausing for a mont as he felt himself beco significantly more tough, then proceeded with the experint.

Theo created an unbound dilution with both essences, then observed how they interacted when introduced to the alcohol. As he watched, he noticed how the Zee liquor acted as barrier between the two essences. They didnt want to react violently, as they were too busy being suspended in the solution. Both he and Salire stood back, expecting a violent reaction. But nothing happened.

Okay. We learned sothing.

We still need to distill it. And we need a seed sample of both third-tier essences.

But look, Theo said, holding the solution up. It has both properties. Success?

Success, Salire said, smiling softly. Back to the lab.

As annoying as it was, in order to make their special version of the suffuse potion, there was a lot of brewing to be done. It was too much work to get done before the monster wave, but that wouldnt stop the duo from trying. First, they needed to create [Unbound Enchanted Dilution] for both potion types. After that, they needed to distill the resulting [Bound Enchanted Dilution] to create third tier essences for both properties.

Salire operated in a supporting capacity, often pulling the pipes around from the [Internal Liquid Storage] feature to dispense liquor. Theo handled all the asurents for all ten stills, relying on his [Unstable Material Handling] ability to prevent disaster. They split the stills in half, five working on the [Sow] property, and five for the [Hallow Ground] property. The result would generate five-thousand units of [Bound Enchanted Dilution], which would result in five-thousand units of the final [Hallow the Soil] potion. If the potion ca out with the standard naming sche of [Greater Hallow the Soil] it was third tier. If it was any other na, it was fourth tier.

Theo went downstairs to help Gwyn with the adventurers. After sorting those needy people out, he left Salire to manage the stills so he could ward the walls. The alchemist was cutting it close, but both projects were important. He joined with Xolsa on the battlents, who was gazing off into the distance.

Busy day, Theo said, producing a bottle of [Mana Pills] from his inventory. He got to work, chanting the first layer of his [Defense] array.

Ah, your wards are improving, Xolsa said, pausing and waiting for Theo to respond. But the alchemist was chanting a complex spell, and didnt want to break his concentration. Right. I can feel the way youre lacing the magic over the wall. Since the wall is generated by the system, it's complex to interact with.

Xolsa had a lot of experience in ssing with system-generated things. Ever since he got his [Dungeon Engineers Core], he had delved head-first into that realm. And he was far better than Theo at it. One thing the alchemist had noted was how willful the walls were. He found the sa thing to be true with the integrated towers at the piers. Every layer of spellwork that was laid had to be done so expertly. It was like drawing a circle in chalk over a cracked sidewalk. Every line he made had to connect over those cracks, never breaking the form of the wards array.

Theo took a deep breath, popping a [Mana Pill] into his mouth and swallowing. One down. A million to go.

Youre not practicing as much as I would like, Xolsa said, tutting. But I suppose youre busy. You know, I always wanted you to look at the wards that Ive seeded throughout the swamp.

I have a feeling those wards are different. I doubt they work with Toruauns magic.

Theo felt Alex flying sowhere overhead. He focused on her for a mont, catching flashes of the ground below. Aarok had assigned her to keep an eye on the coast, making sure no interlopers ca to ruin their day.

Im learning plenty by just watching you. Dronon magic is strange, isnt it?

Why? Theo asked, waiting before he began the next ward.

Spells are typically cast through three modes. Chanting, somatic gestures, or channeled. Rember how I had you learn Axpashi? That is the language youre supposed to be chanting when you form a ward. But youre not drawing from raw magical energy, youre pulling from Toruauns realm directly.

That sounds problematic.

Its the problem with all aligned cores. I wonder can you feel Toruauns power as you channel?

Theo thought about that for a mont. He had been exposed to a lot of godly power. Ever since he arrived in this world, the area was so soaked with Drogramaths raw power that it was hard to tell what was normal. Even though he had ventured to Rivers and Daub, he still felt the lingering effects of that energy on his body. When he drew from his [Toruaun Mages Core], he felt sothing.

Shes so subtle, Theo said, shaking his head. Its like feeling for that one spot of warm water in an icy stream. I can sense it for a mont, but no longer. It slips through my hands before I realize which gods power is flowing through .

That might be a problem caused by your patron. Drogramath. How does it feel being a champion?

Once again, Theo was reminded that he had always been a champion. He didnt know what it was like to be a normal Drogramathi Alchemist, so he couldnt say. Id bet that was the problem. Wisdom of the Soul agrees.

Xolsa nodded, fiddling with his robes. Speaking of. I was wondering if you could make one of those for .

A soul potion? Which one?

Intelligence, of course.

Absolutely. Give three to four days.

At your leisure.

Theo turned his attention back to the wall. At least Xolsa was mad that he hadnt been keeping up with his magical studies. It was hard enough juggling his other cores, let alone one that needed such intensive research. The alchemist fell into a rhythm in his chanting, finding it easier to weave the complex wards by the hour. Before he knew it, the monster wave was ready to kick off.