The next evening, I wake up with a start. Looking around I think… yesterday is a bit of a blur near the end. I’ve let my room become a little messy too… I’ve got pile of books that I’ve read or need to read. There just isn’t enough time in the day.

Going through the notes on the floor I guess I wanted to remake a battery? I mean I guess I can make it, the main issue with compounds at the moment is when performing alchemy you can’t change something down to the individual atom. Instead, you will have to find a method to separate them first. Thankfully I have a solution for this.

I scrounge around in the notes for a bit until I find the ink transmutation circle, I’d made the previous day. Once I find it, using what I remember from yesterday I create another new transmutation symbol. This one has the star barely there for all the tips except for water and within the middle there is the atomic shape of C17 H19 N O3. Then in the part of the triangle that signifies water I separate the parts hydrogen and oxygen along with the denoted charges. In the earth star end I draw Carbon creating hexagon carbon chains. Finally, I write in the naturally occurring N2 which is found in the air. I think that should be enough, right?

Taking my new transmutation circle, I slap it on the side of the pitcher. What most people don’t know is that water is in a constant flux of charges. The oxygen has such a strong pull it sometimes steals the hydrogen from one of the other water molecules. This creates an acid and a base, typically they almost immediately rejoin and restabilize. But what if you force them to stay apart?

Then you would have an acid and a base easily available. Acids work on the principle of really wanting to give away their extra H+ to something else. So much so that they break down substances by forcing the hydrogen in, so they don’t have to have it anymore breaking bonds and making them unbalanced as well. How is this beneficial? Well since they can break bonds, I can use them to break down a substance then use Alkahestry to force the combination from the resulting goop into what I want. There are probably easier methods such as burning substances or specific chemicals that I could mix in order to allow for the creation of what I need. But with this method allows me to do it in larger quantities at once with lower effort.

Lightning starts going around the pitcher. I pour in the well of ink and stir the pitcher in a circle as I concentrate on what is going on inside. It doesn’t take long before I finish making what I want.

Looking down at the pitcher I frown though… now how do I get it out from all the other crap? Uh I guess I can change the shape while it’s sideways right? So, pouring slightly I can break the surface tension with only the substance and separate the liquids.

“Young master what are you doing? I’ve noticed that you have been doing quite a bit of Alkahestry.” Turning around I notice Su looking at what I’m pouring very intently.

“Ah well this is a pain medication, it’s called morphine. Highly addictive but also easy to make with just charcoal water and an airy environment. I’d like to start making some for sales for our clan.” She comes over and looks at the substance. Considering I’m pouring a clear substance out of a solid black container that is sparking with green lightning she looks mildly interested.

“Pain medication though? Why that in particular?” Once the glasses are full she picks up the glass. Swishing it around.

“Just the first thing I happened to think of. It requires only a small amount injected in into the bloodstream. Alternatively with a bit of time I can make a tablet form. I just need to find the correct structure for it with some binders I know. I don’t know what one would work best off the top of my head.”

“How much should be tested?”

“Try someone out on… oh right measurement system. I think it’s 6 Orils? It’s highly addictive and causes euphoria and other symptoms.”

“But… young master how did you come up with it?” She pours out a small amount of the substance into a flask and corks it.

“I’m reading all those books all day for a reason. I was just finally shown how to perform Alkahestry. I’d have probably been able to do more sooner if you guys had just let me learn.” I frown at her.

“Fine fine… I’m going to go test this with some… volunteers I will inform you of the results.” I nod my head. “Thank you Su I appreciate it just don’t give them too much it can be deadly in higher dosages.” It’s likely going to be used on prisoners first, to insure it doesn’t kill then a few minor stress tests. It’s fairly common procedure here in Xing.

I was actually surprised that we very rarely have the death penelty here. Instead, prisoners can choose to either be subjected to Alkahestry testing to reduce sentence time or they are thrown out of the country and told they can live their lives in some other country, but if they return then we will hunt them down. It’s fairly effective at making all our enemies have more problems to deal with, while also sometimes establishing good will with a chaos agent in another country. It’s not ethical but it’s definitely effective.

“Your lab room has been set up. Lunch is currently being served. Shall I send for someone to bring it to you in there?” Nodding I stretch and start gathering up notes and head off for the new room. It’s just down the hall, not too far, it actually looks like it’s seen recent use. So they probably kicked out someone that had been using it until now so I have easier access.

“Haaaa this is nice. Now I can just read and experiment with glee. It shouldn’t take too long until I have some more modern stuff set up. I don’t know the chemical structures for everything but there are a few different things that I know the general information for and can easily make… Hmm I don’t know how to make a computer though outside of my expertise. Radios shou-… Wait a moment, radios?” I start on my next major project getting carried away into the late night. Su trying to drag me off to bed no matter how much I try to fight her off she finds her way inside.

I keep up with my experiments for the next I want to say couple of months. Only coming out for practice with Su in my Chi sessions and servants delivering food and books to my lab. In this time, I’ve picked up a new skill. It seemed worth it considering how much Alkahestry depends on visualization and understanding while developing something.

Engineering level 1

Description: Improved crafting process speed of things you have made previously by up to level %

Not sure how it really works, I think I chose the wrong profession skill too considering the level is going up so slowly despite all the projects I’m working on. It just seemed like the closest one to creating scaffolding and 3-D printing or to help make the machines I need to make other materials. Regardless after I’ve made something once, the process just naturally sort of falls together to be made slightly faster. The molecules just falling slightly more naturally into where I want them, or the set-up process just comes together more easily. I tried messing around with it, but it doesn’t work if I’m not actively trying to craft at a moderate pace. This is likely why it says, ‘up to level %’.

Besides the new skill there have been a few more poisoning attempts but at this point I sort of welcome it. I have access to my lab to make any antitoxin I need and at level 25 it opened up poison detection. Now I typically know before I poison myself and the pain keeps me awake while I work and levels up my poison resistance skill. If anything, I spend more time in my lab then my room now, so a few of the attempts on my life have been dodged by accident. The number of attempts has gone up lot recently, likely due to my recent contribution to the clan’s success. Not that it really matters, I don’t want to be emperor anyways at most I’ll just ask to be emperor for 10 minutes before giving it to the next person. It just seems like the kind of thing that would give me a new title.

I’m in the middle of putting some additional touches on one of my newer projects, a facemask that has a few tricks worked in when someone knocks on the door. That’s odd… Su doesn’t knock she just walks in.

“I’ll be right there!” I stop concentrating with my gloves one of the projects of convenience that has the ink and carbon transmutation circles etched into them. I turn off the fire that I was burning underneath the fabric and open up the door. Outside is a very upset mom.

“Young man, I have not seen more than a glimpse of you in the last couple of months. Do you have any idea what this weekend is?” I take a long blink at her. I lift my arm and sniff myself.

“Bath day? Sorry mom I’m not sure what you are referring to.” Her frown deepens.

“Emperor long may he lives birthday?” Another stab in the dark. I don’t know what day it is I’ve been locked in a room most days with little to no sleep the times started to blend together even with perfect memory. I could probably figure it out if my mental self-searched and rewatched the memories since the last time I noticed the calendar but that’s a bit of a hassle.

“No young man, it’s your birthday party. Thanks to all of your contribution it’s in our best interest to establish connections with larger clans and start making our play to have you become the number one candidate for being the next emperor.” She looks down on me blooming and swooning side to side at the idea.

“Uh… I don’t want to be though... I just want to keep pushing the bounds of Alkahestry, to see what I can do…” Looking over at her she just gives me a stunned look.

“What do you mean you don’t want to be next in line?” The idea just seems absolutely unfathomable to her.

“I mean I just don’t want to be next in line for emperor let one of my siblings take the seat. I’ll be it for a couple of minutes then give the seat to someone else.” I wave her off and start to go back inside my lab.

“Don’t just wave me off! Hey, Jiang I’m talking to you!” She starts following me inside then just stops and stares at everything set up in my room. It may be a little… messy.

“Is that… a bed?” She points in the corner where I’d changed a lounge chair into a makeshift bed for naps.

“I mean… regardless I’ll go to this party but I don’t want to compete with my siblings. Just let me advance our clan and country in my own way.” With that I start the flame back up and start working on making the carbon weave using the smoke like before.

“But… but they might feel threatened by you and attempt to get rid of you…”

“Alright, let them. I’m immune to most poison and assassins would need to break into my lab to try to kill me.”

“You can’t just… immune to poison? Is that a Chi thing? I never really went into all of that. Um well… I cannot deny you have helped the clan a lot… Just I want you to think about it okay?” Mentally I’m getting hit aside my head by both Haru and Shimada for ignoring my mom. Turning to look at her she looks conflicted.

I kind of feel bad. I do care about her but I’m not hurting her by not putting my bid in for becoming emperor. With a sigh I turn off the flame again and give her a hug.

“I’m sorry… don’t think I don’t love you still… just I want to contribute in my own way.” I feel her nod into my shoulder.

“I know dear… just I’m worried for your safety. I… I can cancel your party if you… if you think it’s useless…” I almost say yes before Shimada and Haru continue their assault.

“No… No go ahead with the planning no reason to waste all the preparations you’ve made.” Pulling back, I smile at her. She clears up her eyes and we give our goodbyes for now since I was in the middle of something.

Mentally

Haru and Shimada have me cornered in my chair.

Haru speaks up first. “Was that really so hard young man? Look at where actions like that got Shimada do you want to end up like him?” Shimada looks slightly offended but doesn’t counter the argument.

Shimada then coughs and starts himself. “Regardless, you should spend more time with your family. It may be competitive between you and your siblings but once they realize you aren’t competing then they won’t have any reason to be as upset right?” Letting out a long sigh… I guess they are right. I should spend more time with them. It’s just… there is so much interesting stuff to learn. Chi is so interesting but I’m starting to stagnate in my progress because of spending more time in my lab then practice too. Alkahestry is just so important that I can’t help but spend most of my time on it. I just need more time…

“You guys are right… I’ll need to start setting aside more time for family.” They go out back to the white space to leave me to my work. -sigh- this is all so difficult, I open up my skill menu again.

Name: Jiang Du

Titles: Prodigy, (empty)

Age: 8 year 362 days

Carried over skills: Rebirth, Mindscape, Unseen Eye, Treatment+

Health status 100/100

Afflictions: Sleep deprivation, Malnutrition, Fatigue

Inventory: Empty, Empty, Empty

Current skills

Reading lvl 49 (Inborn skill) Chi manipulation lvl 49 Disease resistance lvl 85 Poison Resistance lvl 40 Engineering lvl 10 Empty Empty

Hmm I only have two slots left… But there is a pretty easy solution to get more time. Looking through the options another skill I’ve been tempted to get really stands out to me, sleep resistance. It’s probably a waste of a slot. I’d have no real reason to get it in other worlds or if I get a high enough endurance, I can last a couple of days without sleep. But I still haven’t received any quests this life… Haaaa Either that or I can pick up Pain resistance instead… that would help with the Chi manipulation though it’s supposed to get easier as I grow older anyways. My growth spurt has already started tapering off. So, it may become easier from now on.

I just feel like I’m forgetting something… another skill or… oh right. Inventory huh… why haven’t I played with that yet? It seems like something somewhat important afte- ACK!

Looking down the fire I’d been working over had heated up the mask until it started to burn without my notice. “Gah there goes another one. I need to stop getting distracted.” I toss the offending mask into the corner of the room in a small pile of clothes that have formed.

“Really though why haven’t I tried it out yet?” Turning off the flame I move over to my workstation and pick up a random hunk of metal from my attempt at making a modern gun from images of a memory.

“Alright, how do I do this…” I concentrate really hard on it, thinking of the word inventory. After about 10 minutes of looking like an idiot I’m pretty sure that’s not it.

“Okay next up…” After some time messing around I get to another random phrasing attempt.

“Store slot 1, nope. Store slot 1 inventory.”

Ding~

30:00

29:59

…

“Oh okay… so there is a timer effect.” I wait out the 30-minute duration before the hunk of metal falls apart into dust in my grasp vanishing into nothingness.

“Alright, let’s see…” Sure enough in slot one is hunk of metal in my 1st slot.

“Okay, now to get it out, if that was the phrase to have it enter it’s likely. Remove slot 1 inventory.” The same timer pops up with a ghost like appearance of the item. I can grasp it but any real force breaks through. “Ah this is so I can plan for where it appears when it comes out, handy.” Setting the ghost like form on the table beside me I start working on other stuff. Once the timer runs out, the dust from before assembles into the shape of the metal from before.

“Okay, so it may have a long-time delay, but it can still be useful for storage purposes.” I test it out on a backpack full of items next. Sure, enough it still only takes up one slot despite being full of items.

“Okay, convenience for ease of carry, not bad. I wonder if I’ll be able to carry these items over to the next world…” Next up I stress test it. I grab one of the massive drums I made to make gallons of liquid. The timer starts but…

Ding~

200:00:00

Okay… so the amount of time correlates to either weight or size. Next attempt. I take my hand off after the timer started and it went away, stopping the store time. Starting again restarts the time needed.

“Okay… next test.” I put my hand up in the air and attempt to store it.

Ding~

00:01

I feel a slight suction before it ends. Placing my hand into some water I start the process of releasing the air and it’s just a few bubbles. Likely the surface area of my hand in air.

“Okay not that useful for gases… likely the same result with liquids outside of a container.”

While interesting… For now, it’s not all that useful. I’ll get a clock later and see how time moves in there but otherwise I’ve got more important stuff to work on before the weekend.

Letting out a yawn I start getting back to work on my face mask from scratch again. I'll uh I'll take that bath later. I've got some time before the party...