Thresh slowly starts her work, a tentative hand reaching for the first of her tools, setting it into place beside the flower before setting her cauldron off to the side. After every movement she turns to look back at the flower, as if to reassure herself it’s still there, before fastidiously placing every piece of gear right where it needs to be.

“I can do this.” She says, her whisper carrying through the hollow chamber. She closes her eyes and makes small rhythmic movements, something to soothe her nerves by the look of it, a form of meditation.

The rest of us are still conversing casually by the entrance to the room, but all focus is quietly directed towards Thresh in the centre of the room.

This is her moment. She will either prove herself with her work, or she’ll fail, but I dare say that she’ll consider it failure if even a single drop of dew is wasted. There is nothing for us to do but watch.

“You’re not sad?” Vii asks Misty, bouncing on her talons as she nervously watches our alchemist at work. “You tended the flower didn’t you, protecting it up until now? Why didn’t you make a whole field of them? That way it wouldn’t be as sad right now.”

“So many questions pursued all at once.” Misty chuckles to himself. “This flower has lived long enough to see its natural cycle brought to an end, new life will be born from it, from the seed that’s to be planted. There’s no need to grieve such a moment, it has lived for so long reaching for this end. It’s not as if it’s to be trampled and crushed a few days before flowering. This is a good end

“As for your question of a garden. While I have protected this little flower, I did not plant it. It was simply a weed, growing in the corner of my home, but a pretty weed that I let live. I have no want to build a garden.

“Rather, isn’t it the more beautiful for standing here alone?” Misty asks. “I think so at least.”

“It’s a bit lonely.” Vii says scrunching her face up.

“There is much beauty in loneliness.” Misty replies, but for the first time since our arrival he seems less than genuine.

Thresh steals back my attention as she finally starts her work, her preparations perfectly laid out on the ground by the side of the flower. Her cauldron already bubbling, filled up with some bright yellow base that she’s prepared in advance.

She suppresses all signs of nervousness, her movements swift and elegant as she gently rolls the dew off of the petals into a small cup.

While I can’t see it, I’m sure that the liquid contains considerably more power than the water we swam in before. Thresh is quick to add it to her bubbling cauldron, ensuring that every drop makes it into the mixture.

Taking up a long glass rod, she stirs the bubbling mixture.

As we watch, the liquid turns perfectly clear, but for the bright glow forming in my mana senses.

Flowing magic runs through Thresh’s hand, down into the cauldron, shifting and changing the mana within even as I watch. Stressing my mana senses, I gaze into the cauldron, slowly making out more details than I’ve ever seen before.

Distantly I notice a core shard floating into my mind, and my mana senses near instantly become much clearer, I embrace the change for however long it’ll last.

“What is she doing?” I whisper to Vii as I try to understand what it is that I’m seeing. The shifting, blending colours change as Thresh weaves her magic through them.

“Blending the mana attunements.” Vii replies. “She’s forging them into a magic spell and stirring it into a vortex to keep it from activating. It’s a bit tricky when you’re starting out, but not that bad when you’re used to it. Thresh… yeah, she’s pretty good at it. Talented, you know, but not talented, you know.”

“Better than you?” I ask, to which Vii nods easily.

“I only really mess about with it.” She admits again. “I can’t really… well healing potions and things like this are a bit beyond me at the moment. I do better at the theory.”

The mana in the cauldron takes on new colours, forming together into something more complete than before. No longer is it just an attunement, a vague leaning towards an effect, right now it’s more along the lines of a spell barely held back by the vortex it’s been shaped into. I imagine that the moment that cycling motion is broken the spell will take effect.

Thresh is quick in analysing the potion, ensuring that the vortex is holding before turning back towards the flower.

With delicate care, she plucks the white petals from the flower. There’s a weight to her motions, as if she’s preparing herself to lift something incredibly heavy, flinching so very slightly now and again. Even so, nothing is dropped, and nothing wasted.

She carefully lowers the petals into a large, clear bottle, filled with what looks like muddy water. She’s careful not to stir the mixture, the only ripples on the surface coming from the slowly drifting petals that sink into the muddy water.

Unlike the potion, this isn’t quite as spectacular a sight. I’m sure that there’s something happening within that I can’t make sense of, something that’s beyond my ability to see. It seems more like a tea infusion than any alchemy that I’m familiar with.

“What’s she doing?” I ask Vii.

“She’s infusing the liquid with the flowers mana.” Vii says, her attention drifting back around the room and back towards Misty and Adler who have started their own conversation to the side. “You know how corpses have trouble holding onto their mana over time? She’s letting the mana slowly escape from the petals in the same way, it’ll spread out into the liquid over time.”

“Why not boil it like a tea?”

“I mean, that’d work too, but it’ll probably make something slightly different because of the fire, heat, and maybe even the chemical reactions.” Vii shrugs. “It’s difficult to anticipate sometimes.”

“Makes sense, I guess.”

With the flower petals set aside to infuse in the muddy water, Thresh plucks what look to be tiny seeds from the top of the stalk. These seeds she sets aside in a smaller jar, careful not to mix them with anything else. The seeds probably hold onto their mana better than the rest of the flower, so they don’t need to be mixed right this moment.

Carefully pulling at the stalk, she tugs the rest of the plant free, the roots escaping the loose ice where it’s lived for who knows how long. Her face is tense as she holds up the plant, her hands quaking slightly from the effort.

Still, she refuses to slow down. She pinches the stalk and slowly drips the sap from it into a small glass bottle, watching it carefully and stoppering it quickly when she’s gathered all that she can from it. Maybe the bottle will help to keep the mana from diffusing? Unless she expects the sap to hold onto its mana without needing to take extra efforts to preserve it.

With just the crushed stalk, a few spare leaves, and the roots left, she pauses in consideration.

Finally, she takes up something akin to pruning shears, clipping the roots from the stalk with great effort. The blades have some difficulty cutting through the hard roots, likely the difference in mana density causing her trouble.

When she finally succeeds in cutting the roots off, she places them into a large bag filled with off-white powder. She’s carefully buries them into the powder before closing it and tying it off.

Now, all that’s left is the stalk and the leaves. She peels off the little leaves and cuts the stalk into smaller parts, each motion slow and taken with great effort. It seems the difference in mana density is causing her more trouble than I initially thought.

All these green parts she adds to a smaller bottle, filled with deep red liquid, almost the colour of blood. I can barely see the little green parts dissolving, disappearing into the mixture, their mana unravelling and darkening the fluid within.

“That was intense.” I say. Only a few minutes have passed but she’s already finished with the plant, leaving nothing but a few scattered shards of ice where the flower once was.

My words aren’t enough to steal her attention away from her work. She takes out one of the seeds that she collected, placing it carefully back into the ice pile before pouring some water over it, the liquid freezing over, sealing the little seed beneath.

“Are you finished?” I ask, looking over at her work, spread out over the ground.

“Not yet.” She says, returning to her cauldron with a collection of smaller bottles. “I have to bottle these, give me a moment.”

“Take however much time you need.” I say, letting her continue her work.

Taking out a strange ladle from her bag, she returns to the cauldron’s side and carefully stirs the magic within. The spinning magical vortex reacts to her motions, just as the mana inside me does when I’m working on a spell.

A clump of that magic separates from the larger mass, gathering into a smaller vortex inside the ladle, which Thresh pulls from the cauldron, carefully pouring it into one of the glass bottles before stoppering it.

The potion within still spins with the motion of the magic stored inside it, though the liquid loses its physical motion. It glows brightly in my mana senses, but when I shut myself off from that sense, all it appears to be is a small glass bottle of water, or something so close that it’s impossible to tell the difference.

Thresh takes her time carefully separating the magic into these small bottles, carefully tending to each and every one of them, until the cauldron runs dry. It’s interesting to watch, but I already know that I don’t have the patience to do this myself, one slip would ruin the entire batch of potions, and I’d have slipped more than once.

“I’m done.” Thresh sighs in relief, her arachnid body falling to the icy ground, her feet quivering. Her eyes are watering slightly, as she slowly massages her hands.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” I ask.

“I’m fine.” She says, though the tears are still running down her eyes. “It’s just… it was crystalline mana. Much, much more dense than I am, working with it is difficult. The mana friction, and how it resists me. It felt like I was lifting something heavier than my own body, while my fingers are being grated to the bone.”

“Ah…” My mouth makes sounds, but I really just don’t know what to say to that.

“I didn’t want to stumble and drop anything.” She says, shivering slightly as she looks back over her work with an eager smile. “But I did it. I did it, and I don’t think anyone else in class can make anything even close to any of this.”

“So you’re going to win that little competition your class is involved in?” I ask.

“I’d like to see any of those other brats do better than this. Yes, I’m going to win.” She says, her smile turning fierce as she continues to massage her fingers. “I just… I wish there were more. I wish I could see all the things this flower could have been made into.”

“It’s good to aspire for more.” Misty says. “Without that energy, you’ll stagnate and lose your path.”

“Like you have?” Eshya asks, “It’s not a criticism, but you’re not exactly being subtle about it. You’re living down in this lonely cave because you don’t know what to do now that you’ve been given a conscience.”

“Eshya, maybe you could say it a little nicer.” I suggest. “Though, if you do want to get out of this cave, I’d be more than happy to have you along. I’ll need to discuss things with Arduelle first but…”

“No, no.” Misty replies, shaking his massive head. “I’ve found my place here, and I have no reason to want for anything different. Your company is welcome today, and I wouldn’t begrudge exchanging messages, but I’m not wanting to leave.”

“That’s fine too.” I reply.

“Now, as good as your company has been, I’d rather some time in solitude. There is much that I’d like to think about.”

“We’ll leave you be to your hermit philosophising then.” I say, waving back to the unclear creature as I watch everyone gathering up.

Thresh takes a few moments to get everything together with everyone’s help.

“I wish you good fortunes in your endeavours. Just remember to focus on each step ahead, even should you falter, you can always stand back up again. The future you would seek is not so easily obtained, be ready to suffer for it.”

“I know, but I can’t afford to be timid anymore. I can’t waste so much time.” I reply with a smile, gritting my teeth as images of death float before my eyes. I still rely too much on being lucky. I’m sure even Misty here could kill one of us before I could stop him, if he couldn’t simply slaughter us all before we have a chance to fight back.

There’s a reason I still have an annihilation spell stirring in my chest, ready to be cast should it be needed.

“I hope you enjoy your hermit lifestyle, too.” I say backing away towards the tunnels that will lead us back to class. Back to Freid, another monster that could do us in if he ever wished to.

The misty wolf nods before turning away, and dissolving as we return back to the caves. It’s time to wind our way back towards the town, and hopefully return home before too much damage is done.

A message flares up, the marker on the back of my hand flashing slightly. I feel uneasy opening it.

“There’s been an incident.” Nel sends, which is an instant relief. So long as she’s still alive then it isn’t the worst case scenario.

“The mages broke in during the night. The wood weavers as Tkarn called them. We fought them back but there are two dead. Sharna and Kiol.”

One was a warrior, another was looking to be a crafter, a timid little thing. Both were collared beasts that I freed.

I barely even knew them in passing, but even so.

They’re mine.

“Are you okay?” Eshya asks, tilting her head to the side as she looks at me. “You’re breathing is a little tense.”

“We have some business to tend to when we return.” I say. “Keep your sword ready.”

The cold rage inside me starts to warm and then bubble. I can almost hear the gremlins screaming now, as I imagine the torture I’d like to inflict, but no… That’s not who I want to be. Torture is meaningless, and as harmful to me as to those I would see suffer.

I’m merciful.

They’ll get a quick end.

“Be ready for me when I return.” I send to Nel.

It’s time to set my foot forwards for the next step closer to my eventual goal. Unlike Misty, I don’t mind if I have to walk over a mountain of corpses to achieve my goal.

I will protect my people.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 1664 units

~Mana distribution:

Catagory Current Max. Defence 0% 66% Offense 0% 60% Mana Sense 92% 92% Recovery 0% 35% Gluttony 0% 29% Misc. 0% 42% Efficiency 92% 100%

~Favourited Skills:

-Chip Shredder

-Multi-mind

-Tag

-Mana surge movement

-Reactive defence

-Fire burst punch

-Annihilation magic

-Charged casting (Annihilation)

-Mana form flow fixer

-Branching magic

-Swimming