Potion Replication
"Gahhhh...."
"...Yuseong. You okay?"
Ever since returning to Rivil, Kir—who'd basically become a fixed party member, taking on quests with me half the time—looked at me with concern.
A few acid lizard corpses lay scattered at our feet, and neither of us had a scratch on us. Yet here I was, screaming in agony.
"I-I'm fine... Just practicing something my master taught me..."
"Something she taught you?"
"It's kinda tough, and every time I fail, my body feels like it's getting wrecked... It's a pain."
The first day back in Rivil, Karen had checked my skills and taught me a secret technique to save my life in future crises.
'Explosion Sword, right?'
The technique was called Explosion Sword. It involved instantly exploding mana clusters in your mana circuits, using that explosive force to gain overwhelming physical strength and speed, then channeling it straight into your swordsmanship.
To use it, I'd spent the last few days learning how to detonate mana—until my ears rang.
'She also taught me how to use the minimal amount instead of slamming in as much mana as possible...'
Thanks to that, my focus over the past few days had been separating the smallest amount of mana I could handle from my circuits and blowing it up.
Explosions at this scale wouldn't damage my mana circuits, but...
"Guh...!"
There was no avoiding the sharp jolt of pain every time the mana detonated inside my circuits.
'How the hell am I supposed to protect the circuits?'
Explosion Sword wasn't complete just by detonating mana. Naturally, exploding mana was insanely dangerous—one slip, and your circuits or even body parts could blow apart.
To use Explosion Sword, you had to coat your internal mana circuits with mana to protect them from the blast... or so Karen taught.
"Not working?"
"Yeah..."
I could separate a tiny bit of mana and detonate it successfully, but I was stuck on the coating concept and couldn't progress.
'It's been almost a month already.'
It had taken a whole month to learn the concept from Karen and succeed in detonating small amounts of mana.
In that time, I'd steadily trained my swordsmanship, taken C-rank quests to earn money—pretty fulfilling days, all told. But mastering 'Explosion Sword' remained at a standstill.
'Your mana control talent is decent enough. But... compared to your swordsmanship gift...'
Karen had said my physical talent was overwhelmingly impressive, but my mana handling was just "not bad." Unlike the physical prowess granted by Gula, this was my innate talent—so "not bad" was a blessing.
"Hoo..."
-Gulp!!
Maybe because I'd never hit a wall like this when learning before, frustration boiled over. I chugged the contents of the water bottle I always carried.
"Guhk...!!"
A vile mix of bitter, sour, and the cloying sweetness of haphazardly added honey assaulted my tongue—indescribably horrific. I grimaced but forced it down, savoring the taste and smell as best I could.
"Ugh... Yuseong, you're drinking that again?"
"Want a sip?"
"No way!!"
When I offered the bottle, Kir recoiled like she was having a fit. Ever since she curiously tried a sip last time, she'd been like this.
'I hate it too, but...'
The liquid I carried separately was my homemade green juice, brewed from whatever random herbs I could scrounge.
As many market-available herbs as I could buy, all thrown together—taste, look, everything was nightmarish.
Still, I tearfully chugged my DIY green sludge. Savoring every bit.
'Gotta practice now if I want to replicate elixirs later.'
I had one elixir from that dungeon ages ago. With my mana growing steadily, Karen advised saving it for when progress stalled—so I was holding onto it.
And when the day came to consume it, I planned to replicate it infinitely and keep dosing.
'I got lucky with the booze last time, but I succeeded replicating dwarf beer...'
I'd already proven I could replicate liquids beyond plain water, with all sorts of ingredients mixed in.
So, practicing for future elixir replication, I'd been replicating messy liquid mixes and potions.
'Better than just looking or touching—actually ingesting it is the surest way...?'
Did my digestion break down nutrients and such, boosting understanding? Replicating that dwarf beer had been easier than expected. Consuming something might be the best way to maximize comprehension.
'Plus, I need to max out my replication capacity as much as possible.'
That's why I'd been force-feeding myself tasteless green juice for a month straight.
Started with 2-3 ingredient mixes; now I could replicate those easily, so I was up to over 10 ingredients.
Progress was clear, at least.
"Ow."
"You hurt?"
As I swallowed the bile-inducing juice, Kir—trotting behind—winced and rubbed her forearm.
I stopped and checked: a gash across her forearm from the recent fight, probably grazed by an acid lizard's tooth.
"If you're hurt, say something."
"Hehe... I'm fine!"
"Sure you are... Here, drink."
"But potions are expensive..."
"Don't worry about that. Just drink."
I pretended to reach into my subspace pocket... and activated replication.
'Replicate.'
Replication power drained, and a familiar low-grade potion bottle appeared in my hand, sloshing.
Priced at 2 gold each. Couldn't heal serious wounds, but fixed minor ones instantly and stabilized major injuries. A lifesaver.
And now, I could replicate them freely.
'Took downing about five before I nailed it...'
Endless C-rank quests meant occasional injuries, so repeated potion use had yielded results.
Kir gulped the potion I shoved at her. Bubbles formed on her forearm gash, then it regenerated rapidly.
'Maintain... focus...'
Replication power kept draining even as she drank and healed.
Feeling the drain, I focused on her wound. Once smooth skin appeared, I waited a beat and released.
'Release.'
Drain stopped instantly. But her healed wound stayed healed.
'Don't know the exact mechanism, but releasing replication doesn't undo the healing already done...?'
Stopping mid-regeneration, though, left the wound half-healed.
I'd learned that capturing goblins for tests when I first could replicate potions.
Potions boosted the drinker's natural regeneration. So the healing came from their own regen—that why it stuck?
'Elixirs probably similar? If so, gotta maintain replication until effects fully settle—might need even more replication power...'
"Thanks, Yuseong!"
"Ah, yeah."
I accepted Kir's cheerful thanks for the infinitely replicable potion, gathered the acid lizard corpses, and headed back to Rivil.
"Yes. Twenty acid lizards total... Here's your 8-gold reward!"
This quest paid 8 gold total. Split with Kir, that's 4 gold for me.
'C-rank quests really bump up the pay.'
D-rank quests were mostly silvers. C-rank? Mostly gold rewards.
Intense questing the past month had netted a decent haul.
'Unlike other adventurers, no armor repair costs thanks to auto-repair, and potions are free...'
Others burned through maintenance fees proportional to earnings. I had overwhelming leeway.
But...
'Tch. Still not enough...'
Others might call it ungrateful, but I felt shortchanged.
'To summon the Forge of All Things again via Brina and chat, need something better than this ogre armor.'
Exclusive contract meant Brina made my gear free—but I supplied materials.
At least mithril-grade stuff, or rare monster parts from B-rank hunts...
'Even then, not guaranteed god-approved. Even dwarves can't whip up divine masterpieces on demand.'
Great to have a goal, but it felt impossibly distant now.
I vowed not to rush, but repeating the same routine for a month made impatience creep in.
'Better than before with zero leads...'
Human nature's sneaky. A month ago, just finding a lead on returning home thrilled me. Now? Craving faster ways.
Only other shot: chatting with gods besides the Forge. Even more impossible...
"Oh, and Yuseong?"
"Yes?"
Mid-brooding, the guild clerk who'd handed over the reward singled me out.
"A named request came in for you... Wanna see the details?"
"...Named request?"
Requests specifying a particular adventurer.
Why me...? Ah.
'I'm going to figure out what you are.'
"...Clarice."
"Huh?"
My muttering her name made Kir's ears perk up as she poked my back curiously, but a chill ran down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut.
'Here it comes...'
Recalling the blonde inquisitor who'd suspected me of being an evil god follower and choked me, I let out a deep sigh.