Episode 9 - Eyes Ablaze

"Yawn!"

I stretched, loosening my stiff body.

While I was at it, I'd read through the rest of the magic books in one go.

'Learning magic this easily? This is insane. Completely nuts.'

Back when I was a mage for the slave caravan, I'd slaved away just to pick up a single spell verse or incantation.

And what did I end up mastering? The slave imprint spell.

That one trick kept me fed and alive, scraping by.

Of course, it took me nearly a year to learn even that.

But now? In one night—no, a few hours—I'd already picked up two spells.

Even I had to admit it was ridiculous.

Any other mage witnessing this would weep blood.

They'd rack their brains for months on one spell, maybe bribe a senior mage for a scrap of knowledge if they were lucky.

Yet here I was, mastering two in a flash.

Magic fused with my hunter abilities seemed limitless.

Sometimes, even I got scared of my own potential.

'But... this one's intriguing.'

A smile tugged at my lips as I finished the last magic book.

Preservation Imprint was a spell that maintained an object's state.

A kind of preservation magic, you could say.

"If I apply this..."

I muttered to myself, then glanced at Lena.

She was still fast asleep.

'Must be exhausted.'

I quietly got up.

Scanning the room, I spotted a small lab setup.

"Didn't expect this."

It made sense for a room assigned to a mage.

But the facilities were better than I'd thought.

'Time to test them out.'

I was itching to try the new spells.

Especially Preservation Imprint—paired with enchanting, it could yield some fun results.

"Oh? Preservation Box, huh..."

The blueprint that popped up looked promising.

It utilized Preservation Imprint.

"This looks solid."

I had a magic stone from the kobold.

Materials were plenty.

The materials floated into the air.

The magic stone emitted a blue glow as it broke down.

"This... a refrigerator? No, better than that?"

The finished box exceeded expectations.

'Jackpot.'

I'd thought fridge, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but no.

Unlike a fridge, it created permanent preservation.

Combined with Hand of Purification, food would auto-cleanse, massively extending shelf life.

My current space pouch? Food rotted eventually.

This was a whole different beast.

Plus space expansion—I hadn't expected that.

Probably the magic stone's doing.

'Upgrade it more, and it could replace the space pouch.'

The pouch had limits anyway.

Then I recalled what Stain, the territory's 2nd-class mage and alchemist, had said.

"Can you enchant potions?"

That sparked a thought about potions.

Stain's potions.

'What if I imprint Preservation Imprint on a potion? Or other spells?'

Just imagining it was thrilling.

But not the time yet.

'First, secure our position...'

Priority: gauge the situation here.

Why the bandit raid? What's happening in this territory?

Safety first.

If the territory's too risky or unsalvageable, bail.

I'm no hero saving fiefs.

Don't care to be.

Hunter days taught me that lesson plenty.

"Yawn..."

Fatigue hit as thoughts swirled.

Time for bed.

'Start for real tomorrow.'

Even closing my eyes, my mind raced.

But the soft bed pulled me under fast.

A deep, proper sleep for once.

Morning broke.

Sunlight filtered through the window; Lena was up first, tending to the Sunogi and gear.

"I'll prepare breakfast..."

"No need. Got other plans today. Eating out's fine."

I cut her off.

She didn't need to wait on me anymore.

"First, scope out the territory."

I muttered, half to myself.

The bandit raid wasn't simple looting.

'Aura User, plus a mage.'

Not your average bandits.

Some other agenda.

"Hm?"

An unexpected blueprint surfaced.

As if it read my mind.

'This could be useful.'

Reminded me of recon drones from hunter days.

This doll seemed similar.

"But not now..."

Materials were the issue.

No mid-grade magic stone yet.

'Other ways first.'

Plenty of methods to scout.

Simplest? Legwork.

"Lena, shall we head out?"

"Yes, Theo-nim."

Stepping out of the research wing, morning air felt fresh.

But a familiar voice cut in.

"Heading out already this morning?"

It was Stain.

His eyes burned with that same enthusiasm.

Clearly dying to experiment.

"Just looking around the territory."

"In that case... would you stop by my potion workshop?"

"Workshop?"

Potions, as expected.

Not a bad deal for me.

"Sure. I'll drop by."

Stain's workshop was in the research wing basement.

"I brew potions here! Baron funded some nice gear."

Facilities looked decent, as he said.

But something else caught my eye.

'That...'

Recipes scattered on the desk.

Detailed potion formulas.

Sloppy security.

Messages piled up.

I'd unintentionally swiped Stain's recipes.

'Not industrial espionage... sorry, Stain.'

He probably figured no one could make them even with recipes.

Potings aren't just recipes; skill matters.

But me? Hunter system made recipes enough.

'Gotta make it up to Stain...'

Felt bad, but I couldn't help smiling.

Don't refuse invites to other mages' workshops anymore.

Unexpected bonuses like this.

"What if we enchant a potion? Possible?"

Stain asked cautiously.

"Not sure, but worth a shot."

His eyes lit up at my reply.

Curiosity hit me too.

'This could get fun.'

Potions plus magic.

Thrilling combo.

With hunter powers? Unpredictable results.

"Like this..."

Experiments kicked off in Stain's workshop.

Her potion skills impressed.

"Potions lose potency over time. So I wondered... magic to fix that?"

I nodded.

Same idea.

"Try Preservation Imprint?"

"Preservation? You learned that?"

Stain stared, shocked.

Realized my slip.

Got too carried away, revealed too much.

Spilled milk now.

"Yeah, from a magic book. As an enchanter, seemed useful."

"I see. But on potions?"

His focus stayed purely on potions, thankfully.

"Let's try."

I examined the potion he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handed over.

Red liquid in a vial.

Recovery potion.

Advanced item bumped proficiency nicely.

Good progress.

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, seems so..."

Effects displayed on the potion.

Totally transformed.

Stain couldn't check instantly like me, so he ran tests.

His alchemist methods for gauging.

Potion expert through and through.

"I-Incredible! It works! This is a revolution!"

Stain whooped after checking.

Exceeded his wildest dreams.

"Permanent effects! With this potion..."

For some reason, his eyes blazed fiercely.