[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 172 - Potion scheme

Raiko dashed past a charging Cinderblood, its ponderous steps chewing up dirt.

Its flaming branches swept after her, trailing embers. She rolled beneath them, and sprung up already running.

Raising her arm, Raiko readied [Glyph: Pull]. A golden vortex swirled about her splayed hand. The invaluable [Flame Blossoms] rustled on the Cinderblood Treants’ countless branches, resisting just briefly the call. Then the blossoms were pulled towards the Ninja through a gravitational force-like effect.

Several of the monsters were lured to this section of the [Cinderwood Tile]. The gathering would make good use of a single cast of [Glyph: Pull].

The creatures didn’t seem to care much for Raiko, whereas they were quite subservient to Sam. She wasn’t sure why that was, but there would always be time later to investigate the exact cause.

And more importantly, how to replicate the transformation of another Tile and its monsters.

Snatching up the gathered ball of alchemical reagents, the [Flame Blossoms] singed Raiko even through her gauntlets as she shoved them into her Inventory.

A particularly brazen Cinderblood raised its many limbs, preparing a stronger hammer-like attack and then pummeled the ground where Raiko just was.

The monsters weren’t necessarily dumb, but neither were they the smartest. Even the mandragora were noticeably more intelligent than these Treants.

Still, even she couldn’t see through the cloud of smoke and dust the attack unleashed. Fortunately, she previously banked a considerable amount of Wind mana into her scarf, so breathing was of no difficulty at all.

With the crafting ingredients successfully harvested and some more Alchemy Experience gained, Raiko took off with speed, heading out of the [Cinderwood Tile]. The monsters gave chase, but only so far.

The fact that the monsters wouldn’t leave their Tile was one of the most exploitable commands Sam had given them.

They could effectively be messed with, and the monsters wouldn’t come out of the Tile to hunt anybody down. Not that their kingdom made a habit of that. Raiko didn’t even directly attack any of the Cinderbloods.

They were, as Komachi would say, especially spicy sometimes.

For her Alchemy Quest, she was going to need more than just those [Flame Blossoms].

From there, Raiko headed towards the [River Tile]. While there were various streams woven across the Skyshard, they were far more ordinary than what the [River Tile] had to offer.

In fact, Matt and Lenal were already searching the river banks, looking for new crafting resources to collect.

The underground cavern, of which nobody had a proper name for yet, was running low on those [Ore Boulders]. There was more to gather deeper below, but those resources weren’t as easy to acquire.

After Lenal investigated the [Ore Boulders], she surmised that the minerals would naturally regenerate over time. That in itself was an amazing feat, that even stone and metal could grow just like plants.

It was just one of the many little signs that reminded Raiko to keep a more open mind towards the changes in this new Ascended world.

Old Islegard had practically been in an inverse condition. Crops struggled to grow across nations and kingdoms, keeping populations lower than they should have been in a world with magic.

The eastern continent actually began to starve until the Sacred Tree unleashed a miracle, reversing the blight. That had been one of her fist acts as Sage, of which she didn’t deserve the full credit for.

It wasn’t like a Dream Incarnate could ever create a wellspring of life. Only awaken it through ingenuity.

Whereas now the Lesser Shardrune, the multiverse that both Earth and Islegard joined, was fertile with far more than just foodstuffs. Mana was abundant, seemingly saturating all things.

If not for the apocalypse, whole civilizations might have trended toward utopias. Now, it was a survival of the fittest.

The means of Ascension wasn’t quite what Raiko previously understood. What the rest of the Second Layer would be like was wrapped up in a shroud of mystery.

She looked forward to finding out. But Raiko just wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on, so the future was clouded in uncertainty when it once had been so bright.

Going without Haman was taking a toll. She worried deeply about him. Her soul felt torn between two places. And it practically was. That’s how soul companions worked.

They made you stronger, but in turn, you needed them. Soul aeder were so rare, even on old Islegard, that the myths weren’t clear what would happen if one’s soul companion was lost.

As if such a thing was unthinkable. Impossible.

She missed the dullahans being out and about, always on hand to fill whatever task was needed. With them on guard, Raiko felt their settlement was considerably safer. Now every day was a risk, and it wasn’t ever wise to go out onto the Skyshard alone.

She didn’t necessarily take them for granted, but they had been pushed too hard. There was no denying that.

It broke her heart that they had been fighting to the death to protect that crystalline creature. It wasn’t in a dullahan’s nature to flee at the cost of another’s life. They basically didn’t have a choice but to fend off that dinosaur and the Treants.

It had been a battle of attrition, with that Tile continuously respawning monsters while their companions were down.

Matt crouched by the river, pulling out [Water Crystals] from beneath the glistening surface. “Not bad. Uncommon rarity too. Just small though.”

“Running low?” Raiko asked.

He started and nearly fell into the river. “Way to sneak up on a guy! When’d you get here?”

“Not long. Didn’t mean to startle you.” She arched a curious brow at him. She didn’t have [Stealth], so he must tunnel his attention when gathering.

To be fair, the action did require a lot of focus, even gathering elemental crystals. Very rarely, you could gain a critically successful gathering attempt. It seemed to dole out even more Experience and a greater harvesting yield.

Raiko hadn’t seen it once. Her ability to concentrate was suffering.

Too bad they hadn’t been able to find another vein of crafting crystals yet.

“Eh, it’s fine,” Matt said. “But yeah, I use quite a bit of the crystals to temper Artisan Orbs. I don’t know how you go with so little.”

“Clearly our Sage is a prodigy,” Lenal said proudly, puffing out her lackluster chest.

“Different recipes, I think.” Raiko walked along the river, looking for more. “Matt’s doing poisons. I’m doing anything but that. Besides, my concoctions blow up far more frequently, so perhaps I’m not so gifted as you think.”

Matt glowered at that. “Aren’t you trying high level recipes?”

“Yes, technically,” Raiko admitted. She didn’t particularly care for moderation when it came to progression. The heightened Experience gains for managing high level recipes was too tempting to pass up.

It was possible Raiko might have been leveling up faster if she just tried recipes that were more in line with her Profession’s level, but hindsight was far clearer than the present’s insatiable ambitions.

Besides, she was after a specific potion that would be exceptionally useful. If only her Alchemist could climb past level 10.

The recipe’s level was still beyond her means, and the ingredients were difficult to come by, anyway. So much so, it was worthy of a Quest.

Matt threw up his hands and slinked further downriver.

With Lenal’s assistance, Raiko collected dozens of [Water Crystals]. Most of them were growing within the waters itself, sticking out between pebbles and the like. When submerged, they suspiciously blended in with the environment.

You gather (7) [Water Crystals].

You gather (1) [Earth Crystals].

You gather (9) [Water Crystals].

You gain greater Alchemy Experience for your successful gathering attempts!

Level Up!

Your Alchemy Profession reaches Level 9.

+5 Arcane | +4 Resonance | +3 Control

+3 Mind

The invigorating rush of more stats was a welcoming reprieve. It made Raiko feel more grounded, and less like she was going to fade away overnight.

Lenal brightened considerably. “Congrats!”

Apparently, the relief was plain on her expression. “Thanks.”

That was the one good thing about gathering. It wasn’t as effective as crafting for accruing Experience, but it provided some all the same.

Sam was quite a bit higher than everybody else. While he did have a natural gift for Blacksmithing, it was more than that. Even though he was missing out on gaining Experience from mining those [Ore Boulders], dedicating his time to smelting ingots was just a more efficient use of his time.

He could finish up an ingot, and move immediately onto the next one, without having to put out his forge and venture out onto the Skyshard to collect more materials.

Essentially, everyone’s working theory was that crafting earned greater amounts of Experience than gathering did. The ratio was even more in the former’s favor when downtime was accounted for.

You couldn’t repeatedly gather in succession like you could with a slew of ingots, potions, or lumber. Additionally, moving between resource points and having to find them all contributed to stretches where you just weren’t gaining Experience.

Naturally, the group wanted to maximize the amount of energy spent on crafting, rather than gathering. But without anyone to trade with, or deep reserves of supplies, it was a necessary evil.

Going out to gather also doubled as patrols. It was easy to spot any Skyshards getting too close to theirs. Days ago, they had long since left that dinosaur infested one behind once the Mana Engine got up and running.

Raiko motioned at something odd within the [River Tile]. “Lenal, please check that out with your skill.”

“Even though I’ll destroy it?” the elf asked sheepishly.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine. It doesn’t look like a [Stardust Fragment].”

“What if it is?”

“Then I’ll double-murder you,” Raiko said bluntly, her voice turned deep and menacing.

The joke didn’t seem very convincing, but Lenal went ghost-white and began to stammer. “D-double?”

“It’s when your body gets murdered, and then I get your rising spirit, too.” Raiko couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m kidding! Relax.”

Lenal nervously reached her slim hand through the water and rested it upon what looked like a bunch of crystals grown together. The item burst into countless motes of light.

“Ah, it’s a [Water Cluster]!” Lenal cried.

“You mean, was,” Matt pointed out.

“Y-yes, well…”

“What’d you learn?” Raiko prompted the Analyst eagerly.

The elf’s eyes lit up. “Clusters are greater concentrations of elemental mana. More likely to form upon higher level Skyshards with Tiles that are suffused with that element. Quite useful for higher difficulty recipes, I should think!”

“Huh, too bad I haven’t found one yet,” Matt said with a shrug.

“Oh, there’s actually quite a few down this river alone,” Lenal explained. “They’re easy for me to find now.”

“Excellent! The wonders of the Analyst Profession.” Raiko motioned for Lenal to lead the way. “Let’s go get them then.”

The river forked here and there, but there were a few more [Water Clusters] to find. They split the findings between them, particularly since Water mana wasn’t much use for Sam’s Blacksmithing.

From there, the search went on for [Stardust Fragments]. The nomenclature was a bit odd to Raiko, but all she had to go by was the Alchemy Quest that mentioned them being a key ingredient in creating the special potion.

The crystalline creature flew out between a set of moss-covered boulders, struggling to haul a bag full of lumps on its tiny wings. Presumably another ore run for Sam.

That caught Raiko’s interest. Going over, she saw a tiny passage beneath the boulders, far too small for any of them to fit. Komachi probably could, and then she’d get immediately lost.

“So that’s where the little guy has been getting his loot,” Matt said.

“Maybe. Could be one of many spots,” Lenal pointed out.

Sweeping her senses through her spirit, Raiko assessed that she had enough energy between the Tree and herself to practice some Sculpting.

Glyphs igniting gold, Raiko smoothly shaped the stone and earth away from the passage, unveiling layer by layer until it was a proper cave.

Within was a treasure trove of crafting ingredients.