Chapter 295: Planning ahead

Rubbing his hands, Percy summoned his Status, eager to read all the recent changes.

___

Percival Avalon

Mana cores:

[Mana core 1

–

Orange

–

Soul]

[Mana core 2

–

Orange

–

Pure]

Bloodline:

[Clone]

: Create a copy of yourself. Effect varies by affinity.

Mutations:

[Sorcerer’s Eye]

– Draws from the cumulative knowledge listed in the Status to enhance one’s vision, allowing them to discern details previously unseen.

Spectral trait:

[Weaving]

: Boosts one’s proclivity in manipulating one-dimensional structures.

Spells:

[Concussive Blast: Crude]

[Secret Art: Soul Resonance: Refined]

[Spectral Art: Soul Stitching: Refined]

[Wild Art: Greater Foresight: Refined]

[Wild Art: Grim Dance: Refined]

[Spiritforged Effigy: Refined]

[Soul Conversion: Refined]

[Soul Harvester: Refined]

[Reinforcement: Refined]

[Synchronization: Refined]

[Spectral Art: Phantomscale Regalia: Masterful]

Alchemic principles:

[Extraction]

: Separate and condense an ingredient’s essence.

[Pacification]

– Delay an ingredient’s activation rate.

[Redirection]

– Adjust an ingredient’s effect.

[Deattunement]

– Prevent multiple conflicting ingredients from reacting with one another.

[Bonding]

– Enrich an ingredient with crystallized pure mana.

[Restructuring]:

Alter an ingredient's phase.

Decrees:

[Phoebe’s Decree]

: Grants access to your Status.

[Iapetus’s Decree]

: Grants a bloodline.

[Moirais’ Decree]

– Grants a second mana core.

[Metatron’s Decree]

: Open a one-way portal to the Vault of Magic at will.

[Ea’s Decree (Modified)]

– Augments and enhances your Status. Grants the Sorcerer’s Eye.

___

‘It keeps getting longer… But I suppose that’s a good thing…’

Shrugging, he shifted his gaze to the newest additions.

Strictly speaking, there were only two of them: Concussive Blast and the restructuring principle. The former was merely a Crude spell. The only one of its kind, staining his Status once again, after all the trouble he’d gone through to upgrade everything. Worse still, this was a spell he couldn’t even use without Micky’s help.

Yet, he wasn’t too disappointed.

More than anything, it was like an inert seed, representing his newfound understanding of pre-casting. Percy was confident he and Micky would eventually turn it into something truly fearsome.

Then, there was the new principle. A rather complicated one, which had taken him quite some time to master.

‘Of all the things I brought back, restructuring might be the most useful in the short-term.’

he smiled.

Simply by having mastered another principle, Percy had grown as an alchemist. The benefit was indirect, but still undeniably there. It would help him with everything he did, from completing the new recipe, to improving his yield. In fact, it would probably help him master the scaling principle faster too. And with every new entry in his Status, his eyes grew stronger, further boosting his proficiency.

‘This might also solve our money problem…’

Initially, he had planned to brew healing potions for that. He’d only need some spoiled meat and some space to grow as many mushrooms as he wanted. Considering how large Twilight City was, it shouldn’t be hard to get either.

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Once his cauldron was ready, he would then be able to practice the scaling principle on the potions. That way, he’d not only push his yield as high as possible before moving to the elixirs, but he’d also be able to sell the excess, to buy the secondary ingredients for the Aurora Dew.

The only problem with this plan, was that healing potions weren’t that popular with high-borns. Not to mention that the market was likely already saturated.

Percy’s only advantage was that he would probably be able to undercut his competition, given how easily he could grow the mushrooms. After all, he could do everything locally, without having to import any ingredients from outside the city, planting the mushrooms on what was essentially trash. Even so, there was no guarantee they would amass all the money they needed fast enough.

But that was all in the past.

The knowledge he’d brought from Felmara now opened a new door for him. Healing tattoos were arguably superior products, and not just due to their novelty. If he was right, injecting the potions directly into one’s body would be more effective than consuming them. Not to mention how much easier it would be to activate a tattoo in the middle of a fight.

That said, there were still a few challenges they’d have to overcome before they could mass produce them. Brewing the ink would require an additional alchemic step, increasing the cost. They’d have to find a source of reagents rich in mud mana. Percy would have to spend more time and effort too, and with a lower yield to boot. Finally, they’d need to train somebody in applying the tattoos to their customers.

‘I should discuss this with Nesha. She understands this stuff better than me: she’ll know if this will sell better than the potions.’

In any case, Percy wasn’t done going over his gains yet. Just thinking about his greatest prize from the trip made his mouth water. Against all odds, he’d managed to obtain the final step of the Dance!

Strictly speaking, it had been his goal from the start, but he could have never imagined things would go the way they had. Somehow, he’d ended up on the wrong planet, spending most of his time there oblivious to the fact that it was even connected to Huehue. Regardless, in the end he’d still learned the technique from one of Micky’s people, just like he had planned.

‘It’s such a pity I can’t practice it right away…’

he smiled bitterly.

Mastering the spell would massively boost his combat strength. Other than reaching Yellow, this was easily the most direct way to bridge the gap between him and Acton: at least partially. In fact, if Elaine learned it too, they might be able to defeat him together, even without advancing.

Sadly, that was just wishful thinking. From what little he’d seen, Percy knew the complete spell was quite intricate. Probably a Masterful one. And, unlike Circulation, he hadn’t experienced it directly. He’d only caught a fleeting glimpse of Tlaloc’s demonstration.

The good news was that he shared the guy’s pure affinity, and he’d seen enough to feel confident in reproducing it. But it would take time. Months.

Maybe even years

. Adapting it to other affinities and teaching his companions would take longer still.

‘Right now, I have to focus on converting the elixirs and sneaking into the Valley. I can practice the spell there.’

Percy had always planned to work on his spells during his stay in the temporal Decree. After all, drinking Aurora Dew would only take a few minutes per day, and he had to spend over a decade in there. Since brewing wouldn’t be an option, he’d considered working on his mana threads.

Evidently, he now had one more thing to look forward to. If everything went well, the Percy who walked out from the Valley a couple years from now would be a completely different person.

Alas, there was no use in daydreaming about a future that might not even come to pass. Anything and everything could go wrong before then.

He shrugged.

‘Alright… so that’s the bulk of my loot. Though there are a couple more things to consider…’

Other than the storage seal, pre-casting, restructuring and the Dance, Percy had brought a few…

less tangible

things back. There was the inspiration he’d drawn from the Wiseman’s Chamber. In the future, he intended to look into inhalable potions or time acceleration enchantments. Even more importantly, he’d like to get his hands on some Wiseman’s Dust if possible. The miraculous substance had done wonders for his training, and he wouldn’t say no to another round.

‘If only I had the seal back then, maybe I could have stolen some…’

Then again, getting through the fortified panel would have been a challenge.

In any case, there were also the books he’d brought from the Vault, but he wasn’t going to go through them just yet. And there was everything he’d learned about the universe in general, and the greater springs in particular, through his Cosmic Studies classes.

Recalling the cold look Mrs. Lia had given him in the auditorium, he couldn’t help but sigh. It was such a stark contrast to the gentle smile and kind eyes she usually wore.

‘But she’s the one in the wrong: all of them are. Not me or Leo.’

he reminded himself.

Percy could

almost

forgive the Felmarans for conquering Huehue. As much as he hated them for hurting Micky and his people, he understood that the universe was a cold and brutal place. Every faction had to look after themselves first and foremost, and to do what they could to survive. Everyone was in a constant struggle for resources. They had to stay ahead of their enemies no matter what, lest they risked getting annihilated.

That said, Percy would never forgive Rhaziel for the way he’d treated his prisoners. For torturing them. Humiliating them. Stuffing them in coliseums and forcing them to fight for their lives. Parading them around like exhibits. Trophies of his victory over their ancestors…

All of that was unnecessary. The mere memory made Percy’s blood boil as he clenched his fists until they were drained of colour.

‘I hope you don’t forget my promise to you, Rhaziel. Because I won’t.’