The Lone Wanderer

Following the guard’s explanation, the next couple of weeks passed by in a blur.

Luckily, the man didn’t dwell much on the totem’s strange state. As it turned out, it was a lot more reasonable to assume there was something wrong with the relays supplying the structure with mana, than to guess Enki was possessed by an alien ghost. Who’d have thought?

The guard was then kind enough to escort the blind kid to the local alchemists’ association, even going as far as to hold his hand through the registration process. Better still, the people there were all shocked upon learning how Enki had managed to pass the test despite all his handicaps, showering him with praise.

‘Percy… I know I should be happy about this, but why do I feel like a fraud?’ the boy asked at the time.

‘Don’t even go there. It’s true I did the test for you, but you’ve absorbed everything I’ve taught you like a sponge. I have no doubt you’ll make a splendid alchemist, especially with Ea’s Gift helping you. Just work hard until you feel like you deserve to be here.’

Percy didn’t say that merely to console his host. He genuinely meant every word. The boy had proven quite hardworking during his stay in Atlantis, whether it was back when he was clearing his channels, or his subsequent alchemy practice. As far as Percy saw it, he’d done nothing more than level the playing field for an unlucky orphan, giving him a chance to make it in the world.

Upon hearing the words of encouragement, the boy nodded enthusiastically, tears glistening by the corners of his still-burning eyes. Suffice to say, it was with great eagerness that he followed the association’s people as they escorted him to his new room, supplying him with brand-new tools and reading materials to further his studies. At that point, Percy was just as excited as his host, keen to put the new equipment to the test, getting a better feel for his newly mastered alchemic principle.

Even better, Enki’s eyes were done mutating about a week later, allowing them to make leaps and strides with their practice.

___

Mana cores:

• [Mana core 1 – Red – Fire]
• [Mana core 2 – Red – Pure]

Mutations:

• [Alchemist’s Eye] – Draws from the cumulative knowledge listed in Ea’s Gift to enhance one’s vision, allowing them to discern details previously unseen.

Alchemic principles:

• [Extraction] – Separate and condense an ingredient’s essence.

___

Much like the guard had explained, Enki’s now-glowing eyes allowed him and Percy to peer through the outer layer of the concoction, observing the extraction process of the moss’s essence in even greater detail than ever before. And that was just the start.

Even more importantly, the mutation seemed to passively fuse the boy’s Mana Sense into his eyes, adding an entirely new dimension to Enki’s vision!

Of course, mages could already use their Mana Sense whilst simultaneously looking with their eyes, but the two images didn’t blend together nearly as seamlessly, forcing one to consciously sift through the two feeds in their mind.

In Enki’s case, his sixth sense naturally bled into his sight, the two working with one another rather than against, achieving things greater than the sum of their parts. Of course, he still had to manually use Mana Sense to observe things outside his line of sight, but even having a part of it passively active was a boon that couldn’t be overstated.

‘If the association’s staff are kind enough to lend us the materials for the cultivation pill, I might be able to demonstrate a few other principles for you.’ Percy said.

Sadly, that didn’t come to pass. Despite lots of begging, the veteran alchemists refused to just hand the boy everything in the end, arguing that the primary ingredient – the amber pearls – were quite expensive.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Still, they did gift them all the secondary ingredients, and it wasn’t so hard for Percy and Enki to earn enough money to buy a pearl by themselves. With his new tools at hand, and with the Alchemist’s Eye aiding him, Percy’s brewing yield with the lesser regeneration pill shot through the roof, letting him procure a single pearl within mere days.

The concoction itself failed, as Percy couldn’t get the recipe down after one attempt. That said, he still made it far enough through the three stages to properly demonstrate the new principles to his student, registering them in the boy’s panel.

___

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.

___

Of course, Enki would still need several months of laborious study to fully wrap his head around the principles, and even longer to actually put them to practice. However, due to how his Alchemist’s Eye worked, simply understanding the basics would vastly accelerate his progress.

And this wasn’t everything Percy did for his host.

Having grown fond of the kid over the past two months and, not knowing if they’d ever meet again, he went all out, trying to help him as much as possible before leaving. He explained everything about Circulation and Crystallization, giving the boy numerous tips and tricks as to how they could be used.

That said, Enki was unlikely to meet the requirements for the boosting art anytime soon. Even when he did, it was entirely possible he’d fail to figure out the correct patterns for the mana flow. At any rate, it was going to be a dozen times harder for him than it had been for Percy, since he wouldn’t have anybody to demonstrate the spell for him.

As for Crystallization, the boy shouldn’t have as much trouble mastering it, as the technique itself wasn’t anything complicated. However, it remained to be seen whether he’d figure out how to bond the powder into the cultivation pills or reinforce his constructs like Percy.

And the same was true for affinity fusion.

‘Thank you, Percy… For everything. For saving my life. And for fixing it.’ the boy said, two streams of tears flowing out into the room.

‘Just be careful not to let others find out about any of these things. They can get you into a ton of trouble. And buy more concealment bandages the first chance you get. The ones I crafted won’t last forever.’

The boy nodded.

Percy had sewn him a few more of them, but he didn’t have the time to teach him runecrafting too. Then again, they definitely had at least some rudimentary understanding of the art on Atlantis. Getting some basic enchantments shouldn’t be too difficult for the budding alchemist.

‘Like I said a while ago, I can’t give you all the answers. But I can give you the tools to figure them out. The rest will be up to you.’

Saying that, Percy then began removing his soul from Enki’s injuries one by one, allowing them to resume their recovery as his main body’s pull grew stronger. His headache was still killing him, and his Status had yet to assimilate the new Decree, but he couldn’t delay his return any longer. At this point, his best hope was that joining with the rest of his soul would speed up the process.

‘But Percy… Are you sure you want to be sharing all these things with a stranger? This is all world-altering knowledge.’

‘I’m sure.’ Percy said without a moment’s hesitation.

He’d already thought long and hard about this issue.

Truth be told, Percy had always been extremely cautious with what secrets he revealed during his travels, afraid to accidentally give one of Remior’s enemies the means to conquer his world. Hell, he had yet to even reveal these breakthroughs to his own people, making the situation even more precarious.

But it wasn’t like this knowledge would be lost, even if something was to happen to him.

Circulation would eventually leak out of the Avalon House into the rest of Remior. Plus, Orin would disseminate the Aurora Dew’s recipe sooner or later. By temporarily withholding the information, Percy had merely carved a brief window of opportunity for himself to get a little ahead. Nothing more, nothing less.

Besides, he’d never forgive himself if he stinted his first student’s growth out of selfishness.

‘What happens if I make a mistake one day, and your secrets leak out?’ the boy asked, still concerned about that. ‘What if our allies are enemies with your people?’

‘Kid. I don’t want you to worry about any of that stuff. Telling you these things was MY decision, and I promise you I won’t regret it, no matter what. Put your own life first! If you have to, feel free to volunteer these secrets!’

Yet, the boy wasn’t quite convinced.

‘But these are ALL of your secrets! What if you end up dying one day because of me?’

Percy chuckled in response. Next, he pulled his soul wisp from even more of Enki’s injuries, while continuing to talk to his student – no, his new friend, through the whole thing.

‘You know. I used to worry about that… But do you have any idea how many amazing things I’ve come across… within what? Just 7? 8 years? If the day ever comes when your people think it’s a good idea to act against the home of Percival Avalon, tell them to ask themselves one important question first.’

‘What question?’ the boy asked, receiving his answer as Percy’s wisp finally got whisked out.

‘How many more places has Percy visited since Atlantis?’

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