Beastforged Bond

I compared myself to Daniel. I knew that was a stupid thing to do, but it was hard not to. He was the only other Apprentice Bert had, so how could I not compare my progress to him when the Master Beaster told me stories about Daniel?

Truthfully, the stories made me feel better. Daniel struggled a lot as Bert’s student. Sure, he was younger and not yet interested in potions and serums, but that was beyond the point. Important was only that it took him years to reach my efficacy with Basic serums.

That was all I needed to hear to cast aside Volix’s comments and try again.

I returned to the workbench and used the remaining ingredients to concoct two more Pyromantic Refinement serums, as I’d decided to call them.

The process was smooth, the Glacial flower liquid preserved and precisely utilized. And since I no longer had to split my mind to perform the Three Strands Purification technique alongside the other processes, I could put my whole mind into the process. With enough head space to focus on multiple tasks at the same time, I tried myself on refining the other ingredients. After all, purification was not everything.

An hour later, the serums were complete, the results acceptable. Not for Volix but the bird had to keep his beak shut for the moment or I’d really twist his neck.

Bert was too busy with his own research, so I took it upon myself to test the serums.

“Efficacy of 83% and 88%. Nice.”

That put my average efficacy for the Pyromantic Refinement serum at 85%, which was a great starting point. With enough time and practice, I’d move closer to 100% and possible surpass the threshold. All I needed to do was to refine the ingredients and remove more impurities simultaneously. Or near-simultaneously, to form the paste needed to diffuse in the Base, which had to be concocted no more than 24 hours earlier since perfect preservation for the Base was impossible.

The longer the Base was preserved, the more of its properties would diminish, their efficiency decreasing drastically. That was especially troublesome considering the Base had the catalysator needed to concoct serums in the first place.

Like I said, you don’t need it. I mean, you still need a catalysator, but phoenix fire can do that. There’s a reason every Alchemist who thinks something of himself has a Sacred Flame. To use proper Alchemic Arts.

Volix bickered, already breaking his silence.

Can you–... I exhaled deeply.

Why was I even angry with Volix? He was trying to help me. Treating him badly wouldn’t change a thing. If anything, it’d make me a bad person. My Soulkins only wanted to help me. That included the Elemental Phoenix.

Look…We talked about this before. A few times actually. We cannot expose you to Bert. I started but was soon interrupted.

I don’t care. Why can’t you reveal me? Not the phoenix form, don’t worry. But why won’t you use my sacred flame persona more? You’ve only been using it to purify some herbs and other ether plants. Even then, you have not actually summoned your sacred flame. You only conjured some of it through your Fire Aspect.

Volix grumbled, and he was right. Of course, he was.

“How about… How about we give it a try then?” I grunted, only to freeze when Bert glanced back. He returned to his amalgamation of screens after a moment, but I took the warning as what it was. No more loud chattery with Volix.

We can start small maybe? Spend a few months trying to utilize the ‘sacred flame’ in the concoction process so I could potentially learn that the sacred flame makes the Base redundant. Or we just go for it when Bert isn’t looking. Or when he’s not in the laboratory.

Bert still had his Beaster Shop. His wife took care of everything, but the Beaster had to restock the serums and help her out at times. He couldn’t be with me in the underground laboratory all day just because the Zerogs had better equipment. I could always use his absence to concoct a few serums, experiment a little.

If Volix had been a little bit more cooperative, he could help me concoct proper potions. Show me the weaves of a full-fledged Alchemist. Alas, he wanted me to learn on my own. To use the occasional input of information and memory strands to pave my own path through the ranks of both Alchemists and Beasters.

He did not like Beasters for their reliance on the Base and a lot of other things that were mostly based on lacking information, but the Elemental Phoenix did actually adore how much Beasters and Blessed cared about their Soulkins. It was one of the redeeming qualities of humanity in his opinion. As far as I could tell.

Give me serum!

Nox cut into my conversation with Volix. He rushed up to me, eyes locked on to the two Pyromantic Refinement serums.

“No. You know that we can only give you one a day for now. We have a lot to research before we can increase the dose. Or reduce the timeframe between the serums.” I chided the Ferronox Mantis, lightly shoving his scythe-arms aside.

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Nox’s response to the serums was our priority. First and foremost, we had to understand how his body reacted to the first Refinement serum to modify the remaining serums. And, of course, we had to figure out how much we could adjust the serums to come up with the most efficient schedule.

His initial response to the pyromantic crystals was fairly obvious, but that did not mean it was fine to walk around in the dark. We had to learn more, document as much as we could and use our new findings to create even better serums. Maybe even revolutionize serums while we were at it – without exposing Volix, if possible.

Anyway, I was happy enough with my growth. A particular fiery bird may say otherwise at times, but I knew he was impressed. He was just a little bit too shy to say it out loud.

I am not shy!

Volix chirped irritable.

Do you think I was talking about you? I responded with a smile.

You didn’t deny the comment about my growth, by the way. So, you are impressed.

The Elemental Phoenix said nothing. He even went as far as to curl up into a fiery fire in the inner World and to restrain our bond momentarily.

I let out a laugh, which caught Bert’s attention, but our heads snapped to the elevator as its doors opened with a creak.

A towering figure stood in the elevator, gaze cast at us.

“Good evening. Am I too early?” Merlin asked even as the smile froze on my lips.

Bert got up to his feet with a dismissive wave, “Only a little. Don’t worry about it. I will be with you in a minute.”

The Master Beaster turned to me apologetically. “I promised Merlin to take care of his wyvern Soulkin. You know what happened to Dirk, don’t you? Right, you were there when he was injured.” Bert smiled faintly, “I tend to forget you were not always my apprentice.”

That was not the first time I heard about Merlin’s problem. Precisely, the one with a problem was Dirk. The brown wyvern had been severely wounded in the Bakurean’s ambush. His core had been damaged, his intestines wrecked. It was a miracle that Dirk survived. Alas, he was still injured, his core damaged, which only worsened when the brown wyvern forced a breakthrough.

Breaking through to the next Rank rewarded beasts with power that far surpassed the norm. Ether flooded their system, expanded their core, and repaired just about all the wounds they sustained in the previous ranks. However, the recovery granted from a breakthrough was not omnipotent. Nor was it without dangers. Not all beasts survived a breakthrough, even less if it was forced. Without ample preparations, beasts should never trigger a breakthrough for it may kill them. But Dirk did just that.

From what I was told, the wyvern had been at the Peak of the Guardian Rank for years. Accumulating more power through serums, the boons of Merlin’s World, and other treasures. Alas, he was still not ready. He should not have triggered a breakthrough. Yet, he did, presumably because Dirk knew that he was going to die otherwise.

Now, his core was in shambles. The brown wyvern had survived and broken through, becoming an Overlord beast, but at what cost?

I didn’t know, but I was happy Merlin couldn’t send the wyvern after me. Then again, Merlin did not seem particularly interested in me. But…was that all just a show or did he really not carE?

“I forgot to tell you about that, didn’t I?” Bert shook his head, “I prepared a few solutions for Merlin and his Soulkin. Injecting and observing them might take a little while, so you can take the rest of the week off. If you want to, you can create a few more serums to increase your efficacy. Or to get more used to it. I’ll leave you with my authority key to access the preservation house. Just make sure you don’t waste the most precious resources. Although I doubt you would do that.”

I felt like I had to say something but no words came out even as my lips parted. My throat was tight, my lips parched, and I wasn’t sure if my heart was going to leap out of my chest or not. Hence, I just nodded.

Bert explained a few more things to me, which I couldn’t hear as my full attention rested with Merlin’s towering figure. It took a little while before the Master Beaster left with Merlin in the elevator. They disappeared, yet my throat didn’t want to open up.

He’s not here for me. He’s here for Dirk. He does not care about Volix! He does NOT care! I told myself over and over again like a mantra.

It didn’t work at first but when Merlin didn’t return after a minute, I calmed down a little.

Gasping for air, and patting my chest, I cursed my emotions. Why was I so scared of Merlin? He knew about my secret…so what? As far as I could tell, Merlin hadn’t told anyone about the Elemental Phoenix.

I had only seen him a few times in the last nine months, yet I felt like making a run for it whenever I did. And that was the oddest part. There was no reason to be afraid of Merlin. Sure, he’d advanced to a Grandmaster Blessed with Dirk’s forced advancement to an Overlord beast, but the brown wyvern was severely wounded. If everything I’ve learned was not complete, utter nonsense, Dirk’s empowerment should be incredibly weak right now. His core was damaged – had been during the breakthrough –, leaving his empowerment weakened. Diminished.

In an emergency I shouldn’t have a problem to escape Merlin. Not that it had been necessary, but I needed a contingency plan to stay in the Zerog estate. If not for that, I’d moved to the ninth sector with my parents, staying as close to the wilderness to flee if push came to shove.

The moment Merlin attacked, Volix would unleash his full might. I’d feed him with as much soul energy as possible, and we’d escape the Grandmaster’s grasp. That was the plan – or part of it –, if we exclude close to a hundred gadgets and other special items I’d purchased to flee with my parents.

The only thing I had no plan for was the World Tree’s sapling. Nine months had passed in the blink of an eye, yet nothing about the sapling had changed. Thyria’s presence, a fraction of her might, was still anchored within but the sapling hadn’t moved. It was exactly the same, occupying no more than a single unit of soul energy.

I tried to feed it soul energy, ether, and even went as far as to search for resources with life-attuned energy. None of that helped. The bond didn’t change one bit either. It was still there though, which was why I kept it that way. If the World Tree wanted me to do something, it had to say something. If not, I’d just keep it in my World, patiently ignoring it until something changed.

I shrugged.

Maybe it was for the best. Honestly, it probably was.

Having one less human-eating World Tree to worry about was a good thing.