Beastforged Bond

The archive turned out to be more useful than anticipated. First things first, I learned that it was indeed an archive and not a library. While it did carry a few books and materials that were more easily accessible, the archive mostly revolved around rare, unique, unpublished records. To me, it felt more like the entire structure was part library, part archive, but the details were not all that important.

The things I learned, on the other hand, were important. The things I’d learn in there would help me a lot in the future, so I left the archive happily after a few hours.

The next day, I visited the archive again. Something about it made me want to go back and spend entire days reading, researching, and becoming a better version of myself. To do so, I couldn’t afford to neglect my body. That said, an early workout using liquid ether and the Gravity Aspect to a lesser degree ended up in my schedule. After the workout before dawn, hours passed in the blink of an eye. It was noon when I left the archive again, feeling a little more knowledgeable about my condition than the day before. I couldn’t find any information regarding humans absorbing and annexing ether through their weave, but Ubu was very accommodating. He tried to help me with all his might, which I was eternally grateful for.

The cute little Onyx Golem really helped a ton, though I could only hope that we would find something useful in the next few days or weeks.

Hungry and slightly exhausted from the sudden increase in intensity in my schedule, I enjoyed a nutritious feast for a dozen silver coins. Expensive, but the meals were exactly what my body and mind needed.

Feeling refreshed, I arrived back home to spend the rest of the early afternoon refining my World. Blastor Refinery’s second volume was my current limit, and it certainly didn’t make things easier that I had to perform the technique in a slow, drawn-out manner. The results were pleasant, and my World shrank much slower than in the days before, but it was still shrinking.

Last but not least, I focused on my Gates. Some were drained after the fight with Orieath, while others were slowly reaching the one-third mark. That was unacceptable, especially since the empty Gates were accompanied by a feeling of weakness. I didn’t like that in the slightest, hence I pushed for a quick recovery.

With that in mind, I spent the entire late afternoon up until deep into the night, long past midnight, focusing entirely on replenishing the Ether Gates and filling them one at a time. That, however, took longer than expected, and I still wasn’t done by the end of the first day.

It was not until the third day that my Gates were full again and their strength suffused my body. Physically, with the best resources and heavy workout sessions, I improved as well. Not as much as I hoped, but my body felt fuller too.

On the third day, my Gates regained their luster, and so did part of my World. The first Elixir’s effect had finally worn off, allowing me to consume yet another Elixir. That I did without hesitation.

Retrieving the low-quality World Mending Elixir, I removed its cap and emptied it without a second thought. The amber liquid was nowhere near as viscous as I remembered, and it didn’t burn as hot as the other Elixir. There was no freezing cold traveling along the amber current that materialized at the edges of the inner World.

The amber current resembled the one I’d seen and felt the first time, yet it was dimmer, and it felt…dirty?

Impurities?

Aureus wondered.

Scar scammed! Kill!!

Nox hissed angrily, but I could only shake my head.

Scar didn’t seem like an Alchemist who’d use tainted ingredients. If anything, he didn’t look like an Alchemist, though his words and actions made me think he was trustworthy and passionate.

The difference between the Elixirs I’d consumed was enormous. The first was more like an ocean of change, whereas the low-quality one was a small lake. It did what it promised to do, yet the dim amber current was nowhere near as efficient as it should have been.

Is the Essence the problem?

Or your World is~

Sapsie pointed out happily.

Your World is so beautiful and unique, so I was thinking…you know? How could a trashy Elixir made from low-grade Essence heal your magnificence?

That actually made sense. Since my World was large, relatively speaking, connected to several bonds at the first and second Stages, and capable of binding just about every beast, it ought to require more energy to recover. Better Essence or Elixirs that accounted for something like that.

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Digesting the low-quality Elixir took several hours, and once the process was done, I could tell that something had happened. My World looked a little better, but every little bit of the Elixir’s amber current had been absorbed to work on that small amount of damage.

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like Sapsie was right. Not only was a low-quality Elixir the wrong choice for my World, but it was likely only used for minor damage. Or normal Worlds.

Grimacing at that information, I grabbed the regular Elixir and removed its cap in a single motion. Since my World had already digested the other Elixir, consuming the regular one didn’t seem like a problem.

It was more viscous, and it burned hot and cold as it flowed down my throat, bringing a faint smile to my lips.

Focus, Adam!

That I did. I focused and spent the next 24 hours absorbing the regular Elixir, making the most of it.

***

“Consuming the low-quality World Mending Elixir accelerated the World’s recovery by roughly per cent over the course of six hours,” I summarized the gains, making mental notes about everything. “Digesting the regular Elixir took longer, roughly a day, and traces of the amber currents are still left working on the larger cracks. The regular Elixir accelerated the World’s recovery by four percent, which was disappointing.”

Even though traces of the regular Elixir stayed behind, it didn’t feel like it was worth 50,000 gold. Not when the low-quality Elixir cost 10,000 gold and recovered 1% in the same time the regular Elixir did. But it was not all bad. For one, the regular Elixir’s amber current was not as dirty. It felt more potent – like it was more.

The regular’s amber current worked on the larger cracks as well, whereas the cheaper one focused on the smaller cracks. That likely meant the cheap Elixir wouldn’t work on the larger cracks, which made a bulk purchase of a few dozen low-quality Elixirs wasteful.

From all I could tell, my World’s condition had improved to roughly 58%. I could use my traits more extensively and it felt like retrieving some of my weaker Soulkins wouldn’t be a problem either. So I did, although not with my weakest Soulkin.

Cosmo was going crazy isolated in the World, so I took the chance and connected my World to Razarn’s space. I felt my insides crack and groan, but the star-striped chipmunk materializing in my palm was too distracting. The Cosmic Chipmunk rushed up my arm and leaped at my face, embracing my face as tightly as it could.

T-T-...Thank y-you.

A shy, high-pitched voice stuttered in my head. It went silent after a moment, the words fading as suddenly as they came, but they brought a smile to my lips.

“No problem. I am sorry for taking your freedom away after promising I would never do anything like that to you,” I said with half of the chipmunk’s stomach in my mouth.

Cosmo squealed happily before using Blink to appear on my shoulder. He pressed his head against my neck, and our bond grew stronger with surprising speed.

I expected our bond to weaken, not to grow stronger after everything, I mused, not at all unhappy about the turn of events.

The only downside was that my World cracked a little, its condition ever so slightly worse than before. Still, it wasn’t too bad, and I shouldn’t have a problem retrieving my other Soulkins in the following days. As for shoving them back into the World…that would have to wait a little longer.

I can stay in the World a little bit longer. Your home cannot house all of us.

Aureus commented, and he was right.

Tessa, Cosmo, and Sapsie were relatively easy to house, but Nox with his outbursts and uncontrollable desire to fight, and Aureus made the situation a little difficult. Aureus was way too big for the living room, let alone his small room. That brought me back to the same old issue.

“Sixty platinum for what? Five percent?” With a little bit of luck, the remaining traces of the regular Ether would aid the World’s recovery a little. However, even then, I’d barely mended the world by one percent for every 10,000 gold spent.

The first Elixir had clearly been more worthwhile. Even the remnants empowered my normal recovery to roughly one percent a day. Now it was back down to half that…or not quite that low.

“So annoying,” I breathed out heavily before channeling my frustration into seeking a solution.

There were other things I could try. Maybe something more efficient for my situation, especially considering that I had yet to train or refine my World for the day. Spending 24 hours without a break on small gains, neglecting my other studies, wasn’t worth it.

Something I can do for a few hours a day.

Essence! Like the cave!

Nox hissed sagely, which was actually a smart idea.

Thinking about the Source the Death Spirit had left as a reminder for the fallen civilization of the Netherkin, I got an idea.

Even if Essence was more volatile and, at times, aggressive if consumed without ample preparations, I had enough experience with it to know what to expect. Having the means to purchase Essence, being able to decide the type and grade as well, it should be a simple feat to find something that wouldn’t crush my World.

Low-grade Essence should be fine, mid-grade…maybe as well? Depending on the pricing and efficiency, I may as well save some money.

“Sorry, Scar,” I snickered, fetching my golden card to spend yet another fortune.