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It’s strange to think of it that way, but it’s true. The male part of plants produces pollen and then sends it to the female receptors, which use it to fertilize egg cells. That’s how plants produce seeds. It’s a bit complicated because some plants, like tomatoes, have male and female parts, but they still have to "have sex" with themselves, which is just… weird.

Spores are different. They’re single-celled organisms that replicate the mushroom or fern or moss with a little water and nutrients—no sex necessary.

That’s why spores are strangely easy to store. All you have to do is pick up the plant and press the spore-releasing area against a piece of paper or glass slide. That’s a spore print, and they’re notorious because hippies from the 1960s would press psilocybin mushrooms to random books and then scrape some onto cow patties every time they wanted to grow drugs.

The wild part was that these spores can last decades or even centuries. Therefore, by passing down these books, they can let their great-great-grandkids get high on the same mushroom they did—kinda.

Anyway, that’s what I needed to do. So I pulled out the flower and pressed the area under the petals onto a purified glass slide. The spores were pink, which was fascinating.

I then stored the slides, purified the plant, and preserved it again. After taking a breather, I pulled out the plant, desiccated the entire thing, and flicked off the flower petals and stems, blowing on the ovary while using purify to ensure I got all the toxic poison off it.

Only then did I put it into a mortar and grind it up.

Once completed, I mixed the powdered fruit into the alcohol bottle and mixed in the spores, being liberal. I wouldn’t let my fear fuck up this legacy.

I saved some spores for later, should I wish to grow and harvest the plant in the future, and then went on to the last part. It read, "Add syrup and edible berries to taste."

"I’m not sure anything would make ethanol taste good," I sighed. Drinking ethanol would make you feel like your throat was suffering frostbite, as the alcohol evaporates ridiculously fast, cooling the temperature. No amount of flavoring would change that.

I reached down and pulled out the simple syrup bottle from the station. I unscrewed it and put in ten tablespoons, enough to ensure that all ten doses would have some. Then I shook the bottle and went out searching for berries. It didn’t take long because there were bushes I snacked on. I chose my favorites, purple ones called lickten berries, which tasted like sour raspberries. I loved them.

I went back, mashed up the berries, used essence extraction on them, squeezed out the juice with cheesecloth, captured the liquid, purified it, and poured it into the elixir. Only then did I get the chime.

—---

Congratulations! Neophyte Mira Hill has created her first Third Tier alchemic creation.

Name: Lumidran Awakening Elixir

Effect: The fruit cleanses mana channels as the spores help the user enter a state of enlightenment that helps them develop or improve a mana core. Intelligent species describe seeing a guide that helps them through the journey. This guide is only described by individuals who ingest or inhale the spores in the Areswood Forest.

Estimated purity: 76%.

—---

Then, another chime rang out in my mind, followed by a convenient notification.

—---

Due to the requirements of a legacy quest, the temporary shelter’s twelve-hour restrictions have been lifted for the next 48 hours.

—---

I guess this place isn’t advised, I thought as I looked around the gazebo. It was fully protected for at least thirty more hours, but the Oracle was sending me to the shelter, anyway. I didn’t like that.

"Can I ask you questions about this elixir without affecting my quest?" I asked.

A pop-up answered me: "It depends on what the question is."

"Is this gonna… make me puke my guts out again? I’m not sure my skin can take another cleansing, either."

Lithco responded simply. "It will cleanse your mana channels, but you won’t even notice."

"Because I’ll be tripping so hard?"

"Yes."

"Is tripping really necessary?" I sighed. Just the thought made me feel like someone was wringing out my intestines.

"Stop treating it like ayahuasca. It doesn’t distort your ability to think—it only severs your connection to the outside world and helps you connect to mana. I’ve yet to see someone suffer a panic attack after taking it."

I swallowed and nodded. "And this’ll help me make a core?"

"Yes. The hallucinogenic effects, and the guide will help you establish a better core than I can aid you in."

I clapped my hands and put them to my face. "So I wasted that request?" I spent a diamond request on core formation.

"No. Core formation is a lifelong endeavor, and I can provide you with resources for many more evolutions to come. This will only teach you mana manipulation and core formation, and it’ll do it better than an illusion ever could. Remember—what you’re holding is a priceless treasure. Try not to compare Guide resources to treasures."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." I grabbed a piece of the albino elk meat off the fire and started chewing it. It set my body on fire, and veins webbed up my arms and neck. It would normally feel unbearable, but I was using it as fuel.

"Come on, little guy," I said after I finished eating. "This’s the good stuff. It’s gonna make you into a Konan amongst cats."

Kline looked at me warily, but he nodded, and we took off toward the shelter. We didn’t know what would happen when we took the elixir—but we were excited.

2.

Kline and I walked through the woods, snacking on the meat. I’d tear off pieces and throw them to him. He’d catch them without fail and smack his jaws.

I forgot salt, I thought.

I’m not sure why I was complaining—I was getting stronger for eating!

As customary, there were reigas on the path. This time, there were eight.

I looked at them and smirked. "I’ll take—" Kline blinked behind them and killed them before I even finished my thought. "This one," I whispered bitterly.

In retrospect, I didn’t even know if I could take them. It all happened so fast that I could barely keep up with the reiga’s movements—let alone Kline. They were front-grade death rabbits that left after images when they moved. No… I was still weak. I needed battle magic—no matter how much it would cost me.

After collecting the light green gems from their spines, I grabbed two for food and threw the others into the woods on the way back to the shelter.

Once we got inside the building, I found that the building smelled terrible, so I used Purify a dozen times until there was no smell left. With that done, I pulled out some albino elk meat and cooked it over the fire.

Only then did I pull out the elixir bottle.

"Okay, listen Kline," I said. "This is pure alcohol. I’mma let you taste it first so you know what you’re getting into. Otherwise, you’ll spit it out."

Kline rolled his eyes as I opened the bottle, preparing to lick it without a second thought. But once the smell entered the room, his hackles rose like a porcupine, and he took two steps back, hissing.

"Come on," I sassed, pouring some into my hand—feeling the icy, ticklish feeling. "I thought you were a big man."

He hissed.

I frowned. "Oh, I suppose you don’t want power, after all. Guess I’ll have to do it myself."

My words lanced his ego, and he pounced, licking the ethanol off my hand. Then his hair bristled further, and he yowled and gagged and rolled on the ground.

"I know that sucks, but that’s what we need to drink," I said. "I’ve sweetened it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna help. So you need to prepare yourself."

He pushed himself up and pawed his tongue.

"Just a spoonful…" I reassured myself. "Then we’ll have mana cores."

Kline looked at me distrustfully.

"Or don’t," I shrugged.

He narrowed his eyes at me dangerously, as if to say, I know what you’re doing, human—but it didn’t matter so long as it got him to go along.

"Come on, drink your fill," I said, creating a water sphere. He lapped it up, and then I filled my water bottle and hydrated. We could be out for 36 hours—we needed to prepare. After that, we went to the bathroom and set up on the floor.

We were ready.

"Hey Lithco, I’m ready for the tutorial."

Lithco materialized, pulling out a chair. "Well, here I am."

I looked at the elixir. "How does this work?"

"It’s simple… ish. Remember that chant I taught you?"

"The one that made me feel like I was dying?"

Lithco clapped his hands together and smiled. "That’s the one."

I frowned.

"Chant it now that you’ve cleansed," he said.

"What about Kline?" I asked.

"He gets different instructions. But it sounds like mewororaiaia murr yaowl… so you don’t hear his like he hears yours. Well, more specifically, he’s turned off your ability to see his Guide. He doesn’t want you to know he’s getting help."

Kline hissed and pounced, but he flew through Lithco. I couldn’t help but giggle once I figured out the reason for the disparity.

"Okay…" Lithco brushed off his trousers as if they were affected by Kline. Then he looked at me. "Recite the chant."

"I… uh," I whispered. "Pyriná trápeza?"

"That’s it. Now chant it."

I did, closing my eyes and repeating it like a mantra. It was subtle at first, but my world darkened again, suspending me in a void. Then I felt those channels that felt like they exploded last time and felt them flowing with energy like streams. It felt crude and slightly pinching, but the flow was there. All of it was moving… toward my spine around my shoulder blades.

"Wait…" I whispered when I could feel the energy going toward my spine. "Is that… the gemstone?"

"It is," Lithco said. "Those are mana cores. They’re tied to your nervous system, acting like fuel, allowing you to speed up the signals to your brain and body. Your job as a mage is to develop ones—and absorb the cores of beasts."

I got the cores in the bag. We had dozens of them.

"How much do we have?" I asked.

"Considering that they all belong to Second Evolution beasts—a lot."