Water and Fire Magic Flasks

The good news was that he had found one he could inscribe; the bad news was that he had only bought a single plant for now.

Kroya sighed softly.

Then he stared at it curiously. "What can I inscribe on you?"

He immediately activated the Astral Body Inscription Technique, sending his consciousness deep into this tier-two magic plant.

Its structure was clearly far more complex than a sunflower's, but not as complex as thirsty sea glow algae's. That suggested the glow algae was a tier-three magic plant.

Fine strands of red and blue intertwined, then spread toward different regions.

This magic plant's astral spirit body had two parts: the main stem that supported it, and the "magic flasks" that grew out from it like fruit.

There were three magic flasks in total, which meant that once it fully matured, it could produce three five-hundred-milliliter magic flasks.

Incidentally, there was no way to know how many magic flasks this kind of Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass would produce. The number was random, and three was already a decent result.

The finest seeds were said to produce as many as seven.

But seeds of that caliber...

Were not something he could buy on a whim.

"Three magic flasks. That's a pleasant surprise."

He settled his mind and listened carefully.

The voices came from inside the flask fruits, and there were three completely different ones-

"Fire! I want fire! I want to absorb fire!"

"Water! I want water! I want to hold water!"

"Mix... I want to mix..."

Water, fire, mixing?

The first two did not surprise Kroya. Although this Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass could theoretically hold any kind of liquid, individual plants were bound to have different preferences.

Apparently, druids skilled in elven magic could communicate with them and fill them with different liquids to improve their effectiveness.

Water and fire are straightforward, but what does mixing mean?

Does it mean holding different liquids mixed together, or being able to mix different liquids itself?

The difference between those two possibilities was enormous.

The former would, at most, require liquids of two different attributes. The latter could practically count as brewing magic potions.

Kroya pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized that he... did not seem to have learned any magic for brewing potions yet. His previous attempts had merely involved adding the corresponding magic power to water that already contained magic.

In reality, brewing magic potions was a highly advanced field of knowledge. It involved extracting substances from various materials, mixing them, and supplementing the process with different incantations and gestures...

It was extremely complicated.

Unfortunately, most of the books he had brought covered elemental magic. None touched on the potion-making branch of alchemy.

Buying books on the subject was even more of a pipe dream-knowledge was always priceless, and even an introductory guide to basic alchemy would cost at least a hundred magic crystals.

That was a price he could not afford for now.

With no other options, Kroya could only deal with the other two magic flasks first. He could still inscribe spells on the plant after it matured, so perhaps he would find a solution by then.

Since the other two wanted water and fire...

He would use "Fire Spirit Purification" for one, and... a spell cast using waterlight crystals for the other.

His excitement had sparked a sudden idea. If he inscribed a spell that could only be cast using the Water Luminary power in waterlight crystals, would the plant need waterlight crystals as it grew?

And if it was exposed to waterlight crystals over a long period, would the magic plant undergo some sort of mutation?

After all, cultivating magic plants generally involved changing their habits and structures through different environments, grafting, and exposure to magic power.

Simply using the inscription technique to inscribe spells was still a little too dependent on it. He needed to develop more applications.

If his idea succeeded, he would have an entirely new kind of magic plant whose seeds could be saved and grown, rather than a single miraculous specimen.

With that thought, he immediately began his experiment, inscribing Fire Spirit Purification first.

[Inscription successful: Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass (Fire Spirit Purification)]

[When a fire-attribute liquid enters its magic flask, the liquid's potency will be preserved against deterioration over time. The liquid will also be subtly affected by the power the plant absorbs as it grows.]

[As the magic plant grows and accumulates more magic power, the above effects will increase.]

"A subtle effect?"

Kroya keenly picked up on that detail and fell into thought. If the effect depended on the power it absorbed while growing, could his Song of Red magic power influence it too?

Could a sunflower's sunflame magic power have the same effect?

If I put a potion inside, could it alter the composition of some of its magic power?

If that really was the case, it would be wonderful-he could turn ordinary fire-attribute magic potions into "Song of Red potions" or "Sunflame potions."

Different potions commanded ever-higher prices.

Neither mineral materials nor income from his territory could come close to the profits from potions.

The wealth a well-trained alchemist could generate was truly staggering.

"I hope it really works the way I think it will."

After his burst of excitement, Kroya immediately calmed down and began carefully studying the four spells involving waterlight crystals that he had recorded earlier.

Three offensive spells and one restoration spell.

They were Water Luminary Sword, Azure Water Jet, Diamond Water Dust, and Water Restoration Art.

The first three all used the Water Luminary power within waterlight crystals to cast immensely powerful magic. Although they were nominally tier-one Water Luminary Magic spells, their special nature made a difference.

Kroya estimated that their ordinary elemental magic equivalents would be tier two.

The spell he intended to inscribe on the Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass was the last one, Water Restoration Art. This spell was actually somewhat related to the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array.

It likewise used the caster's own magic power to soothe the volatile power within waterlight crystals, then released it to produce a healing effect.

But its effectiveness fell far short of the array's.

It could not stabilize waterlight crystals to the same degree as the array either, so he could not use it as a shortcut.

It was worth noting that this spell could be used alongside any water-element healing spell, producing a remarkable effect greater than the sum of its parts.

Kroya had already memorized it. After another day of study, he finally managed to learn it, then eagerly began inscribing it on the Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass.

His first attempt failed, but the experience of inscribing the spell model stayed with him, so the second attempt succeeded naturally.

[Inscription successful: Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass (Water Restoration Art · Sage)]

[When you place a liquid made with Water Luminary power inside the magic flask, it will use the magic power it absorbs to soothe the Water Luminary power, producing a healing effect.]

[Water Luminary power will influence the magic flask's attributes.]

[During growth, it requires a supply of Water Luminary power and relatively gentle water magic power.]

Just as Kroya had expected, it succeeded, and it really could influence the magic flask's attributes.

He would have to wait until it matured to see exactly how. Besides, one magic flask contained water magic power and another contained fire magic power. Would they really not conflict?

What puzzled him even more was... what did "Sage" after Water Restoration Art mean?

Could it be a rank in the Water Luminary Magic sequence?

He did not quite understand, but that did not stop him from happily planting the hanging flask grass and continuing his research into the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array.

Once he dealt with all these troublesome matters, he could return to the carefree, leisurely life he had enjoyed before.