Chapter 40

As Kai wrestled with the bait poison, the day proceeded slowly and yet too fast.

During each brewing session, time seemed to ease into a crawl as his mind worked in overdrive to solve problems. Both to improve the quality of the result and desperately searching for new ways to increase his efficiency.

As his skills refined, his mana continued to inexorably dwindle. No matter what he tried or how many small improvements he made, it was never enough. Kai started to wonder if the merman merchant had cheated him. Compared to the healing and energizing potions, the bait poison was on a whole other level.

He might have oversold his abilities as an alchemist apprentice a little, but Reishi could tell he was no more than ten years old. Without knowing his ‘special’ circumstances, everyone always underestimated him. Weren’t the expectations of the merfolk a bit high?

Pushing the blame on someone else, he was lying to himself. It hadn’t been the merchant to propose the deal. He was the one who insisted he could do it.

When noon came, he helped Ele cook. He took his time eating a roasted fish and biting into a raw yellow tuber that gave the same satisfying crunch as a carrot.

He had brewed seven doses of poison and it was clear his mana would become a concern. At little more than 62%, he only had enough for two concoctions if all went well. A healthy meal would help increase his regeneration by a marginal amount. He would take what he could get.

Going back to his room, his mana had ticked up to 64% and he was somehow able to squeeze in three brews. His head pounded from both mana overuse and skill overstrain with Inspect.

He scooped the last bait poison into a glass jar. It was still a couple shades too faded from a proper sapphire color. He could improve the quality, but it would require too much mana. He had cut any corner he could. There was simply no way.

Letting himself fall on his bed, Kai massaged his tired eyes. Even with plenty of hours left in the day, it was all useless without mana. He was at ten doses, half of what he needed to deliver.

In his most optimistic estimate, he could get five more done before the deadline. And that was counting on finding new ways to improve his methods along the way.

Maybe I should take a nap. It will increase my mana regeneration a little.

Despite being mentally exhausted, he was too annoyed to fall asleep. He sat crossed-legged on the bed, opting to calm himself with Meditation.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

He lost himself in the rhythm. His mind wandering around to the day before, when he achieved a meditative state while practicing alchemy.

Clearly, he wasn’t using the skill to its full potential. His idea of meditation had been too narrow, limited by the preconceptions of his previous life. But the skill had grown far beyond that. At level 63, and after passing a threshold, he had to think with more flexibility.

How did Meditation work? Or better, how had he thought it worked?

First, he excluded all external stimuli, then he used controlled breathing to calm his mind, not to have his thoughts wander to random topics. Focusing on being present or on a particular subject.

Yesterday he hadn’t done it this way. What if instead of looking inward and disregarding the outside world, he focused his mind on something external? Giving all his focus to a single goal and action. Was that what he had done?

The more he thought about it the more he became convinced. There was no need to sit down. Meditation wasn’t a physical action, but a state of mind. He wasn’t sure if this was also true on Earth or only possible thanks to the high level of the skill and the help of the Guide.

There was still a piece of the puzzle missing. Today he had been completely focused on his task, but he had been far from reaching the same mental state.

What was the difference?

The answer came almost immediately: tranquility. That had to be the hidden condition. Absolute focus on your task could help, but it wouldn’t work without a serene mind. Meditation couldn’t be forced, in a sense he had to let go of all the other thoughts that crowded his mind, of expectations and anxiety. Live in the moment. At least that was how he experienced it.

It worked with alchemy because he had been relaxed and focused, while he wasn’t doing something overly challenging. He knew the steps and followed them methodically.

But how did that help now? Even if he reached a meditative state, it wouldn’t give him more mana. The bait poison constantly pushed his limits. It was as far from stress-free as it could go. A useful discovery, but of no help for his current predicament.

Looking to check his mana regeneration, Kai focused on his mana veins. They looked as empty as a few minutes ago. He lost himself staring at them. It was a mystifying sight, even if they were dimmer than usual. With a tired thought, he looked for where the essence inside his body met the ambient mana.

It wasn’t the first time he tried this—the regeneration proceeded painfully slow in the mana density of Greenside. The absorption was spread out over every pore of his body.

Choosing at random, he focused on the spot over his heart. After observing for a couple minutes, he sighed in disappointment. Like all other times before, he couldn’t point out exactly where it happened. Maybe a particle here and one there.

He somehow hoped he could find a way to push more mana into his body. What a ridiculous thought. Even if he could see the process, his Mana Manipulation was too low.

Maybe he should focus on Meditation and try to learn something more. Kai took a slow deep breath to fall back into a meditative state.

Wait a second…

There was a surface on his body he hadn’t considered yet: his lungs. As he observed the mouthful of air and ambient mana enter his body, he kept his breath for a few seconds, observing.

Maybe there is a way.

Kai didn’t know if it was because it was inside his body, but he could see a few motes of mana being absorbed into his channels.

The farther from you, the harder mana was to control. That was true for both his own mana and what freely swirled around him. That was the theory Dora taught him.

Considering all the levels he had gained in the last days, maybe it was time to give a try at the impossible. You couldn’t get any closer than inside your lungs. Experimenting inside such a vital organ felt a tad bit dangerous.

What could go wrong? Those were his famous last words.

With a chuckle, Kai took a new lungful of air and tried to impose his will on the mana he breathed in. Pushing his Mana Manipulation skill to its limits, he started to see some success. The usually swirling patterns of the free motes of mana slowed by his will.

If his own mana felt like a stubborn mule, ambient mana was a slippery fish. Hard to grasp and ready to slip away the moment he got distracted. Furrowing his brows in concentration, he managed to get a precarious hold of it. Guiding it into his mana channels was another matter altogether.

Dammit, I was so close—time for plan B.

If he couldn’t push ambient mana into his body, he could at least help it absorb more. It just so happened he recently found the spot where the mana transfer was the highest.

Instead of trying to control it, he went for a much cruder method. Using his will and skill, he clamped down on the mana in his lungs, holding it in place. Then he breathed out the air alone. A few motes escaped, but most stayed behind.

Kai smiled. Careful not to lose his concentration he took another breath, inhaling more mana together with the air. Letting go of his grasp, the now increased mana concentration in his lungs had nowhere to go but to increase his regeneration. The change wasn’t big, but Kai was happy with every mote of mana he could get.

If he could increase the mana density in his lungs with two breaths, why not three or more? The more mana, the harder it was to lock it in his lungs. After several tries, he found that after the sixth breath, he lost as much mana as he gained.

The mana density in his lungs was around that of the estate, increasing his regeneration noticeably. A small beeline of glowing particles continuously adding to his channels and attuning to his being.

Now he only had to wait and take another breath whenever the concentration of mana lowered. Thanks to all the time he spent swimming, he could hold his breath for a damn long time.

Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Wait. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Wait.

Falling into the rhythm, finding a meditative state came naturally. Opening his eyes a while later, his mana had recuperated to around 60%. Kai checked the time, it must have been about an hour.

There was no time to lose, he had to get back to cutting those damned mushrooms.

Kai alternated between refilling his mana and brewing for the rest of the afternoon. As the sun was going down, he got eighteen doses of bait poison. He might be able to push the last two, but he preferred to eat the loss.

It would be disastrous if he got to the dock too late and the Fortuna had already set sail. Moui arrived an hour ago and was waiting in the kitchen with his mother.

Packing the vials and glass jars into the backpack, he left his room to a suspicious scene. Alana was laughing at something Moui said. Hopefully, they weren’t talking about him.

“Ready to go,” he said, getting their attention and making the glassware inside his backpack jiggle against each other.

The two turned to him, the smile disappearing from his mother’s face. “We’ll have a little talk when you get back.”

Moui watched him from the side with a scolding gaze.

Hey, buddy, you agreed to loan me money. This is as much on me as it is on you.

They were on a tight schedule, so he didn’t have to bear their gazes for long. Letting the hunter carry his bag, they headed for the docks.

“It’s not that heavy,” Moui commented.

Kai smiled innocently in response. He could have carried it by himself, but he wasn’t keen on walking through town this late with a bag worth several silvers. Why not get a bodyguard for free? He also felt better dealing with the two mermen with the hunter by his side.

The walk wasn’t long, and they soon noticed the lights of the Fortuna at sea. Kai was relieved by the sight.

Reaching the dock, the place was deserted. The sailors were packing their stuff and getting ready to go. After two days, the citizens of Greenside seemed to have lost interest. The merchant ship that caused so much fanfare was leaving without anyone paying attention.

A familiar figure stood out amidst the group. Reishi wasn’t bothering to hide his appearance anymore. The merfolk showed his white teeth in a smile as they got closer. His appearance even more alien under the moonlight reflecting on his scales.

“I told my father you were going to show up. He didn’t believe me,” Reishi said, his gaze moving to the jiggling backpack Moui carried.

“I can assume that is my order?”

Kai nodded and followed the merman to a nearby table to show the goods. He was glad they hadn’t been asked to go aboard the ship. He didn’t think they would try anything nefarious, but better safe than sorry. If they had confirmation he could truly do alchemy, who knew what they might do?

After taking out the boxes of vials for Reishi to examine, it was time to open the negotiations. He was missing two bait poisons and the ones he made weren’t exceptional. On a more positive note, the other 150 potions were of better quality than he predicted.

To Kai’s surprise, the merchant didn’t try to scam him, fairly evaluating their quality. After all his efforts, and paying his debt to Moui, he gained 2 silver mesars and 7 coppers.

Concluding the deal, Kai wanted to get away with the win. He had no wish to spend his hard-earned fortune anytime soon. The merman was bound to find a way to convince him to buy something if he listened to him. This money was for his family and there was nothing Reishi could say to change his mind.

“Wait a moment Kai, weren’t you interested in buying these books.”

Dammit!

Naturally, the merchant remembered to bring the three volumes he had shown him on the ship. When Kai turned around, the books were already neatly displayed. Common Herbs and Their Uses - Volume 2, Plants from the Deep - a Complete Guide to the Treasures of the Sea, and Fundamentals of Alchemy - Volume 1.

He hesitated. Should he maybe buy one?

“Why don’t you just take them?” Reishi smiled.

“You want me to spend all my money?”

The merchant’s grin didn’t fade a bit. “No, I mean I’m giving them to you free of charge.”

Kai was stunned. Did he hear right? The merman didn’t strike him as the generous kind, his eyes squinting in suspicion. “For free? Are you sure?”

Reishi looked back at him offended. “I’m sure. But if you want me to think about it more…” His webbed hands slowly moved closer to the books.

“No, thank you. I’ll take them.” With all the speed his body was capable of, he dashed forward to snatch the three volumes from the table. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. I really need to go. Bye.”

Before the merchant could change his mind, he walked away, dragging Uncle Moui with him. Looking over his shoulder, the merman was still smiling at him.

Waiting a day had not been in vain. The little alchemist came to deliver on his promise. The fact only two doses of bait poison were missing only made his smile grow larger. There was no better number.

Reishi had yet to pack the potions up when his father made his appearance. No doubt ready to share some of his unrequited wisdom.

“And I thought I was raising a merchant. Instead, I find a squanderer who goes around giving goods for free,” Sehn muttered.

Reishi’s mood was too good to be ruined by one of his father’s lectures. “That was a calculated investment. And a couple of old volumes are worth nothing compared to what you owe me.” He had not forgotten their bet. Those books felt like paying the child his due.

“I’ll get your 10 silvers,” his father said in a huff.

“I remember quite well we agreed on 20.”

“A third of those bait poison can be barely considered usable. Terrible quality.” Sehn gestured dismissively, already walking away now that the conversation had turned to his wallet.

After all the lectures Reishi had been forced to listen to, he was not going to let the old fish scam him. “We said nothing about the quality. Only that there had to be at least 90% of the order.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right. We can do 15.” His father’s words came muffled by the waves as he was getting on a boat to return to the Fortuna.