CH311

The next day, Ben could see that the first group he’d worked with was exhausted. He’d pushed them for hours, giving whatever guidance he’d thought they needed to help them learn and grow since their foundation was almost nonexistent. A group that tried to leave no traces simply didn’t build things to last, always looking at what could be broken down or moved instead. After pushing them though he left them with the simple task of trying to figure out how to construct a well on their own with as little input from him as they could manage while he focused on trying to train up some others in a different discipline, namely both smithing and alchemy.

He’d originally considered skipping these topics altogether. This deep in the woods, so far from civilization there was no way for them to get metals to work with meaning they probably wouldn’t need it until they’d reached a point where they’d be joining the wider world, and since so many of them were life mages they didn’t have much need for potions either, but in the end he decided to just make it a lesson they could use if the opportunity ever came up and met with the group of five he’d be teaching, holding in a sigh as he did.

He had no way of knowing what their community was like before he arrived, but with three of them keeping a few steps away from the other two, a strong look of distrust in their eyes, it wasn’t hard to imagine that they’d been on opposite sides of the conflict he’d arrived to.

Myriad, you’ve really got your work cut out for you.

<You could try to do something about it too.>

I’m here for a couple weeks, I’ll do what I can but it’s not going to be enough to fix things. Tell Sachel to work with Toltho on it when she gets here.

In his heart he gave a small apology to the oracle for dumping so much work on her as he spoke up, getting everyone’s attention.

“Alright all of you, I grabbed you guys for a bit of a different lesson than what you watched the others learning yesterday since your skills are appropriate for this. If you ever get the opportunity to actually use anything I’m teaching you, you don’t really have to, but it’s good for some people in the village to have some idea about it. Pay attention and ask any questions you need cause we’re talking about metalwork and alchemy.”

He went on to explain each in detail, having to start at something as basic as what metal was since they’d never encountered any, at least in a pure form, as well as how their skills related to it, especially their magics. From the use of fire and earth magics for any smithing to the different ways death and water magic could be used in alchemy, and even including how life and light could be used to enhance the effects of potions. He made diagrams in the dirt as he needed to to get the ideas across and made sure to mention how the earth mages among them could make similar items to what could be made in a forge, though lacking the same quality.

For alchemy in particular he tried to focus on areas it could be used that were unrelated to life magic since those aspects would be less valuable to them, instead focusing on how it could be used to enhance any items they made or else be used in different sorts of potions, ones to enhance various attributes or restore mana, which was when he got what he thought was a most interesting question.

“So would a mana potion be similar to the effects of eating a mana viper?” One hesitantly asked, unsure about cutting in as she did while Ben perked up.

“Not sure, what’s a mana viper?”

“Just something we can eat to let us use more spells. The low ones used to go crazy for them, but they just need to be fed first to get the effect.”

“Can you show me?”

With a nod, the group led him to a tent that seemed to house them specifically, pulling out a woven basket with the creatures inside. He hadn’t seen them himself, but the snake-like creatures were clearly what had been used on Thera, Steph, and Wedrow when they’d been captured by the demons, at least as far as Thera described them.

He was looking at it in interest before the one holding it tilted their head back, putting it in his mouth and biting down on it as it still lived, a shiver going through him as he swallowed and explained. “They aren’t pleasant, but they do the job. Would you like to try?” He asked as he grabbed a new one and held it out.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I think I’ll take your word on it, thanks.”

Okay, I think I have a bit of a picture of what went on here. Demons use their minor soul magic to change themselves into their sapient stage so eating these must have let them use their magic longer to reach that point. They said, they need to be fed first and from what Thera told me before these things were draining her of her mana when she had them on her, does that mean their bodies can store the mana they absorb for a while in a way that’s possible to get back? We might just have a practical lesson on our hands here.