The Newt and Demon-8.1 - Unrivaled Tero’gal Mastery

The third floor lab of the Newt and Demon was cluttered with completed potions. Theo hunched over a table, mixing Enchanted Water with Healing Essence before dropping in a fleck of metal. The potion bubbled, performing a near-perfect reaction and resulting in an extremely pure potion. He placed it in the pile and moved on.

Eleanor Bracken, the newest addition to the lab’s alchemists, leaned over the table with a reluctant look on her face. She pursed her lips as though to consider if she should say what she wanted to say.

“Out with it,” Theo said, watching as another reaction kicked off.

“You’re just very focused,” Eleanor said, taking a step back when Theo turned to look at her. “Maybe you should take a break.”

Theo let out a steady breath, some of the tension releasing from his shoulders. “I’m almost done.”

“You’ve been going at it for a week,” Eleanor said. “That can’t be healthy.”

Theo relaxed even more. He realized Eleanor wasn’t annoyed that he was taking up space in the lab. She was concerned that he was overdoing it. But he was truly close to making the breakthrough to the next rank in his alchemy and didn't want to linger on it too much longer. His alchemy core was now at level 39 and was teetering closer to 40 by the moment, but his herbalist core was lagging behind slightly, resting at 37 to match his personal level.

“Just a few more potions, I promise,” Theo said, performing the reaction on another higher-tier potion to garner more experience. "After that, I will take a long break, I promise."

“Okay…” While it didn’t sound like Eleanor would accept the excuse, she didn’t fully buy it. Instead, she lingered close by as though to check on his progress.

“So how are you liking it here in the lab?” Theo asked, splitting his concentration between work and the worried half-elf.

"I like it a lot," Eleanor said, finding a seat and perching herself upon it. She still gazed at him with the same discerning look, which was difficult to ignore. “The work is challenging, but it reminds me of my old job. That makes everything kind of easy.”

"Easy can be good, but things might get difficult here pretty soon. When we switch to the new world, we don't know how much the system is going to change. Hell, we don't even know if it'll be remotely the same system," Theos said. Another message appeared, marking the amount of experience he had gained from the potion. “Five more.”

“Wow, you are close to a level,” she said, cracking the faintest of smiles.

One thing Theo had learned about Eleanor was that she was shy at the best of times. She mostly kept to herself and buried herself in her work. During the week Theo had cloistered himself in the lab, she had flitted around like a spirit. Everything she did seemed designed to keep herself as small as possible, staying out of the way and never making a peep unless she needed something. That was a stark contrast to the boisterous personalities of the locals.

“I wasn’t kidding,” Theo said, chuckling as he set another potion to the side. “Then I need to grind experience for my other core.”

“The endless grind…”

Eleanor remained silent for the rest of this grind. When Theo felt the power flood through his body, he knew he was done with his work. The message appeared, proclaiming that he had understood the secrets of his core enough to advance it to Level 40 and beyond. He had passed the checkpoint without trying, thanks to his experimentations prior to hitting the mark. Truth was, he had become so used to understanding those gates that he made it his mission to master them well before they were needed.

“That’s it,” Theo said, sighing as he relaxed in his chair. “And now the town has an impressive supply of restorative potions.”

“And you’ve gone through a fair amount of our supplies,” Eleanor said.

“Well, that’s what golems are for,” Theo said, standing and turning as though to leave. He paused, nodding to his apprentice’s apprentice. “You’re doing a great job, by the way. Keep it up.”

Eleanor’s eyes locked onto the ground as she performed a slight bow. “Thank you,” she said as the alchemist left the building.

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Out in the day's sunshine, Theo stretched. His back popped in several places as his tail whipped from side to side. Grinding out experience was becoming less viable with each gate he hit. He knew getting Level 50 wasn’t possible before the reset, and it had taken more than he had in him to even hit Level 40. Maybe he could aim for Level 45, but he doubted it would matter much unless he could hit another rank.

For now, the alchemist had a long list of upgrades to review and select the best one. Of course, the option he would normally have considered was already chosen. Theo had selected the Tero’gal Alchemical Infusion skill when his personal level hit 35. That skill made everything about the infusion process both easier and better. Now he was left with endless pages of things to pick through, and he wasn’t sure which one was the best option. He remained frozen outside of the lab before he had the list narrowed to about three page’s worth.

While he mentally thumbed through that list, the alchemist headed out into his town, thinking that observing the progress they had made since he had arrived in this world would help inspire. He started at the city's center. The black monolith that had been erected there had since been joined by a large statue depicting a scared-looking space elf being defended by a large demon woman. He couldn't help but laugh.

Broken Tusk’s city center was quaint when he first arrived. There were only a few buildings around and not much foot traffic compared to the modern day, where the number of people passing through the area was significant and the cluster of buildings around them was dense, the old version seemed quite pathetic. Nearby was the town hall, Throk’s smithy and Artificer Workshop, and Xam’s tavern. The western road led to the swamp, while the east led to the port. North and south revealed places deeper within the ever-expanding city.

Theo took the western road first, ticking a few items off of his potential skills as he toured the butcher, Adventurer’s Guild, and the Sawmill. He stood on the western wall for only a few minutes, his eyes dragging over the many towers defending it. There was a time when the city didn’t have walls, let alone weapons to defend them. Now it was a complex arrangement of artifice tubes and towers that would rain death on anyone who dared to attack.

Theo ticked a few more items off of his list as he left the western part of the city. The southern area of Broken Tusk was notable for the scatter of homes, the smelters, and the mine. There was that in-between section that housed his alchemy buildings, the seamstress, and Zarali’s enchanting shop as well. Down near the mine, the alchemist watched as the miners entered and exited the underground section. That area could be dangerous, and it housed one of the sister towns of Bal’gon. He had no desire to go underground right now.

After chatting with the miners for a bit, he narrowed his list of abilities to only a few. But next on his whirlwind tour of his own town was the harbor area. This was a cluster of districts near the eastern part of town that held the bathhouse, markets, and the harbor itself. Lingering in the distance was the artificial island and the arena he had constructed, but the harbor was the real gem here. Thanks to Fenian’s itchy sword hand, most of the continent had been destroyed. That meant the harbor was vital to the town’s survival.

With his list narrowed to two skills, Theo passed through the city, heading through the farm, and the small cluster of houses to find his way to the quarry. It was empty right now. Ziz and his crew were working hard on a few projects. The pit where they drew their stone from was deep, dipping far into the ground and cleared of all usable stone. He found a spot to sit on a large marble block of stone and opened his interface.

Theo knew the reason why he gave the other skills in his selection menu a chance. He wanted an excuse to wander around town for a while, admiring the things he had helped build. But the skill that had caught his eye from the start was something else. It might have even been the most powerful skill he had seen, and he wasn’t sure if he was deserving of it. He summoned the skill, tapping his chin as he read through the description.

[Unrivaled Tero’gal Mastery]

Tero’gal Alchemy Skill

Unique

Tero’gal doesn’t recognize champions. Instead, it recognizes those who push its boundaries further. You are the most powerful living practitioner of alchemy. There are none alive in your world who understand the process more. Therefore, some leeway is in order…

Effect:

Using your Wisdom, Intelligence, Willpower, mana, and the relative power of Tero’gal, allows you to bend the rules of your alchemy system.

“Way to be vague,” Theo said, reading through the description a few more times. There were a few other skills that might have been good to pick, but this overshadowed everything else. It was clearly something the world had created, perhaps as a big middle finger to the system or the reset. The alchemist wouldn’t question it for now, he simply accepted the skill and slotted it into his Tero’gal Alchemy Core.

A strange sense flooded through Theo’s body, radiating from his chest and echoing through his being until settling into his mind. It felt weird, almost the same as before he took the Wisdom of the Soul potion. There was something tickling at the back of his mind that said he knew more about alchemy than ever.

Yet, nothing came to mind right away. Theo couldn’t figure out what the skill did exactly. His instincts were telling him this was some overpowered nonsense ability, yet he couldn’t figure out how to apply it. Instead of worrying about it too much, he headed over to one of his favorite places in town. The harbor was always buzzing with activity. Most impressive of all were the elven vessels currently moored out in the bay. More folks from Tarantham had come in anticipation of the games than ever before, and it was only going to get more crowded.

The adjoining market area was even more busy, with folks from all nations coming to sell their wares or otherwise linger before the games. Unfortunately, the alchemist would need to stir some stuff up if he wanted to take care of Balkor’s remnants…

The alchemist released a heavy sigh. “Time to annoy my apprentice… and her apprentice,” he said, leaving the harbor and heading back to the Newt and Demon.

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