Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 568: Zaxan’s Transmutation

***

A short while before...

Having pinpointed the demands of her challenge, Eleanore swiftly turned her attention to a potential remedy.

Truth be told, this was a topic she had delved into long prior to stepping into this realm.

A remedy against the Berserk Human Transformation.

Her suggested approach seemed fairly direct—on paper, anyway.

The spell [Purification] had the power to strip away the berserk trait from someone suffering its curse, so she pondered if an intensely amplified variant of that core idea could fully undo the change.

Should such a feat prove achievable—

Alchemy might then replicate the outcome.

To be precise, via an elixir.

Naturally, her thinking wasn't so simplistic.

Directly morphing a spell into liquid form wasn't her aim.

Instead, she aimed to craft an elixir that could rouse surrounding or bodily mana to mimic the cleansing action of the [Purification] spell.

This idea wasn't wholly without precedent.

Elxirs existed that, upon contact with environmental mana, yielded results akin to linked incantations.

Blast elixirs in assorted potencies had been invented ages ago to emulate the ruinous force of the [Fireball] spell across varying intensities.

Moreover, in scholarly terms, the bulk of restorative elixirs operated on a parallel basis. They infused mana into the system while also prompting the user's inherent mana to act like numerous restorative incantations.

Building on these principles, Eleanore planned to devise an elixir aligned with the [Purification] spell— one designed to softly purge the berserk trait from within.

Should it succeed, it could potentially invert the transformation altogether.

Regrettably, her formulated elixir recipe faced multiple hurdles.

Primarily, a key component was extraordinarily scarce— even among Pangea's advanced alchemical industries.

In Verdantis, her hunt for it during her stay in Dragonstone yielded nothing; local potion makers appeared ignorant of it entirely.

The next issue involved the processing technique needed for that component, combined with an extra element vital for the intended outcome.

This technique was a time-honored alchemical art.

It saw scant application in Pangea's contemporary times.

Beyond that, it proved remarkably esoteric— Eleanore suspected it was absent in Verdantis.

The procedure's complexity had compelled even her to use a sort of shortcut for effective use.

Her Fey Monarch Bloodline.

Lacking such an edge, mimicking the art would pose immense challenges.

Should replication elude most, the elixir would stay confined to elite alchemists.

These constraints would render mass manufacturing unfeasible.

Put differently, victory in creation wouldn't lead to broad dissemination of the cure.

Luckily, destiny stepped in.

The ancient troll's scroll, which she had perused— brimming with his arcane alchemical wisdom— outlined a technique he had innovated personally.

A technique that could stand in for the archaic art.

Even more astonishingly, it enabled swapping out the elusive component she had first envisioned.

Actually, the troll's approach stood out as rather peculiar.

It transcended simple processing.

It constituted a spell tailored for alchemy.

[Zaxan’s Transmutation]!

Fundamentally, this incantation skirted the demand for exotic materials in brews by employing a far less costly, akin— and crucially, abundant— alternative.

The troll's incantation empowered an alchemist to alter the cheaper material's properties to match the pricier one's, albeit at the expense of using far more of the stand-in and a notably tedious processing sequence.

Nevertheless, with the incantation's aid, Eleanore managed to finalize a workable Purification Potion.

'Through [Zaxan’s Transmutation], converting a budget material's core to emulate a premium one's isn't the only benefit... the full procedure outright reveals the resulting purified core,' Eleanore reflected silently.

'Thus, the usual rigorous isolation method to safely harvest that core becomes wholly unnecessary.'

Her mind raced onward, pondering wider ramifications.

'Given its spell foundation... when Alex’s Rune-Tech regains full strength, he could transform it into a runic array.'

'In that case, automation of the procedure might become reality.'

A breakthrough like that would simplify transmutation tremendously.

With an array managing the shift on its own, the yielded core could seamlessly feed into elixir production.

Following this, Eleanore meticulously checked her assembled elixir recipe prior to gathering the needed materials.

To ensure flawless operation, she chose to brew the elixir outright first.

Afterward, she could scrutinize the finished item and verify— short of real-world application— if it aligned with expectations.

In contrast to Alex’s straightforward three-component recipe, hers demanded far greater intricacy.

It called for fifteen distinct materials and more than twenty distinct processing stages to finalize the elixir.

Yet Eleanore proceeded with expert accuracy and calm.

Soon enough, a brimming elixir flask sat orderly on the bench.

Next, she concocted two more elixirs to bolster testing samples.

The trial's comprehensive alchemy setup supplied every tool required for elixir examination.

The evaluation wasn't wholly definitive.

No device could substitute witnessing the elixir's impact on a live being.

Rather, the equipment gauged and dissected the core makeup and mana dynamics inside the elixir.

With these metrics, Eleanore juxtaposed them against her familiarity with the [Purification] spell.

This allowed her to gauge the elixir's probable potency.

A pleased grin gradually formed on her face while she studied the findings.

'An eighty percent likelihood exists that the elixir performs as planned,' she concluded.

Under her constrained circumstances, this marked the optimal outcome attainable.

Crack... Shatter...

All at once, her surroundings quaked fiercely.

Ere she could respond, the challenge realm splintered and crumbled.

The very next moment, Eleanore was back in her seat facing the stele.

Next to her, Alex stayed still, deeply engaged in his trial.

Right then, a subtle luminous mark on the stele's face caught her eye.

Directing her sight there, a roster of prizes emerged in her vision.

-

Eleanore gave a faint head shake as the recollection dissolved.

She faced Alex.

"Not really. It was good enough," Eleanore answered his previous query. "It’s the points I gained. I don’t have enough points to redeem what I want from the reward list."

***