The Primal Hunter Chapter 1265 - Go Big Or Go Home

What exactly defines a flame? Typically, it's born from combustion or ignition, generating heat in the process. In the multiverse, though, flames aren't always hot; cold varieties exist too.

Reika, descendant of the Sword Saint through several generations, employed a cold-affinity fire for her alchemy work, achieving identical outcomes. Truth be told, warming the cauldron wasn't truly vital to the Alchemical Flame's function. Its core role lay in dismantling substances through a form of "combustion."

Jake's initial Alchemical Flame resembled a standard fire-affinity blaze, yet the difference remained crucial. The Alchemical Flame bore no inherent tie to fire-affinity, despite most versions leaning that way. Reika exemplified a user with an Alchemical Flame devoid of any fire essence... and Jake joined that rare company now.

His Alchemical Flame couldn't generate heat on its own. Rather, it manifested as an utterly bizarre blaze that Jake struggled to label as a flame at all. It appeared flame-like during summons and casual handling, but he soon discovered that illusion held only in its destructive form.

Reflecting Jake's arcane affinity, his Soulflame possessed dual states of stability and destruction, plus everything in between. Emphasizing destruction transformed it into a fiercely powerful blaze, shredding most materials with ease. Jake experimented with tough metal ingots and comparable items, watching his flame dissolve or pulverize them in moments.

Previously, his Alchemical Flame managed to decompose those ingots, though slowly and with greater disorder. Duration and disorder intertwined, since prolonged breakdown allowed ambient mana and subtle affinities to infiltrate and taint the substance.

Metals generally maintained perfect stability, absorbing only minimal environmental mana under controlled conditions, but Jake's interference shattered that balance.

In metaphorical terms, deconstructing a substance resembled drilling gaps to snap molecular links, yet those gaps invited stray energies inside. A rough analogy, sure, but it captured the essence of the mechanism.

Thus, quicker drilling minimized exposure, hastening the shift to a fresh stable form. Jake's swift Soulflame excelled here, and he observed its knack for repelling foreign concepts and energies amid the process. Imperfectly, yet impressively effective by his reckoning.

Enhancing this, Jake could steer the flame toward stability, accelerating the material's metaphorical "cooling" and locking it into the novel stable phase.

These traits alone convinced Jake his Soulflame suited alchemy like a glove, even if others wielded Soulflames yielding superb outcomes. Moreover, its sheer potency demanded intense focus and vigilance in destructive mode, where a split-second lapse might obliterate the target outright.

Jake reflected on the ancient lesson from the Order of the Malefic Viper about bonding Willpower to Soulflame. The details lingered sharp in his mind, drawn from the info crystal provided then. Now, wielding his genuine Soulflame rather than mimicking with basic Alchemical Flame, he grasped the brilliance of fortifying that Willpower link—while noting how little of it applied to him.

As a Supreme Soulflame, transmitting intent required no deep bond. Plus, originating from his arcane affinity, it came with innate command and profound intuition. Lastly, Jake's soul mastery and control far outstripped norms. Post-training with the First Sage, his soul dominion had soared, and with the Soulflame fused seamlessly into his soul, wielding it felt natural.

Oh, right, and his ridiculously elevated Perception stat aided immensely. Higher Perception amplified that further.

Shifting to stability experiments with his Soulflame, Jake first tempered its destructive edge, which dulled matter breakdown while boosting manageability. It served as a dial for pacing the deconstruction, granting finer precision. He could dim the flame by reducing input, but toggling states preserved consistent output, minimizing fluctuations in crafting. Flipping between stability and destruction outpaced ramping energy levels, particularly when dialing down, as flames needed time to "settle."

Advancing stability eroded its dismantling power, morphing it into a shielding physical barrier while flame-like in form. Jake summoned it to envelop objects, wielding it like telekinesis in a strangely visual and tactile way. Far from mere spectacle, though.

He saw its potential to shield select ingredients or craft segments during alchemy. Jake already used stable arcane mana wraps for this, but Soulflame promised superior efficiency. Normally, monitoring wrapped items amid surrounding breakdowns demanded constant vigilance, but now one flame handled isolation and destruction alike.

This state toggle didn't blanket the entire Soulflame; it targeted portions selectively. Jake could even divide it into separate tendrils for varied tasks, bounded only by his control limits.

Extremes of stability dissolved its flame nature altogether. Fully pushed, control grew arduous, with even slight motions draining effort until it solidified completely. In that form, Jake forged crystalline Soulflame artifacts—visually striking, but what practical use for a rigid Soulflame?

Jake brainstormed applications, but first pivoted to testing combat viability.

Not every Soulflame suited battle; combat-oriented ones often faltered in alchemy. Balanced Soulflames existed, and Supreme variants frequently shone in both realms.

Villy had noted Duskleaf's formidable Soulflame in fights, despite his alchemical prowess. Unsurprising for a god, but it affirmed dual-purpose potential.

Given his arcane affinity's combat prowess, Jake approached trials optimistically. He imagined himself cloaked in arcane infernos, gesturing to unleash disintegrating waves upon foes.

Eagerly diving in, Jake verified he could hurl destructive arcane flame surges, ravaging terrain... while scarcely scratching ensnared targets.

Indeed... His Soulflame demolished inert energies handily, but against directed or controlled energies—active ones—it barely scratched. Minor harm at best, outdone by plain arcane energy blasts via freeform magic.

Hope lingered! Though weak offensively, his arcane affinity endured superbly in stable mode. He'd solidified his Soulflame fully, so perhaps a Soulflame barrier could—

No, still inferior to freeform magic.

Jake's visions of Soulflame as a battle tool crumbled fast, drawing a quiet sigh. Further attempts yielded naught.

Regrettably, combat rendered his Soulflame nearly worthless. Its sole niche: shaping an arrow to pierce environmental mana constructs effortlessly, but awfully specialized.

Despair wasn't total. Skills could enable Soulflame combat, implying self-derived methods might emerge with time and ingenuity. Altering its environmental-targeting concept for broader mana could work, though daunting.

Shelving combat, Jake revisited an alchemical notion. Noting the Soulflame's total stability, he spotted another perk. In crystalline solidity, he could release control, and it persisted unchanging.

Mental recall sufficed for reclaiming it, without sustaining stability actively. Its inherent steadiness endured sans input, unheard of for Soulflames. All energies dissipated somewhat, but Jake's stable arcane mana sealed perfectly, explaining the feat.

Multiple trials confirmed it, sparking a bold alchemy test: cauldron-free crafting. Sort of—a nontraditional cauldron, technically.

Cauldrons facilitated environmental mastery in alchemy, managing heat, energy flow, and exclusion of intruders. Valuable ones brimmed with formations to contain internals while barring external contaminants.

Refinement risked taint, demanding isolation during breakdowns and extractions. Low-tier alchemy tolerated ambient interference, but advanced work required stringent controls.

Hence, quality cauldrons proved indispensable, and Jake relied on theirs for energy infusion and process integrity... until now, eyeing a substitute.

The concept struck him as absurd initially, but viability grew clearer, prompting action. Carving a Soulflame fragment, Jake maximized stability while retaining pliability. Laboriously, he molded it cauldron-shaped, then locked it stable.

Satisfied, Jake inhaled deeply and tested his hypothesis. Retrieving mana potion components from storage, he employed the crystalline Soulflame as vessel, incorporating materials.

A grin escaped as he channeled energy seamlessly via inner walls. Soul-linked, the Soulflame mediated infusions effortlessly. He even coaxed additional Soulflame from sides to fill the interior with minimal strain.

Requiring extra focus, yet after thirty minutes, Jake brewed a mana potion via Soulflame cauldron—quality matching his standard tool.

To verify repeatability, he produced more potions successfully. Emboldened, he tackled poisons, succeeding initially but hitting snags with rising complexity. Bane Poison attempt failed, the Soulflame vessel inadequate.

This trial showed Soulflame cauldrons enabled crafting, albeit tougher than physical ones. Fine for potions, but intricate works demanded inscribed formations. Energy infusion via Soulflame also taxed more than direct cauldron contact. Thus, challenging recipes stayed with real cauldrons.

Seeming futile for replacement... yet Jake deemed the venture triumphant. No full swap yet, but viable for simple brews confirmed.

Jake's alchemy edge lay in reliability. His success rates dwarfed peers', with potion failures a distant memory. That boldness fueled an audacious move few alchemists would attempt.

Cauldrons standardized sizes for consistency and optimal handling—not too cramped for ingredients, not too vast for oversight.

Still, modest yields capped at ten vials per batch. Scaling up risked failures and amplified losses, as bigger meant costlier wastes.

Jake shrugged off those perils... inspiring a move other alchemists might deem idiotic, though Villy would likely applaud.

Reforming a Soulflame cauldron, Jake supersized it, ballooning to meters-high—a vat, not a pot.

Grinning, he solidified the behemoth, dubbing it his Soulflame Mega Cauldron. Primed, he flooded it with water, then shoveled in herbs galore, smile unwavering.

Thus, Jake birthed a potion powerhouse in his lodge's basement. Go big or go home... and home he was, rendering the scheme impeccable.