Gentle waves lapped through the harbor and Broken Tusk. Several ships were currently docked, and several more were being worked on in the shipyard. Theo kicked his legs over the edge, going over his list of potions and combinations with magical effects. Although he had tried, he hadn’t figured out a way to infuse combined properties into a potion yet. He spotted a low ship in the water. He thought for a moment it was the lizard folk ship, but it was a low-running elven ship coming up the canal and setting into port. The buzz of activity in the harbor was practically electric. It was hard to fight off that infection.

    Several reagents Theo had cultivated, both in the mortal world and his own personal throne world, produced incredibly powerful effects. There was the Dragon Apple, the Xotl Orange, the Fairy Plum, and the Soul Bloom. With the ability to replicate these properties without actually growing them, Theo wanted to discover what other properties they held. They were impossibly difficult to grow now that the time scale and the heavens had been adjusted.

    The alchemist withdrew one of the few dragon apples he had from his inventory. He held it, considering a bite for a moment before resisting the urge. Instead, he injected his mana inside and watched as the fruit’s structure broke down. While it turned to ash in his hand, what remained was the primal essence containing all information about the first three reagents. Because of the item’s complex structure, he could not discover the hidden fourth property.

    After consuming the properties from the apple, he inspected the item.

    [Dragon Apple]

    [Alchemy Ingredient] [Spirit Fruit]

    Mythic

    The favored food of dragons older than time itself, these fruits are said to increase the strength of whoever eats them.

    Properties:

    [Dragon’s Breath] [Dive] [Overwhelming Power]

    As always, it was impossible to know exactly what the properties did, but both sounded interesting. While he was eager to figure out what each one did, he first wanted to get the properties from the other reagents. He started with the orange. This orange was themed around underwater fish people. The two properties he had yet to discover would no doubt follow the same theme.

    [Xotl Orange]

    [Alchemy Ingredient] [Spirit Fruit]

    Mythic

    Lurking in the deepest places of the world, an ancient race of fish-people cultivated this fruit. Imbued with the power of the things that lurk in the darkest reaches, the Xotl orange embodies what it means to live at such depths.

    Properties:

    [Xotl’s Undercurrent] [Spume] [Water Walking]

    “Ew, what the hell is ‘spume’?” Theo asked, wincing as he read the two new properties. The system rarely gave him properties that were outright nasty, but he wasn’t eager to figure out what the word meant. Yet, the third property on the reagent looked valuable. Who wouldn’t want to walk on water, after all?

    Once he finished the orange, he moved on to the plum. This possessed an incredibly powerful property. Although he wasn’t sure he wanted to replicate it in a potion using his infusion method. He watched the plum turn to dust in his hand and then inspected the item.

    [Fairy Plum]

    [Alchemy Ingredient] [Spirit Fruit]

    On his way back to the manor, he was intercepted by a marshal riding a flying dragon goose. Tresk and Alex landed heavily on the main road of Broken Tusk. Alex roared, honked, and shot fire into the air, while Tresk performed some impressive combat moves.

    “We got another negative dungeon,” Tresk said, finishing her statement with a pose. “The Ocean Dungeon went to -1 just a few minutes ago.”

    “Oh, perfect,” Theo said. “I was thinking we could get some more horrors from an indescribable world into town. Is the Hills Dungeon still stable?”

    “Nope, one monster got out earlier today,” Tresk said. “And it wasn’t even part of a monster wave, so everybody’s nice and confused.”

    “Ah, yes. Horrors beyond our comprehension,” Theo said with a slow nod. “Any progress from the wizard’s end?”

    “Kinda,” Tresk said with a shrug. “He says he won’t really know what’s going on until he gets in there. And Fenian isn’t answering the phone.”

    “The damn elf is up to something again,” Theo grumbled. “If that man has his way, he’ll shatter all our plans before they even happen. I was talking to Elrin, and we think we have a way to prevent the war we were planning in Death’s Realm.”

    “Make sure Fenian knows about your plan,” Tresk said. “Otherwise, he’s going to find a way to get there and try to stab the god of death in the face.”

    “Yeah, that’s normally your move,” Theo said, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

    “Hey, what can I say? I’ve changed,” Tresk said, striking another pose. “I’m just better, faster, and stronger.”

    “I don’t think any of those things have to do with your personality,” Theo said with a sigh. “But come on, I’m sure Rowan has some food ready for us.”

    Tresk had to put Alex in the stables for the night before she joined them. This gave Theo time to inspect his administration interface and see that a problem existed: the dungeons were still operating at a negative power level. Xol’sa was doing his best to stabilize them, but there was only so much he could do. The amount of power leaking from the recovering elves spread out, no matter what they tried.

    Elrin had hinted that the shards were designed to absorb some of that void magic, and since he had placed one in the correct place, it was doing part of the job. But even the combined efforts of the wizard and the shard weren’t enough to contain all that energy. Theo was worried. It would soon boil over.

    Theo was delighted to see that Rowan had created something moderately similar to jambalaya. It was sausages, zee that had been processed into granules, and some spicy liquid, all mixed into a pot. He recalled meals he had back on Earth that mimicked this dish, although those preserved meals in a bag didn’t even come close.

    Trask eventually returned after settling Alex down for the night. She joined them at the table and spooned a large helping of the spicy food onto her plate. Theo had already taken a few bites, and light perspiration had appeared on his forehead.

    “This reminds me of something,” Tresk said, tapping her spoon against her plate. “Do you remember when we were eating those salamander eggs in the lab? I think Luras was there.”

    The Alchemist couldn’t help but smile. He remembered that moment very well. Spicy food was an amazing distraction from the weight of their responsibilities. He remembered that moment fondly.

    “I remember a certain lizard girl who hoarded her salamander eggs for quite some time,” Theo said.

    “Yeah, you don’t even know about half of my stashes,” Tresk said with a self-assured chuckle. “Actually, I don’t even know about half of them, because I keep forgetting where I put them.”

    Tomorrow, Theo planned to do a lot of testing with his new properties. The only issue was finding the perfect vehicle to imbue them. He was confident he could get a good idea of what they did from that. For now, he enjoyed his meal and the lively conversation that sprung up around the table.