The Way Ahead

Chapter 94b: Proper Attribution

Chapter 94b: Proper Attribution

Edwin had left his notifications on free display in case he got an Alchemy level or something, but he had not been expecting a Refining level-up. It had been this strange, elusive target among his Skills and every time he thought he might have a grasp on what would make it tick... it hadnt triggered, but all of a sudden it just leveled? What the heck did he do? Was it the attempt to concentrate his own mana? Including it in the potion?

He pulled up his Almanac entry on the Skill, to see if there were any hints there as to what hed done differently.

Almanac Entry: The Refining Skill

Description:

Better. Faster. Stronger.

Isolate and improve desirable qualities

Strength of refinement improves with level.

RefiningSources

[Produced by the combination of the Practical Alchemist Path (PracticalAlchemistPath) and the Purify skill.]

RefiningLeveling

[Absolutely no clue. Attempting to refine a minority component of a substance didnt level

it, attempting to make a leaf more green didnt level it, and trying to make stone harder didnt either.]

RefiningEvolutions

[]

Refining is an interesting Skill in that I have no clue what it does. It seems to be alchemy-related, but so far it has yet to level despite numerous attempts to figure out what it affects. See Experiment Series A

RefiningNotes

[This Skill is my bane. I hate it so much.

Oh hey, thats how you edit an entry. Ill leave this up for now.]

RefiningCombinations

[]

RefiningTestIndex

[A-Series:

Testing the parameters by which the Refining skill will level, and accordingly, what it does

RefiningTestA1

RefiningTestA2

.]

Hmm. No nothing new or interesting there. Did he finally figure out what desirable qualities were, then? Did it help him connect his potions to the System, maybe? Did trying to boost his Attributes via potioneering mean that hed finally hit upon what the Skill did?

Hed need to have a word with whoever called it Refining instead of instead of Attribution or whatever, if that were the case. Not Attribution, that was a terrible name. But he wasnt some strange quasi-omniscient System, he didnt have to come up with a better alternative to recognize that Refining was a terrible name if it did what he thought it did.

he was probably wrong about what it did, didnt it? He needed to figure out a series of tests to figure out what the Skills limits were, but how would he do that?

Ah well, problem for future-Edwin. Now, he just needed to focus on this potion so he didnt screw it up and hope his distraction hadn't already done so.

Edwin fed a trickle of mana to the tip of his finger, pulling once more on the long-neglected Basic Mana Manipulation instead of the more streamlined Mana Infusion. After all, he wasnt trying to Infuse anything after all, just bring his mana to bear. With a final tug, he succeeded, and he looked on in satisfaction at the end of his index finger. There, the flavorless bead of magic hung, shining to his mana sense like a drop of water ready to fall off. But, he knew, it wouldnt fall. It wasnt going anywhere until he let it. And before then, he had a job to do.

Calling on Refining didnt do anything. No surprise there, though hed been hopeful that now his Refining had actually leveled he might be able to contort it into being an active Skill, like what hed done with Firestarting and Packing. Alas, it wouldnt be that easy. Refining still required he use the tools he had on hand, and that meant taking his drop of mana and compressing it as much as possible into a single bead of magic.

Basic Mana Manipulation was up to the task, if barely. It felt like trying to make a snowball with a teaspoon, but he had time. He could focus. He kept concentrating on the tiny pinpoint of mana, pushing it bit by bit smaller and smaller, trying to concentrate it into something. He was acting on instinct and hoping it was the System giving him a nudge, basically.

As he continued, it kept fighting him, and Edwin had to give it every last bit of strength he could muster behind his Skills. Perception was tuned to its max in Basic Mana Sense, and he just kept pushing, and pushing

Edwin felt like a mad scientist and he loved it. Working in a small, cramped lab with a thunderstorm raging outside, surrounded by bubbling brews? This was the best. He was concentrating raw power at his literal fingertips, and all he needed now was a good maniacal laugh timed with a lightning strike and hed be set.

Give or take a day, yes. You seemed focused. The man withdrew a cloth-wrapped package from one of his belt pouches, tossing it to Edwin. Hm. Hed grown inured to the sight of seeing something be retrieved that was bigger than the container it came from, but this was perhaps the first time he saw something that was bigger than the opening of the container as well.

Guess I was, Edwin admitted. He easily snagged the bundle from the air and unwrapped it, revealing a pastry that Almanac and Alchemical Analysis told him was filled with some kind of meat.

He took a bite and nodded in appreciation. It was actually good, which meant that none of his traveling companions could have made it. He, of course, was banned from cooking for Lefi, Yathal, and Kyni until they figured out if Arcadian Elixir was hazardous. Generally, he disliked what they made for much the same reasons, though hed usually still make a bit of food for himself whenever Lefi or Kyni hunted something.

But that this meat pastry actually tasted good to him meant

We passed through a town?

Lefi nodded, A few days hence, there was a delicious town with a tiny little bakery.

He frowned, A tiny little town with a delicious bakery, and we all enjoyed what we got, and thus determined you might like some as well once you had finished!

Edwin nodded appreciatively. Whatever Skill nonsense was going on meant that the pastry was still warm, and it was just what he needed to help take his hunger away at the moment. Whatever levels the baker had clearly were more than enough to surpass Arcadian Elixirs effects, and Edwin was grateful to have something that tasted so good that he didnt have to make himself.

So, he asked around a mouthful of food, What else did I miss?

Lefi thought for a moment, Nothing you might find relevant to your adventure. The thunderstorm persisted for some time, however since that time we have experienced more overcast and sunny days. Yathal has been getting a bit bored without your training to watch, but that is all.

Yeah! More hitting! the bloodthirsty little scamp cheered from his position riding Kyni, and Edwin just barely managed to restrain himself from sticking his tongue out at the boy. It wouldnt be proper, he told himself.

and his mouth was still full of meat pastry.

He finished scarfing down the food in a couple more minutes- the wonderful flavor leaving him far, far too soon- and took another deep drink from his canteen. He handed the cloth back to Lefi, who flashed a Skill and cleaned the rag in the blink of an eye before he tucked it back into his belt pouch.

What magnificent creation have you come upon now, my friend? Surely after a week of work you must have something truly special, no?

Edwin shrugged, Im not entirely sure, honestly. I was just following my gut, and was trying to concentrate and include mana in a potion. Id finally gotten Refine to level, see. So I wanted to follow that instinct as much as I could just to see what would happen.

And? Surely, the great and mighty Edwin Maxlin, Alchemist-Errant extraordinaire, alchemical revolutionary must have some sort of magnificent result?

Thats not how science works, Edwin sheepishly admitted, If I did make anything, it would probably be really minor. All that it was was a proof of concept. Though admittedly Skill leveling makes it sort of a directed leveling huh. What does make Skills level for knowledge-based abilities? If I do something right, does that level it? Does the universe automatically tell me when Im doing something right? That doesnt seem like its true given what was going on in Panastalis anyway! Im getting distracted. Basically, dont expect anything too special. But you might know better than I what it is, given your Common Knowledge skill.

Did you not obtain it?

Edwin shrugged, You were there when I tried. But no, my Identify upgrade just lets me see what things are made of. Useful in some situations I really should use it more, but I just have so much stuff to do it can be pushed off to the back of my mind a lot. Anyway! Im getting distracted again. Let me grab the result.

He ducked into his lab to Inions vocal complaint, Dont you go back in there before you sleep!

Ill be just a minute! I promise!

I will be making you fall asleep in a minute, young man!

Youre not my mother!

Stop making me act like it, then!

Im just going to show Lefi this and get him to Identify it. Thats all, I promise! Edwin protested.

He was really good at avoiding Inions attacks at this point, which meant even with her interposed between him and his lab bench, he was able to sneak around and snag the crystal block containing his precious potion like she wasnt even there.

He pulled the potion back to Lefi, who took one look at the fluid- eyes flashing with Identify tinged with a sort of bluish-red, the color of Common Knowledge- and let out a low whistle.

High-grade Stamina catalyst, according to this.

What?

Not an alchemist, so I dont know much. But Im pretty sure this is what youd need to interact with Attributes such as Stamina. It is, of course, nothing less than I would expect from the brilliant Edwin!

Why do people keep saying Im smart? Edwin minorly complained, But that doesnt explain why it would be high-grade, not as a prototype. Unless maybe my Skills compensated for it, now that this interacts with the System in some way? he wondered aloud, Man, what does my Refining skill look like now, I wonder?

He started to turn his attention to his Status, but before he could even fully formulate the thought, his sleep-deprived brain not so much sluggish as unruly, a presence slammed into him.

Minutes up! Inion descended upon him like an avenging angel, a Skill forming in her throat. In a moment of panic, he recognized it as Restful Song, which would absolutely knock him out in no time flat. Unless maybe his Adaptive Defense was against sleeping? Would the Skill still affect him?

Wait, wait! No! he protested, Just let me look at my notifications fir-

Darkness.