After letting the crystal recharge overnight, it's time for more testing. This time, the first test is going to be with the boiled wood. For good measure, we actually have two separate sets of wood. One is the bark, and the other is the internal wood. Both were broken into small pieces before boiling as well. The boiled water of both have a nearly identical color, although the bark one seems slightly darker. We'll start with the bark, and move on from there.
As we fill the tank with liquid, I don't notice any immediate change in the crystal, but after the water has reached about the halfway point on the crystal, I notice that the internal glow seems to be more diffuse than before. The trend continues as the water envelops the crystal, and I notice that although the center of the crystal doesn't shine quite as bright, the outside shines a little brighter. After looking for any other irregularities, I spend some mana, and plunge my hand into the tank.
This time, it does regenerate. Better than the regular water did as well, by a significant amount. A short second test, and I'd estimate it is between ten and fifteen times as effective as regular water, which comes out to be about the same speed as surface regen rates for only a submerged arm. Given the initial successes, it's time for more detailed testing. For the next test, I'm going to spend a few hundred mana, and see how well it works for recovering that.
Initially, results were good. It was recovering my mana at the same rapid pace, but after fifty or so mana, I noticed the rate start to slow down somewhat, and continue reducing until it fell below the initial mana regen rate of even the water. After waiting for a little while, I was still missing about a hundred mana, and it was still proceeding at the reduced rate. Getting a little bored, I stirred the water with my hand. As I did so, I actually noticed the mana regeneration rate increase again. Not quite up to the full initial speed, but pretty close, probably about 80%. A repeated test of this process yielded promising results. This time, the water was kept well mixed, and it seemed to keep the 80% rate after the initial burst.
Considering this test a success, Zeb and I drained the tank around the crystal, and loaded it in with the non-bark wood water. The tests were successful, but not quite to the degree that the bark was. It was only around 70% the effectiveness of the bark water. It also experienced the same issue with stagnant water, and needed to be stirred to maintain its properties.
After draining this tank, we tested three more plant waters for their properties. Although a few showed some small benefit, none of them were nearly as effective as the boiled wood water for mana transfer from the crystal. For today, we'll call it a day. I still want the water to soak for a while longer with the plant material for the other tanks, so I think to pass the time, we'll boil more of the wood water, then boil more off to make it even more concentrated. I'm interested in seeing if concentration has an effect on its transfer rate.
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Another three days, and I think that the soaking water tests should be about ready now. Alongside that, I've made varying concentrations of boiled wood bark water. One twice as concentrated, another four times, and a final ten times concentration. Although the ten times concentration mixture is actually closer to a sludge.
We already know the bark water will work to some degree, so we'll start testing by using the twice as concentrated mixture. After getting everything set up and draining my mana, we begin the test. First, I'll do it without the vigorous stirring.
Not only does the initial rate slightly more than double, but the minimum rate comes up by almost four times. Stirring the water also almost brings it back up to the initial rate. The results from this have me excited to test the four times concentrated water. We hurriedly drain the tank around the crystal, and load in the next batch for testing.
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Results for this batch are even better. The initial rate is almost six times that of the first concentration we tested, and the unstirred mix was actually close to half the first concentration's maximum rate. Overall, very good. A constantly stirred tank of this would seemingly allow a pretty rapid regeneration of mana. Although there is a pretty strong scent of pine alongside it.
After draining the tank again, we load up the ten times concentration into the crystal tank. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately due to the consistency of the sludge, performance of this batch has fallen quite a bit. Although it initially charges me quite well, it actually falls to nearly a complete stop, and its consistency makes it almost impossible to mix. As we drain the sludge, we're also left with two new problems. First, I'll have to rinse the crystal and tank because the sludge doesn't drain nicely. Second, the crystal seems to have actually lost a decent amount of charge during this last test.
I'm making a guess, but there is probably something in the trees that stores mana and releases it, and boiling the wood has freed that substance into the water. When the water is heavily saturated with the stuff, it can actually hold quite a bit of mana and started draining the crystal.
There are other tests to do at some point down the road after I finish testing all these different liquids. One of the things I'd like to check is the shelf life of the boiled bark water. It'd be nice if it lasts forever, but I doubt that is the case. So, for now, We'll set aside the four times concentrated mix, and mark it to check it again a month from now. For today, that will be the extent of our tests though. Tomorrow we'll start the tests on the water that was soaking plant matter at room temperature.
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We start the day off by hauling over the bark soaking water first. It's color isn't nearly as dark as the boiled water, which I suppose is to be expected. However, what we didn't expect is that while we poured it into the tank with the crystal, when the liquid hit the crystal, that water turned very viscous. We kept pouring and filled the tank, and then began the normal test. I spent some mana, and dipped my hand into the very viscous water. While I did regenerate mana, it wasn't nearly as fast as the boiled wood was. It also was nearly impossible to stir, and it acted like a non-newtonian fluid, becoming temporarily solid when I tried to move it with too much force suddenly.
We decide to end the test there, since it clearly doesn't seem to fulfill its task as a mana conduit. As we drain it back down though, it becomes obvious that the crystal is actually missing a small amount of mana more than I would have expected. On a hunch, I have us fill it back up with the water. Then we just wait.
After multiple hours, the water suddenly clarifies, right as the crystal runs out of mana. Now when I stir it, it behaves just like normal water. To confirm, I go an get a smaller crystal from the crystal charging room, and submerge it in the water. Again, the water around the crystal turns into a thick liquid briefly. However, this crystal drains quickly, and the water returns to normal.
Which makes me want to try something else. I go and get some loose wood we have sitting around, and touch a crystal to it, and try to snap the wood. It's incredibly hard, like when we try to cut it down. After a bit, the mana in the crystal drains, and I can snap the stick again easily.
Since the main crystal is drained completely again, we'll have to wait another day before we can do any further testing with the soaking plant liquids. It's also only a few days until Zaka returns, and after that, it's only a month until we return down to the village before this whole area gets snowed in. With that being the case, we'll finish testing the different soaked waters we have here, and then I'd like to work on finishing the various constructions up here before the snow sets in. I want to finish the water collection terrace for sure, and I'd also like to finish getting the cart system set up in the cave. Since we now have a somewhat viable in-between material to stop magic electrocution, it means we can resume crystal growth experiments. Given the other tasks though, that won't resume until after winter.