Serena arrived at the Ravendalls' mansion, her satchel filled with an assortment of mana potions as was her custom. The potions were not complete, given their lingering dark green shade. This meant that the reaction with mana had not yet occurred. This was only logical, as Alice had yet to generate said mana.

With her grandiose spell, Alice made certain the mana generated by the dark panels was uniformly dispersed among the potions, rather than being absorbed by her. Within several seconds, all the liquids began bubbling. This meant that the mana was being stored as some kind of chemical energy in the solution.

Although the procedure appeared simple and straightforward, Alice and Serena had been taken by surprise when the beakers holding the potions burst during their initial attempt to imbue them with 'Ortu Solis'. After all, the neutralization of mana was an exothermic reaction, and it was even more violent when the flow of mana was ignored. Given that the initial plan involved brute-forcing the neutralization process by using a vast amount of mana, the containers had proved unable to withstand the reaction.

As a result, Alice had had to lower the spell's output and use the remaining generated mana to further expand the panel surfaces.

After only a few seconds, all the solutions turned blue, and the liquid took on this syrupy consistency that Alice was getting used to.

“And... there we have it. I'll put the finishing touches on them later. But I must say, the quality of these potions is truly exceptional. Are you sure you don’t want to split the benefits? They sell at a high price, and I feel like I’m stealing all that mana from you…”

“I do not mind, as long as you are focused on the pseudo-artifact.”

Serena grinned as she proudly lifted the pendant hanging around her neck for Alice to see.

“Don’t deactivate your spell, then. I have something to show you.”

“I-is it what I think it is?”

“Absolutely. It’s finished.”

Alice's eyes widened in admiration, and a radiant smile spread across her face. The pendant, a brilliant shade of emerald, was smaller than Alice had anticipated.

“T-this is amazing! You have done a fantastic job! What is its storage capacity?”

Hearing this honest praise, Serena looked a bit embarrassed. Still, she was proud of her work. Fulfilling her research on the reproduction artifacts had taken most of her free time, but it had paid off at last.

“I designed it specifically for you, so it can withstand your entire mana pool. I had to saturate the solution beforehand so that it could accommodate the abundant mana while remaining small enough.”

“Are you saying that I can double my mana pool with this? Is that not excessive?”

“I can downgrade it if you want.”

“No! That one will do, thanks!”

“Very well. You can start channeling mana into it.”

With a focused expression, Alice shifted the flow of mana from the panels, directing it toward the pendant she held.

There were parts of the artifact that were transparent, probably so that the user could see the state of the reaction. Soon, the green liquid bubbled, turning blue as it became charged.

“Now, what do I do?”

“This artifact contains multiple compartments. Hold it like this, and rotate that section.”

Alice complied, and some liquid met the rest as a valve opened.

“Ah, it turned yellow. Then, I just have to rotate this part in a similar manner?”

“Yup. It’s an acid that reproduces what happens within the stomach. It was quite difficult to find, honestly.”

Suddenly, the liquid became colorless, and bubbles began to form in the mixture. Surely, she had never seen a potion do that.

“Um… Is that normal?”

“Yes, this step mirrors what happens within the body. Look, the liquid is now evaporating.”

“... Now it is empty.”

“It appears so, but it’s not. It’s full of mana.”

“Amazing… How do I retrieve it if it’s neutralized?”

“Open up the pendant, think of it as an extension of your hand, and try to displace that mana. You should be able to naturally mark it by doing so.”

Alice concentrated and placed her right hand over the artifact, trying to make mana flow out of the pendant just as instructed. When she did it, a small but sudden burst of energy erupted from the artifact, manifesting through Serena's mana lens as a flash of light. The intense surge of power was palpable, sending ripples through the air that even Serena could feel. It was a feeling akin to the vibrations of an infrasound that one could sense in their bones, despite being unable to hear it.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"That's a noble for you. That sure didn't happen when I tried it out myself."

"This must be because of the sudden mobilization of a large quantity of mana in the air, don't you think?"

"I suppose that did occur a few times with your mana-recovering spell. So, how does it feel to have this much mana at your disposal?"

Alice was moved. Her teacher had been working on it for a few months already, but the result went beyond her expectation. She now had a large amount of mana that she could use at any time, making her mana pool artificially greater than her father's. Although, she would rather have naturally expanded her mana pool by physically growing through those few last years.

On top of this practical aspect, the artifact was way fancier than she had anticipated, with it matching the color of her eyes. It wouldn't be strange if she were to wear it at all times.

“This is truly remarkable. Can I transfer the mana back into the pendant?”

“You can, but now that it’s marked it will decay way faster. Also, only you will be able to use that mana. If you want to store it longer, you'll have to fill all of the artifact's compartments manually beforehand.”

“I see. Really, thank you. You will provide me with all the necessary liquids, right?”

“Well, I will if you continue filling up my potions, of course.”

“Wha? This was not the deal!"

Alice frowned, but Serena merely shrugged.

"There was no deal about the supply of the solution, though. I've designed and built the artifact, and you have filled up my potions. Now that it's done, we can just make a new deal."

"I-I refuse to fill up your potions all my life!”

“Good luck making the solution for the artifact yourself, then. I’m sure you’ll find the process in those ancient books of yours.”

“You…!"

“You were probably thinking that I had become too dependent on you for my potions but, in reality, you’re the one who depends on me! I win!”

“I-I will ask Viktor to introduce me to another potion maker and I will buy the process for myself!”

“By all means, try your luck. Maybe, just maybe, someone will figure out the proper solutions and adjustments within a year. That is if they haven't sold you to nobles by then. As a matter of fact, I've had to sell those mana-saturated potions under a different name. I'm sure all the potion makers in the kingdom are already searching for the source of all that mana.”

Serena's voice held a teasing edge, but the concern in her eyes betrayed a genuine worry about more people discovering their secret.

“A-alright. I at least intend to continue filling your potions until I am an adult.”

“That’s in two months, right? Will you have to go to a temple even though you’ve already awakened?”

“I am afraid I have to. I got the invitation before I even met you. It is in the capital, too.”

“The capital, huh? It’s been a while since I went there. I would love to see Viktor’s other disciples that stayed there. Can I go with you?”

“There is no way I will let you take a spot. Securing a spot for Alistair is already challenging, so he takes precedence.”

Serena feigned a wounded expression, her hand over her heart.

"You would pick your brother over me?!"

“Of course I would!”

“I’ll see you next time then, my comrades... Still, it’s hard to believe you’ll soon be an adult.”

“I am nearing the end of my theoretical lessons, my etiquette is nearly perfect, and my magical skills surpass those of most adults already. I think I have matured a lot.”

“Well, yeah, but you don’t look your age at all. Like, right now, twelve is the most I would-”

“I dare you to finish that sentence.”

“I-I won’t.”

Alice’s face remained stoic, but her stance had shifted subtly; she was very clearly positioning herself to tackle her teacher at any moment with a quick activation of her strengthening spell. Serena wisely let the subject drop, knowing full well that persisting would have led her to suggest that Alice looked even younger than that to her.

"W-we should celebrate your coming of age some other time."

"Not a bad idea. This would be nice a pajama party of sorts, I suppose."

"... Pajama party? I was rather thinking of Viktor inviting you and your family to his estate..."

(W-what am I, ten?!)

"Um... Yes, let us prepare something along those lines. B-by the way, what kind of place is the capital?"

"You're denying me the right to see my comrades again and you still ask me that? This is beyond cruel..."

"Sorry, it was thoughtless of me..."

"Just kidding, I don't really mind. The capital is the largest city in the kingdom, and more than a hundred thousand people live there. Since it's where the royal family, all the ministers and basically the most powerful individuals live, the architecture is really something to see. The Vallmonts' manor is plain in comparison."

"This does pique my interest. Now I kind of want to see what style of architecture they use in the capital."

(If the style is so different from here, I can't tell what it is... I would like to see something that looks like Romanticism or Baroque Revival...)

Frankly, this was another difference between Alice and her former self. While the latter traveled quite a bit and was completely indifferent to architecture, Alice was pretty intrigued but had to make do with those memories to satiate her curiosity.

(The ceremony will definitely be a hassle, but I guess it's fine if it gives me the opportunity to visit the capital.)