The Herbalist’s Workshop was far too stuffy for most people. Salire was sweating even before they got to work on the experimental reagent splicing. Theo was perfectly comfortable thanks to his Coat of Rake, but he sympathized. But those concerns melted away under the weight of recent changes. Not only his ascension to the next realm in both his alchemy and herbalist cores, but also the workshop itself and his acceptance of the Drogramath Dedication ability. His thoughts felt as though they teetered on things he already knew, and the seemingly limitless knowledge of Drogramath himself. It was a heady experience that would take getting used to.

Theo was adept at pushing past this mental discomfort, and laid out the first two reagents he planned to experiment with. Earth Wheat, and the local Spiny Swamp Thistle. Both had a deep alignment with earth and held something similar to the Holy element. But not quite. Using the Research upgrade of the workshop, he confirmed his suspicions.

[Wheat]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Food]

Common

A common plant often milled into flour.

Research:

Infused with a mixture of Drogramath and Dreamrealm power.

Medium growth cycle with excellent healing properties.

Will easily provide the base of a splicing operation.

Hidden fourth alchemical property.

Properties:

[Healing] [Regeneration] [Sow]

The Research upgrade provided information that Theo had seen before. The Wheat was aligned with Drogramath and Tero’gal, which wasn’t surprising. It had a slower than normal growth cycle, which he had seen in the small farm. But the newest bit of information claimed it would provide a good ‘base’ for reagent splicing. The alchemist drew on his innate knowledge, understanding that one plant would be the base, and the other would be grafted on. Both plants would be cut just above the root. The top of one would be grafted onto the other with mana. Easy enough.

“What do you think?” Salire asked, pulling Theo out of his thoughts.

Wheat and Spiny Swamp Thistle was on her list. Theo expected the combination to work fantastically. With two complete samples, roots and all, the alchemist cut both plants just above the roots. He took the roots and part of the stem from the wheat, placing the spiny stem from the Swamp Thistle on top. The alchemist held his hand over where they joined, closing his eyes as he focused on his Reagent Splicing skill. Even before using it, he felt how similar it was to Reagent Deconstruction. Unlike the destructive skill, this one would bind both plants together. Mana welled into his fingertips, eager to magically weld the two plants.

“Should work like this,” Theo said, pressing his fingers onto the seam. Flaming purple mana flooded the space between the plants, stitching the two pieces together in an instant. He opened his eyes, looking down at the plant.

“Interesting,” Salire said, watching as the mana worked its way up and down the plant. It didn’t just form the two samples together. It changed them both entirely.

“Very interesting. Ah. More interesting things.”

As the purple flames danced over the spliced plant, a system message appeared.

[Reagent Splicing]

Attempting to splice Wheat with Spiny Swamp Thistle…

Splicing success chance: 95%

Wheat properties:

[Healing] [Regeneration] [Sow]

Spiny Swamp Thistle properties:

[Healing] [Regeneration] [Flourish]

Perfect match for [Healing] property. Generating evolved property.

Shuffling all other properties…

The fire intensified, forcing Theo to shield his eyes. While he was blinded, he thought about the prompt. An evolved property was interesting, and he remembered seeing one on the plant that Azrug named Throk’s Weed. The mana died down, revealing the completely changed plant. It was somewhere between a tall stalk of Wheat and the stout Spiny Swamp Thistle. It had characteristics of both, but how it produced the usable reagent would take some time. The plant would need to grow first.

“Neat!” Salire said. “But it's all question marks.”

Theo inspected the plant, finding that his assistant was right.

[????]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Hybrid Plant]

Epic

A unique hybrid plant created from a Wheat plant and a Spiny Swamp Thistle.

Properties:

[????] [????] [????]

That was an annoying aspect of hybrid plants Theo wished wasn’t real. Anything that someone had yet to discover showed up with the question marks. It made sense that a hybrid between Wheat and Spiny Swamp Thistle resulted in an unidentified item. No one had access to Wheat before it created itself in Tero’gal. The two other times the alchemist had seen this happen was with plants that were local to the area. Since Broken Tusk hadn’t been developed properly, the local flora hadn’t been explored.

“I’m going to strangle Azrug if he names this something stupid,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes at the new plant.

“Should we get him now?”

Theo looked down at the new plant he had created. Sections of the stalk already showed signs of instability. He had to look close to see those things, drawing on his new knowledge to identify small burned lines that others would miss. The splice was a success, but if he didn’t plant it in his Experimental Garden it would degrade. He explained as much to Salire before heading outside to plant his new creation. Once in the soil and the proper settings toggled on the build expansion, the plant stabilized.

“We’ll wait until there’s a few of them for him to check,” Theo said, standing and dusting himself off. “For now, we’ll make sure this one is happy.”

Salire had some observations about the process that she verbalized. Theo listened to her assessment and agreed that there would be problems down the line. The system claimed that the splicing should have had a ninety-five percent success rate, but there were obvious issues with the forceful process. The alchemist’s assumption was that he was meant to perform the splice, then place it into a stable environment immediately. They went back into the workshop, selecting the next two plants to work on.

“This one stuck out to me,” Theo said pressing his finger into Salire’s notebook. It was her entry for Roc Berries and Wind Tulips.

“Going with the elemental alignment concept?” Salire asked, putting a check next to the entry.

“They just feel like they match. Especially considering how they grow. They’re both little bushes that enjoy rocky soil. Combined with the Wind alignment, I think they will work well with each other.”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“Let’s do it!”

Theo had to uproot a Wind Tulip and Roc Berry plant from his greenhouses for this experiment. He inspected both, finding the research section of the plant to claim that the Roc Berry plant would serve as a better base than the Wind Tulips. He cut them both near the root, then bound them together with his mana. A system message popped up, detailing his progress.

[Reagent Splicing]

Attempting to splice Roc Berry with Wind Tulip…

Splicing success chance: 100%

Roc Berry properties:

[Feather] [Retreat] [Wind Shell]

Wind Tulip properties:

[Increase Dexterity] ???? ????

Unknown properties…

Your herb lore isn’t good enough to produce a stable spliced plant.

Shuffling properties.

The system could have just slapped him in the face if it wanted to be so rude. Theo thought of his herb lore as more than good enough, but he cleared his throat and carried the plant out to the garden plot as though his pride wasn’t wounded. The resulting plant was a gnarled, question mark filled entry that took to the soil instantly. Since he brought it to the nourishing soil so quickly, there were no negative effects visible on the trunk or the branches of the plant. Just a mildly burned section where it was spliced.

“I’m not so confident about this one,” Theo said, producing an example of the Wind Tulip flower from his inventory. “Make a note that we should examine the properties of a reagent before splicing it.”

“Noted,” Salire said, jotting the information into her notes. She joined with him back in the workshop where he intended to break Wind Tulips down to get better than ‘good enough’ herb lore.

“I’ll show you ‘good enough,’” Theo grumbled, applying his mana to a sample. It broke down into a primal essence, revealing the first of two new properties. He repeated the process for both the third and hidden fourth properties before examining the tulip.

[Wind Tulip]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Common

Poppy enchanted with elemental wind. Grows near concentrated wind fonts.

Research:

Infused with a mixture of Drogramath and Dreamrealm power.

Slow growth cycle with heavy alignment to wind.

Binds well with Roc Berries. Serves as the fruit-generating part of the combination.

Properties:

[Increase Dexterity] [Retreat] [Air Blade] [Wind Walk]

Theo had never seen Air Blade or Wind Walk. He felt as though Air Blade was a weapon coating property, while Wind Walk was an enhancement-style potion. The research feature of his workshop also revealed more about how well it bound with the Roc Berry plant, which was encouraging. The two plants also shared a property, which should make the splicing process smoother. As all this information was not revealed to Salire, he read everything out for her.

“I’m mostly interested in the new property,” she said, writing the information down. “It gives me the impression that it would be a great stealther potion.”

“Really?” Theo asked, thinking about it for a moment. She might have been right about that one. “Let’s splice two plants together again so we can observe the difference. For science.”

“For science!” Salire shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

Theo performed the same splicing he had done before, sacrificing another two plants from his greenhouses. He made sure the golems had orders to replant those, drawing from the cultivated living plants he already had. When the Drogramathi fire filled the room with blinding light, the alchemist saw the system message that confirmed his herb lore was ‘good enough.’

[Reagent Splicing]

Attempting to splice Roc Berry with Wind Tulip…

Splicing success chance: 100%

Roc Berry properties:

[Feather] [Retreat] [Wind Shell]

Wind Tulip properties:

[Increase Dexterity] [Retreat] [Air Blade] [Wind Walk]

Perfect match for [Retreat] property. Generating evolved property.

Shuffling all other properties…

That was better. The resulting plant even seemed more stable than before. Theo and Salire rushed it out to the garden before anything could happen. It was best to avoid explosions when possible.

“Oh, that’s strange,” Salire said, kneeling close to inspect the plant. “The first one we made didn’t have an item name, but this one does.”

Theo squinted, then leaned in to inspect the plant.

[Zephyr Berries]

Rare

A curious little berry I discovered while hiking the highland areas near Zalaban. To my surprise, the berry was unnamed and undocumented. Therefore I shall name it the Zephyr Berry after the breezes that blow through these lands. In the land of kings. In the year 280 of the Second War of Ascension, Pugma has discovered this berry.

Properties:

[????] [????] [????]

“That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever read,” Theo said, leaning back from the plant. “Did some random guy wax poetically about finding a berry?”

“From the Second War of Ascension, no less.”

“When was that?” Theo asked, trying to remember the names of the ages. The First War of Ascension took place sometime between five- and ten-thousand years after the world was seeded.

“Twenty-thousand years ago? I’m not sure. I’ve always been bad with history.”

Theo had also heard about the Zalaban empire… or was it Mazzlebar? Bazzlebon? It didn’t matter. He was certain that was the long-lost empire that occupied this continent. Well before it was destroyed by Balkor. Perhaps even longer ago than the rise of Tarantham.

“Pugma,” Salire said, making a sour face. “What sort of name is that?”

“I don’t envy someone with that name.”

Splicing new plants had really eaten away at the day. While it had been discovering new things, Theo wanted to address something with Throk. The hovering platform project should have been well on its way, and he was eager to see what something like that could do. The alchemist departed from his workshop, walking with Salire to the lab before heading off for the artificer’s workshop. He was happy to see everyone going about their daily lives, uninterrupted by whatever nonsense this world sought to throw them.

Throk could hardly be seen in the smithy anymore. He spent nearly all his time in the Artificer’s Workshop, toiling away to make interesting devices. Theo passed by the smithy, waving at Thim. The dwarf had taken the place over entirely, even training several apprentices of his own. Remembering a time when the dwarf had pretended to a novice, the alchemist pushed on to the workshop. It was right around the corner, hugging the bend and across the street from Xam’s tavern.

Theo peeked inside of the workshop, finding Throk pressing a handheld artifice against one of his fake coins. Once the alchemist was certain that the artificer was in a decent enough mood, he crossed the threshold into the workshop. Piles of old artifices were strewn around. The power core to the elven automaton rested in the corner, mostly disassembled by now. Perhaps that was what gave the marshling the information he needed to create self-sustaining batteries for constructs.

“Are you going to lurk, or do you have something to ask?” Throk’s question rumbled across the workshop. Such a small creature shouldn’t have been capable of inspiring such dread.

“Checking on the hovering platform,” Theo said.

Throk placed his device on the table, pausing as though in thought. “I have it working pretty well, actually. The cable idea paid off.” He turned around, revealing the lopsided smile on his face. “Want to go for a ride?”

Theo had never wanted to do anything less than ride the hovering platform. He nodded in agreement, and searched his inventory for the potion that would save him from a deadly fall. His emergency Retreat potions were always close at hand, especially those modified with Refined Elemental Wind. That would grant him the Feather effect for ten seconds, reducing his fall speed if the platform failed. The alchemist followed Throk around the workshop, finding the platform resting in the junk-strewn field behind both the Artificer’s Workshop and the smithy.

“Why are you holding a potion?” Throk asked, adjusting settings on an iron box. The box was connected with the platform by a spool of Tworgnothi Copper wires.

“I’m an alchemist. Ever see an alchemist without a potion in their hands?”

Throk actually issued one sharp, bark-like laugh. “Fair enough,” he said, pressing one final button.

The platform raised into the air slightly, tilting to one side as the engines buzzed to life. There was a bit too much rattling for Theo’s liking, but it was hovering. Tilting his head to one side, the alchemist could almost see something happening near the engines. Just outside of his weak magical sight, there was an interaction between the platform’s magic and the power soaking the air. He pressed his hand on the metallic surface of the platform, activating his Intuitive Nodes and selecting the duration option as he chanted a spell. The marshling grumbled his objections, but within a few tries the Deflect Magic ward activated. A shimmering prismatic barrier sprung up around the platform and the rattling stopped.

“Ah. Guess that works,” Throk said, stomping over to inspect the platform. “I thought there was a problem with the hover engines. Guess not.”

Throk performed a demonstration of the platform’s capabilities. After applying the ward, it hovered like a dream. He had even installed safety railing. It went up smoothly, hovering exactly where the marshling told it to before descending smooth as delicious karatan butter.

“I didn’t think it was ready,” Throk said, scratching his chin. “But I guess the ward was the key.”

“Should’ve guessed,” Theo said, clicking his tongue as he thought.

Theo and Salire had been creating enough Hallow the Soil potion to choke most of the southlands in purifying mist. But it wouldn’t be enough to cover the area they wanted to cover in the north. They could load the thing up with guns, shooting an anti-undead shot at the ground. Or perhaps it was better to air-drop golems in places that were too hard to reach by foot.

“Oh, just spit it out,” Throk moaned. “Are we going to Gronro or not? I gotta hook up the cargo cart to the train if we’re going.”

“Let’s go,” Theo said. “Let’s put your weird hovering platform to the test.”

“My platform isn’t weird. You’re weird.”