The sensation of being awake all night and then waking up was strange. Theo rose the next morning when his body was ready to wake, pulling him out of the Dreamwalk without warning. Phantom warmth from his still lingered on his face and he heard Tresk stir in the bed across the room. She had a concerned look on her face but shook it off.

“That was weird,” she said.

Several system messages popped up, tallying his skill gain for the night.

[Drogramath Alchemy Core] received experience (8%).

[Drogramath Herbalist Core] received experience (6%).

[Governance Core] received experience (1.5%).

[Theo Spencer] received experience (2%).

The experience gains were good, but that wasn’t the strength of the Dreamwalking skill. It provided a safe environment where he could test whatever he wanted and effectively removed the need for sleep. The alchemist could move his experimentations to the night and focus on creating potions to sell during the day. During the Dreamwalk, he found the key to heating several reagents. With nothing to do but chat with Tresk and visit exotic locations, Theo could run stills without worrying about losing reagents.

Theo’s mind sorted out which parts of the ability were the best. He was forced to do more alchemy than herbalism, leaving his gathering core to trail behind. The alchemist would focus on whichever core was trailing, ensuring that each of them would catch up. His [Governance Core] would be hard, if not impossible to level in the dream. There was also the possibility of intruders entering their dreams, something he wouldn’t express to Tresk. He already understood how [Tara’hek Dreamwalking] worked, either through his intuition or logical reasoning.

Gods, as this world called them, occupied domains. These houses were semi-real spaces that occupied a dimension outside of the one he currently sat in. They were segmented into pantheons, which could be interpreted as larger domains. The Prime Pantheon held the Gods most people considered “good”, while the Demonic Pantheon held those people deemed evil. Theo preferred to think of the Demonic Pantheon as the “Outsider Pantheon”. With information from Xol’sa, Fenian, and perhaps Drogramath, the alchemist understood that the Tara’hek was its own domain. It contained an actual space they traveled to in their dreams.

So, where Drogramath might control the realm of the Drogramathi, Theo and Tresk controlled the domain of Theo and Tresk. How this realm, if it could be called a realm, influenced the real world was beyond him, but there was evidence for that as well. Breadcrumbs were strewn about his path, following him like a specter. Earlier in the season, when Tresk got her [Assassin’s Core], she acted more violently. Her impulse control dropped, and she lashed out at anyone without warning. Theo felt her emotions bleed over to him, through that shared realm, but since they had strengthened their domain, the influence of Zaul dropped. A similar thing happened when the alchemist felt the tug of Drogramath at his chest, only snuffed out when he out-leveled his Drogramathi cores with the Tara’hek core.

There the truth was laid bare for him to see. His connection with Tresk transcended a simple soul-bond. It was a magnetic force, likely influencing the world around them. There was no wonder why no one had seen a Tara’hek in ages. The [Tara’hek Core] was the single most powerful thing in his possession.

“Breakfast?” Tresk asked, cocking her head at the alchemist. He had been laying in bed, rolling over the intricacies of the domains. As his [Intelligence] grew, so did his rambling thoughts. They got away from him more easily, begging to chase down information like a hungry dog.

“Of course,” Theo said. “How about we keep the Dreamwalk between us.”

“Duh,” Tresk said, laughing. “I can feel your brain slicing through the implications.”

Theo knit his brow. They were at a point where keeping information from each other was a fool’s errand. By level 20, the [Tara’hek Core] would make it impossible to keep his thoughts to himself, which wasn’t altogether a bad thing. The alchemist nodded and got out of bed. He was looking forward to eating the leftovers from Xam’s tavern.

Unsurprisingly, Alise was waiting outside of the Newt and Demon. Despite the early hour, she took her job seriously. Theo could feel the excitement coming from her, bolstered by the trade deal.

“Good morning,” he said. “Want some breakfast?”

“Certainly,” Alise said, nodding. There was something she wanted to say, he could tell.

“Get it out,” Theo said, gesturing up the road. The group began their journey to the tavern.

“Well, I was just thinking,” Alise said. “As mayor, you need to keep cultural implications in mind.”

“What?” Tresk asked.

“I’ve asked around and have found a lack of preparation,” Alise said. “For the coming festival.”

“Festival?” Theo asked.

“Yeah, Dying Blooms,” Tresk said, picking something out of her teeth. “Everyone makes flower things, and the winner has good luck.”

Alise bristled at the simplistic explanation but took a steadying breath. “We don’t have many festivals in the northlands, but there is an end of season event for the Season Of Blooms. It’s not dissimilar to the Festival of Dying Blooms.”

“Alright,” Theo said. The group was approaching the monolith. Adventurers gathered outside of the guild, even as the sun hung low in the eastern sky. “Why does that involve me?”

“The mayor is supposed to kick the festival off,” Tresk said. “What’s today?”

“The 46th day,” Alise said.

Theo knit his brow. “How long is the Season of Blooms?”

“60 days,” Tresk said. “Same for the others.”

Theo didn’t know why he never asked how long the seasons were. He didn’t really care, with everything that had been going on. Things were too busy to consider seasons, and it hardly seemed to matter in the southlands.

“So, the year is 240 days long?” Theo asked.

“It is,” Alise said, a look of confusion washing over her face. She wasn’t aware that he’d been transmigrated to this world, and he had no intention of telling her.

“Dronon don’t keep time,” Tresk said, smiling.

“Right,” Alise said. Theo could tell she didn’t buy it, but would let the topic fall away. There wasn’t good reason to keep her in the dark, but there also wasn’t good reason to bring her into the fold. “Well, the festival runs for 12 days, starting on the 48th. Or so I’m told.”

“That’s right,” Tresk said, nodding.

The group entered the tavern, finding a seat and paying for their food. That table by the window had become permanently reserved for Theo and his party, something he appreciated. The interior of the tavern could get hot, even in the early hours of the day. A patron’s only reprieve from the heat was that window, although since Tresk had expanded the tavern, there were more windows. Still, it was the alchemist’s favorite seat.

Food came out quickly, something caused by last night’s meal being stored in a [Dimensional Storage Crate]. The tea was made fresh, though, and delicious as ever. Theo dug in as his administrator explained how the festival worked.

“You’ll give an address at the start of the festival,” Alise said. “You can offer a prize, but that’s up to you. Tradition states that the winner will have good luck for a year.”

“I won last year,” Tresk said, belching. She had already eaten all her food.

“Great job,” Alise said. “Participants will gather flowers from the swamp and weave them into a wreath. They will then hang it on their door and leave it.”

“The person with the least-decayed flower circle at the end of the season wins,” Tresk said. “Banu won for as long as I can remember, but I cheated.”

Theo frowned, leveling his gaze at her. “That won’t do.”

“Agreed,” Alise said, joining Theo to stare at the Marshling.

“What?” Tresk asked with a shrug. “I wasn’t caught.”

Alise continued, ignoring something that seemed a great offense to her. “Every night during the festival, there will be a large party in the streets. Everyone will gather to watch the sun go down, then tour the wreaths.”

“That’s cool,” Theo said, nursing his tea. “We should cover the cost of food.”

“We should also import some decent drink,” Alise said. “Not sure if you’ve had Xam’s grog yet.”

Theo had tried no alcohol since transitioning. It was something he kept in the back of his mind. He wanted to be as sharp as possible, but that was a foolish excuse. Liquor was rare on Earth, and the stuff he tried was horrid. When he was embedded with a Russian death squad, they drank something they called “paint thinner”. It tasted true to its name and held rumors of imbibers going blind. As he recalled the memory he smiled. That was how he met Yuri.

“Fine, we’ll finance it,” Theo said.

“Good, I was hoping you’d say that because I’ve already placed an order,” Alise said. “I’ve also sorted the finances to pay Xam for catering.”

“So, everyone eats free?” Tresk asked. “Dang.”

“Now, if we could just sort the childcare issue,” Theo said.

“Childcare?” Alise asked.

“Well, that sounds like a good project for you,” Theo said. He opened his inventory to check his funds, finding that he only had 31 gold left. “We need someone to watch the kids during the day, perhaps educate them. This should free more people up to work.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I understand,” Alise said. “We have a few new settlers who might be interested.”

“How do I keep missing the new people?” Theo asked.

“Because I’m handling it,” Alise said.

“Well, I want them to sign one of my magical contracts,” Theo said. “Since they’ll be working with kids, I want to make sure they’re on the level. Xol’sa said a magical monster comes for the people who break these contracts. I’ll make sure everyone knows that when the sign from now on.”

Alise went pale for a moment before clearing her throat. “Right. I’ll get on it today.”

“You’re the best, Alise,” Tresk said.

The group’s conversation shifted away from business for once. Theo and Tresk got Alise to talk about herself, and what she wanted to do for her life. She was happy to serve as the administrator, revealing her true motives after a while. The woman’s confidence in Broken Tusk’s ability to grow was absolute. According to her, the town would grow so fast that it would need a series of governors to manage their lands. She would be at the top of that hierarchy, gaining a seat of power within Theo’s eventual empire.

Theo didn’t want to consider how transparent she was about it, or that she’d understood his intentions with the town. Perhaps the writing was on the wall, but he wanted it to remain a secret for as long as possible. That was a childish thought, though. The evidence was in the trade delegations attempted assassination. There was no doubt in his mind that they intended to take the town for themselves, usurping all that he’d built. It would take much more than that to dislodge him from his position, though.

Zarali found the alchemist after a time and Alise departed to recruit someone for child care. The priestess wanted to help Theo with his alchemy process today, and he was more than happy to have her company. Tresk left to delve into a dungeon, intent on scouting out the [Ocean Dungeon]. They never figured out what happened with that dungeon during a monster wave, and the Adventurer’s Guild wanted a report. The Marshling had a theory that the ocean monsters went to attack Rivers and Daub, but Theo had his doubts.

Returning to the Newt and Demon, Theo and Zarali found Sledge working in the back of the lab. They watched her without saying a word. The Marshling fiddled with the existing pressure tank, swapping out artifices and bolting it to the building, before directing a series of laborers to install 2 new tanks. The way she was securing them to the wall would reduce the annoying rattling sound they made during operation.

“What’s going on?” Theo asked.

“Throk says it’s a present,” Sledge said. “Talk to him. He already paid. Leave me alone.”

Theo shrugged it off, giving Zarali a tour of his greenhouse. She was impressed that he went for the greenhouse instead of the experimentation room. The pair sorted out the plants, propagating the ones that were ready and tending to the others. The alchemist intended to feed the greenhouse more cores later to allow for more plants, but it was currently full of [Roc Berries], [Mage’s Bane], and [Spiny Swamp Thistle]. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t grow [Moss Nettle] in the greenhouse, but there must be a way for him to cultivate the plant. The priestess didn’t have suggestions for that.

When Sledge was done with her work, the pair went to investigate.

“I’ll enchant these for you, but he’s done a good job to improve the design,” Zarali said, kneeling to inspect the artifices.

“I think he knew I wanted 3 of them,” Theo said. “Now that he doesn’t have to wait to import copper, he can bang these out quickly.”

“He’s a smart little Marshling,” Zarali said, running her fingers along the side of an untreated tank. Theo would need to infuse the copper so it didn’t react with the essence inside. “I imagine most artificers have trouble getting started, but he has a strong base as a blacksmith.”

“That’s a great pairing,” Theo said.

“Well, shall we do some alchemy?”

Zarali was disappointed that Theo hadn’t made his offering to Drogramath today. When he did so, she claimed he was getting close to increasing his connection with the Demon Lord. The woman could feel it in the air, or so she said. After making his offering, they returned to the greenhouse with a growth potion in hand. The alchemist was eager to put together the three recent aspects of his alchemy. Cultivation, fermentation, and refinement were his newest tools and he still hadn’t seen the effects of the cultivated reagents.

Zarali seemed impressed when Theo went through the practiced motions of heating a still filled with cultivated [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root]. The mash, containing 200 units of the cultivated root, was heated perfectly through the process. Theo allowed the mixture to run into his holding tanks, but not into the massive storage tanks outside. Halfway through the process he took a sample of the [Healing Essence] to see what the cultivated reagent had to offer.

[Healing Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

1:1 refinement in pressure vessels

Increased purity from refinement

Cultivated Effects:

Increased effectiveness of resulting potions. Effect carries over through refinement.

1 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

“You’ve created a perfect quality essence,” Zarali said, stepping back from the table. She cupped her chin in her hand and leveled her gaze at him. “How did you know to cut the heat to half, then to full during the process?”

“Well, sister,” Theo said, clapping a hand over her shoulder. “It came to me in a dream.”

Theo felt her wash her senses over him, probing into his cores to detect some secret. It felt like hands grasping at air, as though she couldn’t wrap her soul around his. There was a barrier preventing her from doing so, and the alchemist had an idea what caused the obfuscation of his being. The priestess wasn’t a slouch, though. She was fiercely intelligent and more intuitive than him. The alchemist could tell she knew something was going on, the gears in her mind turning.

“Some ability I’m not aware of,” Zarali said. “Obscuring my senses. Interesting.”

“I’ve gotta have some secrets, right?” Theo asked.

“Well, you seemed eager to keep me here like some caged bird,” Zarali said, scoffing. “I’ve agreed to stay and lend my very prestigious talents to your cause. You can trust me.”

Theo couldn’t figure out if there was a point in keeping that secret from her. He wanted as few people to know about the powerful ability as possible, but it seemed like sticking his finger in a dam to stop an ocean. The woman was also the foremost expert on the topic of domains, something he couldn’t deny.

“You’ve only been here a week,” Theo said. “I’m not sure that equals trust.”

“Then what does equal trust, I wonder?” Zarali asked, grinning. She placed her hand over his. Theo felt that familiar wave of sisterly love wash over him, still unsure about how he should feel. “Spare me the details, then.”

Theo didn’t respond immediately. He took the [Healing Essence] into his inventory and left the lab with Zarali close behind. Sledge was done with her work on the pressure vessels. The new gauges and ports on the artifice were impressive. They seemed better assembled and of higher quality than before. He inserted the essence and set the machine to work, appreciating the gentle hum that came from the machine. It didn’t bounce around like before. He beckoned for his sister to follow, intent on taking her out into the fields where he gathered his herbs.

“Look for more [Spiny Swamp Thistle],” Theo said. “Can you climb a tree?”

“I can,” Zarali said. “Although I’d rather not. Are you going to answer me?”

“Yeah,” Theo said, digging at the edge of a plant to retrieve the valuable tubers. “I have a skill that lets me practice alchemy.”

Zarali’s face brightened up. He knew she put it together then, almost regretting giving her the information. But their relationship had already come a long way in a short amount of time. She might have been projecting feelings for her dead brother onto him, but they were genuine. The priestess lent aid to Broken Tusk without hesitation, even putting herself near the front of that trade deal to get the ball rolling. People would beat down her door to get access to enchanting services.

“A pocket realm,” she said after digging up a few tubers. “That’s interesting.”

“And I do not know what the implications are,” Theo said. “I figured you were brushing up against the realm with your senses.”

“I was,” Zarali said. “The realm has grown significantly more powerful than before, it felt like a drop of water before. Now I sense a river.”

“So, you knew,” Theo said.

“Naturally.”

The pair gathered a fair amount of reagents. It wasn’t much considering the amount he could get adventurers to harvest, but the act of digging in the earth was soothing. They only spent as much time as they needed out behind the lab, gathering their refined essence and coming around to the cobbled street around midday. Zarali stopped there, flashing Theo a devious grin.

“Perhaps this will convince you of my intent,” Zarali said, withdrawing something from her inventory. He imagined he had the same inventory power as him, [Drogramath Inventory]. It was a small, seed-like object inscribed with tiny runes. It pulsed with purple energy. “I’ve been holding on to this for quite some time.

Theo didn’t need to inspect the object to understand. It was a [Enchanter’s Seed Core], which would allow her to plant an enchanter’s workshop. She was implying that if she put the seed down, laying literal roots, she would also lay metaphorical roots. Something about the seed seemed different, though.

“A building?” Theo asked. “Is that all it is?”

“Not at all,” Zarali said. “[Drogramath Enchanter’s Seed Core]. A specialized building core I’ve been carrying for decades. Would you be so kind as to assign me the plot opposite the Newt and Demon?”

That would be a decisive act. If she planted a rare seed core in town, binding herself to Broken Tusk, that would solidify his trust in her. Theo had a feeling that enchanter seed cores were expensive, and he couldn’t imagine the value of a specialized seed core like that. It was likely worth more than the value of his entire town and then some. He cut out a section of land for her, enough to allow for many expansions.

Zarali planted her seed without hesitation, feeding it [Monster Cores] until a black brick building sprung up. The roots of the seed core wrapped around themselves, snaking to create the shape of the building as the bricks were summoned from nowhere. The resulting building was squat with stained glass windows that held the image of Drogramath. Theo could feel a wave of Drogramath’s energy pour from the thing, and the final image was impressive. The roof was made of layered shingles of purple lacquered material and a heavy oaken door had a brass knocker in the shape of a beast he’d never seen.

“Impressive,” Theo said.

“It doubles as a place of worship, of course,” Zarali said.

The pair retreated to the lab and the day wore on. Theo inspected his refined essence before brewing it into a potion. As with most stages of his discovery and experimentation process, the [Healing Potion] was his standard way of determining their effectiveness.

[Refined Healing Essence]

[Essence] [Refined Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

Resulting potions will be more effective.

Chance to consume half of required essence during brewing.

Cultivated Effects:

Increased effectiveness of resulting potions. Effect carries over through refinement.

Purity: 90%

200 units (liquid)

Concentrated, refined essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

“Impressive,” Zarali said, letting out a sigh. “If only Belgar were as focused as you.”

They brewed 1 sample from the essence. The resulting reaction was calm. There was barely any fog that rose from the potion, and even less bubbling. The potion had seams of purple running through the pink liquid, signifying its perfection. Theo inspected the [Healing Potion], the single most powerful creation he’d made so far.

[Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 135 health points.

There were several things at play here that made the [Healing Potion] so potent. First was the alignment effect that increased the effectiveness of a potion. Second was the cultivation effect, which did the same thing. Then, the new brewing process sent the quality and rarity of the potion up. The restoration potions provided a very clear picture of the potency of his process. It went from restoring 100 health to restoring 135 health. If the alchemists in Qavell were jealous before, they would be visibly green with envy upon seeing this potion.

“You’ve really outdone yourself,” Zarali said, letting out a wistful sigh. “Now, shall we celebrate your accomplishment with some of Xam’s excellent food?”

“I’d like nothing more,” Theo said, letting his eyes linger on the system’s message for a while longer.