A New Star Chapter 20

The very first thing I thought of when walking into the room was a dragon vein. Such things were concentrations of the energy of heaven and earth, though in this new life I suppose such things would have different names and would be referred to as concentrations of mana. Getting over my surprise, which was not easy, I began to thoroughly examine the room, finding the crates, boxes, and tarps covered an elaborate array on the floor. Carefully shutting the door, which had no lock, behind me, I began to move a few objects to the side or stack a few of the crates on each other. What I uncovered was an incredibly elaborate formation that was staggering in its complexity, covering the entirety of the floor with tens of thousands of lines of runes.

As I examined the formation, though I was not extremely well-versed in runes, I became more and more shocked. Not only at the extreme complexity and skill demonstrated by the original enchanter or enchanters, but at the sheer audacity of what they had accomplished. The longer I looked, the more sure I became, but those crazy bastards had made an artificial dragon vein. Perhaps that wasn't even what they had initially intended to do, or not in this crazy of a manner, as they had likely intended to simply create a formation that gathered mana. The real key to the whole thing had come from the fact that it had been left unattended and forgotten for years, perhaps even decades. How everyone had forgotten about what was likely one of the most complex arrays in the whole of the Settled Lands, one that was in an important basement, no less, I had no idea, and would have to study later, but it was here.

The temptation to tap it immediately had me moving, rearranging the crates and clearing up the space as much as I could. I managed to tamp down the urge, contain the excitement, and resist the temptation to act. I would have to plan out how to use this, as a dragon vein was normally the power source for an entire faction, or would have been in my last life. No matter how I tapped into such a thing, just handling and directing the energies alone would be an incredibly difficult feat as I was now.

I would need energy regulation systems…I had no idea how I would get my hands on something like that. I would have to dive into researching both alchemy and enchanting to figure out how I could replicate such a thing in this world. Then, I would need to have healing and purification items on hand, if I used the vein for what I wanted. It would be immeasurably wasteful, but, well, there was nobody else who even knew this thing was here or of its value. Using most of this energy for selfish means would be spendthrift of me and a bit disrespectful, but nobody else had to know. Well, others might find out later, but I was too used to asking people for forgiveness rather than permission by this point.

I returned to my lab, not concerned that anyone would find the room with the crates moved, as the thick layers of dust spoke to a disuse that ran years deep. I needed to work on multiple things, and the next thing I focused on was improving my alchemy. I wanted to get to E-grade within the next year or just over, hoping that E-grade healing potions and salves would be enough to do everything I needed to do over the next several years. I also had to keep producing pills and elixirs for Pietr, keeping the product flowing to keep him and his customers satisfied while also making quite a bit of extra coin. I wasn't necessarily happy about working with a gangster and about avoiding the taxes, but I had no good options, so I took the path I believed I could best control.

I spent about six months concentrating on the library and on my alchemy. I still did training daily, and I still did single-day expeditions to the Untamed Wilds, though calling going to the mountain just north of the estate an Untamed Wilds expedition was a little bit of a stretch. Still, it helped me familiarize myself with the land and what kinds of beasts, plants, and resources were nearby. I collected plenty of beast cores and parts, much of the excess of which Pietr was only too happy to buy from me. I knew he worked with Robin and one other gang leader who did transportation; Robin handled moving good within our country while Pietr's other contact, whom I had not yet met, moved goods out of the country, sometimes entirely legally.

In return, I had leaned on Pietr heavily in those six months, using up much of what I earned through our deals to purchase ingredients. I sold almost all of the product I made, only keeping a small number of potions and a few pills on hand for both my own use and to fool any observers. My parents had checked on me exactly once in those six months and I got the impression that they were unimpressed, though entirely believing, that what little I had on hand was my entire output. All the better for me, as the captains and my family members thinking I was slow and ineffective would make them underestimate me and help to mask my current business dealings.

Alchemy D-grade came and went in those six months, though it took me more than one attempt to reach it. Funnily enough, it was the creations of a much more powerful medicinal bath to temper my body, a process I was extremely familiar with from my last life, that pushed me over the edge. None of the potions or pills that I had attempted at D-grade before that reached the required completion percentage, but the D-grade medicinal bath reached ninety percent on the very first try at concocting it. I felt it was slightly cheating, but I was able to eventually match that percentage with my other output, so any way it was sliced, I was successful.

I had kept an eye on the other storeroom, but as I had suspected, nobody had even bothered to touch the door. I continued pushing my alchemy while I worked on my physicality and studied, making my preparations. The other preparation I had started was scouting a few locations near the estate, narrowing it down to two positions that I could use as fallbacks. I had also scouted some of the Untamed Wilds nearby and identified three areas I could use as fallbacks or secret safe houses, though calling them houses was a bit…well, they would be nice eventually. For now, I used some very simple alchemy to make powders and slow-drying liquids that acted as very good beast repellants, spreading it around the five areas. I had also cleaned all five areas inside and done a bit to make them livable, making sure each had a bed, two chairs, and a few safety items, such as the slower working healing pills that lasted quite a long time.

Another six months flew by and with them, my sixth birthday came and went. I had been forced, over those months, to attend several other birthdays and family functions, but the requirements on me were still very light. I wasn't really expected to do very much before I was at the age to attend academy, as that was considered a soft introduction into formal society. Before that, young nobles would attend certain functions or social events, but the expectations on them were very minimal.

I had spent more time rigorously training my affinities and my swords, moving several affinities to D-grade and my swordsmanship to Middle Journeyman. I was now a fully D-rank adventurer, or would be if I had a plate from the Adventurer's Guild, but that would bring too much scrutiny to me at this time. I fully intended to join the institution, but doing so at the age of six would raise a few too many eyebrows, though I doubt my entry later, with a much higher starting rank, would be any less impactful. That was something to worry about in a few years and not now.

Now, I was worried about the artificial dragon vein that was just down the hall. This world would refer to it as a mana well, or an artificial mana well, to be exact, and it would be considered rather valuable, though not nearly as much as it was. Most people would use it to power a crafting room to have purer, more concentrated mana available for their forging or enchanting. It wasn't a terrible use of a place of power like that, to be fair to them, but it was still a monumental waste, in my own humble opinion. No, there were far better uses for a dragon vein, even an artificial one, and I planned on acting on one of them quite soon.

The tipping point was reaching E-grade in alchemy, which I accomplished after reaching E-grade in my flame affinity. I don't know that it was strictly necessary, but I can say it was certainly easier, the ability to further finely control flames and temperature allowing for more accurate and quicker brewing or concocting steps. Once I had reached the grade, I spent a few weeks making my supplies, including a makeshift alchemical array. It was nothing like an Enchanter could make, but I could deploy it to regulate the amount of energy moving through a certain area. It would likely be overloaded by the artificial dragon vein, but it was a consumable item anyway; if I needed more, I would simply craft them once I was done.

I once again picked a day of rest for the household, a weekend day where everyone else would be inattentive or otherwise occupied. There were also no important dates or events around this weekend, so there was no worry about the staff being more active or the family getting ready for a party or social event. I had my makeshift array, I had several pills and potions, including one that would, quite literally, bleed away excess energy from my body, and I had a plan. I knew exactly what to do with such a treasure and how to do it, though these were all secrets from my last life. After extensive research in my family's library, I had discovered absolutely nothing even mentioning, as a tangent, what I was about to do. The knowledge could exist in this world, but the fact the general subject didn't appear as even a single line in hundreds of books and scrolls about enhancing oneself lent credence to the idea it was basically unknown in this place.

I moved into the storage room, moving several crates out of it and into my lab. When I had the floor cleared away, nothing lingering on top of the false dragon vein, I deployed my makeshift array, carefully arranging the pills that acted as the anchors around the room. I then made sure a series of potions and pills were laid out just in front of the center of the room, ready for me to take to hand at any moment. Lastly, I made sure the door was shut, though I didn't want to seal it in any way; I was far more worried about something going wrong and being able to escape than I was about being discovered in the act. With that set, I began.

************

Michael Redwind

It was yet another tedious day, with more paperwork than I could even fathom. It was a wonder anything ever got done, considering the amount of paperwork all the captains must have had on their desks every day. That paperwork was thankfully, or rather, tragically interrupted by someone bursting into my office, a common occurrence these days.

"Michael! Come quick!" Zara shouted, in a panic.

"Oh, not again," I sighed, rubbing my eyes as I stood. "What has the youngest done now?"

"She's missing again!" Alex's maid shouted in a panic.

"I doubt it, but let's go," I sighed, following the maid as she bustled in front of me out of the barracks and across the main courtyard.

"Where was she last seen?" I asked as we entered the main house.

"I-I saw her this morning, when we got her ready," Zara said.

"Sure, and who saw her after that?" I asked.

"I, uh, I don't know?" Zara said.

I stopped in the hall, sighing as I faced her. "Then, Zara, how do you even know she's missing?"

"I can't find her anywhere, and there's strange boxes in her lab that weren't there before," Zara babbled.

"Strange boxes?" I muttered, walking down the hallway towards the youngest's lab. I found the door closed but not locked, opening it to find a bunch of crates that were common throughout the storerooms stacked in the back corners of the room. Frowning at the crates, I walked over and started examining the writing on one of them when all my senses went totally haywire.

"Get upstairs and get the duke! Now!" I snapped at the maid, watching her stagger out of the room and start sprinting down the hall. I staggered the other way, more affected by the massive pulse of mana, maybe because of my higher affinities?

I had a good sense for where it came from, tearing open the door to the storage room three down from the youngest's lab. I stopped immediately, not even wanting to breathe, unable to believe what I was seeing but also needing to process it and try to make a decision. I was still locked in place, gaping at the youngest, suspended in midair with enough energy around her to turn a Z-ranker's hair white, watching as she seemingly absorbed all that energy, when the duke and duchess both arrived, tearing down the hallway quick enough to crack the stones.

"Michael! What is it-?" Isabella managed to get out before they both stopped in shock, staring into the room as energy surged and the youngest's body started to crack and tear apart. "I have to stop it!"

"No!" the duke immediately snapped, grabbing her. "If you interfere now, it'll kill her. Get ready to act whenever this…whatever this is, has finished."

"What's happening to her?" I asked tremulously.

"She's drawing in energy to her body and directing it…yes, directing it at her body affinity," the duke said, staring hard at his youngest daughter while his eyes glowed. "I have no idea what precisely she intends for this to accomplish, but I do know it is destroying and rebuilding her flesh."

"That sounds…uh, bad," I said, glancing at his face before returning to watching Alex tear herself apart and rebuild herself in one of the most insane displays I had ever heard about.

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