Lukas hungrily devoured the food given to him, thinking that was enough to convey how much he enjoyed the meal, but apparently he was wrong.

"So? What do you think?" Calayis asked.

"It's amazing," Lukas said, "By far one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. And it only had vegetables and other herbs in it, right?"

Calayis smiled sheepishly, "I'm glad you like it, it's one of my favorite things to make. How's the taste?"

With another bite, Lukas smacked his lips together, getting a feel for the flavors involved. He was no chef or food connoisseur, so he had no idea what he was tasting, but he did know that the spices and other ingredients in the food were different from anything he recognized. Still, there was a meaty flavor to the stew, even if there wasn't any actual meat in it.

"It does taste like meat. Kind of like venison mixed with rabbit? It's strange, but in a good way."

Mollified by Lukas' words, Calayis began eating as well. As they did they talked, covering a variety of topics, Lukas learning about some of the nature spirits Calayis once knew. He had wanted to avoid the subject, not wanting to stir bad memories or make her feel upset, but Calayis had brought it up herself. There was a touch of sadness and melancholy in her eyes, but also a small smile on her lips as she talked about old friends. Lukas listened intently, learning about the nature spirits she'd known, as well as their fates.

Their topics drifted around as the morning dragged on, and eventually they got on to the other races of the world.

"The other humanoid races?" Calayis asked.

"Yeah, do you know all of them, or at least some of them? I don't know what any of them are, and I've been itching to find out."

She tapped her chin in thought for a moment, "There are humans like you. There are also elves and the cannids; I believe there are more, but I'm not certain, as those three are the most common in the area."

"Elves are real?" Lukas asked, excited about the prospect of meeting a living, breathing elf. He wanted to see what they were really like, compared to what he'd read in fantasy novels. "And what are the cannid?"

Calayis smiled at Lukas' enthusiasm. "Elves are real. This area is mostly populated by forest elves, for obvious reasons," she said, gesturing around them, "And the Canids are a race of wolf people."

"I assume forest elves are a type of ethnicity? And wolf people?"

"That's right, I'm not really sure what other types of elves there are, but I know of the forest elves. I haven't seen any of them myself, being deep within the forest, so I can't really tell you more. I'm guessing there aren't any cannids in your world, in stories or otherwise?"

Lukas shook his head, "No, not really. There are multiple ways I can imagine them looking, but unless I have one of them in front of me I can't really process it. Do you think my cloak will cause problems with them?"

"I can't say for sure, not having met any of them before, but I'd play it safe until you know for sure. I have a question of my own though."

"Oh?"

"So you have that storage thing and the ability to change parts of yourself through your aura, right?"

"Yeah..?" Lukas said, slightly hesitant about where the friendly nymph was going with the question.

"I noticed that your soul is really strong for someone your rank, and you don't seem to be affected by the power disparity between us. Is that one of your outworlder abilities?"

"Oh, that. It's not one of my abilities, but I'm not sure where it comes from. For all I know everyone on my planet has a soul as strong as me, or it's something that happened as I became an outworlder. As for the whole being unaffected by people more powerful than me?" Lukas just shrugged, "I come from a place where the power you have isn't a thing, so maybe I'm just not conditioned to think like that? Also I've never really been one to bend the knee or anything like that."

"It's very interesting. I've never felt anything like it before. It's definitely a copper rank aura, I feel those all the time from beasts in the forest, but the power and strength behind it is very eye-catching. Can your ability cover that up? Your soul strength alone will draw attention to you."

"It can, but to a limited degree. I don't think I'll be able to pose as a normal person in that regard, but I have been working on learning to contract my aura, something that's rather easy considering my soul strength."

"That's good. As much as I want you to come back soon after you leave, it would be a shame if you're forced to come back before learning more about the new world you've arrived in."

"You're just saying that because you want me to bring you back some knowledge," Lukas grinned.

"Perhaps," Calayis smiled innocently.

They continued to talk for a while longer before Lukas decided it was time to get to work. He planned on spending the day doing alchemy and getting some more levels under his belt, as well as working towards improving his potions. As he got ready to settle into a crafting session, Calayis offered to patch up his cloak, an offer he readily accepted.

The cloak came out of his inventory soaking wet, as he had washed it before throwing it in. The fur of the cloak was beginning to truly suffer, even after having been washed, becoming more matted and clumped rather than remaining silky strands of fur. The thing also suffered some burn marks, though not as bad as his clothes, but it did have more rips and tears. Honestly, Lukas didn't have high hopes, but if Calayis could at least sew up the rents he'd be happy.

Calayis didn't get to work right away, instead leaving the cloak out to dry. She didn't sit around though, going into the cottage for a few things before heading to her loom. Lukas didn't know what she would be working on, but he didn't mind her presence as he himself got to work. Lukas sat himself down in the soft grass nearby, pulling out his cauldron and mortar and pestle.

While he highly doubted that any copper-ranked poisonous fumes he created could harm Calayis or her tree, Lukas wanted to hold off until he could find a spot that wouldn't be damaged by the crafting process. When he was in the middle of the forest he didn't really care, but he was more conscientious about ruining the place where Calayis lived. With that in mind, Lukas got to work on making some potions.

Hours passed by quickly as Lukas threw himself into the crafting process, forgetting about anything else. He wanted to push his alchemy skill and ability to the limit in order to produce better quality potions and poisons. His basic potions were still increasing at a steady pace, the resources restored per potion increasing with every batch. The problem was that he was making lesser rarity potions and poisons with common rarity ingredients.

While Lukas wasn't entirely clear on the rarity rankings, he knew that he was clearly underperforming. It was like using the best ingredients to make the most amazing cake possible, only to end up with something roughly cake-shaped that tasted more like a sponge.

The path forward wasn't entirely clear to Lukas, but he knew that he was getting close to figuring something out. He'd been close with his necrotic poison the other day, and if it weren't for Sera he might've made a breakthrough. He hadn't really done much different; he had just focused harder, taking stricter control of the mana in the concoction. For the moment, it seemed like the way to go was to keep an eye on his mana control and improve on it.

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If Lukas was being honest with himself, then he'd fully admit to having become complacent with his mana control in the making of his potions. He thought it was fine and that to get better he'd have to make the potions faster to stop the energies from dispersing. While that was a key component of the process, so too was refining his mana control to be as sharp and precise as possible.

Potion after potion was made, with Lukas attempting to spice things up, using the mana he injected in different ways. He had the foundations done; now it was time to experiment and see which path would lead him the furthest. Some of the potions he made were worse than others, providing the same amount of resources as some of his first creations. That didn't necessarily mean he'd messed up in the crafting process, just that the technique of mana control used wasn't the most ideal.

The process wasn't a fast one, and Lukas barely made any progress in the hours that passed. He took notes in a notebook, detailing his failures and his successes, theorizing about how his control could be improved and how the mana control for each potion type was different from the others. Lukas even resorted to trying to draw diagrams of how his mana was flowing and being used in each concoction. It didn't really help as he had no idea how to draw something so complex in two dimensions, but he gave it a go and was surprised to find that it helped, if only slightly.

*

It was sometime in the mid-afternoon and Lukas was just finishing up a round of health potions. These ones felt more promising; he'd poured his concentration into the craft, using his Amber Eye of the Alchemist ability at its limit in an attempt to better understand the complex interaction between the Blood Moon Lily and the Wesser vine. Eventually, it all came together and Lukas got the notification that let him know a potion had been made.

[Health Potion (Lesser)] - Has been successfully crafted. Experience earned.

Bottling up the potion, Lukas took a quick look at the results.

[Health Potion (Lesser)] - Restores 98 health points when consumed.

It wasn't much compared to his health pool that now sat at 1,000 points, just shy of providing a tenth of his overall health. He still had a way to go before his potions could be considered good, especially since his maximum health seemed to increase faster than his health potions.

Lukas was just putting the potions into his inventory when he felt something begin to well up inside him. Quickly tossing the potions into his inventory, Lukas closed his eyes and guided the welled-up experience to his center. A few seconds later a new notification popped up, quickly followed by a mild burning sensation all over.

Level gained: [Combat Alchemist] has reached level 25 - Stat points allocated.

New ability earned: [Domain of the Combat Alchemist] - Ability: Made in the lab, used on the battlefield, your potions and poisons are used against enemies more powerful than you more often than not. Unwilling to back down from these foes you use all the tools at your disposal. This ability affects your aura. Allies within your aura have their resistance to poisons, curses, and diseases increased and gain increased effectiveness to alchemical products produced by you. Enemies within your aura have their resistance to poisons, curses, and diseases lowered and suffer greater effects from alchemical products produced by you.

Level gained: [Human (Outworlder)] has reached level 22 - Stat points allocated.

Opening his eyes, Lukas barely had time to look at the new notifications before noticing the two women sitting at his sides.

"Jesus!" he shouted, jumping in surprise, "How long have you been sitting there?" he asked Calayis, ignoring the snickering goddess for the moment.

"Just half an hour or so. You were so caught up in your alchemy, and I didn't want to bother you," Calayis shrugged before looking at him with intrigue, "You just got an ability, didn't you? One related to your aura."

"Yeah, I did. How did you know? And you didn't have to wait for me to be done if you wanted something."

"I just wanted to give you your cloak," she said, lifting it from where it had been sitting on her lap to show him. All the rips had been sewn shut and the fur treated in some way to bring back its original silkiness.

Taking the cloak from her, Lukas ran his hand over it, inspecting the repairs she had done.

"As for your ability, I could sense fluctuations in the ambient magic around you and noticed a slight change with your aura."

Lukas looked up from his cloak, giving her a curious look, "Change how?"

Calayis thought for a moment, "Before, your aura had a distinct but dull feel. It was bloody and strong, condensed through battle and struggle, indomitable and unyielding. Pretty intimidating, coming from someone your rank. Anyway, it still feels that way, but now there's a pervasive undercurrent, like a fresh spring breeze."

Lukas nodded to himself, throwing a side glance at Sera, "And what are you doing here?"

"I was curious about what ability you got, but I can already guess which one it is," the goddess said, "Domain of the Combat Alchemist, right? It's a good one for you, considering how often you fight stuff stronger than you. It will make your weak poisons more effective at taking down more powerful enemies."

Refocusing on Calayis, Lukas said, "The ability gives allies increased resistances to poisons and stuff, while doing the opposite for enemies. I guess you're feeling that effect."

"That's what it feels like," Calayis nodded enthusiastically, "It's not very strong for someone as powerful as me due to the power difference, but it feels like a fresh cleansing breeze is sweeping through me. How do you like the cloak?"

"It's great. I'm glad to have it repaired. It was one of the first things I got after entering this world, and I'd hate to have it destroyed. Thank you for fixing it."

The nymph blushed lightly, "It was simple, really. I just wish I knew some basic enchantments so I could add them for you."

"Awe! Listen to her!" Sera cooed, "She's so cute, and totally into you."

"Please, for the love of god, shut the fuck up."

Sera burst out laughing.

"There's no need for any of that," Lukas told the dryad, as Sera rolled on the ground beside him laughing, "This is more than enough. If I want more I can find someone to do it for me sometime in the future."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely," Lukas said reassuringly, "The cloak's been beaten up for a while now, and with your fixes it'll last me even longer. That's all I can ask for."

Lukas and Calayis talked for a while longer before the nymph let Lukas get back to his alchemy. Lukas didn't get started right away though, taking a peek at his status page for the first time in a few days.

Lukas Hellstrand Race: Human (Outworlder [unique]) - Level 22 Class 1 - Combat Alchemist - Level 25 Class 2 - Rogue of Night - Level 19 Health Points: 1020/1020 Stamina: 874/880 Mana: 461/1020

Stats Vitality: 102 Endurance: 88 Intelligence: 88 Wisdom: 102 Agility: 134 Perception: 87 Toughness: 88 Strength: 90 Willpower: 67 Free Points: 40

Titles: Prodigious Dimensional Traveler, Unkillable, True Heart of a Warrior, Indomitable Worm, Hierophant of the Risen Goddess, Unceasing.

Abilities: Combat Alchemist Abilities: (Amber Eye of the Alchemist [lvl - 0]), (Domain of the Combat Alchemist [lvl - 0]).

Rogue of Night Abilities: (Lurker of the Shadows [lvl - 0]).

Race abilities: (Dimensional Traveler), (Tribute of the Fallen), (Steel gut), (Tongue of the Multiverse), (Stranger in a Strange Land).

Lukas read over the stats, nodding in appreciation. He had 40 free points to allocate, but he continued to hold off for now. He didn't know what he wanted to dump the points into, so he was going to wait until he had a better idea of what to do with them. He was half tempted to dump them all into one stat, letting it shoot through the roof, but was well aware that might not be the smartest idea.

He glanced at his abilities, and he was glad to finally see the list grow, even if it had only grown by one ability. There was just something so satisfying about watching his status page expand. He was slightly miffed that his Amber Eye ability hadn't leveled up yet; he hadn't exactly slacked off since getting the ability, but he trusted that the levels would come eventually.

Lukas was pulled from his thoughts by a movement from the corner of his eye. It was Sera, getting up off the ground and sitting back up, giving him a shit-eating grin.

"What? Don't look at me like that, it makes me want to punch you in the face."

"What look?" she said through a snicker, "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Have I ever told you that you're a massive pain in the ass?"

"Once or twice," the goddess grinned.

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