My research goal is to create a potion more effective than a High-Grade HP Potion. That’s my current project. I chose this task because, frankly, my pharmaceutical skill level stopped improving with High-Grade HP Potions. I’ve been making time to visit the palace library for research, but clues have been hard to come by, and progress has stalled.
Then, a ray of hope appeared. I got advice from an unexpected source. None other than the Division Commander himself.
One day, I ran into the Division Commander in the restricted archives, and he shared something with me. He said all living things in this world possess some amount of magical energy, varying in quantity. What? That’s news to me. Apparently, he’d noticed this during his own research, and it’s not widely known. From there, he suggested I consider the magical energy in herbs as a way to boost potion effectiveness.
It’s generally believed that turning herbs into potions enhances their properties because of the magic infused during the crafting process. The Division Commander theorized that my potions being 50% more effective than others’ might be due to the magic I pour into that process. He then said if I could somehow imbue the herbs themselves with my magic, the potions’ potency could increase even further.
Back at the institute, I asked the researchers about it. As expected, some of them already knew herbs contain magical energy. But no one had ever considered infusing herbs with their own magic, and when I mentioned the Division Commander’s advice, they were all visibly shocked. Normally, you wouldn’t think adding your own magic would boost efficacy, right? So, unsurprisingly, no one had any ideas about how to infuse herbs with magic. Well, if they don’t know, that’s fine. I’ll just have to experiment and figure it out myself.
“So, Jude, could you help me out?”
“That’s sudden. What do you need help with?”
Jude agrees to assist, despite his wry smile he’s a good guy, I think. First, I checked if it’s possible to create water infused with magic. You know how cut flowers soak up colored water and their petals take on that hue? I wondered if we could apply that by soaking herbs in magic-infused water. Problem is, I didn’t know how to make magic-infused water, so I asked Jude, since he’s likely to know, he’s got an affinity for water magic, after all. Sadly, he didn’t know either. We tried generating magic-infused water with water magic anyway, but it didn’t work. I experimented with using more magic than usual when creating water with water magic, but no dice.
“The idea’s solid, but if you can’t generate water yourself, using water magic won’t cut it, right?”
“I figured I’d think about that later.”
After all those attempts, Jude pointed that out, and when I replied with what I’d been thinking, he gave me an exasperated look. He’s right, I can’t use water magic. So trying to generate it with water magic was pointless in a way, but I thought it was worth a shot as a starting point.
Giving up on water magic generation, I next tried creating it the same way you’d enchant something with magic. If you can enchant a mineral core, why not water, right? The result? Total failure. Unlike enchanting, I didn’t get that “I can do this” feeling at all. It’s that sensation of “this isn’t going to work.”
“Still, enchanting water with magic? That’s pretty out there.”
“You think so?”
“In all my experience, I’ve never seen anyone try it.”
“Well, enchanted water doesn’t exactly have an obvious use. Unless you’re desperate, no one’s going to bother trying.”
I said that, but then I remembered holy water from games. Wasn’t it used to attack undead monsters or something? Sprinkling it could keep monsters away for a while too, that was part of the game’s lore, I think. How do you make holy water…? Was it by blessing it? I feel like I heard that somewhere. But how do you bless something? Holding a beaker of distilled water and groaning to myself, Jude calls out, sounding worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hm.. I’m trying to figure out how to bless something.”
“Bless?”
“Doesn’t this world have holy water?”
“Holy water? Uh, never heard of it.”
Turns out holy water doesn’t exist here. If that’s the case, there might not be a blessing method either. I checked with Jude just to be sure, and he didn’t know. Since this feels like it’s veering into magic territory, I figured asking the Division Commander might be quicker. Glancing outside, I notice the sun’s set, and it’s getting dark. Experimenting with Jude took up more time than I realized. If I’m going to ask the Division Commander, tomorrow’s probably better. I decide to call it a day.
“Blessing, you say?”
The next day, during magic lessons, I ask the Division Commander. I start by simply asking if he knows of a holy-type magic called blessing, but it doesn’t ring a bell for him either. Thinking it might go by a different name, I explain how I got here. When I mention holy water’s effect on undead monsters, his eyes light up, I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine that. From there, we end up sidelining the lesson to dive deep into concepts of magic from games in my old world.
“Blessing feels like it could do things like physical enhancement too.”
“Is that so? In your world, blessings had various effects, then?”
“Magic didn’t exist there, so it’s all imaginary.”
“Even so, it’s a fascinating concept. We have enhancement magic here, but nothing specialized for undead monsters.”
“No specialized magic? Does that mean you can’t defeat them with magic?”
“Not quite. There’s just no specialized type. We usually take them down with fire magic or the like.”
At that point, he seems to realize something, resting his chin in his hand as he thinks. There might not be a “blessing” magic, but did he recall something else?
“It’s not exclusive to undead, but there is a magic specialized for exterminating monsters.”
“There’s a magic like that?”
“Yes. However, its existence is all that’s passed down, its details are unclear.”
His usual smile fades, and he speaks with a serious expression. I can’t help but gulp. If its existence is known but details are vague, it’s probably not a standard elemental magic. The only non-elemental magic I can think of is lifestyle magic, but they wouldn’t keep something simpler than elemental magic a secret, right? So, is it an entirely different category of magic?
“What’s it called?”
“It doesn’t even have a name. But there are records of someone who used it.”
“That’s…”
“The technique used by the Saint, yes.”
Of course. I’d started suspecting it halfway through, but still. Isn’t it a problem that the details of a technique the [Saint] uses haven’t been recorded? How did later Saints learn it?
“The technique’s details aren’t documented?”
“No. Most of what’s left are records of its effects, like how it can exterminate monsters at incredible speed.”
“How did past Saints learn it?”
“That’s unknown too.”
Jeez. In the end, there’s no more info to be had, and after the usual magic lesson, the day wraps up.