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A Soldier's Life - 352 - Konstantin Needs A Vacation
🕑 Added 2025-02-26 05:09:38 +0000 UTCChapter 352:
It was the seeds. The seeds, not the flesh or the juice of the golden fig, that I needed. Dissolving the pulp in cold water allowed the seeds to float to the surface after a few hours, and then I could skim them off. From there, I would dry them slowly and grind them in a mortar and pestle. The paste then needed to be dissolved into a solution of six parts water and one part giant bee honey, which gave me a base for my first successful aether restoration potion. I used other common ingredients for the catalyst and carefully measured out an amount of sapphire dust before adding aether.
The harmonization flash of my first attempt at this recipe was not strong, but it had catalyzed. With no guinea pigs but myself, I drained most of my aether with some air discs before consuming the brew. Similar to my earlier failures, I was expecting excruciating pain, vomiting, or the necessity of using my purify self-spell form. None of that was necessary.
The aether was expelled from the sweet, gritty potion that raced through my body before being drawn to my core like a magnet. I estimated it had restored about half of my aether. Half! I didn’t have a monumental aether core, but that was still a substantial amount of aether. My mind was already racing—what if I used the seeds from two golden figs? Three? Was there some compound in the seeds I could purify to make the potion more effective when it catalyzed? The problem was each fig only yielded about one teaspoon of seeds.
I had tried whole seeds before, grinding wet seeds, and the potion had not been more effective than eating a raw fig. It made sense that the seeds would hold the key. It had to be one of the agents I had used. My mind started going off an analytical tangent, so I sat down. Although the amulet of clarity worked wonders, it was draining. I removed the large sapphire pendant and sent it to my dimensional space. I could resume my work on the potion tomorrow evening.
Now, I just wanted to confirm approximately how much ether this first success had restored. I checked the wedges in the door and ensured my obfuscation sphere was active. I doubted anyone had been spying on me, but a little paranoia is healthy. The Elven assessment table appeared in the room, and I eagerly grasped its edges. I had consumed all the physical essences from the dungeon, and all that remained were a large number of nature affinity essences and one lesser abyssal essence.
The physical training Konstantin had pushed me through over the last month in Godok had been modest. But the mental training from the alchemy and studying with Dorrel had been severe. With the amulet of clarity, my mind had been focused and on task. This should be interesting. I pushed aether into the reader.
I was in mild shock as the mental increases. I had not seen such gains in all my time on Desia and immediately credited the amulet of clarity—it was the only thing that made sense.
Mental
Intellect (+4/+0)43/58
Reasoning (+3/+0)58/62
Perception (+3/+0)61/64
Insight (+6/+0)47/54
Resilience (+1/+0)57/71
Empathy (+1/+0)25/26
Fortitude (+3/+0)71/90
I had not increased any of my mental abilities, but all my attributes had advanced significantly since my last reading. Just under five weeks in Goduk, and some of my mental attributes were nearing their potential. The amulet of clarity appeared in my hand. I turned the large blue stone set in silver, with two carvings of fairies holding either side of it. This had to be one of the most powerful artifacts I owned, maybe the second strongest after the dreamscape amulet.
The only question I had was whether my gains would fade over time. No, they shouldn’t since I had consumed an essence for every mental attribute. This amulet was not only a crafter’s dream but also a mage’s. The amulet disappeared again, and I replaced it with the aether shield amulet, donned it, and charged it. I always slept with the aether shield amulet when Konstantin had the dreamscape amulet.
My eyes turned to my physical attributes.
Physical
Strength (+3/+0)72/86
Power (+12/+7)80/96
Quickness (+1/+0)69/75
Dexterity (+1/+0)68/75
Endurance (+6/+0)88/98
Constitution (+2/+0)66/73
Coordination (+10/+13)69/82
In the dungeon, I had only consumed power and coordination essences. There were no surprises in my gains but I should probably start adding some yoga in the morning. Finally I looked at my magical attributes with a smirk of happiness.
Magical
Aether Pool (+1/+2)25/28
Channeling (+4/+0)46/61
Aether Shaping (+2/+3)12/13
Aether Tolerance (+0/+0)51/56
Aether Resistance (+0/+0)18/22
Prime Aether AffinitySpace
Minor Aether AffinityTime
I could already tell my control over my aether had increased significantly. Seeing my potential jump by three points was exhilarating. With another few decades of finding shaping essences, I jokingly thought I would be able to write out spell forms in the air and cast true spells. I quickly calculated my relative aether points. A score of 25 would provide me with the equivalent of 50 aether points, indicating that my first successful potion had recovered approximately 25.
I felt a bit deflated since a dungeon aether potion could restore around 300 aether points for a mage. I sighed because 25 points were about average for a brewed potion of its kind. The question was if it was more stable. The issue with brewed aether potions was that they quickly lost their effectiveness over time. They typically lasted only a few days or a week if crafted by a skilled alchemist.
I needed to know. I switched back to the amulet of clarity and planned to brew another potion to test its shelf life. Before putting away the assessment table, I glanced at my magic affinities.
Elemental Magics (Common)
Fire0
Air0
Water7
Earth46
Lightning (Energy)8
Spirit (Healing)(+2)26
Nature (Plant)0
Unaffiliated Magics (Uncommon)
Charm (Mind)23
Illusion13
Clairvoyance0
Protection (Guardian)30
Necromancy0
Celestial (buff)0
Abyssal (debuff)0
Rare Magics
Space101
Time90
Displacement80
Materialism9
Worlds88
Void22
Convergence74
The apex essence from the hydra had given me a slight boost to my healing affinity, making my healing slightly quicker and requiring less focus on my part. Godok was a massive city, maybe I could locate some magic affinity essences for sale. Improving my illusion-night sight, or my protection-air shield, would be welcome. Or maybe getting enough essences to raise my water or energy affinity to ten to learn a lesser spell form.
As I worked on the next potion, I lost track of time, and Konstantin’s banging on the door startled me. Shit, had I really worked through the entire night? This was not working for me. Before I let Konstantin in, I switched the ring of surefootedness for the ring of sustenance. It would take ten to fourteen days to reacclimate to the ring, but I needed more time, and feeling tired all the time was killing me. The alchemy table disappeared, with the aether restorative almost complete. Just a few hours tonight, and then I could test its shelf life.
I unbarred the door to find both Konstantin and Gilda standing there. “Aren’t we going to a sect this morning?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“No, we are not.” He slapped the dreamscape amulet into my hand as he pushed past me.
Gilda followed, wearing the guise of a young woman. “Okay, come in then,” I offered dryly.
Konstantin was sniffing the air, confused. But gave up trying to identify what the smell was. “Gilda found a nest of lycanthropes.”
“Oh, do tell!” I said sarcastically. “And why not just tell the authorities? They are considered bounties.” In fact, Gilda and Konstantin had tracked down two wererats and one werewolf in the city and collected the bounties. The fact that they were here now meant they needed my help which meant it was probably a large job.
Gilda answered my questions, “They are controlling the Sect of Venomous Serpent.”
“Let me guess, they’re weresnakes?” I replied.
“There’s no such thing as weresnakes, Eryk,” Konstantin said, shaking his head in disappointment. I actually knew that, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind. “They tame forest drakes that have a venomous bite. But Gilda is sure the sect leaders have been infected with lycanthropy from a werehyena.”
I recalled the infected creatures from my memory. The creatures had three forms, a large formidable hyena, a humanoid male with odd features, and a hybrid form that looked like a jacked-up gnoll—twice as strong and fast. “And why are you not just reporting it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes. I would actually have preferred to be challenging sects rather than hunting creatures.
“I just need to gather some evidence first. The sect is well respected, and if we accused them without proof, we would gain their ire,” Konstantin said matter-of-factly. I understood that evidence meant taking a few lycanthrope heads.
I pieced things together quickly. “And you thought of me since I have a collector?” Konstantin shrugged but didn’t deny it. “I think I need to explain to you two what a vacation is…”
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Comments
Adam V
But he was just thinking about needing more essences, and these are the best type: free! Edit: I was in mild shock [as]->[at] the mental increases.
HappyNoms
"Finally I looked at my magical attributes with a smirk of happiness." -> Irregardlessly, he smirked, nonplussed, before alloting alot, literally, and fell downstairs adventuring onwards. (It's mild in the grand scheme of things, but there is frequent smirk misuse/overuse going on. He hasn't yet smirked, and then smirked at the act of smirking itself, superciliously, but he's been practicing in a mirror. (They say the trick of it is mastering the eyebrow control.))
Andrew Crews
[It was the seeds. The seeds, not the flesh or the juice of the golden fig, that I needed. → The key was in the seeds—not the flesh, not the juice, only the seeds of the golden fig.] Dissolving the pulp in cold water allowed the seeds to float to the surface after a few hours, and then I could skim them off. From there, I would dry them slowly and grind them in a mortar and pestle. The paste then needed to be dissolved into a solution of six parts water and one part giant bee honey, which gave me a base for my first successful aether restoration potion. I used other common ingredients for the catalyst and carefully measured out an amount of sapphire dust before adding aether. The harmonization flash of my first attempt at this recipe was not strong, but it had catalyzed. [With no guinea pigs but myself, I drained most of my aether with some air discs before consuming the brew. → Lacking a test subject, I depleted most of my aether using air discs before drinking the brew myself.] Similar to my earlier failures, I was expecting excruciating pain, vomiting, or the necessity of using my purify self-spell form. None of that was necessary. The aether was expelled from the sweet, gritty potion that raced through my body before being drawn to my core like a magnet. I estimated it had restored about half of my aether. Half! I didn’t have a monumental aether core, but that was still a substantial amount of aether. My mind was already racing—[what if I used the seeds from two golden figs? Three? → What if I doubled the seeds? Tripled them?] Was there some compound in the seeds I could purify to make the potion more effective when it catalyzed? The problem was each fig only yielded about one teaspoon of seeds. I had tried whole seeds before, grinding wet seeds, and the potion had not been more effective than eating a raw fig. [It made sense that the seeds would hold the key. It had to be one of the agents I had used. → The seeds had to be the key, but which agent had made the difference?] My mind started going off on an analytical tangent, so I sat down. Although the amulet of clarity worked wonders, it was draining. I removed the large sapphire pendant and sent it to my dimensional space. I could resume my work on the potion tomorrow evening. Now, I just wanted to confirm approximately how much aether this first success had restored. I checked the wedges in the door and ensured my obfuscation sphere was active. I doubted anyone had been spying on me, but a little paranoia is healthy. The Elven assessment table appeared in the room, and I eagerly grasped its edges. I had consumed all the physical essences from the dungeon, and all that remained were a large number of nature affinity essences and one lesser abyssal essence. The physical training Konstantin had pushed me through over the last month in Godok had been modest. [But the mental training from the alchemy and studying with Dorrel had been severe. → The real strain had been mental—alchemy, language studies with Dorrel, and constant calculations had pushed my mind further than ever.] With the amulet of clarity, my mind had been focused and on task. This should be interesting. I pushed aether into the reader. I was in mild shock [as the mental increases. → at the mental gains displayed.] I had not seen such improvements in all my time on Desia and immediately credited the amulet of clarity—it was the only thing that made sense. I had not increased any of my mental abilities, but [all my attributes had advanced significantly since my last reading. → every mental attribute had surged forward since my last reading.] Just under five weeks in Godok, and some of my mental attributes were nearing their potential. [The amulet of clarity appeared in my hand. I turned the large blue stone set in silver, with two carvings of fairies holding either side of it. → I summoned the amulet of clarity, running my fingers over the smooth sapphire set in silver, its twin fairy carvings clutching its edges.] This had to be one of the most powerful artifacts I owned, maybe the second strongest after the dreamscape amulet. [The only question I had was whether my gains would fade over time. → The real question: would these gains last?] No, they shouldn’t, since I had consumed an essence for every mental attribute. This amulet was not only a crafter’s dream but also a mage’s. The amulet disappeared again, and I replaced it with the aether shield amulet, donned it, and charged it. I always slept with the aether shield amulet when Konstantin had the dreamscape amulet. [In the dungeon, I had only consumed power and coordination essences. → Dungeon essences had bolstered my power and coordination, nothing else.] There were no surprises in my gains, but I should probably start adding some yoga in the morning. Finally, I looked at my magical attributes with a smirk of happiness. I could already tell my control over my aether had increased significantly. [Seeing my potential jump by three points was exhilarating. → My shaping potential had jumped by three points—an exhilarating breakthrough.] With another few decades of finding shaping essences, I jokingly thought I would be able to write out spell forms in the air and cast true spells. I quickly calculated my relative aether points. A score of 25 would provide me with the equivalent of 50 aether points, indicating that my first successful potion had restored approximately [25 → half my total pool.] I sighed because [25 points were about average for a brewed potion of its kind. → this was no better than a standard aether potion, just stable.] The question was if it was more stable. The issue with brewed aether potions was that they quickly lost their effectiveness over time.
Sparkley Unicorn
Can't he just pay 9.99 and equip a third ring? Standard RPG mechanic lmao
Enk
i wonder what will happen when he adds a magic shimmering dungeon coffee bean to his aetheric formula! I can't wait for the *boom*.
Enk
can't say i see any soap opera (outside of comments, perhaps) - i do see a lot of increasing and much needed attention to detail. And something tells me the military ain't far away - someone still needs to smack that evil empire properly.
NovaZero
I think this one isn't in the collection
John Donovan
It's the in-between then and now. This is now a group and it's probably not going back. The characters I like are gone except eryk and the story has gone a bit soap opera like for my taste. I will check it out when it releases later this year.
Mark P
I know you still have a long way to go but I can imagine Eryk as an idependent mage centurion with his own legion. Wish Konstantine would find a way to slow aging so he can be a long term thorn in his side. Spell scroll or artifact.
Steven Savage
From what was explained, his apex core twisted in on itself in order to make room for the water affinity. Is there a type of apex essence that increases core size? If so, would his core remain twisted if he took one or is the twisted core something that can only be fixed with time?
Erick Thiemke
thank you for your support. after the legion it was supposed to resemble a mercenaries life, but I let the story go where it willed
Raelik
Yeah a reasoning and intelligence in the chest Konstantin turned down the intelligence when it was offered and Relia took the reasoning so Eryk kept the int
John Donovan
My last post here. I really enjoyed this series. As the series has moved away from soldiering to adventuring my interest has faded. This is still a well written story and I will check it out once it's released. Good luck going forward.
M.S.McGowan
I thought they're was 2 mental essences in the reward chest . He gave one to relia and kept one himself
Ivan Kanewske
One of the legs was slightly damaged in believe
Erick Thiemke
im confused. i dont see a hyphen needed when i google it
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
it would be more constitution than endurance, but mental and physical exhaustion take a toll on even Olympic athletes. Konstantin is not spending his engery studying and doing alchemy for 12 hours a day. he is just having fun wandering the city looking for monsters
Erick Thiemke
she is a changeling not a shapeshifter
Erick Thiemke
he is going to open a shop to sell all the ornate wooden chest he got from the manticore dungeon
Erick Thiemke
healing I think
Erick Thiemke
he can not unlock it for a few years. will get an update when he gets back to Gramney
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
odd - you are right. not sure why the excel sheet was wrong. i am guessing i added in a shaping essence that I forgot but didnt update the excel sheet.
Erick Thiemke
checking....
Erick Thiemke
no just two. it has been discussed already - just for mechanics. technically how it was written those two could be on his toes but for story sake I am going to say they will not function on toes
Erick Thiemke
i think 40 is the low end from what Castile told him after Macha
Andrew Gonzalez
How high does his shaping need to be to cast spells again, know it was mentioned near the beginning of the story
Bananaboat
No, when he opened up his water affinity it nearly killed him, so he is waiting on opening new affinities for at least a few years
Doritoscrunch
Can he wear up to 4 rings with his feet since he knows how to channel aether through them?
Chachi
very true
Theo Tomss
I think there is a mistake with the aether shaping stats, he was at 10/10 in the chapter « Eternis » so a +2/+4 should put him a 12/14 !
Silver Beard
Godok is SO much better than Gramney though. If I was Eryk...I'd settle here and let Gramney go and/or relocate those that want to stick with him. Having experienced it- the world is so much more than the Empire. Hate it all you want; but there's so much more to be had looking away from it. I understand Castille's hate, but if she could only see the 'bigger' picture. Let Octavian fief over a squat of land. The world awaits.
SUlex
Didn’t he consume nature essences?
M.S.McGowan
Didn't he get an apex essence of intelect from the hydra. That would have raised his potential as well wouldn't it?
Eddie
He's probably gonna open up an alchemy shop and add to his investments in Gramney like the blacksmith and the inn. He could hire alchemists and share his recipes with them if they sign exclusive employment contracts with his shop. Also maybe he could negotiate a favorable deal with the goliaths to trade for more of the figs, assuming that they're gonna keep the dungeon. If he can refine the recipe to a point that it's better than most of the competition, he would eventually make a killing even if he's losing money testing it now. It's like r&d, eventually the returns will be massive.
Eddie
ch311, he put it back in his space, no indication of it being destroyed
Silver Beard
Also- they still haven't reported the Dungeon which doesn't make much sense if Eryk is basing his potion on a resource that is potentially finite. Alchemy is a nice was to blow through a lot of gold and take up time; but what is he actually trying to accomplish? Surely Mavieth expects Eryk to report it to the Hall? Status update was appreciated. Thanks for sharing.
Silver Beard
City this big; how is Gilda not being hunted herself? She can't be the only shape-shifter in town... so what gives?
Eddie
Was it established that endurance reduces the need for sleep? Honestly, I forget what a lot of the stats do exactly. I thought endurance only referred to muscular/aerobic endurance. Olympic athletes still need to sleep 8 hours a day like the rest of us.
Silver Beard
How does he have the reader- it was lost and destroyed when the Titan's upended his space?!~
1536539
For someone with an Endurance of 88 he really should not feel tired from a Few days without sleep.
1536539
Thank you for the chapter
Nick Nicholson
Agreed. I also love a good table reading.
Erick Thiemke
Thanks I will correct it tomorrow
Erick Thiemke
Unless that vacation involves drinking essence cocktails
Erick Thiemke
Yes it is…correct in morning thanks
piranha
“With another few decades of finding channeling essences…” Isn’t it shaping essence?
Koral
Not even sure I should post this...extremely minor correction: re-acclimate It would take ten to fourteen days to reacclimate to the ring, but I needed more time
Andrew
Thank you!
Nick Nicholson
A vacation is when the readers start to get bored
Nick Pincus
Vacation, I don't think konsante has a clue how to relax anymore. To much PTSD.
Koral
World Sphere!! ;-)
Koral
Woot! Just finished the previous chapter when this posted. Gotta love that!
Erick Thiemke
going to write a World Sphere or Town Builder Chapter tomorrow. This chapter was slightly shorter than normal but the previous two chapters were about 1k words longer than normal
