The next day, back in the clothing store:
Heavy rain drummed on the roof, and the wind howled in the chimneys. In the cramped, dark basement, the two girls crouched over a bloodied circle drawn on the floor.
In the darkness, tiny gemstones—some devoid of color, others an intense orange—cast an eerie glow, illuminating the girls' tense expressions.
'It should be ready.' It was only a day since Tia returned from her hunt and now the first ritual was ready.
Suspended on slender rods of brass, a series of lenses and crystals hovered above the circle. Each one was strategically positioned, their collective directions converging on the center, where a brass plate with a crystal bowl suspended above it and various lenses separating them stood.
"So you want to learn magic?" The voice of the taller girl in the black dress cut through the eerie silence, each word echoing in the cramped space.
"Y-yes..." The stammered response of the blonde girl betrayed her apprehension. She was visibly gagging and paling at the irony smell of blood.
The taller woman nodded, a smile playing on her face. "You can fuel enchantments with your own mana when using them, or you can alternatively create catalysts to power them."
Tia's hand moved with grace, depositing an orange elemental crystal shard onto the brass plate. A splattering sound followed as a lump of flesh appeared in the bowl above it. At last, she poured a vial of thick, red, slightly glowing liquid into the bowl.
The blonde immediately stepped back, her face losing all color.
The blonde retreated, the unnerving display evoking a mix of awe and terror. Tia, unshaken, leaned over the display. "Don't worry, it's not human. Wyvern blood and livers."
With calculated precision, Tia unleashed a pulse of magical energy.
It descended upon the elemental stones before her, inciting a violent dance of colorful sparks. The gemstones melted into cascading gaseous streams of mana, each stream channeled through the lenses and converging into the bowl.
"Watch closely; now I will refine and filter the raw mana from elemental stones, blood, and livers. Then I will condense it into a focused magic catalyst that can be used to power magic tools."
The livers shone and glowed while the blood spiraled in a violent vortex of light. Tia closed her eyes in concentration, directing the mana down through the lenses onto the crystal on the plate.
As the refined mana traversed the lenses, a metamorphosis occurred. Vivid hues of orange intensified, while other colors—green, red, blue, brown, and black—dissipated into the ominous ambiance of the basement.
"These lenses are here to guide mana and to filter it based on its elemental affinity," Tia remarked while keeping her focus, and her thin smile gradually transformed into a wide grin.
'Such a change...' She reminisced about how she was not so long ago forced to use her own body to replicate the process, as she lacked even the most basic tools.
'Sadly, gold isn't enough to buy anything better.' Even with her contacts with the local gang, she was still a nobody in a small town, and members of the magic community were always secretive, keeping their secrets and tools to themselves.
Under the two pairs of eyes, the filtered mana from the melting livers and boiling blood gradually enveloped the gem seed on the plate, condensing around it.
'I need more pressure.' Tia's brow furrowed as she focused even more, her arm trembling. With all her might, she pushed the flowing mana, condensing it into a single spot.
The basement quaked and the air heated up while her hair wildly danced around like in zero gravity.
The panicked blonde retreated all the way to the corner, but Tia had no time to pay her any attention, her mind fully occupied with the task of pressing the mana.
At last, the last mana gem melted, and a bright light flashed. Tia poured her own mana into the mix, pressing it all together. The mana turned thicker, turning into a liquid and slowly crystallizing.
She lowered her still-trembling arm, silence, and darkness falling upon the room—the only light source being the tiny orange pulsing pearl on the plate.
"Semi-crystallized focus catalyst, not bad," Tia whispered, her voice a mixture of exhaustion and triumph.
The pea-sized pearl, seemingly liquid beneath its hardened exterior, brightly shone, containing refined magic power.
Ding!
//
Assessment:
Name: Unnamed
Type: Semi-crystalised liquified mana
Primary affinities: Fire, Null, Power
Quality: Average
Tier: III
//
[Apprentice Artificing (45%)] -> [Apprentice Artificing (55%)]
'Good start; this should fit my new ring.' Tia sighed heavily, knowing her job had only started. 'I need three more of those small ones and then one big from the heart.'