Chapter 63: Transmutation.
Leonard had stopped hoping that the journey to the border was supposed to be an hourly walk, the standard of walk to the xyn is probably as fast as a passenger car.
"By the way, Ziquir. I felt invigorated. Is that the work of the potion?"
"Yes, one was meant to accelerate your muscle regeneration while the other was to help you with your missing life force."
Leonard was still following when Zhar'kerut was explaining the muscle regeneration potion but he was totally lost on the missing life force part.
"What do you mean by the latter?"
Leonard asked with a bit of confusion. The only time he used his life force is when he blocked the entire wall in the banquet hall of the academy.
"Your life force was cut a bit. It took 2-3 years of your life." Zhar'kerut explained calmly. "It was patched, however, it was crude. You were not healing it back at all."
That made Leonard anxious, he wasn't healing at all? Did he just reduce his own life expectation instead of his lifespan? Both concepts terrify Leonard, but not to the point of hysteria, he knew he had to die someday but to cut his life expectation instead of his lifespan.
He didn't regret blocking that wall, he saved the reputation of the academy by making sure that there were no casualties on the noble children and his conscience didn't weigh more heavily on him this time.
Next time he would think about the consequences of differing from the main story. Osbourne was supposed to be a part of the Terrorist group, but now that he's within the duchy look at the consequence.
Still, the consequences have hidden rewards, Leonard was sure of that. After all, when he raided the hidden hideout he saved some kids that would potentially be an asset to the duchy.
Kids.
Leonard just banished away the thought. He looked at Zhar'kerut with gratitude.
"Thank you Ziquir."
"Word of advice Leonard. If you're desperate, use the mana around you."
"I-I've done that."
"Then you aren't converting it fast enough… Are you willing to learn alchemy? What I'm about to bestow upon you is about basic transmutation."
"Transmutation?"
"Of course, you've seen the warriors guarding the gate?"
"Yes, Ziquir. Are they related?"
"Yes, it's clear that they're very different from us, only outwardly. Want to know why?"
"Transmutation?" Leonard asked curiously
"Right. The Gene Brooder are the ones tasked with ascending a Xyn. I, a Ziquir, am responsible for tending the Brooder to such a task. After all, ascending a Xyn is a tedious process. Now you, a human, have a vast difference in biology from us, so I'm going to teach you the basics of transmutation with that, maybe your body could hold and convert mana faster."
Zhar'kerut paused for a bit. Looked at Leonard and then completely turned his body around.
"You have to know that Mana is quite versatile, even to its owner it would be a detriment if it wasn't used properly, especially when it's stored properly."
Zhar'kerut then tapped at his carapace letting out a bit of mana. Leonard felt it, it was so dense that Leonard couldn't distinguish between the ambient mana of the dungeon and Zhar'kerut's.
"See how dense my mana property is? If stored properly this is the effect, with a proper transmuted body storing a condensed mana will be easier."
Leonard looked at Zhar'kerut's body and his, Zhar'kerut is bigger than him, but that doesn't mean he holds a lot of mana because of his bigger size.
"Of course, transmutation isn't going to be easy, when we Xyn ascended we had to consider trivial things, even pain."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you need to learn the basics."
"No, I mean. Wouldn't you be worried if I told others about this?"
"And what? Raid the lowest floor of the dungeon?"
That got Leonard to shut up, even in his entire life he would not be able to go down all 3000 floors of the dungeon. He would be dead by aching bones and tired breath before he even got a glimpse of the 1000th floor.
"Now, the transmutation process has a lot to be considered, nerve endings, bone structure and especially, Mana nodes and circuits."
Zhar'kerut tapped Leonard's chest with a finger.
"One way to do that is placing a mana heart—"
Zhar'kerut suddenly stiffened, as if he suddenly discovered something baffling, he then asked a question.
"Wait a minute. Now that I see it. Are you storing all three types of mana in your body?"
"Yes…?"
Leonard was confused why Zhar'kerut would ask, then he heard the clattering of his mandibles. The Xyn equivalent of sighing.
"No wonder you couldn't hold a lot of mana!"
Zhar'kerut abruptly held Leonard's arm, it felt like a yank to the boy though, Zharkerut is a dungeon dweller, but Leonard isn't. The vast difference in biology is very apparent.
"Ow!"
That hurt voice didn't stop the Ziquir from probing Leonard's body, he checked with his mana and scoured every part.
"A heart! A mana heart!"
The Ziquir aggressively clacked his mandibles, one thing about Xyn's that Leonard is overly familiar with.
"Tell me, Leonard. How did you have a mana heart without exploding your insides? You have a core as well! Splendid! The mana in your body is properly segregated as well! To which genius do I owe my thanks for showing this specimen?"
"Ziquir!"
"Ah, apologies." Zhar'kerut lost his grip. "I've never seen a mana heart and a core closely working together in a knit."
He then looked closely at Leonard, he felt a bit scared, it felt like he was an animal at the zoo being stared down for a show.
"You really are the chosen one," muttered Zhar'kerut.
"... Pardon?"
Leonard was shocked, a bit more baffled by what Zhar'kerut is saying, what chosen one? There's already an existence called the chosen one.
"Excuse my mutterings."
Zhar'kerut then continued walking. As if nothing happened out of the ordinary, Leonard wants to learn how thick faces the Xyn is but then again he already is.
"Now, back to transmutation. Since your base body lacks the versatility of my kin, you have to figure out how to transmute your biology by yourself."
Zhar'kerut walked while talking about the specifics of transmutation, Leonard was keen on learning, he even took out a notebook and started writing on it. It was not his.
Though with the lesson of the Ziquir on Transmutation, Leonard learned the surface level hardly, it's like listening to an engineer talk about how he created an aeroplane.
Even so, he wrote down every word the Ziquir said with fervour. If he missed this lesson, it would be his last.
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