章 12: ELIXIRS & COLOURS
"What is it that you would like me to do for you?" Bori asked.
"I want you to fix this," Sage pointed at her face.
She would not consider herself a vain person. To her, beauty was not everything in life. There were things she considered far more important, such as brains and strength. But… having an aesthetically pleasing appearance was not a bad thing. The reception beautiful people got from others was usually dozens of times better than the reception ugly people got. Her current appearance would make things extremely difficult for her when she set off. Therefore, she wished to resolve the matter of her scarred body before that day came.
"I'm incapable of helping you with that," the geezer replied apologetically.
Sage puckered her brow at him. "Why?"
"You are undead," the geezer said. "Your kind can only be restored to the condition they were in when they first became undead. Even if I used a spell that can heal an undead, the best it could do is restore you to your current condition. Because of that, the scars will always remain."
"What about healing magic?" she asked.
Bori shook his head. "Healing magic is harmful to the undead. In fact, all Light Magic is harmful to the undead. It is their greatest weakness. In the past there was a vampire sorcerer who tried to learn light magic, but the attempt backlashed and reduced him to ash."
"Isn't there something else that might heal me?" she asked, grasping onto the tiniest bit of hope. She refused to accept that she would be a ragdoll forever. "There has to be a way." This was a world of magic. Anything should be possible.
"Well…" the necromancer paused for a while, as if contemplating whether to go on or not. After a few seconds of what appeared to be an internal battle with himself, he relented. "There might be a way to heal you, but I am not so sure if it is feasible."
"Tell me!" Sage demanded. Even the smallest bit of information was welcome right now.
Bori cleared his throat before he spoke. "You could find an Elixir of Rejuvenation and consume it."
"Elixir?" Sage replied quizzically. "As in a potion?"
Bori scoffed at her for the first time ever. "There are potions. Then are Elixirs," he said, his voice firm. "Potions can be brewed by any run-of-the-mill herb grinder. As for Elixirs, only a true alchemist is capable of brewing one."
"So an Elixir is just a more effective potion?" Sage asked dryly.
This caused the geezer to frown. "That would be belittling Elixirs.
"These are the ultimate potions, capable of feats even Ultra Order magic cannot measure up to. Unlike normal potions, the effect brought about by an Elixir is permanent. For example, the Elixir of Strength is capable of drastically increasing one's physique. The Elixir of Youth allows one to remain eternally young. Then there is the much sought after Elixir of Immortality. You drink this and you will never have to worry about Death creeping on your doorstep."
"What about the one you say might be able to help me?" Sage asked, starting to feel hopeful.
If all Elixirs were super potions capable of doing what Bori had just described then there was a great chance the Elixir of Rejuvenation would be able to fix her.
The geezer smiled. "It is said that this potion can return one to their optimal state. If an old dying man on his deathbed were to drink this potion he would regain his youth and vitality. Likewise, if someone missing a limb consumed it would grow back. Legend has it that it was once used to treat a deformed prince of Methos."
"Where do I find this Elixir of Rejuvenation?" Sage asked eagerly.
If the potion was capable of healing deformities there was no doubt that it could heal her scars. She wanted it!
This time, when Bori replied, he had a helpless expression. "Nowhere. Rumours of Elixirs are usually false more often than not. Besides, the materials needed to craft them are pretty rare and expensive. Even if you could somehow gather them, the number of people capable of crafting these miraculous potions can be counted on two fingers and it is impossible to meet them. One of the two is Methos' Grand Magister. The other is her teacher and the inventor of Elixirs. He vanished a long time ago."
"So what you're saying is that I just need to gather the materials, arrange a meeting with one of the two alchemists and somehow get them to brew the Elixir for me?" She asked.
Bori coughed at her response. "You make it sound simple. However, even getting over the first hurdle is difficult. To collect the ingredients for the Elixir of Rejuvenation you need to acquire the recipe first. This is a closely guarded secret by the most powerful individuals in Rekke. There is nothing you can offer them to make them share it with you."
Hearing this, Sage could not help but frown. If getting the Elixir recipe was really that difficult it would be a long time before she would be able to get it. I will first have to become stronger before approaching those entities and asking them for the recipe, she decided. With strength, a lot more options would open up for her. If the people with the recipe refused she would just steal it from them and dash. If she could not run away she would beat them up first then dash.
Having concluded this line of thought, she turned to Bori with another question. "By the way, what's with the different mana colours? Why is your mana burgundy and mine yellow? Does it have to do with our Order of magic?"
"You can see that now can't you," the geezer responded, stroking his hairless chin. "It's not surprising considering you can tell the amount of mana a person has. Usually only specialised crystals can do that. When you advance in Order your mana changes quality and colour. Try casting a Zero Order spell again."
She did so, once more launching an acid stream against the abused boulder.
When she was done Bori said, "Did you notice that it took way less mana than it did last time?" She nodded, allowing the necromancer to continue. "That is because of the improved quality of the mana. Whenever, your Order increases your mana quality doubles. A 2nd Order mage would use half the mana they previously used to cast a 1st Order spell and a 3rd Order mage would use a quarter of the previous mana."
"I get that," Sage replied. "So 1st Order Mana is yellow and 6th Order is burgundy? What about the other Orders?"
To this the old mage lifted all his fingers and began to list off the Orders and their colours. "Zero Order; cream. 1st Order; yellow. 2nd Order; Orange. 3rd Order; purple. 4th Order; maroon. 5th Order; brown. 6th Order; burgundy. 7th Order; cyan. 8th Order; blue. 9th Order; Green. And the Ultra Order; it is rumoured to be red."
"So those are the colours of every Order," Sage said, committing them memory.
She remembered the wraith that chased her back in the Deadlands. Its mana had been brown, meaning it was capable of 5th Order magic.
She turned to the old mage with another question.
"Do creatures have to learn spells to increase their mana quality as well?"
"That is a good question you bring up. Thank you for doing so, I almost forgot to clarify that," the geezer replied, sounding a lot like a teacher from her old world. "Beasts with magic are able to improve their mana quality as well, but they don't need to learn spells to do so. These beasts are born with innate abilities which they hone from birth. The more proficient they become with these abilities the more their mana improves. Some of the more powerful magic beasts also have abilities that can only be unlocked when the quality of their mana is extremely high. A well-known example of this would be dragons. They only acquire their trademark {Dragon Breath} when their mana becomes cyan.
"Even though these magic beasts are able to learn spells they cannot improve their Order by ingraining them." Here Bori gave her a meaningful look. "The undead are the exception to this rule."
"I see," Sage nodded. Then she thought of something else. "What about the physique Grades? How do they compare to the mage Orders?"
"The lowest physique is Grade 5," the old man began. "There is actually a wide gap in physique when it comes to this grade. Since it is the lowest, all sorts of people ranging from the sickly to the strong are classified in it. At its worst it is said to be equivalent to an extremely fragile person and at its best it can be compared to the 2nd Order. Above Grade 5 is Grade 4, which refers to those who have broken free from the confines of humanity, boasting incredible physical abilities; they are equivalent to 3rd and 4th Order. Grade 3 is even rarer and equals 5th and 6th Order.
"Then there is Grade 2. This is someone with a monstrous physique that can match a 7th or 8th Order mage. As for a Grade 1, anyone with such a physique is considered a legend. These are the people capable of going toe to toe with a grand 9th Order sorcerer. Only the most famous of warriors fall under this category."
At this point, the geezer's eyes narrowed. "There is a rumoured Supreme Grade above Grade 1, but it has yet to be confirmed."
"Okay," Sage nodded.
She committed everything she heard to memory. In the future when she went to look for the Elixir of Rejuvenation she would most likely bump into powerful beings. Although her {Index} could give her an accurate reading of their strength, since she had never experienced that strength she would be unable to understand just how strong these individuals were. Listening to Bori, she could at least make a rough estimate of their strength. With that she would know who to avoid in the future.
With that in mind she smiled and posed the geezer another question. "Can you teach me another 1st Order spell?"
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