Gestation by John Gold (love books to read .txt) 📗

363706/522130

Resistance to mental damage: +0.01%

Mental damage ignored: up to 333878/second

I push the limit, restoring 59000 health. It’s such a shame that I can’t boost the amount of health I can heal. For that, I would need to increase my intellect, and I can’t do that. What if I create a cloak or a ring instead of a bow? I really want to give it a try, but I can’t.

I don’t have any scrolls, and none of the creatures I kill gives me a single potion. I can probably make them, though. Mama told me that potion-making is one avenue of cooking, so I should give that a try. The aura is really getting to me. I need a break. That will give me the chance to grow the forest thicker, too.

I go back to shooting at the ground.

Father…I miss you. I wonder how he and mama are doing.

First, I work on the forest, then I make wild strawberries. What can maxed-out healing spells do when they hit fertile soil? I now know the answer to that question. There are enormous trees spreading out for a kilometer in every direction, and I guess that the druids are going to start praying to me. After all, I can grow a forest in Hell.

I have neither flasks nor the ability to make them, though I really want to work on my cooking. But I bet that the psychologist won’t exactly give me a pat on the head if I start to cook and eat the locals. There isn’t anything else beside humans here! My only option is to make broths using roots and local herbs. Then, I have a crazy idea that I decide to try out.

I make a lake. Yes, I really am crazy! I just about die from the recoil of the magic, notwithstanding the health pool that ritual magic has given me.

My experience with the mountain has stuck with me, back when the light exploded, highly concentrated in a single point. I use that to create a pit before shooting Water Magic into it. Then, I melt the ice, and it’s only at that point that I add life. After three hours of shooting maximally charged Life Magic at the lake, I realize that it’s madness.

There are fish in the lake! Mama, I’m going to make fish soup! Using an astral bow is practically cheating. On the other hand, who else could use it?

The next month is peaceful as I work on my fisherman skills. I really hope I can go fishing with father again. Hell, the forest, the lake, fishing…and peace. I spend all my free time working on my shooting, fishing, and cooking.

The forest turns out beautifully. Animals even start to show up. Little ones at first, and then larger ones. Bots start to visit the shadow of the trees. I have a feeling that the misers and profligates who show up are going to turn into new Hell elves. Their contemplative nature is perfect.

I spend the whole month looking for recipes that will boost my intellect. The only option is to try the potions, seasonings, and ingredients on myself. As it turns out, you can even use your own blood to cook with. I try bark, wood, roots, leaves, fruit, herbs, minerals, animal organs, bones…everything. So many patterns reveal themselves as I first try all the ingredients and see what kind of effect they have. Then, I combine them, everything together first, and then in a particular order. It’s at that point that I figure out a rule: you start by boiling bones. When the broth takes on their qualities, you add the next ingredient the same way. If you boil the mixture for too long, you lose the effect. Different ingredients take different times to cook, so you have to keep everything in mind: time, temperature, and order.

Great intellect potion

A potion-brewing master made this potion. It boosts intellect by 20 for 30 minutes.

Effect:

Intellect +20

Duration:

30 minutes

Hm, that’s not much. What if I let it boil for a while longer to steam off some of the liquid?

Concentrated intellect potion

A potion-brewing master made this potion. It boosts intellect by 50 for 45 minutes.

Effect:

Intellect +50

Duration:

45 minutes

Still, that’s not it. To start off with, I use my own blood to avoid level limitations and make sure the effect isn’t cut. I boil the mixture in clay pots. To sum up what I’ve learned, all the elements of the potion affect the brain, mostly stimulating it. But I need a catalyst to intensify the effect. For humans, that’s the balance of salt in the body, so I need oxidizing minerals.

I end up doing some digging, tearing down mountains in search of salt deposits. One mountain smells like the real deal, making my nose twitch, and the aroma is especially coming from one small crevice. I raze the mountain, making a pit where it used to be. Blood malachite and moon quartz! I decide to go deeper to see what else I can find. There’s a round deposit of some kind of salt I can’t identify - perfect.

Salt does, indeed, turn out to be the key. The malachite and quartz crumble in my hands to melt beautifully in a pot full of blood. The malachite melts instantly, turning into blood, while the quartz salt takes much longer. Still, what a result!

Quintessential intellect potion

The master who brewed this potion was a genius. It gives you 30 intellect permanently.

Effect:

Intellect +30

Duration:

Permanent

It’s just a shame that I don’t have a craftsman skill. If I did, I could get much more. As it is, my well-developed potion-brewing skill gives me +200% on the effect of the potions I brew. I can’t find any more salt, though, no matter how many days I spend leveling mountains. The malachite does some good, at least. I settle for that.

Superior intellect spell

A potion-brewing master made this potion. It boosts your intellect by 100 for one hour.

Effect:

Intellect +100

Duration:

1 hour

My inventory is full