Welcome to Rhamiel, A Civilization Core LitRPG

“Wait, are you serious?” Mom asked. “You’re not joking about something you just learned about?”

They had listened intensely while Rhamiel explained what had happened when he had vanished. Dad had remained silent and brooding the entire time, likely still sleepy if Rhamiel was guessing. Joselin was a little panicked that something like a System Moderator or Demi-Outer God existed, but she only interrupted once. Mom, however, was excited to discover that the Outer Gods could have spawned.

“Well, I can’t say I disagree with your choice,” Dad shrugged. You probably should have taken Blood Magic or Essence Magic, though. You need something truly offensive.”

“Are you kidding me, Darling?” Mom asked him incredulously. “Granted, I will never object to someone learning or getting Magic; I’m all for it. Ascendant Magic or this was the best choice. That or Eldritch Theology, like he chose.”

“Wow,” Joselin sighed. “Don’t I feel lame for thinking Drone Pylon Network was probably the best one for Rhamiel?”

Both of her parents gave her a disappointed look. A look that quickly disappeared for a smile the moment that she shied away from their glare.

“So,” Joselin chuckled. “Ah-hem, did you want to talk about building the Cathedral?”

“Yeah, and a few other things,” Rhamiel said, his voice coming from his Crystal. “I’ll try to make this quick so you can go back to sleep, Dad,” the Core said quickly.

“No,” Dad yawned. “This will take what time it takes; then I will go back to sleep.”

Rhamiel gave him a beat after he had finished speaking. “Okay, Dad. I already told Hutch about the Cathedral, and he said something about the blueprints here. He was checking it out last I heard-”

“Hell yeah, I was!” Hutch shouted from the lower floor. He trudged up the stairs, a series of rolled-up large pieces of lightly glowing parchment in his hands. One was unrolled in his grip, pouring over it with a broad smile. “Sorry, I heard my name. I felt okay jumping in.”

Dad shook his head. “Whatever, Hutch, you would have walked up as soon as we started talking about anything that could have brought you in.”

He looked up from the Blueprint he was reading and gave Dad an accusatory look. “Would you not slander me to Rhamiel? He has no idea I am a really annoying person to work with yet.”

“Anyway,” Hutch said, changing the subject. “This is not super complicated; the only problem is getting the resources and the amounts we need, but otherwise.” his smile widened. “This is doable.”

Then Dad stared at Rhamiel’s Core with an intense and tired look: “Rhamiel, please tell me you aren’t going to stop building the wall for this Cathedral.”

“No,” Rhamiel sighed. “I want to, but I was told plainly by Hutch, the traitor, that stopping the wall was not a good choice.”

“Traitor?” Hutch raised an eyebrow.

“Alright!” Joselin interrupted. “Hutch, what else is needed for the Cathedral?”

The Builder shook his head, “Uh, A lot of Wood and Basalt.” Hutch closed his current Blueprint and opened another, continuing his reading.

“Icons?” Rhamiel asked. He looked at his copy of the Blueprint and found the section of the 3-D Blueprint that listed the icons. The icons sat on pedestals in the Cathedral, each one a different thing that proudly sat for the worship of the Outer Gods, a way to collect their Worshipped Faith.

“Wait,” Hutch said, looking up at Joselin where the Core’s voice came from. “This says this is the Eldritch Cathedral Tier 1. Can this thing get bigger?”

Rhamiel wasn’t sure, but he answered, “Yeah, this building, the Architects Library, is a Tier 1 version of the building. Once I completed it, it allowed me to see the requirements for Tier 2.”

Hutch almost drooled on the held Blueprint, catching the spittal before it left his mouth. “Rhamiel, we need to have your Drones build the Wall; focus on the Wall. Then, they focus on the infrastructure around here. Houses, crafting structures, roads, and food. You have some buildings for farms; have them build them. At least for now,” Hutch told him.

“But-” Rhamiel argued.

“No buts,” Dad interrupted. “He’s right, at least for now. I think I know why, May I?” he looked at Hutch.

“I want to say it,” Hutch glowered. “I am the Chief Builder.”

Dad shrugged, “Go for it.”

“Materials, Rhamiel,” Hutch said. “We need Materials to build this thing. If it were just wood, it would be simple enough, just the time to gather and process the wood. But it’s the Basalt. I doubt it will take too long to find the stone, but it will still take a little time.”

“Are you kidding me?” Rhamiel asked out loud, distressed. “Part of the reason I chose this was because I thought I could start building this immediately. Now you are telling me I must wait because of materials?”

Hutch nodded solemnly, “Unfortunately. I want to build this, too. This at Tier 1 might level my Construction Skills. But we must be realistic, and I do not want to keep sleeping on the floor.”

“It’s been one night, calm down,” Joselin told the Builder. “You would never survive Ranger Training.”

“I know, I thought I made that clear,” Hutch announced.

“How much longer do you expect the Wall to take?” Dad asked Rhamiel.

It took him a moment to find the relevant information. “Uh, a little over a day. Twenty-five hours and twenty-nine minutes.”

“Really?” Hutch gasped, amazed. “That is incredibly fast.”

“The Drones,” Dad smirked. “They do not need to eat, sleep, drink, and they do not complain.”

Hutch’s amazement turned to annoyance as he closed up the Blueprint. “Rhamiel, I recommend you do not worry about the Cathedral until our Surveyor guys find the needed Materials. Once the Materials are found, we begin building!” he cheered, glaring at Dad with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

“Okay,” Rhamiel said slowly. “Rhamiel, what’s next?”

“Mom, I was hoping to ask a few favors!”

Hutch sighed, “Oh good, I am not needed anymore; I can stop being attacked by the Rangers!” He said, glaring as he walked down the stairs and out of sight.

Rhamiel turned his attention downstairs and found the Blueprints that Hutch had mentioned before this meeting. A small stack of parchment had drawings and diagrams drawn on each page. Stretching out a line of Mana, Rhamiel touched the stack and inserted a little mana into the pages.

Would you like to absorb the Blueprints ‘Blacksmith’, ‘Chopping House’, ‘Masonry Workshop’, ‘Smeltery’, ‘Simple Home’, and the ‘Alchemist Lab’. Yes or No?

Rhamiel told the Prompt, ‘Yes.’

You have absorbed the following Blueprints; ‘Blacksmith,’ ‘Chopping House,’ ‘Masonry Workshop,’ ‘Smeltery,’ ‘Simple Home,’ and the ‘Alchemist Lab.’

“Sweet,” Rhamiel said, a little more cheerful. Then, realizing that he said that aloud, he explained, “Oh, Hutch gave me a bunch of Blueprints, woooo!”

“Oh, that is good,” Joselin nodded. “But let’s focus on the meeting so Dad can go back to sleep.”

“Oh, right, sorry. Mom,” Rhamiel said, turning his attention to her. I was hoping you could teach me Essence Magic AND maybe identify this item.”

Seconds passed, and Mom blinked as the silence dragged on, “Uh, what item?”

“Joselin,” Rhamiel whispered. “The knife, show her the knife.”

“Oh, right,” Joselin said, opening her satchel where the knife and sapphire were stored. Looking first, she carefully reached inside the bag and withdrew the knife identified as an artifact.

“Ooooh,” Mom approached, intrigued. “What is this?”

“An Artifact,” Rhamiel said proudly. “I just don’t know anything about it. I was hoping you would be able to tell me anything.”

Mom stood in front of Joselin, looking over the knife in a way that some of the people Rhamiel had not yet met. She looked at the cooked werewolves. Her fingers danced as she slowly reached for the knife, then stopped. “May I?”

Joselin handed over the rusty, single-edged knife over Rhamiel’s unspoken reluctance. He trusted Mom, Dad, and Joselin, but that bit of fear remained in his soul. What if any of them wanted to keep it?

Taking the knife, Mom ran her Magic over and through it, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The Magic coalesced into a thick turquoise mist that enveloped the blade, making it eerily glow.

“Ooooh, My,” Mom breathed. The blade’s surface flaked away with every passing second, the little bits disintegrating before they drifted away. The action seemingly changed the weapon itself and revealed a smooth, crystalline, double-edged blade. Beneath Mom’s hand, the handle became covered in a coat of pitted orange metal that became the guard. A piece of gauze-like cloth wrapped around the handle to pad the metal.

“What did you do to my knife?” Rhamiel accused.

Mom blinked, looked at Rhamiel’s Core, and said, “What? Oh, I was using my Analysis Spell, and it did this. Why?”

“Don’t worry, Rhamiel. She just confirmed that this is an Artifact,” Dad said. “A side effect of Artifacts is that they have a natural defense against detection.”

“Oh, he didn’t- Ah, yeah, yeah, he’s right,” Mom said, understanding. “Most Divination magic just slides off it; only Analysis Magic works on Artifacts. Even then, the spells take so much more to work, AND they need to be maxed out.” She nodded, looking over the changed blade in her hands. “I’ve never seen an Artifact before, but I have read over this extensively.”

“But Mom, that does not even look like the same knife?” Joselin urged her to continue. “Dagger? I think that’s a dagger now?”

Dad agreed, “Dagger.”

Mom shrugged, “I don’t recognize this weapon, but the metamorphosis is a common defense against thieves. An automatic defense, I’ll add.”

“Okay…” Rhamiel said, following along. “But why?”

“No idea,” Mom shrugged. “Screwy God Stuff?”

Annoyed at that answer, Rhamiel asked, “fine. What does it do?”

“Oh, here you go,” Mom said, flicking her finger through the air, and a Prompt appeared before Rhamiel.

Souls Reborn

Aspects: Birth, Spirit, Transmutation, Enchantment, Relic.

A rare tool, a small blade blessed and empowered by the mere gaze of Birth. Created primarily from the lens of the eye of the Mother Goddess of Giants, Aizanne, this crystalline knife is both an abomination and a holy relic to the faithful.

Once wielded by the AshenSpear to defeat the City Boss, Oregath, this tool nevertheless has a history of shame within the Cult of Birth. How could a being that enables the ever-turning mechanism of Birth create a weapon of death and suffering?

This weapon highly Scales with the wielder’s Dexterity and Spirit, typically Scales with Mind and Luck, and has a lesser Scaling with Might.

Souls Memory - When used to slay a foe, any foe, this weapon stores a tiny portion of the slain’s Spirit as a ‘Charge.’ This weapon can store ‘1000 Charges’.

Birth Amalgumate Spirit - You can use the ‘Charges’ in this weapon before it is fully charged. Birthing an Amalgumate Spirit Creature whose strength, form, and longevity depend on the charges consumed upon use.

The Lord’s Epitaph - Can Store a single Imprint of a Boss Monster’s Spirit. This Spirit can be used as a one-time use to increase the charges held, depending on the type of Boss. Or you can use it in the Remembrance Power to channel that Imprint towards that Enchantment.

Memorial - You can use this weapon upon reaching ‘1000 Charges’ to Enchant a physical weapon into a one-time use Transmutable’ Remembrance Weapon.’ The chosen weapon has to meet certain criteria for these Enchantments.

“Whoa,” Rhamiel said. “Holy Wisdom, this is insane!”

“No,” Dad shook his head. “Wrong, that is how you draw their ire, by using their names incorrectly. Then,” Dad said with irritation. “You get things like Belfast Fiends being summoned in your vicinity.”

“Uh, Holy Madness, this is great?” Rhamiel corrected.

“Better,” Dad grumbled, then yawned.

“So, what now?” Joselin asked, reading through the same description. “This thing needs to be used, not kept and hoarded, and sorry, Rhamiel, but you don’t have hands.”

“That’s discrimination!” Rhamiel yelled. “Discrimination against the nonhanded!”

Joselin was frozen in silence as Dad let out a back of laughter. “Oh, that’s good. If that’s a joke, nicely done! Nonhanded, that’s fantastic!”

“What do you want to do with Souls Rebirth?” Mom asked. “You can choose who it goes to if you wish to see it be used. You can horde it and see it go to waste. Or you can lend it to someone who can study it, someone who might be able to create lesser versions of this enchantment.”

“Wait!” Rhamiel said, suddenly excited. “That can be done? Who can do that?”

Mom, face palmed, said with eternal patience, “I can. I can do that. If you gave it to me, I think I can eventually figure out how to create enchantments based on this thing’s powers.”

“Eventually?” Rhamiel questioned. “How long would that take?”

“Just… Eventually,” Mom said. “I can do it, but you can’t put a timeline on this monumental achievement.”

“But Elgeia,” Dad said, shaking his head. “This thing has to be used to utilize its full potential. This needs to be in the hands of one of the fighters, building up these charges. I mean, this Memorial ability can be a game-changer, especially against Bosses. Not all of them can or will come, but some will when we get more power.”

Rhamiel thought about it momentarily, looking at Joselin, his only real friend. He liked Mom and Dad; they were good people but weren’t his friends the more he thought about it. Mentors, maybe, counselors definitely, but he felt deep in his Core of Cores that Joselin cared. Dad would likely move on, Mom might be regretful, but he knew Joselin would mourn him.

Modulating his voice and aiming it next to Joselin’s ear, he asked, “What do you think?”’

The young Elf took a moment, looking between her parents as they debated their points.

“We need to get this thing going,” Dad urged. “Did you see a time limit for how long that Remembrance Enchantment lasts? It wasn’t there; we could create a full armory with these Memorial Weapons. But it takes time to build these up, time that we can’t waste.”

“Waste?” Mom asked, folding her arms. “Are you saying that research and development are a waste of time? What could we do if we had a thousand weapons enchanted with these powers?”

“Maybe,” Dad rebutted. “I don’t know much about Magic, but I am not completely illiterate. You have told me a lot about this; you can make custom enchantments based on specific powers from monsters or items, but not always. Some things cannot be copied or controlled by mere mortals.”

“Mere mortals,” Mom scoffed. “There is nothing mere about us; anyone who has survived this long is either protected, powerful, or lucky.”

Joselin whispered to Rhamiel, “I- I don’t know, but I would love to use that thing. Not that it would ever happen, but someone like Dad or even Morris would be better. Someone with more experience fighting up close would be better than me.”

Rhamiel shot up, “The dagger is mine. I want Joselin to have it!”

Both turned away from their argument and looked at the Core with disbelief. Neither spoke quickly, both between each other and Joselin, with unsure expressions playing across their faces.

“Honey, sweetie,” Mom said with heavy sweetness in her tone. “This kind of tool is a heavy responsibility, not just because of its potential beyond combat, but because there are… others with more levels that could use it better.”

“Hey, don’t ignore me!” Rhamiel shouted. “I made the choice, not Joselin! The dagger is mine, and that is why it is my choice. Through discriminating bullying, I can’t use it, right?” Rhamiel asked, now wishing he had chosen that Relic Sanctification Milestone.

All three nodded with a smile on their face.

“Then I want my System Guide, Final Boss, and Friend to use our first Artifact,” Rhamiel proclaimed. “Mom, can you please give Joselin the Artifact back.”

Mom seemed unhappy with this decision; she stifled several arguments in her throat. The words started, looking at Joselin, then cutting herself off before she could properly voice it. But then she paused and took another breath before turning the blade in her hand, gently holding it by the blade and extending the handle.

Joselin said nothing for a moment, taking the Souls Rebirth in her hand and looking it over. “It’s beautiful,” she said in awe.

Mom looked over her daughter with a proud smile, “Birth always is.”

Rhamiel let out a sound of disgusted derision; no, it’s not! All your biological lifeforms are disgusting! I mean, seriously, breeding, birth, it is all disgusting!”

Dad burst into laughter.

A minute later, after his laughter finally began to abate, Joselin spoke up. “Alright, Mom, we have only one last question for you. Would you teach Rhamiel Essence Magic?”

Seeing an opening, Mom smiled slyly. “I do not think I would mind, on one condition!”

“Oh no,” Joselin sighed.

“I want access to Souls Rebirth, at least when Joselin doesn’t need it,” Mom added quickly. “I understand that you want Joselin to use it, but I would still like access on some occasions to learn.”

All three looked to Rhamiel. “Hey, I’m not the one that is going to have to work here. Joselin, what do you think?”

“I think it’s fair,” she said, slightly exasperated. Mom, we’ll need to talk a little later after this to discuss how this will work. Okay?”

She nodded ecstatically.

“Then deal!” Rhamiel agreed happily.

Mom turned, looked at Dad, and stuck her tongue at the man.

“Okay, Mom, if you are going to be childish, I’m done,” Joselin said, rolling her eyes. She set Rhamiel’s Gem on the Altar on the second story and walked away. Then, yelling as she walked down the stairs, “Have fun with Mom’s boring, complicated, nitty-gritty magic.”

“Hey!” Mom shot back, sounding offended. “I’m still your Mother, be nice to me!”

“Never!” Joselin yelled from the first floor as she walked outside.

“Can I go back to sleep now?” Dad asked, sighing as he stood straight from leaning against the Wall.

“Yeah, thank you!” Rhamiel said. “We’ll talk again later.”

Dad grunted and walked away from the exchange, Mom remaining silent while he left.

“So, Essence Magic, Huh?” Mom said, a chuckle escaping her. “Why do you want to learn Essence Magic?”

“Well, I was interested in the Essence Magic Milestone, and the only reason it wasn’t higher on my list of real choices was that half of what it offered, I could get from you!” Rhamiel chirped.

“Oh, so why not learn Blood Magic?” Mom asked curiously.

“Do we have someone here who could teach that too?” Rhamiel asked happily. “I turned it down because it sounded gross, but magic is magic, and all of it would be cool!”

Mom looked downcast at that answer before smiling and said, “I guess I can respect learning Magic for Magic’s sake. Better than thinking that one Magic is better than another.”

Mom took a moment to gather her thoughts and looked at Rhamiel’s Core, which was left on the Altar. “Alright, I already gave you the basics of Essense Magic before, but I will give you a brief review. Okay?”

Rhamiel cheered, “Go for it!”

“Living things generate Mana, which has been proven through experiments and system messages for a long time. We in the Intellectual Community are unsure of the true origin of Mana or if we as living beings came into existence with Mana or if it came into being later.”

“Now, a healthy adult can create Magic simply by existing, but there is a limit to how much people hold within. This is represented in our Mana Points. But can you tell me what happens when our Mana Pool becomes full?” Mom questioned the Core.

“Wait, wait, I know this!” Rhamiel yelled. “You blow up! You build up the magic power inside you until you reach critical failure and blow up!”

Mom sighed, “No, I told you this last time, Rhamiel. No, we do not live in fear of Sudden Mana Combustion. When our Mana is full, we naturally vent the Magic into the Atmosphere, it just dissipates into the aether.”

“Oh, I do remember that now,” Rhamiel said confidently. Then I got excited, “But where do Essences come in?”

“Essences are aspects of things in this world. For example, I have the Magic, Woodland, and Love Aspects. Most people have at least three Aspects: One for their Class, One for their Race, and one attributed to an Outer God they connect with. They may have more, but it is pretty rare.”

“Then what is Essence Magic? If Essences are aspects, then where does the Magic come in? What can you do with those aspects?” Rhamiel asked, the words coming out in a rush.

“Anything you want!” Mom proclaimed with confidence, putting her fists on her hips in triumph. A moment passed, and she let out a small his of mirth before she shook her head. “That would be the answer I’d give IF I was trying to wow an impressionable young student. The truth is a bit more nuanced. Technically, it can do almost anything, but the truth is that Essence Magic is as much a craft as a casting exercise.”

Mom seemed to note Rhamiel’s silence before continuing. “The requirement for Skills Essence Magic Level 1 and Essence Manipulation Level 1 is knowing the theory of Essence Magic and having the ability to do so. Essence Magic is knowing that one can use their internal Mana or MP to generate the Essence at the palm of their hand. Essence Manipulation is observing the unaspected Mana become aspected and attempting to mimic it within yourself for spells.”

“Oh, that’s why knowing that we generate Mana comes from!” Rhamiel announced with understanding. “Then a quick side question!” Rhamiel asked. “Then how do others use their magic?”

Mom suddenly looked a little unsure. “I know the theory, but it is always different depending on the Particular Type of Magic. Elementalism of any kind gains an instinctual knowledge of their Magic depending on which element they choose. They can study the physics and chemistry of their element to gain greater proficiency, but they learn through instinct and the System.

Divine or Holy Magic is bestowed upon people by the Gods and sent to them intrinsically through the System. No real learning is involved; it’s all based on faith and devotion.

Witches learn with the help of familiar spirits and Wizard through intense study. I could go through them all, but there are many magical disciplines, and all have different Systems of learning. The most important thing to know is that no one is greater than any other type of Magic. The only greatest Magic is the one or ones you wield for your cause,” Mom said with a proud nod.

“Okay!” Rhamiel agreed. “Then what is next?!”

Mom smiled, happy to have an enthusiastic student. They spent the whole day together, Rhamiel’s voice following Mom almost everywhere she went. At her own request, his perspective did not follow her into the bush when she said she needed to relieve herself, whatever that meant. Mom did not wish to go into that.

He took those moments to himself to check on his Drones progress, his people going down into the tunnels where he had met Joselin, and the young woman herself.

She looked through the now translucent crystalline blade with fascination whenever she thought someone wasn’t looking.

There was a single monster attack Rhamiel saw. Joselin stood over the corpse with something akin to worship in her eyes as she cleaned the dagger on a washcloth. A very faint wisp of light, almost like an ember, floated in the solid Crystal.

Mom let out a heavy sigh. “Wow, I can’t believe I got to talk so long about Essence Magic with such an interested Student.”

“But I haven’t managed to blast anything to oblivion yet,” Rhamiel said with distinct sadness.

“Oh, well,” Mom said nervously. “Tha- that’s a MUCH later lesson.”

“Which lesson? How many did we go through today?” Rhamiel pushed, excited about the potential of doing Magic.

“Hard to say,” Mom shrugged noncommittally. “Let’s try to get you the ability to use Essence Magic first, okay? I think you made excellent strides in the knowledge side, but now we need to keep building that and trying to learn Magic, okay?”

“Fine,” Rhamiel agreed. “I just want to make with the magic soon.”

“Teaching and having a student succeed is one way to advance skills, so I hope you succeed, too. But we’ll try again tomorrow; I feel a little brain-fried.”

“Brain fried? What does that mean? Is it some kind of food?”

Mom seriously thought about that. “It would not surprise me if some species ate fried brains… but in this case, no. It just means that I’m a little burned out for the day. Mentally tired.”

“Oh,” Rhamiel acknowledged, finally understanding. “I don’t get that, brain fried.”

“That does not surprise me,” Mom chuckled, shaking her head. “But we are done for the day. Please feel free to talk to someone else or check in on your Drones or whatever.”

Whatever sounded good. So Rhamiel turned his perspective away from Mom and checked in on Hutch, who was working with his ten-man team. They were busy still building tables, chairs, benches, and other assorted wood pieces. According to an earlier conversation, there was only a little they could do without some metal, any metal. Iron, specifically, was their best option.

The Surveyors going through the tunnels found some more uncut gems but they still need metals. But they seemed sure something was there; Hutch said that they said their Surveyor Senses were twitching. It may take some time for Magic to find it.

Unfortunately, the same goes for Basalt. They could tell there was some close, but they had not found it yet. Earlier, Hutch just told Rhamiel to be patient. This was the one aspect of this City Building that might just take time.

Rhamiel did not want to wait.

Turning his attention to Yule, he found sitting at one of the newly created tables. He sat over a series of books, taking notes in another with heavy dark bags under his eyes. Several cylindrical glassware in stands sat just before the books, some glowing with strange fluids.

Rhamiel connected to his Communication Crystal and let it ring.

Yule jumped so much that he almost fell out of his seat. He scrambled for the Crystal in his pocket. The young Elf withdrew the Crystal and tapped the screen with a panicky annoyance. “What?!”

“Hey, sorry about that,” Rhamiel apologized with a chuckle. “So… what are you doing?”

With an annoyed grumble, he said, “Working.”

“On what?”

“My Mother’s work,” Yule stated, setting the Crystal down and returning to his project. “I told you about the one that getting an Alchemy Lab would help me with.” He grumbled, withdrawing one of the tubes. He looked at it critically, swirling its cloudy green contents to reveal a seed that became momentarily visible.

“Oh, right. The blending of plant things to grow non-plant things,” Rhamiel confirmed. “I’m working on it; I can’t get to the lab yet. Mom and Dad won’t let me build anything fun until the Wall is completed.”

“That’s too bad,” Yule commented, replacing the tube and grabbing the next one. This one’s liquid was a thick red, and Rhamiel wondered if another seed was inside it. “So, why are you here talking to me?”

“Because I like you,” Rhamiel told him sincerely. “I don’t think we’re friends yet, but I want to be. And I was curious; I’ve never seen someone do… whatever you are doing.”

“I’m trying to purify these seeds with magic,” Yule explained. Just because I don’t have a lab made by you to increase the chances it will work does not mean I can’t try.”

“What do you mean, purify the seeds with Magic? Why is that necessary?”

Yule sighed. “It’s necessary because in all Alchemy forms, the ingredients must be magically pure and charged to make them Alchemically Neutral. In this case, in order to transmute these seeds to fit my purpose, I need to get them to absorb one of my mixtures and-”

“What?” Rhamiel asked when Yule stopped talking.

“Look, I appreciate that you are either bored or interested in my work, but I am trying to think here. So unless you can purify these things,” he gestured to the tubes. “To make them Alchemically Neutral, then please let me work.”

Rhamiel felt a little rejected but said nothing. Instead, he found himself drawn to the books Yule had on the table. It was set off to the side and was labeled on the front of the cover with a heavily complicated geometric symbol and the title. ‘Alchemy for the Insistent Moron.’

Extending a line of Mana to the Book, Rhamiel barely touched it before he was met with a new prompt.

You have discovered a new Aspect of being a Spirit Core. By inserting minuscule amounts of Mana into a book or scroll, you can begin to read it at an average reading pace. The words manifest in your mind as you read. The more you read, the faster you can read, but it is a slow process.