Happy with his growth, Lukas set about familiarizing himself with the Caydum Powder and using it in his concoctions. He naturally started by experimenting with mana potions since they were the easiest, seeing no need to make things harder on himself.

  Just as the goddess had told him, Lukas added a pinch of the powder to the distilled water, making sure it dissolved before setting it to a boil. When the time came for Lukas to infuse his mana and take control of the energy the process was similar but weirdly different.

  The energy was the same, but oddly felt off. There were small shifts in the way the energies acted, ways that he almost missed which would’ve caused the concoction to fail. It was such a strange sensation that Lukas wondered if something was wrong.

  Nevertheless, the craft succeeded despite a hiccup or two, but the feeling of wrongness lingered. It was like going through your entire morning routine with the feeling that you’d missed something. Lukas got the feeling that he was missing something in the way the powder interacted with the water and the changes it caused. He wanted to know what it did, but remembered what the goddess had said about the knowledge being way above his understanding.

  In the end it didn’t matter much as Lukas made the potion, and on his first attempt too. For his troubles, he was met with a new notification.

  [Gaseous Mana Potion (Lesser)] - Has been successfully crafted. This is a new creation, providing extra experience.

  Lukas looked at the notification with interest. He hadn’t expected the concoction to count as a new creation, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to complain. Considering he had four more to learn, he felt confident that all that extra experience would get him to level 16 even if he had just gained a level.

  Naturally, Lukas put this new creation in the ball shaped bottles. Due to some of the slip ups made during the crafting process, he was only able to get three bottles. Putting two away, he held the other in his hand for identification.

  [Gaseous Mana Potion (Lesser)] - Will restore 74 mana if all gas is consumed.

  Lukas noted the description that differed from the other potions. This one made sure to mention how much mana could be restored, but made clear that that was dependent on taking in all the gas.

  Curious, Lukas infused some mana into the inscription on the bottle, pouring as much as he could to test how much was required. It took 5 mana which seemed like a decent amount for a person with a relatively small mana pool, but once someone had a decent amount points in wisdom 5 would just be a drop in the bucket.

  With the inscription charged, Lukas let the bottle slip from his hand and onto the table. The fall was only an inch or two so when the bottle just completely exploded it was almost comical. When the bottle burst, a blue cloud enveloped Lukas.

  The cloud seemed drawn to Lukas, and much of it was pulled to him. It seemed to enter his body through his skin, which was weird because he didn’t feel anything but a cool refreshing sensation all over. It was like a cool breeze swept through to take away the summer heat.

  Not much longer later the blue cloud dissipated and Lukas checked his mana pool to see how much it had given him. Some quick math later, Lukas concluded he’d gained 67 mana from the gas, losing out on 7 mana.

  It wasn’t bad, but then again he’d been sitting still and had dropped the bottle right in front of his face. If Lukas had been moving around he probably wouldn’t have gotten half of the maximum amount. It wasn’t ideal, but if it’s all you could manage in a pinch it was better than nothing.

  Nodding to himself, Lukas set to it in earnest. He quickly got used to making the gaseous mana potions and moved onto the health and stamina versions. These were a bit trickier to make, but Lukas managed them without fail. That wasn’t to say they were good; in fact they were worse than the first potions he’d made. He didn’t mind though, it just meant less of a mess.

  The poisons are where things changed. Lukas was still new to the poisons, he’d made a decent amount sure, but he hadn’t been making them that long. It was also at this time that Lukas found out what happened when the craft failed.

  During his first attempt to make the gaseous hemotoxin some of the energies got away from Lukas and the concoction broke down. What resulted was a deep red cloud full of hemotoxic properties wafting over Lukas, causing him to start bleeding from every orifice except for those protected by his mask.

  Lukas was forced to scramble away from the cloud that made people bleed. He had to stand aside for a while, waiting for his body to eliminate the poison in his blood. Only then did the bleeding begin to subside. With that thrilling experience, Lukas was super excited to get back to work and couldn’t wait to try making gaseous necrotic poison.

  When the time did finally come and Lukas inevitably failed, the resulting cloud of death had swept over him and left wishing he were dead. The necrotic poison assaulted his whole body, getting into his pores and orifices. It felt like his skin was being slowly ripped apart all over. The pain was excruciating as his flesh was truly being rotted alive.

  All in all it was a pretty cool experience. In all seriousness, though, it was a good teaching moment. He truly got to feel what his poisons would do to the beast and monsters. While Lukas wasn’t one to shy away from pain, those poisons weren’t just pain but a slow and agonizing death. It was all well and good to use poisons in a video game for ongoing damage and what not with no concept of what was actually happening, but now he understood and it sucked.

  That being said, it wasn't like Lukas wouldn’t use the poisons. The constant damage and slowed regeneration were great tools. They were the tools at his disposal and he would use them in order to reach higher. So while the whole thing sucked, he didn’t see it as all bad. The smell was just terrible though.

  Before Lukas knew it a few days had passed, in that time he’d made a pretty good stock of gaseous potions and poisons. Most of what he made were poisons since he found the need for gaseous potions low. If he needed more then he’d make some, but for now he had a few dozen of each just in case. He also managed to reach level 17 in his class and 8 in his race with the help of all those new creation bonuses.

  When the time finally came, Lukas was in the middle of bottling regular necrotic poison into a throwable. The goddess appeared across the table like usual, startling Lukas like usual. The poison in the bottle he was holding got sloshed around when he jumped, some of the poison getting out and splashing onto his hand.

  With a pained yelp, Lukas’ hand flinched causing him to drop the bottle and make a mess on the floor. Lukas sighed at the sight before turning his gaze to the goddess.

  “You should really be expecting it by now,” she teased, “or at least used to it.”

  “You could just not do it, or wait until I’m not doing something.”

  “Of course, of course,” she nodded congenially, “but I think you’ll find that I won’t.”

  Lukas just rolled his eyes, before letting the subject go, “So what are you here for this time? It doesn’t seem like I’ve done anything to warrant an explanation about something, considering you told me you’d be coming in a few days. Some kind of check on my progress?”

  “Not necessarily, but as you know I’ve been watching you all this time, and your growth has been phenomenal for someone in your position. You’re still a bit behind the curve compared to others from this world, but you’re not far off.”

  Lukas perked up at her praise, “Thanks.”

  “You’re still pretty bad though,” she added, making sure Lukas didn’t feel too good about himself.

  “Thanks.”

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  “No problem. What I am here is to tell you that I’m kicking you out,” the goddess said brightly.

  “What!” Lukas blurted, slightly panicked. This place had become a home during his stay. It was safe, held plenty of knowledge, and provided a great way to get more levels. He knew that eventually he’d have to venture back out into the forest, but never thought he’d be so abruptly thrown out.

  “Oh calm down,” she laughed, “I’m not tossing you out right at this moment, but I think we both know now’s the time. You have the basics of alchemy down and need to get out there and start using what you’ve learned. Not to mention your second class and upcoming abilities.”

  Lukas frowned, but nodded knowing that she was right. He’d learned so much here, but he couldn’t just sit in one place until he knew it all. He needed to get out in the world and start getting some real experiences under his belt.

  “Okay, but what do you mean about my other class and abilities?”

  “Abilities gained are influenced by a person's actions between one ability and the next. Take your first ability for example, you were struggling with mana and energy control so you got an ability to help with that. I’m not sure when abilities appear with that level system of yours, but I know you’re fairly close. If you stay here you’re bound to get another pure alchemy ability, so you need to get out and start doing combat alchemy stuff.

  “As for your second class I have a feeling you’re getting close to obtaining another. Naturally it would be alchemy related, something you don’t want. That is unless you’ve changed your mind about getting a combat class?”

  Lukas shook his head, “No, I still want a pure combat class.”

  “Good,” the goddess grinned, “There are a few things to go over before we send you out though, mainly your aura.”

  “Is there something wrong with my aura?” Lukas asked, slightly concerned.

  “No. It’s strong and solid for someone of your power level, abnormally so. There’s a lot of blood and battle in there, indomitability, and unyieldingness. All helped by meditation, a strong sense of self, and your weirdly strong soul. All great stuff, but it’s bound to draw attention.”

  “So what is it about my aura then?”

  “Well first there’s the feel of it. All auras have a certain “shape” or feel based on a person's race and is one of the first things you’ll notice about someone’s aura even if you’ll look over it most of the time. The problem is that you're an outworlder, a human one, but still an outworlder. Your aura is no doubt human, but there’s something extra there. Most people wouldn’t know what an outworlders aura feels like, but they’ll sense the difference and take notice. You said you have an ability to hide things about yourself right?”

  “I do, but it’s the only ability I’ve never used, and I’m not really sure how to use it. All my others are pretty straightforward or passive.”

  “That’s fine, we'll work on it in a bit. The other problem is the fact that you don’t have any aura control at all. You’re just naturally projecting it out for anyone and everyone to see, and anyone who’s able to will even be able to read your emotions. To avoid that you need to learn to control your aura.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “I’m going to teach you, can’t have my disciple walking around unable to hide the fact that he’s an outworlder.”

  Lukas raised an eyebrow, “You’re going to teach me?”

  “You don’t have to sound so judgmental,” she said, shaking her head, “Yes I’ll teach you, but it’ll just be basic aura retraction. With proper retraction you’ll be able to take in your aura and hide it from things your rank. The techniques to use your aura I’ll leave you to learn from someone else.”

  “Okay, when do we start?”

  “Right now,” the goddess said, waving for Lukas to follow.

  Standing from his spot on the stool, Lukas hurried to follow the goddess into the garden. There they sat down on the grass across from each other.

  “You probably can’t feel your aura right now can you?” the goddess asked.

  Lukas shook his head, “No, I don’t think so.”

  “That’s what I figured,” she nodded, “Most people that take on a stone of rebirth need to be taught to feel their own aura, you even more so being an outworlder with no concept of what they are. What I’m going to do is suppress your aura, a technique you’ll learn in the future. The hope is that having your aura suppressed and unsuppressed multiple times will slowly make you aware of your own aura, that way you can start controlling it.”

  “Alright.”

  “Are you ready to give it a try?”

  Lukas nodded and a moment later he felt something odd. It was hard to describe since it wasn’t physical, but it felt like something was bearing down on him. His body was unchanged, but he felt something within him shift and compress. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything, just strange, kind like having your foot fall asleep. It just felt kind of weird.

  The goddess watched him intently, studying every move he made and when he didn’t have any reaction other than a confused frown she spoke, “Anything?”

  “I think so? I can feel some kind of pressure weighing down on me, but not in a physical sense. I can’t really describe it.” Lukas said, frowning.

  The goddess looked at Lukas with an assessing gaze for a moment, “Do you feel unnerved or exposed in any way?”

  “What?” Lukas asked, confused, “Am I supposed to?”

  “Pretty much everyone describes having their aura suppressed as unnerving, like their very being is exposed for all to see. The feeling is even worse when it’s someone in a rank higher than you. People who are exposed to a fraction of a god’s aura are usually forced to their knees by the spiritual pressure and instinctual reverence. You don’t feel any of that?”

  Lukas shook his head, “No. Like I said, I can feel something. Kind of like I have a weighted blanket covering my soul or spiritual body or whatever. Other than that I don’t feel anything.”

  It was the goddess’ turn to frown, “Strange. I don’t think I’ve ever known of anyone being able to withstand a god’s aura like you can. Even when a god appears, just their presence is usually enough to elicit some kind of reaction, but we both know you’re an exception there too.”

  She had been curious about Lukas’ soul strength since she’d first noticed it. She’d tested it the first time they’d met, letting a small amount of her aura leak out and cover the area, but he had barely reacted. Even this little exercise was about learning more about it as much as it was about teaching him to control his aura.

  Lukas just shrugged, and picked a nearby flower looking over it, “Maybe it has something to do with me being an outworlder? I come from a place without gods and auras so maybe I’m just not conditioned to have that kind of reaction.”

  “Maybe, but I think it has something to do with your absurdly strong soul.”

  “I just assumed that was a result of me being an outworlder,” Lukas said, putting the flower into his inventory for later.

  “It could be. Outworlders are extremely rare so not much is known about them,” she said, in thought.

  “So are you going to keep my aura suppressed, or..?”

  “Right,” the goddess said, returning to the task at hand, “But you still have some kind of feeling for your aura?”

  “I think so.”

  Nodding, the goddess released her hold on Lukas’ aura, allowing it to spread out once more. As she did so Lukas could almost feel some kind of field leave his body and go out around him. It was extremely faint, but there. He couldn’t control it in any way and had barely noticed it, but he had noticed it.

  “I definitely felt something there as my aura spread itself back out.”

  “Already?” she said surprised, “Usually it takes much longer for someone to get a feel for their aura, but with your soul strength I guess it’s not really surprising.”

  “It was extremely faint, and I only felt it because I was focusing intently on what little I know about my soul.”

  “We’ll keep going until you get it.”

  For the next couple of hours, Lukas and the goddess sat in the pleasant warmth of the garden teaching him to feel his aura. Progress was slow, maddeningly so. Compared to his alchemy Lukas felt like he wasn’t really getting anywhere, but the goddess assured him that that was normal. It took time for someone to come to feel their own aura, an expression of their soul.

  While they practiced they talked. Lukas got some questions in, but only learned minor things that weren’t really of any consequence or use. Most of what they talked about was Earth. Lukas avoided talking about his own experiences and family, those still being a sore spot for him, but still talked about his world in general. The goddess was more than curious about a world without any magic to speak of, she seemed fascinated by the small things, taking every word Lukas took in. It reminded him of himself when he first had the opportunity to learn more about this world. He still had that hunger in him, but knew it would be a while yet before he got any real answers.

  Eventually, Lukas was able to retract his aura just the smallest amount, and with the goddess helping by suppressing him, he was beginning to make some real progress. It wasn’t much, but with the aura practice Lukas was beginning to get a feel of his aura. Before it had been something that he never noticed because it was just there. Now each time he controlled his aura in small ways he could feel it better, getting a clearer understanding of it which in turn led to quicker progress.

  After having been at it for hours on end, the goddess decided to end their practice session, deciding that Lukas had enough of a grasp to take it from there. With that done and out of the way, Lukas got to try out the only racial ability he hadn’t used.