295 Recreation Magic 2 (1/2)

The negotiations went well for Zero and the chefs were willing to prepare meals daily for Zero to be collected by a household golem from Arabesque. Compared to the usual demands of a buffet whenever Zero came by, a dish from each restaurant to be sent daily was more affordable. No business owner would pass up on such a good deal.

Once that was settled and Zero had eaten his fill, he visited the apothecary. There was only one apothecary in La Boutique owned by an eccentric gnome. The shop was small and not very well maintained due to the lack of customers. Most people who visited La Boutique knew that there was a healing Spring of Vitality that healed just about anything. There really wasn't a need for medication in Heaven.

Wii also found it odd that the young doctor would visit the apothecary himself. Couldn't he make his own medicine? What did Zero want to buy from there?

Her questions were soon answered after Zero entered the shop.

\”Welcome, lad! How can I help you?\” the gnome greeted enthusiastically.

Zero smiled and returned the greeting warmly. \”I'm looking for some vitality pills of the best kind. Also, anything that would rapidly help to replenish qi and mana will be good.\”

The gnome raised a brow. \”Replenishing vitality, qi and mana at the same time? That's an odd request. Are you looking to resell them or use them yourself?\”

Zero smiled. \”If I said that this is for personal consumption?\”

The gnome laughed. \”You're surely an odd one. These pills don't have any effects when consumed together. Nobody can practise cultivation and magic together. Also, vitality pills are normally used for warriors who possess a talent for neither. As one of the best apothecaries in heaven, why don't you tell me what you require so that I can make something especially for you? Buying all three pills won't have the effect you desire.\”

Zero nodded in satisfaction. \”I knew I made the right decision to look for you. I came here by a recommendation of a friend, I'm not sure if you still remember her. Tanya the Queen of Dryads.\”

The gnome's smile froze. \”T-Tanya? Did you just say Tanya?\”

Zero nodded. The apothecary blinked multiple times and released a short exhale. The strength in his legs left him and he fell into a chair, tears collecting in his eyes.

\”What's your name?\” he asked.

\”Zero,\” he replied.

Zeffery removed his goggles and wiped his tears. \”Tanya sent you?\”

Zero smiled. \”We are in frequent contact, she's a good friend of mine although we're more like pen pals at this stage. If you have a message you'd like to pass on to her, I can help.\”

The gnome laughed. \”No need, lad. It's good enough to know that she's still doing well. This meeting was slightly unexpected but not in a bad way. So Zero, what can I do for you? If Tanya sent you here, you must not be a simple person. That request of yours is slightly odd.\”

The young doctor grinned. \”I'm currently apprenticing with Merlin and he has tasked me to create unique magic of my own.\”

\”Oh?\” that caught the gnome's interest. \”What do you have in mind?\”

Zero dismissed Wii and smiled. \”I want to harness power over the void. We've recently discovered that the chaos energy reacts with mana and qi. I need to find a way to master both qi and mana before I can help my teacher seal up the crack at Titan's Cliff.\”

Zeffery looked at Zero with wide eyes. \”Can you really do something like that?\”

Zero didn't nod. \”I can only try,\” he told the gnome.

Zeffery looked unsure. For such a young boy to become the wizard god's apprentice, it must mean that he is special. Yet, the gnome had a difficult time believing that somebody could pull off such a thing. \”How sure are you that the void wouldn't consume you?\”

Zero wanted to laugh when he heard that question. He couldn't tell Zeffery that he was the void in a way and that the void would never harm him. However, he decided to go with a half-truth. \”I have a special constitution that allows me to be invulnerable to the void. However, in return, my body is hollow. I cannot produce mana or qi of my own. Think of it as a container that can store just about anything.\”

Zeffery frowned. In his long life, he'd never heard of such a thing. then again, there will always be special exceptions and things that nobody understood in this world. Miracles happened and fate predominated everything.

\”In other words, you're looking for a medicine to allow this container to constantly be filled with qi and mana?\”

Zero smiled. \”Close. I don't just want to fill this container with qi and mana. I want to fill it with everything that possesses energy. The unique magic that I am attempting to create is called Recreation Magic. It's a skill that only I can master thanks to the unique constitution.\”

\”Recreation?\” Zeffery mused. \”How does it work?\”

Zero explained that recreation was the ability to take in all sorts of energy and convert them into a different type in order to make it usable for different situations.

\”For example, I can take in an entire ocean into my container-like body and then transform that into a mountain. Or I can convert that ocean into mana or qi. Maybe I could convert that ocean into a small planet? Something like that. Of course, it becomes more complex transforming it into a form with higher complexity. For instance, the ocean would mostly be water so turning it into ice would be easier compared to turning it into a mountain. The size of the mountain wouldn't be as large as the ocean because it is more complicated.\”

The apothecary nodded and listened carefully. He understood what Zero was talking about. Gnomes were rather advanced in science and inventions. Zero might not understand the law of energy and conservation but he explained it rather well through his personal experience and examples. It made the gnome wonder if Zero was someone really capable of creating miracles. The power of recreation was something that could rival even the creator's if it was mastered.

\”Can I understand more about your body's condition? I see that you have both fully awakened chakra channels and meridian networks. Do they not clash with each other and cause you discomfort? Pills that hasten recovery of qi or mana usually dilate these vessels. I'm only afraid that giving you something to dilate these vessels will cause you harm.\”

Zero paused for a moment. \”To be honest, everything that enters my body eventually ends up at one point. I don't really feel discomfort when it happens. Maybe in the beginning stage when I was creating these networks, I felt intense pain. However, I've never had difficulties using either magic or qi. In fact, I've been able to use them simultaneously.\”

Zeffery requested that Zero demonstrated how he could use his powers. Zero was more than pleased to agree. He demonstrated his ability to use more than one kind of magic at any one point of time simultaneously and switched it to qi. Then, he used qi and magic simultaneously and stunned the gnome to silence.

\”Zero... that ability of yours... How can you use it without any side effects? I don't understand. Everyone who cultivates can only do so because of something called a cultivation core. Anyone who practises magic can only do so because of chakra networks and mana affinity. When you demonstrated that earlier, I sensed neither core or network being used. Who exactly are you?\”

Zero blinked. \”I don't know... I've always been able to use qi and mana like this. It's something like an energy storage system in me that I withdraw from whenever I use mana or qi. The network and channels are merely points for me to direct where I want them to go. They don't actually flow within my body all the time.\”