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#Post#: 1295--------------------------------------------------
Isaac's Findings [1]
By: ARandomN00B Date: May 22, 2021, 10:57 pm
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[center]Set at an undetermined time before the beginning of
Morz[/center]
Isaac watched the group of goblins from afar, perched atop a
bird’s nest as he studied them further. There were five of the
creatures in question, and they were engaging in a unique form
of play. The smallest of the five seemed to be leading the rest
of the group, a bloodied and tattered witch’s hat making up for
the difference in height. The accessory almost dwarfed the
goblin itself, causing the little wretch to have to pull it over
his eyes to see. The hat’s thread pulled itself to its limits to
not unceremoniously unravel as the signs of a once fervent
struggle threatened the hat’s doom.
Isaac questioned what would lead goblins, a group of monsters
that, despite their appearances, valued efficiency greatly, to
go out of their way to wear cumbersome clothing meant for beings
over twice their size. This wasn’t the regular trophy collection
that they had been rumored to engage in often, after all. This
ritual lasted far too long, and the lead goblin was making an
effort to not destroy the article.
“krigh shee-rak!” The leader exclaimed, jumping and hopping
around as he demonstrated what he wanted his followers to do,
first forming a triangle with his arms. Monkeys saw and monkeys
did.
Enraptured, the young man began to pull out his journal and pen,
writing down another series of notes on this exact group of
goblins. He had been doing this for weeks now, noting any
differences in their behavior, attempting to draw links between
them and the regular mannerisms of the species. These five
weren’t just outcasts in the way they passed their time, but
they also deviated from the rest of the species when it came to
the tried-and-true methods the monsters used to ensure their
survival.
Highly abnormal rituals, even for the already unpredictable
monsters that goblins typically are. They seem to have a
fascination with magic. Current theory is that they are
attempting to model the molding of mana. Although, it’d be
unlikely that they ever reach such an ability. Goblin sorcerers
are an incredible rarity, after all. If they ever do reach past
that biological limitation, it may prove useful as a way to
study inefficient magic usage’s effects on the body.
When assaulting any poor saps who dared venture near the
goblins’ territory to collect herbs or rare flowers, the
five-man band would not assault them like others of their ilk.
Instead, they would steal any magically enhanced clothing they
possessed, small baubles and trinkets that were mere pittances
to anyone with financial security. Nothing more than a minor
inconvenience, really. Very few adventurers even cared to take
up the job to clear them out, but Isaac saw them as much more.
Nearly a month he had spent studying this particular group of
goblins. Twenty-eight days he had spent purposefully placing
small enchanted items near their scavenging grounds for them to
collect, for no reason other than to see what they did.
Approximately six hundred hours he had spent buying ‘Dumb Baby
guide to casting your first -ize spell’ books to coax them into
finally casting a spell. Science cost both time, dignity, and
money, but it was a small price to pay to sate Isaac’s
curiosity.
The lead goblin stared intently at his four friends who had been
grotesquely Twister’d together to form a flesh dodecahedron. His
brow furrowed as he gathered his focus, his lips narrowing as he
began to speak.
“[Burning flames, sic em!] [Ignize!]” A small patch of flame
appeared between the goblin’s companions, slowly but surely
burning them alive as they attempted to engulf their friend in a
feverish panic before becoming nothing but a clump of ash. Even
in this situation, the sorcerer still kept his hat intact, the
flames licking his arm as he protected it. This was Isaac’s
cue. He swooped on down, clutching the hat bearing goblin in his
arms as it struggled in his hands.
Quickly, he took advantage of its lack of familiarity in aerial
combat to swiftly inflict it with a sleep inducing poison. A
mixture of trace amounts of Uthium and Henbane would leave the
creature too busy with pleasant hallucinations that would lull
them to sleep, completely helpless to Isaac’s experimentation as
the goblin was swept back into the nest in which Isaac set up
his shop.
Figuring that he had around 10 minutes to do what needed to be
done before either the goblin woke up or whatever monster used
this nest returned, Isaac first pulled out a small poacher's
knife and carved out and collected the goblin’s still-beating,
considerably above average temperature heart as proof of the
other’s destruction. Swiftly, he searched for and scraped off a
viscous, bubbling fluid from the goblin’s skin.
Still unnamed magic byproduct was at a surprisingly high
temperature, causing me to reflex in pain and nearly drop my
necessary utensils. Considering the changes to the goblin’s body
in regards to heat, current conjecture is that inefficient mana
usage not only increases the likelihood of overdraw symptoms,
but also spikes the buildup of mana typically within the body
for a short time, and may inflict that mana with the aspect a
creature is attuned to. It is likely that these effects are
magnified in smaller beings.
Next, he pulled out a scalpel and began inspecting the goblin’s
blood, noting a shimmering, crimson-red color that pulsed and
faded away at consistently decreasing intervals. Finally, he had
reached what he was searching for when he first began grooming
these goblins into discovering magic. The way inefficient mana
use harmed the body was far more interesting than overdraw
disease or the rare coughing up of ash and flame.
Isaac felt a scratch upon his skin, gazing upon the culprit
moments after. Somehow, the dead goblin’s claw still managed to
scratch him from beyond the grave. Looking at the path the
creature’s arm must have taken in order to do such a thing, this
couldn’t have been caused only by Isaac’s own incompetence in
handling a fragile specimen. To his surprise, Isaac didn’t
notice the creature’s blood slowly degrading in color.
The energy within the creature’s blood was not only mana, but
something greater. It faded in and out, quickly leaving the
creature’s body the moment it was exposed to the open air, and
with it, all life left within the goblin’s body. According to
what I can find on magic at the local library, it leaves a
byproduct of twilight before returning to the aether flow. Upon
dying soon after using magic for the first time, that twilight
byproduct may have affected the goblin, giving him a final
hurrah to continue movement. It is unclear if this is only a
side effect within goblins, or even if it was just me
hallucinating off of my own Henbane. Further studies necessary.
Isaac had five minutes left now. Then again, he likely wouldn’t
need it to consider his inspection. His specimen wasn’t lasting
that long anyway. The goblin’s body began degrading at a
comically increased rate, becoming nearly nothing but skin and
bones as a horrid stench began to emerge. Sulfur, Isaac noted.
He had great experience in it while making his bombs. The high
temperature of the creature’s blood wasn’t just for show, it was
burning from the inside out.
It may be true what those unable to utilize it say about magic.
That swill about the demise of the mage that studies it is
inevitable, especially for sorcerers. If what I’m thinking is
correct, while sorcerers can most certainly cast magic
inherently and seemingly on instinct, there may be a chance that
the inefficiencies within their casting eat away at their
bodies. I May publish this theory later, but for now, I indulge
in bomb-making.
Isaac quickly packed up his things and began to leave, there was
no telling what could happen when the gases within the body
began boiling while trapped within the small package that was a
goblin body. He had gained a valuable resource that morning,
seemingly mana reinforced mana byproduct, and he couldn’t wait
to test on it at home. The shrill cries of a griffon far
northward also motivated him to get the job done a tad quicker.
After collecting the reward money for his job well done, albeit
only half the reward that was promised upon completion due to
the ‘lateness and unprofessionalism’ of his work, Isaac returned
home with his jar of leftover goblin mana. There was likely a
more formal name for his highly-concentrated mana secretion, but
Isaac was not one to dwell on formalities.
He was a man of science and a man of action. The action he
indulged in wasn’t very exciting, but it was most certainly
necessary. He cleaned his working station, leaving nothing more
than a collection of colorful flasks and herbs on his work
station along with glassware for data collection.
In one flask, Isaac placed some water, an incredibly small
amount of ground sepith stone, and a few ounces of the mana
byproduct into a flask, topping it off to an arbitrary amount of
water. He swirled the mixture for a moment with a stirring
spoon, waiting for a few minutes as it all combined. There was a
small change in the water’s tint as it darkened a few shades,
but otherwise nothing too exciting. Mustering his courage, Isaac
dipped a finger inside to test its temperature to find that, as
expected, the water had risen from room temperature, although it
wasn’t nearly as hot as the blood of the freshly slain goblin. A
small amount of precipitate formed.
The first flask was a proof of concept, showing that the mana
byproduct acted as a higher concentrated version of mana, the
usually perfectly fine amount of sepith stone unable to
completely react with it, leaving a small amount of precipitate
and leftover mana still within the flask causing clumps of minor
magical activity within the flask, certain parts of its water
content far hotter than others.
Second flask, a combination of more ground sepith stone, a
miniscule amount of the mana byproduct, and a very small and
currently inactive fire core from a flame elemental. This cost
him a lot of money to receive by mail, so he hope it would work.
Theoretically, this was a common combination used in the
creation of various magical tools, especially those constructed
within Rebellion as part of the experimental Magitech line. True
to form, a small explosion occurred within the flask, releasing
a popped air bubble of steaming water near Isaac’s face.
Narrowly avoiding it, Isaac set up his third solution.
Second flask shows the mana byproduct’s ability to act as mana
in regular circumstances, although future properties must be
explored further. The reaction outlined within is not indicative
of most magitech tools, I was expecting the water to simply
evaporate immediately or cause a much more dangerous explosion.
At this point, Isaac began to wonder if there were any
confounding variables in his experiments. He hoped to create a
bomb that could feed off of the mana within an enemy magician’s
sweat and blood to engulf them in magical flame, but it just
didn’t seem to be working. He decided to omit the sepith stone
in his third flask, remembering that some magical occurrences
didn’t happen within its presence, as sepith simplified the
process to the point of rendering certain useful byproducts
inert.
With a third flask of nothing more than the mana byproduct and
an inactive fire core, Isaac noted a far more powerful reaction.
One so powerful that for a moment it threatened the safety of
his cheaply rented ‘home’ within the inn. Luckily, he kept
safety equipment in case of fires on hand. He would have to
spend money to replace the burnt walls, but that was a small
price to pay for science.
From what little of it I understand. This mana byproduct IS
sepith, but one that may be only found within humanoids and
other creatures capable of harnessing magic and only when said
magic is aspected within a spell and made far more potent after
immediate death. The sepith used within Sento may be too pure or
perhaps too impure as a result of the mining conditions for the
material. As rare as it would be to find this material, it may
prove useful for further experiments of magic on the human body.
Instead of fire cores, it may be worth using inexpensive
witchweed leaves due to their ability to release deconstructing
poisons when outfitted with mana. I should experiment on those
more anyway it’s quite odd how that living plant can remain
doing its necessary purpose even when disconnected from the main
body oh and maybe next I can start **** with dust flowers who
knows the world is at my fingertips and I am literally god
His notes had become far less professional over the course of
the process, but Isaac was too busy pumping up his ego to
notice. Next morning, he would attempt to publish his findings
to as many associations interested in it as he could. None of
them responded, as usual.
Gained: Mana combusting flask idea(Solution of witchweed,
uthium, water, and a small amount of mana byproduct. Reacts with
opposing mages who had recently casted magic or those whose
wounds have been opened to react with any blood or other bodily
secretions upon contact to release witchweed poison aided by a
small explosion to spread around and inside the body, breaking
it down slowly and stopping magical casting to stave off healing
magic.)
Scientific Knowledge D- (Experimental design and the such)
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