“Did it work?” asked Ruth, her hands clasped together as if she was praying to the Logos, her expression a mix of curiosity and hope. “Did you get back any Words at all?”

Nimbus whipped his head toward her in surprise. “That’s what that potion was supposed to do? But I thought mana potions didn’t work on Aaron because he uses Words to cast spells instead of mana.”

I blinked at the notification again, then dismissed it and turned to Ruth. “It did work. I mean, I only got five Words back, but that’s still amazing. How did you make a potion that restores Words instead of mana?”

Ruth smiled and jumped to her feet. “Awesome! As for how I did it, you can thank the Potion-Making Kit from the Verdant Seal for that. The kit came with rare reagents—and a few custom recipe slots. I used one to finish an incomplete Word Potion, basically a modified health potion.”

I blinked again. “Like my own Custom Entry Slots?”

“Similar, but much less expensive since I don’t have to spend nearly as much mana to make them,” said Ruth. She let out a deep breath, then smiled again. “I’m just glad it worked. I had my doubts for a while, because I don’t think anyone’s ever made a Word Potion before, certainly not in Shinar, at least. There was an incomplete recipe in the kit for one, and most of my experimenting was figuring out which ingredients were missing. Now that I’ve completed it, I can brew more—as long as I have the right ingredients.”

She frowned slightly. “Though I was hoping it would restore more than five Words—maybe ten or even fifteen—but still, that’s progress.”

The implications of what Ruth had done hit me all at once, and I jumped to my feet, wrapping her in a tight hug. “Thank you! Thank you so much! This is amazing. Even if your potions only restore five Words at a time, that’s fine. Most of my spells cost less than that anyway—aside from my custom spell. This is perfect.”

I was so excited by Ruth’s accomplishment that I didn’t even realize how long I’d been hugging her until I caught the faint scent of lavender in her hair. I quickly let go and took a few steps back, smiling sheepishly. She was smiling too—though she looked just as flustered.

Then Nimbus teleported onto my shoulders and said, “How convenient that Ruth’s Potion-Making Kit just happened to include an incomplete recipe for something you in particular would need, Aaron. Not that I’m complaining, but it is rather interesting, don’t you think?”

“The Verdant Seal gave all of us specific rewards,” Jonah pointed out. “Like my Aegis Ax Shield, for example. I’m pretty sure the Codex was analyzing us the whole time we were clearing that dungeon—which is probably why it tailored the rewards to each of us.”

That thought made my stomach slightly, though it bothered less than I thought it would. I was always aware that the Codex was analyzing us, but knowing it was analyzing us in such minute detail was certainly a revelation.

“But this was Ruth’s Potion-Making Kit, not Aaron’s,” Nimbus said. “Why would Ruth get a recipe for something to help Aaron?”

“Not all of the recipes relate to Aaron,” said Ruth, rubbing the back of her head. “There’s another potion that could help Jonah and you, but I focused on Aaron’s first because of the limitations of his Discipline.”

Nimbus opened his eyes wide. “There’s a potion recipe for me? Is it a banana potion? If so, I know which recipe you need to work on next.”

I put my hands on my chest. “Ruth can work on whatever recipes she wants to work on next, though I admit I selfishly would like her to brew more Word Potions for myself.”

Ruth chuckled. “Now that I know the Word Potions work, I’ll definitely make more. Though I’d like to improve the recipe so Aaron can get more Words back per potion, I’m sure I’ll be able to refine it as time goes on. I have enough ingredients to make at least two more Word Potions that will restore a similar amount of Words for you, Aaron. After that, though, I’ll need to buy more ingredients—probably in Hebron once we get there. I don’t think Greenwood has any potion markets.”

I raised a questioning eyebrow. “Potion market?”

“Stores that sell potions, ingredients, and potion-making equipment,” Ruth explained. “Sorry if you haven’t heard the term before. I assume North Forest didn’t have any before it got destroyed?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We didn’t have much in the way of stores for Codexers. We did have traveling merchants who sometimes sold potions and the like, but they didn’t specialize in them. Are potion markets a good place to stock up on potion supplies?”

Ruth nodded. “Oh, yeah. Especially the potion markets in the Seventh Kingdom, but any major city should have at least one decent potion market. Once we get to Hebron, maybe we can ask around and visit together—it could be fun.”

Ruth was smiling when she said that, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I didn’t know much about potion-making or potion markets, but it sounded like it could be fun—if only because it would let me spend more time with her.

Unfortunately, that thought was interrupted when Nimbus said, “Isn’t Ruth supposed to leave us and go back to Admah after we get to Hebron? So while her Word Potions are nice and all, I don’t see how this benefits us long-term if she’s not even going to stay with the Party forever.”

That thought crushed my hopes like a grape, but Ruth held up one finger. “First off, Nimbus, I can always make a big batch of Word Potions for Aaron to use even when I’m not around. Second, I can give the recipe to Aaron so he can make his own—or show it to another potion-maker so they can craft them for him.”

My ears perked up at that. “I can make my own potions? But my Discipline isn’t about potion-making.”

Jonah gave me a deadpan look. “You do realize that our Disciplines don’t limit us to just one thing, right? Disciplines are about specializing in your strengths, sure—but we can still do things outside of them. Heck, even I could make potions if I wanted to.”

Nimbus shivered. “And blow up the entire Kingdom? I don’t think that would be a good idea, Jonah.”

Jonah glared at Nimbus again while I considered the possibility of potion-making. My Inscriptionist Discipline didn’t mention anything about alchemy, but I did have the Alchemy Skill like every other Codexer. That seemed to be the main factor that determined how good someone was at brewing potions. I doubted I’d ever be as good as Ruth—or anyone with a Discipline focused on potion-making—but if I could get good enough to make her Word Potions, that would be more than enough.

Still, I couldn’t help thinking about what would happen if I learned to make other potions too—especially Health Potions, which I assumed were easier and cheaper to make than Word Potions. Though honestly, I had no idea. I’d never looked into potion-making costs since it had never been a Skill I’d considered for myself. But I’d definitely think about it in the future, especially once we parted ways with Ruth.

Ruth then held up a second finger. “And finally, I did it to help me better understand the ancient Resonant Script we found in the Verdant Seal—the one connected to my quest to learn the Harmonic Genesis technique.”

Ah. Right—Ruth’s Codex Quest. She’d been searching for the Harmonic Genesis, a legendary healing spell believed to be a myth by most Codexers. But Ruth had found part of it in the Verdant Seal, which proved it was real. Granted, she’d almost been killed by a giant plant monster while retrieving the Resonant Script, but it was still undeniable proof that the spell existed—and could be learned.

The main reason Ruth wanted to find the Harmonic Genesis was to cure Codexblight, an incurable disease spreading through the Seventh Kingdom. The Harbingers of Health feared it might eventually reach the other eight kingdoms if left unchecked. That was why Ruth had even been in North Forest to begin with—her quest had hinted that one of the three Resonant Scripts she sought was hidden in a dungeon near my hometown. And it had been right.

Her mention of the Harmonic Genesis piqued my interest. “How does making Word Potions help you understand the Harmonic Genesis?”

Ruth rolled her potion bottle between her hands. “Part of my quest involves analyzing each Resonant Script I find and uncovering its secrets. The Harmonic Genesis has alchemical components, so I had to repair the Word Potion recipe to improve my understanding of the Script. It’s a bit convoluted, but I really do feel like I’m one step closer to unlocking the Harmonic Genesis—even if I’m still a long way from truly mastering it.”

Ruth sounded so hopeful when she said that. It was obvious that she wasn’t just happy about making a functional Word Potion—she was proud of taking another step toward curing an incurable disease and saving her kingdom.

I still wondered whether her quest and mine were connected somehow, but for now, it didn’t seem like they were.

In any case, I gave Ruth an encouraging smile. “Sounds good. When we do our Hebron potion market run, you can give me a copy of that Word Potion recipe and I’ll hang onto it. That way, if you have to leave us, I’ll still be able to brew my own. Seriously, this is an incredible accomplishment. I might even be able to use Word Potions to replenish my Casting Pool, which would let me put the Words I earn from other Codex Quests directly into my Banked Progress so I can get stronger faster.”

Nimbus gave Ruth a rather unimpressed look. “Or Ruth here could make a Word Potion that replenishes both your Banked Progress and your Casting Pool at the same time.”

Ruth held up her hands defensively. “I would definitely like to do that, but I don’t think it’s possible right now. The recipe I was working with only replenished Words in Aaron’s Casting Pool—it doesn’t say anything about his Banked Progress Pool. Though I might be able to make a potion like that at higher Chapters, once my Alchemy Skill gets stronger and I max it out. But that probably won’t be for a while. Potion-making still isn’t my specialty, even if my Harmonic Healer Discipline makes me better at it than you guys.”

I rubbed my hands together eagerly. “But your Word Potions will at least work on my Casting Pool, right? As nice as it would be to have a potion that adds Words to my Banked Progress, I’m happy with the current Word Potion recipe you’ve finished. We can make perfecting your potion-making skills a long-term goal.”

Ruth smiled again, while Jonah said, “This is nice and all, but I’m still a little skeptical about your ability to make new spells now, Aaron. After all, the new spell you just made seems almost useless.”

I cringed at the reminder of my spell that had nearly gotten me killed. “You’re right that I still have a lot to learn, but even this first failed attempt taught me a lot about making new spells. Maybe if I can enroll at the Adventure Calls Academy in Hebron and take Professor Baruch’s classes, that might help me understand how to design new spells that don’t blow up in my face—or make me run into a tree.”

Nimbus chuckled. “Running into a tree isn’t so funny when you’re the one doing it, now is it?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I rose to my feet. “I don’t see you helping, Nimbus.”

Nimbus shrugged. “I’ve never made a spell before, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to help you make them. I do have my Auto-Stabilizing Glyph Species Skill, but you generally work with glyphs that are already stable, so I’m mostly here to eat bananas and make clever, humorous comments about your repeated attempts to learn and master your skills.”

I sighed, though I couldn’t help but smile. I looked at Ruth and Jonah again. “I think that’s enough training for now. I don’t have enough Words left to practice my Custom Spell crafting, so I think we can call it a night. We’re heading out to Hebron first thing in the morning after breakfast, so I want everyone rested.”

The others nodded. No one voiced any disagreement—the sun had nearly set by then, and the forest around us was wrapped in deep shadow. Besides, we were all tired after such a long day, which probably helped. Nimbus also mentioned that he wanted a banana snack before bed.

As I rolled up the blanket my mom had given me and tucked it under my arm, I couldn’t help thinking about how much progress we’d made this evening.

Yes, my first Custom Spell had been a disaster—but Ruth had provided me with an item that could change the way my Discipline functioned. Or rather, the way I trained. Now, I could practice and experiment without worrying as much about wasting Words. Granted, I’d still need to be conservative with them until we reached Hebron, but it wasn’t far now. I was sure we could brew a few more Word Potions before Ruth returned to Admah later. Perhaps she could even teach me the basics of potion-making before she left—at least enough that I’d know how to make more Word Potions myself.

But thinking about Hebron reminded me of something else—my upcoming meeting with King Amphrael. I didn’t know how I was even supposed to get an audience with a king, much less what role he played in my Quest to end the Codex Wars.

Still, if the Arcane Codex wanted me to meet with him, then I would certainly try.

After all, the Codex wouldn’t give me a quest I couldn’t complete.

Right?