Limits Chapter 201

I spent one more day collecting herbs for Frosty, then made an Extract from them . Nick didn't really teach me about Extracts, because this usually required loads of herbs . Creating an Extract from one herb, would yield pretty much nothing . On the other hand, when the medical properties, were mixed with other herbs, the medicine or poison was enhanced .

That is what Nick usually did, when creating medicine . Although most of my knowledge came from Nick, I was not him . I found my own way of creating medicine and poison, and that was an Extract . Nick also knew about Extracts, but was not eager to use them . 'I sort of understand why . Nick always studied different combinations of herbs, and created new recipes . Making Extracts from one kind of herb, was not something he couldn't do . It was simply pointless, for him to spend so much time and resources' I thought .

But I didn't have to study and come up with new recipes . Nick already provided them for me . Therefore, I had much more time, to go into other branches of the Art of Medicine . 'Nick was wrong, to some extent . Extracts can be mixed to make medicine or poison as well . The effects, are stunning' I thought .

The best example, were the unknown herbs, that the Avians gave to me . I made an Essence from Blood Reeds and Earth Grabs, the effects were extraordinary . This taught me, that all herbs could be processed like this, but not all herbs reacted the same . 'Some herbs might not release their medical properties to a certain extent, due to lack of supporting herbs . This is where my Extract Path and Nick's Classical Path, can be combined' I thought .

That was the exact thing, I was testing with all the water herbs . I wanted to test out, if I could get a better Extract, depending on the method I used . There were only two methods . One was to cook the herbs, without any supporting herbs, and receive a specific amount of Extract . Or use supporting herbs, which should allow the properties of the herb, to be gathered fully, with little waste . The process was not fast . I had to test out, how much medical properties the herb releases, when heated to a specific degree . This meant, that I had to repeat the same process many times, but increase the temperature gradually . Then, I had to compare that, to the Extract created with the help of supporting herbs .

After two days of experimenting like this . I finally found the optimal solution . The solution concerned the herbs with water element only, as I didn't know how well it would work with other herbs . But, I proved my assumption . When I combined both styles of Extracts and Supporting Herbs, I received greater results . I didn't need to use as many herbs, in order to get the same amount of extract, when using supporting herbs .

This meant, that I could make strong Extract from rare herbs, without using many of them . 'I used up about half of what I collected . I need to gather more, and make some food for Frosty' I thought, and went back to collecting herbs .

The next day, with enough Extract that contained the water element, I headed towards the north again . 'This should be enough for Frosty . At least for the time, I want to spend in the North' I thought . Frosty didn't eat a lot, I always wondered why? Ultimately, not every creature had to eat a lot, in order to live . I was also under suspicion, that Frosty somehow got energy from my right arm . 'Although it seems far fetched, Frosty always wants to stay . . . inside? My arm, I guess' I thought .

I could arrive at the border within one day, but I decided to spend one last night in the Great Forest . 'If everything goes well, I will not see this place for a long time' I thought . I had enough food, to last me around 3 months . I planed to find out, if the Flaming Horses were edible or not . If not, I could always search for other creatures, or perhaps ask Crow . Crow was born in the North, therefore he had much greater knowledge about that place, than I did .

The next day, I arrived at the familiar bordering line, that separated two different worlds . With a small step, I crossed the border and entered the North again . "I'm back . Time to explore!" I said out loud, and released all the strength stored in my legs . "BOOOOM!", I sped through the Wilderness, towards my destination .

'At my full speed, I should be able to arrive there in about 3 "days"' I thought . No creature that lived in Wilderness, was a threat to me . With my Half Step of the Outer Limit broken, I would soon join the ranks of creatures, that already arrived at the wall of the Inner Limit . Although all creatures had Outer and Inner Limits, not all creatures were equal .

I possessed a huge amount of strength in my body, which could be compared to the Leader of Corpse Dogs . It also specialised in strength, but for example Crow, was not as strong as me . His specialisation was stealth . 'Every creature experiences different improvements' I thought . Even the Eterian woman, wasn't as strong as me . She specialised in some sort of power, that she possessed .

I ran through the Wilderness, and thought about some things . The first stop I did, was when my energy ran out . I had to replenish my energy by resting and eating . I did just that, then continued towards Obsidian Mountains . I had no interest in viewing the sights, I already went through that route . A long while later, I stopped again and replenished my energy .

After my 3rd stop, I finally arrived at the Obsidian Mountains . The temperature started to slowly rise, the closer I got to the Volcano . On my way, I spotted one of those Lava Sludges, and decided to test something out . I called out "Frosty, come out . I have something for you to do" . Frosty appeared in front of me as always, and waited for instructions . I said "See that Lava Sludge? I want you to kill it . If you can't, then just run away, alright?" . Frosty took a look at the Lava Sludge and nodded its head .

'It seems to be full of confidence . We will see about that' I thought, and waited for Frosty to approach the Lava Sludge . Frosty walked over to the Lava Sludge without any fear . It even walked around it for a while and showed me faces, that seemed to convey "See, I can do this!" and "you were so scared of it!" . 'That bastard must've already encountered these creatures before . That is why it knows, that those creature don't attack passerbys' I thought .

The Lava Sludge completely ignored Frosty . Only when Frosty attacked with its Ice Breath, the creature wanted to react, but because Frosty's attack landed first, a lot of mist was created . I thought that the sludge will be fine, but I was wrong . The Lava Sludge became solid rock, and didn't move anymore .

I was a bit stunned and came closer . I examined the Lava Sludge . Although it was still hot to touch, it no longer responded . I looked at Frosty with confusion . Frosty started explaining, using the usual arm motion, but then remembered something and decided to show me differently . Frosty showed its Ice Breath again, then pointed at some rock on the ground .

I said "I know that it turned to rock, that is not what I'm confused about . I just don't know why, it would turn so fast into a rock? Shouldn't this take a long time? It was made out of lava after all" . Frosty shook its head, and pointed at the Volcano in the distance, then at the wastelands, that we came from . After a while of motioning and showing me stuff, I finally figured out, why the Lava Sludge changed into a rock so fast .

"So, it was because of the difference between the temperature? In other words, these creatures need the lava and hot temperature, in order to live . If the temperature drops too much, it will turn into a rock, or die pretty much . Is that it?" . Exhausted, Frosty finally nodded its head . I said "That's interesting . How do you know all this? Have you been here before?" . Frosty nodded again, then jumped onto my shoulder, but didn't change into the tattoo . It pointed at the Volcano, and motioned for me to stay away .

I asked "Is something dangerous there?" . Frosty nodded again . I asked "What about the area around the Volcano? Is that alright?" . Frosty nodded again, and changed back into the tattoo this time . 'Alright . It seems that Frosty visited this place already . No wonder it knows about Lava Sludges . Either way, Frosty said to stay away from that Volcano . Not a bad idea, I don't want to get burned to a crisp yet' I thought, and decided to explore the outer area, in more details .

Chapter end