After lunch at Cassis' parents' house, Arianna and Liam went back to hers for mana training. Cassis, the maniac, had wanted to spar with Camden. They wouldn't get hurt too badly… would they? Arianna sighed. She had to trust them. And in case of emergencies, Cassis had some healing potions.

She really wished she could just hand out healing potions to everyone in their family and circle of friends, but she couldn't. It wasn't a matter of CP, but of rights. She could use the potions because she was a Patron, even if fallen. Cassis could use them because he was her Avatar. But others couldn't actively use them; they could only have the potions used on them. The only exception was when an avatar was right next to the person who was instructed to use it.

It was such a bothersome restriction that the Patron Shop placed on consumables. Equipment didn't have that limitation for some reason. So they really needed to level up their prospective alchemist soon. Then Irene could work on figuring out how to create a healing potion.

That afternoon, Arianna and Liam trained their mana.

Liam didn't have a mana pattern yet, so he used the natural stream of his earth mana to meditate. It was far less efficient. She hoped he'd get at least a basic mana pattern soon, but to do that, he'd need to enter a dungeon and get lucky. And with his low level, that would be very dangerous.

She didn't want him going in without her or Cassis. It was funny. She'd never had a brother, but Liam, even though he was technically an adult and had made some very serious decisions, felt like someone she should protect. He had a kind of quiet naivety and optimism at his core, even after everything he'd been through, both before and during these past weeks.

Sure, Cassis often told her she was too naïve, too. But Liam somehow seemed even more innocent. At least at first glance. When you really talked with him, you realized he was a thoughtful young man. Someone who knew how terrible the world could be… and still chose to hope for something better. Arianna liked him a lot.

So it was no surprise that they had fun with their mana training, even if Liam did complain of another headache. Now that Arianna had experienced a truly awful headache herself, though she couldn't quite remember why, she was more understanding. Still, he needed to learn.

Today, they'd focused on mana control, and Liam had made real progress. After hours of practice, he finally told her he'd reached the Advanced rank in mana control. Arianna was thrilled for him. That was a huge step.

Her own improvement wasn't too bad either. She had focused on her water shield again, trying to strengthen it. She experimented with densifying the mana, which meant pouring more water mana into the shield. It worked well, but the shield became unstable if she pushed it too far. To balance that, she added more non-elemental mana to the edges, which were acting as a kind of framework.

The shield didn't necessarily get thicker, though she could do that too, now. Instead, the water mana became denser and hopefully much harder to break. It was fascinating. Increasing density cost a lot more mana than just changing the shape or size. Strangely, when she created a large shield, it used less mana than a small, high-density shield. And mathematically, the amount of water mana should have been the same for both.

She didn't understand why it worked that way. But it did, and for now, that was good enough. With all that experimenting, her water shield spell advanced to Expert rank.

She shared her improvements with Liam, who smiled and congratulated her. Then he got more serious. "We're planning to launch the bracelet plan next week," he said. "So it'd be good if you could announce your cooperation publicly sometime this week. After that, Camden and I need to start clearing dungeons."

Arianna nodded. "I know. It's just... still dangerous for you two. Cassis and I will come with you. Fighting isn't just good for levelling. It's the best way to raise skill and spell ranks."

Liam didn't argue. At least he understood that he still wasn't strong enough yet. That would change one day, but for now, he needed protection.

"Well," Arianna said, brushing her hair back, "we have time now. I'll call Elena. Maybe we can already plan out the public statement and surprise Cassis and Camden when they finally join us." She rolled her eyes thinking of those two. They were still sparring. Crazy people. Liam caught her eye roll and snickered. He probably thought the same.

With that, she opened her phone and contacted Elena.

Elena actually had some free time. Benny was working from home these days, and Joseph was already retired. So she left the kids with them and came over.

When Arianna told her she didn't have to, Elena laughed. "It's nice to get out of the house sometimes," she said with a grin. "I love my children, but taking a break now and then is good for all of us."

Arianna nodded. She didn't have children, had never really thought about it, to be honest, but that sounded right. You needed breaks from anything, even from hobbies or work you loved. Why should it be different with kids?

With Elena over, they first reviewed Liam and Camden's joint statement for the Justice for Children website. It looked solid. And it turned out that the owner of JFC, who also happened to be Camden's grandfather, would be giving a televised statement this Saturday.

That would be the perfect time for Arianna and Cassis to release their NGO's own statement, announcing their support for the bracelet plan and their intention to go after anyone who tried to steal or exploit the devices.

Their NGO's website already reached millions, and donations for Survivors were still trickling in, though Marcus was handling that as their official accountant. It was just too much for Arianna to juggle. Her hands were full with training, planning, and going on adventures. Camden's grandfather had even offered to quote them on TV so their message could reach a broader audience.

Elena looked at them both, her eyes shining. "This is such great news," she said, visibly moved. "It makes me proud to be part of this. Those bracelets… they mean my children will have a leg up when they eventually have to fight monsters. I want that kind of support for every child."

Arianna nodded. She understood that sentiment perfectly.

Crafting the official statement didn't take long. Now, Cassis and Camden just had to look it over, and they'd be ready to go. Whenever those two decided to show up. She was getting a bit worried about how long they were sparring, but she wouldn't go looking for them. Yet.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. They'd call Ben too, to loop him in. Maybe Arianna would even ask if he, his parents and sister wanted to move to their neighbourhood. They were part of this community now, too. And it would be safer when the second wave came. At least, they had some more time until then.

Before she could think too much about it, Liam suggested they get in some more training. Even though it was getting late, they agreed. Arianna didn't make much further progress on her water shield, and Liam soon complained of another headache. Elena, meanwhile, had tried to improve her mana control by following the path of her natural fire mana. It was slow going, but she was getting the hang of it.

A little while later, she groaned. "I'm tired," she muttered, then raised her voice. "How do you two keep going for so long?" Then: "Can I have some water?"

"Sure," Arianna replied, smiling. "Just head into the kitchen. We have bottled water, sparkling and still. Maybe even some soda. Take whatever you want."

Elena nodded her thanks and got up. Arianna and Liam went back to their training, but it wasn't long before a sharp voice rang out.

"Arianna!"

They stopped instantly.

Arianna jumped to her feet and rushed inside. Liam was right behind her.

Elena was sitting at the dining table, an empty glass in front of her, staring at a bottle in confusion. Arianna's eyes followed her gaze. The bottle was filled with a silvery liquid. Wait. That wasn't regular water. Was that… the holy water? Where had Elena found that? Arianna was sure they'd put it in the fridge to keep it safe.

Elena looked up at them as they entered. "Arianna, what is this?" she asked, pointing at the half-empty bottle.

Arianna blinked, feeling a little dumb. "Holy water," she said. "It's one of my spells. But it's not really useful. It just has a minor regenerative effect. I haven't used it much, so I kinda forgot about it, to be honest."

Elena looked at her like she had grown a second head. "'Minor'? Are you serious? I drank half a litre of this stuff and now I've got a buff telling me I'll recover 20% faster for the next thirty minutes."

Arianna stared, stunned. She and Cassis had only ever taken a few sips when testing it. They'd gotten a faint regen effect, nothing special. So… the full effect only activated after drinking more?

"Oh. I didn't know that," she admitted. "But still… It's not like it's anywhere near as strong as healing magic."

Elena just shook her head, muttering under her breath. Something about stupid geniuses. Then, more seriously, she said, "Arianna, you think this is weak because you're — well — you. You've got some of the best healing around. But think about it."

She gestured with the bottle. "A 20% boost in natural recovery means a cleric doesn't have to focus as hard on every scratch or bruise during battle. They can prioritise the big injuries."

"And what about the teams without a cleric?" she added. "There are still way too few of them out there. Nadine and Luke told me the numbers."

Arianna nodded slowly. Nadine and Luke had started with the Awakeners' Bureau, keeping in contact with all the different countries and their own Awakeners' Bureaus, coordinating training and keeping track of awakeners and their classes. The census the army had run after the first wave had been a huge help, but they'd expanded on it in the time since. They now had solid data on level distribution and chosen classes. And it was grim. Over half of all adults were still under level 5, and of those who had classes, most had chosen warrior, then ranger, then mage. Clerics were rare.

"Right," Elena said, driving the point home. "That 20% boost could mean life or death for someone. Just because you think it's weak doesn't mean it's not incredibly useful for others."

Arianna felt like a child being gently scolded, but Elena was right.

"And the spell is only Basic rank," Arianna added, realisation dawning. "I could probably make it stronger if I work on it more."

Elena blinked at her like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

"Okay. We're going to sell these. Not for massive profit since we're doing this to help people. But we should earn something. We'll need funds to scale it, right?"

Then she was off, shifting into full marketing and logistics mode.

"I'll contact a supplier for bottles, preferably half-litre, since that's when the full effect kicks in." She paused. "Actually… maybe I should drink the rest, just to be sure this is the full effect. There could be more."

Before Arianna or Liam could stop her, Elena grabbed the bottle and drank the rest.

"…Nothing extra," she confirmed a moment later. "The timer just reset."

She gave a firm nod. "We are definitely going to sell these."

Arianna stood there, a little overwhelmed. She'd thought her holy water spell was kind of useless. But Elena was telling her that it might actually save lives. Had she just gotten so used to her powerful healing magic that anything less felt underwhelming? Was it possible she'd dismissed something truly valuable just because it didn't measure up to her standards? Maybe… maybe this spell was more important than she realised.

Cassis and Camden chose that moment to come home, looking rough. Well… Camden looked rough. Cassis just had a few scrapes. Arianna stared at them, dumbfounded. Then instinct took over, and she moved to heal them.

But Elena stopped her with a sharp gesture. "No! Don't heal them yet. They're the perfect test subjects right now."

Arianna blinked. Then realisation hit. Oh. Elena wanted to test the holy water. Arianna agreed immediately. This was the perfect opportunity. Cassis and Camden, meanwhile, looked utterly confused. Liam took pity on them and quickly explained the situation about the holy water, the unexpected regeneration boost, and the potential it might have.

Cassis's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"

Then he sent a private message over their party chat. "Elena's right. Damn, I've become spoiled. In the other timeline, anything that could heal, even a little, was insanely valuable. My only excuse is that I'm so used to your potions and now your healing that I forgot how big a deal a 20% boost really is."

That made Arianna pause for a moment. She hadn't thought about it like that, but now she was beginning to see it too. She conjured more holy water and poured it into two large glasses. Cassis and Camden each took one and drank.

The effect wasn't instant, but it was noticeable.

Cassis's scrapes visibly began to heal. Slowly, yes, but right before their eyes. Camden's bruises and cuts did the same, closing up over the course of the next half hour. It took a full thirty minutes for the holy water to run its course, and by the end of it, the results were clear.

The two of them still looked like they could use a proper healing, at least in Arianna's opinion. But Cassis would probably be fully recovered by tomorrow. Camden, being in worse shape, might need two or three days.

But what if they kept drinking holy water? Curious, Arianna made two more glasses and handed them over. Camden drank again immediately. He described the taste as refreshing. The sensation wasn't like being healed by a spell, no warm light or surge of energy, but rather a steady strength building from the inside.

Whatever that meant. Still, the results were impressive. And if Arianna trained the spell more, perhaps she could improve the speed, duration, and strength of the effect.

More knowledge was needed. So she asked Cassis, who hadn't drunk his water yet, to sit on the couch with her so she could observe how the mana in his body reacted to the holy water. She placed her hand over his chest, near his heart, the best place to monitor his mana flow.

She could have done this with Camden, of course. He was more injured, after all. But Cassis was simply more comfortable for her to work with. She knew his mana patterns well, making it easier to detect subtle changes.

Cassis drank the second glass, and Arianna began her observation.

It was strange and illuminating. Almost immediately, she noticed an increase in non-elemental mana, originating from his stomach. It wasn't water mana, even though the spell used water as a medium. And it wasn't diffusing passively into his system either.

No, it was directed. Purposeful. Almost like it was programmed. The mana travelled through his body, targeting injuries with gentle precision. It healed small amounts at a time, not enough to call miraculous, but steady and consistent.

For the next thirty minutes, the non-elemental mana continued to trickle out from his stomach and perform its healing task, like it had been assigned a job and was simply executing it over time.

"How interesting," Arianna murmured as she ended the observation and withdrew her hand.

The others, who had been sitting silently so as not to disturb her, immediately looked over. She explained what she had seen, outlining how the holy water worked from a mana perspective. Then, she added her theory: "I think the water mana is only there to help the body process the spell. Since the effect starts in the stomach, my best guess is that the body digests the water, leaving behind non-elemental mana." She paused, then added, "Because I used my healing spell as the template, that leftover mana still has its 'programming' to heal, so that's what it does."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, absorbing the implications. The holy water spell was kind of expensive, but if she trained and got better at it, this might change. The healing spell had been the same in the beginning.

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