The next day, instead of training, Arianna and Cassis spent their time visiting with everyone, handing out the small figurines. The children's smiles made the effort worthwhile, and the visits naturally turned into discussions about their plans.

Luke and Nadine had levelled significantly since the dungeon, both now sitting at level 18. They had been helping fight monsters that were disrupting supply routes, but the shortages were creeping closer and closer. Arianna hoped they could start mana farming soon.

Her and Joseph's idea of fertilising the fields with mana was already showing results, and even some of Marnie's people had learned how to do it. The crops now grew evenly and a bit faster. Still, Arianna was convinced that plant mana was essential, especially for imbuing seeds directly. That would make them grow even faster, but it would have to wait.

Next weekend, they would focus on levelling people again. When Cassis told her who needed it, Arianna had laughed. He had forgotten one person. Probably because he didn't yet consider him part of their group. Samuel would need levelling as well, and his condition would make reaching level 5 far more difficult. He was only level 1 from surviving the first wave.

Arianna's fingers itched to try healing him, though she couldn't promise it would work. This was permanent nerve damage, and she wasn't sure her abilities could repair it. She would have to ask Helen whether she should even bring it up to him. She didn't want to give him false hope.

After their short visits, they met Irene at their house. Camden was with her. Irene seemed very shy, leaning heavily on Camden's presence. Throughout the conversation, Camden spoke for her, while Irene occasionally nodded or murmured a quiet "yes." Arianna felt a pang of sympathy; the woman was clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Camden, however, kept pushing her, and Cassis allowed it, likely because Camden knew that Irene needed to become stronger to survive, and Cassis wanted an alchemist. Arianna decided to intervene. She suggested a break before making any decisions and made it clear that the men should go outside to spar.

Cassis gave her a puzzled look. Just two days ago, she had called him crazy for sparring with Camden like that, and now she was encouraging it. But Camden seemed to pick up on her intention. He gave her a small nod, then pulled Cassis outside.

Left alone with Irene, Arianna tried to ease her into talking. "So, you were a chemist before everything happened. What did you research?"

At first, Irene hesitated. Then, her voice soft but steady, she began. "I was working at one of the companies associated with Justice for Children. We were a team of chemists, biologists, and medical professionals. Our goal was to develop more accessible drugs against common virulent diseases like measles. Children in less developed countries still suffer from these diseases since inoculation isn't widespread there, even though the world government is trying its best. Local governments still have more power there than here."

Arianna found herself fascinated by this glimpse into the politics of this world. So local governments still held far more influence in less developed countries than in highly industrialised ones, an interesting detail she hadn't considered before.

But as soon as Arianna's questions drifted away from Irene's work, the woman closed up again. It was clear she was confident when speaking about her research, able to discuss it at length, but the moment the topic shifted, she reverted to her shy, reserved self.

Arianna decided to try a different approach, sharing something about herself first. "I'm impressed," she said. "I liked chemistry in school, though I leaned more towards the numbers than the actual experiments. I loved doing calculations with redox reactions."

That earned her a small smile from Irene. "Those are nice," Irene replied, "but they can't always predict what's happening. Sometimes impossible reactions occur, and we have to analyse those to learn more."

Arianna's own smile widened. "And I guess becoming an alchemist would give you access to even more unknown reactions." She reached into her things and pulled out a vial. "This is a healing potion from my patron. It can heal most injuries just by drinking it. It's literally magic."

Irene's eyes lit up with interest.

"Unfortunately," Arianna continued, "to analyse it you'd need high mana control. And using it is only possible for Cassis and me. It's an annoying restriction."

That didn't dim Irene's curiosity. Arianna decided to fan the flames a bit more. "From what I've observed of mana," she said thoughtfully, "it works similarly to atoms. There are mana particles of different elements, and they combine and dissolve freely according to some kind of law. I haven't been able to figure that law out yet, and most people can't observe mana at all without a lot of training."

For the first time, Irene asked a question of her own. "How does one go about observing these particles?"

"Well," Arianna said, settling into explanation, "first you need to observe your own body. Inside you, thanks to your awakening, you now have a mana stream filled with one element. That's your elemental affinity. Many people struggle at first, but with time, they succeed. After that, they're still limited to their own body.

"To go further, you have to perceive the mana you have an affinity for in the world around you. It's everywhere, floating in the air. But even then, you're still just seeing your own element. Some can tell other elements are at work, but can't actually see them. The final step is being able to see all kinds of elemental mana. That's where I am now. And let me tell you, it's beautiful."

Irene's eyes shone with curiosity.

"But from what I know of professions," Arianna added, "they grant abilities that help with their specialisation. So, an alchemist would probably have abilities to make reaching this level easier and maybe even push further. This is all so new, so who knows what else might be discovered?"

Arianna had dealt with scientists before, enough to understand the type. They thrived on discovery. It was exciting for them, but most preferred the safety of their lab to the dangers of the outside world. Irene seemed to be one of those.

And Irene, sharp as she was, realised the problem immediately. "But I'm too weak to get a profession right now," she murmured. "And I guess with levels, it gets easier to perceive these mana particles."

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Arianna nodded. "That's why we need to get you to level 10."

Irene grimaced.

"It won't be pleasant for you," Arianna warned. "Until level 5, you need to kill monsters yourself. After that, we can bring you along in a party and share experience."

Irene's uncertainty returned. Arianna leaned forward. "We can't promise absolute safety. But Camden will be with you. I get the impression he wouldn't let anything happen to you."

That brought a warm smile to Irene's face. "He's taken care of me since I was a child. My parents were always busy, and Cam, who's eight years older, had to babysit me a lot. But he never resented me for it. He helped me with homework, played with me… he even gave me my first chemistry set. You know, one of those for kids."

Arianna grinned. Once Irene had a topic she liked, she could talk quite a lot. "Yeah, Camden seems like a great guy. I know he makes Liam very happy."

Irene nodded readily. "Liam and he are so cute together. And Liam seems really nice."

Just then, the men returned, and the conversation shifted. Arianna healed them without a thought, and Irene slipped back into her quiet, reserved demeanour, but Arianna felt more confident now. She was now interested in the new possibilities this new world offered.

After Irene left with Camden for his house, Arianna and Cassis met with Elena, Marcus, and, unexpectedly, Luke and Samuel. Samuel's addition caught her off guard, but Elena quickly explained. They could use a lawyer for what they wanted to do. There were restrictions on food items like drinks that they needed to navigate, and getting approval to sell the recovery potion would require one. The reason for Luke being here was a mystery to her, but she didn't mind.

Elena, in her usual brisk efficiency, had already found a merchant who would supply bottles and sell them for only a minimal profit, exactly as Arianna wanted. How she had managed that in only two days, Arianna couldn't fathom.

She had to ask again. "And the merchant is okay with not making a lot of profit on it?"

Elena nodded. "He's the one who suggested making the potion affordable for everyone." Her voice dropped lower. "He lost his son during the first wave. He knows what a difference a potion like that would have made."

Arianna's smile was tinged with sadness. Sometimes tragedy had this effect, pulling people together, softening edges, making someone a better person. But other times it broke people in the opposite direction. You never knew which way someone would go until life struck hard.

Samuel promised to handle the legal side, Marcus would help them set up a business, and Elena would take care of marketing the recovery potion. Arianna's job was to produce it, which, luckily, was easy enough. The potion didn't require much mana anymore now that it was at expert rank. It had been quite draining before. Another reason why she had thought it useless. But it turned out that now she could make a large quantity at once. The merchant had even offered to let her come to his factory, fill several large containers with the holy water, and leave the rest to him.

Still, Arianna knew she could never make enough for everyone. There was only one of her, and far too many in need. That was why she proposed something radical: posting the spell and method for making it on their website, in the advanced section.

The reaction was immediate. Elena, Marcus, and Samuel were all uncertain, while Luke seemed in favour. The three of them also wanted to help people, but as Elena said, this spell had been Arianna's hard work. If others got the recipe for free, then Arianna wouldn't get the profit she deserved. That was when Cassis burst out laughing. "She can share her method all she wants," he said through his chuckles. "Nobody will be able to replicate it for years." Luke nodded emphatically.

The others stared at them. Cassis leaned forward, suddenly serious. "Think about it. Arianna is a genius when it comes to mana." Arianna opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop her. To her horror, the others simply nodded in agreement.

"To replicate this spell, you'd have to be a cleric with a strong grasp of the Heal spell and have a water affinity," Cassis continued. "Then you'd need to be able to use both non-elemental mana and elemental mana consciously. Arianna, tell them. What rank was your mana control when you pulled this off?"

Arianna shrugged. "Mana Control was at Expert. Same for Energy Perception and Mana Sight. That was before they fused into Mana Manipulation."

The room went still. The others exchanged strange looks. Luke sighed.

"Mana Manipulation?" Marcus asked.

She blinked. Hadn't she mentioned that before? "Yeah. When I hit Master rank in all three, the system asked if I wanted to fuse them into Mana Manipulation."

Elena's voice was careful. "And what rank is your Mana Manipulation now?"

Arianna thought for a moment. "I've been stuck at Expert for a while. I think it'll go up once I can wield my water mana as freely as my non-elemental mana."

Marcus gasped, Elena stared, Samuel snickered, Luke grinned, and Cassis laughed outright. Arianna glanced around, baffled by the reaction, but no one explained.

Cassis only said, "You see? No one's going to copy this any time soon. And by the time anyone could, the second wave might be here, and those clerics will be too busy surviving to start a potion business. The only other people who could make healing potions would be alchemists. Theirs would be real healing potions, but also a lot more expensive since they need actual ingredients, not just mana."

Everyone seemed to agree with him. Arianna wasn't so sure. She thought Cassis might be underestimating other clerics, or overestimating her, but she kept that to herself. What she really wanted was to share the technique of using the Heal spell with elemental mana. Maybe someone else would discover another application and grow stronger because of it. She was certain the same principle could work with other spells. And if they shared their findings in turn, they could all grow stronger together.

After everyone had a laugh at her expense, for reasons Arianna still didn't understand, Marcus finally shifted the conversation to something more serious. "We should work with the government for distribution through the Awakener Bureaus in every country," he said. "Luke, we already talked about it yesterday. What do you say?"

Luke nodded. "I contacted some people and the Awakener Bureau. They want to run a few tests on the potions and verify your claims, but they'd be happy to sell your recovery potion. This would also give the potion validity, and copycats could be easily identified if you sell only through us."

He turned to Arianna. "So it would go like this: you'd make the potions at the merchant's factory, the merchant would bottle them, and then deliver them to the different Awakener Bureaus. The question is —" Luke looked toward Elena — "is the merchant capable of supplying even internationally, or would we need to handle that?"

Elena's smile turned confident. "The merchant is well-connected and has international reach. It would probably involve a few more foreign merchants, but that would be their problem. They need a bit of profit, but otherwise everything can work out."

She paused, a glint of cunning in her eyes. "I assume the government doesn't need any profit. You want the potions to be affordable, after all. And you'd generate a lot of goodwill and trust being the only ones selling them."

Luke grinned. "For those discussions, you'd better talk to our business division." He looked almost relieved to pass the matter off.

"Great," Elena said, still smiling. "Then let's move forward with this plan."

Before Arianna could grasp the implications of the deal they had just made, her phone rang. The sudden vibration startled her, breaking her train of thought. Faith's name lit up the display. They had agreed to talk this evening, so why was she calling now?

Arianna hesitated. She still had company, and it would feel rude to leave the conversation, so she quickly muted the call. "Sorry, guys," she murmured, setting the phone down.

But before she could rejoin the discussion, Luke's phone began ringing. At the same moment, Elena's started too. The three of them exchanged confused looks. Before anyone could comment, Arianna's phone lit up again, Faith calling for the second time in under a minute. The uneasy coincidence settled like a stone in Arianna's stomach. They all picked up their calls without another word.

Arianna stepped away from the table, retreating into the kitchen for a sliver of privacy. She couldn't hear the others' conversations from here, but the first words she caught from Faith froze her in place. "Ari… please help. Something terrible happened."

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