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nGeth intended on running a few more tests before leaving. At first, he hadn't planned to make use of the Potionology room.

nThings changed now that he could read some of the simpler Runes. Studying the ceiling, he had Albus record the ones he could understand. The list was short, only consisting of 18 of the Runes.

nThe Rune that had changed his mind was one called

"Gather.

" It was a simple spiral shape where the outermost line of the spiral was attached to the formation.

nIf he was right, that Rune gathered the Mana in the area to power the formation. He wanted to use this function to speed up the Mana condensing process.

n'It may not work, but if it does...' He felt excitement growing at the thought of what he could achieve.

nAfter reaching the Potionology room, Geth sorted through the different beakers and cauldrons that were lying around. Eventually, he came across a set of glass beakers and flasks about the size of his hand.

nGathering the glassware and one of the large iron cauldrons, he headed back into the graveyard. He activated Inspection and found the area with the highest concentration of Mana.

nLocated in a large clump of gravestones, the Mana was so thick it looked like fog. Geth sat in the middle of the stones and began his first experiment.

nUsing State Change, he created a small and hollow rod of stone. It was the closest thing to a pen he could think to use.

nGeth focused on the Mana in his mind, controlling it to accumulate in his fingers. After some practice manipulating his own Mana, he slowly fed it into the pen he'd made.

nIt worked out better than he'd imagined. He picked up one of the beakers and drew the

"Gather

" Rune on the bottom of the glass.

nThe moment he finished the final stroke, Mana started flowing in quickly. He sat the beaker on top of the nearest gravestone and watched as it slowly filled up.

n

"Albus! It worked!

" Geth clapped his hands together, ready to begin the next step.

nAs he was about to pull the cauldron out, he froze. Looking back at the beaker, Geth found that the cloudy Mana was spilling over the edge.

nAfter observing the situation, he found a problem. The Mana wasn't condensing. It was simply filling the container and then spilling over the edge.

n*Sigh*

nGeth was a bit disappointed, but he'd proven that the Runes would work. He needed to find a way to let the contained Mana build up pressure to condense into a liquid state.

nHis next experiment involved a stone jar. He crafted an enclosed beaker-sized jar out of stone with a small orifice in the top.

nUsing the pen, he etched another of the spiral symbols with his Mana. The center was connected directly to the small opening.

nMana began siphoning itself into the jar, not stopping even after several minutes. Geth sat for hours watching his experiment and waiting for something to happen. Eventually, something did.

n*Criiiiiccccc*

nGeth stood at the strange sound and went to check on the jar. When he was just a few steps from it...

n*BOOOOM*

nThe jar shattered, sending stone shrapnel and turbulent Mana flying in every direction. Geth blocked his face but didn't bother doing much more.

nWhen the dust settled down, he could see pieces of jar lying inside of a small crater. A small amount of liquid Mana slowly seeped into the ground.

n'Progress,' Geth thought. He sat down for a moment to think. When he was still working, he had to understand how to change liquid to gas and vice versa.

n'If the Mana works like most gaseous substances, it can definitely be condensed into a liquid... The only problem is how much pressure it needs to be under.' He stroked his beard.

n'When I worked with refrigerants, the gas would be compressed into a small tube. The compression superheated the gas and sent it through the pipe at high pressures.

nThe tube would run into a coil that was cooled by pulling air across. As the high-temperature gas cooled down, it would condense into a liquid.' Geth sat for a moment contemplating and began talking to himself.

n

"What I need to do is catch it after the coil,

" He said.

"Albus, do you think that I can craft stone hard enough to handle the pressure of superheated Mana?

"

n'Doubtful. But of the 18 Runes, there are two that can help you out. One is a Hardening Rune. The other is the Temperature Rune,' Albus answered.

nGeth thought about it. 'So first I need to harden the structure itself, then I can use the Temperature Rune to cool the coil before the liquid leaves. If I make the coil long enough, it can stabilize the pressure.'

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"Alright! Let's get to work!

"

nLate into the night and into the next day, Geth designed his contraption. While he was working, Zolis came out and sat with him, asking him to join her and Alise again.

nHe waved her off and told her to enjoy herself. There would be time for that later.

nHulk and Harris had stepped out to help. Filthy and Farris had left the Dungeon earlier that day and were out hunting.

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"Alright, line these barrels in a circle around the center here,

" He instructed. The two men moved the eight large stone barrels he'd built into a circle around him.

nGeth used State Change and every ounce of his Mana. He created a raised platform at the center of the basins.

nThe terrace was about 2 feet in diameter. A pole stuck out from the platform, attached to another similar-sized barrel.

nEight coiled-up tubes spiraled down from the bottom of the center barrel before running off and opening into the outer ones. Each of the coils had a fair amount of frost layering them.

n

"So, are we finally done?

" Hulk asked while eyeing the contraption. It looked a bit like a strange octopus to him.

n

"Yes, we are done.. Good work, guys. Now, let's enjoy the fruits of our labor!

"

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