NOVEL NEXT Chapter 96: Wish
Standing within the beast section of the World Tree Inn around the back of Ressen, Luka thought about what he should wish for. Magic, as he had long come to learn, was esoteric and odd. Doing a favor for a Gilded Beast with a crown on his head then getting a wish equal to the favor? That was among the top five weirdest magics Luka had seen—and he once saw a god steal a smashburger.
A few steps away, soon-to-be park veterinarian Zora watched him with unbounded interest. She was—quite possibly—the sole "fan" of Gilded Beast amongst all the villagers, park employees, and guests. Sure, most people of this world respected and would even bow to a Gilded Beast like it was their king, but spend five minutes talking with Orris and well…
Still, that didn't stop Zora from leaning in, listening closely, and preparing for the inevitable: when King Orris asked a favor of her. Luka's own wish would be an example of what to do or not, and when her wish came around, she would be ready.
Other than her, little dire-wolf Leo watched King Orris with a childlike inquiry. How could an opossum talk? He wanted to know. Very much so. But before he could find out, he had to stand guard—the evil Leaker was afoot, no doubt ready to spill his bladder on Luka's shoe… again. So, Leo was ready, carefully watching and waiting, ready to protect.
The last individual to this little party was a newcomer. Soul Singer Mira licked the salt lick like a cow in summer, happy as could be. It was her vacation, and what better way was there to spend it than torturing her little brother socially. As a Gilded Beast, Mira had few siblings. And where most failed to get along—beastly hierarchies were like that, sadly—there were a few things they all agreed on: Orris was the cute brother at the bottom of the ladder.
Most of the siblings simply wrote him off, either ignoring him or making him the butt of their jokes. Mira was no exception. Even now, she goaded Orris into presenting World Walker Luka with a larger wish. Sure—what Luka did was nothing short of magical. Few possessed the power to build a castle befitting a king. But at the end of the day, the castle was not worth much. Not when gods sometimes came to Orris for his wishes.
But if there was one thing to say about Gilded Beasts, it was their pack mentality when one of their own was in trouble. Mira, just like all the other siblings, would stand beside Orris at a moment's notice if he ever needed it.
That moment was not today, however. Today was going to be a good day.
"Your wish?" Orris asked, peeved at his sister.
"I wish…" Luka thought through several different options. There was one he had to ask for first, however. "I wish for an artifact that produces an unlimited number of alchemy reagents."
"No," said the Beast King.
Luka swore he heard Zora choke.
Back to the drawing board, Luka mused. The park was in a great spot economically. He could always use more building materials but buying more wasn't much of a problem. The Guilds had come through with their crafting reagents—thanks to Blomfum—except for the rarer, more obscure items. Luka knew that would be the case going into things, but it severely limited the timetable on brewing potions of reincarnation.
He activated his artifact ring and reread the recipe:
Requirements for a Potion of Reincarnation:
30,000 motes of life.
30,000 motes of death.
1 phoenix heart.
1 drop of liquid undeath.
1 meaningful possession of the deceased.
1/1,000 divine teardrop.
Out of all the reagents, the hardest to obtain was divine teardrops. Luckily he already had a supply. Second to a literal tear from a god, was liquid undeath. It was a strange reagent, an item used more for the dark arts than the normal arts. And while it wasn't illegal, Luka was no doubt on a "watch this man for possibly creating a horde of undead monsters" list for asking the Guilds for a supply.
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After that, the other reagents were rather easy to acquire—frighteningly so. Phoenix hearts were a literal renewable resource, motes of life and undeath could be harvested from healer clinics, and meaningful possessions of the deceased were kept by loved ones and friends from the village.
Luka knew what to ask for. "I wish for one metric ton of liquid undeath in a sealed plastic tank large enough to hold such a volume."
Orris raised his chin. "A very interesting wish."
Zora whispered quietly to herself, "Metric ton?"
Leo's ears perked up; he spotted the devilish shoe-ruiner staring at Luka from within the pack of pups fighting over a rubber ball.
Mira stopped licking the salt rock to give Luka a quizzical gaze. "That's a lot of undeath. What do you need it for?"
"Potion making," he replied. "Lots of potions."
"You do realize liquid undeath is a very potent ingredient. A volume larger than a bucket will surely have untold effects on the wildlife around it."
Luka did not know that. He turned to Orris. "I wish for one metric ton of liquid undeath in a sealed and enchanted plastic tank large enough to hold such a volume. The tank should be enchanted in such a way that the liquid inside has no bearing on the material world in any way. It should also have a spigot for ease of pouring."
Orris looked repulsed. "You can't change your wish like some common peasant."
"He can and just did," Mira said, her golden scales shimmering in the sunlight. "I have witnessed his wish. Judge whether your castle and the soon-to-be built wing is worthy of such a request."
The opossum ground his teeth. "How large is a 'metric ton.'"
"About one cubic meter," Luka flatly said. "If water and liquid undeath share the same density."
Hesitating, Orris asked, "And how large is that?"
"No larger than a castle's worth."
Both Gilded Beats froze. Then Mira laughed loudly while Orris looked peeved.
"Fine!" he said. "Have your wish."
The container of undeath simply appeared. There was no glow of brilliant light, nor divine artifact aura. It simply appeared, flattening the grass and scaring the daylights out of a panting pup resting nearby.
"Thank you," Luka said, wrapping his magic around it, lifting it for transportation to the alchemy building. Tonight, potions were going to be brewed.
Before he left, Luka said, "Think about what addition you want to your castle." He turned to the kirin. "And thanks for the help. It was nice to meet you. Let me know if you have any questions during your stay."
Mira bowed her elongated neck low, her scales sparkling in the sun. "A pleasure, World Walker."
Luka took a step, paused, and added, "Oh, and this is Zora, if you haven't met her already. She'll be the lead veterinarian for the park. So, if you need something along those lines, she's your gal."
Both Gilded Beasts eyed the orc. "Hi," she shyly said.
Orris pursed his lips. "Do you have any of those medicines that make opossums feel funny? Today has been a stressful day."
Zora looked to Luka for help—he, however, only gave her a smile.
"Come now, Brother," Mira said, giving the saltlick one last lick, "of course the girl does. What kind of veterinarian wouldn't have something as needed as medicine that makes opossums feel funny?" Her kirin lips quirked into a smirk as both she and her brother peered at Zora. Orris was serious, however.
Before Zora could respond, a growl encompassed the area. All eyes turned to Leo as he transformed his size into a hulking behemoth of a dire-wolf. He snarled, foam dripping from his maw like a rabid animal. Everyone, even the newcomer, Mira, knew it was nothing more than theatrics. Leo might be a big-bad-scary-killing-machine-made-of-pure-white-fur, but he was also a cuddly, sensitive little guy.
Him growling like a mad dog meant something was truly wrong.
Zora spotted the issue first. "Leaker! Get away from him! I will not pay for another pair of shoes!"
Tail between his legs, Leaker scampered away, more afraid of Zora's tone than Leo's murder-radius.
Finally walking away, Luka reached down and patted Leo on the head after the dire-wolf changed back to the size of a puppy. "Thanks boy, you showed that shoe-wetter who's boss!"
Leo barked in excitement, figure-eighting around his rider's legs in a light trot.
Luka checked the sun—yep it was still up there. He had no clue what time it was, but it was definitely there. He sighed. "I need to invent the wristwatch in this world."
The trip to the alchemy building was uneventful, luckily. Luka set down the tank of undeath, paused, then added a handwritten sign that said, "Do not drink. Seriously." He turned and took a step before turning back, magically covering the tank in random items from nearby. Soon the tank was within a mound of items, hidden like a massive rectangle in a haystack.
Still, he frowned. He added a plethora of illusionary glyphs, turning it completely invisible unless someone knew to specifically look for it.
"Luka! There you are!"
He turned, finding his son-in-law. Vlad, and his elongated pointy ears, rushed out of the park's boundary, straight over.
"Something wrong?"
"No—well, maybe." Vlad suddenly cowered shyly, like a victim before an execution block. "I thought I should tell you I proposed to Annie, and she said yes. Funnily enough, Annie also bought a ring to propose to me—but I got to it first."
There were so many things Luka could say, but one question stuck out, "When do you want to hold the wedding?"