She had not said that to challenge Elaris, nor to compete with Kai or Valença. Those words came from something much deeper — something that did not need to be explained to be felt. To her, alchemy was never just about creating potions or fusing rare materials; for her, Alchemy was about understanding the world.
While mages shaped mana, knights shaped techniques, and leaders shaped peoples, the alchemist shaped foundations. Stone, blood, essence, concept. Everything could be dismantled, understood, rebuilt. Nothing was untouchable. She believed she could shape and transform anything through Alchemy.
She had always thought that relying only on combat was a limitation. Physical strength could fail. Mana could run out. Emotions could destabilize decisions. But properly applied knowledge made a mage grow beyond what they otherwise could. So she wanted to prove something not only to the entire world. She wanted to prove something to the Alchemists themselves who limited themselves to low-level creations, repeating other works without seeking to improve them.
'To me, an Alchemist who does not think about evolving their creations or advancing their own knowledge is just a mediocre Alchemist.'
Of course, there were Alchemists who wanted to evolve their experiments, but that was limited only to those experiments. They did not evolve their minds and bodies to the fullest. They simply lived in the shadows, and for that reason she wanted to prove that an alchemist did not need to live in the shadow of legendary mages or glorified warriors. Someone capable of understanding the structure of things could surpass those who merely used them.
For Malunes, becoming the strongest did not mean crushing kingdoms. It meant reaching a point where no one could ignore what she represented. She wanted to be the kind of person who, upon touching an ancient sword, understood its generations.
When looking at a curse, saw the solution. When facing a superior entity, did not retreat for lack of power.
'That look.'
Elaris, Valença, and Kai realized that the shine in her eyes did not come from rivalry. It came from the ambition of someone who refused to accept that her role was merely "support." She wanted to reach the top through her own method, and if to do so she had to turn the impossible into study material, she would. Enrico, looking at that scene, almost felt like congratulating her for that look.
'That's why I like her.'
[I do too, she has incredible determination.]
"Everyone, stop staring at each other in a scary way and continue from where you left off, because we have to enter the lake within a day."
He was right, because at most they had until the end of the day to prepare, since tomorrow night would be their first attack. So now that they would have to wait a few hours, Enrico had begun trying to create Elaris's weapon to get ahead as much as possible. The discussion that was about to happen between Malunes and the three was halted when he turned to start making the weapon, which made the Alchemist approach to help.
"So, princess, what kind of weapon do you want? As far as I know, you don't use weapons."
"Light gauntlets."
"It seems you've already decided. Very well, let's begin."
Her decision was quick, so she already had it in mind, but the execution would not be simple. Light gauntlets for someone like Elaris could not be merely metallic reinforcements. They needed to amplify magic, allow direct mana conduction, withstand physical impact, and still not limit mobility. In addition, they had to harmonize with the royal blood that had already been used in the fragments of Lúmen'Thyr.
'Making a perfect weapon for her own essence will be difficult.'
Enrico took a deep breath. He knew this would be a different creation from the previous enhancements. He was not just adjusting something that already existed — he was creating from scratch something that would have to be born aligned with the princess's essence.
"Where do you think we should start, Benefactor?"
"Well…"
The first idea arose naturally between them. Minimal physical base. Light structure. Internal magical core made primarily with Elaris's own magic.
Enrico began shaping a base with a previously prepared alloy — a light-colored metal, resistant yet flexible enough not to restrict the fingers. He avoided excess, keeping the structure thin, almost elegant. Malunes analyzed it carefully; it was a good structural choice, but still incomplete. The jars with the Lúmen'Thyr fragments began to lose their original coloration. The essence of the blood was being absorbed slowly, transforming the interior into a whitish, almost milky mass.
'Maybe if I…'
He tried inserting a partially prepared fragment into the internal structure of the left gauntlet. The moment mana was activated to fuse the two, the rejection came immediately. Not explosive, but firm. The Lúmen'Thyr hardened as if refusing the bond. The metallic structure cracked.
"I failed."
"Don't worry, Benefactor. Failing is something every alchemist goes through."
"He's not an alchemist."
Malunes ignored Elaris's words as she continued observing and offering some ideas that Enrico would use in the second attempt.
"I think it would be better to adjust the mana flow of the gauntlets."
"I was thinking that, but I'd have to synchronize it with my own magic… I've got it."
Enrico adjusted the mana flow, trying to force synchronization through deep-water affinity and a bit of Elaris's magic so that the rock would recognize it. The idea made sense: use fluidity to integrate the spiritual with the physical. But the execution was rushed, and it still failed. The fragment lost cohesion and crumbled into luminous dust, spreading across the table.
"What kind of magic did you use?"
"A special fire magic."
"Special? Can you tell me?"
"It's a secret."
Malunes made a disappointed face as the second failure occurred. The first attempt and the second were good ideas. If it had been a different material of the same level as Lúmen'Thyr rock, it would certainly have worked, but this rock was difficult to handle at will. He did not show external frustration, but his mind was already reorganizing the possibilities.
'Timing error and a bit of preparation error.'
[You're already having a new idea, right?]
'Of course.'
Malunes crossed her arms, analyzing the pattern of failure. Lúmen'Thyr would not accept being forced to adapt before completing the absorption of the royal blood. The process needed to finish completely for the rock to recognize Elaris as the legitimate origin of the weapon.
'What will we do now?'