The Primal Hunter Chapter 1265 - Go Big Or Go Home

What exactly defines a flame? Typically, it's born from combustion or ignition, generating heat in the process. In the vast multiverse, though, flames aren't always hot—they can even manifest as icy ones.

Reika, descendant of the Sword Saint through several generations, wielded a cold-affinity fire for her alchemy work, achieving outcomes identical to warmer methods. Truth be told, warming the cauldron wasn't the core function of the Alchemical Flame. Its true power lay in dismantling materials through a form of "combustion."

Jake's initial Alchemical Flame resembled a standard fire-affinity blaze, yet the difference remained crucial. The Alchemical Flame didn't inherently tie to fire-affinity, despite most versions leaning that way. Reika demonstrated a version devoid of any fire essence... and now Jake joined her ranks.

His Alchemical Flame lacked the natural ability to generate heat. Rather, it formed a bizarre blaze that Jake struggled to label as such. It appeared flame-like during summons and casual handling, but he soon discovered this held true only in its destructive form.

Echoing his arcane affinity, Jake's Soulflame featured dual states of stability and destruction, plus everything in between. In destructive mode, it transformed into a fiercely powerful blaze, shredding most materials with ease. Jake experimented on tough metal ingots and comparable items, watching his flame dissolve or pulverize them in moments.

Previously, his Alchemical Flame could handle such ingots, but the process dragged on and turned chaotic. Duration and chaos intertwined, since prolonged breakdown allowed ambient mana and subtle affinities to infiltrate and taint the material.

Metals generally stayed in a perfectly balanced form, absorbing only minimal environmental mana on their own. But Jake's interference shattered that balance during deconstruction.

To illustrate, dismantling a substance resembled drilling gaps to snap molecular ties, yet those gaps invited stray energies inside. A rough analogy, sure, but it captured the essence of the mechanism.

Thus, quicker drilling meant swifter transition to a fresh "balanced" material state. Jake's rapid Soulflame excelled here, and he observed it also barred intrusive concepts and energies effectively during breakdown—not flawlessly, but impressively so, in his view.

Even better, Jake could steer the flame toward greater stability, accelerating the material's metaphorical "cooling" to lock into its updated form.

These traits alone convinced Jake his Soulflame suited alchemy perfectly, though he figured other Soulflames could shine too. Plus, given its intensity, wielding the destructive state demanded sharp focus; a brief lapse might obliterate the target entirely.

Jake remembered the ancient lesson on bonding Willpower to Soulflame from his days in the Order of the Malefic Viper. The details lingered vividly, drawn from the info crystal provided then. Now, with his genuine Soulflame—not just mimicking via basic Alchemical Flame—Jake grasped the brilliance of that Willpower link, yet saw how much of it didn't apply to him.

As a Supreme Soulflame, conveying intent required minimal connection. Born from his arcane affinity, it came with innate command and deep intuition. Above all, Jake's soul mastery and control far outstripped norms. Post-training with the First Sage, his soul handling soared, and the Soulflame's full integration made deployment seamless.

Oh, and his ridiculously elevated Perception stat? That boosted things further. Higher Perception always did.

Shifting to stability experiments with his Soulflame, Jake first noted that added steadiness dulled its dismantling power while easing handling. It acted like a dial for pacing material breakdown, granting finer precision. He could dim the flame by reducing energy input, but toggling states kept output steady, minimizing fluctuations in crafting. Flipping between modes beat ramping energy up or down, particularly for lowering intensity, since the flame needed time to "settle."

Further stability stripped away the dismantling edge, turning the Soulflame into a shielding force that still resembled fire. Jake summoned it to envelop items, manipulating them like telekinesis— a strangely visual and tactile experience. Far from mere showmanship, though.

Jake saw potential in isolating ingredients or craft segments with it. He'd long used stable arcane mana for this in alchemy, but Soulflame offered superior efficiency. Normally, mana wraps demanded constant vigilance amid surrounding breakdowns; now, one flame handled both tasks.

This stability-destruction toggle didn't blanket the entire Soulflame—it could pinpoint sections. Jake could even divide it into separate wisps for varied actions, bounded only by his control limits.

Pushing stability to extremes, the flame ceased resembling fire at all. At full tilt, control grew arduous; even slight movements drained effort, eventually solidifying it completely. In solid form, it formed a striking crystalline Soulflame structure—neat, but what practical use for a rigid Soulflame?

Jake brainstormed uses, but first, he eyed combat trials for the Soulflame.

Not every Soulflame suited battle; combat-oriented ones often faltered in alchemy. Yet balanced Soulflames existed, and Supreme ones frequently dominated both fields.

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Villy once noted that Duskleaf, the master alchemist, packed a vicious Soulflame for fights. Unsurprising for a god, but it proved dual-purpose Soulflames were feasible.

Given his arcane affinity's combat prowess, Jake approached tests optimistically. He pictured himself charging foes, cloaked in arcane fire, hand sweeping to launch disintegrating waves.

Eagerly diving in, Jake verified he could hurl destructive arcane flame surges, ravaging terrain... while barely scratching those ensnared within.

Indeed... his Soulflame demolished inert energies masterfully, but against active ones—tied to or wielded by others—it barely registered. It inflicted minor harm, yet plain arcane energy flames via freeform magic outperformed it.

Hope lingered! His Soulflame struggled offensively, but arcane stability had always granted toughness. He'd solidified it fully before, so maybe a Soulflame barrier could—

Forget it; still inferior to freeform spells.

Jake's visions of Soulflame as a battle tool crumbled fast, leaving him inwardly mourning. More concepts fizzled out.

Regrettably, combat viability seemed negligible. The sole niche? Shaping a Soulflame arrow to pierce environmental mana constructs effortlessly—overly specialized.

Despair wasn't total. Skills could unlock combat uses for Soulflames, implying self-taught mastery was possible with time and ingenuity. Altering the environmental-dismantling trait for broader mana might work, though it'd demand immense effort.

Abandoning battle tests, Jake revisited an alchemy notion. Spotting the Soulflame's total stability, he detected another perk. In crystalline solidity, he could release control, and it persisted.

Mental recall sufficed for reclaiming it; no ongoing effort to maintain stability. So inert that it endured sans Jake—unheard of for Soulflames. All energies dissipated somewhat, but his stable arcane mana leaked zero, explaining the feat.

After repeated checks, Jake pursued a bold alchemy trial: cauldron-free crafting. Sort of—a non-traditional cauldron.

Cauldrons served key roles in alchemy, ultimately controlling the workspace. They managed heat, spread infused energies, and blocked external contaminants. Quality ones brimmed with formations to seal contents and repel outside influences.

Refining ingredients risked pollution, so isolation proved vital during breakdown and essence extraction. Low-tier alchemy tolerated ambient interference, but advanced work required total exclusion.

Hence the need for solid cauldrons, and Jake relied on theirs too—for energy infusion and process steps via inscriptions. But he'd uncovered a substitute.

The concept sounded absurd initially, yet grew plausible, spurring Jake to act. He detached a Soulflame portion, ramping its stability while keeping it pliable. Laboriously, he molded it cauldron-shaped, then locked it stable.

Satisfied, Jake inhaled deeply and tested his hunch. From storage, he retrieved mana potion components, loading them into the crystalline Soulflame vessel.

A grin escaped as he channeled energy seamlessly via the inner surface. Soul-linked, the Soulflame mediated infusions. Effortlessly, he even generated extra Soulflame inside to fill space.

Requiring extra focus, yet in thirty minutes, Jake brewed a mana potion via Soulflame cauldron—quality matching his standard one.

To confirm reliability, he produced more potions this way, succeeding smoothly. Emboldened, he tackled poisons, succeeding until complexity rose. A Bane Poison attempt failed against the Soulflame cauldron's constraints.

This trial showed Soulflame cauldrons enabled crafting, albeit tougher than physical ones. Fine for potions, but intricate recipes demanded inscribed formations. Energy infusion via Soulflame also cost more than hand-contact. Thus, challenging brews needed real cauldrons.

So, the Soulflame cauldron idea appeared sunk... but Jake deemed the tests triumphant. No full replacement yet, but viable for simple crafts.

Jake's alchemy edge lay in unwavering consistency. His success rates dwarfed reported norms; he couldn't recall botching a basic potion lately. This boldness let him attempt what others might dismiss as folly.

Cauldrons standardized size for reliable crafting—optimal for ingredient fit without excess volume complicating control.

Still, that scale yielded small yields, rarely over ten vials per batch. Normally fine, since upsizing hiked risks; failures wasted everything, amplifying losses.

Jake shrugged off those risks... inspiring a move many alchemists would deem idiotic, though Villy would likely applaud.

Reforming a Soulflame cauldron, Jake supersized it, expanding to meters-high—a massive vat, not a pot.

Grinning, he solidified the behemoth, dubbing it his Soulflame Mega Cauldron. Prepped, he flooded it with water, then shoveled in herbs galore, smile unwavering.

Thus, Jake birthed a potion factory disrupting markets, right in his lodge basement. Go big or go home... and home he was, rendering the scheme impeccable.