First Batch

Stepping out of the vat, Kalia and I took a seat on the stools and washed ourselves off, making sure we were clean before I pulled out a smaller bucket, which I filled with some of the grape juice and sat aside, wanting to see what Kalia could do with it.

On that same vein, I retrieved another bucket and took out another small amount of juice, wanting to try my Dark Magic on the grape skins and see if my Dark Threads - which already made things decay and wilt - would ferment the juice into wine since that was technically a part of the process; having the skins slowly diffuse into the juice and turn it from juice into alcohol.

Or maybe it wouldn't work, since I have little idea on how winemaking truly works on a chemical level, but this wasn't dealing with chemicals but instead it was utilizing Magic, so maybe I was going to be proven right..?

"Oh? Are you going to try as well Mama?"

"Mhm... We'll see if this ends up being a success or not... who knows, I might just end up making a poison instead considering how dangerous Dark Magic seems. But, we won't know till we try~! Start gently Kalia, before gradually increasing your output of mana. If it seems like it is almost succeeding, let me know; I don't mind trying this a few different times, alright? We have more than enough grapes and enough juice to do this as many times as we want."

She nodded, stretching for a few moments before focusing on the bucket in front of her, her hands hovering on either side of the surface and emitting a emerald green glow that was soothing to look at.

Kalia's expression too made her even more stunning as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, her pink gaze focused entirely on the surface of the clear liquid, which reflected her green mana beautifully onto her smooth gray skin.

Observing her for another moment, I smiled softly before mirroring her posture, looking into my own bucket of juice and wondering if I was going to be proven right or wrong as I began to corrupt the threads around me, their color draining as they connected to my fingers.

Green, red, brown and blue threads turned a deep gray as well as black, my mana corrupting the threads around me and slowly finding their way into the emerald green threads that gathered around the bucket, the Nature Mana that remained inside the grapes slowly wilting as well.

Switching off my [Mana Sense] skill, I watched the clear liquid below bubble and darken just like the threads, going from a relatively pale green juice to a pale yellow juice, and I let out a sigh as I cut off the threads from my fingers, the grape skins now completely gone, leaving only the bucket of liquid.

Resting my hand on it, I placed it into my inventory and looked at its description, my lips curled into a slight frown as I carefully read about what I had created.

[Gocali Wine (Crude) : Sickly sweet and addictive, this wine brewed with Dark Magic can get someone drunk in just a few sips, and if their will is weak, they'll begin to crave more and more of this wine no matter what]

I couldn't help but let out a low sigh as I pulled the bucket back out, staring at the yellow liquid with a complicated gaze before storing it away again.

It would seem that everything I can make via my magic will - unsurprisingly - come with a rather steep downside for the average person.

Perhaps that was my 'curse' for having two separate magics that were entirely 'evil' in their composition; Blood and Dark Magics weren't kind and gentle by any means, and it would seem that whatever they touched got corrupted and altered to fit their domain.

Of course, this Gocali Wine was still able to be consumed and used, but it was incredibly dangerous; what would be the threshold for a 'weak' will?

Could Rhefia endure a sip of this wine?

Hells, could I endure a sip of this wine?

What about Aethisia?

Heila?

Who in the family would succumb to this wine and become addicted to it?

And could I even wean someone off of this wine?

It was dangerous, but it was also something that made me curious...

How good does it have to be to be addicting?

What would it make me feel..?

Also, could this not become a poison for me to use on someone who upsets my family, someone who clearly desires to cause us harm?

I let those thoughts drift free from my mind, and instead turned to Kalia, who was smiling happily at the bucket in front of her, my daughter saying "Mama, Mama! Look! I think I did it!"

Making my way over to her, I looked into the bucket and couldn't help but snort in amusement as I noted the difference between my wine and hers.

A brilliant sparkling liquid rested in her bucket, its clear surface almost making me think it was water, though the sweet scent wafting off of it was refreshing and let me know it was definitely not water.

Placing it in my inventory, I read the description while Kalia stared at me, waiting to see if she had done it correctly.

[Sylva Wine (Crude) : Sweet and refreshing, this wine brewed with Nature Magic soothes the spirit and provides a warm embrace, like that of laying beneath the sun]

Bringing it back out, I placed it in front of Kalia and nodded, making her grin widely and let out some gleeful sounds as she spun around, happy and excited with her results.

"Let's give it a try, hmm?"

She nodded, watching me closely as I pulled out two small vials meant for alchemy and dipped them into the bucket, filling them with a little bit of the wine.

Handing her one, I stared at the sparkling white wine and clinked the vial against hers, before bringing it to my lips, just as excited as her to try it out.

The liquid was room temperature, and as it hit my tongue and couldn't help but nod, a sweet flavor washing over my mouth and sliding down my gullet smoothly, while the aftertaste was just as smooth, burning softly enough to tell you it was alcoholic but not too much to make it unbearable.

Not too sweet, not too strong, Kalia's wine was perfect to drink casually, and my daughter grinned at me widely as she bounced around, her pink eyes alight with pride and joy as she savored the taste of her wine.