Still grinning, Leon read through the rest of the notifications.

[You have begun to walk down the path of a refiner. Also known as the branch of purification, you harness the power of fire to draw out and improve upon the essences contained within a material. While you have concocted a simple medicine, know that this is not the limit. Several other types of alchemical products exist, poisons and cultivation resources being the most prominent two.]

[While complete specialisation is possible, treating alchemy as a side practice is also common even for warriors. One cannot be in combat at all times, after all. The System also provides a number of useful resources and rewards for those who practice one of the three sacred arts, so please do not forget to experiment and learn in your spare time, for it may be the only reason you live to see tomorrow.]

Leon nodded, glad that cultivation resources did exist. The notification specifically stated that he wouldn’t run into issues if he continued learning alchemy, so for now, he would gladly continue experimenting. He was still badly injured and trapped in a deadly forest. While it wasn’t a massive concern, accidentally trapping himself in the path of an alchemist wasn’t the smartest idea.

Moving on to his titles, Leon found that he had two new ones.

[Refined: Refine an inferior-quality elixir before establishing your foundation. +1% to Spirit.]

[Disciple of Fire: First in the world to refine a spiritual ingredient and craft it into an alchemical elixir. +5% to all stats.]

Before, Leon’s titles had improved his stats by ten percent across the board. Disciple of Fire now raised that to around fifteen, giving him a massive boost. Still, the change was subtle. Leon couldn’t really notice that anything was different, especially with his body covered in bruises and his ribs broken. It made him wonder if the boost was instant or if titles were something that took time to put into effect.

Unable to come up with an answer, Leon took a deep breath and winced at the pain once again, his ribs feeling like knives in his chest.

Swishing the bloody elixir around in the wooden bowl, he drank most of the Bloodroot Extract before dripping the rest onto the half-healed cut on his thigh. The effect was immediate. Leon didn’t even have to pay attention to feel the essence flow throughout his body and sink into his muscles and bones, the heat in his blood ravenously pouncing on any injuries like a rabid dog.

His bruises tingled, his ribs warmed up, and the cut itched as his entire body rapidly healed itself. Leon opened his eyes and found the cut gone. Even the stitches had been forced out and some leg hair had started to regrow. The only sign that he’d been injured was the fresh pink of his new skin. Most of his bruises also faded away, but his ribs, while not broken, were still very tender and maybe still cracked judging by how uncomfortable it was to breathe.

Leon grabbed the empty bottle and jogged over to the stream. He was too excited to walk, not to mention that his ribs didn’t hurt that much anyway. Once he made it to the water source, the bottle was only submerged halfway because the stream was too shallow, giving Leon some time to ponder on how he could use his Qi to make a better elixir.

He wanted to try and directly infuse Qi into the berries or the water before mixing the ingredients, but he felt that was like trying to run before learning to walk. Shoving his Qi into the fire would probably have much better results, possibly even allowing him to create a Qi flame above mortal-

A scream echoed throughout the forest, the sound muffled. It was distorted in a way Leon’s brain couldn’t decipher. Dropping the bottle onto the grass, Leon sprinted in the direction of the shrieking. He weaved between the trees and pushed some Qi through his aching channels, giving him a slight boost in speed. He rounded one last tree before he slowed to a stop at the sight of a wall. Not a literal brick-and-mortar fence, but a transparent barrier that spanned all the way up into the sky.

It was like a glass membrane that arced back over his head towards the stream he had just come from. The sight confused Leon, but when he saw the rest of the wall spreading in every direction, he realised its shimmering surface was curved. How could there possibly be a dome here? Another scream echoed through from the other side of the glass. Leon moved, taking a shallow breath as he pressed his hand against the barrier. It was cold to the touch and, unlike his expectations, flexible and soft.

The screaming was constant now. Leon pushed against the strange barrier and almost fell through it, stepping out into a new world with ease. He quickly oriented himself and realised he was still in a forest, but somehow the colouring of the trees had flipped. Their branches and trunks were pale gold while the leaves had turned into solidified blood. Leon ignored the change and ran deeper into the forest of gold until he came upon the source of the screams, slowing to a walk as he took in the amusing sight.

A young girl was being mauled by a squirrel-like creature while her older sister attacked it with a golden stick. Only instead of hitting the beast, she was smacking her little sister all over the place. It looked like a comedy sketch. Leon held back a chuckle and jogged over to the girl, but when he came closer, he was surprised to find her covered in scratches and bleeding all over.

His smile faded.

The older sister yelped and jumped back at the sight of him, but Leon ignored her and grabbed the squirrel by the scruff of its neck. It scratched and tried to bite his hand so he infused some more Qi into his arm and snapped its neck with surprisingly little effort.

Leon blinked, feeling awe at how easy that was. The numbers attached to his stats had increased by over fifty percent from when he first ignited his life essence, but only now did he truly feel the effect of the boost. He was getting stronger. It felt incredible to see abstract numbers applied to something real…

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Then the shock and awe faded away as Leon was stuck with the reality of what he’d just done. The squirrel went soft in his grip, limply hanging from his hand. It looked just like a regular squirrel. Soft fur, which was the colour of a golden-orange sunset, gently rubbed against his hand. The body was also warm, making Leon feel like some kind of psychopath who tortures small animals for fun.

Its fangs were the size of his thumbs and the beast had even bitten the girl quite badly on her wrist and arm. There were also scratches all over her face and body, tiny rivulets of blood leaking out of them. Knowing that he’d saved her life helped with the instinctual disgust he was experiencing, but killing a creature so different from the horrifying demons he knew was a little unsettling. It looked just like a normal squirrel, only its body was substantially bigger than the tiny ones on earth, the tail reaching all the way down to his knees.

The thing was easily the size of a small dog and just as ferocious.

Shaking his head, Leon pushed his disgust away. He would kill it again if he had to. Judging by the little monster’s gently glowing fur, it was not a regular animal. No squirrel was that aggressive unless it was rabid, and this particular beast looked hale and healthy It might’ve looked different to the demons he was familiar with, but it was still a monster through and through.

Leon glanced at the weeping little girl as she clutched her bleeding hand. She looked up at him in surprise, her eyes widening with fear. He looked at the older sister and found her glaring at him. He was a bit put off that they were so wary, but then he remembered what he looked like. One arm was grey and in a sling, no shirt because he had used it to filter the Bloodroot Extract, several large bruises here and there, and a dead squirrel in his one functioning hand.

A dead squirrel whose neck he had just snapped like some kind of mental patient having an episode.

“Hey, are you guys alright?” Leon said, trying to give them a warm smile.

The older sister ran to the girl and stood in front of her protectively.

Leon winced and stepped back. “Have either of you ever skinned an animal before? I can’t use my left arm and I don’t have a knife, so…”

The little girl sniffled, tears falling down her bleeding cheeks, but no one said anything.

“I have a fire going and a backpack with some first aid equipment if you need?” Leon tried again, his smile strained. When neither of the girls replied, he began to feel a little frustrated at being snubbed when his intentions were genuine.

Even an idiot could tell they weren’t wanted in this situation. Turning around, Leon began to walk away. “I come with no ill intentions. I just wanted to help, but if you don’t feel comfortable with me here, I understand. Stay safe out there guys.”

When Leon made it past the first tree out of the clearing, one of them finally spoke.

“Hold on!”

Leon hobbled back close enough to see them, but not much closer. If they didn’t trust him then he wouldn’t push it.

“Yes?”

The older girl stared into his eyes and asked him a question. “Who are you?”

“Uh, my name is Leon,” He said, glancing at the little girl still weeping on the floor. They shared similar features, the most obvious being their blue eyes and blonde hair. “Is that your sister? I think we should help her before we shake hands and introduce ourselves.”

“No, I…” The young woman blinked, her eyes heavy. Leon hadn’t noticed before, but they both looked ragged and exhausted, even the older one who hadn’t been mauled. “Why are you here, is what I meant.”

Leon’s ribs ached from having to shout, forcing him to step forward without thinking. The woman flinched. She stepped closer to her sister and reached for something on her hip, the sight making Leon freeze. Her hand hovered there while she stared at him.

“I don’t know,” Leon said, dropping the squirrel and holding his hand up in case it was a gun. “I was running from some monsters in a subway tunnel and, when I realised we couldn’t escape, I collapsed the roof onto myself to save my friends. Woke up here a few hours ago all battered and bruised as you can no doubt see.”

The woman didn’t respond. She merely stared at him, her stance low and ready to move in case he did something.

“Look, I have bandages and food in my backpack. I don’t know what’s happened to you both, but it looks like it was rough. I can help you if you let me.” Leon said, sighing when he got no response. “Your sister is literally bleeding out behind you. You obviously need help if you called after me so just say what you want or let me leave.”

The girl looked back at her little sister, still hesitating.

Leon sighed, wincing at his tender ribs. “I’m just going to go.”

“Stop moving!”

Leon frowned. The girl gnawed on her bottom lip, the silence between them growing into something dangerous. Tension filled the air, her hand getting closer and closer to whatever she had holstered on her hip. If it wasn’t covered by her jacket, Leon would’ve been able to make a more informed decision. She glanced back at her sister again, and Leon decided to end the stalemate in his favour before he got a bullet in his back.

He flooded his aching body with Qi and charged at her. She spun around and reached for whatever was holstered on her hip, but it was too late to pull it out. Leon grabbed her by the throat and swiped her feet out from under her. She toppled under her own weight, giving him ample time to get on top of her and hold her down by the throat. He only had one hand to work with so he used his knees to pin her arms down, effectively trapping her under his body weight.

The last thing he wanted was a bullet to the heart or a knife in his kidney.