“I hate you. I really do!” Igor cursed Zayn as they stopped in front of a lengthy building purely made of stone. The foundation was made from a single – humongous – piece of stone as well as the pillars of support. Even the door was made of stone. That was odd.
Zayn activated Scent of Treasure and noticed with great interest that he…couldn’t smell anything. No, that wasn’t correct. He could smell something, but the source of the scent was from the surroundings. They were weak and didn’t attract Zayn’s interest. He was only interested in the smell that oozed out of the stone house’s chimney. The smoke filling the air above the stone building was filled with a single scent. It was bittersweet.
“We’re at the correct place,” He mumbled. Igor Brecht glared at him in response, but Zayn wasn’t particularly interested in the former blacksmith’s misery.
Igor pressed his lips together and slammed his fist against the stone door. He cursed a few times but didn’t stop until the side of his fist was swollen red. No matter how annoying the old hag was, Igor understood that Zayn was his savior, somewhat. Zayn had executed his vengeance, finally releasing him from the shackles of the past. Talking to the old hag…should be fine.
“I really don’t understand why you seek an Alchemist in a village filled with blacksmiths. That doesn’t make any sense. The old hag is not exactly a nice woman either. Everyone avoids her for a reason, you know?” Igor shook his head and retreated two steps. Maybe, he could avoid talking to the old hag. Zayn was confident and quite talkative. That young brat should leave him alone and spend some quality time with the old hag.
“What is the reason? Is there just one, or are there multiple reasons?” Zayn asked, his curiosity attracted, “Maybe, it’s just rumors.”
He shrugged while Igor Brecht shook his head vividly, “There are no rumors about her. It’s all based on facts, Zay—...Oh shit!”
The stone door opened slowly as the former blacksmith answered Zayn’s question. Igor jumped back in surprise and sealed his mouth shut.
Zayn’s eyes narrowed as the stone door opened. The first thing he noticed was that the door opened smoothly. It was almost as if it didn’t take any effort to open the door. Not a single sound accompanied the stone door as it opened either. Zayn peeked inside the house, only to see a dimly lit entrance hall with a set of doors that separated the entrance from the rest of the house.
‘Is she trying to seal the house completely? Is it to decrease the influence of outside factors, or is she trying to seal the ingredients within the house to prevent their properties from changing?’
Despite the effort taken to seal the house, a waft of scents flooded Zayn. The corner of his lips curled upward, and he took a step forward to take a deep breath. However, just as he arrived in front of the entrance, an old, haggard face entered his view. It was the old hag. She had short gray hair and a wrinkled face. If Zayn had to guess her age, he would probably consider her 80 or 90 years old, but she might as well be older. The vigor in her verdant green eyes indicated that the ‘old hag’ strengthened her Foundation to a certain degree. Either that, or she could consume an elixir that extended her lifespan.
The old woman’s back was hunched, and she walked around with a short wooden cane, but her voice was still as vigorous as the gleam in her eyes.
“Who dares to interrupt me while I’m at work?!? You can thank the God of Fortunate that I didn’t fail the concoction, otherwise, I would have enslaved you until you’d paid me back for the resources, I almost wasted thanks to you! Bastard!”
Zayn raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he retrieved the Moonlight Lover and a handful of Azura Lecantris flowers.
“Please take these as my apology. I didn’t want to interrupt your work,” Zayn said, handing the Old Alchemist a small portion of the plants he’d harvested not too long ago.
The old woman accepted the flowers, but a deep frown appeared on her face when she analyzed the flowers. Her eyes narrowed as her eyes fell onto the Moonlight Lover and she grit her teeth.
“You fool! Did you store these precious flowers in an ordinary backpack? Are you trying to give me a heart-attack, or are you just stupid?” The old hag asked, her sharp voice cutting deep into Zayn, who retained a vibrant smile.
“Neither,” He merely responded, taking a step closer to use Rapid Plant Growth on each of the plants he’d given to the old woman. The condition of the Moonlight Lover and the Azura Lecantris flowers improved at once. The latter emanated a constant amount of energy whereas the stalk of the former glowed silver.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“You are an Immortal,” The old woman realized as a matter of fact.
“Indeed,” Zayn gave her a curt nod, “An Alchemist as busy as you must be in dire need of an apprentice, or a helper one may call them. How about you hire me?”
Zayn didn’t beat around the bush. He went ahead and asked what he wanted: He desired to become the old hag’s apprentice. Initially, he had been a little bit uncertain, but the scent that lingered in the smoke above the building was enough to disperse his worries in all directions. All Zayn had to do now was to convince the old hag.
“Are you insane?!” Igor Brecht blurted out from behind. He shut his mouth quickly, but his widened eyes stared at Zayn for a while. He tried gesturing to get the hell away from the old hag, whose expression contorted.
“You really are an Immortal. Only your kind is insane enough to ask a murdering Alchemist to become your mentor.”
“A murderer?”
“He didn’t tell you?” The old hag asked, her attention drifting to Igor Brecht, who retreated further as the old woman’s eyes locked onto him, “Alchemist of Death. That’s what they call me. That is the name Emberfall gave me after half of the village turned into a campfire because of a failed concoction.”
“My last apprentice died experimenting on a new potion recipe. I created the potion recipe and she was too excited to try it out as well. She died.”
That was news to Zayn. He heard that Emberfall had to relocate once due to the increasing influence of the Arylin Forest, but it was the first time he heard about an incident like that. It was not every day that an Alchemist’s apprentice turned an entire village upside down.
‘Not a single lore-fanatic found out about this? But then how…?’
Zayn shook his head and looked straight at the old Alchemist, “I don’t care what people call you. Please teach me!”
“But I care. Not about the name I’ve been given, but about what happened. I don’t want my knowledge to end up killing anyone ever again!”
The old Alchemist didn’t give in. Her decision was clear, and it was easy to tell that she couldn’t change her opinion anytime soon.
“I don’t understand why everyone is so afraid of you. It’s not like you force them to join your experiments. If that were the case, the villagers would have thrown you out of Emberfall or killed you outright. I can see that Igor is afraid of you, but there is also a trace of respect. Maybe, your potions are a little bit weird, I don’t know about that, of course.”
Zayn cleared his throat and smiled at the old Alchemist, “All I know is that I purchased the Serum of the Foolish Owl from a nearby shop and I’m pretty sure that it’s your creation. I heard that the Serum of the Foolish Owl and a fair number of other products have been exported from this quaint village. The quantity of products pales in comparison to the weapons created in Emberfall, but I’ve heard about it. And here I am meeting the only person who can concoct the Serum of the Foolish Owl!”
Now it was for the old Alchemist to observe Zayn in surprise and doubt.
“You’ve heard about my experiments, but you are still asking me to become your mentor even then? Are you suicidal?”
Zayn grinned, flashing his white teeth.
“I’m an Immortal. Even if I die, the breath of life will return to me sooner or later.”
“That’s…true,” The old Alchemist groaned, “But my answer is still no. You might not die, but what if one of your concoctions fails and you harm others in the process? No no. I won’t ever teach someone again!!”
It was unfortunate, but Zayn understood that he couldn’t push the old Alchemist any further. She had already been patient enough with him. Therefore, it was about time to switch gears.
“In that case, let me become your Herbalist, for the time being. You can get to know me while I use Rapid Plant Growth to help you out. I can roam around to collect the ingredients you need for future concoctions as well. I can become your personal errand boy!” Zayn offered, trying to compromise with the old Alchemist.
Interestingly enough, switching gears worked. The old hag wanted to reject his offer but a single glance at the Moonlight Lover and the batch of Azura Lecantris flowers was enough to tell that their quality was higher than usual. Their characteristics and scent indicated that they were still fresh as well.
“What level is Rapid Plant Growth?” She asked after a few seconds, causing Zayn to cheer inwardly.
Zany successfully piqued the Alchemist’s interest!
“12.”
“Well that’s fine…No. Wait! Your Rapid Plant Growth is Level 12?!?” The old Alchemist was on the verge of shouting, but Zayn remained calm on the outside. He kept smiling at the Alchemist.
“Level 12 is more than enough to increase—” The old woman shut her lips tightly and gestured to him to follow her inside.
“Follow me!”
Igor Brecht was just about to say something to hold Zayn back, but the young man didn’t even look back at the former blacksmith. He rushed inside the house, the stone door closing slowly.
“Did I do the right thing?”