He’d successfully invaded the insane Alchemist’s lair.
It was not as difficult as he’d feared.
‘I heard that some Players had to nag the Alchemist in their village for days, bombarding them with expensive gifts before they were invited inside. It took them weeks before they were officially acknowledged as Apprentices as well.’
Zayn recalled a few stories about Alchemists, one of them coming from an old friend. His friend was known for exaggerating, but he was a great alchemist and an even better teacher. Zayn learned a lot from him in the past. That was also why Zayn was confident that it wouldn’t take long before the old Alchemist would acknowledge his ‘talent’.
He was not talented, but he had always been studious. And he liked being alive, which was why he learned much more about poison-making and antidotes than most others. That saved his life on more than one occasion.
Zayn was proud of his potion-making knowledge. He had a fair share of knowledge about poisons and antidotes as well, but he couldn’t make use of that knowledge just yet. It was important to take one step at a time.
Neither the old Alchemist nor Zayn said anything as they paved their way through the inside of the stone house. The interior was simple with no personal belongings. There were only four rooms with each of them being properly separated. They were sealed with Enchantments engraved on the inside of the walls and doors. Even the ceiling was decorated with intricate Enchantments.
‘Did she upgrade her house after the incident with her apprentice?’ Zayn wondered, recalling some of the Enchantments. They were rather simple, fortifying the building’s foundation and durability. At this point, Zayn realized that the Alchemist was truly a softy. She looked like she didn’t care, but none of her words were a lie. She truly cared about what happened in the past, and she didn’t want to endanger anyone ever again.
‘That could make things a bit harder than expected.’
It would have been easier if the old hag was an insane Alchemist as he’d suspected, at first. Throwing expensive gifts, rare ingredients, and knowledge at a maniac would have been enough to receive some teachings and permission to use her cauldron. As long as the Alchemist sought wealth it would have been possible to purchase a bunch of potion recipes as well. He’d been hoping that the old hag needed money, or that she was just greedy. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case either.
“There is no need for you to look around. You will work downstairs,” The old woman said, pointing to the staircase that led to the basement.
Zayn raised one eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t be the first time for him to turn into a basement child or a corporate slave. Fortunately, Forgotten Lands was bound to give him benefits for his sacrifice, since he could level his Cards while getting closer to the old hag.
As they moved down the flight of stairs, a large hallway connected to several rooms appeared in his view. The Alchemist moved past the doors until she reached the last one. Zayn took a glimpse through the narrow gaps in the door frame to see what was hidden in the rooms, but his finds were not that surprising. One room was the old Alchemist’s workshop.
There was a huge metal cauldron and a pipe connected to the chimney. He got a glimpse of a bunch of tools used to measure ingredients, extract essences from plants, and whatnot.
Zayn was interested in the workshop, but his priority was a large room filled with books. More than ten shelves filled to the brim with thick books and tomes.
“Are you done staring?” The Alchemist asked, pulling Zayn’s attention over to the room where he would work wonders – the place he would slave away with Rapid Plant Growth.
But what Zayn didn’t expect to unveil itself in the next room was a vast underground farm, a pristine sanctuary for flourishing fauna. Sunaria Crystals bathed the expansive room in a gentle glow, mimicking the sun’s nurturing radiance.
Neatly arranged rows of verdant crops stretched as far as Zayn’s eyes could see, their leaves reaching toward the warm radiance overhead.
The thick air was filled with the earthy perfume of nutritious soil, mingling with the strong scent of herbs and blossomed flowers. Zayn noticed that the walls were covered with towering shelves hosting a vast array of plant life – from cascading Erunia Vines to robust stalks or Plytun Carst and other leafy greens.
The fertile ground was a magnificent patchwork of rich soils and nutrient-rich mediums, meticulously curated to cater to the diverse needs of each cultivated species. It was evident that the old Alchemist spent years collecting a vast variety of herbs and creating an expansive room that was filled with energy and the essence of life.
“Surprised? Well, I would be too. Nobody expects to see such a verdant underground farm in a small village that focuses on blacksmithing. I’m the only Alchemist, yet nobody questions me when I call the merchants to deliver large quantities of potions to the outside world. Maybe, everyone thinks that I’m a monstrosity, or they simply don’t care as long as they get what they want,” The old woman proceeded to walk around the rows of crops, her hand lightly caressing the leaves around her.
“Your job is pretty simple,” She added, “I will pay you a small profit share for every plant that reaches maturity earlier than scheduled. If their quality increases alongside I will give you a bonus. We can talk about the details later if you want to, but I would like to see your craft in person before that.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Zayn’s attention was still on the massive expanse of flowers, herbs, and exotic plants that unfurled in front of his eyes. It was a treasure trove, each herb more expensive than the other. Zayn recalled some of the plants from the past and he knew that they were worth tens of Silver coins, if not hundreds.
“Try to steal them, and you’ll learn why the villagers fear me,” The Alchemist warned, but Zayn could only chuckle.
“I didn’t plan to steal anything. If anything, I’m surprised about the rarity of plants you’ve collected over the years. I will benefit a lot just by staying here. That’s pretty nice.”
“But leave the money be. I don’t want any money from you,” Zayn said, taking the Alchemist by surprise.
“I won’t accept you as my apprentice. Keep that in mind!” The Alchemist responded sharply.
“I know, I know. But can you give me a chance to use your library and answer some of my questions if I don’t understand anything instead of giving me money? Even if you don’t want to teach me, I still want to learn more about alchemy. Please!”
The old woman halted. She turned to eye Zayn, who smiled innocently at her, “You really don’t need any money? Everyone needs money.”
Zayn chuckled, “Of course, I need money. A lot, at that. But I came here to learn from you. I want to learn more about potions such as the Serum of the Foolish Owl, Perfect Hangover, Energy Porum, and such. I sincerely hope that you can help me with that, because I do not want to make any mistakes when I start practicing concocting.”
“You want to concoct your own potions. I understand that. But if you have no teacher, you will fail. You might kill yourself,” The Alchemist said, shaking her head.
“That’s why I approached you. Nobody can stop me from concocting my own potions, however, I do not plan to die needlessly. I want to learn how to concoct potions properly, without endangering the people around me. I need you!” Zayn declared, his eyes glowing vibrantly.
The determination and ambition in Zayn’s eyes reached the old Alchemist. She returned his stare but didn’t say a word for a good minute. At last, she sighed deeply.
“Alright. As long as you fulfill your daily quota, you’re free to use the library as much as you’d like. As for questions…you’re only allowed to ask a question after improving a herb’s quality. Otherwise, you might bombard me with questions like there is no tomorrow… Don’t ask me idiotic questions!”
Zayn smiled from one ear to the other. The old Alchemist was truly a softy. What a pleasant surprise.
“I know it’s a little bit late, but I didn’t introduce myself earlier,”
He realized just now that he never introduced himself. Zayn was also oblivious to what the old Alchemist was called. He considered calling her Master, or just ‘hey’, ‘you’, but that didn’t seem adequate. It felt weird, especially with the words ‘old hag’, and ‘old woman’ filling his head.
“My name is Zayn. Just Zayn.”
“Zayn, the Immortal. I don’t know if it was a nice twist in fate that I met you…but I hope it was not a cruel encounter of fate,” The Alchemist said, “I’m Old Farthma. You may call me anything but ‘Master’. I will throw you out of the house the moment you call me Master, or the like.”
“Old Farthma. Alright. I’m glad that I found you,” Zayn said straight-out, clearing his throat before pointing at the vast expanse of flourishing fauna, “Can I start already, or do you want me to do something else for the day?”
Old Farthma was unsure whether to smile seeing Zayn's overzealousness, “Just do whatever. Tell me if you need something.”
The Alchemist turned around, ready to leave the Farming Hall when Zayn raised his hand, “Actually…I already have something in mind.”
“You need something?” Old Farthma raised her eyebrow. Wasn’t it too early to make demands? He hadn’t even started to work.
“I want to purchase a bulk of Energy Potions,” Zayn said, retrieving a pouch with 100 Silver – coins he had just transferred using the instant currency exchange function, “A bulk worth 100 Silver Coins.”
Energy Potions were rather expensive. 100 Silver coins were barely enough to purchase ten Inferior Energy Potions. However, Zayn hoped that Old Farthma would give him a discount since he was going to use the Energy Potions to nourish her flowers, herbs, and other plants.
An Inferior Energy Potion could be used once every half an hour. Consuming too many Energy Potions in succession would result in a severe case of energy poisoning. The same would occur if one consumed too many potions over the day. That was exactly what Old Farthma was about to explain to Zayn but he opened his mouth a second earlier.
“I know about the consequences of energy poisoning. I will take small sips to merge the foreign energy with my energy pool and circulate it through my body a few times to annex the energy up to the last trace before using it. There is no need to worry about me. Rapid Plant Growth doesn’t consume too much energy at Level 12, either way. I won’t mistreat my body.”
Zayn was 100 Credits poorer, but he gained a lot more in return. He was given access to the library of an Alchemist, could ask Old Farthma questions, and he was pretty sure that he could use the next few days to convince Old Farthma to show him a few potion-making tips and tricks.
After consuming potions for a decade, Zayn learned a lot about them. In fact, he learned a lot about almost all lifestyle occupations. That was necessary to survive as long as he did. He had been poisoned a lot in the past, therefore, studying all types of poison was necessary.
Asking questions that were way beyond his grasp – or what he ought to know as a ‘newborn’ Immortal – was a tactic other Players often used.
Most alchemists were on the older side and extensively proud of their work. Most of them didn’t like taking in disciples. However, they loved the possibility of having an endless supply of resources to experiment with – through Rapid Plant Growth.
Nonetheless, they wouldn’t accept anyone as their apprentice. Servants, maybe. But not everyone had the means to become an Alchemist. A Master Alchemist would only consider accepting the most talented Immortals as their apprentices, and disciples.
They loved talent. That was only obvious since only a few were truly capable enough to become a proper Alchemist. Maybe, Old Farthma was a little bit different, but after talking to her a little bit he felt that it might be easier to convince her than an old, prideful foggy.