BXBX NOVEL Chapter 73 – The Alchemist (2)
Chapter 73 – The Alchemist (2)
The bubbling sound came from the cauldron in front of the fireplace.
A green liquid was boiling, releasing bubbles and filling the room with a peculiar scent.
Various catalysts, which seemed to be alchemy ingredients, hung on the wall.
“Hmm.”
In the center of the room sat a beautiful woman with brown hair.
Arkamis spoke with a shy expression.
“…Sorry.”
“No, it’s alright. It happens.”
Ketal, sitting across from her, said with a familiar face.
“It’s common for people to be scared when they see me. Although, your reaction was quite extreme.”
When Arkamis first recognized Ketal, she screamed and ran away.
She hurriedly took out a few catalysts and mysterious colored beads to confront Ketal.
If Milena hadn’t quickly intervened, she might have actually used them.
People who saw him for the first time were usually frightened and terrified.
But that was just a normal fear of his appearance and being a stranger.
Arkamis’s fear was more profound.
It was a fear of his very existence, a prey’s reaction when exposed to a predator.
“Have you calmed down a bit now?”
“Ah, yes.”
Arkamis nodded.
“So, what brings you here?”
“This gentleman wanted to meet you. He has a request.”
“Me?”
Arkamis’s face showed fear at these words.
It was an instinctive fear.
“What do you want from me?”
“I am interested in alchemy.”
At Ketal’s words, Arkamis’s face twisted as if she had heard a lion talk about eating plants.
“…Interested in alchemy?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then there should be no issue. I heard about your achievements and became quite interested. They say you made the prince superhuman. Is that true?”
“It is true.”
Ketal was impressed.
“That’s amazing. Is such a thing really possible?”
A pure compliment and admiration.
Feeling a bit better, Arkamis’s scared expression softened a bit.
Ketal turned his gaze to the boiling cauldron.
“What are you making in that cauldron?”
“A catalyst.”
“A catalyst?”
“A catalyst that reacts and responds to applied force. It’s a fundamental alchemy catalyst.”
“Oh, I see. What are the ingredients?”
“Papuchia fruit, Cartridge root, the life water from Mamusi swamp, and fairy wing powder….”
Arkamis listed dozens of ingredients.
Ketal was amazed.
“There are so many. Can all these ingredients make such a catalyst?”
“Papuchia fruit stabilizes the form. Albroom makes it respond to external impacts.”
Arkamis began explaining.
Ketal listened intently.
“I see. Does the mixture also have a significant impact?”
“Of course. If mixed incorrectly, it becomes a sphere that repels all forces applied to it. So….”
Energized by Ketal’s reaction, Arkamis continued to explain more passionately.
Watching this, Milena was surprised.
She was a merchant.
She was accustomed to flattering and entertaining business partners to secure deals and outdo competitors.
Because of this experience, she could tell.
What Ketal was doing was perfect and impeccable hospitality, something even she couldn’t easily achieve.
He was picking out exactly the parts Arkamis wanted to explain and responding in the way she wanted.
This was hospitality, she was sure of it.
Otherwise, no one would listen to such a highly specialized and hard-to-understand explanation without getting bored.
Of course, contrary to Milena’s assumption, Ketal was genuinely interested and enjoyed listening.
‘These things aren’t something you can know without learning from someone.’
What on earth has he been doing?
Milena thought to herself.
Arkamis, thrilled, continued explaining.
For thirty minutes, she didn’t stop talking, and Milena’s face started showing signs of boredom.
But Ketal was still listening with an interested expression.
“And that’s how the catalyst is completed.”
“I see. Interesting.”
Ketal, stroking his chin, spoke.
“I have one question. Can those who haven’t grasped the mysteries learn alchemy?”
“No, that’s not true.”
Arkamis shook her head.
“Swordsmanship and magic deal with internal mysteries. But alchemy deals with external mysteries. There are quite a few things in this world imbued with mysteries.”
While the results might be similar, the process was entirely different.
“In fact, there’s not much difference from magic. There are even schools of alchemical magic. But alchemy itself can be used without understanding the mysteries.”
Saying this, Arkamis took a gray orb and some catalysts from the wall.
She mixed them together and threw them towards the fireplace.
Crackling sounds erupted!
The flames in the fireplace turned to ice.
Ketal’s eyes lit up.
“Wow!”
The astonishing part wasn’t just that the fire had turned to ice.
The ice flickered like flames, scattering coldness all around.
“It’s a reaction of properties. In magical terms, it’s a level 3 spell. I didn’t use any mana just now.”
With just the mixture of pure catalysts, she had created something mystical.
Using external mysteries to achieve the desired results—this was alchemy.
Ketal murmured with a face full of awe.
“Can I do that too?”
“As long as you have the catalysts.”
Arkamis replied lightly.
Milena also watched in amazement.
Whatever her personality might be, her skill was undeniable.
Milena, who was looking at the burning ice with a curious expression, suddenly froze.
“…Arkamis. The catalyst you just used, isn’t that the one I recently spent a fortune to get for you?”
“Ah.”
Arkamis stiffened.
Milena’s face twisted.
“…Did you use it up on such a simple trick?”
Arkamis averted her gaze.
“Ahem. So, what do you want?”
With the conversation, her wariness seemed to have eased a bit, and Arkamis’s expression relaxed.
Ketal spoke with a serious face.
“I have a request.”
“Wh-what is it?”
Ketal’s eyes sparkled.
“Can you teach me alchemy?”
Milena and Arkamis’s eyes widened.
Ketal quickly continued.
“Your skills are amazing. Truly miraculous. Creating such results with simple ingredients is really impressive.”
“R-really?”
Pleased with the compliment, Arkamis’s lips curved slightly upwards.
She felt incredibly good.
This frightening entity was praising and admiring her.
She felt more uplifted than usual.
“I’m very interested in alchemy. Can I learn it from you?”
“Uh, um….”
After a moment of silence, Arkamis spoke.
“Sure?”
* * *
Ketal walked through the forest with a satisfied look on his face.
Behind him, Milena asked with a confused expression.
“Ketal, were you really planning to learn alchemy? I thought you wanted artifacts….”
“No, it’s both.”
One of the items on his bucket list in this fantasy world was to grasp the mysteries.
Aura and magic.
Handling such mysterious powers directly was incredibly appealing.
‘There are practical reasons, too.’
In this world, there were situations where you couldn’t cope without understanding the mysteries.
Demons, for instance.
Until Aquaz lent him power, he couldn’t inflict meaningful damage on the demon.
Adamanth’s clone spell also went unnoticed, dragging out time.
Ketal was increasingly feeling the need to understand the mysteries.
Arkamis was an alchemist who made the prince superhuman without understanding the mysteries.
If anyone could help Ketal grasp the mysteries, it was her.
Initially, he sought her out for that reason.
But the more he listened to her, the more interested he became in alchemy itself.
It was a technique unique to this fantasy world, unlike anything in the modern world.
Naturally, he wanted to try using such fantasy techniques himself.
So, why not learn alchemy and understand the mysteries as well?
The only concern was Arkamis’s refusal.
It’s common not to share skills with outsiders.
It wouldn’t be strange if she refused.
So, he was worried about how to get her to teach him alchemy, but fortunately, Arkamis readily accepted his request.
Ketal’s expression was very satisfied.
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be learning alchemy. Very good.”
“As long as you’re satisfied, Ketal….”
“But I didn’t expect her to be an elf.”
Ketal was surprised when he first heard Milena’s story.
After all, this was the Kingdom of Denian.
“I thought other races would be excluded as much as possible.”
“There are people like that, but the country doesn’t discriminate. Too much time has passed for that now.”
Quite a few non-human races resided in the Kingdom of Denian.
Except for a handful of pure-blood fanatics, most people didn’t mind.
“I see.”
Whatever the case, it was good news for him.
Starting tomorrow, he could begin learning alchemy.
As Ketal reveled in the thought, he suddenly remembered something: the elves.
They were afraid of him, terrified even.
The Elf Queen had once said that his presence felt like a predator to them.
That’s why he couldn’t stay long in the first elf village he encountered.
The elves were too frightened of him.
Arkamis had also been very scared when she first saw him.
‘Will this be okay?’
Thinking for a moment, Ketal quickly changed his thoughts.
‘It should be fine.’
If she really disliked the idea, she would have refused.
The fact that she accepted meant that she wasn’t too afraid of him.
‘It seems that even elves stop being scared once they get used to it.’
Ketal smiled contentedly.
Meanwhile, at the same time…
“Aaaaah!”
Left alone, Arkamis sat down, clutching her head in frustration.
* * *
“What have you done, Arkamis!”
Arkamis yelled at herself.
To agree to teach alchemy to a barbarian!
That meant she would have to spend time with such a terrifying being.
If it were her usual self, she would have immediately refused.
But Ketal had skillfully praised her.
Feeling elated, she impulsively decided it would be fine.
Now, she was paying the price for that decision.
“What should I do?”
She bit her lip.
Should she now tell him it was a lie and refuse?
No, she couldn’t.
If she did, he would turn against her.
He would be angry and take up his axe, furious that she had deceived him.
As if imagining her head being split, she shuddered.
‘No, that won’t do.’
She had to accept the barbarian for now.
But having to stay with him while teaching him alchemy?
That was even worse.
It wasn’t the fact that he was a barbarian that bothered her.
A regular barbarian couldn’t harm her.
But Ketal was different.
‘He’s not just a barbarian!’
The aura emanating from Ketal was beyond mere strength.
It wasn’t just about being strong; his very essence was different.
Milena, a human, hadn’t noticed, but Arkamis, as an elf, could tell.
She was a being of nature, an elf.
Ketal only appeared to be a barbarian.
His true nature was something else entirely.
“Why would such a formidable being want to learn alchemy…?”
After much contemplation, she came to a conclusion.
‘Right.’
The barbarian was interested in alchemy.
But that didn’t mean he knew much about it.
He was probably just dazzled by its flashy appearance.
Ultimately, it would just be a lighthearted amusement for him.
A being of his caliber wouldn’t seriously learn alchemy.
When the boring and tedious parts came up, he’d quickly lose interest and leave.
Then she would be free again.
“Yes, that’s it.”
It had to be.
She clung to that hope.