Chapter 12: The Alchemist’s Trail and the Death Pit
Chapter 12: The Alchemist's Trail and the Death Pit
His steps were swift, silent, almost weightless. Hideo Takumi moved from branch to branch like a phantom gliding through the canopy. His breath was steady. His gaze, sharp—tracking every motion on the forest floor below.
A Wolfness—a low-tier, beast-class monster—sniffed cautiously at the underbrush. It resembled a wolf, only larger, with shimmering black fur that caught the light like oil. Drool dripped from its elongated fangs, green and viscous, sizzling through leaves on contact like acid.
Its bloodlust was palpable—enough to make any ordinary animal flee in terror.
But Hideo? He merely smiled.
"Just a little closer…"
Crack.
He deliberately stepped on a brittle branch.
The Wolfness froze. Its glowing red eyes snapped upward, and with a snarl, it lunged toward the sound.
THUD!
Before it could react, the beast crashed through a camouflaged pit. A gut-wrenching shriek echoed through the trees—followed by the sickening crunch of wooden spikes tearing through flesh.
Hideo waited, then dropped down from the canopy. Picking up a stone, he tossed it into the pit.
No movement.
"Clean kill. Two weeks of work… not wasted."
He called it the Death Pit.
Two and a half meters deep, one meter wide, and lined with poisoned wooden stakes crafted from local flora. He'd concealed the surface with branches, leaves, and a simple optical illusion. It was a fusion of Earth-born ingenuity and the arcane tricks of this world—a lethal combination.
Today marked his fourth kill. Double the usual.
"My body's adapting to the pressure. And… it seems the time has come."
He touched his left arm. A warm pulse spread through his body.
LEVEL UP!
Alchemist Job increased from F › E
New Skills Acquired: Basic Extraction (E), Organic Synthesis (E)
Swordman Job increased from E › D
New Skill Acquired: Triple Arc Slash (E)
Strength E+ › D
Speed E+ › D
Endurance E › E+
Status Screen
Name: Hideo Takumi
Race: Human
Age: 17
Jobs: Swordman (E›D) | Mage (E) | Assassin (D) | Acolyte (F) | Archer (E) | Alchemist (F›E) | Summoner (F)
Current Status:
• Mana: D
• Strength: E+ › D
• Intelligence: S+
• Speed: E+ › D
• Endurance: E › E+
Skills: Learn (~), Memory (~), Giving (~), Hiding (~), Mana Sensory (F), Theoretical Convergence (E), Meridian Sync (F), Basic Extraction (E), Organic Synthesis (E), Triple Arc Slash (E)
"…Finally."
Since committing to the Alchemist path, Hideo had been relentless. He harvested monster parts—teeth, claws, bile—meticulously studying, documenting, comparing. He didn't rely solely on the ancient Takumi family alchemy tomes; he cross-referenced them with synthesis theory from his old world.
Basic Extraction and Organic Synthesis weren't just skill unlocks—they were the result of innovation. For example, he distilled Wolfness saliva into a mild corrosive, capable of melting soft metals. From its bile, he concocted a bitter fluid to combat drowsiness and extreme fatigue.
"With this... I can begin developing my own combat style."
To Hideo, an Alchemist wasn't just a potion-brewer—they were strategic artists. Fighters from the shadows.
"I'll create traps. Poisons. Healing salves. Even… explosives."
He chuckled quietly. The Death Pit was only the beginning.
He brought back only two Wolfness corpses. The rest he left behind, instructing the guards to retrieve them. At first, they thought his success was dumb luck. But when they saw his trap firsthand…
"…This thing could kill a grown man instantly," one muttered.
Their eyes on Hideo shifted—tinged with awe, and just a hint of fear.
That day, their respect for the third young master rose a notch.
Back in the kitchen, Hideo handed the meat to the cook.
"Prepare it as usual. Soak overnight in saltwater, then simmer gently."
The cook nodded, still stunned by how precisely Hideo knew the safest preparation method.
Properly treated, Wolfness meat contained trace elements that enhanced physical performance. When paired with alchemical tonics, it could significantly boost the human body.
Returning to his room, Hideo collapsed onto his bed. Exhausted in body—yet peaceful in mind. He drifted into sleep.
Until soft footsteps roused him.
At his door, sitting cross-legged, was a small girl—his personal maid. The incense-bearing loli.
He no longer feared her. In fact… he'd begun to look forward to her nightly stories.
Tonight, she continued the tale from the East—of the Monkey Sage trapped within the Eight Trigram Furnace.
His eyes widened as the monkey screamed within the flames.
But just before the story reached its climax—
TAP TAP!
Urgent footsteps echoed from outside.
"Young Master! Young Master Dai has arrived!"
Hideo frowned. "…Dai?"
Moments later, a panicked scream rang out from the courtyard.
"BROTHER HIDEOOO! HELP!! THIS IS BAD!!"
What appeared… wasn't human.
It was… a meatball?
Hideo's eyes widened.
"…Meatballs can talk now?"
But as the 'ball' stumbled closer, he realized—it was human.
Or rather… what was left of one.
Bulky. Round. Rippling. Moving like a miniature tsunami.
"Dai… Izuma…?"
The rotund gorilla of a man collapsed at his feet like a sack of flour.
"Bro… I'm doomed! I've been gambling at the Thousand Gold Hall for ten days straight… I owe 300,000 lien!!"
"WHAT!?"
Hideo nearly spat out his breath.
Three hundred thousand lien—enough to buy a merchant ship or start a high-end shop in the capital!
"Where did you even get that kind of money!?"
Dai was on the verge of tears.
"I won big at first, Bro! Fifty thousand in one night! But it got too exciting—then I kept losing! I pawned my family heirloom… now it's all gone!"
Hideo buried his face in his hands, defeated.
"…Why is everyone in this world such an idiot…"