"Bwahaha!" Anna guffaws at you after you return from Whitewidow Cave and tell her all that happened. "You actually blew up the cave?!"

Anya

Wood Elf [♀]

Level: 18

HP: 4200/4250

Celia

Wood Elf [♀]

Level: 38

HP: 27200/27250

Anya and Celia stand stupefied beside you, their faces blackened with soot and their hairs frizzy from the flames. You may have saved their lives, but it was you who exposed them to danger.

Repeatedly, you bow apologetically to both of them. "I'm so sorry you two! I didn't consider the consequences of my actions!"

"Mm. It's okay," Celia responds, dazed. "It was my fault for insisting we proceed."

"Mhm, if I could cast spells, I would have also used them to wipe out every spider in sight," Anya belches out a billow of smoke.

Their attempts at comforting you fall on deaf ears, and the lump in your throat persists.

"Putting that aside," Anya furrows her brow and strokes her chin, "the appearance of a Broodmother does come to me as a surprise. Such a monster was not present the last time I visited."

"And when was that?" you inquire, curious.

"Three hundred years or so... around the time I took Leronil and Celia under my wing."

"Three hundred years sounds like a suitable amount of time for something like that to crop up..."

"Well, whatevs. This is an acceptable supply of ingredients to start with. Truth be told, it was Leronil who needed the Paletoxin Glands..."

"O-oh... speak of the devil," you see the man limping toward you with the Mystfox in tow.

He is bruised and muddied, a state indubitably brought on by the mischievous animal. You can't help but pity the elf for being forced into the role of fox guardian.

"What happened this time?" Anna crosses her arms.

"Take a guess..." he glares at the Mystfox who casts his eyes away.

"I can sorta imagine what went down."

"And? Did they finally return with the ingredients I need?"

"Uhh... about that..." the woman's voice trails off. "Let's give up on this whole alchemy thing shall we?"

"Why the heck should I?!"

And the two have a back-and-forth that fizzles out as it goes on. The Mystfox doesn't really care and instead wanders off as it pleases. You don't make an attempt to stop him. There's this mutual understanding between you that he's his own person. Or rather, his own fox.

The only thing overriding this is your technical ownership of him, but even then you wouldn't dare abuse the fact.

"Ah..." Anna turns to you. "Before I forget again, shall I teach you some basic alchemy recipes?"

"Yes!" you enthusiastically answer. "It's about time!"

"Alright, alright, hold your horses."

You giddily await her guidance with a glint of restlessness in your mismatched eyes. Potion-making has always been a skill you wanted to master, ever since you learned about it from Darius' book.

Now the opportunity presents itself, and you can finally take the first steps toward achieving this longtime dream.

"Here you go," and said dreams are shattered as Anna hands you a book and nothing else.

"Eh?"

"This is a basic recipe book. This should get you started no problem."

"Aren't you gonna guide me through the steps?"

"It should all be in that book."

"What about lessons directly from you?"

"Huh? Did I promise that?"

Again, you are painfully reminded to keep your expectations at an all-time low. And you take a deep breath as the clueless alchemist smiles at you.

You begrudgingly take the leatherbound book from Anna and ask, "Do you have recipe books besides this?"

"Uh, yeah," she rests her finger on her chin. "But they're for intermediate alchemists only. They won't do you much use if you don't grasp the rudimentary principles of the art."

"Just give them to me."

The woman is taken aback by your insistence and quickly follows through with your request. When you have the four books at your disposal, you sit on the ground and open the first one.

And you flip through the entire book at a breakneck pace.

In 5 seconds, you finish the basic recipe book. In 20 seconds, you finish all four.

Your「ALCHEMY」skill has increased to Level 20!

264 Recipes Learned!

Anna stares at you blankly. "Hah?"

"Hm... It's only 5 skill levels per book. Maybe because it's more introductory?" you deliberate over the nature of your leveling.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait... you're telling me you just read through all those books and committed them to memory?"

"Mm. I did."

"In under half a minute?!"

"I have this talent you see..."

"You always have a goddamn talent!"

Talent: Auto-Reader

Description: You can quickly flip through any book and absorb all its contents as though you were reading it normally.

"It's... pretty useful..." you set the book down.

"You never fail to amaze me, Nameless Seer," Anna holds her head.

The warm orange afterglow indicates the coming of night. Your second day here, while mainly dedicated to training, was fulfilling in ways beyond your self-growth. You look back on today with a wide grin, as you recall the not-so-distant past under a different light.

And it is this light that bemuses you, as its sheen is iridescent and its colors are everchanging—beyond description. Yet that bemusement brings you great happiness indeed, however mysterious it may be.

There's no doubt in your mind where it shimmers from—you look no further than the friends you've made here in Elderwood Village.

And that thought comforts your greatly.

Emerging from the woods is a small figure you recognize as Fidri.

"Hey you guys, I'm back!" he runs toward you and waves.

"Hm? Who is this kid again?" Anna jokingly says to the boy.

"I was only gone for a day, don't go forgetting about me now!"

"And where have you been?"

He rivets his attention on you. "There's something I wanted to show Nameless Seer."

"Me?" you point to yourself.

"No one else here's called Nameless Seer. It'd be weird if there was more than one."

"That's... not false..."

"You come along too, gang. I want you to see this together," he shifts his gaze to his friends, who have all sustained injuries to some capacity. "W-woah, thank Gaia I wasn't joining in on whatever you guys were doing..."

And Fidri guides you, the Mystfox, Anya, Celia, Leronil, and Anna to a sequestered part of the forests within the vale. Your destination lies by the foot of the southernmost mountain. and when you arrive what awaits you is a small body of water hemmed in by stalks of reeds.

You and the elves stand there for a while until Celia breaks the silence.

"This is it?" she mouths. "A murky pond?"

"There's a beauty that lies in these muddy waters..." Fidri replies with a self-satisfied expression written on his mug.

"Don't get poetic with me you brat! You made us walk 30 minutes for this crap!"

Celia immediately strangles the boy in a headlock and gives him a noogie, annoyed with the strenuous hike he made her endure.

Anna chuckles. "Honestly, I don't know what I expected from the kid."

"You said it," Leronil collapses onto the ground, exhausted. "All that walking and for what?"

But Anya's eyes light up once she recognizes the significance of this place. She has been here before, decades ago.

"Hold on..." she utters, gaping at the scenery. "This is..!"

"What's up Anya?" you saunter up to the little girl and notice a glowing reflection in her eyes.

It is then that this true 'beauty' makes itself known.

The world lights up as hundreds, if not thousands of luminescent bugs fill the air. They hover around you like extensions of the night sky, and everyone stops and gazes at this awe-inspiring display of dancing fireflies.

The Mystfox frolics about, captivated by the floating orbs of lime glow, and the spirit that was missing from him all day is instantly rekindled.

Enraptured by the sight, you hold out your open palm. One of these magnificent creatures lands on your hand, and you are suddenly reminded of the ball of light you encountered at the end of your life in the void.

You can't say you yearn for that existence again. but at the very least, it makes you appreciate how happy you are in the present.

For a second, you tear your eyes away from the magical scene and instead focus on the people surrounding you. And you realize they shine brighter than any torchbug.

It isn't solely because they're your friends, but because they're here to experience this wondrous sight with you. The love from their presence alongside you speaks louder than any designation as 'friend' or 'buddy'.

This wordless enjoyment of each other's company—that is the everchanging quality of this bemusing light.

"What'd I tell you guys?!" Fidri sticks his chest out. "The journey was worth it right? Don't you think a simple 'thank you' is in order?!"

"Fidri," Celia's eyes are glued to the light show in front of her, "shut up for a minute, will you?"

"What the heck! I spent hours looking for this spot again and this is how you treat me?!"

You and the elves laugh as the young boy throws a fit.

"Hey, Fidri..?" you say to him.

"What is it..? Gonna ridicule me some more?"

"Thank you for bringing us here."

Hearing your genuine appreciation flushes the boy's cheeks. "I-it was nothing..."

"Haha! Why're you blushing when you're the one who asked for it?!" Anna makes fun of the kid.

"S-shut your trap! You haven't shown an ounce of gratitude!"

"Alright, alright! Let's all head to our respective baths and meet up at the tavern again! Fidri's treat! Maybe then we'll thank you!"

"Like hell I'd do that!"

Perhaps you were drunk off the mood, or maybe the scare back at Whitewidow Grotto rendered you an emotional wreck. In any case, you laugh the night away alongside these elves and deepen your bond with the people of Elderwood Village.

And at long last, you've finally found a community you can call home.