A cool breeze passed through Greenville, a small town a day’s travel away from the nearest city. The sounds of occupied villagers could be heard across town, despite the early hour. In this town, the sun rose upon an already active community. The hunters and fishers setting off for the day, the smell of bread wafting through the streets from the local bakery, various stores preparing to open and most notably, the sound of physical activity could be heard from a local field where an instructor was supervising the youth’s exercise routine.

The town of Greenville was, like every other town and city in the country of Astra, tasked with providing the country with a certain quota of youths for the army. Furthermore, with the hostile magical beasts roaming every forest, lake, and mountain, cultivating strength was a must for everyone. You would hardly find any adult without a stage one martial cultivation in any town or city of Astra, with a sizeable portion of them having reached stage two.

Felix Green was currently jogging around the field with the other youths of his cohort. He wore loose pants and a shirt that reached the middle of his thighs. He was a slender, slightly tall young man. While not outstandingly handsome, his face was pleasant to look at. A pendant with a sword resting on top of a leaf stood out from the rest of his bland outfit, a pendant he always wore, the only remnant from his unknown past.

A familiar painful yet invigorating feeling was coursing through his body. Physical training had never been his forte, after all, he dreamed of being an alchemist like his adopted father. If he had it his way, he would skip martial cultivation entirely but as his father had repeatedly told him, a strong body and a strong mind were required for excellence in any field, even one that seemed as intellectual as Alchemy. It wouldn’t do for an alchemist to die to a random stage one beast while out picking herbs. His father also told him tales of alchemists in the higher stages of cultivation being required to spend weeks without blinking an eye working on a singular miraculous concoction, but Felix always thought those tales to be exaggerated. After all, the strongest person in town was the captain of the hunters, the mayor’s son Jack and he himself was only in the late part of the third stage of cultivation. Jack always boasted of being able to stay up two days while only being fatigued as if he had stayed up one, a far cry from spending weeks awake while concentrating on a difficult task. What level of martial cultivation would be required for such a feat?

As far as Felix was concerned, physical strength was superfluous when compared to intelligence or reputation. His adopted father was only in the early second stage of cultivation, never having had any talent for martial cultivation, but his ability with alchemy had allowed him to have a stellar reputation with everyone in town, garnering as much respect as the mayor himself.

Felix stopped running and started recuperating his breath. He looked around and saw his friend Reese trying and failing to hit on one of the older girls. Chucking silently, he sat down in a half-lotus position. As the physical training portion consisting of warming up, practicing martial arts, and cooling down was over, they were about to start their daily hour of meditation before going away to their various occupations. Felix concentrated on his breath, slowly garnering more concentration until nothing but the breath remained in his mind. Reaching this level of concentration was considered as having completed the first stage of mental cultivation, also known as initial absorption and Felix was the only one among his friends to have reached this level, never mind exceeding it. Felix had always loved the mental aspect of cultivation and had been able to reach this stage since he had turned 15, more than a year ago now.

The second stage of mental cultivation consisted of transforming that singular breath into a calm flame, a flame that would absorb all thoughts and emotions and allow for enhanced concentration during active tasks. The flame once cultivated would be able to be brought up at a moment’s notice and maintained during activities. This was essential for mastery in any type of profession, whether it be martial arts or forging, but was especially important for alchemy. One could not be considered a true alchemist until the second stage of mental training was mastered. Alchemy was also the field with the most stringent requirement for apprentices, requiring them to have mastered the first stage of mental training. Felix had heard rumors of a third stage of mental cultivation but none of the instructors had even mastered the second stage and his father, who Felix suspected might be the only one to have reached this level among the town’s residents, had told him that he needed to worry about walking before running.

While still concentrating on the breath, Felix slowly transformed it into a calm yet powerful flame. He could feel the usual thoughts well-up : his sadness at not knowing his origins; the slight guilt for feeling this way despite his adopted father’s love; his slight crush on Sarah; the fear of never reaching stage two and never becoming an alchemist; the fear of being among those drafted for military despite his desire to be an alchemist and not a warrior, and much more.

As these thoughts drifted up into his mind, he acknowledged them but did not engage them, letting them pass by and gently guiding them into the flame. This process continued until a dead stillness overcame him and there was nothing remaining but the flame. Unlike the first stage of mental cultivation where the concentration on the breath needed to be actively maintained, the flame was stable and could be maintained while concentrating on other activities. This was the second stage of mental cultivation, known as the stable flame or more simply as the flame and Felix had only recently been able to reach it. This was only considered initial completion though; a truly adept stage two practitioner would be able to conjure up the flame in an instant. After all, if a patient was dying in front of an alchemist, or a warrior was engaging an enemy, there would be no time to slowly access this state, one would need to immediately access it or do without.

Now that the flame was stable, Felix opened his eyes and looked at the world. Everything felt different, silent, yet at the same time enhanced. The wind across his skin, the slight tangy smell of his sweat, the slight itch in his legs from sitting so long, the sun’s increasing warmth, everything could be clearly felt, much clearer than before, however nothing distracted him as the flame occupied his mind. The discomfort of his legs was an unpleasant feeling for sure, yet he did not feel displeased because of it, almost as if the discomfort was happening to someone else and he was merely observing it. This state was quite paradoxical, allowing for increased sensation and increased detachment.

In this state of mind, many more things could be perceived without being distracted by them, allowing for increased proficiency. With a practiced discipline, Felix let go of the state, falling back to his normal walking state and then set about accessing the flame once more. Whether for physical or mental cultivation, the only path to mastery was repeated practice. “Master the basics and the rest will follow on its own” was something his father was fond of saying and Felix believed him.

A while later, training ended, and Felix’s cohort was dismissed by their trainer.

“That was so boring I almost fell asleep,” said Reese as he approached Felix.

“I wonder, is there anything other than food or girls that is not boring to you?” Felix answered with a slight smile. It was fitting really, Felix thought to himself, that Reese was the baker’s apprentice.

“And what’s wrong with that? A man should know how to enjoy the good things in life while he can. I think it is people like you who are obsessed with books and plants and mental training that are weird.” He paused and grasped Felix’s shoulder with his right hand, adopting a mock serious expression. “You need to loosen up a bit or you will die alone and sad… besides I am sure Sarah would love to spend some time with you,” he said with a wink.

At the mention of Sarah, Felix’s eyes inadvertently wandered until he could see her auburn hair and pretty face. She was currently speaking with the instructor. As if sensing his gaze, she slightly moved her gaze to meet his and gave him a small smile.

Felix blushed and averted his gaze, trying but failing to pretend like he had not been looking at her.

“I have to go home and assist my father, today is an amazing opportunity, my father will be treating a guest from Reisberg.”

“Reisberg? Why would they come all the way to this dead-end town when there are probably dozens of alchemists with shops over there?” asked Reese.

“I don’t know why or how or who, but I do know that I will not be missing it! Finally, something more exciting than a kid with a runny nose or Miss. Fiddler’s sore back!”, answered Felix while walking away towards his house, waving his hand goodbye.

The walk home was not very long, after all Greenville was not large at all, having only a couple thousand inhabitants. The main part of town was only a kilometer across and those who lived on the outskirts of town were at most an hour away. Felix’s home was barely five minutes out of town, which was already too far according to some of his father’s customers, but his father insisted he needed a certain level of calmness to practice his profession.

‘Why is it that this guest is coming here instead of seeking an alchemist in the city?’ Felix wondered while entering his house. The house was relatively small and made out of wooden logs. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and on the side, there was a treatment room which had its own separate entrance and was almost as large as the rest of the house combined. A strong medicinal smell pervaded the entire house, but Felix had long grown accustomed to it.

Unlike most of the houses throughout town, this one had a rather large shack, almost too large to call a shack, that was around two meters away from the treatment room. This was where his father would make various potions, ointments, and pills and where Felix spent a large portion of his time. Every youth in town was apprenticed to some sort of occupation, and Felix was his father’s apprentice.

“I’m back”, Felix announced his presence, while entering the home.

There was no reply which did not surprise him. ‘Father must be gathering herbs in preparation for today’. Felix quickly washed up and started preparing the treatment room for the guest. He had started his apprenticeship officially when he had turned 14 years old, however he had been assisting his father since he could remember. Furthermore, his father had taken him to gather plants and taught him various things, all of which contributed to giving Felix a level of proficiency in alchemy and its medicinal application far above what an average apprentice would have.

Suddenly, a horse-drawn carriage could be heard in the distance, the out of place noise disturbing the usually quiet morning. Felix rushed outside and could see the carriage headed his way. ‘Must be the client’, thought Felix, after all no one in the town had a carriage quite like this one. Even from a distance he could see that it was large and the horses pulling it seemed strong and well groomed.

‘Something’s off, why is it going so fast?’, wondered Felix as he moved aside from the path in case the carriage did not stop.

The carriage was indeed going faster than one might expect however it did slow down and stop in front of Felix’s home.

“Is this Master Green’s home?” yelled the carriage driver from his seat.

“Yes sir,” answered Felix.

As soon as Felix replied, the carriage door burst open, a man dressed in fine clothes exiting and along with him a rancid smell.

“QUICK! The young miss is hurting, someone help!”, he cried.

Felix looked past him inside the carriage, and he could see a young lady lying down in a stretcher with one of her legs exposed. It was almost completely dark from a nasty wound near the middle of the shin, with pus and blood secreting from it. She was abnormally pale, sweat could be seen all over her body and she was murmuring incomprehensibly, seemingly delirious from fever.

Felix had a moment of panic, after all his father had still not returned. Thankfully, his training kicked in quickly and he hurriedly instructed the driver and the man who had burst out of the carriage to carry her into the treatment room. As they were doing that, Felix took half a second to concentrate on his breath. To his surprise, he immediately accessed the first stage of mental concentration. He decided to attempt to access the second stage and to his renewed surprise, the flame immediately popped up and intense calmness and concentration overcame him. Bolstered by the adrenaline running through his veins and the gravity of the situation, the flame was stronger and more stable than he had ever experienced. Immediately all his nervousness and fear disappeared into the flame and nothing but purpose remained.

“Move aside so I can examine the patient and clean her wound”, commanded Felix as he entered the treatment room. The two men had laid the young lady down on the examination table and were looking over her worriedly.

“What do you mean examine her!” shouted the man whom Felix assumed was the young lady’s attendant, “Where is Master Green?”

“Master Green is out collecting herbs; we were not expecting the patient for a while, and we were not expecting a critical patient. I am his apprentice; I have been treating patients alongside him for two years and have studied under him many more. I will be taking care of the patient until Master Green arrives” replied Felix, doing his best to replicate the reassuring but commanding tone his father used when dealing with patients.

“You shall do no such thing! I will not let the young lady be examined by some mere apprentice!”, retorted the attendant with a mix of disdain and anger.

“The wound is festering, and judging from her delirious ramblings, her fever has reached a critical point. Considering the rancid smell with a hint of sulfur and our proximity to the Putrid Forest, my guess is she was bitten by a Putrid Spider recently. I suspect the wound took a turn for the worse suddenly over night and that is why you are in such a rushed state, am I wrong?” replied Felix in a calm voice. He felt no small amount of annoyance at the stupidity of this attendant, but as with all emotions, that rage was consumed by the flame and all that remained was cold purpose, in this case a desire to treat the patient. Seeing as he could not overpower both men or even one of them, the only way he was going to treat the patient was by convincing this attendant and so he would do just that.

“He’s right!” exclaimed the carriage driver, his eyes widening.

The attendant’s eyes had also slightly widened at the mention of the Putrid Spider, yet he quickly restrained his expression. Felix could see him pondering for a second.

“Proceed”, was the short one-word answer that finally came out of the attendant’s mouth.

Not hesitating for even a second, Felix made his way towards the patient as both men took a step back to let him work.

Luckily, Putrid Spider poisoning was a common occurrence due to the town’s proximity to the Putrid Forest, and multiple bottles of antidote were in stock. Felix took a small red pill with a yellow tint out of a bottle and fed it to the young lady. Instantly, some of the color came back to the girl’s skin and the darkness of her leg started receding a little bit.

‘The easy part is done, now let’s see the state of this leg’, thought Felix as he took a water basin and started washing the area surrounding the wound. After washing away the puss and blood, two small bite marks could be seen, confirming his hypothesis once more. He examined the overall state of the leg and could see the spread of the infection visibly shrinking, indicating he had acted in time and no further special treatment should be required. He finished cleaning the wound, dressed it, and satisfied with his work, he turned his attention to his patient’s face. He had not had time to look at her clearly before, but he now realized how beautiful her features were. Her eyes were closed, and he could not see their color, but her small nose and long blond eye lashes stood out to him. Her expression was peaceful, and she reminded Felix of the princesses from the tales his father used to tell him before bed when he was younger.

A small cough brought Felix out of his revery. He realized that once the crisis had ended, the void had gone and so had his calm efficiency and sense of purpose, allowing him to get lost in reverie. Slightly embarrassed, he turned towards the attendant.

“The situation seemed scarier than it actually was, the antidote has reversed the situation and the leg did not suffer any permanent damage.”

Relief was visible on both men’s faces but was soon replaced with a look of concern.

“Should she be this pale?” asked the attendant.

The smile faded from Felix’s face and his heart dropped as he turned towards the patient. He realized that the beautiful, restful expression of his patient had something wrong with it, he put his hand to her forehead and realized she was extremely cold, and her breath was faint to the point of almost being nonexistent.

His mind raced a mile a minute trying to understand what had happened. He tried accessing the flame or at least absorption but the sense of panic made it impossible for him to do so. He was completely caught off guard.

“DO SOMETHING!” screamed the attendant, as he saw Felix scampering around without taking any decision.

“I don’t know! I don’t know!”, said Felix, trying his best to come up with a course of action. The antidote to Putrid Spider venom was made of common indigenous ingredients and there were no known allergic or adverse reactions, it was harmless to ingest even for someone who had not been poisoned. The wound seemed scary at first but had shown signs of improvement and had not gotten any worse. Furthermore, complications to the wound would cause fever or increased spread of the infection around the wound, it should not cause hypothermia.

His mind was racing through the ingredients of the antidote as well as the symptoms the patient presented with. His thoughts were frantic and inefficient as the second or even first stage of mental concentration still eluded him, but he at least had his knowledge and training to fall back on. ‘Sap from Putrid Trees which contains the active ingredient for fighting off Putrid Spider poison, red lotus powder which increases the power of the sap as well as helps with the spread of the medicinal effects of the antidote, and water. This is an extremely simple pill; in reality the only active ingredient is the sap from Putrid Trees. What could cause this sort of reaction, think, think, her breathing is slowing down even more, and she is getting colder, think!’

As everyone was panicking and the situation seemed dire, a calm, deep voice was heard from the entrance to the treatment room.

“Move aside”, a man wearing dark green alchemist robes with three stars embroidered on the collar said as he entered the room.

“Father!”