The room was silent except for the occasional rustling of paper.
Derek leaned back in his chair, boots crossed on the edge of the table, a half-smoked cigar resting between his lips. His eyes flicked over the report in his hands.
A brief silence passed.
Then a low hum rumbled from the back of his throat.
"Hmm…"
The tip of his cigar flared orange as he took a puff.
"Interesting."
He flipped the page, continuing to read the report he received from Dalia.
It detailed the accounts of how Kayle closed the inn, what he had been up to in the past few days, and even had reports on the other employees.
"Seems he had a run-in with the greedy pigs of the alliance."
Reading the latest report, he saw both Dalia's and Wrench's accounts of the recent run-ins with the merchant alliance.
Seeing that Kayle used the guild's reputation to scare off the thugs, Derek couldn't help but smirk.
Each time he saw what the kid was up to, he got surprised time and time again by his intelligence.
"Tsk. He's like a war veteran..."
Derek exhaled a curl of smoke, smirking as he stamped out the last of his cigar.
"Maybe I should invest in him a little more?"
****
Another day, same old early morning.
Walking through the narrow streets of the slums with Dalia and Wrench by my side, we eventually arrived at Ave's shop.
The weekend flew by thanks to my busy schedule and before I knew it—it was already Monday, the day of my first lecture.
Honestly, I was a little excited thinking about learning alchemy, but I kept my expression calm as I knocked on Ave's door.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in!"
Ave's voice sounded almost immediately, as if she was waiting for me.
Cracking the door handle, the familiar scent of herbs tickled my nostrils as I swung it open.
Dalia and Wrench had already found a nearby space to make themselves comfortable as I walked through the door.
Pushing open the door to the herbalist's shop, I heard the familiar jingle of the bell.
Ave was already waiting inside, standing with her arms folded behind the counter. But she wasn't dressed in her usual apron and tattered brown coat. Instead, she wore a tightly buttoned black vest and high-collared white shirt beneath a long, azure-colored coat.
I couldn't help but stare for a moment before I eventually uttered a greeting. It was an odd change, but not unflattering.
"Good morning, Teacher."
"Hmm~ Morning."
Ave hummed as a satisfied smirk crawled up her face.
"You're wearing different clothes than usual."
"Of course." She adjusted her glasses, her smirk widening. "This is my lecturer uniform."
Her words caused strange thoughts to appear in my head.
'Why does this feel like the setup to a certain genre of films...'
As these thoughts surfaced in my head, a strange feeling swelled in my chest the longer I stared into her crystal-clear green eyes.
"So," trying to distract myself, I asked as I took a step closer, "what are we doing today?"
Ave smiled as she turned around, already walking toward the back.
I naturally followed behind her, slightly mesmerized by the way her coat swayed with her steps.
"Today, we start simple," she said, pulling out a long sheet of parchment from a drawer. "Since you're new to alchemy, there's a lot you'll need to learn. Herbs, minerals, magical creatures, processing and mixing techniques…"
She turned to glance at me, her smirk widening as she placed the parchment on the center table. "But you'll gradually learn all of these as time goes on. So for now, we'll start by checking your magical affinity."
I raised an eyebrow, taking a glance at the paper.
There were various insignias written on it, each a different symbol with simple words written underneath.
"Tell me, how much do you know about magic?" she asked as she leaned over the table.
"Not much."
I answered honestly. Since I never got the chance to play the game, this was truthfully my first time interacting with or even seeing its magic system outside of clips and wiki guides.
"No worries." She didn't look up from her desk. "Magic isn't something the average person comes into contact with to begin with."
Ave moved efficiently, placing various out-of-place appliances on the table.
"In this world," she began, slipping into her usual lecture tone, "there are multiple elements that act as the building blocks of reality. In a way, humans and all living things are made up of these elements—or so the theory of magic goes."
She sorted the candle, bowls, stones, magnets and even plants across the desk.
"The point is, each person has a distinct mix of elemental energies within them, and depending on the strength and balance of these energies, we can categorize your 'affinity' and grade your potential for magic."
I took a slow breath. The idea wasn't hard to grasp.
"Now," she said, straightening up, "before we begin—do you have any questions?"
I paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes. I have two. First, I understand the theory behind magic affinity, but what does that have to do with alchemy?"
Ave actually looked pleased at the question.
"Alchemy at its core is the manipulation of natural elements to create medicine and compounds. Without understanding your own elemental strengths, you'll never properly master it."
She gave a short nod as she raised her hand.
"Besides, depending on your affinity, it may aid you—"
Snap!
A flickering flame manifested above her fingertips.
"—even in the most basic tasks. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good, then you can ask your second question."
Ave waved her hand, putting out the flame like a matchstick.
"How do we test affinities?"
My eyes fell to the various appliances on the desk.
"Like I said, humans and all life are made up of the various elements. Because of this, even something as simple as our blood contains the magical properties of the elements."
As Ave finished speaking, she pulled out a long silver needle from the drawer—the final piece to the puzzle.
I felt my eyes twitch as the light bouncing off the needle's edge caught my eye.
"Relax, only a drop will do per test."
I sighed, unable to protest.
"Alright. What do we start with?"
"We'll begin with the fire test. If your affinity's high, it'll prove the most useful."
Ave smiled as she lit the candle with another snap of her fingers.
"What do I do?"
"Give me your hand."
I obediently placed my hand forward, to which Ave immediately pricked my finger with the needle.
I felt a sharp sting but did my best not to show any signs of pain.
Blood from the wound trickled down the needle's length, its color a deep red.
Ave carefully removed the needle, collecting the blood in an already prepared container.
Once enough blood had been gathered, she grabbed some of the medical paste off the counter, using it to cover and seal the wound, before wrapping a cloth around it.
"There, all done."
Ave carefully observed my blood in the container, wiping clean any spilled drops or splash.
I held my hand as I felt my eye twitch again but didn't say anything.
"Alright, now that we've collected your blood, we can begin the tests."
Ave smiled like a science teacher who had just gotten to the good part of the class.
"The process of testing affinity is fairly simple. We just place a drop of blood into the chosen medium and see how it reacts. If your affinity is strong, there will be visible changes or reactions. If it's weak, then there will be little to no change."
I sighed but nodded in understanding.
"Do you want to do it or should I?" Ave suddenly asked, extending the blood-soaked needle toward me.
"...I think I'll leave it to you."
Ave nodded as she grabbed the needle, dipping it into the container of blood, collecting a drop's worth on its tip.
Carefully, she raised it up and placed it over the open flame.
Hiss~!
After what felt like an eternity, the drop fell and landed in the fire, producing a soft hiss and a puff of black smoke, but otherwise showing no noticeable reactions.
"...Is that good?"
I asked carefully, already having a bad premonition.
"Hmm," Ave hummed, an awkward smile appearing on her face. "...Unfortunately, you don't seem to have a high affinity for fire."
I frowned as a sigh escaped my lips.
"That's okay," she added quickly. "You can still try for the others."
Without waiting for a reply, she quickly dipped another drop before dropping it inside the bowl of water.
"...."
I watched as the blood simply blended into the water with no magical effects.
"...." Ave was also equally silent, but instead of saying anything this time, she silently started conducting the other tests.
Dropped the blood on a stone tablet. No reaction.
Blew air onto a drop. No reaction.
Magnets, lightning stones, flowers, metals—and even dirt.
We went through dozens of tests, even having to refill the blood container two times, yet no elements showed any reaction.
As we went through each test, Ave would cross off an element from the parchment she had taken out earlier. And with each one, my expression grew increasingly still and eyes dull.
I mean, it's not like I expected to be talented, but seriously? Not even one?
"D-Don't worry," Ave said again, this time with even more hesitation. "E-Even without magic, you can still master alchemy. It's not all elemental manipulation."
I stayed silent as Ave contradicted the words she had spoken earlier.
"…Are there any other affinities I could test?"
I asked, my voice somewhat hopeful, but my insides numb.
"I don't think so..." She glanced over the parchment, watching all the elements that had been crossed out so far.
Following her gaze, I also glanced over the parchment, instantly spotting two elements that still hadn't been tested.
"What about these?"
I pointed out, but Ave froze once she noticed them.
"T-Those?"
I nodded my head lightly, my gaze glancing over their names.
Light.
Dark.
They were the two most quintessential elements of any fantasy RPG. The representation of both good and evil.
Though, they worked a little differently in this world.
'Didn't the original protagonist have dual light and dark affinities?'
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but be curious about whether I have any affinity for them or not.
Ave continued to hesitate, almost as if she was contemplating something deeply. Eventually she sighed, as if she had given up before moving next to a window.
"Fine. We can also test those two. But don't get your hopes up high."
She opened it as light seeped in onto the banister.
"Bring a drop of blood."
This time she asked me to bring the blood, something that I did after a moment's pause.
"Drop the blood in the light."
I listened to her instruction, placing a droplet on the wooden banister. However, even after a few seconds passed, there was still no reaction.
"Don't feel bad. The element of light is a hereditary affinity. Only those with the bloodlines of the heroes stand even a chance to awaken it."
Listening to Ave, I couldn't help but sigh before turning to the few remaining drops of blood in the container.
"What about the element of darkness?"
The words felt a little cringe to say from my own mouth, but I still had to ask.
"While not as rare as the element of light, it is still just as rare, also being of the hereditary nature."