The Scientific Alchemist

Leaning on a rock inside the stream, Elias allowed himself to relax and think of how he’d approach his healing when he suddenly heard a rustle from behind one of the trees.

His guard immediately shot up as he looked towards the direction where the sound came from.

According to former Elias’s memories, this forest should be safe, with neither wild animals, nor bandits visiting this area, but he couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of danger.

His eyes narrowed as he kept them in the direction of the rustling until the cause of it suddenly hopped out.

"..." Elias looked at the creature t hat hopped out with a slight frown before muttering, "a fox."

Standing a short distance away from him with an injured leg, was a small white fox, but the strange part was that it had what seemed to be green crystal on its forehead.

Even from the former Elias’ memories, this creature was a strange one, though it was not completely unheard of.

A spirit, or to be more accurate, this one seemed like a forest spirit.

From the book he had read, these were extremely rare creatures spotted only once a lifetime.

Not much was known about them, save for the fact that they were special, even worshipped in some places.

Elias silently observed the limping creature warily look at him before slowly trying to approach.

"Do you need help?" He asked, causing the creature to stop in its tracks at the sound of his voice.

Or at least that’s what it seemed like, but the next second,

Thud.

The little fox suddenly fell over, revealing that it had a lot more than a broken leg, the left side of its fur was stained with a patch of blood that was growing larger and larger.

With a sigh, Elias stood to his feet and got out the water, realizing that he hadn’t brought a set of clothes to change into.

With another sigh, he took just the pants that were previously beneath his robes and put them on, leaving his bony body on display.

Well, not like he cared if he was stared at anyway.

Walking forward, he crouched close to the now passed out fox and observed it for a second.

The fact that these things were extremely rare also meant that they were extremely expensive.

On the off chance someone managed to capture one, the alchemist’s guild was willing to pay a hefty amount of gold.

And given his current situation, he needed that gold in order to buy ingredients he might need to fix himself.

But first, he crouched down and picked it up before standing up again and turned in the direction of his house.

***

The walk back to his house was a slow one, mostly due to his current state and people around did indeed stare.

But most stares were directed at what the people assumed to be a hunted prey, wondering how someone as frail as him was able to hunt.

"Alright then," Elias muttered as he pushed open the creaking wooden door of his hut with his shoulder.

The familiar scent of burnt herbs and failed concoctions greeted him immediately, but this time, it wasn’t the smell that occupied his thoughts.

It was the small, barely breathing creature in his arms.

He set the fox down gently on the worktable, his sharp eyes immediately scanning its condition.

"Let’s see what we’re working with."

Up close, the injuries were worse than he initially thought. The hind leg was clearly fractured, but that wasn’t the real problem.

His gaze moved to the blood-soaked fur along its side.

"A deep laceration," he muttered, gently parting the fur, "and still bleeding."

The fox let out a weak, almost inaudible whimper.

Elias paused for a brief moment.

Selling it would be easier. One trip to a nearby town, and he’d have enough gold to buy proper ingredients, maybe even secure a physician to diagnose his condition.

But first thing’s first, if he wanted the maximum profit, then he’d have to make sure it recovered fully.

His fingers hovered over the herbs to his as his memories resurfaced.

"If this world’s alchemy is as primitive as I think... then their understanding of medicinal properties is purely observational."

He reached for a relatively intact bundle of dried leaves, recalling Elias’s fragmented memory of its supposed use.

"Used for blood clotting... allegedly."

He crushed a small portion between his fingers, bringing it closer to his nose.

It smelt bitter with a slightly metallic undertone, "possible astringent properties."

Tearing a strip from what remained of his robe, he applied pressure to the fox’s wound before sprinkling a minimal amount of the crushed herb over it.

The fox twitched as the herb came in contact with its wound.

He kept steady pressure on the wound, counting silently in his head.

One... two... three...

At first, nothing changed, then slowly, very slowly, the bleeding began to lessen.

"Promising," he muttered dryly before walking to the side.

The bleeding had lessened, but that didn’t mean the danger had passed. He looked at the herbs on the table.

Without much data, there was so little he could do, but based on the memories, maybe he could come up with something.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered and grabbed a few, crushing them together into paste.

Returning to the fox, he gently applied the paste around the wound, not directly inside this time.

"Let’s not kill you in the first trial."

The fox’s body tensed again, but this time, the reaction was weaker and its breathing, though still shallow, began to stabilize.

But the next second, a strange scenario occured, the fox’s mouth suddenly opened and it seemed to puke out.... Leaves?

The leaves looked identical to the onces he had previously crushed to paste, except a lot brighter.

"Interesting," Elias muttered as he picked one of the herbs up, bringing it closer to his nose.

They did indeed smell the same as the ones on his table but stronger.

Elias’ eyes widened as he turned the leaf between his fingers.

"How very interesting."