The Scientific Alchemist

A week quickly came and went, and Elias was back at the lake where he met the fox.

Taking off his robes, he revealed a body that was leagues better than what he woke up to in this world.

If one were to see both, they’d find it hard to believe that they were looking at the same person.

Now, Elias wasn’t fully healed just yet, as he was certain that it would take more than a week to get to full health, but the changes could only be described as miracles.

The lake water rippled softly as he stepped in, the cold biting lightly against his skin.

It didn’t bother him anymore.

If anything, it helped.

Elias dipped his hands into the water and splashed his face, letting out a quiet breath.

In the reflection staring back at him, the change was obvious.

The sunken look had eased. His skin, while still pale, had regained some life, even his eyes, once dull, carried a sharpness now.

"...Yeah," he said quietly, "definitely better."

A soft rustle came from behind him but this time his guard didn’t go up and neither did he turn around.

"You can come out, Lira."

A moment later, the small white fox stepped into view, her movements still careful, but far steadier than before.

Her leg had mostly healed.

She trotted up beside him, sitting near the edge of the water, watching his reflection like she was comparing it to the one she first saw.

Elias glanced at her before asking, "what?"

She tilted her head slightly and communicated her thoughts directly into his mind.

"I agree," he said with a chuckle, "I do look quite good right now, don’t I?"

And it wasn’t narcissism either..... Well, maybe just a little bit, but one couldn’t deny that his healed self was quite attractive.

He leaned back and started going over what had happened during his week of being in the body of another.

First, his reputation.

He was once known as the "failed alchemist" who had started walking around again after supposedly being on death’s door.

Then the baker started talking to his costumers about the ’miraculous’ healing herb that he had created and from there they started getting curious again.

After that, he turned into this village’s doctor, one who worked in exchange for food.

Not that he minded though.

And he didn’t ask for too much either, since there was a certain feeling of satisfaction when the people he helped willingly shared their food with him.

It was a satisfaction he had never experienced back on Earth, and even he had to admit, he was liking that feeling.

After that, everything just went back to normal with him creating more potions of different kinds from the ones Lira reproduced.

Elias stepped out of the water and reached for his robe as he put it on, his gaze drifted toward the distance.

Beyond this barren lands were even more barren lands which were largely unused, or more accurately,

Abandoned.

"That’s the next step," he murmured.

Lira followed his gaze.

The land technically belonged to the local noble, but no one used it or wanted it.

After all, it was known as the cursed lands, a useless stretch of territory.

Which made it perfect for his next project, or rather, the first of a chain of projects to achieve his goal.

And what was his goal, you might ask?

It was quite simple, he wanted a family.

But to give said family a comfortable life, he needed money, and for that, he needed to become a proper alchemist.

But becoming just a proper alchemist would not do justice to the promise he made to the former Elias, so why not go all the way?

And Calderholt was going to be the biggest piece in his puzzle of becoming the greatest Alchemist in this world.

Elias tightened the knot of his robe.

"If I’m going to do this properly," he said, mostly to himself, "I need space, control and no one interfering."

Just this village wasn’t enough, after all, it was too small and too limiting.

But the entire Calderholt?

That could become something else entirely.

The problem wasn’t the land itself, it was its ownership, and more importantly, him gaining recognition.

Elias exhaled slowly, "I guess I’ll need to go through the guild again."

Lira looked up at him and he gave her a dry smile.

"Yeah. I know."

It was the same guild that threw the former Elias out and it had the same people who labeled him a failure.

Now he had to walk back in and ask them to acknowledge him again but it was not because he wanted their approval.

It because he needed their authority.

And the guild basically controlled land ownership and alchemical rights.

All of which he very much needed.

"How annoying," he muttered.

But necessary.

He started walking back toward the village and Lira padded along beside him.

"First, I get the land," he said, thinking out loud, "that part should be easy since, no one wants it."

The noble that was placed here as a temporary caretaker, would likely hand it over without hesitation if someone offered even the least amount of gold.

Especially someone insignificant, like him.

Now Elias didn’t have much gold, but he had managed to sell a couple of potions in the main city, thanks to the baker who visited there every few weeks.

Although he couldn’t get much for it, since he wasn’t an official Alchemist, he had managed to get enough.

Illegally, of course.

"Let’s go visit that noble shall we?" Elias muttered as he reaches his door and pushed it open, just to put on a presentable outfit.

***

Meanwhile, in the main city of Calderholt stood a manor clearly more luxurious than anything that could be found in this place.

Within it was a break room, and in there sat a fat man with gold hanging over his neck and a displeased frown on his face.

"This fucking hell hole," he muttered for the tenth time today, "fucking assign it to an alchemist already, I want to go back to the capital and enjoy a taste of the women there."