I Am The Only Witch Hunter

"Master. Long time no see." Ashe rushed in front of Siderius.

She held her hands in front of her and bowed gently.

"As I've said before, Ashe. There is no need for such formality when there's only us. The formality can be spared for the ceremony."

"I understand, Master."

Siderius noticed Ashe's eyes curved up slightly. Her lips stayed a neutral shape but she couldn't hide the joy in her eyes.

He patted her head. "How's your training?"

Ashe enjoyed the pat to the fullest before answering, "I have been working hard, Master. Every day. Every hour. Let me show you."

Ashe rushed back to the campfire and showed Siderius a salt seal on the ground. There was a small leaf in the middle of the seal.

Ashe clasped her hands together and initiated the sign sequence. The salt seal lit up in blue and the salt particles floated up.

They circled around the leaf then stuck onto it, creating a clear crystallized leaf.

"Oh?" Siderius raised an eyebrow.

Ashe opened her palms, letting the leaf hovered upon them before pushing it to Siderius. The vengeful hunter caught it in mid-air.

"What do you think, Master?"

"Hmmm..." Siderius examined the crystallized leaf.

The surface was extremely smooth. The integrity of the crystal needed more work and there were some gaps between the salt.

There were rooms for improvement but that wasn't what needed to be said at the moment. Ashe learned fast. She had a lot of talent in Alchemy. As a teacher, Siderius knew he should reinforce her belief, not adjusting her techniques.

Criticism should go hand in hand with encouragement.

"You have done well, my apprentice. You are one of my most talented students."

Ashe couldn't hold her smile anymore. Her lips curved up into the shape of the moon.

"Wait a minute! Why did he say 'students'?" A certain threat filled Ashe's heart.

Siderius walked around the hideout. Ashe was very busy these last few months. She had spent her time completing more survival structures and even conducted a better, more permanent shelter.

Siderius spotted the rows of drying racks under the foliage. There was still a lot of meat hanging on them. A few water collectors were also crafted.

He spotted a complicated water filtration system that Ashe had made as well. It was made from a long and thin hollowed body of a tree. Inside were layers of filtration that Siderius had taught her before.

Siderius also saw the wooden target that he had constructed for Ashe to practice her archery. It was filled with uncountable arrows sticking on it. These were flimsy practiced arrows without obsidian heads.

Ashe crafted other shooting targets as well and placed them right next to the first target.

"Where are our shelters, my apprentice?" Siderius asked.

Ashe scratched her head timidly. "I'm sorry, Master. When you weren't here, I decided to move the shelter underground."

"Oh? Show me."

Ashe had expanded the wine cellar that Siderius made before he went away.

Originally, Siderius built the cellar to store the alcohol and made new ones for the spirits. Ashe didn't like the above ground shelter that much due to the vulnerability to the weather so she moved everything underground. She made another room right beside the wine cellar.

It was a joined bedroom with two elevated stone platforms to use as beds.

Siderius walked down to the shelter and was pleasantly surprised. Ashe had made a fireplace in the middle for the heating. Some handcrafted tables and chairs. He could see the callouses and cuts on her hand. Ashe must have spent a lot of time on woodworking.

"I did leave the carpenter's knife and tools behind. She must have made use of it." Siderius thought.

"What do you think, master?" Ashe said.

He nodded his head. "Very impressive, my apprentice. For one person, this is an unimaginable amount of work. I'm assuming you use Sulfur Separation to break off the dirt?"

"Yes, Master. I thought that I needed to practice Separation anyway so I would just use that opportunity to build a room for us."

Sulfur Separation. For beginner alchemists, they wouldn't be able to split the element inside an object like what Siderius usually did. They must do what was easy first before they could cut an element.

The first step was to try and separate loosely bound material. A lump of dirt, a pocket of sand, a glass of water. These materials were sticking together but could easily separate. The alchemist must learn to separate it using alchemy instead of physical force.

The second step was to try and separate solid material. A piece of fabric, a wooden stick, rocks and metals. These materials were tightly bound together. If you wanted to separate it by hand, the needed physical force must be met. For this step, the alchemist must learn to master a greater force of separation inside the sulfur.

The third step was to achieve what Siderius commonly did. To learn and separate elements inside any material. The Sulfur inside pyrite. The Mercury inside the cinnabar. The Phosphorus inside the bone. This was the epitome of Sulfur Expertise.

Ashe was obviously still on the first level. But based on Siderius' estimation of her, she would be ready to learn the second level soon.

"You did very well, Ashe. You can now survive by yourself in the woods. When survival is learned, the next step is to learn how to defend yourself."

Ashe's eyes lit up in glee. "Master! Do you mean..."

"It is time to teach you our combat way. But first, there are things I need to do. Tell me, what is the situation of Mucktown lately? Has Kraus reported anything notable?"

"There is actually one thing, Master. Lyara Starcrow. The unawaken witch of the Starcrow Clan had been summoned back to the Starcrow domain."

Siderius' expression stayed cool and collected. But inside, his mind darted around.

"I was just planning to take care of her. Now that she returned to her clan, killing her would be difficult.

No matter. I will kill every single person in her clan.

Sooner or later, I will have my revenge.

Snow will have his revenge."

"Do you know how many current witches are stationed in Mucktown?" Siderius said.

"All the Starcrow witches are gone, Master. The only witch left was the Bailiff."

"The Bailiff, huh..."

Siderius grinned widely. His grin sent a shiver down Ashe's spine. She lowered her head and was a little afraid to look at him directly.

"Without those witches. Thane Beaumort. The Bailiff. The assassin. I will come for you now."