The Combat Alchemist

In the wee hours of the morning, Akira showed up at Lukas' guest house as usual. What was unusual was that instead of setting off toward the training field, Akira led him in the opposite direction, toward the estate's main gates. When asked about this, Akira said that the plan was to get to the guild campus far earlier than most, allowing them to get in and out without hassle. She wanted to turn in her contracts from the previous day, grab new ones to complete while traveling, and avoid any annoyances that might come from nosy people.

All that was just fine with Lukas; the fewer people he had to deal with, the better.

So, they set out, reaching the Adventurer Guild before the first light of day had graced the sky. As they hoped, not only was the campus sparsely populated, but so were the city streets, leaving them with a sense of peace as they walked. When they arrived on campus, Akira had Lukas look through suitable contracts while she spoke with the lone attendant.

What they wanted to do was to go east, as that was the area where they'd find beasts in their wheelhouse. The north held beasts of lower level, and they'd struggle to find good fights and get the experience they needed. Going south would have them facing beasts in the higher realms of copper rank, beasts they weren't ready to take on, unless they wanted to get crushed. Going east would land them with beasts they could handle while presenting the odd challenge that wouldn't leave them in dire trouble.

The whole goal was to get Lukas levels and new abilities after all, but those weren't the only opportunities present. This was a chance to push for even more titles, something that Akira had pestered Lukas about the previous night. She wanted a piece of the action, to grow like he had. He understood her drive for strength, but he was still reluctant to give up his secrets so easily. That being said, a little nagging and pestering had Lukas telling her about his titles and how he'd gotten them. He had naturally left out the title related to his blessing and didn't give specific details in order to avoid more questions about his racial abilities. Thankfully, none came up, and Lukas was able to steer the focus away from such a delicate subject.

All in all, Lukas was excited about heading out. It would be his first return to the deep forest since arriving in the city what felt like years ago. Since then, he'd made a lot of progress in all areas and had learned so much, but he was falling behind in his actual level progression. Everything else had seen meteoric growth, while his classes had slowed to a crawl. Sure, he gained a decent amount of experience here and there, leading to a level or two, but now it was time to use the foundation he was building to push further.

Lukas looked over the posted contracts, walking from board to board in search of any that seemed interesting or wouldn't be too out of the way to complete. He'd already pulled three postings off when Akira finished and joined him. Handing them over to her, she used her membership crystal to claim the contracts before looking over what else was available.

Absorbed in one board, Lukas hardly noticed when a new group entered the building. It was only when he recognized one of its members that he did a double-take.

"We could do this one here," Akira was saying, pointing to a paper, "It's a fairly large pack of mystic wolves. We could probably—Woah!"

Grabbing her by her armor, Lukas pulled her back behind the board and out of the open.

When he let go of her, she wheeled on him. "Hey! What was that for? I was about to grab another contract."

Lukas held a finger up to his mask in a silencing motion before gesturing to the other side of the board. "Your boyfriend just walked in."

"My what now?" she asked, brow scrunched in confusion.

"Elias," he said, and Akira reflexively rolled her eyes in exasperation. "He just came in with a group of other people."

With a sigh, she ran a hand over her face and retracted her aura to avoid detection. "Of course he did." Taking hold of Lukas' wrist, she peered out from their hiding spot and yanked him along. "Come on, let's get out of here before he finds out I'm here."

With no choice, Lukas rushed out of the building, hot on Akira's heels. As they passed the building's threshold, someone inside swore and called out to them. Judging by how Akira only picked up speed, Lukas assumed that it had been Elias. The two continued to run until they were halfway through the city, and they only stopped because Lukas managed to break free of Akira's death grip. She insisted they keep going, looking back the way they came as though the boogeyman was about to turn the corner. Lukas refused, deciding he didn't want to waste a large chunk of his stamina just to avoid Akira's stalker.

They did manage to make it out of the city not long after, without any pursuit, much to Akira's relief. From there, they headed east, and by the time they reached the first village, the sun was beginning to show itself and the streets were starting to fill. Fortunately, they were out of the city, leaving the roads mostly empty.

They found the target of their first contract in short order, eliminating it with relative ease. From there, they moved from village to village, each one smaller and less populated than the last, knocking out their remaining contracts along the way. At some point in the afternoon, they came across something Lukas hadn't seen in a long time—an empty road.

Stopping, Lukas looked both ways, finding no one in front of or behind them.

"This should do," Akira nodded, stepping up beside him.

"This is it?" Lukas asked, slightly confused. "We can just step off the road and start killing stuff?"

"Yup. We passed through the last guild-protected village about an hour ago. From here, all beasts should be fair game."

Lukas looked down the road again. "What if we kept going? What's down there?"

Akira followed his gaze and shrugged. "Maybe another village or two? Not sure, but the road probably rejoins the main road east at some point, leading off toward some other city."

Opening his mouth to ask another question, Lukas was stopped when Akira stepped off the road and into the forest proper. "Come on, let's have some fun!"

*

Over a day later, Akira and Lukas sat around a small fire as night encroached, having decided to make camp after a busy day. Lukas would have preferred to stay up in a tree overnight, like he'd done when he was on his own. Unfortunately for him, he was outvoted by Akira, who seemed more restless than usual.

They had made good progress in the last twenty-four hours, earning Lukas a good handful of levels in each class. And while he hadn't earned a new ability yet, he had a feeling he'd earn them the next day—probably that night—if he could consolidate enough experience while meditating. By now, he could feel the experience gained from using poison beginning to slow down, and he'd soon have to do some actual alchemy. There was still some wiggle room, but not nearly enough for two new abilities.

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But while Lukas was relatively happy with their progress, it seemed Akira thought it wasn't enough. She wanted to face down more powerful beasts—and a lot of them. Of course, it was important to keep in mind that there was a rather significant level difference between the two, so a powerful beast to Lukas was an easy foe for Akira. Still, he knew what she really wanted: titles.

For Lukas, the next title would come from solo killing a beast twenty levels stronger than him. That meant facing down a beast in the mid-fifties. It was something that he knew he could do, but it would take time and be incredibly tedious. For Akira, she would have to kill a beast fifteen levels stronger than herself; for her, that would mean beasts in the eighties. It was a tricky prospect for multiple reasons. For one, if something went wrong, the likelihood that Lukas would be able to do anything to help was incredibly low. Secondly, Akira was missing out on the benefits that came from not only his other titles but also the bonuses he earned for getting his first few while still being level zero. Those bonuses were the difference between life and death in many instances. It would take every ounce of her training to come out on top—something she had barely managed against a beast eleven levels stronger than her.

Akira obviously knew all this, and it needed no repeating, but she was eager as ever. Lukas just hoped that before she went hunting for such a beast, she would let him get his title and abilities first. At least that way, he might actually have a chance to help if worse comes to worst. For now, however, it was time to meditate.

It was difficult with another person there making noise and moving around—at least when Sera stuck around, she could keep quiet. As the hours dragged on and the forest grew darker and colder, he managed to fall into a rhythm, and as midnight came and went, he saw results.

Level gained: [Combat Alchemist] has reached level 35 – Stat points allocated.

New ability earned: [Alchemist's Will] – Alchemy is a complex art with many moving parts, both literally and figuratively. There are times when an alchemist could use an extra set of hands, whether that be while concocting or fighting on the battlefield. Grants telekinetic control over alchemical products, reagents, or other natural treasures and materials used in alchemy. Range is limited by the size of the alchemist's aura. Strength is determined by proximity to the alchemist. Strength and control scale with willpower. Mana cost per second: Low.

Level gained: [Human (Outworlder)] has reached level 34 – Stat points allocated.

There was barely enough time for Lukas to open his eyes and read the notifications before the pain started. At once, it began to bloom in his head, quickly going from a slight headache to feeling like his brain was being blended and cooked at the same time. Lukas' hands immediately grasped his head as though that might somehow reduce the pain. He let out pained groans, and a startled Akira was pulled out of her own meditation, leading her to watch on with concern.

After a few minutes of agonizing pain that left Lukas sweaty and pale, it finally began to subside. Continuing to hold his head, he let out a relieved sigh. "I thought it was supposed to get easier with each new ability," he complained.

Akira merely frowned, still concerned. "That's only true if the new channels go where other channels already exist, and it seems like you don't have a lot of channels in your head. Are you alright, though? Your aura was kind of all over the place—it caught me off guard. You usually keep it locked down tight."

"Sorry, I'm fine," he said, releasing his head and enjoying the feeling of the cool night air on his skin. "I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense."

"Was it a good ability at least?" she asked, moving from her spot on the opposite side of the fire to sit by his side.

Lukas took a moment to reread the ability description as a smile spread across his lips. "It's probably the coolest ability you can get. It's a telekinetic power."

Akira's brows rose, looking impressed. "That'll be useful for you. Those kinds of powers are pretty rare and practical in all kinds of ways."

On Lukas' other side, Sera materialized in the blink of an eye, making him jump slightly. "That's Alchemist's Will, isn't it?" Lukas didn't answer, but then again, he didn't really need to. "With that ability, you can throw poisons and potions around without having to put away one of your weapons. That's ignoring the obvious uses it has in general alchemy."

"Really?" he said. "That's great. It'll add a lot of versatility to my fighting, but it's another utility power."

"Don't expect any big special attack. There's a chance you'll get one, but you're more likely to get spells and the like."

Frowning with displeasure beneath his mask, Lukas pulled out a random potion from his inventory. Holding it out in his open hand, he decided to try out his new ability. Moving mana through his new channels, he activated the ability. When the bottle floated up and off his hand, he couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face. To his pleasant surprise, he found the new ability extremely easy to control and use.

A smart part of him had been afraid that his first few attempts at using telekinesis would be similar to his first uses of his puzzle box. Back then, his mana control had been extremely clumsy, and he found it hard to do just about anything. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here, and it was like when he'd received his other abilities. Basic use came very naturally, like he'd always known how to use them even though he'd never had them. Lukas still found that a little weird, but he wasn't going to complain.

The hovering potion bottle reacted perfectly to his will and intent, doing exactly what he wanted, how he wanted. It was almost strange how easy it was, as though he was manipulating the bottle with invisible hands.

Lukas, Sera, and Akira all watched as the potion bottle tumbled through the air end over end before stopping, standing straight up. With a simple thought, Lukas sent it dancing around the fire, bobbing and twirling, even passing through the flames before coming to land back in his outstretched palm.

He proceeded with a few more tests, starting with range. The ability said that range was linked to his aura, and his aura was pretty big. What resulted was Lukas sending the bottle out into the dark forest, only to find that much more difficult than he initially thought. Unable to see the bottle at all times as it passed behind a tree or bush, it would often bounce off or get stuck on something Lukas didn't know was there. So while Lukas could control something he couldn't see, he would have trouble guiding it.

He did eventually reach the edge of his range but hadn't made it all the way to the maximum reach of his aura. It wasn't an issue with the ability itself but rather a feature. The strength of the telekinesis fell off much quicker than his aura did. As a result, the telekinetic link he had with the bottle became hazy, and moving it at such a distance felt like pushing a boulder up a mountain. It also didn't help that willpower was his lowest stat—and not by a slim margin.

Stats
Vitality: 130
Endurance: 121
Intelligence: 116
Wisdom: 130
Agility: 185
Perception: 121
Toughness: 154
Strength: 173
Willpower: 82

Free Points: 15

Lukas couldn't help but remember how he'd spent those 24 free points just two days ago, confident that he'd need even more strength. Had he just waited a little bit longer, he'd have even more points to dump into willpower. So, with a sigh, he allocated the 15 free points he had into willpower, aiming to have it catch up to his other stats. Once it was said and done, he now had 101 points in willpower, officially bringing all his stats above 100.

He also made sure to test out what Sera had said regarding throwing objects with the ability. Lukas was happy to find that she was right and that if done properly, he could throw things outside his typical range, effectively extending it even further.

The final big thing Lukas wanted to know was whether or not he could use his telekinesis on multiple objects. As it turned out, he could, and quickly had a small handful of potions floating around him. There was a limit, however, as not only did each item cost mana—making each new object suck up even more of his mana pool—but he also had to focus on the objects. He needed to keep constant track of where each bottle was and what he was doing with it; each consecutive item meant splitting his attention. His current limit was four, and that was while sitting still and focusing on nothing other than those objects. Once he tried to add a fifth, his focus was spread too thin, and all the potions fell from the air, clattering to the forest floor.

It was a product of his low willpower and untrained mind. Lukas had no doubt that if he really pushed himself, he could control far more objects—it was just a matter of training.

There were a few small tests Lukas did before Akira insisted that he take a break for a while, but he was like a child with a new toy on Christmas and wanted to keep going. Ultimately, Akira won out, and Lukas resolved to continue in the morning.

As he settled in for the night, Sera sat next to him, leaning her shoulder against his, a cheeky grin on her lips. "You know, I think once you get back to the city, you should have some alchemical glass put in the soles of your boots."

Lukas frowned at the suggestion and threw a question side glance her way. He thought it was an odd and sudden change in topic. He knew alchemical glass was specifically treated to be more durable, but putting some in his boots was just strange. Why would she—?

Then his eyes lit up with realization