Cherreads

The black alchemist

8Vall
7
chs / week
The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 7 chs / week.
--
NOT RATINGS
80
Views
Synopsis
Gideon wakes up in the middle of a forest with no memories, only a bit of food, and two mysterious books on alchemy. Join him on his journey to explore the world he suddenly finds himself in, make new friends, and chase his dream of opening his own alchemy shop — all while striving to become the greatest alchemist who ever lived. A lighthearted slice-of-life story about discovery, learning, friendship, and growth through the art of alchemy.
VIEW MORE

Chapter 1 - Awakening in a forest

"Ugh, my head hurts. What is going on?

The last thing I remember is being on the bus and... wait bus?

What even is that? What am I saying?!"

I- I couldn't remember anything...

"Ok, buddy, deep breaths. Panicking won't solve anything, first things first: where am I?"

As I looked around all I could see were trees, trees and more trees. 

"Ok so I'm in a forest, that's a start."

A light breeze washed over my face, carrying the sweet smell of grass and newly bloomed flowers. It was surprisingly refreshing. 

Next to me sat a leather sack.

"Let's take a look-see, shall we?"

When I picked it up it felt pretty light.

"Hmm is it empty?"

I looked inside and... sure thing nothing's in it. Bummer. 

But it might come in handy so l decided to hold no to it for the time being. 

As i stood up and tied the sack to my belt something weird happened.

--------

Bottomless bag equipped 

contents:

- sack of water

- 3x apple

- loaf of bread

- Alchemy book for beginners 

- The book of Alchemy

- 2 silver coins

--------

It felt like all of that information was being burned directly into my brain. I lost my footing for a bit and landed on my butt.

"What the hell was that?! And what's with these books?"

I opened the bag again to take a closer look, but upon opening it, there was still nothing inside.

I knew for a fact there were items inside, but how was I supposed to get them out?

"Alchemy book for beginners, huh?" 

As I said that out loud, an image of the book appeared in my mind, and a strange glow surrounded my hand. The glow subsided after a short while and there it was - Alchemy book for beginners was sitting in my hand.

I didn't know how I got here or what was going on, but that was pretty cool. 

I spent the next hour or so sitting under a nearby tree, experimenting with the bag and leafing through the books.

I could transfer items in and out by picturing them in my mind leaving or entering the bag.

Also I always knew what was inside and in what quantity.

I tested this by putting a bunch of rocks inside. I immediately knew how many there were, and after taking them out and counting them, I confirmed that the count was accurate.

The book of Alchemy looked way too complicated. I didn't understand a single thing. The Alchemy book for beginners on the other hand had some recipes for potions that looked easy enough. 

I decided to look for some of the ingredients while also looking for a way out of this forest. 

While wandering around I heard the sound of running water in the distance so I made founding the source my top priority. If there is water, there might also be a road nearby. 

After a bit of walking, the forest opened and revealed a small clearing with a waterfall and a lake. Around the lake grew a flower similar to the one I saw in a recipe for a Healing potion. I wasn't really sure if it was the same one but i gathered some anyways. 

The sun had begun to set so I made the decision to spend the night here. But before that i definitely wanted to go for a swim.

As I got naked the gentle sunlight from the setting sun warmed my body and the fresh breeze guided me toward the water.

It was a bit cold at first but I got used to it pretty quickly. I took a short swim, washed all the dirt and dust from my body and got out.

It started to get late so I sat on the comfortable green grass and took out a loaf of bread from my bag. It wasn't very fresh, but not old either.

I enjoyed my meal with the beautiful scenery of the setting sun reflecting on the lake, accompanied by a the singing of the birds hiding in the trees.

"Guess I need to spend the night here... "

I didn't see or hear any animals while wandering the forest, other than the birds, so I assumed it was pretty safe, but I still didn't feel good about it.

There weren't any caves or openings in the hill side around the waterfall I could hide in. I attempted to climb a tree but gave up after landing on my ass for the third time.

After a bit of thinking, the best solution seemed to be hiding in a bush so that's what I did.

I looked for the biggest bush around and shoved myself in. It was really uncomfortable, but at least I felt somewhat safe and hidden.

After a bit of a struggle I finally managed to fall asleep.

In the morning I contemplated what to do next as I was munching on one of the apples I had in my bag.

"I'm running out of food, I have no idea where I am, I don't remember anything past yesterday..." 

The problems just kept stacking up. First thing first I needed to get out of this forest and find a city, or a village, heck I would even take a settlement.

If I could find people that would solve most of my problems. I could buy food with the little money I had, and get some answers to where I am. 

So with that in mind I started wandering the forest again, but not for long since I spotted a road on the other side of the lake. I was right! If there's water, there's a road. No idea how I didn't see it yesterday.

Since I didn't know which way was the nearest village I simply picked a direction at random and started walking, hoping for the best.

After almost a full day of walking I was exhausted, dirty and hungry since all I had to eat all day were three apples. I was beginning to lose hope but then finally, there in the distance, there it was.

"A village!"