[A/N: I FINALLY RECOVERED MY ACCOUNT!!! I'm so sorry it took a while for me to upload a new chapter (T-T)]
*********************************
I woke up from what felt like a bad dream and see an unfamiliar wooden ceiling.
Ah. Right I got isekaied.
I realize that I'm not laying down in the floor anymore, but instead on the sofa.
?
I slowly get up and scan the room. The woman who was once injured is now sitting on a stool in front of the fireplace, boiling something in the cauldron. The hood she was wearing was now replaced with a beautiful black gown that reveals her smooth back and her long blood red hair that reaches the floor.
!
My body suddenly tenses up as I try to stay quiet. I don't know what to do now or what to say. My mind is racing, trying to think of every possible scenario on how I can start this conversation. Until I finally chose the most optimal option.
I will pretend that I just woke up and release a loud yawn so that she will start conversation and not me!
All right on 3.
1... 2... 3...
*grumble*
At that very moment my stomach decided it was a good time to voice its hunger.
The woman turned her head around, revealing her scarlet red eyes to look at me with no hint of any emotion in her eyes, not helping at all with what just happened.
I wanna crawl in a hole and die.
I feel my face burn red from embarrassment.
"There is food on the table, eat it if your hungry."
The woman said, before turning her gaze back into the cauldron.
I look at the table, and on it is a plate with what seems to be a potato that was roughly peeled and then boiled. I grabbed the potato and took a small bite of it. It was cold. It was a wet raw potato.
But I'm not going to complain on free food, especially not after running for so long. I took a bite of the wet potato and it is as bad as you think. I coughed after forcing myself to swallow the potato.
The woman without turning back then asked me in a monotone voice.
"Why did you help me?"
"*cough* W-what?"
"You had no reason to help me, so why? Did you plan on using me?"
"Eh?! No! I-It just... I'd... I... just felt like it..."
She turns her head and raises an eyebrow at me.
"You felt like it?"
I instinctively avoided eye contact and looked away.
"Yes..."
She continued to look at me until eventually she looks back into the cauldron.
I see her raise her hand and a glass container on the counter filled with yellow dust gently floated its way to the cauldron, dumping its contents in it before returning back into the counter. With another move of her hand the cauldron stirs itself while several other containers flew out of the counter and continued to throw their contents into the cauldron.
So this is what real magic looks like... It looks like she's just levitating them.
I gazed in amazement at the floating objects. Until it was suddenly broken by another question from her.
"What are you?"
"?"
"You have the distinct physical qualities of a demon, yet you are the very opposite of what the rumors described you to be. I heard, your kind was more... vicious than what you show."
It's because I'm a human in the inside. My body just happens to be a demon's or maybe the archdemon's. But how I would define what I am... I'm not really 100% human or 100% demon so... What am I?
"...I-I don't know..."
She turned her gaze back at me again but this time it was much shorter and she returned her gaze back to the cauldron.
Did my answer convince her? or does she think I'm to vague and got annoyed? It's hard to tell since she doesn't show any emotions... I feel like she doesn't care anymore...
With a wave of her hand the cauldron begins to stir. Without turning back she asks...
"What are you going to do?"
"?"
"You do not know what you are. You do not have a motive for your actions. So what do you plan to do?"
What I want to do?
I want to survive, but after that... No wait a minute, as long as the abyssal tide comes I'll only have 3 years left to live before everything in this world ends. And I have never finished the novel so there's no telling how it will end, all I know is that in 3 years the abyssal tide will come and it will destroy. So to save myself and this world I made I need to stop it.
"I... I... want..."
She turned her gaze back towards me, with the same expressionless face.
"...to save the world."
"?"
She raises an eyebrow as she gazes at me. No doubt, she probably thinks I'm crazy right now.
The pressure from her gaze causes me to look away from her, because I probably just said some very embarrassing stuff.
Please don't look at me like you're looking at an alien... I kind of am, but this is embarrassing enough...
She closes her eyes again and turns back to the cauldron as if in she is thinking.
"What's your name, child?"
"W-what?"
"Your name, what is it?"
"R-Roland..."
"I see."
She waves her hand, and the measuring dropper floats towards her.
"Where you the one that cured my wound?"
"Eh? Ah, Yes."
"Explain."
"?-What?"
"How did you do it. Do not leave a single detail behind."
She turns around to face me, with a serious look on her face.
"Ah... Ok..."
I then detailed the entire process step by step and tried not to leave anything behind. All the while she rubs the lid of the measuring dropper with her fingertips, listening carefully and looking at me the entire time.
"...and I think that's it..."
"Did you ever use this tool?"
She looks down to the measuring dropper on her hands.
"N-no..."
"Why?"
"I-I didn't know... how to use it..."
Her eyes looked at me with a curiously.
"You don't know how to use this?"
"N-no?"
After a few seconds of silence, she turns back to the cauldron, while the measuring dropper floats back from where it came from.
Eh? I-is she mad? Did I say something wrong?
With a wave of her hand, she commands the liquid inside the cauldron to stir a few times. Without looking back she then asks.
"Roland, have you ever heard of a place called the Academy?"
"Y-yes!"
The academy in a nutshell, is a place where many young talented individuals learn and train under the guide of their teachers and is also where the main story takes place. The subjects in the entrance exams are history, alchemy, magic and physical prowess.
Basically the Academy is your average magic sword high school novel/manga/anime.
"I do not know exactly what your true motives are, but I can at least tell that the emotions you have behind it are not malicious nor lies."
"?"
"If you wish to find your path, then I believe attending the academy can help you towards it."
What she's saying isn't wrong and it's not like I never thought about it. That's we're most of the main plot happens so I can keep an eye if some plots changed for worst but...
"I-isn't there a test that I have to pass? I'm not exactly smart... or strong..."
"You were able to run several kilometers at full speed in the forest without rest while carrying me. You might not have the techniques or the skills of a warrior, but you at least have extraordinary stamina.
Thats... true... But I think that was mostly adrenaline, since a crazy guy throwing trees and boulder was after me
"As for intellect. You were able to heal such a deep wound with just the instructions on the book and without a measuring dropper."
"But that was just me guessing! and I was just mostly going off by feeling..."
"Then you are talented, which is valued just as much as knowledge."
"B-but what about my wings and horns! They won't allow anyone looking like a demon enter the academy!"
"About that... You dropped this earlier."
She turns around shows me a ring with a purple gem attached to it on palm of her hand. I recalled having that ring, but I don't remember dropping it anywhere.
"I scanned the area if there was anyone nearby. Luckily there was none, but this ring was dropped at the house you and the chaos beast collided with.
There is a sort of shapeshifting magic carved to this ring, so this will allow you an easier entrance to the academy."
I approached her and grabbed the ring. I put the ring on my fingers and I felt a weight dissapear off my shoulders as I did. I looked into the mirror in the counter and I see my face and body return back to what it once was.
"Now, have you made up your mind?"
"...But-"
"You need not worry about your social status either, the academy does not discriminate between commoners and nobles."
"..."
"Is there anything else you wish to know?"
This woman is very adamant at me joining the academy...
"...H-how are you so sure they'll just let me in..."
"Many gifted children join, or are brought to the academy to hone their crafts. Some are geniuses in fighting, some in more scholarly fields, and some, though rare, are gifted in both fields.
You, child, are gifted in alchemy."
"I-I don't think me following the instructions in an alchemy book qualifies me for being talented..."
Plus I was the one who made up all the recipes in alchemy in the first place. So its like calling a teacher who scored perfect at the exam they made a genius for knowing all the answers
"Alchemy is a very dangerous art. One can find themselves killed from inputting the incorrect amount of ingredients. The very book you read was built upon many trials and errors that lead to the death of some alchemists."
"Eh? You're joking with me right?"
The woman looks me in the eye with the same expressionless look.
"The person that made the recipe you used to create water flooded the entire capital of the Empire and was arrested because he accidentally added too much lake tears.
"Eh?"
"The person who made the recipe you used to stitch my wound had her hands glued together till the day she died because she held onto the swamp muck for too long.
"Wha-"
"A person that used the recipe you used to light the fireplace burned his fingers to the bone after because he used 5 extra milligrams of hellfire butterflies"
"..."
But I never wrote it to be that specific! I just wrote a bit of this and a bit of that equals to this! I never wrote that being off a milligram means you lose your limbs!
Wait... There was one time I wrote an off handed comment about several students talking about someone becoming blind after using too much glow dust so I have a reason why the protagonist doesn't want to do alchemy.... Oh god was that why.
That wasn't even integral to the main plot! I just wrote that because I was too lazy at making the protagonist know alchemy and wanted to focus more on cool sword fighting!
Even though I made the alchemy stuff very detailed I couldn't think of a reason for the protagonist to use alchemy right in the middle of the story. He was already strong enough to solve any problem by just swinging his legendary sword at the general direction of the enemy... Wait, I'm getting lost in my own head.
"Your joking right? Your just trying to make me feel better about myself right? It's not that specific right?"
"The person that burned his fingers was an apprentice of mine. Would you like to see a picture of him?"
The woman tilts her head as she asks me.
"...No thank you..."
"Very well. But back to the main topic. You are right that they won't just let anyone in. They will check your history and those close to you for anything suspicious. Most likely, they will not accept someone with such a vague history like yourself."
True. If they accept anyone who is talented or smart, then there is a good chance spies and assassins will be sent after the students. Especially since most of the students in the academy are royalty or nobility.
"For that reason I shall accompany you acting as your guardian."
"Huh?"
"You being surprised every time I speak is getting quite tiring."
"S-sorry. But what? Did I hear things right"
"They will not question your background if I take you in as my apprentice. So you can continue to hide your real identity without anyone from the academy suspecting you."
"B-but are you sure that's enough? Will they really believe you?"
"I have isolated myself from society for a long while, but I know my reputation carries weight. If that alone is not enough, then I shall ask my previous apprentice for a recommendation."
Reputation? Since she can use magic and can do alchemy...
"D-does that mean you're one of the 10 witches?"
"So you are aware of the existence of my other sisters? Interesting... But let me correct you. There are 11 of us, not 10 ."
There are 3 magic users in this world: Sorcerers, people that can use magic but aren't skilled with alchemy. Alchemist, those that have little to no magic but are skilled with alchemy. And Witches, those that can use magic and also knowledgeable with alchemy.
But all three are usually generalized as 'Mages' by most of the common folk.
During the events in the main plot of the story the witches don't really serve much of a purpose besides being background characters that gave the main protagonist something to do. Because of that I don't really remember everything I wrote down about them.
But I did remember calling them 'The 10 Witches of the Seal'. Why did I call them that? Because there were 10 of them and I thought it sounded cool.
They used to be called the 11 witches, but one of them tragically died in the hands of an otherhunter.
So that means the person I saved was that very witch that was supposed to die...
Did I completely destroy the main plot? No, It's probably fine since the witches rarely appear and aren't that important in the story, so nothing from the main plot is going to be completely different... hopefully....
"Have you made your choice?"
The witch's voice breaks my line of thought.
"I-I guess... Miss....???"
"Vor."
"T-then if you are fine with it, Miss Vor..."
"I' am. And it is better we leave sooner, it will not take long for the otherhunters to search this area. Even with my magic, this place can only hide for so long."
Vor levitates several objects in the room and starts sending them all inside a suitcase.
The red haired witch then stands up and pulls out what can only be described as an oversized witch hat from thin air and a twisted wooden staff flies to her hand from one of the other rooms.
With her outfit, Vor really looks like a stereotypical witch in a fantasy world.
The suitcase flies to Vor's hand as she makes her way to the front door. Vor then looks back at me and asks.
"Do you know how to use an oar?"
"?, Oar? Like the ones they use for rowboats?"
"Yes, it is best we get to the Academy as quickly as possible. And the fastest way is by boat."
Boat? But the only place that you can reach the Empire with a boat in the north is....
I then realized that Vor was already outside the house and walking away. I run out and caught up to her.
"Wait, are we crossing through the lake???"
"?, is that not obvious?"
With a wave of her hand Vor causes the cauldron inside the house to fall over and spilled the yellow liquid concoction it contained in the floor.
The yellow liquid then starts to spread rapidly in the house like a virus. Eating everything and leaving nothing in its wake.
In less than 2 minutes, the small cabin was completely gone, as if it never existed.