Chapter 4. Repaying a Debt

Chapter 4. Repaying a Debt

What was that?

I had a strange dream. As if I ended up in another world… A world with a system and levels. A world that felt like… a game.

Yes, that’s right. It was the world of that very game I used to play a lot. Its title was long—I don’t quite remember it, but it definitely had the word “Chaos” in it. Yes, “World of Chaos.” The rest of the name slipped my mind.

I remember well that I liked the game. Some might have found it hard and convoluted, but for me it was a great way to unwind. I played it quite a lot.

And then, in the dream’s plot, I seemed to end up in that world. But not as a hero, not as a mighty mage or warrior… as some weakling of level zero. I got bitten by some small yet terrifying rabbits. Then a whole pack of those creatures chased me, and in the end I ran into two girls.

… what kind of nonsense dream was that?

Enough thinking about the dream and all that nonsense.

Time to get up.

Out of habit, I sat up without even opening my eyes. I slowly cracked them open and squeezed them shut again. Too bright. I covered my eyes with my hand a few times, trying to get used to the light.

And then I froze.

I’m… not in my room.

What I had just considered a ridiculous dream turned out to be reality.

This is my current reality.

Or I’ve completely lost my mind and I’m hallucinating?

“You finally came to,” I heard a voice. A girl’s voice.

I slowly turned my head toward the sound. A girl sat by a campfire. A blonde. Her light-gold hair was neatly gathered into a short ponytail, and the sunbeams filtering through the leaves played softly in it like thin threads of gold.

She wore light armor—the kind I often saw in games: practical but not bulky, snug to the body and not hindering movement.

When my gaze reached her face, I held my breath for a second. Neat features, expressive blue eyes, a straight nose, and a faint, almost playful smile… for some reason, she made me feel warm inside. It wasn’t a lifeless, doll-like beauty but bright and alive, like a character from a carefully drawn game. So beautiful it seemed unreal.

The girl stared intently into my face and kept silent.

“Just staring at someone and saying nothing is very rude, you know,” she said with a slight smirk.

Damn, what an idiot I am. I really had just stared at her and didn’t even answer the question. What am I even supposed to say in a situation like this?

“Uh… hey,” I finally managed.

“Is that all you wanted to say?” She lifted an eyebrow, but her voice softened. “All right, all right. Looks like you’re a little out of it.

“So, how do you feel? Anything hurt? Looks like the wounds have closed up. Did the potion work? Any injuries elsewhere, under your clothes?” the girl asked calmly.

“Ah… right, I was hurt,” I answered, gradually recalling everything that had happened.

I looked at my hand—the one I’d punched into the rabbit’s mouth with. The skin was whole, not a trace. Then I automatically touched my neck—and it was fine, too.

But my T-shirt… damn. It had stuck to my body, completely soaked with dried blood.

“So, nothing hurts?” the girl asked.

“No, I think I’m okay,” I replied.

“Good then. You should wash up—eating in that state will be… shall we say, inconvenient,” she said with a faint smile.

“Food?” Only then did I catch a smell in the air… fish. At first I thought it was meat, but no—fish. I turned my head and saw several fish skewered on spits and roasting over the fire.

I’m not particularly fond of fish, but right now the smell seemed incredibly appetizing. My stomach growled in protest.

“All right, don’t just sit there all filthy,” the girl said.

I stood, took a few steps, and walked into the river. The water pleasantly cooled my skin. I started scrubbing the dried blood off my hands, my face… damn, there was more than I thought. It came off my face with difficulty—as if it had soaked in. I had to rub quite a bit.

The T-shirt was worse: the blood had dried so much the fabric had gone stiff. I took it off and rinsed it as best I could, though I knew it really needed a proper wash later.

As I finished up and stepped out of the water, heading back to the fire, something dropped from above. No, not dropped—jumped. My heart lurched; I flinched on reflex, but relaxed immediately: it wasn’t a monster.

Another girl landed lightly in front of me—a brunette with long black hair. She had just jumped from a height of more than ten meters and touched down as easily as if she’d come down a flight of stairs. She held a bundle in her hands.

“Look what I found!” she said brightly to the blonde and showed her haul.

In her hands lay a dozen large fruits, like peaches—juicy and slightly gleaming in the sun.

—

Damn… how can fish be this tasty?

I’ve never liked fish. Since childhood—neither boiled, nor fried, nor grilled. Fish was always a kind of “last resort” to me, if there was no other food. But this, simply cooked over a campfire, was divine. I’d already put away three and could barely restrain myself from asking for more. Of course, it would be rude to be pushy and demand seconds—they were the ones who caught and cooked it, not me.

While we ate, we also had a brief introduction. The blonde’s name was Sherial, and the brunette’s was Rem. Adventurers. They had come into this gorge on a guild assignment. As for me… I tried not to tell the truth. Who would believe me if I claimed I fell asleep in my room and woke up in another world?

I wrung every last drop of inventiveness out of my brain to craft the most plausible story: that I came from a tiny mountain village far from here. That the village was isolated, I knew nothing of the outside world, and I had no idea how I ended up here. They listened in silence. It seemed they didn’t quite buy it, but they didn’t question me further. Thank god.

As for the brunette… She was beautiful as well, in no way inferior to Sherial. Long, flowing black hair and expressive green eyes gave her a vivid, lively look. Only… how does she fight with hair like that? In battle, it could get in the way. Though judging by her gear, she used a sword, and Sherial—a bow. Then again, I’m no expert in their world. This is fantasy… it has its own rules.

“So, Alisar,” Rem spoke, leaning back a little. “What are you planning to do after we leave? If you really are from such a distant village.”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I think… I’ll try to register as an adventurer. Earn a living and see the world.”

“Don’t you want to go back to your village?” she clarified.

“Not now. I want to see this world,” I said. And how could I return to a village that doesn’t exist?

“Then you’re in luck,” Rem said, nodding toward the gorge. “There’s a village not far from here with a small Guild branch. Perfect for beginners. You can register there.”

“Yes, thank you,” I replied. “I really will do that.”

At the moment I had no means of subsistence whatsoever.

Oh! Looks like I’d forgotten something. They saved my life. And even used a health potion to heal me. I couldn’t thank them in any way… I had nothing.

Although… I could at least return the health potion they spent on me. I hoped it had been a first-rank potion. That was what I was counting on.

All right, my mana was just over a thousand—enough for one potion.

I activated my skill, and right in front of me, just like last time, a health potion appeared.

This time I didn’t wait for it to fall to the ground; I caught it right away.

“So, you have a storage skill?” Sherial asked.

“Well… no,” I said.

“Then where did you get that potion?” Rem asked.

“I have the ‘Alchemy’ skill. I can create potions with it,” I replied and held out the vial. “This is to replace the one you used on me. It’s all I have right now… But if you wait, I can make a few more.”

Rem took the potion and examined it closely.

“So, you created this?”

“Well, technically, my skill did. Yes, I created it,” I said.

“And what do you need to create it? Some ingredients?” she asked.

“Actually, no. It would be a pain if I had to run around collecting roots, slimes, or plants…” I tried to joke, but Rem’s intent stare made me fall silent. “To create a potion I only need mana. For example, this potion cost me a thousand mana.”

“Only mana? So you can create health potions using just mana?” Rem said in surprise.

“Yes. I got this skill when I reached level ten. The system said I had a choice of skills… but in practice there was only this one—‘Alchemy.’ There was no choice.” I gave a slightly disappointed smile. “Yeah, if I’d had the option to take something combat-oriented… Although this skill is useful, it’s not much help in a fight.”

“Listen, Alisar. Listen carefully,” Rem said in a cold, serious voice.

I tensed involuntarily. There wasn’t a trace of humor in her voice.

For a moment I felt uneasy—had I said something wrong?

“Never. Under any circumstances. Tell no one that you have an ‘Alchemy’ skill that lets you create health potions using only mana. Never. Tell. Anyone,” she repeated, looking straight into my eyes.

“What?.. Why?” I asked, bewildered. “I thought it was a helpful skill. I was going to use it to make potions and earn a bit of money.”

“Yes, you can create and sell them,” Rem nodded, “but never do it in front of others. Never use the skill in front of witnesses.” Her voice grew even more serious.

“But… why?..” There was a tremor in my voice. I spoke more quietly, as if afraid someone might overhear.

“Because health potions are a strategic resource,” Rem explained. “They can only be obtained in dungeons by fighting monsters and risking your life. If you’re lucky, you can get one or a few after a battle. Experienced adventurers obtain many of them, but the ability to create potions on your own… no one has ever seen a skill like that.” She leaned closer. “I’ve never heard of anyone having anything similar.”

Sherial nodded silently, looking at me as if gauging whether I understood how serious this was.

“But that’s good, then,” I said. “In the future I could create lots of potions once I level up. That could save many lives.”

“Yes…” Rem sighed heavily and shook her head. “It seems you really are from some isolated village. You don’t know a thing about the world.”

“What?..” I didn’t understand where she was going with this.

“Let’s think logically,” her voice turned serious, almost teacher-like. “You have a skill that lets you create health potions. And health potions are an item that’s always in demand. They can only be obtained in dungeons. Even if some clan or party gets dozens of potions, the market price doesn’t drop. They’re always snapped up. Now imagine: suddenly there appears a person… you… with the ability to create potions without limit.”

Something lurched inside me.

“If someone learns about this,” Rem continued, holding my gaze, “a lord, a guild master, some clan, or just anyone with power… they’ll simply catch you. That’s it. You’ll spend the rest of your life behind bars, creating potions for them.”

“What?..” My palms went cold.

“Yes, exactly,” Rem nodded. “You’ll be like a goose that lays golden eggs. If you’re lucky, they’ll keep you in a luxurious cage and treat you ‘kindly.’ But most likely… you’ll end up somewhere deep underground, in a prison or a laboratory. Every day you’ll spend all your mana making potions so those who captured you can profit off your ability.”

An image flashed before my eyes: a dark dungeon, iron bars, me alone, surrounded by cold stone and magic chains…

A chill ran down my spine.

That kind of prospect… isn’t exactly inspiring.

As I sank into thoughts of my potential bleak future, Sherial suddenly asked a question:

“So, about your alchemy skill. You said, I think, that you can create not only health potions?” she asked with mild interest.

“Well, yes. I can create three types of potions: health potions, mana potions, and experience potions. But they’re all only first rank, because my alchemy skill is first rank as well,” I answered.

“My advice,” Rem interjected, “is sell only health potions. Mana potions aren’t that valued. They’re not as in demand as health potions. And experience potions…” she paused briefly. “You’d better not try to sell them at all.”

“Why?” I asked in surprise.

“Because experience potions are extremely rare. You can get them only deep in dungeons, and usually only high-rank adventurers manage it. Their buyers are aristocrats. You definitely don’t want to get involved with them,” she said seriously.

“Yes, she’s right,” Sherial nodded. “If you draw the attention of aristocrats, you’ll be up to your neck in trouble.”

“Well… I can’t create experience potions anyway,” I shrugged.

“Why? You just said you can make them,” Sherial said, surprised.

“Theoretically—yes. But for a first-rank health or mana potion I need only a thousand mana. For a first-rank experience potion—one million mana. I don’t even have one percent of that,” I replied honestly.

“Then that’s actually good,” Rem exhaled with relief.

“Why?” I asked, but she just waved it off:

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it,” she said, looking off to the side.

Rem suddenly looked straight at me, her gaze turning serious.

“And also, remember,” she said. “When you sell potions, don’t sell only health potions. That’ll draw unnecessary attention. Add something else with them—monster magic stones, dungeon trophies… Over there, you can collect the magic stones from those monsters that chased you,” she pointed toward where I had run from.

I followed her gaze. There, amid the trampled grass, you could clearly make out the trace of a large-scale fight. Of course, the grass wasn’t trampled by rabbits—that was the trail of that huge stone golem. I decided not to ask extra questions. What if it was some secret of theirs, like my alchemy skill.

“There should be plenty of magic stones left there,” Rem continued. “Gather them for yourself.”

“But they’re yours. You’re the ones who defeated the monsters… the rabbit-monsters,” I objected.

“We don’t need them,” Sherial said with a laugh. “They’re worth pennies. We’d only waste time picking them up.”

“Yeah,” Rem added. “We’ll get a good reward from the guild for completing the assignment anyway. So don’t be shy.”

“All right… thank you very much,” I said, sincerely grateful.

“And another thing,” Rem said seriously again. “Selling health potions in small amounts from time to time—that’s fine. Even if you show up with a dozen potions, nobody will be shocked. But if you do it constantly and in large volumes—people will start asking questions. Got it?”

“Yes, got it. I’ll do just that,” I nodded.

—

I was genuinely grateful to these girls. And someday, in the future, when I become strong enough, I will definitely repay them for saving me. Thanks to them, I learned a lot about this world. Well… not that much, but enough to take my first confident steps.

The most important thing was the information about my alchemy skill. If they hadn’t warned me, I, like a complete fool, would surely have used it in front of people or in some crowded place, without trying very hard to hide it. Now I know how dangerous that could be. From this moment on, I will be extremely careful. I must never show anyone how I create potions. No one.

As for Rem and Sherial… They already know about my alchemy. They know I can create potions using only mana. Suspecting them would be stupid. They were the first to warn me of the danger. Yes, I trust them.

If they were bad people, they could have just grabbed me, locked me somewhere, and forced me to make potions for them day after day. Or worse—sell me as valuable loot.

Although… I hesitated for a second.

If girls that beautiful locked me up… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad?

“Damn it!” I slapped my cheeks. “What am I thinking?”

Enough! They saved your life, and you’re acting like an ungrateful jerk!

I exhaled deeply and shook my head, chasing away the silly fantasies. No. They can be trusted.

Okay, focus.

In about three hours I should reach a bridge. Climb up onto it, then follow the road to the left. If everything goes according to plan, in another two hours I’ll arrive at the nearest village.

But as I moved upstream, my plans changed a bit. I came across a small glade overgrown with dense bushes bearing red berries. A little farther away grew several trees with fruits like peaches—only without that irritating, fuzzy skin. Their peel was smooth, and you could eat them with the skin on, just needed a rinse.

Those berries and fruits turned out to be edible, though the berries shouldn’t be eaten in too large amounts—the girls had warned me about that in advance.

Yeah… that changes my plans.

Why rush to the village right now? I have a safe place—the training room. There’s enough food here to last at least a week, maybe two. I can train in peace, do assignments, and gradually raise my level.

The higher my level, the safer my life in this world will be.