The Peculiar Alchemist

0 || Prologue

Everyone knew not to mess with the old witch who lived in the forest. There was no telling what she was up to, but the fact that she was at a secluded part away from everyone made her suspicious. She had a reputation, and her infamy spread.

The fact that people sometimes walked into her cottage only to never be seen again only made people a lot more wary and scared, and her infamy grew until everyone knew who she was.

Agnes.

There was a reason why people sometimes risked going there to see her. According to some, she can actually make some dreams come true. Tell people things nobody should know, things that died and were lost a long time ago. The prospect of that was appealing to some, and others were curious.

This world they were in was filled with endless possibilities of magic and chaos, and Agnes was both of those things.

And this is how it all started when an idiot paid her a visit.

Toby was never so bright.

Every time he said or did something, there would be someone shaking their head in disapproval at his stupidity. However, Toby desperately wanted something and he wanted it so badly that he was willing to face the consequences of meeting the wretched old witch in her own cottage.

Honestly, he was never used to feeling afraid because he was not smart enough to feel it, and his tall stature deterred people from ever thinking of trying anything on him. Toby was a large tall man, and he was intimidating. His magic, though, could not be more average for he was just a normal spellcaster with nothing special.

The power of a person's magic was hereditary, and the more powerful it is, the more wealth and influence it brought.

But as stated before, Toby was just an average guy from an average family.

And he still went deep into the forest searching for Agnes' cottage until he found it. The foggy surroundings did not help make the place look less creepy and ominous than it already is, and there was a dull green light originating from one of the windows. An owl howled in the distance as he approached the cottage, and he was surprised by someone coming out of it.

The guy who came out made him feel wrong in some way, and he immediately found himself disliking him. Distrust soon followed when bewildered eyebrows rose at the unexpected visitor, and Toby was surprised to find that the guy matched him – or maybe even exceeded him a little – in his height. He was always used to being the tallest in the room, but he was still larger than him.

And while he could see himself take the guy in a fight, he didn't know why his mind was thinking of being so hostile.

"She's not here." The guy told him walking over to him, and Toby took a step back when he saw something red smeared on the guy's face. Something suspiciously maroon. "You can go ahead inside and wait for her. Don't touch anything."

Toby didn't say a word, he just looked at the guy in disgust before he nodded his head and decided that he came far enough, it was too late for him to turn back now.

The wooden door made a loud creaking sound when he pushed it open, and that's when he was met with a spectacular sight.

Outwardly, the cottage was nothing impressive. However, inwardly, it was filled with a vast assortment of ingredients, potions, and many magical paraphernalia that had everything he ever learned back at school where nearly every type of magic was taught.

There was even a bubbling cauldron that had a glowing green liquid overflowing from it, disappearing once it fell on the floor. It was the source of the green light he saw outside.

And the books, there were so many opened books that seemed to be thrown aside once the knowledge needed was acquired.

Feeling awkward and amazed, Toby looked around for a seat and sat down on the wooden chair that was placed next to a table.

At first, he was patiently waiting, feeling like the time was going agonizingly slow, but then he found his fingers restlessly drumming on the table as he waited, and waited, and continued on waiting with the sounds coming from the bubbling cauldron being his only companion.

But then his eyes fell on an attractive-looking pink potion sitting right there next to him, and he found his hand wandering towards it wondering what it did, and what it tasted like.

It looked temptingly delicious, and he had to have a taste.

Just a little wouldn't hurt.

It was only one sip that he took, and he recoiled back at the bitter taste that greeted him. It was his own fault, he shouldn't have done that, but he soon found his vision to be swaying before he found himself on the floor with the potion dropping next to him, flowing towards his face.

Bright pink liquid and the sounds of a bubbling cauldron were the last thing he heard before darkness engulfed him.

And silence fell the place before being broken so rudely by the same wooden door slamming open, and a tall wiry old lady walked in holding a heavy box in her hand. Her fresh ingredients.

She paused at the sight of Toby lying there in the middle of her sitting room with her potion next to him. Her face contorted in disdain as she dropped her heavy box and gave his body a kick.

"Disgusting."

And without a care, she walked away from the pathetic sight going right back to work on her potion.

The guy dying on her floor can be dealt with later.