Theo’s mind stopped for a moment. Did he really mean living in the old house? It felt so natural to say it, even with all of the effort it took.

  “The old house?” The mother asked.

  “South… Not far,” Theo replied. His limbs were still heavy, but it was easier to lift his arms now.

  Nenn stepped into view from behind her mother’s back. “The burned village, mum! Are you sure, Mr. Human?”

  The older woman pushed the girl back again. “Please excuse her. She’s never seen a human before.”

  Theo answered with the try of a nod.

  He was given the waterskin once more and drank. He had more control now and spilled less. The cold water found its way into his stomach and settled there with calm.

  Theo pushed through his cramps and pulled himself up with more effort than he had expected. “I blacked out…”

  “Work?”

  Theo nodded quietly.

  “Well,” she continued, “you are a young thing. You should have listened to your body.”

  “Or prepared more of the drink,” Theo mumbled into his stubble.

  “Drink?”

  Theo nodded at the empty bottle that lay next to him. “I’ve made it at home. Should have prepared more.”

  Nenn jumped at the bottle and inspected it with curiosity, running her fingers across and taking a sniff that made her tail wiggle.

  “That doesn’t smell good, Mr. Hum– I mean Mr.”

  Theo laughed. He felt relieved seeing his chest move without pain. “Theo.”

  “What’s that?”

  The mother took the bottle out of her hands with a quick gesture. “His name, stupid. This is Nenn. And I am Elara. Can’t say it’s a pleasure, but we’ll take you to your home. Don’t we, Nenn!?”

  “Yes, mum…”

  Theo looked at them, focusing their tails for a bit too long before he answered.

  “Thanks…”

  He tried standing up, struggling when his legs tightened. He turned his hand when Elara put an arm under his and held him upright. Her body did not look that muscular, and her face didn’t show a fraction of effort. She smiled at him.

  Then, she tightened her grip. Not too tight, but tight like a craftsman would hold onto a tool. “Let’s bring you home.”

  Slowly, one step after another, they walked together. Whenever Theo struggled, they stopped for a while, but walking became more normal with each step, and soon, he was able to walk on his own. Nenn carried his luggage and a small bag on her back.

  They lived in a city that was just west of the forest. About an hour away if Theo translated Nenn’s description of the way into an estimated length correctly. After a while, they came back to his new home, found their way through the ruins and piles of stone and wood, and stood at his front door.

  Elara lifted an eyebrow, then looked at Theo. “You really live here?”

  “It’s not bad. Come inside!”

  He opened the door, and the newfound warmth rolled over him like a blanket, and somehow, Theo smirked. He cleared the table of a book about plants and made his way to the kitchen, where he prepared two more Energy Drinks, using the last of his summerberries.

  He put both mugs in front of them and asked for attention by clearing his throat.

  “Now, let’s hope this works…”

  Theo started stirring the first mug while thinking. Energy Drink, come to me…

  His fingers shimmered, the mug steered itself for a moment while liquid and hands turned into a pleasant green.

  “It worked! Drink, it’s really good!”

  Nenn’s eyes widened while she watched the mug, then his hands, then the mug again.

  Elara watched with restraint. Her eyebrows were deep, her eyes narrow, and she played with her fingers while watching. Eventually, she found her voice.

  “What is it?”

  Theo took the second mug and repeated the process. “I call it Energy Drink. I’ve drunk it before today. It frees your muscles… somehow.”

  She laughed. Once. Then her gaze returned to her previous expression.

  “You call it a drink? So, you’re an [Alchemist]?”

  “I… Uhm, yes, I’ve heard a voice before… Are you…?”

  “What level?”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “It said level two.”

  Elara went quiet and looked at Theo with concern. Nenn joined in as well. Theo didn’t understand. Had he done something wrong? It is what it had said.

  “Level two,” Elara confirmed quietly. It took both of them a while until their expressions returned, and the conversation went back to normal.

  “You are funny, Mr. Theo,” Nenn finally said.

  Theo didn’t smile or laugh. Neither his mind nor his body knew how to react. “What is it? I mean it.”

  Elara’s smile turned into a grin. “And this is your first creation, this Energy Drink? What does it do exactly?”

  “As I said. It frees muscles. Hard to describe. So basically, my legs were heavy, I drank it, and they felt light again. If that makes sense,” Theo explained while gesturing down his body.

  Elara nipped on her mug, then swallowed. Nenn watched her expectantly. She shook her arms and nodded. “You are right. It does feel good. One last question, and I’ll stop mocking you. How much did you drink of that?”

  Theo shrugged and pointed at the mug. “About this much. Maybe a bit less?”

  The girl and the woman now looked at each other, their tails twitching when they joined in once more. “Hahahaahaahahaha!”

  He watched them for a second before slamming his fist on top of the table. “Would anyone tell me what the fuck is going on!?”

  The laughter ended abruptly. Nenn glanced over with cheeks still red. “You are an [Alchemist], not a [Brewer], Mr. Theo… and not a good one.”

  Elara shook her head, putting her dark-red hair into a ponytail before elaborating.

  “I am not an [Alchemist] myself, but even I know that you should never drink that much from a potion,” she gestured at the mug, “but now I know why we found you.”

  “Not that much…?” It was almost as if something struck Theo when he said the words. Does that mean…

  “You’re not from here, are you?”

  He thought about his answer for a moment, but decided it would be dumb to tell her.

  “No, I am not. Why?”

  “Well,” Elara smiled at him, “your level is a bit too low for your age. Even Nenn is a level 3 [Guard] already.”

  “[Guard]!?” Theo swallowed, then looked over to Nenn, who put up her widest smile for him.

  “And I only train two days a week!”

  Theo inspected her closer, but she was still the girl she had been before. His head turned back to Elara. “What happens if you drink too much?”

  “Depends on your potion. I think you've gotten a taste today, hm? Heard of people who died from more powerful ones,” she explained with neutral expression.

  Died!? Theo could feel the sweat on his back again. “What… What is a safe amount?”

  Elara looked around the room, then stood up and rummaged through the shelf. She held a small bottle, maybe half the size of her hand. “This is what I’ve seen. Once a day.”

  He compared the size in his head. The mug might be what? Five times the size of what she had just presented him with?

  “This is no joke? Fucking shit…”

  Elara answered with a smile and silence. The silence stood inside the room for a while until she continued. “So, where do you pursue your craft?”

  “You mean mixing it up? In the kitchen,” Theo pointed at the door behind the counter.

  The woman opened it and looked around while Nenn rummaged through the book Theo had put aside. “You have better equipment than I thought. Where did you get this?”

  Theo followed and watched her examine the device. “It had been here before. I just came here a few days ago.”

  She turned to the worktop to find leftovers from his meal. Some brownhead and the potato. “Have you not cooked that?” It escaped her mouth before she could restrain herself. But her face still showed a certain amount of disbelief.

  “No. It was not great, but it worked. Also, I have nothing to make fire yet.”

  She searched through her pockets until she pulled something out and gave it to Theo. A small metal rod, about the size of his little finger, and a flat piece of stone.

  “Use this to make fire. And boil it. Boy, you have a lot of work to do.”

  Theo watched her dark hair from behind when she walked out of the kitchen, grabbed Nenn’s hand, and turned around.

  “You already look a lot better, but we’ll have to go now. Say Good-Bye, Nenn!”

  “Bye, Mr. Theo,” Nenn replied quickly, waving a hand and smiling at him.

  Elara waved a hand as well. “When you’re in town, you should visit. We could use your work if you figure it out. We live near the market. Just ask for us!”

  Theo hesitantly waved a hand as well. “Thank you. Both of you for bringing me home. If I can do anything to return–”

  “Start with staying on your feet,” Nenn laughed as she closed the door behind her.

  There he was again. The scent of wilted lilac lingered in the air for a moment as he heard their happy chatting outside fade into the distance.

  He took as much of it into his nose as possible. Then he glanced over to the mugs standing on the table.

  I could have died…

  He emptied both of them outside.

  ?

  ***

  ?

  It took him a while to find some dried cloth in the ruins, and after freeing them of most of the dust, they looked perfect for what was to come.

  The wood was dry, heavy, and most chunks were too large, so he collected as many of the smaller pieces as he could and brought them inside.

  Then, Theo stood in his garden once more. He could remember most of the weeds from the book and decided to clean the patch up from the more prominent weed plants. It looked strangely organized. At first, there was just a mess, but at a second look, the plants had an order, and some of them were planted suspiciously close to each other. One more potato plant. One more brownhead.

  Back in the kitchen, the cloth caught fire within a few seconds. It was far easier than he had expected. As if an invisible hand guided his movement with the metal rod and the stone. A moment later, he had a fire that took over the wood and spread warmth around the kitchen. When the smoke hit his nose, he knew it was time to place his pot.

  When the water started boiling, he had chopped both of his plants and put them into the pot.

  He watched. And watched… And watched.

  Until his nose caught not smoke, but something else.

  The earthy scent of a potato mixed together with the one of freshly cooked kale. Or in other words, a few days after arriving, it smelled amazing!

  He carefully fished every bit out of the pot and plated it. A tiny bit of herbs crushed on top, and he had a fresh meal. This time, a cooked one. A real meal!

  Thank god for these two!

  He took the first bite. It had been too long since he had something warm in his stomach. And despite lying in the grass for who knows how long, his clothes were still pretty clean.

  Today, Theo’s smile while eating was genuine. He had escaped death, he was clean, and he had something to eat.

  While eating, he looked around. It looked decent by now. He had a clean common room, a kitchen that worked, little to no mess so far, a bedroom with at least half a working bed, a door that only opened when he touched some carving, a garden patch with slightly fewer weeds, and a way to make fire.

  “After all, I am an [Alchemist],” he chuckled before gulping down the last bite. Then it hit him. “...and weaker than a child.”

  But first, he'd have to find out a lot more about what being one means. As he looked outside, the sun was still at its zenith, and there was work to do.