Chapter 2
Chapter 1
Possession
It was a bright afternoon with birds chirping.
Warm sunlight poured into the atelier with a peaceful, almost pastoral atmosphere, gently tickling my face.
The city beyond was full of life.
Using the faint sounds coming through the walls as background noise, I raised my hand.
Gone were the fingers covered in scars and calluses. In their place were pale, slender fingers that moved according to my will.
“Ahh.”
I cleared my throat lightly, and instead of a heavy low voice, a beautiful, clear tone came out.
A sound that could never have come from my own voice.
After processing the situation with years of accumulated knowledge and a few hours of analysis, I came to a conclusion.
“This is possession.”
I had ended up inside a game I used to play and loved.
And not just any character, but the main character of the game.
“What the hell is going on?”
I scratched my head while trying to make sense of the situation.
There was nothing that should have caused this.
I didn’t send a 5,700 character email to the game company. I didn’t pick up any strange glowing stones from a gate. I didn’t participate in any weird surveys either.
And yet, I had ended up inside Alchemist Story, and of all people, I had become the protagonist.
“Is it because I played it too much?”
But this was a game that still had over 100,000 concurrent players even ten years after its release.
There were plenty of people far more hardcore than me.
“Out of all those people, why me? They could’ve picked someone else.”
I had been deeply immersed in its massive freedom and content.
If I had known this would happen, I would never have played it.
“This is bad. If I’m the protagonist, what happens to the story?”
The character I had possessed, Teo, was an alchemist.
And the main character of the game.
If it were combat, I might have managed. But alchemy was something I had only ever seen on a screen.
When so-called hunter worlds suddenly appeared on Earth, nothing related to alchemy ever showed up, so my knowledge was basically limited to what I had seen in Alchemist Story.
All theory, no practice.
“Nowadays, people get isekai’d into side characters or even their original bodies. Why did I have to become the main character?”
If I had at least ended up in my original body, things would have been easier.
But being the protagonist made my head hurt.
Then, faint translucent spirits approached me and patted my shoulders with their tiny arms.
“Kyuu.”
“Are you comforting me?”
“Kyuu!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Three cute spirit beings shaped like inverted water droplets were trying to comfort me.
I was glad that the hunter abilities I had still carried over into this body.
They were more support-oriented than offensive, but better than nothing.
I looked around the atelier.
Alchemy tools like cauldrons, transmutation circles, and distillers were scattered around, along with baskets of potion ingredients waiting to be processed.
“So today is the prologue.”
Tomorrow was the grand opening, so I was preparing potions to sell in the shop attached to the atelier.
How did I know that?
Because I had inherited Teo’s memories upon possession.
From infancy to right before the possession, all memories had been transferred, so at least I wouldn’t mess up basic alchemy.
Even so, I still felt uneasy.
I stared at the bubbling alchemy cauldron while organizing my thoughts.
I had been thrown into the body of the protagonist of a game I never asked to enter.
Now that I was physically inside this world instead of watching it on a screen, I had to proceed step by step.
First, I would organize future events and record hidden pieces scattered across Astrum and the various dangerous regions.
Once I set my plan, my chaotic mind became clear.
“Let’s finish opening preparations first.”
“Kyuu!”
I stretched lightly and checked the potion basket that was only half full.
There were ten potions inside.
To complete it, I needed ten more.
“Five vitality potions and five antidote potions.”
Out of the four core potions that every alchemist relied on, two were already done. Now only health and mana potions remained.
Today’s goal was to produce five each of health, mana, vitality, and antidote potions.
I glanced at the materials prepared beside the cauldron and sighed.
Even if I had been possessed, what happened to Teo’s soul?
Did it disappear?
Or was it swapped with my original body?
Countless possibilities crossed my mind.
It almost felt like I had stolen the life of a young boy with a bright future.
But thinking about it wouldn’t change anything.
I steadied myself.
“Take it slow. Solve things one at a time.”
For now, I was also a victim.
I would deal with the possession issue later. Right now, I had to focus on potion making.
Standing before the mana furnace and the alchemy cauldron, I forced myself to stay calm.
My alchemy knowledge was perfect.
With Teo’s experience combined with my own understanding, in theory there should be no mistakes.
But I still worried whether I, as the “software,” could keep up with the original owner.
“Kyuu!”
“Kyuiing!”
“Thanks for cheering me on.”
The spirits helped ease my tension.
Right. I just had to try.
Since I was inside the protagonist’s body now, I had no choice but to make it work.
At least I had to clear the first chapter of the main story alone.
I grabbed a red herb, the base ingredient for a basic health potion.
Then it happened.
A strange electric sensation ran through my fingertips.
My body moved on its own, as if possessed again.
The red herb flowers went into the roaster, and the leaves into the extractor.
While the roaster spun and released heat, I pressed down the lever, extracting liquid into a crystal bottle.
I cleaned the extractor, added blue berries, and pressed again.
In my mind, formulas and improvements for potion crafting kept flowing endlessly.
I processed the remaining ingredients.
I added the base solution into crystal bottles and ground sunflower seeds into fine powder.
Thump. Thump.
Once everything was ready, I looked at the materials.
Mana grass, troll blood, dried red herb flowers, red herb leaf extract, blue berry juice, and sunflower seed powder.
I forced myself to calm down.
“Stay calm. One mistake means explosion ending.”
After taking a deep breath, I began proper synthesis.
A low hum filled the cauldron as mana grass and red herb slowly dissolved.
The liquid turned light pink.
After confirming the color and density, I added troll blood and stirred until the mixture turned deep red.
Finally, I added blueberry juice and sunflower seed powder.
A sweet scent spread through the air, and I knew it was a success.
Thanks to the engraved transmutation circle, the mixture rapidly condensed.
Soon, the liquid turned a deep red.
Steam burst out of the cauldron, forming a pink heart-shaped cloud before disappearing.
The potion was complete.
“Kyuu!”
“Kyuu!”
The spirits brought droppers and vials.
They carefully filled the potions, sealed them with corks, and handed them over.
I accepted them and stared blankly.
Under the sunlight, the liquid shimmered like rubies.
A perfect-grade basic health potion.
“This is… my potion.”
It was a success.
I had created something real with my own hands.
And the moment I realized that, laughter burst out.
“Hahaha!”
It was far more fun than I expected.
For the first time, I felt pure joy, free from all worries.
“This is amazing!”
After my first successful alchemy, the body and Teo’s knowledge began to feel more natural.
As if I was finally syncing with it.
Then inspiration exploded inside my mind.
“I should make more!”
I decided to keep going without rest.
Materials were already prepared, so I just kept working.
When materials ran out, I went to the storage and brought more.
Time passed without me noticing.
Every completed potion brought a thrill.
Eventually, I ran out of materials and collapsed.
“Haah… haah…”
I lay on the floor, wiping sweat from my forehead.
Finished potions were neatly lined on the table, but I didn’t even have the energy to look at them.
My mana was completely drained, and my head spun.
Still, I was smiling.
I discovered something important.
“It’s still here, right?”
“Kyuu?”
“Teo. He’s still inside this body.”
As a spirit-sensitive being, I could feel it clearly.
Teo’s soul hadn’t disappeared.
It was still here, dormant.
He was sleeping, unresponsive, but definitely present.
Because of that, I had been able to use alchemy so naturally.
I gently patted the spirits while thinking.
I didn’t know why I had taken control of this body.
But knowing Teo was safe was enough for now.
“What I need to do next is simple.”
Wake Teo’s sleeping soul and create a homunculus to separate and leave.
Alchemy is fun.
But taking over someone else’s body when the rightful owner is still here didn’t feel right.