Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The Demon Wasteland.
In Alchemist Story, it was a proper noun every player knew—referring to a one-of-a-kind place in the continent.
There were many dangerous regions in this world where mystery itself seemed alive, but none compared to the Demon Wasteland.
Its dangers were endless, but the most distinctive feature was its environment.
Beyond the plains where Astrum was established, vast forests stretched endlessly. Beyond those forests lay wastelands, beside them snowy fields, and beyond that volcanic regions. The terrain was completely mixed and chaotic, forcing explorers to constantly adapt to unstable conditions.
But the problem wasn’t just the environment.
The plains around Astrum had been stabilized by the Empire, but once you crossed into the forest at its edge, the true dangers of the Demon Wasteland began.
“Keek!”
“Kiiieeek!”
Small hobgoblins burst out from the bushes.
They moved by leaping between trees, using branches as springs to launch themselves through the air, slashing at intruders who had entered their territory.
Their coordinated attacks aimed precisely at vital points, but Clovis only scoffed.
“You think you can point a blade at me?”
They were far too coordinated to be called ordinary goblins, but they were no match for Clovis’s sword.
Silver arcs flashed through the air as his twin blades unleashed dozens of strikes.
The goblins’ bodies were torn apart before they could even react.
But their behavior changed immediately.
They adapted, shifting into predator-response tactics to deal with a stronger enemy.
It might sound absurd for goblins to use tactics at all, but these were creatures that survived the Demon Wasteland itself.
Still, their adaptation meant nothing.
“Frozen Fog! Ice Web!”
Cecilia’s magic struck first.
Instead of lethal spells, she used restraint magic to slow their movements.
The moment their speed dropped, Clovis exploited the opening.
Five goblins fell instantly, but the rest didn’t falter.
They acted as if casualties were expected.
Clovis clicked his tongue.
“Tch. This is why Demon Wasteland goblins are annoying.”
“Don’t underestimate them. You’ll die if you treat them like normal goblins.”
Their gray, corrupted skin marked them as creatures hardened by the Wasteland itself.
In a place where every moment was survival, weakness didn’t exist.
Survival meant becoming ruthless.
A hobgoblin stabbed a dying ally in the neck.
It was a natural instinct—minimizing sound to avoid predators.
Both Clovis and Cecilia briefly turned their eyes toward me, worried I might be shocked by the brutality.
But I was unfazed.
I had already fought monsters and even humans in chaotic gate incidents before.
“Should I use a smoke bomb?”
“No. If we run, they’ll just think we’re weak and keep attacking.”
“We need to show strength here.”
Calmly rolling a cloud smoke bomb between my fingers, I spoke.
The two of them relaxed slightly.
Clovis grinned while holding off the goblin leader in a staring contest.
“Where were we on the route?”
“Almost there.”
I checked our distance from Astrum.
We had crossed the plains and entered the forested zone.
Judging by the airships overhead, we weren’t far from the target.
“GRAAAH!”
The goblins lost patience and charged again.
Clovis’s twin blades flashed.
“Come on then!”
His loud shout drew their attention.
Meanwhile, Cecilia cast another spell.
Ice spikes erupted from the ground, impaling several goblins and breaking their formation.
A few managed to slip through and charged at me.
They had correctly identified me as the weakest target.
I smiled.
“Golem.”
Two golems behind me stepped forward.
CRASH.
They crushed the goblins’ heads instantly.
The ambush ended before it even began.
Seeing their strategy fail, the hobgoblin leader barked an order.
“Keaaagh!”
The goblins immediately retreated.
Once they disappeared, I exhaled.
“Demon Wasteland really doesn’t waste time welcoming people.”
“Right? It gets worse deeper in.”
Clovis wasn’t joking.
Even while talking, he warned me.
“Be careful. Monsters can respawn behind you.”
“Respawn?”
“Yeah. Spatial distortion. Monsters just appear.”
A familiar term.
So that’s what they called it here.
After confirming our location, I smiled.
Cecilia and Clovis looked at me as I tapped the hollow of a tree.
“Do you know why the Demon Wasteland exists?”
“The Great Catastrophe 500 years ago.”
“That ancient empire collapsed and turned the land into this mess.”
Correct.
A golden civilization had once existed here, before triggering a catastrophe that destroyed itself.
The aftermath twisted space itself.
That was spatial distortion.
A phenomenon that fractured geography into chaotic zones.
I tapped deeper into the tree hollow.
“Spatial distortion is interesting. It still happens everywhere in the Wasteland.”
“It’s dangerous. Parties can get separated or ambushed.”
Cecilia nodded.
“Exactly.”
I smiled.
“And it can also be used.”
I pressed a hidden protrusion.
Woooong.
A translucent portal shimmered into existence.
Both of them froze.
“What the—how did you open that?”
“It wasn’t magic…”
I explained calmly.
“Spatial distortions can activate through triggers. I call it a gimmick activation. If you read mana flow and interact with anomalies, you can trigger hidden effects.”
Clovis stared at it.
“Hey, you know about this?”
“No. My specialization is ice magic.”
“I don’t know either.”
That confirmed it.
Even seasoned explorers didn’t know this.
Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
“This wasn’t in our standard data.”
“It was mentioned briefly in the latest Tower of Sages journal.”
That made them pause.
Of course, I had already prepared my cover story.
A genius alchemist’s mentor had discovered it.
That alone was enough justification in this world.
Finally, Cecilia sighed.
“Fine. Let’s proceed with your plan.”
“Just… this better be safe.”
“It is.”
I stepped into the portal.
The world shifted.
When their vision stabilized, what appeared before them was not danger—
But a field of flowers.
Endless blossoms stretched across the horizon, glowing with color as if the seasons had forgotten how to end.
And at the center stood a massive tree.
A tree so enormous it resembled the World Tree itself, with beams of light cascading through its branches.
I smiled brightly.
“We’ve arrived! The Dragon Tree Flower Field!”
The number one early-game farming location in Alchemist Story for nine consecutive years.
The legendary “gacha blessing spot” worshipped by players.
The place where the Dragon Tree resided.
As I took in the fragrant air, I thought calmly:
From now on, no one in Astrum would fear high prices anymore.
Because a genius alchemist had just arrived.