Dragon...
Li had never imagined that he’d have anything to do with dragons in this life...
The only way to leave the Abyss of the Underworld was to find a dragon.
“Kid, I’d advise you not to get ahead of yourself. With the strength you have now, if you go looking for a dragon, you’ll be walking straight into the underworld.”
“Waiting here to die? That’s not my style.”
“Just think about it. You can use all these medicinal ingredients here. You might even create a universal elixir and fulfill your dream of becoming an alchemist. Doesn’t that tempt you at all?”
“For an alchemist, what you’re describing is almost an irresistible temptation. A truly obsessed alchemist might lock themselves away in one place just to create the potion of their dreams. But I refuse.”
“W-why?!”
An alchemist?
For Li, becoming an alchemist had only ever been about one thing: he’d learned how wealthy alchemists were in this world. It was one of the richest professions around. Their potions were mainly used by Apostles of Authority, adventuring parties, and the military. In other words, it was a profession funded by the state.
Healing and restorative Authorities did exist, but potions often played the more important role. Rather than searching for someone with a healing or restorative Authority, a single potion could solve most problems.
Li had become an alchemist for the money, plain and simple. He also had the talent for it. He’d grown up in an orphanage, and what had happened in his previous life had taught him just how painful it was to have no money. At the very least, he chose alchemy to repay the kind people who had raised him.
“You’re an alchemist! How can you not worship the universal elixir? Don’t you want to heal your sister?”
“I never said I wouldn’t accept your legacy. You said yourself that you wouldn’t interfere too much in my affairs. If you do, I can always refuse your legacy. I do need the universal elixir, but my family is still out there. If I’m stuck here for the rest of my life... my sister will die! Chloe... tch!”
This was the one thing Li couldn’t let go. So what if there were dragons? If there was even a chance, Li would claw his way out of here, out of the Abyss of the Underworld. He didn’t want to spend his whole life in this place!
“Sigh... Do you really understand how terrifying the Dragon Clan is, kid?”
“No.”
Of course he didn’t. To Li, they were ancient monsters from legend.
“Very well. If that’s your choice, there’s nothing I can do to stop you. Then let’s begin the inheritance.”
“So, how exactly does this work? Are you going to pass your power or something on to me? Or give me these secret manuals, maybe some equipment, and tell me about something you left unfinished—some score you never settled—so I have to avenge you and fulfill your dreams? Then, at the end, I say, ‘Master... at last, your disciple has fulfilled your dying wish...’ Something like that?”
“What are you talking about, kid? I don’t understand.”
“Oh. It’s not like that?”
Li was a little disappointed. It wasn’t what he’d been hoping for. So what would it be, then?
“I am indeed going to give you something. All my knowledge is here, and so is my treasure. So there’s only one thing left for me to give you.”
“What?”
“I’m going to leave my mark... upon you!”
