Da-dum

Her stopped heart begins to beat.

Her frozen blood begins to flow and her lungs scream for oxygen.

Huu, after taking a deep breath a large amount of dust came in unexpectedly.

*cough*cough*cough*

Just breathing is painful, and her head is starting to hurt from the lack of oxygen. Air, she needs fresh air.

《Ventilation》

Her throat is dry, her lips and tongue are in pain and she can't speak. Even if she cannot chant the spell, as long as she imagines the magic clearly she should be able to use it.

She managed to create fresh air using life magic and was finally able to breathe.

Why is this happening?

She tried to think about what might have happened, but her head is pounding and she is unable to focus. Even as she looks around at her surroundings she is unable to focus and can't see clearly. The only thing she felt was the light coming in from the ceiling hitting her eyes.

She seems to have been asleep for a very long time. As she stood up, every bone in her body screamed out in pain. As she continued to move, her joints began creaking and making unpleasant sounds. Her pounding headache is so intense she felt as if she may pass out, somehow she managed to stand up and form a cup with her hands.

《Drop of Life》

White light appears and water begins to pour out of it, filling her hands. Water spilled out from the gaps of her fingers, and travelled along her arms, flowing to her elbows, but then dissolved and disappeared into the atmosphere without getting her clothes wet. This is drop of life. Gathered from the surrounding area, it's truly a blessing from the earth.

She brings the water to her mouth and drinks it in. It rushes throughout her thirsty body. Her dry, cracked throat is now moist, her joints are now limber, her blood circulation improved, and her headache slowly melted away. Each one of her cells felt rejuvenated. If there was someone else watching, they'd be convinced they just witnessed a miracle.

She has the ability to use alchemy. She is an "Alchemist." Thanks to the drop of life, Mariela can now remember what happened.

"The stampede happened."

The Kingdom of Endalgia, where Mariela lived, was a small country surrounded by the Demon Forest and craggy mountains. Although it was necessary to be cautious of demon's coming from the forest, the mountains surrounding the city acted as a natural fortress, furthermore these mountains provided many natural resources to the city. The surrounding lands were very small and there was little room for cultivation, but the little earth that there was, was very fertile and gave the people of Endalgia many blessings.

Although Endalgia was a small country, it was one of the great powers of the world. The Kingdom was more than capable of suppressing the demons of the forest, and so Endalgia prospered.

The youngest child of a lower-ranked noble, the third son of some poor family from a small village, skilled adventurers, and merchants all gathered in the Kingdom of Endalgia. The Kingdom was always looking for adventurers to thin out the number of demons in the forest, and the Kingdom was rich enough to feed them all.

If you were ever struggling, go to Endalgia.

The Kingdom of Endalgia's main focus soon became keeping the peace along its outer walls. The Kingdom soon became full of adventurers that would fight back against the demon's from the forest.

Though there were many adventurers, only citizens that had enough support became adventurers. Many people became refugees or were just barely able to scrape by. However, there were also those that worked hard and managed to make a good living.

The food culture also prospered from the high quality ingredients produced from the rich land and the combination of so many different cultures. The quality of arms and armour increased due to the rare materials brought back from the Demon Forest. The market was overflowing with many different items. The bars, gambling halls, and brothels were all filled with the temporary adventurers.

Soon the city began to be known as a safe haven, the city began overflowing with people. These people were all enthusiastic about their new lives.

Mariela was an orphan in this haven.

She had no memory of her parents. Like many other orphans, Mariela was most likely abandoned by a prostitute that had become pregnant with the child of an adventurer.

Still, Mariela was not entirely unhappy with her circumstances.

Many children were orphaned without even knowing their names, but she was lucky enough that her mother took the time to stitch "Mariela" into her baby clothes. Knowing one's real name was necessary for learning skills or getting help from society.

Thanks to knowing her real name, Mariela was taken in by a master alchemist. She was able to train under him and became an alchemist herself.

Alchemists were not rare, and potions were considered to be much less useful than recovery magic.

Although the alchemist profession wasn't very profitable, Mariela was able to live comfortably enough in a hut in the Demon Forest that her master left behind.

Even if she wasn't rich, it was fun making various potions, and for Mariela, who was pretty bad at socializing, living quietly in the forest was nice.

A simple way of living, that she thought would last forever, suddenly ended one day.

Why, why did the demons from the forest suddenly start rampaging? Mariela, a simple alchemist, had no answers.

The screams of the fleeing people warned the Kingdom of the stampeding demons, and in response they tightly sealed the outer gate to the kingdom. But, the rampaging demons rushed against the gates like a tsunami, causing confusion among the city.

Adventurers, those that had been long retired and those that were just starting, took up arms to defend their city. Now was the time for them to write their names in history! A brave war cry rang out from the city.

Those that could not fight, tried to evacuate from the city, filling the narrow road that went from the city towards the mountains. Those that hoped their homes would be spared, tightly locked themselves within their homes.

Mariela rushed to the hut her master had left her.

She didn't believe that the evacuation would happen in time, and there was no place that was safe in the city.

Against these rampaging demons, this wooden hut would be ripped apart like it was made of paper.

The demons respond to the magical power of a person.

In the past her master had taught her how to avoid detection from the demon's of the forest.

That's why, if creatures from the Demon Forest are stampeding out…

She knew to follow her master's teachings. She rushed into the basement of the hut and locked the door tightly.

Instead of using magic for light, she lit an oil lantern to avoid using as much magical power as possible. Then, she took out a large piece of parchment.

Under the dim light of the lantern, a large piece of parchment was spread out across one meter of the floor. Mariela checked to make sure that the magic circle on the parchment was still intact.

This is her trump card. The magic circle her master was reluctant to teach her.

The huge parchment that was made from a demon’s hide was worth one month's income, the ink that was used to create the magic circle was made by melting down Devil Stone, and it cost even more than the parchment. In order to not waste the expensive materials, she spent months creating this.

When she showed this during her final exam, she was told it was a waste. But, it was good that she made it.

This basement is much sturdier than the wood hut above. Even if a demon were to step on it, it wouldn't break. But, if a demon were to detect a person inside, the basement would be dug up in an instant.

The rampaging demons would never stop until either the person or the demons themselves were killed.

She could hear the earth rumbling. The horde of demons was approaching.

Mariela laid down on the parchment.

Scary. In the cramped and dark basement, the light from the lantern was swinging steadily.

Scary. How many demons must be approaching, the sound of the earth rumbling became even more intense.

It's scary. It's terrifying. Someone, anyone.

If the magic circle didn't work properly, or if the basement could not withstand the weight of the demons….

At this rate, I……

Mariela takes shallow, rapid breaths, her heart is pounding so loud.

The rumbling of the earth becomes even louder, the lantern shakes violently, and the flames begin to flicker.

It's scary. It's scary. It's scary.

I don't want to die, all alone, in a place like this.

Just before Mariela was overcome with fear, she activated the magic circle.