The Nether Alchemist: Tales of a Necessary Evil

“Today, Ithea has suffered a great loss. We've lost one of the best champions the kingdom has ever had. Rhaizen Gale's untimely death has caught us all off guard. We will honor him for his valor in combating the fearsome Trerth and defending the kingdom. I am eternally grateful for his service and unwavering love for this kingdom. But we must press on; the nation needs a new champion to defend us, and we have several exciting new candidates in the running.

Luciana is my daughter. She is the most powerful alchemist among the contestants. I'm certain she'll be up to the challenge. As a result, I declare the Ithea's champion seat empty, and the trials to elect a new champion to begin anew.

Luciana Vonner, Jalon Barr, Norval Greensmith, Cecily Ethel, and Nelanian Henfery will be the contestants who will take part in the trials. We wish them all the best, but for the time being, let us take a moment to remember our fallen hero.”

The king concluded, and the camera shutters began. Reporters flocked to the scene, yelling out their questions in hopes of receiving a response from the king. The king's lovely wife followed after him, her features hidden behind a veil. One reporter attempted to approach her, poking out his recorder towards her, almost hitting her in the face with it. He was violently pushed back by one of the king's security guards, and he staggered, collapsing back on the mass of photographers and journalists.

The king rushed to the scene and helped him up, “Are you alright young man? I am truly sorry for that,”

“King Vonner, I am fine,” he said as the king helped him to his feet. He had cut his nose as he fell to the ground, and it was dripping blood. He brushed the blood away with his fingertips, but when he stood up, he inadvertently rested his hand on the king's shoulder, smearing the king's coat with blood.

“Young man, I politely ask you not to approach the queen. She is a little upset about the situation and is in no state to speak with the press right now, I hope you can understand that,” the king said, shaking the reporter’s hand.

He returned to the queen, and the two of them entered their castle together. It was amazing; the first thing you noticed about the castle were eleven thick, circular towers penetrating the sky, which were surrounded by strong, sturdy yellow stone walls. Tall, huge windows, as well as identical-sized apertures for archers and cannon, were distributed haphazardly around the walls in what appeared to be perfect symmetry.

A typical gate with big wooden doors and solid defenses, situated in chilly mountains, gave a secure shelter for all those in need, and it was the only easy way in, while easy was subjective.

The castle's outside was adorned with well-kept gardens featuring fragrant roses, gorgeous trees, and numerous bushes. The castle had withstood the test of time, and despite some adversity, it still stood and appeared to be standing for many years to come.

“That's all there is to it. The king of Ithea has delivered his long-awaited statement regarding Ithea's champion, Rhaizen Gale's, untimely death. His body is presently being taken to The Ithea Academy of Alchemy, which is the top alchemy school in the kingdom and trains Ithea's champion candidates. There will be a public viewing of his body there, and he will be laid to rest beside his predecessors shortly after. One of the announcers stated, "Stay tuned for additional updates as the event unfolds," gesturing to a cameraman in front of her to wrap it up. "This is Judy Ben Mor, reporting live for Inter-kingdom News," 

The castle gates slowly closed, as the media outside the castle wrapped up their coverage. They were going to cover the public viewing of Rhaizen Gale's body at The Ithea Academy of Alchemy.

THE ALCHEMY ACADEMY OF ITHEA

Cecily Ethel, one of the contestants, fought back emotions as she stated, "So he really is dead." The man in front of them remained silent.

"Listen up. We must acknowledge that he is no longer with us. And it was unavoidable; we all admired him; we simply didn't think he'd pass away so soon. As a result, there is even more reason for us to act. We have a lot of big shoes to fill. Norval Greensmith replied, correcting a crease in his jacket. “Rhaizen Gale was a great tutor to all of us, and only one of us will inherit his title, but we must continue to defend this kingdom,” he said.

The students at the Ithea Academy of Alchemy, also known as The IAA, were expected to dress elegantly. This school's boys wore plain bronze-colored Dacron trousers that went all the way down and partially concealed their Chelsea boots. Long, white, and undercoated gloves, as well as a thick orchid belt, were worn with them over an almond short-sleeved shirt that was barely tucked into their trousers, they wore a conventional jacket. A long tie with bronze and orchid horizontal stripes hung loosely in the center of their sometimes unbuttoned jacket.

The ladies wore bronze layered dresses that came just over their knees. They were paired with orchid and bronze plimsolls and socks, respectively.

The females, like the lads, were dressed in short-sleeved tops that hung loosely over their skirts and were protected by a plain jacket. They, too, sported a large checkered tie tucked neatly below the center of their often unbuttoned coats.

The man handed a sheet of paper to one of the five pupils and said, "Jalon Barr, you have regressed by two points this month, you are currently at level 35, here is your stat card."

Level – 35/100

Experience - 2nd Rank

SP – 1245 [SP]

[HP] – 76%

Weapon Mastery - 2nd rank swordsman

Alchemy - 1st rank master alchemist

“1245! what the hell! I defeated everyone in this classroom this month, so how could I have earned 1245 skill points this month?” Jalon screamed, enraged.

“Yes, but you earned 5 points in your offensive ranking this month while losing 8 points in your defensive standing. You spend so much time focusing on your attacking abilities that you forget how important it is to work on your defensive abilities as well. As a result, your ranking has dropped. I recommend that you balance your training next month.” The man responded., He passed the sheet of paper over to Norval Greensmith and said, "Next, Norval Greensmith."

Level – 67/100

Experience - 2nd Rank

[SP] – 4650

[HP] – 81%

Weapon Mastery - 1st rank lancer

Alchemy - 3rd rank recruit alchemist

“You're an excellent combatant, but you need to work on your alchemy, alright? I believe you should also balance your workouts. After all, fighting the Trerth will necessitate alchemy. Luciana Vonner is up next.”

Level – 73/100

Experience - 1st Rank

[SP] – 7300

[HP] – 94%

Weapon Mastery - 3rd Rank Archer

Alchemy - 1st rank Elder alchemist

Level – 57/100

Experience - 3rd Rank

[SP] – 3645

[HP] – 67%

Weapon Mastery - 5th rank Archer

Alchemy - 1st rank Elder alchemist

“Your combat abilities remain pitiful, and your defensive abilities have reached a nadir. You must improve your combat capabilities, even though you are the best alchemist among your friends. Finally, where is Nelanian Henfery?” He was nowhere to be seen as the students looked around.

“These days, he doesn't show up for class.” “I believe Rhaizen Gale's death affected him the most of all of us,” Cecily explained.

“He needs to rethink his priorities. Luciana stated, “The kingdom is more important than his feelings.”

“Well, I don’t have time to waste waiting for him to come for his stat card. The instructor handed the stat card to Luciana and stated, "Can someone take this, and make sure it gets to him."

Level – 5/100

Experience - 5th Rank

[SP] – 425

[HP] – 21%

Weapon Mastery - ​​​?????

Alchemy – Not Ranked

Luciana gave a nasty look at the stat card. "You're a waste of space, Nelanian!"