Everything was over…….
The journey of adventure, the gentle companions, and the determination to prove myself.
Everything, all of it, seemed so fragile and powerless in the face of harsh reality.
After quickly packing up his remaining belongings, Keti hurriedly grabbed what little materials he had left and left the base she and her teammates had rented together, unwilling to stay in this place of heartbreak for even another second.
But…where should she go?
Having left the base, in the Capital of the Lider Empire, this city where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, Keti simply didn’t have enough money left to find even a temporary place to stay.
What’s more, she had no intention of staying in the imperial capital any longer.
She had only come here in the first place to accompany Alice, and now…there was no reason to remain in this city.
So, Keti only planned to stay for a few days, just enough time to sell some materials, save up for travel expenses, and then return to that small village to spend the rest of her life.
If that’s the case, then…it seems there’s only one place left to go.
Of……
Pushing open the shabby wooden door, Keti set her bundle down on the floor, then wiped the sweat from her brow.
The air was thick with a faint musty smell mixed with dust.
The cramped room was filled with all kinds of storage shelves and reagent bottles, leaving barely any space to stand.
This place might have everything needed for alchemy, but it didn’t even have a bed. Sigh…
She’d just have to lay down a blanket and sleep on the hard floor tonight.
Keti gave a bitter smile.
There was nothing to be done—after all, Alice and the others had only forced her to rent this little cottage as a workshop because they complained that Keti’s alchemy work in the villa at the base was too noisy and would ruin their skin…
Keti had never even considered sleeping here before.
But now………
Well, it’s only for a few days—she’d just have to make do.
What was laughable, though, was that when Alice and the others complained about the noise of her alchemy, they never once refused to use the items she made.
N……
So, she wasn’t entirely useless, right?
With that thought, after a while, the silver-haired youth’s heart gradually filled with grievance again.
She sat on the floor, hugging her knees, burying her head in them, feeling utterly dejected.
Why did things turn out this way, after everything she’d been through?
Memories flickered through her mind like a revolving lantern, and everything seemed to return to the beginning, to that village.
There had been a pair of childhood friends in the village, and back then, he was always the one standing in front of Alice, protecting her.
But as they grew older, especially after Alice was discovered to possess the Heroic Bloodline and an astounding A-Rank magic talent, while she herself was only tested to have a weak D-Rank aptitude, everything changed.
Whether it was going to the Magic Academy or starting their journey as adventurers, the gap between herself and Alice only widened, until eventually, this genius girl easily surpassed her, and she could never catch up to Alice’s back again.
She had worked so hard…
But with only D-Rank magic talent, no matter how much effort or cunning she put in… she could never keep up with them?
Keti slowly lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
What a fool…
As expected, she just couldn’t let it go.
The companions she had treasured for so long had abandoned her so easily.
They…would probably forget her soon, too.
Once they found new teammates, a few years later, perhaps they wouldn’t remember her at all.
It would be as if nothing ever happened, and she’d be the only one left, like an idiot…
Why, why did her talent have to be so poor!
Why was fate so unfair, sob…
If only she could change this wretched talent of hers, she’d do anything, anything at all, sob…
Her mind gradually unraveled, her brain going numb.
After the emotional outburst, Keti suddenly grabbed a bottle of liquor nearby and started gulping it down.
04……
She had only wanted to drown her sorrows and let loose in this little shack, venting all her terrible feelings.
But…she had clearly overestimated her own tolerance for alcohol, because before long, the intoxicated Keti’s mind grew blurry and confused.
She didn’t know how, but she ended up activating the Alchemy Array for potion making.
Staring at the bubbling magical solution, Keti began tossing in whatever materials she’d brought, without rhyme or reason.
“Never again…will I be a useless D-Rank!…Pearl, in you go! Pumpkin, in you go! Gold-Silver Grass, in you go! Sleeping Black Tea, in you go!”
All sorts of strange magical ingredients were thrown into the Alchemy Array, and soon, the whole array erupted with a violent reaction.
However, Keti, already not in her right mind, couldn’t care less.
All she could think about was being reborn, so she cranked up the heat, reducing the mixture…
And then…she gulped down the final product—a tiny vial of potion glowing with a pink light!
Ha~
So tasty…………………
Eh?!
Wait a minute?!
Hiss
The instant she swallowed the pink potion, Keti sobered up immediately—scared completely sober…
What…what had she just done?!
She’d brewed a potion at random, had no idea what ingredients she’d even put in, and the result was something she’d never seen before.
AJ……
Yet, this dangerously unknown potion—she’d actually…actually drank it!
She was doomed!!!
The silver-haired youth’s face turned ashen with fear.
According to Keti’s experience, drinking a randomly brewed potion like this had a ninety-nine percent chance of being fatal…
She, she was going to…
Ka——
In an instant, Keti felt her breathing become labored.
She struggled desperately, trying to gag herself and vomit, but it was no use.
Her consciousness grew silent and ever more blurry.
Was she…was she going to die?
No, no…
To get kicked out of the party, then get drunk and kill herself—how embarrassing…
Carrying that explosive shame and regret, Keti slowly closed her eyes.
Hoo
“Help, help me…ah——!”
The moment she opened her eyes, Keti immediately sat up in terror.
Her whole body was stiff and sore, as if she’d been pressed against the hard cement floor of the workshop.
Wh…what happened?
What was going on, she…
Oh, right, she’d drunk a potion of unknown ingredients and then blacked out?
She hadn’t died…
That’s…that’s great!
She just knew that if her talent was so bad, fate had to compensate her with luck somewhere!
FALL……
Wait a second?
Blinking in confusion, after a while, Keti slowly lifted a lock of silvery hair beside her ear.
This long hair…
Where did it come from?!
Congratulations on your new gender!
Imagine pushing away your crush only for him to go to Thailand