Alchemy II

That night Kle In was brought to his new residence. It was isolated and there were signs of it being newly constructed.

When they entered the house, it was completely empty.

"This will be your new residence. Remember you cannot go out without your master's permission. Start meditating and I will prepare an Essence Flame for you to integrate with.” Elder Ulvar instructed.

Kle In immediately sat in meditative position not far from the window and started circulating his Qi.

He had too many questions, but he did not dare utter a word. He had not lived very long and he had already seen far too many deaths. As always, he can only be obedient. One day when he gets older, he will buy his freedom and freely roam the world.

After around ten minutes, Kle In felt an energy fluctuation agitating him. He still has some lingering trauma from Buaki Siege so he opened his eyes alarmed.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted with an unusual yellow flame the size of a fist and it is currently wiggling as it floats above Elder Ulvar’s hand

"Do not be alarmed. This is Human Class Essence Flame from a Rock Apur Salamander. Continue circulating your Qi", Elder Ulvar reminded seeing the boy panicked.

Kle In calmed down and resumed circulating his Qi.

"I will now introduce the flame to your dantian. No matter what, do not resist. You will feel a little discomfort invading your dantian but do not stop circulating your Qi. You have to endure the pain, understand?"

After confirming that Kle In did not put up a Qi barrier, Elder Ulvar pressed the essence flame into Kle In's dantian and it vanished like how an item is stored in a spatial ring.

Ahhh!

Kle In was surprised and wanted to should as he felt a warm mass of energy invaded his dantian. Confused, he continued to observe the Essence Flame.

He thought he would be burned but it seems to fuse with his Qi reservoir and is slowly increasing his power.

“What’s happening?” Kle In thought. He does not understand why this elder said endure the pain when in fact, it felt comfortable. After a minute, warm Spiritual Qi started circulating to his Qi Nodes that he felt like bathing on a relaxing hot spring.

While watching and observing on the side, Elder Ulvar could not help but be amazed that the kid is not exhibiting the usual signs of difficultly and pain.

As a Core Formation Expert, one of their abilities is helping other practitioners circulate Qi and this would include absorbing excess or violent Qi from pills or essence flames. He may not have that much experience but the number of people he has assisted is not that low either and this is the first time he is witnessing someone integrate with an Essence Flame like drinking water. With his powerful divine sense, he could immediately tell the kid has no Elemental Affinity.

He did not need to investigate the kid’s background to understand why nobody wanted to nurture him. Even within their clan, despite being a superior race, there are still people who have low Elemental Affinity who would require twenty more times resources to break through and no one is willing to fork out such huge amount or else they would go bankrupt.

Elder Ulvar stopped thinking about it. It is a known fact that the kid is doomed to remain a Qi Condensation Realm for the rest of his life due to his innate talent, unless of course if someone is willing to spend a lot of resources on him.

After a quarter of an hour, Elder Ulvar sensed the boy has stabilized his Qi circulation and confirmed Kle In has integrated with the flame successfully.

"Two days later, your master will pick you up to attend Alchemy lessons. In the meantime, memorize these four books when you have nothing else to do. Someone will bring you food. Remember you cannot go out without your master's permission."

Elder Ulvar reminded him again before finally leaving. If not because this kid is an accessory to nurture their most talented youngling, he would not even bother meeting him.

Kle In waited five minutes before looking at what the Elder Elven has left him. There are four books, piles of gold coins, and a necklace with San Ruk emblem, and a spatial ring chained to it. He wanted to read now but he felt exhausted.

He got up and started inspecting the residence and looked over the window. Unlike his previous residence in Buaki Gang, his back yard has a pond with an Itcha Tree near it.

Since there was no one around, he walked towards his room and sat on the bed.

*Exhale

The room is eerie quiet he could hear his breathing. Unknowingly, tears started drop. He can't help but remember the orphanage he came from and the recent attack on Buaki Gang.

After a few minutes, he clenched his teeth. As a grown man, he knew that crying will not solve anything and without him realizing, he fell asleep.

While asleep, he recovered a new memory fragment. This time he was standing in front of three white boards and written are complex mathematical equations. They have just performed an experiment using a white crystal the size of a thumb to tear space and it was a success. Everyone was celebrating except for him. He went back to his office and poured himself a cup of decaffeinated coffee.

He took out a necklace from his pocket and contemplated on how 19 years was spent just like that. He just turned 48.He sighed and sipped his coffee. He remembers 19 years ago when he was sitting inside a church at the far back watching a wedding unfold. He was conflicted and full of regrets. He asked himself, "Sometimes I wonder why I made those choices?”

As the couples were promising their vows, he slowly walks towards the exit.

"You may now kiss the bride."

He wanted to look back. He sighed inwardly and whispered, “May you live happily ever after".

“Huh”

“Huh”

Kle In woke up panting and tried to catch his breath. He closed his eyes to recall the dream. He knew it is a memory from his previous life.

“Wait, am I a scientist in previous life? That can’t be.”

While those memories felt real, it was not consistent with his other memories.