The demon is by my side

Welcome home

"This is a lost young man I encountered in the swamp. Poor guy got separated from a merchant caravan, and slimes devoured his clothes and belongings. If he hadn't met me, he probably would have died in the swamp... Now he has nowhere to go, so he's temporarily assisting me. We'll figure out what to do after returning to the city and finding his family," Felice explained, pressing down on Alph's head to make him look more pitiful and helpless.

"Oh my, young man, you've truly encountered a benefactor. Following such a great mage like Miss is ensuring a worry-free life ahead," the village chief praised Felice continuously, leading Alph away to change his clothes.

Hawthorn Village was a hunting settlement, and their attire mainly consisted of leather, particularly the red-scaled crocodile skin abundant in the swamp. Most leather armor was a dark red color with beautiful golden handcrafted borders. Belts, wrist guards, and leather boots were adorned with metal buckles, providing convenience for carrying daggers and quivers, making them suitable for outdoor riding. Since Felice didn't ask for any compensation, the village chief was very warm-hearted, giving Alph two sets of brand-new equipment, along with several sets of undergarments. He also included a carved crocodile tooth dagger and a python-skin longbow as complimentary gifts.

"These items may not be very useful to you, especially with such a great mage like Miss by your side. However, these are specialties of our region. Consider them as mementos," the village chief remarked.

Felice looked at Alph, who was clad in the dark red leather armor, with a bow on his back, a dagger at his waist, wearing apprentice alchemist gloves, and covered by the apprentice mage robe she gave him. It was indeed an unusual outfit, but it suited him well. The red-scaled crocodile skin, though not valuable here, provided decent physical and magical defense. This specialty from the swamp was considered rare in the Kingdom of Freland. Of course, the decorative effect exceeded its practical use. The crocodile-tooth dagger was carved for hunting purposes and specifically coated with the paralysis venom of the black-blind snake, making it a potent paralyzing poison. However, Alph should be cautious not to use it recklessly.

Satisfied with Alph's attire, Felice happily pulled him away from Hawthorn Village. Finding a secluded spot, she took out a dozen teleportation scrolls, tore one open, and after six consecutive teleportations, the two arrived in front of a tower surrounded by mountains.

This is a cost-effective teleportation method that allows for the consecutive use of multiple low-level scrolls instead of a single high-level scroll. However, it requires a seamless connection between the teleportation coordinates, necessitating meticulous calculations in advance. Clearly, this set of teleportations was prepared by Felice beforehand.

"Welcome home, Alpha! This is my place, Felice's Alchemy Laboratory!" Felice introduced to him.

Home? For Alpha, it was a foreign concept. There seemed to be a distant memory of a sense of community, but it wasn't a home. However, he keenly sensed the magical fluctuations of the dark dragon from within the high tower. The magical materials from the lair of the dark dragon had been teleported here.

Alchemy laboratories are often constructed in secluded locations, containing a wealth of materials and research records for alchemists. These places are best situated where there are no direct routes of access, except through specific magic – such as the continuous teleportation that Felice used. This tower was built amidst surrounding mountains, acting as a natural barrier. The tall tower had its only entrance at the top, unreachable without the use of Windwalk Magic.

As an assistant to Felice, Alpha needed to become familiar with her laboratory. Felice took him on a flight to the top of the tower and then, pulling him down from top to bottom, introduced each floor one by one. The tower was divided into twelve floors, with ten above ground and two below. The top ten floors included living quarters, data areas, and several safe laboratories, while the underground sections housed storage rooms and dangerous experimental zones. Of course, the so-called dangerous experimental zones were protected by magical barriers and would not easily affect other floors in the event of a failed experiment.

Though it had a three-dimensional structure, moving between floors was quite convenient. All floors had magical doors that could take you to any other floor. These doors looked like ordinary wooden doors, with a simple twist of the doorknob, pointing to the desired floor, and opening the door would take you there. It was a straightforward form of spatial teleportation.

Alpha curiously played with the door for a while, and Felice let him be. It was good for him to familiarize himself with the functions of each floor. Afterward, Felice immersed herself in her laboratory, starting to process the various materials she had just obtained.