Alchemy Apprentice

When Landen was first appointed Lord of this region, he only brought two subordinates with him: the Minotaur Butler and a Dark Elf.

There were only two types of people who would follow someone like Landen, whose status was akin to a bastard, and be sent to such a barren place in what was essentially a form of exile.

One type was like the Minotaur Butler, who had to come because of a direct order from Landen's mother, Matriarch Isis.

The other type was like that Dark Elf, whose strength was at the bottom of their respective guard units. They saw no hope of advancement and lived in constant fear of becoming a stepping stone for others. Unable to continue their lives, they decided to go all out and followed Landen. While they still saw no hope of advancement, at least they could keep their lives.

Besides these two types, no one else would have been willing to follow Landen to this desolate land.

Of course, this wasn't absolute. In this world, accidents always happen, and the first person here, who was also displayed as Landen's first subordinate in the system, appeared here precisely because of an accident.

And it was this person Landen was going to see now.

The entire bunker was divided into four levels. The uppermost level was semi-open, mainly used for observation and as a high-ground vantage point for ranged attacks during combat. The second and third levels were mixed areas for living quarters, offices, and the like. The lowest level of the bunker was used as a storage room, but Landen had arrived at the fourth level.

Those assigned to this level naturally did not receive good treatment. Well, "assigned" might not be the right word; "imprisoned" might be more fitting.

Landen walked into the room and waved his hand, stopping the Minotaur Butler who wanted to follow him. "Old Niu, I'll handle this interrogation myself. It'll be more effective this way."

"But, my Lord." The Minotaur Butler tried to say something more, but Landen interrupted him.

"There's no 'but,' Old Niu." Landen waved his hand again. "He's just an Alchemy Apprentice, at best a Mage Apprentice. You've already confiscated all his materials, and even his hands are bound. What harm can he possibly do to me? Don't forget, although I'm weak, I still have the strength of a Low-tier Black Iron. Dealing with him is no problem. Alright, you can go."

"Yes, my Lord." The Minotaur Butler finally chose to compromise, retreated, closed the door, and stood guard by it.

Landen casually reached out and pulled the now-closed stone door, then turned and walked towards a corner of the empty room.

The room had only one small oil lamp, located in another corner. The dim light only illuminated half the room, while the other half was plunged into darkness. However, such darkness was not a problem for Landen, who possessed the infrared vision unique to Dark Elves. He could clearly see that in that corner, huddled was the only other thing in the room besides himself and the oil lamp, uh... person.

The person was wearing a hooded robe that concealed their entire body, revealing only their hands and feet. It wasn't that they wanted to reveal them, but their hands and feet were currently bound by extremely thick chains, severely restricting their movement.

"Looks like you're doing well here. It's not like you said you couldn't live without experiments every day~" Landen lightly kicked the person twice with his foot, speaking in a teasing tone.

The person's body visibly trembled, then slowly raised their head. Their eyes, in the darkness, actually sparkled. Then, they let out a gasp and exclaimed, "Lord... Lord, you're still alive... No, you, you're awake?"

It was clear that they had either been asleep or unconscious until this moment.

"Yes, I'm alive. Are you disappointed?" Landen asked with a light chuckle.

Speaking of the cause of death of this body's previous owner, it had to be related to the person in front of Landen.

As Landen had said before, this person was a Mage Apprentice and also an Alchemy Apprentice. He appeared about half a month after Landen's team arrived here. The Lari Brothers, who were out fetching water, found him unconscious by the water pool and brought him before Landen.

According to the half-elf, named Aila, the whole incident went like this: he came from the Surface World. While searching for alchemical experiment materials, he accidentally fell into a passage connected to the Underworld, thus arriving in the underground world by mistake.

With the various alchemical tools he carried and his passable magical abilities, he managed to survive in the Underworld. However, the original passage only allowed descent, not ascent, so he had to wander the Underworld in search of another way back.

The Underworld was fraught with danger. Although he escaped danger time and again with his alchemical tools, his supply of these tools dwindled. Finally, his alchemical tools were completely depleted, and he collapsed, severely injured. It was at this point that he was brought before Landen.

It could be said that without Landen, he would have long since become a pile of bones.

To repay the kindness and to build up sufficient reserves for his return to the Surface World, he chose to stay by Landen's side, becoming Landen's subordinate and helping Landen create various alchemical tools. He himself could keep a quarter of each batch as his own reserve.

This was definitely a win-win proposal. Although the Youweimas Area was barren, this was mainly in terms of crops. This area produced almost no food, but it had plenty of other resources. Furthermore, when Landen became the Lord here, Matriarch Isis had generously gifted him a large amount of supplies. Unfortunately, Landen had no one under him who could utilize these materials. Aila's appearance was undoubtedly a godsend.

Thus, Landen's subordinates increased from one to two.

The products of alchemy were always determined by the materials invested. Therefore, three days after Landen ordered several Dark Elves to help Aila build his Alchemy Workshop, Aila appeared before Landen with a cup.

According to Aila's explanation, this beverage, which he named "Corona Ginger Juice," had the effects of refreshing the mind and increasing bodily resistance. Long-term consumption could even permanently improve physical fitness.

It sounded good, but would Landen drink it so easily? Of course not. Not to mention the liquid's strange dark red color, which resembled blood, but in the Underworld, a place where trust was extremely scarce, how could Landen trust Aila so readily?

He would definitely not drink it!