Chapter 193 Round Alchemist
Camilla was the first to notice William opening his eyes. "He's awake!" she exclaimed.
Everyone quickly gathered around, curious about this stranger.
The apocalypse had been raging for over a month, and people had started to adapt to the blood and chaos. Life was far from optimal, yet they managed to persevere.
Words like roulette, professions, skills, monsters, and zombies had replaced the old vocabulary. People were now navigating a narrow bridge, some standing firm, others falling off.
Life finds a way, especially for humans. Everyone was fighting to stay on that bridge.
This team was no different; they believed they had a solid footing.
William scanned his surroundings.
It was a typical hunting squad: seven people with shields, spears, bows, and green potion bottles. Melee, assault, defense, ranged, support—classic setup. Even if they grew into a warband, the structure would be the same, just bigger.
William's focus wasn't on the kind-hearted Camilla who saved him but on the older man in charge. White hair, sharp eyes, calm but unfriendly. William sensed his hostility.
No surprise there. If William were the leader, he wouldn't stick around just because one member was kind-hearted.
Then there was the young guy who had rummaged through William's stuff, also unfriendly, eyeing him like he was already dead.
Finally, William looked at Camilla. Round face, round eyes, dimples, and a somewhat round figure. 'She can't be more than sixteen,' he thought.
Upon observing the green potion bottle in her hand, William deduced that she was an Alchemist. The green bottle served as a telltale sign.
From the earlier conversation, William figured out why they hadn't left him to die. The Alchemist was the core of the squad, and she hadn't left.
Recovery potion? That was some good stuff. It looked like this Alchemist had lucked out with a solid professional formula.
When you first get a profession, you usually get a few skills. But some special professions, like Alchemists, get formulas instead, which are basically their skills.
Pharmacists and Alchemists ruled with their formulas.
William glanced around. No one else stood out except for the middle-aged guy next to Camilla. He seemed closer to her and was the only one in the squad who wasn't an Evolving person.
William smirked inwardly. This squad wasn't as tight-knit as they seemed. The middle-aged guy and Camilla didn't have the status they deserved.
The young guy, probably Luke Lawson, kicked William and asked, "Hey, can you talk?"
"Who are you guys?" William's voice was hoarse, and talking made his throat taste like metal. He was still pretty banged up.
"You don't need to know who we are. Tell us who you are. Why are you in Red Egg? Alone or with others? What's your purpose?" Luke snapped.
"Luke, he's still hurt..." Camilla muttered, clearly unhappy.
Luke ignored her, staring hard at William.
In the apocalypse, this was normal. Camilla might eventually eliminate her passion.
But William felt grateful to her. Compassion was rare in this world. It might seem foolish, but it was something that would soon vanish.
William didn't have compassion, nor did he allow it in his squad, but he wouldn't mock those who did. He felt he had no right.
Anyone who'd survived the apocalypse for over a year had no right.
"I'm alone, just looking for some good stuff," William said, struggling to speak.
The squad exchanged skeptical glances.
The elder, Craig Robinson, spoke up, "You came here alone?"
William replied calmly, "What's so strange about that? This is the Land of Death, but people still come here. Some have even mapped it out. I came here with a map."
Craig's eyes shifted slightly, and William noticed.
Luke glanced at Craig, clearly thinking something over.
William slowly sat up, sweat beading on his forehead from the pain. But at least he could move now, which was an improvement.
His injuries were bad, and even as an Evolving person, he wasn't invincible. But being a two-star Evolving person, he had strong recovery abilities. He didn't know how long he'd been lying there, but he could now move, albeit slowly.
To fully recover, he figured it would take at least a week. That's why he mentioned the map casually.
Given the situation, sticking with this hunting squad seemed like the safest bet.
He wasn't worried about them turning on him. He had more than one way to take them all out. But the endless dangers in the Land of Death could drain his resources quickly.
Craig signaled, and the group huddled to discuss.
"He mentioned Red Egg... And called it the Land of Death and said he had a map?" someone whispered.
"Why don't we just take it from him? We've been wandering here for two days, finding nothing but danger," another suggested.
"We already searched him. Did anyone find a map?" a man asked.
"Nope," came the reply.
"Exactly. He's either lying to get us to help him out, or he really has a map and wants the same thing," Luke said, figuring out William's intentions, which weren't hard to guess. William hadn't planned to hide it.
"I say we leave him. We can find our way slowly," Luke suggested.
"How can you be so heartless? He can help us. My brother and I can take care of him," Camilla said.
"Camilla, stop causing trouble! You don't understand anything," Luke snapped.
"No, we'll listen to Camilla," Craig suddenly said. "We'll take him with us."
Luke was anxious. He didn't know why, but he was wary of this stranger. Hearing Craig say this made him unhappy.
"Alright, everyone find a stick for him to use as a crutch. Camilla, check his injuries," Craig ordered. After everyone left, he and Luke stood together.
Luke whispered, "Why are we keeping him? He's an Evolving person. Once he recovers, what if he turns against us?"
Craig sneered, "Turn against us? How? He's alone, and there are many of us, all Evolving persons. Are we really afraid of him?"
"But..." Luke started to protest.
"No buts," Craig cut him off. "Camilla's kind and wants to help. We can't push her too much. We need her for more potions in the future. Especially the 'Paralytic Potion.' Once she makes it, we can hunt second-level mutated creatures. That'll get us closer to becoming two-star Evolving persons. She's naive but not stupid. If you keep disrespecting her, she might get annoyed and leave. Plenty of people would love to have her."
Luke's face was grim, but he nodded. He knew how crucial Camilla was to the team.
"Also, keeping him isn't entirely useless," Craig added with a sly smile. "If he has a map, great. If not, he's still an Evolving person. He can scout, keep watch, and it won't delay his recovery. And if we run into something we can't handle..." Craig trailed off, but his meaning was clear.
Luke's eyes lit up. Craig's plan made sense.
When they first entered the Land of Death, they encountered three second-level monsters that nearly killed them. If it happened again, they could use this guy as bait.
'The Land of Death? Better name than Red Egg,' Luke thought.
After explaining it to Luke, Craig approached William and asked coldly, "Do you really know the map of this place?"
William nodded.
"But you don't have a map on you," Craig continued.
William pointed to his head.
Craig stared at him for a moment, then handed him a piece of paper. "Have you seen these materials?"
Camilla, who had just checked William's injuries, also looked at him with concern.
William glanced at the paper and smirked.
Paralytic Potion? Not bad.
Seeing Camilla's innocent face, an idea popped into William's mind.
He knew a few common formulas from his previous life that probably weren't widely known yet. He wasn't a Pharmacist or an Alchemist, so they were useless to him. Craig must have known this, which is why he showed him the paralytic potion formula. But...
Could he use the formulas he knew to win Camilla over? Having an Alchemist on his team didn't sound bad.
William began to seriously consider this possibility.
