The flickering candlelight, the old European-style wooden building, the heavy stench of blood, the eerie sounds—Rosen's hair stood on end.
'Has the boss already arrived? Am I still alive just because it's not my turn yet?' "That's a terrifying being with a combat power of 10 among known monsters. Now that this boss has arrived at Laplace Manor, does Rosen still have a chance of survival?"
"Thump-thump~ Thump-thump~ Thump-thump~"
In the darkness, Rosen could clearly feel his heartbeat. He stood motionless in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the dimly lit stairwell, like a wooden statue.
'Monster! Danger! Monster! Danger!' These two words kept swirling in his mind.
In the world of *The Hunt*, monsters are called monsters because they possess physical attributes that far surpass those of ordinary creatures. Their strength and senses far exceed those of humans, and some monsters even possess inexplicable, magic-like special abilities.
For ordinary people, all monsters are extremely dangerous. The only difference between different types of monsters is probably how an ordinary person dies.
The second-floor stairwell was pitch black, like a thick, unyielding ink blot. Occasionally, subtle noises drifted in, constantly reminding Rosen that there were likely two beings there: a pitiful person on the verge of death, and a high-ranking vampire boss currently wreaking havoc.
'Suppose I really did transmigrate into the world of *The Hunt*, suppose I'm truly a wealthy young master, and a heartless vampire has appeared on my manor, what should I do?!'
At this point, questions like "How did I transmigrate?" and "Why did I transmigrate?" are meaningless. For Rosen, what he needs to do now is save his life.
'This room behind me is...no, it's my alchemy room. I've been studying alchemy for half a year, but I know very little about it, just some basic operational experience. It seems I'm just a beginner in alchemy...and so on. Alchemy talent is probably the only power I can rely on right now!'
'The game description says that alchemy is a branch of magic. Alchemists focus on the transformation of matter. As long as you concentrate, you can feel the existence of alchemical talent. I wonder if it's the same in the real world. I'll try it.' Rosen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to calm his mind. After five or six seconds, he indeed felt the effect of the alchemical talent 'Friend of the Elements'.
' He clearly sensed two distinct components in the air around him: one vibrant, brimming with life force, comprising about one-fifth of the air; the other, much calmer and seemingly indifferent, making up almost the remaining four-fifths.
'The former must be oxygen, the latter nitrogen, tsk tsk~ it's almost as if I can see them with my own eyes, truly amazing.' Rosen was somewhat mesmerized. Unlike the simple power in the game, alchemy in the real world was a truly wondrous experience.
His amazing alchemical talent made him forget his current situation, allowing him to calm his mind and focus even more intently on perceiving the air around him.
He vaguely sensed other very subtle components in the air; some were languid, seemingly unwilling to move; some seemed hostile towards him; and some seemed omnipresent, encompassing everything.
"It's inert gas, carbon dioxide, water vapor. The sensation is quite vague, easy to miss, perhaps because the concentration is too low, or perhaps because my talent isn't strong enough. But they're really there, just waiting for me to discover them. My god, this magical extrasensory perception is truly wonderful!"
For a moment, Rosen was completely immersed in his newly acquired supernatural ability.
Soon, he experienced the power of 'elemental manipulation'.
He discovered that when he used his elemental perception to focus his attention on a specific substance, such as oxygen, he could actually move it with his mind, albeit very slightly.
When he exerted all his strength to draw the oxygen towards his nose, a very faint airflow appeared around his face. He took a deep breath, and his mind instantly cleared—clearly the effect of a high concentration of oxygen.
'I wonder how far my power can extend?'
Thinking it over, Rosen tried his best to control the oxygen in the distance. As the distance increased, his control gradually weakened, until, at more than two meters away, his elemental control finally reached its limit. "Amazing, so amazing!"
It felt like an invisible hand of thought was reaching out from his mind—it was incredibly fascinating.
Rosen couldn't help but think, "My elemental perception is even better than an electron microscope, and elemental manipulation is like a hand of thought capable of manipulating molecules and atoms. If these two abilities can be continuously enhanced, wouldn't I be able to directly control elements in combat? Wouldn't that be elemental magic?"
"Wait, I think I'm overthinking it. The world of *The Hunt* seems to be a low-magic world. Having played for so long, I've seen quite a few mages, but most of them are basically scholars. They do know some magic, but its power is rather ordinary."
He'd seen a fire mage in the game, supposedly a once-in-a-century master, but the fire magic he unleashed was only about as powerful as a high-explosive grenade, and it took five or six seconds to build up before casting—far less effective and practical than fighting with swords.
This discovery left Rosen somewhat disappointed, but this disappointment was nothing; he quickly became excited again.
'I'm such an idiot!' "I'm a top student in materials physics! With such incredible superpowers, how could I possibly think about directly manipulating elements to unleash magic? That's too barbaric, too crude! Only an ignorant person would do that! I'm an alchemist! Games have balance restrictions to prevent reckless actions, but this is the unrestricted real world! I should be working on gunpowder, building guns... no, no, I should be building electromagnetic railguns! No, that's not right! Those are all too narrow-minded. Earth's industrial world has countless technological achievements I can freely pluck. How can my thinking be so limited? I can build an engine, a Sky Pirate Tank... no, a tank might not be able to defeat a Frost Giant.