The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life - LN 1, 2 Impressions
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I was excited enough by this series that I wanted to write up my impressions after I finished the first volume, but I wanted to read the 2nd volume first to get an idea of the direction of the story before I wrote up my post.
This series is about a teenage alchemist named Mariela, who lives on her own after being tutored by her master, an experienced Alchemist. She makes a living near the Kingdom of Endalsia, selling alchemic potions to brothels for much less than they’re worth. She doesn’t have much in the way of connections or resources other than the knowledge her master taught her, as well as the house in the forest she left her with (she disappeared off somewhere). In this setting, a great horde of monsters goes berserk and starts rampaging, returning the town to from human territory into monster territory. Mariela escapes this fate by using a spell that basically holds her in a cold(dead) sleep, which is supposed to awaken her when the danger is over. However, she accidentally messes up her preparations, and ends up sleeping for over 200 years.
The books are about how she establishes a new life in the city that was built from the remains of the old kingdom.
The books don’t shy away from the unsavory elements of fantasy. While Mariela has a happy-go-lucky point of view and is very charmingly positive, it’s clear that the other characters take solace in her attitude because the world they live in is not very forgiving. People can die from simple monster attacks (a king slime ends up disintegrating someone alive), and people are barely kept alive during dungeon expeditions with potions. Slavery exists as a punishment for debt and crime. Every scene that doesn’t have Mariela in it shows how brutal people’s lives really are in this world. Which is why her potions and healing spirit are seen as such a boon. She’s the last alchemist with a connection to the local leyline, and they can’t train up other alchemists because the area is considered monster territory.
I really appreciated the setting and world building put into this series. The author does use tropes from other alchemist fantasy series (I’m only really familiar with the Atelier Ryza games and The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent), but I can tell that the common building blocks were used well. A lot of focus is put into the process of making potions, and the practicality of their uses. The sequences of Mariela getting materials, and going through all the steps of making potions are definitely detailed, though they do get a little old towards the end of the first book. Luckily, more emphasis is placed on other parts of the story in the second book.
I don’t have too much experience with light novels yet, (I’m still learning), but I have noticed that this series is definitely on the longer side for light novels. Each book is roughly 90k words. Not to say that I don’t enjoy it, since it’s a cozy read despite the dark themes.
This series is only 6 books long, though there is an ongoing manga adaptation. I’m curious to see how the story develops further, and maybe I’ll do another write-up about my thoughts after finishing the rest of the books.