Cultivating Anthro CEO RPG Hero Harem Reincarnation In Another World

[Alchemy] was one of many crafting skills that existed in Deep Karma. Basically, it acted as a specialization of the [Cooking] skill that allows for the production of status-altering substances, using ingredients collected from nature. These concoctions can range from potions, to poisons; aphrodisiacs to magical brews, depending on the ability of the alchemist.

Sonny was a Master level Alchemist, which was the highest tier possible for any skill.

Through years of experimentation, he'd discovered mixes for combating just about any malady, pest problem, or hex that ever threatened him and his brothers.

Indeed, the insect repelling perfume that his brothers would wear was of his own design.

The brothers' hut itself was protected against infiltration by all types of small animals, and by extension any Rakshasa disguised as such, as a result of his constant slaving over the fires of the cauldron.

However, the potion he brought for Vash to drink was of a different order entirely, and had already been made. He retrieved it out of a cupboard, contained in a small glass vial. It was a pungent, black liquid with a consistency like tar, that made Vash-squirrel's hairs stand on end at a mere whiff, while Sonny explained,

"In the past, I ran a series of tests on squirrels I captured at the Kankala Temple, and through my experiments I discovered two methods of removing the curse."

"The first method is through a gradual ingestion of a spiritual drug, and requirea the subject to perfectly align their self-image with an imave of the person they were before the curse; but obviously it takes time, in order to produce the most reliable results.

Vash-squirrel's ears perked. 'So, all those soups and memories were...'

Sonny nodded. "Mhmm. All a part of the process. A slow, pain-staking process that can require many months, for an almost guaranteed reversion outcome. While on the other hand, I have another method that can produce more immediate results, though they may not allign perfectly to your liking..."

"Oh?" Vash-squirrel was instantly curious. "What d'you mean?"

"Well, I can't say for certain what outcome this method would yield if you were to take it, only that it definitely wouldn't be your regular self. It would be a form better aligned with an idealized image of yourself."

"Sounds like a raw deal!" Vash-squirrel said, frustratedly chasing his tail in a tiny circle.

"On the plus side, there's a good chance you'd at the very least be able to talk and cast magic again."

Vash froze, upon hearing this last bit.

'Eh? I'll be able to cast magic?' He sprang up, in celebration. 'My beautiful magic!'

Excited as he was, however, Vash quickly sobered. Indeed, he couldn't help but wonder about something that had been plaguing his mind.

'No offense, but it seems odd that even a Master Alchemist like you already knows so much about how to undo this particular curse." He said, furiously scratching his neck with his hindleg. 'Maybe my brain is the size of a squirrel's now, but something just is not adding up.'

Sonny was silent for a while, a significant look in his eyes.

"Before coming to this world, we were all once school friends."

"Jun motivated us to make the most out of our new life, rather than despair."

"When...he died...none of us could make use of any of his old collection of bow weapons..."

"Rather than simply allow his weapons to sit around in our inventories, collecting dust, my brothers and I decided to place his things somewhere that a fellow player might one day be able to find, and make use of them."

"The temple already had an infestation of Kankala, and a curse that turns people into squirrels."

"I worked to have an antidote ready for anyone who could make it out of the temple alive, and have kept watch over the temple ever since. Because I was wary of what kind of person Jun's cherished [Gandiva] would wind up in the hands of, I also devised a way to unveil the deepest parts of a person's soul."

"Whether it was somebody heroic...or a villain, that us five would band together to beat."

"A start of a new adventure for us all, either way." He smiled. "Jun...would have wanted that, we thought."

"That's right—"Nail chimed in, suddenly rising from where he was sat at the table.

He'd only been catching tidbits of the conversation between boy and squirrel—only one half of the conversation, to be exact—but couldn't be more eager to finally get a chance to meet the rumored hero Akira Maximilian, in the flesh, after news of his rescue of the monk caravan had already spread through the community of those living on the outskirts of Mithil like wildfire.

"Whoever this Akira fellow is, I think it's only fair that we get the chance to judge whether he's even WORTHY of wielding the Gandiva."

"If he ISN'T..." He smirked, with a devilish glint in his eyes.

"Well, I guess we can count on the Rakshasa to take care of him for us."

Having heard all of this, Vash wasn't sure of what to say.

Internally, he was feeling a lot of things:

'These five knew each other in the real world, outside of Deep Karma?'

'It's not like such a thing is impossible...but, I still think it's highly unlikely for them to brush with each other again, completely by chance.'

He felt moved, by this reveal, but also a teeny bit...JEALOUS.

'Truth be told, I never had a group of friends like that when I was alive...'

'I considered most of the people I knew either online or in person as mere acquaintances.'

Vash wondered if it wasn't too late for him, after all—if maybe, he could find himself a group of friends as well.

'Could my place with Akira's group even be counted as the same thing?'

'Do I REALLY want to go back, after all I was put through?'

At this time, Sonny set the vial of gross liquid on the table and turned his back to Vash.

"That's for you to decide, my friend." He said. "However, my brothers and I have all been exiled from Mithil, so it falls upon YOU to collect Maximilian."

'Exiled? What for?' Vash thought, perplexed. 'Kicking too much ass?'

Vash glimpsed Sonny quickly sneaking a sideways glance toward where Yuki was sitting—visibly tense—then turn back to him.

"If I told you it was because of a bad bet, would you leave it at that?"

"Besides, it's a big town, thinking of it now..."

"I have to wonder how you'll even manage to find your friend, once you're inside."

Vash didn't have to think long on an answer to that: the answer, as it were, was tied around his neck the entire time—dangling off unto his back like a cape rather than the [Business Tie] that it was.

'Don't worry.' He told Sonny, as he proceeded to stick his head into the bottle of concocted liquid.

'It won't be a problem--unlike resisting the urge to PUKE, while I'm drinking this...'

Vash couldn't believe it, but he was actually going to go through with this.

For the time being, at least, he was going to return to Akira.

Already, from the first few laps of the viscous, foul-tasting stuff Sonny had served, he could feel a strong tingling sensation all throughout his tiny body. His physical form was being transformed, at a rapid rate, as he began to experience the painful swelling and contorting of bone and muscle—gritting his teeth to bear through it all, with steadfast determination.

'Sonny is counting on me! After he nursed me back to health, I owe it to him...'

'Now's my chance to finally be what I always wanted to be, since coming to this world!'

'I'll become the MAIN PROTAGONIST I was always destined to be!'