My Grandma is An Alchemist

--- Chapter 1 ---

A young boy with thick blonde hair is lying on the patch of grass behind his house. The shady tree provided him enough cover to nap and enjoy the day.

That's until his mother came. She's a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a slender body. 

Oh, she also has a sandal in her hand. A terrifying weapon is known to man. 

"THEOMARS ADAM GATES, COME HERE AND EAT YOUR LUNCH!" Valerie Gates shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Uh, huh, I'm in big trouble," I sighed.

It's been seven years since I reincarnated into this world. 

Yes, the same Earth as my old one, except it was an alternative reality.

In this alternative reality, the Earth entered the Apocalypse Era known as the Age of Ascension. 

Fortunately, I wasn't born at the beginning of it.

Poor me from the 21st century wouldn't be able to handle those aliens and probably die because of stray bullets.

I will become a dead weight for others.

Sixty-six years have passed since the Age of Ascension, and humanity has flourished again. We are far from dominating the planet again, but yes. We are doing better. 

I was born in a more peaceful period.

I'm sure you heard my name earlier, but let me introduce myself again.

My name is Theomars Adam Gates. I'm the child of Felix Gates and Valerie Gates.

I also have a grandma named April Gates.

And an uncle who never comes back home. My father said my uncle was guarding the border on the west.

Anyway, my very loving parents work as hunters. They went out every morning and hunted the alien races to level up. 

Oh, yeah. Level up.

Apparently, everyone has a leveling system in this alternative reality.

Something I was very excited about to have very soon. 

I need to visit Mother Earth's Temple for that, though. 

Mother Earth's name is Raia. Not Gaia, by the way.

At first, I was shocked by all this information, but then I was exhilarated to see what I could achieve in this alternative reality. 

Entering the house, I washed my hands, face, and legs with a cleaning solution and wiped them dry with a super fiber cloth. 

In this day and age, hygiene is super important. Due to the Syluman Invasion, the air got contaminated with their genetic residues, which could make humans sick.

Even though I live in a safe zone where contamination is nearly zero, you can't be too sure.

It is the way humans live here.

Cautiousness is instilled deep in my family's bones and blood, including me.

My parents always told me to be cautious of my surroundings. Always think thrice or more before making any move.

That's common sense in this world.

Sitting on a random seat, I saw my grandma knitting threads from a certain Syluman. 

My grandma, April Gates, is a middle-aged woman with thick and long blonde hair like my father and me. Her strong genetics passed on to us.

She is over eighty but looks nothing like it.

She has very few wrinkles and still looks beautiful in her sand-colored sweater. 

Don't be swayed by her grandmotherly appearance.

She's an Age of Ascension Veteran and has survived since the beginning of it. 

I asked how high her level was once, but she only smiled and didn't answer me.

"Oh, look. My handsome grandson is back." Said April Gates with a grin.

"Your mother already told you to stop playing outside. You could have gotten the Type-F Flu." 

I groaned, "Come on, Grandma. I'm not a dumb child. You can't scare me with Type-F Flu anymore." 

Type-F Flu is a disease inflicted by airborne Syluman's Genetic Residue, but less than 0,001% of Ground Zero's Population got it since last year.

April Gates giggled, "Have you washed your hands?" 

"Done." 

"What about your leg?" 

"Done." 

"Face?" 

"Done! Grandma, stop!" I pouted at her. Aih, she always brings out my stubborn childishness.

I don't want to act like this, but I can't help it.

Even now, I enjoy this new world like a child should.

Think of it as my coping mechanism. 

I was about to celebrate my birthday when Truck-Kun sent me to this alternative reality. 

Do I want to go back to that mundane and safer world? Part of me said yes, and the other said no. 

This world is much more entertaining. 

I still learned standard subjects like math, biology, and others at the Academy in the past year. 

But those teachers also taught me how to be Hunter! At least, the theory of it for now.

From the kitchen, my mother glared dagger at me. She comes out with a stew and puts it on the dining table. 

Cough!

I cleared my throat, "M-Mom, what did you cook for lunch?" 

"Mutated Beast Stew." Valerie Gates answered with a sigh. She can't be too mad at her dear son. 

"I just bought a few kilos at the market earlier." 

Mutated Beasts are animals that have evolved by the Age of Ascension. 

In just a night, they became wild beasts and caught many humans off guard back then. 

Today, some Mutated Beasts are even domesticated and tamed into pets or companions to fight.

"Wow." Although I had gotten used to it, seeing bubbling stew with big chunks of meat inside was still bizarre. 

I'm poor in my past life, okay? Don't judge me.

DING! DONG!

The sound of a bell disturbed us.

My mother glanced at the door and smiled, "It seems your father is back." 

"Let's sit while he is cleaning himself." 

"Okay." I shrugged and pulled out a phone. Yup, a smartphone built by Human Alliance. 

His parents bought it for his study. It also has a built-in GPS so they can find me anytime. 

After a few minutes, my father finally entered the dining room. 

"Dad is home!" He announced his arrival like those heroes in comic books.

Felix Gates is a handsome man. He has short blonde hair and muscular physique from his military training. 

He's a hunter affiliated with the Human Alliance.

"How was your day, champ." He ruffled my hair with a grin.

"I bet mom is scolding you again today." 

I gave him a surprised look, "How did you know?" 

"Hehe, because I used to do the same. Your grandma always scolded me back then." 

"Hmph, you're very cheeky back then." April Gates commented.

"Well, sit down, Felix." 

"Yes, yes." Felix Gates grabbed a seat beside his beautiful wife and pinched her waist gently.

"What?" Valerie Gates was confused by her husband's reaction.

My father then used a telepathy, which caused my curiosity to die. 

Fuck, having lovey-dovey parents with superpowers is troublesome. 

My mother's eyes lit up, "Really?" 

"Mm. We will go after lunch." My father gave me a wink.

'Don't give me a wink!' I snorted in amusement. Let's see what they had for me.

After that, everyone prayed to Mother Earth Raia and thanked her for protecting them. 

We had lunch, and my grandma asked me to follow her later.

I was confused but still followed my grandma to the basement. I couldn't enter this part of the house, but my father did bring me here once to get his equipment. 

I can see several cold weapons, mainly swords, spears, daggers, and many pieces of armor, in the corner of my eyes.

"Grandma, why are you bringing me here?" I asked my grandmother, but she was weirdly quiet. Not to mention, I only saw her back ever since entering the basement.

We arrived at the shelves filled with medicinal solutions. Well, I call them health potions. 

"Theo, you're a smart child. How old was I when the Age of Ascension happened?" My grandma suddenly asked.

"Uh." I pondered for a bit. 

"Sixteen, maybe seventeen?" 

April Gates smiled, "I'm fourteen. I was a young girl who went overseas to pursue my studies. However, I got trapped in China and learned alchemy from grand masters there."

"Woah, really, Grandma? Like those fancy cultivation stuff in ancient records and novels?" My excitement went through the roof. 

"Exactly." She nodded in satisfaction. "As the time passes and Raia's Leveling System descended, my mastery has reached Grandmaster Realm." 

"So, here is the deal..." 

"I know you want to awaken your Leveling System quickly, but you're still too young." 

"From today, I will let you dip inside a Medicinal Bath. It would cleanse your body and give you more potential upon receiving Raia's Blessing later." 

I frowned slightly, "Is it safe?" 

"Hehe, as expected of the third generation." My grandma pulled me into a bear hug. "Your cautiousness is akin to instinct." 

"If only I'm this cautious back then..." 

"Well, to answer your question... The Medicinal Bath is safe. In fact, those younglings from richer families soaked their children in rich medicinal solutions every day." 

"Really?" I deepened my frown.

My grandma patted my head gently, "Yes. Even your father bathed in my Medicinal Bath, but we were poor and had limited resources..."

"So, he always fought with Ethan over it." 

That's rare. Grandma rarely mentioned Uncle Ethan. 

"Okay then..." I finally agreed.

"Good." My grandma grabbed some potions and revealed a hidden room behind the shelf. I saw a massive black cauldron and several herbs on the mahogany tables nearby.

'This is some Cultivation Shit.' I thought.