Alchemist Militant 1 (Alchemist Militant, #1)

Finding romance and love while following his path is unexpected, but not unwelcome. Earning the love of more than one woman is definitely a surprise. Navigating romance can be tricky, moving to love takes open minds and hearts. Will didn't set out to build a harem but he won't give up on the women he cares for.

Will's parents were slaughtered in a wave of monsters and beasts when the town's defenses were overwhelmed. His Uncle Mike took in eight year old Will and taught him the alchemist trade. Not being satisfied with a good job that kept him in a shop all day young Will learned archery.

Upon achieving journeyman status, the young alchemist and archer, seeks to avenge the slaughter of his parents by monsters and beasts of unknown origin, as well as adventure and fortune. After joining the Adventurers' Guild he finds the task isn't as straightforward as expected. Managing a love life between battling monsters and concocting deadly poisons takes a creative and disciplined mind.

Over three hundred years ago, humans occupied the lands stretching from the Canterlita Sea in the south to the Colossal Mountains in the north. Fortune seekers scoured the mountains for resources, while explorers searched for passages that might reveal what lay beyond.

Then came the Calamity. From the northern peaks emerged monsters—generally humanoid, yet towering up to four times the height of a man—and beasts, often monstrous versions of familiar animals, some clad in bone armor or bristling with spikes. They surged southward, destroying everything in their path.

Within only a few years, more than seventy percent of humanity had perished. Some fell directly to the claws of the invaders; others succumbed to starvation and disease brought on by the collapse of social order and the loss of farmland overrun by the advancing horde.

Nearly a century ago, wealthy merchant families, fearful that a standing royal army would enable the king to impose absolute rule, used their financial influence to force him to reduce his forces. What remained was sufficient only to protect the countryside in well-settled regions. Smaller waves of savage beasts still threaten humans living in the northernmost towns and villages.

To defend citizens near the frontier from monsters and beasts, an independent organization was the Adventurers’ Guild. Its members, operating as independent contractors, accept commissions to hunt and slay such threats.