-Puleuleuleung.
“Feeling tired?”
The exhausted neighs of the white horse made Yi-han stop in his tracks.
He was delighted to see that the horse which had been running wild until now was attempting to communicate with him.
‘We’re becoming close!’ he thought.
“Here, have some water. And some sugar as well.”
-Puleuleung…
Though the white horse didn’t wish to admit it, it was slowly being subjugated by the boy before it.
-Puleuleung!
That was when its eyes shot open.
It had its pride to uphold as a member of an ancient race.
It wasn’t going to surrender without putting up a fight!
Yi-han noticed this and quietly muttered to himself
,
“I should figure out how can I raise the mana absorption rate.”
-…Puleuleuleung.
The white horse lowered its head once more with a defeated look in its eyes.
***
Time awaited no one, not even those that rose early in the morning to tend to the horses.
Regardless of whether the students were sleepy or hungry, they had to attend their classes.
Yi-han handed a can of beef and a jar of pickled cucumbers to his friends from the Black Tortoise as they were about to return to their dorm, having finished their morning task.
Nilia, who received them, rummaged through her pockets with a troubled look. She didn’t seem happy about the gifts at all.
“??”
“Um, I don’t have any money on me…”
“…I’m giving them to you for free.”
Yi-han reflected on his past actions ever-so-slightly.
Was he usually that petty?
“Wait, really?? Like for real?”
“Is it really that hard to believe?”
It was only then that Nilia accepted the gifts, her ears perked up.
Ratford, however, flatly refused.
“I can’t take these, sir.”
“……”
‘S-should I return them as well?’ Nilia thought to herself.
“That’s an order.”
“In that case, understood.”
Nilia was relieved to see Ratford take what was given to him.
‘Thank goodness!’
Yi-han turned to Yonaire for answers after the two left.
“I didn’t think they’d react like that. Yonaire, am I usually a petty person?”
“No? Why?”
“I see. That’s good.”
For a split second, Yi-han wondered if he should ask someone else for a more objective answer, but he soon dismissed the idea.
“Let’s go have breakfast. I’m thinking of sharing some food with the students that have woken up early and are in the resting lounge. Yonaire, can you help me with the logs?”
“Of course.”
The thought of providing their friends with a plentiful meal filled them with joy.
…It wouldn’t be for free, but it was a happy thought nonetheless.
***
Yi-han spread some mustard on a small piece of bread and placed it on a plate.
The fireplace in the freshmen’s resting lounge was every student’s best friend.
Next to a strip of bacon that was sizzling on the frying pan, Yi-han cracked open an egg. The moment he did, the egg began to be cooked, and the sound spread throughout the room.
‘Why the big fuss over bloodlines?’
It wasn’t his own meal that he was preparing, and it wasn’t for those in the resting lounge either.
Yi-han was currently preparing a meal for the princess who was in her own room.
– Wardanaz, we’ll pay you like last time, so can you deliver some food to Her Highness?
– Please, Wardanaz!
He was being paid more than usual, so he had no qualms about sharing the food, but he couldn’t understand why the followers were so loyal to Adenart.
Authority was supposed to be something the general public delegated to the minority. Being born with an ancient mythical bloodline or some other nonsense wasn’t grounds for having power over others.
What was so great about the royal family that commanded such respect anyway?
‘Look at how independent Gainando is. He’s living his life without borrowing anyone’s power.’ Gainando always woke up in the morning and came down to the resting lounge to have breakfast without needing anyone to tell him.
His ability to adapt was worthy of praise.
The students’ generosity toward the princess could potentially do her more harm than good.
Knock, knock-
“?”
Just like the previous time, Adenart opened the door after hearing the knock.
Yi-han handed her the plate.
“I cooked these downstairs.”
There seemed to be a minute change in Adenart’s expression, and she appeared brighter than before.
Or it could’ve just been due to the sunlight entering through the windows.
Adenart carefully received the plate and was about to raise her fork when she stopped.
After giving Yi-han a slight bow, she entered her room with the plate of food and closed the door.
‘She’s grown. Unlike last time, she didn’t wharf down the food outside.’
Such were the thoughts of Yi-han as he came down the stairs.
He recalled Adenart having followers even outside the Blue Dragons…
If he were to convince them individually, could he perhaps farm coins from each of her followers?
‘Woah there. Even for me, that sounds evil.’
He was taken aback by his hidden potential.
At any rate, he might be able to start a small workshop with the money he earned by the time he graduated from the academy.
***
“Huh? I thought classes were held outside?”
“Don’t be fooled. I bet there are monsters hidden inside the classroom.”
Today’s lesson on alchemy wasn’t being held outside, nor was it being held in the academy’s main building.
Instead, the students had been called to one of the side buildings, known as Gaksu-kwan.
There were greenhouses inside the building which made it warmer than outside.
However, the freshmen had caught on by now and knew that all wasn’t well simply because they were indoors.
“Gather around! Be prepared for monsters!”
“Your Highness, please come over here. We’ll protect you.”
“……”
Yi-han was rendered speechless by the behaviors of the students from the other towers.
The princess was a member of the Blue Dragons!
“Don’t worry, Wardanaz. We’re a force to behold as well.”
Asan Dargard had a confident smile on his face.
Their group was no longer as small as before.
They had Yonaire, Asan, Nilia, and Yi-han himself.
Taking into account the quality of each member, they were by no means at a disadvantage compared to the other teams.
“Everyone to their seats.”
Uregor entered while yawning.
For some reason, he seemed like he was ready to drop.
“Professor, why are we inside today?”
“Huh? We’re learning alchemy, so of course we’re inside.”
The dwarven professor stared at the student who had asked the question as if he was looking at a buffoon.
Confused, the student reiterated his question.
“Last time, you told us classes would be held outside, saying it’s important that we learn how to harvest materials for alchemy…”
“Yes, but only when we need to harvest materials. Is your head really made of iron? Do you plan on concocting potions outside? You should be more flexible with your interpretation.”
After saying that, Uregor took a look around. m
“Is everyone having similar thoughts? Worry not. Unlike classes that are held outside, the ones held inside are very safe and cozy.”
‘He’s lying.’
‘He’s lying.’
‘We’d be idiots to believe that.’
The students weren’t so easily tricked anymore. Uregor noticed this and grinned.
“Now! Pour water into the cauldrons in front of you. Alchemy is a composite art. Every step is important, from preparing the materials to turning off the fire after you’re done. This is especially the case for the potion that we’re making today. You’ll never be a great alchemist if you waste the materials that you’ve painstakingly gathered! Flip open your books and get to brewing! Your goal is to make a !”
Flip, flip-
The room was quiet, save for the sounds of books being flipped.
‘This seems difficult.’
At first glance, alchemy may appear to be easier than other forms of magic.
There wasn’t a need to memorize complex spells. All one had to do was put in materials following the predetermined order.
However, Yi-han was quick to realize that there was much more to alchemy than just that.
It was akin to cooking a meal with very complicated recipes in a short amount of time without any rest in between.
First, remove the roots of the galamaldu. Cut the remaining part into small portions, each having the width of two pinkies.
Before the galamaldu dries up, tear the sulhyang herb into thin pieces using your hand. Boil the galamaldu in hot water for 3 minutes, and the sulhyang herb for 2 minutes 30 seconds. In the meantime, prepare the powder made from grinding red mana stones, and sprinkling them into the solution when the water turns green.
When the water turns orange, stir the solution three times in a clockwise direction, three times in an anti-clockwise direction, and five times from north to south…
The materials had to be processed on the spot as most of them couldn’t be prepared ahead of time. To make things harder, the alchemist had to memorize the recipe by heart, knowing when to put in the materials as there wouldn’t be any time to read the recipe during the actual brewing process.
Last but not least, there were a lot of details that the alchemist had to pay attention to, as missing even one could lead to failure.
Simply put, it was headache-inducing.
Boom! Boom, boom, boom!
As expected, smoke began to rise from everywhere, and explosions occurred left and right.
Uregor laughed cheerfully watching this unfold.
Nothing pleased alchemists more than seeing fledglings cough from the smoke of their failed concoctions.
What was life without a bit of fun?
“…?”
Uregor’s laughter faded when his eyes caught something.
It was Yi-han’s cauldron.
‘Why’s he so good at this?’
The professor’s eyes popped open.
He was obviously aware that Wardanaz was talented in this field. Not only was he clever, he had the patience to endure all sorts of miscellaneous work.
His talent in alchemy was unquestionable.
…Having said that, regardless of talent, trials and errors were unavoidable on the path to alchemy, especially for beginners. It was even considered a tradition of sorts for beginners to fail.
Otherwise, those that came before them would be too ashamed to show themselves, not to mention it was a great source of entertainment!
Yi-han, however, moved like an experienced alchemist that had worked in a workshop for years.
He precisely measured and cut the herbs as if he was a robot, putting them into his cauldron and measuring the time by flipping several hourglasses. When the time was ripe, he uncorked some glass bottles and poured their content into the cauldron. All these were done without a single hiccup, his movements like a dance, smooth-flowing and continuous.
For once in his life, Uregor had to admit that geniuses were built different.
Such perfection from a student that had just begun to learn alchemy couldn’t be explained any other way.
‘I bet my ancestors’ beards that no one would believe what I’m seeing right now!’
In reality, Yi-han wasn’t a genius.
This was simply the tragic result of working tirelessly under a professor.
The solution inside his cauldron turned into a deep blue color. This told Uregor that the potion had been perfectly made.
However, after taking a sip, Yi-han threw away the rest while cocking his head.
“???”
This puzzled Uregor greatly.
Why was he throwing it away?
Yi-han began to concoct the potion again.
As if to prove that his previous display of skill wasn’t a fluke, he repeated what he did, and everything was frame-perfect.
Lo and behold, the result was as before, a perfect potion that was of deep-blue color.
And yet it was thrown away once more after Yi-han had a taste of it.
“…….”
Uregor could no longer hold back his curiosity.
Normally, he’d tell students to find answers to their questions themselves, but he was truly stumped this time.
After silently approaching Yi-han, Uregor asked the question that had been on his mind.
“Why do you keep throwing it away?”
“It doesn’t seem to be recovering my mana.”
“What?”
This stunned the professor, prompting him to read the book again, wondering if there was a mistake in the recipe, an error in the directions. However, he didn’t find any.
“???”
If there wasn’t any problem with the potion, why was nothing happening after drinking it?
“Make it again.”
“Okay.”
Yi-han immediately got to work.
When he was done, Uregor, who had been waiting impatiently, used the ladle to take a sip of the potion.
The blue liquid went past his throat and turned into mana which spread throughout his body.
The potion was flawless, so much so that Uregor himself wouldn’t be able to improve upon it.
“It seems fine.”
“Really?”
Surprised, Yi-han took a sip as well, and again, he cocked his head.
“It’s not that great, though?”
“….”
Uregor was in disbelief.
Had this genius from the Wardanaz Family come up with a better recipe, one which surpassed his own?
‘No! My pride…!’
“Oh, it’s just ’cause my mana’s full.”
“…….”
