Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Defeat
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What sort of discipline is alchemy?
There’s a very simple and clear explanation for that.
Grinding.
Alchemy was just like grinding.
Trial and error. Retry after retry. You had to do it endlessly.
In a word, it was nothing but repetitive labor.
Professor Pelliana claimed that talent meant nothing in alchemy.
I agreed with that assertion.
Because if you just kept mixing things together willy-nilly, something would eventually come out of it.
Why?
Because that’s the kind of discipline alchemy is.
That said, if I had to name one talent that was absolutely necessary, it would be ‘persistence.’
You needed the ability to never give up on a task once you’d started it.
The greatest invention in alchemy—and Professor Pelliana always pointed this out—was the Healing Potion.
So how was the first Healing Potion ever created?
The answer is ‘by accident.’
They threw every herb imaginable into the pot and boiled it all, and at some point, it just came into being.
Why?
Because that’s the kind of discipline alchemy is.
The creator of the Healing Potion, ‘Biccel Termian,’ said it himself.
He roughly boiled things hundreds of times, and eventually managed to make a potion that healed wounds.
To say it again, alchemy is that kind of discipline.
“I’ll just do it now.”
Of course.
My case was a little different.
I didn’t have to bother with tedious repetition or uncertain experiments. I could just know the ‘right answer.’
Talent is unnecessary in alchemy?
That’s true.
At least for everyone except me.
“It’s complete.”
“...What?”
I added and mixed the exact amounts of ingredients the system had told me to use.
In less than 30 seconds, a perfectly serviceable Healing Potion popped out. Naturally, it looked identical to the two potions Professor Pelliana had pulled out first.
“...How?”
Professor Pelliana looked pretty shaken up.
And she had every reason to be. She hadn’t even told me the ratios for the Healing Potion yet.
I could see her confidence crumbling right before my eyes.
Just moments ago, her gaze had been so smug, and now it was wavering like that. It gave me some kind of twisted satisfaction.
You know that feeling, right?
Like a weight lifting off your chest.
Like all your pent-up frustration melting away...
Ah, I’m really not this kind of person.
But Professor.
We’re not done yet.
“We need one more ingredient here.”
“What?”
“Do you have any ‘Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus’ by chance?”
Professor Pelliana’s expression twisted.
“You’re going to put that in a Healing Potion?”
“Yes.”
As the name implied, Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus was a poison. Even touching it to your skin could trigger powerful hallucinations—a truly dangerous substance.
But there’s an old saying back on Earth.
『Poison, when used carefully, becomes medicine.』
Of course, even handled with care, poison was still poison. The idea of using it in a Healing Potion was something only a madman would try.
And the madmen who survived using poison probably weren’t easy to find in the first place—let alone the ones who succeeded.
Therefore, this was a recipe that didn’t exist yet.
“Are you in your right mind? That’s poison.”
“I’m perfectly sane. And besides, there’s no imperial law saying ‘you can’t use poison in Healing Potions,’ is there?”
The ‘ultimate’ Healing Potion absolutely required Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus.
This was a stubbornness I absolutely couldn’t compromise on if I wanted to beat this professor.
I repeated my demand with a resolute expression.
“Do you have any? Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus.”
Professor Pelliana stared at me silently.
“If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Her eyes gauged my true intentions, calculating that I wasn’t joking. With a sigh, she headed to the bookshelf.
“If you mess up, both you and I could end up hallucinating. Handle it carefully.”
She warned me because she didn’t trust me, but there was at least a modicum of respect in Professor Pelliana’s words and actions.
Respect for the responsibility I’d declared with my own mouth.
And she was thinking it.
That I was bound to fail. The antidote now in her hand was proof of that.
Of course, that antidote would never come into play.
I scooped out the mucus as carefully and precisely as possible, then slowly stirred it into the Healing Potion I’d just made.
The potion’s color began to change.
Gradually.
Very gradually.
It grew a bit cloudy, little by little.
“What is this...”
Then it brightened again.
The final hue was a brilliant shade that suited the word ‘radiant’ best.
“What else? The golden ratio.”
Golden.
The potion, which had been a dull turquoise before, was now a shimmering gold.
“All snails have regenerative abilities. Hallucinogenic snails are especially gifted in that regard. And... ‘Clear Slime Fluid’ has excellent adaptive properties, while ‘Crescent Moon Flower Extract’ has a subtle awakening effect.”
I shook the vial so the potion sloshed around inside.
The way the light rippled was quite beautiful.
“That’s how it neutralizes the toxicity.”
Even as I explained, Professor Pelliana’s eyes were glued to the potion. She seemed to have listened, though, because she snapped out of it and started rebutting.
“As far as I know, Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus has no healing properties. If it did, it would at least be used for emergency first aid. But the only uses for Hallucinogenic Snails are illegal things like narcotics. It can never be a medicinal ingredient.”
She stepped forward and snatched the potion away.
“Above all, its effects haven’t been proven yet.”
All her points were valid.
Anyone without prior knowledge would have to think that way.
I gave her a suitable smile in response.
“It’s only natural that the healing effects of Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus aren’t widely known. It only works on living beings with an ‘immune system.’”
She’d raise another question here.
Then why didn’t all those drug addicts ever feel the effects?
I answered before she could ask.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking. But think about it again. No matter how much Hallucinogenic Snail Mucus you ingest, you never build up immunity to it, right? That’s why it’s famous as the ‘non-addictive narcotic.’”
“A guy who knows that...”
“But exceptionally, the Slime Fluid and Crescent Moon Flower Extract take on that role instead.”
I snatched the potion back from her.
“The effects...”
I bit down hard on the back of my other hand.
I felt blood seeping between my teeth.
It hurt like hell, but I didn’t let it show. There was still worse pain to come.
“W-What are you...!”
Crunch.
I tore it off.
The chunk of flesh I’d bitten.
Fuck, this hurts way more than I thought.
In manga, they rip chunks off all the time. That one about giants, you know.
“...Watch from here on.”
I poured the potion onto the wound, swallowing my scream with effort.
The old potion healed in about 10 minutes, right?
I wondered how long this one would take.
“Hm. All healed.”
A little under 5 seconds.
No lingering pain. Completely clean.
“See?”
I wiped away the blood and showed her both sides of my now-perfect hand.
“I made a better potion.”
Professor Pelliana stared in blank astonishment.
Her mouth agape, as if she couldn’t believe it.
I wanted to laugh at her dumbfounded look, but I held back for now.
“What’s wrong?”
I hadn’t heard it yet.
“You look like you have something to say.”
Her admission of defeat.
“...Rain Ortiz.”
Professor Pelliana, trembling, took a step forward.
Slowly, one step at a time.
Toward me.
And as she did, she asked.
“How did you know all that?”
“Know what?”
“Everything.”
I could sense it from her quavering voice. She couldn’t accept it yet.
Sorry about this, but... this wasn’t a question I could answer. I couldn’t very well say there was a super-advanced AI in my head, could I?
I didn’t even want to answer her in the first place.
So I gave the same response I always did.
“Just, by accident.”
Professor Pelliana came right up to my face.
She said nothing, made no move.
What’s this?
Something’s off with her.
“I... I...”
She bowed her head deeply.
“I can’t accept it...”
I heard her teeth grinding. Her tightly clenched fist trembled visibly.
As harsh as it sounded, this was the clear behavior of a defeated foe.
Then, something hit the floor.
For a moment, I thought I’d bitten my lip too hard and it was bleeding.
“Huh.”
It wasn’t that.
“No way...”
Professor Pelliana was crying.
“Wow, you’re actually crying...”
No.
I never expected her to show tears, no matter what.
She must have more pride than I thought.
I let out a sigh and patted her back.
Then I said,
“You still have to admit you lost.”
“...”
Professor.
Where are you getting that pity from?
It won’t work on me.
“I, I...”
Pelliana Miron collapsed to the floor in a heap.
In a small, crawling voice, she said,
“I lost...”