Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Elective Subject (12)
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A chilling voice and a sinister smile,
And even the gaze that brushed past Isabel as he entered the classroom.
It was the very picture of "Look at me, I'm the villain~,"
but apparently I was the only one who saw it that way—everyone else was calmly preparing for the lecture.
"Ugh... that's creepy..."
But just as I was thinking that,
a voice from beside me made me turn my head.
Rubbing her shoulders as if the gaze that had passed over her gave her goosebumps,
Isabel wore an expression of genuine disgust that bordered on revulsion.
'As expected of Isabel..!'
Seeing that,
I realized my assumption was wrong—everyone else had noticed the creepy vibe from Baal.
As expected of Isabel.
She shared my exact sentiments, as another S-Class cadet.
As I shot her an admiring glance—
{Title {Pioneer}} assists your actions.
"Then, let us begin the first lesson in Alchemy."
Baal began explaining the first Alchemy class once more, in that spine-chilling voice.
I didn't bother paying close attention to Baal's lecture.
Even though I'd only taken Alchemy once in the game,
I remembered the content of the first class perfectly.
The first Alchemy lesson was simple: brewing a low-grade stamina potion.
Like most electives, it felt like a tutorial session.
"First, I'll demonstrate."
Baal had just finished explaining the lesson and now began showing how to brew the low-grade stamina potion.
Various ingredients sat on the table.
He combined them one by one into glass vials filled with unidentifiable liquids, placed atop parchment inscribed with magic circles.
As he did, Baal explained the sequence and ratios.
"First, grind 10g of herbs—"
Honestly, none of it really registered.
It wasn't that I couldn't follow or hated his voice.
The low-grade stamina potion recipe was just that straightforward.
'10g herbs, 45g goat horn, 15g werewolf hide—grind in that order and mix into the liquid.'
That basic recipe was what Baal was dragging out at length from the podium.
Of course, back in the game, I hadn't cared much for potions...
[Potionppaki: This punk...? Realize the greatness of potions.]
[AlchemyPsycho: You're toast.]
As usual, right after I'd posted on the community that alchemy and potions were for losers...
The crazy alchemy zealots had flooded every thread—and my DMs—with rants about recipe complexity and greatness, the majesty of potions...
So I'd memorized most of the key recipes.
Compared to the ones that came later,
Anything Baal taught in Alchemy was infant-level.
Thus, glossing over his explanation,
Baal finished up and began distributing materials.
Just as I recalled: herbs, goat horn, and werewolf hide placed before me.
"Now, try it yourselves just as I demonstrated. Ask if you're unsure about anything."
With distribution complete,
Baal smiled kindly and urged us to begin.
'Tch..'
Knowing Baal was Ixion's quasi-executive,
Even that sight was a chore.
Tongue-clicking inwardly at his facade, I looked away from Baal and focused on brewing the low-grade stamina potion.
At that instant—
{Perfect First Alchemy!}
In the first Alchemy class,
you succeeded in brewing a perfect potion first!
Can't help but admire that skill...
But your flawless performance might raise someone's guard.
Intelligence +5
Isabel's flustered voice reached me first.
"Huh? Aden, you're not weighing it?"
She was right—my body skipped the scale entirely, grinding the ingredients without pause.
It clashed with alchemy's demand for overwhelming precision and meticulousness.
"What..?"
"Is that even allowed?"
Soon, other cadets voiced their confusion.
Only Baal watched me with evident interest.
But as the cadets' attention piled on,
Baal, still eyeing me curiously, spoke up to redirect them.
"Now, everyone. Focus on your own alchemy. The results will speak for themselves."
He was right—alchemy tolerated no errors, not even a 1g discrepancy, at any step.
The outcome would prove me right or wrong.
And soon after his words,
most cadets shifted focus back to their own work.
'Obviously.'
Truth be told, no matter what nonsense anyone pulled, they should've ignored it and concentrated.
In time-critical alchemy, peeking at others brought you that much closer to failure.
Most cadets knew as much,
but the academy's top first-year was bulldozing through precision work on pure instinct—they couldn't resist curiosity.
'Not instinct, though..'
From my view, the title's aid was more accurate than any scale,
but to onlookers, I looked insane.
Still, certain of the perfect result,
I pressed on with the action assist, unhesitating.
Herbs—goat horn—werewolf hide.
All ground and mixed in exact sequence at precise timings,
the vial finally glowed faintly and transformed.
I picked up the completed low-grade stamina potion and headed to the podium.
"Oh.. Cadet Aden, finished already?"
"Yes."
Baal eyed me with interest and tossed the question; I gave a curt reply and offered the potion.
He took it, scrutinizing closely,
then dripped a drop onto fresh parchment.
The spot bloomed green where it touched—
success, obviously.
"Perfect.. To brew it flawlessly without measurements—impressive, Cadet Aden!"
Baal exclaimed in admiration at the green parchment,
though I sensed a hint of wariness beneath it.
"What to do.. This was the end of the prepared lesson, but you've finished far too soon."
Baal feigned distress with a gesture, then continued.
"My apologies, Cadet Aden. Feel free to leave early if you'd like."
'Dragging that out sure took long.'
I took him up on it without protest and exited the classroom.
No point lingering after clearing the achievement.
'Time for some stamina training.'
But it was too early for the dorm,
and I still had stamina to spare, so I headed for training after a long while.
Tomorrow kicked off the weekend again,
nothing pressing, so perfect chance to boost my stamina stat.
Alchemy classroom.
As countless cadets brewed low-grade stamina potions,
Alchemy professor—and Ixion quasi-executive—Baal pondered the cadet who'd just left.
'A wary one.'
Top entrant Aden.
Utterly mundane background and status,
yet he'd surged in and claimed the golden generation's top spot.
One of the academy's most spotlighted now.
And that display had genuinely surprised him regarding the top cadet's talent.
Brewing a perfect low-grade stamina potion without mechanical aid—
Something even he couldn't do sans scale or mana,
yet the boy pulled it off with practiced ease.
Eyes whose thoughts were impossible to read,
paired with evident prowess in combat, senses, and now alchemy.
All of it screamed caution.
'But it's fine..'
Even so.
His plan was flawless.
It wouldn't crumble over one unforeseen irregular.
And should that irregular interfere?
Simply eliminate him.
With the power from the entrance exam, victory was assured.
'Proceed the plan as scheduled.'
Thus, the plan marched on unchanged.
After the first semester's midterms, before vacation—
The week Frontier Academy closed to honor the Madel Empire's founding emperor, with most faculty and nobles away.
'That leech clinging to the sacrifice, and even the monstrous chairman off enjoying the imperial festival that week.'
That week,
the empire's marquis family's daughter—
Magic Tower Lord's sole disciple—
would vanish as the devil's sacrifice.