If Your Body's Weak, Your Mind Suffers
"Huh? Wh-what...? A pot?"
"Just passing by~."
The instructor's reaction was like he'd seen a ghost. Delicious. This was a world overflowing with magic anyway. Unless you're some high-level mage, no one can tell if it's regular magic, unique magic, spatial magic, or whatever. Even if they encounter spells they've never seen, they just think, 'Oh, some fancy magic.' and move on.
Of course, flashing it off in front of others too often isn't the best idea.
'Still, this thing's too heavy to carry.'
Hmm. I glanced at my slender arms. Can't even lift a single iron pot lightly? My mana had grown, so maybe dump a reinforcement scroll on strength?
It hadn't spiked dramatically, but thanks to Adrian, my mana was steadily increasing. Last time I went up to the third floor, even in that short visit, I'd seen a meaningful rise.
So I could just use it...
'Nah, forget it.'
You've gotta binge these things to really feel the difference. The thrill of stat gains? It's highest when they skyrocket.
I figured that out when I boosted agility before. Honestly, it was kinda meh.
And if I'm gonna use it, better during a fight with monsters to throw in a variable.
I casually passed the instructor and headed elsewhere... then got swallowed up by the crowd.
"Whoaaa!!"
So. Many. People!
Judging by this, students from other years must come grab materials too. And after picking them up, you even had to write your name on the roster.
Tons of students, instructors herding them, and even more materials.
'Screw this, no way!'
I pulled a sack from my inventory. A sturdy burlap sack. Back on modern Earth, I'd used it for spices, but it'd just been dead weight taking up space for ages.
Finally, its time had come.
Putting materials in one by one would've drawn rumors for sure, so the sack was unavoidable. Stuff everything else in it, then dump the whole thing at once.
I waded into the throng and somehow snagged the materials.
Let's see...
'Spirit Plant, Dried Mandragora, Sizzleweed, Thunderflower...'
What the hell, so many!
The list was packed with stuff like this!
The equipment list was no joke either. All sorts of flasks as basics, plus mana-powered thermoses, ignition agents, smoking devices, and more.
A ton of annoying-looking crap.
By the time I'd roughly circled everything, about an hour had passed. The sack was nearly full.
"Haaah... This... for a manly... guy like me... was fine... but for a girl... it'd be... tough..."
I spouted nonsense to hold on somehow. Might not even be nonsense. Hell if I know.
Without babbling crap like this, I'd lose my mind. Too many people—no chance to stash in my inventory. Mechanically, I'd have to shove the whole sack in at once, but then I couldn't grab anything else.
...Wait.
What about Aris?
Right then, Aris's voice came from behind me.
"Yu-Yumia... here, take this."
Her face glistened with beaded sweat. Legs trembling, cheeks pale. With a resolute expression, she held out her bulging backpack.
"A-Aris?"
"This is as far as I go. The rest is on you..."
Thud.
"Ariiiiis!!"
But thinking about it, we could've just gone back to the dorm once. I could've hidden somewhere and stashed it in my inventory.
We were both idiots.
Aris gulped down the water I handed her. Then, after casting her heal-like unique magic, she finally perked up.
"Th-thank you...!"
"No biggie. It's only natural."
I tossed her backpack into my inventory too. If I'd known it'd be this much, I'd have planned ahead.
"I should've swung by the dorm for real."
The dorm and Grand Auditorium were pretty far, but still better than lugging that huge pack.
Actually, other students were making round trips with small backpacks.
"At least we got it all in one go."
"Your magic's always so convenient, no matter how many times I see it."
"Moving this much without it doesn't even make sense."
It's straight-up absurd. Without inventory, I'd have dumped stats into strength for sure.
But how'd Aris manage? ...I wondered, but her base strength was probably higher. I hadn't put any points into strength, and her self-mana reinforcement effect was stronger too.
Aris huffed indignantly.
"My brothers said they did it in one trip. Liars... I'll get them when I go home."
Aris clenched her fist tight. The move she made when she was seriously pissed.
Ah. So that's why Aris made such a dumb call. She'd fallen for her brothers' prank.
Sibling dynamics were the same on Earth or here.
I'd just trusted my inventory and winged it.
"Yeah, how many idiots are out there like th—"
Then a familiar voice cut in. But it was insanely out of breath.
Leaning on a cane—not a magic staff, but one for walking up to the dorm building. On his back: a house-sized backpack.
Robert.
"Hah... you guys... already... round trip...? Don't... make me... suffer more... alone........."
Right before our eyes, he continued his glorious ordeal.
His stamina seemed overflowing, so no worries there.
Another idiot. A super-ultra-grade one.
That guy would succeed no matter what he did.
Today was potion class.
"Ughhhh..."
"Gaaahhh..."
By the way, students who'd attended yesterday's magic biology class were barely human anymore. More like massive, wriggling worms.
Magic academy kids with chronic exercise deficiency, after all.
I'm used to it so I'm fine, but physical stuff must be rough for them.
Whatever. Miriam collected the assigned Cacterrorians from the students and awarded 10 shop points to the one who'd bonded most with it, as promised.
Obviously me.
The Cacterrorian was basically my pet now. Especially after visiting Adrian—it was super docile. Post-Dragon Eye upgrade, it didn't even bare its teeth.
'Hmm... I've never seen a Cacterrorian this attached before.'
'Usually they don't react like this unless it's a species difference... Fascinating. Here's your 10 shop points, as promised.'
She didn't seem to care at all that I'd taken money to do the assignment for someone.
Though she probably knew.
'Oh, swing by my lab sometime when you're free. Potion or artifact materials, or pocket money—no problem.'
Come to think of it, I'd been hearing about labs a lot lately. Even the old profs teaching upperclassmen mentioned it when I took down that werewolf.
Of course, I still hadn't visited once.
"So, what kind of class is it anyway?"
Aris chattered excitedly beside me. We'd brought the materials Isabelle had specified from yesterday's haul.
By the way, I'd stuffed everything in the sack and struggled to sort it out.
Still curious, though.
Then Isabelle entered from the front of the classroom. Sea-blue hair glowing faintly. Witch hat and mantle I'd never seen before.
Suddenly, curtains drew over the room, and all lights went out.
The classroom plunged into darkness in an instant. Not pitch black—you could adjust and see. Especially me with Dragon Eye.
But students accustomed to light freaked at the sudden dark.
"Wh-what!?"
"The curtains moved on their own...!"
"Everyone, quiet for a moment."
A calm voice spread through the room. The noisy buzz settled instantly.
People really do have an aura. Or maybe everyone sensed that blue, serene mana.
"Let's begin potion class. I'm your instructor, Isabelle. Nice to meet you."
Faint light leaking through the curtains illuminated Isabelle and the blackboard.
Isabelle scrawled Potionology on the board in imperial script.
"First, we need to know what potionology is."
She opened her bag. Vibrant potions of every color shone clearly even from afar.
"Potionology is the study created to make and design potions. So, what is a potion?"
She uncorked one bottle. Vivid mana flowed visibly. Brighter and clearer blue than any mana potion I'd seen—pure and radiant.
Even from my distant back-row seat, the mana was crystal clear.
"A potion is mystery in a bottle. Magic in another form."
Isabelle poured the potion onto the podium. Sparks like starlight popped from the liquid.
"Individually, the ingredients here would only yield enough mana for seven basic attack spells. But..."
The mana flowing from the potion was no joke. Dripping with crisp pops and bright light across the podium.
Definitely not low- or mid-grade.
"When herbs synergize, good natural mana combines, and the user's skill shines..."
She pointed her staff there.
Almost simultaneously—
—BOOM!!
"Whoaaa!!"
"Wh-what!?"
Students murmured. But nothing was destroyed.
Simple reason for the panic: a powerful mana wave had swept over their bodies.
"Like this, it can hold enough mana to instantly restore even a grand mage's reserves."
"Whoa..."
It was overwhelming. That much mana from a tiny vial?
If I felt this, the other students must be floored.
In that vibe, Isabelle grinned wide with satisfaction.
And declared:
"So, today—shall we learn to make a basic mana potion?"