Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Extraction Competition
In response to Idnia’s request, the Dryad instructor Naili nodded as if it made sense.
Given that Idnia of the Euros dormitory had too few members to win the dorm competition, even if she demonstrated her abilities and raised the average, it would only result in penalties for her dormmates.
“Understood. For every multiple of the average extraction amount, I will grant you the authority to exempt that many penalties.
For example, if the final average extraction amount is 2g and you alone extract 8g, then you will be able to exempt penalties for three students in the Euros dormitory.
How about that?
Does that give you motivation to work hard?”
“Yes, thank you. That certainly motivates me.”
Idnia took a deep breath and began extraction.
Sap from the willow tree was drawn out at tremendous speed, and the meter displayed by illusion magic on the workbench shot upward.
“Whoa… insane…”
The watching students were stunned.
Even in previous classes, Idnia’s extraction had been overwhelming. Back then, they had only thought, “She’s producing a lot,” but…
Now that it was shown numerically, they realized her extraction was on a completely different level.
“20 grams!? T-that’s impossible! That’s more than ten times what ordinary students produce…”
“It’s still going…”
“At this rate, she alone might exempt all Euros dorm students from penalties!”
“No, it’s not just that—could the Euros dorm actually win this?!”
All the students were stunned. Even as they reacted, the extraction continued, surpassing 40 grams.
But Idnia’s body began to sway.
“Ugh…”
Originally, she could have extracted far more than this. Whether it was because she had extracted the previous night to avoid wasting leftover mana, or due to the pressure of needing to extract as much as possible to avoid penalties, her mana was being depleted rapidly.
Still, Idnia endured and managed to extract an astonishing 47 grams on her own.
Considering that the other students in the Euros dorm had only extracted a combined total of 18.7 grams, Idnia alone had produced nearly three times the total of all others combined.
This demonstrated a staggering difference in ability, with her extracting 74 times more than an average student on her own.
Including Mari, who stopped at 3 grams, the Euros dorm reached a total extraction of 68.7 grams.
“…Ah, um, I could have done more, but I stopped to manage the average. Sh-should I keep going?”
Mari still had spare mana even after extracting 3g.
However, those around her stopped her.
“No, don’t. That would just raise the average.”
“Either way, it looks like Idnia alone is enough as the exemption ace.”
“I-I suppose so?”
Mari too could not help but admire Idnia’s overwhelming extraction after seeing the numbers quantified before her eyes.
Thanks to Idnia’s massive output, the average extraction per person rose to 2.14 almost immediately.
“Wow, impressive. Truly impressive. At least in terms of willow extraction, there are very few mages comparable to her.
Frankly speaking, she’s even better than me.
Ah, of course, I’m referring specifically to extracting effective components from willow trees. Extracting from other materials or different active components is another matter entirely… so don’t forget that you still have much to learn.”
The Dryad instructor Naili applauded, but also did not forget to warn Idnia in case she became overly confident and negligent in her studies.
“Now then, it’s the turn of the Zephyrus dorm on the west side. This won’t be easy to win by sheer numbers.”
“We would also like to nominate an ace who can earn exemption rights by producing high extraction amounts.”
Rudolf, the dorm leader and crown prince, selected Isolde Poltchen as the exemption ace.
This was to increase the number of exempted students based on her above-average extraction.
Isolde concentrated and cast her magic, but she only managed to extract 8 grams on her own.
Not comparable to Idnia, but still an overwhelming amount compared to ordinary students.
“How is this possible? I-I don’t understand. The amount of liquid I extracted was far greater…”
Isolde was flustered.
She had known that Idnia extracted an enormous amount, but she believed the gap between them was not that large.
After all, when using extraction magic on willow trees, she had previously been able to draw out a considerable amount of sap.
Yet the difference between her and Idnia was nearly sixfold?
“That is the fundamental difference.
The effective components contained in what Idnia extracts are on an entirely different level compared to others.
She likely understands the core components of the raw material she is extracting.
Her superior chemical knowledge and perfect pronunciation of activation words create this difference.”
Dryad Naili had already noticed why Idnia achieved such extraordinary efficiency compared to the other students.
“…I see…”
Isolde once again suffered under the rising emotion of inferiority.
Despite being the daughter of a great house, she had relied on her own magical talent. Seeing Idnia surpass her so effortlessly was painful.
Normally, she would have been able to extract much more…
But witnessing Idnia alone drawing out such a tremendous amount had pressured her, preventing her from performing at her true level.
“If you want to win in extraction, you should consider taking chemistry later on.
Your extraction output will increase significantly. Now then… everyone, look at the chart.”
Excluding Isolde, the Zephyrus dorm’s average extraction per person was 0.71. Despite the efforts of Rudolf and his personal guards, their total output was still lower than that of the Euros dorm students.
The Zephyrus dorm’s total extraction was 50.6g… less than the Euros dorm’s 68.7g, which Idnia had pushed forward.
“Eh?”
“Wait, could this be…?”
Until now, the students had assumed that in a total extraction competition, Zephyrus would naturally win.
But surprisingly, due to Idnia’s overwhelming extraction ability, the Euros dorm had taken the lead.
At this rate, could no other dorm possibly match them?
“So what shall we do, my lord?”
The students of the southern Notos dorm asked Lorenzo, the Mazdari prince.
“I had intended to conceal our abilities and gain practical advantage, but Karl Gustav Ansbach has been openly hostile toward us… I believe it’s safe to say our cards are already exposed. Let us go for the win here. The Boreas dorm has too many shops.”
Saying this, Lorenzo gestured to his subordinates and stepped forward toward the instructor.
“We would like to use our own dedicated extraction magic wands instead of the ones provided. Would that be acceptable?”
“Yes. Permission granted.”
To everyone’s surprise, they produced their own extraction-specific magic wands from somewhere.
These were brass wands lined with gold trim, specially designed for extraction magic.
The one Lorenzo held in particular had a jade ornament attached to the end of its handle.
“I will serve as the exemption ace.”
Lorenzo personally stepped forward and began extraction.
All the Notos dorm students took turns using these brass extraction wands, achieving significantly higher outputs than others.
They achieved an average of 0.9g per person, and Lorenzo himself astonishingly extracted up to 10.2g alone. Even with a specialized wand, this performance shocked Isolde Poltchen when she saw him surpass her.
Up until now, she had only been wary of Idnia and Mari, but Lorenzo had now begun to reveal his true capabilities.
In the end, the Notos dorm achieved a total extraction of 54.3g.
Though it did not surpass Euros’ 68.7g, it overtook Zephyrus’ 50.6g.
With fewer members, they achieved a higher total extraction, demonstrating that Notos had superior individual capability compared to Zephyrus.
“Ghh… a miscalculation. As expected of the Duke’s daughter, Betelgeuse, truly impressive.”
Prince Lorenzo gave a bitter smile.
Even after preparing specialized extraction wands to compete, they could not surpass the smallest dorm, Euros.
And they had not even come close to Idnia.
“Truly remarkable… Idnia, daughter of Duke Betelgeuse. To think she could lead her dorm to victory alone… If she were not from an Elector House… yes, if she were someone like that saint candidate, I might have fallen for her instantly.”
Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari suddenly had that thought and surprised himself.
“Fallen for her?”
He was awed by Idnia’s extraordinary magical ability.
He also admired her boldness and decisiveness in negotiating with the instructor for the sake of her dormmates.
Her upright posture, her firm stance when presenting her arguments even to the instructor—Lorenzo felt a sense of admiration toward Idnia, as though she were the world’s most exquisite jewel.
Strong and beautiful.
However, he carried a mission: the revival of the Mazdari Principality, or rather, the ancient Mazdari Empire.
For that, he needed a partner with excellent qualities who could still be controlled.
The Betelgeuse ducal house of Idnia was too prestigious and too independent. Even through a marriage alliance, they would not be easily controlled.
“No, it is absurd for me to even think this way. She is the one who publicly broke off an engagement in the face of Karlie Astra’s Rudolf.
Even if I were to pursue her, it is questionable whether I would meet her standards, and the reverse is equally true.”
He knew. He knew, yet Lorenzo still entertained the possibility.
If she were not from an Elector House… if she were merely a saint candidate with no backing… he would have wanted to obtain her by any means necessary.
Now, only the northern Boreas dorm remained.
“Hah! So you’ve finally revealed your hidden claws?
But it seems you haven’t yet used the secret techniques passed down in the Mazdari principality, have you?”
Karl stepped forward, watching Lorenzo draw out his mana in an attempt to maximize exemption points.
However, the other Boreas students did not step forward at all.
Only Karl stood there.
“Eh? What about the Boreas dorm students?”
“Is it alright if I act as the exemption ace, instructor?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Good. Then…”
Karl cut a small branch of the willow tree and placed it in his mouth. He chewed it slowly and focused his mind.
“You said it contains active components with antipyretic and analgesic effects, right?”
Remarkably, Karl was using his own body to directly experience and analyze the active component within the willow tree—salicylic acid.
Considering how minuscule the amount of salicylic acid in the willow would be, attempting to detect its presence through direct bodily analysis was an extraordinary approach.
Was it even possible?
-Body analysis!
Karl cast a spell on himself. And then…
“I found it! Alright, let’s begin.”
Satisfied, Karl started extraction.
Holding the extraction wand and casting his spell, Karl managed to extract about 4 grams in one go.
A respectable amount, but it did not match Prince Lorenzo’s special wand, and was far from Isolde’s level.
However…
“The effective concentration…”
Idnia noticed that although Karl’s total extracted sap was small, what mattered was how much of it contained effective components.
Until now, no one had matched Idnia in this aspect.
In Isolde’s case, she extracted large amounts of sap, but the concentration of effective components within it was low.
In Karl’s case, however, the concentration of effective components was much higher than Isolde’s.
In other words, Karl was superior to Isolde in identifying effective components. His act of chewing the willow branch was not merely a performance—it had actual effect.
“Remarkable.
But he likely expended a large amount of mana in the process of analyzing the active components by chewing the willow. It seems he used more mana to identify the components than to extract them. That would be putting the cart before the horse.”
With the information gained this time, he could extract more in the next attempt, but the problem was the present.
There was no guarantee the instructor would allow such conditions or grant exemption opportunities again next time, so there was no need to invest mana into this kind of analytical process right now.
“It was a good setup for the future, but a bit lacking for this round.”
That was Idnia’s assessment.
But at that moment, Karl began to move.
Surprisingly, Karl intended to win this round.