Chapter 123
Translator: penny
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Graduation - 2
One of the key ingredients for making the Panacea, the Spirit Seed, was already in my possession, so that was sorted.
I handed it over to Kerubim, and he flashed snake-like eyes while flicking his tongue.
"Ooooh... A Spirit Seed... Heh heh. Heh heh heh... Heh heh heh heh..."
"Let's not turn into a spirit pervert. Okay?"
Using the Spirit Seed allows you to summon a spirit.
And through communion with that spirit, you can build a friendship.
From my perspective, spirits are just annoying nuisances, but in this world overflowing with weird perverts, spirit perverts definitely exist.
There's no guarantee Kerubim isn't one, so I figured I should point it out just in case.
"How could a person do that with a spirit...? I prefer Lizardmen with pretty tails and beautiful scales. And if possible, a rattlesnake."
"...Just don't get bitten to death."
"Anyway... How long do I have to make it?"
"The sooner, the better."
"Then come pick it up in about a week."
"No. Let's just go to the kingdom. I can lend you a lab there."
Alkein isn't a place where my influence is that strong.
Of course, I'm respected by the alchemists, but this city crawls with all sorts of riffraff, so I can't say it's safe.
Especially since Kerubim's Panacea uses the Philosopher's Stone as an ingredient.
No one doesn't know how precious that is to alchemists, so it's better to work stably in the kingdom's capital.
"Where?"
"The palace has a lab. We'll borrow that."
"Ooh! Then I won't hold back!"
I went with him to his lab to gather what we needed, then headed to the Adventurer's Guild.
There happened to be a request to escort a merchant caravan to the kingdom's capital, so we took it and headed straight there.
It takes about a week by carriage from Alkein to the kingdom's capital.
What was just a few seconds of loading in the game was turning into a whole week, making it incredibly boring and frustrating.
To top it off, no bandits or thieves showed up, which made it even more infuriating.
"How can this be?"
"It happens."
"Tch."
Before long, the capital's gates came into view. Since the request ended here, I got the confirmation from the caravan leader and headed straight to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Well then, where to?"
"To the palace, of course. By the way..."
I wondered if Lucille, who had finished her three days of meditation, had passed the remaining trials. Before going to the palace, I stopped by the Mage Guild.
Kerubim followed me around since we needed to buy materials anyway, and upon entering the guild, he headed to the merchandise counter.
"Lucille?"
"She succeeded in emptying her mind through three days of meditation and safely completed the next trial."
Retrieving the Diamond Golem's core, and the meditation.
The third trial is enduring without losing consciousness even after depleting your mana to the limit.
In the game, it was just casting spells until mana hit zero, but here it was a bit different.
No big issue, though.
She passed, and that's what matters.
"So only the final trial left."
"Yes. Indeed."
"Your reaction's lukewarm?"
"Actually, she could have done it yesterday, but Her Highness asked to postpone it a bit. It seems she's waiting for you, Wise One."
"Why wait for me...?"
"Her Highness seems to rely on you a lot. Having a pillar to lean on changes how strong a person can be."
"Ah. Fair point. And you there, miss. Ring this up. The Wise One's paying."
Kerubim, having gathered everything he needed, plunked down his basket.
More materials than expected.
I stared at him grinning at me and said one thing.
"Don't make anything weird and cause trouble."
"Aw~ Would I do that? I won't mess around like that~ Just making a few extra nutritional supplements. Nutritional supplements."
His stuff is high quality anyway, so we can hand it to the royals or use it against Chronos.
We paid and gathered our items, then headed straight to the palace.
Kerubim gaped at the massive palace, slightly overwhelmed.
"They say among the continent's kingdoms, this one's the largest, and its capital palace the grandest... Wonder if I can even enter..."
Only now did Kerubim seem to worry about his attire.
The robe he wore was so ragged it could pass for burlap sacks.
Fiddling with the holes and stained spots from sauce and potions, I smirked at him.
"You're worrying about something weird for you."
"Well, still. Hey. This won't do. Let me get some clothes..."
That was when the gates burst open, and a group of knights along with a girl emerged.
"Master!!"
Lucille's face beamed with a bright smile. Her eyes were moist; she must have cried.
"Welcome back?!"
"Hm. Yeah. But why haven't you done the final trial yet?"
"Uh..."
Lucille looked a bit tense. I wasn't planning to scold her.
Peeking at my expression, she let out a small sigh and carefully said,
"I wanted to receive your congratulations first, Master..."
"Yeah? Then let's do it right away later."
"Yes!! But... who is this?"
"Ah. Introduce yourselves."
I pulled over the awkward Kerubim.
"Absolute Alchemist Kerubim Oswald. He'll be staying in the annex for a while and using the lab. He has something to make. No need for any confirmation forms or anything, right?"
I asked Lucille, but it was aimed at the Lily Knight Order member nearby.
Allowing outsiders into the palace guard was a sensitive matter.
But perhaps because I brought him? She nodded without seeming offended.
"Of course. Since you introduced him, Wise One... However, please wear this around your neck at all times."
She handed over a guest badge.
He's the type who won't leave the annex lab anyway, so it's unnecessary, but we can't ignore protocols.
"Well, no point standing here. Let's go in."
"Oh. Sounds good. But Wise One, you act like the palace is your home?"
Lucille's eyes sparkled at Kerubim's joking remark.
Upon reaching the annex, Kerubim cheered at the sight of the lab.
Probably because it's far better than his in Alkein?
He happily poked around, then immediately started working.
"Then we'll go take the trial."
"Yes!"
Entering the Mage Guild, Turtleman was waiting.
In his hand was the Diamond Golem's core.
But not in the same state as when I brought it before.
Already prepared, a faint flame flickered inside the core.
"Release and accept this, and it's done, Your Highness."
"Then..."
"Most who reach this point learn the ultimate skill. No need to worry much."
"Understood... Ah."
Lucille reached for the core but tilted her head.
"Most? So some fail?"
Turtleman glanced at me.
Yeah. Me.
I got stuck here and couldn't learn the true ultimate skill.
"Ah... Master couldn't..."
"Thinking of surpassing your master? That's good. A disciple surpassing their master is the greatest gratitude."
"But I don't think I can beat Master."
Turtleman teared up at Lucille's words, moved.
"Sob...! If only our insolent disciples resembled even Your Highness's pinky toe...!"
Pick better disciples, man. Why choose weirdos...
Ignoring Turtleman's gloom, Lucille focused on the core in her hand.
Lucille slowly lifted her head.
"Master. Watch me."
"Yeah."
"...Me."
Lucille, who had closed her mouth briefly, beamed.
"Please watch over your one and only disciple, whom you love and take pride in."
At that, Turtleman looked at me and grumbled.
"Tch. Damn plot armor. Back in my day, I... Ugh. Old folks should just die."
"It's not that. And you won't die anyway."
Lucille smiled sweetly at our exchange. Then, slowly erasing her smile, she infused mana into the core.
Just like Cecil did in the ruins—opening the core and accepting the essence within.
Fail this, and you can't learn the ultimate skill.
I failed, but Lucille will succeed.
-Crack.
Suddenly, cracks formed on the core. The fine fissures deepened, spreading like lightning across its surface.
The flame inside the core, which seemed about to shatter any moment, grew larger and brighter.
-Clang!!
Soon after, the core shattered, and the flame within began absorbing into Lucille's body.
It was pretty cool, but seeing game scenes in reality is commonplace in this world now.
So I felt nothing special, but Turtleman was different.
"Watching someone ascend to the next level is truly beautiful."
"Is it?"
"Good times. Being able to grow like that..."
"I see."
"Jealous?"
"Not at all."
"Let's research it again later. See if you really can't learn the true ultimate."
While talking with Turtleman, the flames fully entered Lucille's body.
She slowly opened her eyes, tilting her head as she examined her hands and body.
"Something... doesn't feel different."
"The mage's ultimate skill, 'Pinnacle of Magic,' maximizes mana efficiency."
"Uh..."
"Let's test it. Hey, lend us the training room!"
With Turtleman's permission, a staff member guided Lucille to the training room.
The vast underground space of the guild.
Entering this indestructible place for any magic, Lucille gripped her staff tightly.
"Cast your highest-level spell."
"Uh... Yes."
As Lucille chanted quickly, her eyes widened.
Likely from the Pinnacle of Magic taking effect.
Faster casting speed than before.
Lower mana consumption.
Higher perfection.
Lucille launched the small flame—ember—gathered on her staff, then couldn't close her mouth.
"Good heavens..."
"That's the difference between a mage with the ultimate skill and one without. The gap between Archmage and regular mage is huge too, so aim for Archmage."
"Y-Yes..."
-Whoosh!!
The moment the ember hit the target, massive flames erupted. Staring at it and her staff, Lucille began casting other high-level spells.
After blasting magic for a while until her mana depleted, she was exhausted but overjoyed.
Compared to tiring after just two or three high-level spells before, this was huge progress. She'd cast over double, yet some mana remained.
"Thank you. Thank you... Master..."
"No big deal."
Nodding to the grateful Lucille, I pulled out a prepared item from my bag.
A beautiful short auxiliary staff, blood-red.
Clearly no ordinary item, its color suited Lucille well.
The red gem at the tip was so transparent and deep, it could mesmerize just by looking.
"What's... this? An amazing staff..."
Good eye.
Her current staff is good, but not this one.
As a mage, seeing a great staff sparked her greed, her eyes sparkling.
"Cosmo's Staff Replica."
The reward from the achievement 'Devout Worshipper,' obtained by worshipping Cosmo and sacrificing ten thousand beasts.
I'd gotten quite a bit but couldn't use it, so it sat in storage. Time to dispose of it today.
"A mage with 'Pinnacle of Magic' can infuse mana to subjugate and store it in sub-space."
"Uh... A-Amazing! Sub-space!!"
"That's not the real highlight."
When mana is fully depleted, sacrifice 1/3 of remaining health to open a multi-dimensional gate and absorb mana from there.
The game's best mana recovery skill, restoring all mana and mental strength for the wearer.
'Support from Multiple Worlds' was the staff's greatest feature.
"...Such a precious thing..."
"Graduation gift."
Lucille's joyful body flinched and stiffened.
Her trembling eyes barely turned to me.
The emotion in them wasn't greed for the staff—it was obvious.
It was fear.
Lucille feared the word 'graduation.'
"Congratulations."
Head bowed deeply, Lucille tried not to take the staff, so I grabbed her hand and forced it into her grip.
Hm.
Suits her perfectly.
Writer's Note (Afterword)
See you tomorrow! Bye~!!