CHAPTER 46: ALCHEMY CLASS, AND ATTACK

The professor was a bit stricter, but nowhere near as harsh as Randal.

His name was Ortho. He liked recruits to stay quiet while he explained things. Damian understood his point—trying to teach with people who wouldn’t shut up was just awful.

After the initial introduction, Ortho began telling the history of alchemy. Humans had been using plants to create elixirs for a very long time. These elixirs were valuable and could greatly enhance training.

"There are elixirs that temporarily improve mana absorption, increasing the efficiency of your breathing technique training. Others can enhance the body directly," Ortho explained as he drew and wrote on a whiteboard.

Damian found the lesson fascinating, which made him pay close attention. The fact that there were elixirs capable of strengthening the human body caught his interest.

"What other kinds of elixirs might exist? Ortho can probably make some truly impressive ones," Damian thought.

After explaining some types of common magical herbs—ones that could practically be found anywhere—Ortho decided to show something practical.He placed a cauldron in front of the board so every recruit could get a clear look at it.

"Despite modern technology, the best way to create elixirs is still by using a cauldron," Ortho said. "Some alchemists claim technology came to help us, but I tell you this: the greatest elixirs ever made were brewed in a cauldron, not with modern devices. That’s why we teach it this way here at the academy."

Ortho had been practicing alchemy for many years. He had vast knowledge and could craft elixirs so valuable that many hunters would kill to get them.

Of course, for a classroom demonstration, he used basic ingredients—the same ones he had explained a few minutes earlier before bringing out the cauldron.

That way, the students had a recipe they could actually replicate. There was no point in explaining the basics of alchemy and then showing how to brew some ultra-powerful elixir—that would only frustrate the students, leaving them disappointed when they couldn’t reproduce it.

Ortho went through the process step by step, occasionally taking questions—but only if a recruit raised their hand, of course.

Damian and Mitra were completely focused on the lesson. Alchemy was Mitra’s other passion—it was a path she wanted to follow with all her heart.

Curt, on the other hand, was also paying attention—he wanted to keep his grades up and avoid being called out by Ortho—but he wasn’t nearly as invested as Mitra and Damian.

The two of them had small notebooks in hand, jotting down every important thing Ortho said. That was real dedication to learning.

"The first step is to add the exact amount of water," Ortho explained. "This measurement was discovered through studies and trial and error. This will only be a problem if you’re trying to invent your own recipe—otherwise, just follow the instructions exactly."

"Next comes the hardest part: heating the water to the right temperature. The thing is, the water isn’t heated in the traditional way—it’s done with mana. Unfortunately, this temperature can’t be measured with thermometers. You’ll have to learn to control your mana so you heat it just enough, and also learn to sense exactly what that temperature is. That takes practice—and more practice."

Brewing elixirs wasn’t nearly as easy as it sounded. It was only after seeing it in person that Damian truly understood why.

Controlling mana to heat the ingredients just right was incredibly difficult. The worst part was that each ingredient had a temperature limit it could handle—which meant that, more often than not, you had to cool the cauldron down mid-recipe before continuing.

That made everything far more complicated. To make matters worse, Damian’s mana control wasn’t exactly the best—his power came from other sources.

After Ortho’s explanation, Damian tried to replicate the elixir himself, but it didn’t work out... It was just too hard for him. Even though it was only his first class, Damian was already doubting whether becoming an alchemist was realistic—at least for now.

Mitra, on the other hand, was a natural. She made the elixir with ease, becoming the first in the class to succeed. Ortho was genuinely impressed.

"Congratulations," he said. "Your speed is rare for new recruits. In fact, even some with far more experience can’t brew this elixir that quickly."

Mitra lit up at the praise.

"Thank you," she said. "Can I taste it?"

She wanted to try the elixir she had just made. According to Ortho, it was designed to increase the user’s strength—not by much, since it was a beginner-level elixir, but any increase was still valuable.

Professor Ortho, however, didn’t want her drinking it.

"If the elixir isn’t 100% correct, it can cause minor damage to the body. Someone with a strong physique needs to test it first to make sure it’s safe."

Damian raised his hand, volunteering to be that person. He was confident he wouldn’t die from drinking it.

"You?" Ortho said, looking Damian over from head to toe. "I was thinking of an officer or another professor, but another recruit? I’m not sure that’s a good idea."

"Please?" Damian insisted. "My affinity is with body enhancement, so I have some resistance."

After a bit more persistence, Ortho allowed him to drink it. It didn’t seem like he agreed because of Damian’s affinity—more likely, it was because Damian was Lindy’s assistant.

Maybe Ortho and Lindy were friends, or maybe simply being an assistant came with a few perks.

Either way, Damian took the elixir from Mitra—a small glass vial filled with an orange liquid—and drank it in one gulp.

The taste was absolutely vile. It was the worst thing he had ever drunk in his life. It was like someone had made a smoothie with fruit, but every single fruit was rotten—and then they added spoiled milk just to make it worse.

It was disgusting. But Damian managed to swallow it without a problem. Moments later, a notification appeared for him:

[+4 Points in Strength]

Four points in Strength. That was a fairly big boost. Many times, he didn’t even get that much from absorbing a demon—and now he’d gotten it from an elixir Mitra had made in no time at all.

"How do you feel?" Ortho asked.

"Stronger," Damian said. "I think it worked, Professor."

Mitra was thrilled to hear that.

She had worked so hard to brew that elixir, so hearing that it worked in the end gave her even more confidence that her dream of becoming an alchemist was possible.

Damian, on the other hand, accepted the facts.

"If I can’t pursue my goal of becoming an alchemist right now, at least I’m friends with someone talented. I’ll probably get plenty of elixirs to try," he thought.

The class went by quickly, and by mid-afternoon it was over. All the recruits were dismissed.

Mitra and Curt went off to do their own things, leaving Damian alone in the courtyard. They knew he had to return to Lindy’s research room, so they didn’t want to take up more of his time.

While he was standing in the academy courtyard, a group of three recruits approached him. They were older recruits—judging by their uniforms, they were in their third year.

Damian had no idea what they wanted, but from the way they were looking at him, it couldn’t be anything good.

"Hey, Damian, right?" one of them said. "You’re Professor Lindy’s assistant, correct?"

That wasn’t exactly a secret, so Damian wasn’t surprised to hear it.

"Yeah, that’s me. Why?" he said.

The recruits didn’t answer. They just rushed him, trying to attack.

It all happened fast—one of them could use body reinforcement. The punch Damian took to the face was brutal. His nose broke instantly, and blood streamed down his face.

Then came more hits—to his stomach, legs, and arms. He was being beaten by three recruits at once.

Damian managed to glance to the side and noticed something—one of the academy officers was watching the whole thing, but he wasn’t doing anything.

It was as if someone had paid him to pretend he hadn’t seen a thing.

They beat Damian badly, though of course they didn’t kill him. Eventually, the recruits walked away.

After a while, a few guards rushed over to him.

"Someone, help! Get help, now!" one of the guards shouted.

The guards quickly took Damian to the infirmary, where nurses began tending to his injuries.

Inside, Damian was burning with rage. He had been attacked right in the middle of the academy, and one of the corrupt officers hadn’t even tried to help him.

The only thought running through his mind as the nurses treated his wounds was, "I’m going to get revenge on those bastards."

Twenty minutes after the attack, Mitra and Curt came running to the infirmary. They had only heard about what happened a little later.

But as soon as they arrived, they were stopped by the guards.

"We have clear orders not to let anyone into Damian’s room until we understand what happened," the guard posted at the infirmary door said.

Lindy had also come. When she noticed Damian hadn’t returned to her office, she went to find out what was going on.

She wasn’t stopped—the guards let her in.

"I’ll check on him and let you know afterward," Lindy said, trying to calm Curt and Mitra.