If you see only crazy people around someone, you should suspect that person might be crazy too.
There’s a saying like that.
The magic school was similar.
If all the professors seemed like lunatics, you should even suspect the sane-looking ones who hung out with them! "Hmm. Right. Professor Garcia was close with that crazy headmaster. As expected, you can’t trust any of the professors."
If Professor Garcia had heard this, he would’ve clutched his chest in frustration.
Of course, maintaining magic until the end of class could feel mentally exhausting.
It was like balancing a spinning top on your fingernail and holding it steady.
But Professor Garcia had his reasons for giving Ihan this task.
First, succeeding in creating water in just three attempts meant Ihan had an exceptional talent, even considering his natural affinity for water.
On top of that, his mana reserves were overwhelmingly vast.
A gem like this needed to be polished to shine even brighter.
Professor Garcia believed Ihan could handle it, which is why he gave the order.
Of course, Ihan didn’t get the sincerity behind it.
"From now on, I should assume every professor in this school is missing a screw."
While straining to maintain the water sphere, Ihan thought to himself.
The rest of the <Understanding Basic Magic> class passed warmly.
A few students from the Blue Dragon Tower succeeded in creating light, and the princess even managed to create fire.
Yoner was delighted to discover his strong affinity for the wind element, while Gainando almost burned his wand.
Meanwhile, Ihan had to keep his mouth shut and focus on maintaining his water sphere for the entire remaining time.
"Isn’t this a bit too much?" "???" Professor Thunderstep tilted his head at Ihan’s words.
He didn’t quite understand what part of Ihan’s explanation was "too much."
"Maybe... Professor Garcia Kim just likes you? That’s why he gave you such a task."
"Are you saying I’m managing a vegetable patch now?" "Ah, this kid really knows how to complain," Professor Thunderstep muttered inwardly.
On a Friday afternoon, when everyone was looking forward to the weekend, Ihan was tending to the vegetable patch at Professor Thunderstep’s cabin.
If other students saw this, they’d whisper, "That professor is really ruthless. How can he make someone from the Wodanaz family do such menial work?" But Professor Thunderstep had his defense...
Ihan had volunteered for this. -Professor, I’ve come to help manage the cabin. -Oh, thank you. -Can I eat some of the stuff here while I work? -...
Sure, go ahead. -Then can I take some home too? -No, you brat.
"I shouldn’t have asked. Fine."
Professor Thunderstep shook his head and raised both hands.
He hadn’t expected such a response to a simple question about how the first week went.
But aside from his complaining habit, Ihan was indeed the most promising among the new students.
Maybe that’s why Professor Garcia Kim was giving him special treatment.
And in Professor Thunderstep’s eyes, Ihan’s abilities were outstanding.
Not his magical abilities, though.
"To do menial work with such persistence. The more I see, the more I realize he’s a natural." ...
It was his talent for menial work.
If Ihan had heard this, he would’ve turned serious, but Professor Thunderstep was being genuine.
In his view, the most essential skill for an alchemist was the ability to tirelessly handle such tasks.
Innate mana sensitivity to distinguish any reagent? Spirit affinity to quickly befriend any spirit? Precise mana control for delicate processes? None of that mattered.
What a great alchemist needed was the ironclad patience to silently clean a mountain of flasks without running away.
And Ihan had that ability from the start.
Any other noble brat wouldn’t have touched such menial work, no matter how much food they were offered, but Ihan diligently came to do the chores and took the food.
It was because he had the talent of an alchemist.
"Why do I feel a strange chill?" Ihan wondered as he dug up potatoes.
The weather was cool, but he felt an odd shiver.
"Isn’t it tiring?" "It’s fine."
Ihan answered Professor Thunderstep’s question without much thought.
It really wasn’t that tiring.
His stamina was good, and he was already used to doing such chores under a professor.
Pulling fresh vegetables from the garden and retrieving fish from the traps by the river were honestly easy tasks.
"Hoho." "??" When Professor Thunderstep chuckled in satisfaction, Ihan grew even more confused.
What’s going on? "You have talent, Wodanaz."
"Ah, yes."
"You’re just letting that go in one ear and out the other, aren’t you?" "No, Professor."
Professor Thunderstep clicked his tongue.
Even if he explained now, Ihan’s grumbling nature wouldn’t take it seriously.
How did someone like him come from the Wodanaz family, known for their granite-like demeanor? Professor Thunderstep sank deep into his armchair, filled his long dwarven pipe with tobacco, and lit it.
After puffing out smoke contentedly, he spoke again.
"Anything else going on?" "How bored is this guy?" Ihan thought, brushing dirt off a carrot.
But then again, as a professor, it was only natural for Thunderstep to act this way.
A true professor should be bored while making students work.
"No conflicts with students from other dorms?" "Huh? How did you know?" "You’re neither the first nor the last new student here. It’s easy to guess."
Professor Thunderstep spoke in a voice buoyed by his smoking.
"Let me guess. It was the White Tiger Tower students, right?" "Yes, that’s right."
From Thunderstep’s words, Ihan realized that the Blue Dragon Tower and the White Tiger Tower had a long-standing rivalry.
"It’s inevitable. One side is made up of imperial noble families, and the other is from knight families. At a young age, conflicts are bound to happen."
"Isn’t that a ridiculous reason? To fight over something so trivial. We’re already busy learning magic."
Ihan’s words made Thunderstep nod.
He was right.
It was a foolish thing to do.
But isn’t everyone foolish when they’re young? "Still, Wodanaz, you have a good head on your shoulders. Right. There’s no need to fight over such nonsense. Isn’t it better to practice magic instead of wasting time on pointless battles?" "That’s true."
"With someone like you around this year, maybe there’ll be fewer fights. Just ignore the White Tiger Tower guys if they pick a fight."
"Ah, we already fought, though." "......"
Professor Thunderstep put down his pipe and stared at Ihan in disbelief.
You don’t like fighting over stupid reasons, but you already fought? "Well, what was I supposed to do if they started it?" Ihan protested, feeling wronged.
Thunderstep nodded.
True, sometimes you can’t avoid a fight if the other side starts it.
"Those White Tiger Tower guys must be really rough this year. They don’t usually start fights in the first week. How did it happen?" "They picked a fight during swordsmanship class." "......"
Thud— Professor Thunderstep dropped his pipe again.
He was utterly baffled.
"Aren’t they just terrible?" "You’re the weird one...!" Thunderstep was speechless.
Why, of all classes, were you taking swordsmanship? Now he understood why the White Tiger Tower guys had picked a fight.
"You managed to escape, huh? Those White Tiger Tower guys are usually good at fighting, even if they’re slow at magic."
"Yes, it was tough taking down three of them." "......"
Professor Thunderstep quietly set his pipe aside.
He shouldn’t smoke any more today.
"You took them down?" "It was hard. I got lucky." "... You can stop working for today. I’ll prepare some food for you."
"Huh? Is that okay?" "Of course."
Professor Thunderstep decided to treat Ihan a little better.
After all, he might become the empire’s greatest swordsman and come back to assassinate him someday.
The vegetables growing in Professor Thunderstep’s cabin were plump and fresh, likely due to the abundant natural energy they absorbed.
The professor washed potatoes, onions, and carrots, peeled them, and chopped them into large pieces.
He then tossed butter into a pot and sautéed the onions and garlic.
"Bring me some of that hanging meat."
"Uh, that’s mine and Yoner’s meat." "... Am I the only one eating?" "Got it."
Ihan decided to apologize to Yoner later and brought over the smoked pork hanging in the cabin.
Thunderstep added the meat to the pot, sautéed it, and poured in a generous amount of wine.
The rich aroma of wine filled the air.
Soon, potatoes, carrots, and onions were added one by one.
Thunderstep seasoned it with salt and said, "This is a family stew. With this, you don’t need any other side dishes. Just some freshly baked white bread is enough."
There was a reason Professor Thunderstep spoke so confidently.
The stew was delicious.
For Ihan, who hadn’t had warm soup in days, the dwarven stew warmed his stomach.
The sound of spoons scraping wooden bowls and the occasional slurping filled the air.
"Ah, this is really good."
"Tasty, right?" "It’s excellent."
Like a seasoned graduate student, Ihan answered immediately.
Thunderstep didn’t say it, but his expression showed he was proud.
He looked very pleased.
"By the way, did you manage all this before I came, Professor?" "Yes."
"What about others?" "Hmm. They were all lazy and clueless, so they ran away." "......"
For a moment, Ihan regretted, thinking he’d been tricked, but it was too late.
"It must’ve been... quite a hassle."
"A hassle? This is the basics for becoming an alchemist!" Cleaning the dust in the cabin, clearing the hearth, checking supplies, managing the garden, retrieving traps by the river, and checking small traps along the path—these weren’t exactly basics.
"Now that I list it out, it does sound strange. Why did I think it wasn’t that hard?" Ihan lamented his own lack of awareness about his labor conditions.
Working under a professor for too long had numbed his senses.
"There’s a lot of space left in the garden. Can I grow something too?" "Oh..."
Thunderstep was impressed.
Ihan didn’t know it, but Thunderstep was inwardly marveling, "This kid really is a born alchemist."
To not only endure countless chores but also seek out more work—this wasn’t ordinary talent.
"Of course. What do you want to grow?" "Maybe cabbage and green onions?" "Both sound good."
Thunderstep nodded, then paused. "... You’re not planning to sell them, are you?" "Ah, how did you know? Did other students try that first?" "......"
You’re the first, kid.