Chapter 72: "Even so, if we're going to be in the same group from now on, it seems like we should clear up the misunderstanding."
"No!" Derku finally realized.
Although Yi Han said it was a misunderstanding, it wasn’t.
Yi Han was someone who was always ready to mess with Giselle at any opportunity.
Of course, he would claim it was self-defense...
"It’ll be fine... probably. I’ll mediate between the two of you... I hope it works out."
"Oh, Derku. You seem to enjoy being the messenger." "......"
Derku didn’t even have the energy to respond.
A few students from the Blue Dragon Tower were shuffling toward the swordsmanship classroom.
The White Tiger Tower students looked displeased and asked, "What brings you here?" "We came to stop you from ganging up on Wodanaz!" "... What? That’s our line!" The White Tiger Tower students were genuinely wronged.
Sure, they had struck first, but in the end, they had been overwhelmingly beaten by Wodanaz.
But the Blue Dragon Tower students didn’t listen to their excuses.
They made threatening noises, and when Yi Han appeared, they quickly grabbed his arms and pulled him away.
"Let’s go! Who knows what tricks those guys might pull."
"It’ll be fine."
"The summoned creatures are running loose, and it’s dangerous, Wodanaz! We’ll protect you!" Yi Han was dragged away before he could even properly greet Derku. 'It’s really fine.' The Blue Dragon Tower students kept throwing wary glances as they spoke.
"Be careful, Wodanaz. The White Tiger Tower guys are like beasts."
"Next class is alchemy, right? Let’s move together."
Yoner looked puzzled as she saw Yi Han being dragged along by his friends.
"Why are you being dragged by both arms?" "Meikin! You can’t be so careless! You have to assume the outside of the tower is absolutely dangerous right now!" 'Yi Han could probably take all of you on...' Yoner, who knew Yi Han’s strength, looked at him with a strange expression.
"That’s right. The current situation is very dangerous."
"The unparalleled genius of the Flame Sect, the master of alchemy, Priest Siana. Long time no see."
Yi Han, still being held by his friends, spoke. 'Unparalleled genius?' 'Master of alchemy?' The Blue Dragon Tower friends tilted their heads in confusion.
They knew Priest Siana was skilled in alchemy, but to that extent? Priest Siana smiled warmly and handed over a flask.
"This is a potion I made to repel monsters. Take it, Yi Han of the Wodanaz family. Spray it around, and the monsters will dislike the scent."
"What a wonderful gift. I’m truly moved."
Nilia, who arrived late, whispered in confusion.
"Why are you speaking so formally in front of Priest Siana?" "Nilia, if you want to survive in the empire’s social life, you have to do this much..." "??" Nilia didn’t understand.
Yi Han didn’t expect her to get it right away either. 'Anyway, thank you.' Yi Han carefully accepted the monster-repelling potion.
Seeing the summoned creatures roaming the school grounds in the third week of the semester, he wondered if by the fifth week, they might even enter the dormitories.
By the seventh week, demons might appear in the school...
"Everyone, take your seats."
Professor Thunderstep yawned as he opened the door to the Horned Hall.
The students suppressed their hatred and greeted him.
"Have you all finished your potions?" "Yes (thanks to you, we suffered)."
"Of course (we’ll see about that someday)."
Even without mind-reading abilities, Yi Han could sense the hidden meanings in the students’ words.
"What? You’ve all finished? Are you sure you checked properly?" Professor Thunderstep asked in a disappointed voice.
Priest Siana replied curtly, "It seems there was a problem with the method you taught us, so we all put our heads together to figure it out." "... Why would you do that? You guys don’t get along!" "......" "......"
The students from the rival towers naturally banded together at his words, and Professor Thunderstep grumbled.
"Anyway, good job, everyone. Since you’ve made the <Low-Level Spirit Affinity Potion> from start to finish, you’ve taken your first step as novice alchemists. Of course, the results won’t be perfect."
Professor Thunderstep picked up one of the flasks submitted by the students and opened the stopper.
He grabbed a strangely moving twig and shook it above the flask.
A faint flame, like a candlelight, flickered slightly on the twig.
"See? The potion’s power is weak, isn’t it?" Professor Thunderstep blew out the flame.
He then opened another flask and shook the twig again.
The same faint flame appeared, and he blew it out with a satisfied expression.
Crack!! "......"
But from the next flask, a fierce flame shot up, strong enough to burn the twig.
Professor Thunderstep hastily pulled his beard back to avoid the flame and glared at Yi Han with a resentful look.
Yi Han felt wronged. 'He didn’t even check the label on the flask...!' "Of course, some of you made good potions, but it’s too early to be arrogant. If you act cocky just because you got lucky, you’ll really get hurt."
Asan nodded, seemingly impressed by the professor’s words.
Yi Han wanted to warn him not to be fooled, but he didn’t get the chance.
"Now, then..."
Professor Thunderstep waved his staff and opened all the flask stoppers, checking the flames.
At the same time, a quill pen beside him quickly wrote down numbers.
Yi Han could see the number '10' next to his name, indicating a perfect score. -10. Boring guy. "......"
Is the professor allowed to do this? "Today, we’ll practice an important element in alchemy: spirits. A skilled alchemist shouldn’t just focus on completing potions but also on how to enhance their effects. And the easiest way to do that is... spirits."
Professor Thunderstep clenched and unclenched his fist, and a cute rabbit made of snowballs appeared on his palm.
The students gasped in amazement.
Yi Han suddenly remembered something and glanced at his waist.
The bone summon tied to his belt rattled as if asking why. 'Hmm.
There’s a reason why dark magic isn’t popular.' "This is the frost spirit I often use, Teacher Rabbit. It’s small and cute, but don’t underestimate it. It’s a spirit that can single-handedly destroy all of you here."
Teacher Rabbit nodded with a proud expression.
The students were very confused.
It didn’t look like that at all...
"I’m not saying you should contract with such a spirit from the start. It’s too much for your level."
Contracting with spirits was similar to taking out a loan from a bank.
First, you had to befriend low-level spirits and raise your credit rating in the spirit realm to contract with more powerful spirits.
"Don’t even think about contracting with one right away. Focus on befriending spirits first. The only way to befriend spirits is through sincerity and dedication. If you approach them with arrogance, they’ll sense it immediately."
The students focused intently, taking notes on Professor Thunderstep’s words.
Honestly, this was the most exciting lesson they’d had so far.
Compared to risking their lives to gather materials in the mountains or timing ingredients in exploding cauldrons, 'meeting and befriending spirits' was a thrilling and romantic task.
This is what we wanted! Professor Thunderstep threw gems and reagents around the classroom, drawing a magic circle.
To connect with the spirit realm, it was best to do so in a place with good spiritual energy, like a beautiful mountain or river.
The gems and reagents were meant to amplify the spiritual energy.
"Drink the potion."
The students drank the potion with eager eyes.
Yi Han also drank his.
"Now, go meet the spirits."
Thunderstep swung his staff, and in an instant, Yi Han’s vision darkened.
Yi Han had seen this kind of scenery before.
It was similar to what the black book given by the Skull Headmaster had shown him.
The difference was that the black book had dragged his consciousness into a mental landscape to force him to practice magic, while Thunderstep had sent him to the spirit realm to forcibly meet spirits. 'This is surreal.' On one side was a blazing lava mine, and on the other, a snowstorm raged over a snowy mountain.
It was clear he had landed near the domains of fire and ice spirits in the vast spirit realm.
Not bad.
Both fire and ice spirits were useful.
Fire spirits were handy for boiling soup or frying eggs, and ice spirits could help keep meat fresh... 'What am I thinking?' Yi Han shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Befriending spirits had nothing to do with one’s bloodline or magical prowess.
It was all about sincerity.
As Professor Thunderstep had said, Yi Han didn’t even think about contracting with a spirit right away.
If he kept trying sincerely, eventually, a spirit might reach out to him. "!" Yi Han blinked.
On the blackened ground, a puppy-shaped fire spirit was hopping around.
Yi Han cautiously called out to it.
"Great Fire Puppy Spirit Teacher, is that you?" Yi Han knew that when you didn’t know who you were dealing with, it was best to throw in all sorts of impressive titles.
The fire puppy spirit turned its head and looked at Yi Han as if he were crazy.
Yelp!!!!! Yelp!!! "??!" It then ran away at an insane speed, looking terrified. "......"
Yi Han was baffled.
What did I do?! "Puppy Spirit Teacher! Come back, Puppy Spirit Teacher!" No matter how desperately he called, the spirit didn’t return.
Yi Han wondered if his titles were too overwhelming. 'Well, spirits might prefer something simpler.' Yi Han spotted a fire pigeon spirit and approached it more modestly.
"Mr. Fire Pigeon?" The fire pigeon spirit screeched like a madman and fled.
By now, Yi Han was starting to feel something was off. ...
Huh?
The students began to emerge from the spirit realm one by one.
In reality, only a few seconds had passed, but the students were all chattering excitedly.
"Did you see it too!? I made eye contact with a carp spirit in the lake! I kept talking to it, and it didn’t run away, so I think we connected a little!" "If it didn’t run away when I petted it, that’s a good sign, right?" Professor Thunderstep frowned, plugging his ears with his fingers at the noisy students.
"Enough, enough! Save the chatter for your towers. Anyway, you’ve all seen how difficult it is to meet and befriend spirits in the spirit realm. From now on, whenever you have time, try to connect with the spirit realm and make an effort to befriend spirits. If you can gain their help, it’ll be a great boon to your alchemy."
"Yes!" As the students stood up and walked out with satisfied expressions, Thunderstep called Yi Han aside.
He was curious about Yi Han’s experience in the spirit realm. 'Kid, no matter how talented you are, spirits won’t easily listen to you before you befriend them.' "How was it?" "It’s a disaster."
Professor Thunderstep smiled contentedly.
That’s how it should be! A novice alchemist should struggle like this! "What happened? Did the spirits not listen to you?" "They ran away as soon as they saw me." "...?"