Episode 06

Episode 006

Because Lee Han had consistently learned swordsmanship from his family’s old knight, Knight Allarlong, and was himself versed in combat, he could tell.

Yoner’s stance right now was that of someone about to beat a person!

“Wait. Wait.”

Lee Han stepped between them to stop them.

“Don’t look down on alchemy, Gainando.”

“But alchemy is trivial.”

Gainando said with a face completely oblivious to the mood.

“Where’s the wisdom in that?”

Magic was an endlessly infinite discipline. Even within it, there were dozens of schools.

Illusion magic, summoning magic, transformation magic, elemental magic, etc.

And even within the same elemental magic, there were fire, water, light, darkness, etc.

The world of magic was so profound that even if you chose one field and dug into it for your whole life, it wouldn’t be enough.

And in that magical world, alchemy was sometimes looked down upon.

To clueless rookie wizards, alchemy seemed…

Very plain.

While others were waving staffs, summoning angels of light and tearing the earth asunder, alchemists were cooped up in their labs, adding herbs and mixing potions…

“Well…”

“Wait. Wardanaz. Move aside a little.”

Yoner asked Lee Han.

“I won’t do anything.”

“Alright.”

When Lee Han stepped aside, Yoner walked up and stood in front of Gainando.

Gainando tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Don’t go to the infirmary asking for a potion. That’s made by alchemy too!”

Whack!

With a dull sound, Gainando fell backward.

It was such a cool punch that even Lee Han was impressed.

• * *

“But was it okay to hit him?”

“If you apologize after about a day, it’s fine.”

It seemed Yoner had not hit Gainando for the first time.

It was common for cousins to fight, but Lee Han didn’t expect it was okay to hit like this.

‘I shouldn’t have stopped them.’

Lee Han resolved that next time the two fought, he’d just watch from the side instead of intervening.

“…Wait. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hit people easily. You know what I mean, right?”

Yoner hastily made excuses, perhaps worried about a misunderstanding.

For nobles, especially those from traditional and large families, manners and dignity were all the more important.

Throwing punches just because you had a verbal spat was not dignified behavior.

“Isn’t it okay to throw a punch if you get pissed off?”

“???”

Yoner was even more flustered by Lee Han’s words.

‘Does the Wardanaz Family have rules like that?’

If it were a knight family, maybe, but for one of the empire’s top families to endorse punching…

He couldn’t really understand.

‘Maybe this guy is just built differently.’

That’s how Yoner rationalized it.

Indeed, Lee Han looked especially seasoned among the other noble freshmen who entered with him.

They all claimed to be from noble families, but they were just green youths who’d just come of age.

Among those rookies, Lee Han stood out. From his demeanor to his speech, something about him was different.

He was truly worthy of being from the Wardanaz Family.

Yoner changed the subject. Since Lee Han let it go, there was no need to harp on it.

“Anyway, are you really okay with taking alchemy? If you’re just going because of me, I can go alone.”

“No. I’m interested in alchemy too.”

“Oh… Are you tempted by my business proposal?”

“I’m considering that too.”

“!”

Yoner was actually surprised by the unexpected response.

He hadn’t expected Lee Han to change his mind so quickly.

“What happened?” “Hmm. Well…”

Lee Han wondered how he should put it.

-I don’t seem to have much talent for magic, so I’m seriously considering starting an alchemy business.

…If he said that, it would sound too petty for someone from a noble family.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to say it. You realized and recognized the value of alchemy, right?”

“Huh?”

“Alchemy is a really fun discipline, isn’t it?”

“Uh… well… I suppose so.”

Yoner seemed oddly excited, so Lee Han just played along.

“People usually think alchemy means being stuck in a basement workshop and never coming out, but the world of alchemy is much broader and deeper.”

“Uh… yeah.”

Lee Han wasn’t fazed.

Listening to stories he wasn’t interested in was a skill he’d honed since graduate school.

-Do you like hiking?

-Huh? Well…

-Yes. Hiking is really great. Did I tell you about when I went to Seoraksan last year? I pierced through the morning fog and the clouds…

-Yes. Yes.

-…You seem to enjoy it so much. You must enjoy hiking too. Let’s go together sometime!

-……

Compared to those experiences, Yoner’s story was actually interesting.

“Did you study alchemy in advance when you were in the Meikin Family?”

At Lee Han’s question, Yoner unconsciously glanced around.

“…Yeah. But that’s a secret. They didn’t let me learn magic in advance, but they weren’t strict about alchemy.”

“It’s not a big deal to study ahead.”

“……”

Yoner looked at Lee Han again as if confused.

Punching is OK, ignoring the rule about not learning magic before adulthood is OK…

He was truly a unique person.

‘If he studied ahead, that’s great.’

Lee Han knew well how helpful it was to have a friend who was good at studying.

If Yoner was good at alchemy, Lee Han could get his help and get good grades.

“Then, could you teach me too?”

“…Of course!”

At Lee Han’s desire to learn alchemy, Yoner smiled broadly and patted Lee Han’s shoulder.

• * *

.

Having already met the troll half-blood professor in Understanding Basic Magic, Lee Han felt he wouldn’t be surprised no matter what professor showed up now.

And in fact, he wasn’t surprised.

‘Looks pretty normal, actually?’

Seated there was a short dwarf. The dwarf, dressed nimbly like a hunter or ranger, even had a crossbow at his waist.

“Is everyone here?”

“Ugh. There are Black Turtle Tower students too.”

Yoner muttered.

It wasn’t that Yoner looked down on commoners, but it was true that it was uncomfortable.

If it was just Blue Dragon Tower students, they could converse freely without discomfort…

But if students from other towers joined, it became a concern in many ways.

And it looked like there were more Black Turtle Tower students.

‘The stares are uncomfortable.’

When commoners met nobles, their reactions were usually one of two.

One was to avoid them out of fear.

The other was to show hostility.

Outside of school, the latter would be rare, but inside this school, which held ‘equality’ as its ideology, it was different.

They already held grudges from nobles’ usual arrogance, and even after entering the school, the noble freshmen from the Blue Dragon Tower looked down and sneered at them, so it was impossible not to feel hostility.

“Hey. Stop staring. Besides, there’s someone from the Wardanaz Family over there.”

“So what? Even if it’s the Wardanaz Family, they can’t touch you inside the school.”

“You’re not going to live your whole life inside the school. What if you get revenge when you’re outside?” “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

“……”

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

It was not pleasant to earn grudges for things you hadn’t done yourself.

‘If I act friendly for no reason, it’ll just backfire.’

It seemed he’d have to stick with the Blue Dragon Tower students for a while.

“Everyone, quiet.”

The short dwarf professor spoke. Though short, his voice carried power just by listening.

“My name is Thunderstep Gumdar. Just call me Professor Thunderstep. You’re probably all thinking the same thing. With such wonderful school buildings back there, why are we gathered in a grass field with not even a desk?”

Indeed.

The place gathered for was, surprisingly, not a school building, but an outside hill.

Princess Adenart raised her hand. Thunderstep shrugged.

“I didn’t really expect an answer, but sure. Go ahead.”

“To feel the mana of nature.”

There was a prejudice that you just needed to mix reagents and herbs as prescribed, but alchemy required magic, too.

Sensing the mana of nature and realizing what powers existed was important for an alchemist as well.

“Nope.”

…But the dwarf professor looked at Adenart as if she were talking nonsense.

Adenart blushed and lowered her head.

Lee Han asked Yoner without much thought.

“Didn’t they gather us here because it’s easier to gather materials?”

“Would it be for that reason?”

“Oh. Correct!”

“……”

Lee Han and Yoner stared at the dwarf professor in disbelief.

But Thunderstep looked at Lee Han in admiration and said,

“There aren’t many ironheads who get it right away.”

“I’m not an ironhead, I’m a freshman…”

“Yeah, yeah. Ironhead freshman. Anyway, good job. You have the talent of an outstanding alchemist.”

Yoner looked at Lee Han enviously at the dwarf professor’s praise.

And Adenart also glanced at Lee Han.

As if seeing a rival.

‘…No, there’s nothing to glare at here.’

Lee Han was dumbfounded.

It’s one thing to get jealous over something else, but to get jealous over being praised for this answer?

“The reason I gathered you here is to tell you ironheads what ability is most needed for alchemy. You ironheads probably think, ‘The most important ability in alchemy is outstanding intelligence and delicate magical control,’ right?”

‘Huh? Does alchemy require delicate magical control too?’

Lee Han flinched as he listened.

“But reality is different. The most important skill for an alchemist is gathering ingredients.”

“……”

“……”

The wizards gathered there were dumbfounded by the dwarf professor’s words.

It was a completely unexpected skill.

Adenart raised her hand, not convinced.

“Professor. Things like ingredients and reagents can be grown or ordered from adventurers. It doesn’t make sense to say the alchemist has to gather them personally…”

“You, you, you, you, you ironhead rookie who knows nothing about reality!”

Adenart’s already slightly flushed face turned even redder. Professor Thunderstep clicked his tongue and said,

“Do you know what percentage of the ingredients and reagents alchemists use can be cultivated? Not even 10%! The rest, you have to buy. And do you think everything you buy is usable? Do you know why wizards join parties when hiring adventurers? Not because they have time to spare, but because if you leave it to the adventurers, they’re terrible at gathering herbs! They just yank up rare and delicate herbs by the roots!”

Thunderstep seemed to have a lot of pent-up resentment as he ranted fiercely.

“In that sense, an alchemist must unconditionally know how to gather ingredients and reagents themselves. An alchemist who depends only on others will never be great. Who will bring you materials if you whine later during research that you don’t have any?”

At the dwarf professor’s words, the students gathered there nodded, some in agreement and some looking deflated.

“Alright. That should be enough explanation. Now, go and find some.”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean, yes? Scatter and go find ingredients.”

Thunderstep waved his staff. Papers appeared out of thin air and flew to each of the wizards.

On the paper was a drawing of a bluish herb.