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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Simon proposed his idea.
“The problem is that Meilyn can’t dodge the Cyclops’s attacks, right? Then I can support her with summoning magic.”
“…How?”
“Skeletons. I’ll summon undead to distract the Cyclops. In the meantime, Meilyn can prepare and attack with Dark Flare.”
There was no doubt that Meilyn’s “Dark Flare” was Group 7’s most effective attack.
And if protecting Meilyn was the issue, Simon could contribute with his Summoning.
Not only could he distract the Cyclops, but he could also use his undead to intercept attacks aimed at her.
“Ooh.”
Meilyn smiled with satisfaction.
“You’re not so bad. Guess even special admissions have their uses.”
“Ugh.”
With a solution in sight for Meilyn’s survival, the most critical issue, Rick had no choice but to accept his role.
There weren’t any other viable options.
Meilyn turned, her face brightening considerably.
“Cami, what about you? Do you know any binding techniques in Hemomancy?”
Camibarez chuckled, scratching her head.
“Hemomancy is all about versatile, offensive magic… I think I’d be better off using curses.”
Meilyn nodded with satisfaction and turned to Rick.
Rick, who had been racking his brains, finally sighed in resignation.
“Exhaust. I’ll practice it for a week.”
“Yes, yes. That’s the spirit!”
Meilyn said triumphantly.
Simon smiled and tried to appease Rick.
“We haven’t finalized the strategy yet. We have time until the next strategy presentation class, so let’s keep brainstorming.”
“A-Alright.”
Rick replied, looking at Simon with newfound respect.
Meilyn was the official leader, but it was Simon who was mediating their disagreements and guiding the discussion, all while securing his own advantageous position.
As long as he could protect Meilyn, the core of their offensive strategy, with his undead, a high teamwork score was guaranteed.
As they continued discussing the specifics, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Jane stood up and announced,
“Prepare a 10-minute presentation on your Cyclops strategy for the next class. Each member’s role and the dark magic used must be clearly stated in your presentation. That’s all.”
“Thank you!”
Simon’s serious expression finally relaxed.
The end of class was always a welcome relief, no matter how many times he experienced it.
“Let’s go, Simon!”
Rick said, grabbing his bag.
“Today’s special at the 3rd Hall cafeteria is hamburger steak!”
Simon grinned and stood up.
“Can’t miss a special.”
***
After lunch, Simon and Rick arrived at the Toxicology classroom for their last class of the day.
To be precise, it wasn’t a classroom but the “Toxicology Second Practice Room.”
Each desk had a large cauldron beneath it.
As Simon and Rick settled into a middle row and unpacked their things,
“Hey! Merchant!”
Meilyn entered the room, her eyelids raised haughtily.
Camibarez followed behind her, smiling.
“Your information was wrong! You said there was a hamburger steak special at the 3rd Hall? It wasn’t even on the menu!”
Rick chuckled.
“It sold out in five minutes, so they took it off the menu.”
“…Ugh, annoying.”
“You should have run like crazy through the shortcut like Simon and I did.”
“I don’t know that shortcut! What’s wrong with going together?”
Rick waved his hand dismissively.
“Ew, you want to eat with us? No way. Let’s pretend we don’t know each other outside of Basic Dark Magic class.”
“I don’t want to either.”
Meilyn said, placing her bag next to Simon’s.
“But we can’t avoid each other until the Cyclops practical assessment. Let me make this clear, if you’re uncooperative and drag down my grade, I won’t let you off easy.”
“Wow, scary. What are you going to do?”
When she didn’t answer, Rick leaned closer, pretending to listen intently.
“I’m all ears! What are you going to do? What? Tell me calmly.”
She growled,
“I’ll curse you! I’ll fill your room with 100 cursed dolls!”
Rick burst out laughing.
“I think you’ll be caught for trespassing in the boys’ dormitory and end up as a Jane Doe thanks to Kajann Edvalt before you can do that.”
“Who’s Kajann Edvalt?”
“It’s a thing.”
Rick grinned, putting his arm behind his head.
“Who is it?!”
As Meilyn demanded an answer and Rick teased her childishly, refusing to tell, Camibarez and Simon’s eyes met.
She smiled brightly.
“Hello~”
“Hi.”
Soon, other students filed in, filling the room.
Then the Toxicology professor entered.
“Uh, who’s the class representative?”
The professor’s name was Lang Strauss.
A thin, elderly necromancer with a hunched back and wrinkled face.
“We don’t have one!”
“Then you’ll do the greetings from now on.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jamie Victoria jumped to her feet.
“Attention! Salute!”
“Good afternoon!”
“Yes, yes. Welcome.”
Lang was the only professor at Kizen who made the students stand at attention and salute.
He slowly walked to the podium, leaning on his cane.
“Uh…which class are you?”
“Class A!”
“Oh, right. Is this your first class?”
“Yes, it is!”
Lang opened his textbook.
“Uh, then everyone, open your textbooks to page one.”
Then he began to read monotonously from the textbook.
The effect was devastating.
Within ten minutes, the students’ eyes began to droop.
His droning voice and slow pace were incredibly soporific, almost as if he were emitting sleeping gas.
“Uh, so, Toxicology isn’t just about poisons, you see. It’s about combining and arranging various drugs-”
Nod, nod.
Rick’s head bobbed downwards.
Simon chuckled wryly and nudged him awake with his elbow.
Rick startled awake, but to no avail.
His head drooped again within five minutes.
The tedious theoretical explanation, disguised as textbook reading, continued for 40 minutes. By then, half the students were slumped over their desks.
Lang looked up.
“Uh, now we’ll be making the Minor Poison Potion from the textbook…”
Finally, the practical portion!
The dozing students began to lift their heads.
The teaching assistants, finally having something to do, quickly moved around, placing potion ingredients on the students’ desks.
“Uh, then let’s begin… Let’s see. Potion making requires precise measurement…”
Precise measurement and the order of ingredients were crucial. The students carefully measured the ingredients using the scales provided.
The assistants filled the cauldrons with water, and following Lang’s instructions, the students added “Kurodan Poison Mushroom” and “Frog Tongue” first.
“And next… Cough! Cough!”
Lang suddenly doubled over, coughing violently.
“Cough! Cough! Hack! Ugh! Gasp!”
His condition seemed quite serious.
The students’ eyes widened in alarm, and the assistants rushed to Lang’s side.
A purplish, blood-like liquid was pooling in his coughing hand.
“Professor, you’ve pushed yourself too hard. You should rest.”
An assistant said.
Lang shook his head, still coughing.
“N-No, I can’t. The class needs me…”
“It’s the practical portion now. We can supervise the practice session. You need to think about your health.”
After much persuasion, Lang finally allowed himself to be helped out of the classroom by the assistants.
The students blinked, wondering what was going on.
Then a red-haired teaching assistant stepped onto the podium.
She sighed softly and spotted a male student still dozing.
She casually lifted a heavy textbook with one hand and threw it at the student.
Thud!
The textbook hit the student’s desk, and he jolted awake.
“Everyone, wake up.”
“…?”
“Wake up!”
The startled students scrambled to their feet.
The red-haired assistant crossed her arms and glared at them.
“How dare you show such disrespect to the professor, Class A.”
“…….”
“Falling asleep during class? You rotten good-for-nothings, what are you doing at Kizen?!”
Her intensity was overwhelming.
Everyone straightened up, their faces tense.
She placed a hand on her forehead, seemingly calming herself.
“Let’s show each other some basic respect. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Be seated.”
The now disciplined students sat down.
She sighed and tied her hair back with a ribbon.
“I’m Professor Lang’s assistant, ‘Francesca Belmond.’ I’ll be taking over the class from now on. We’ll be making the Minor Poison Potion. Close your textbooks.”
The students, looking bewildered, closed their textbooks.
She picked up a piece of chalk and walked to the blackboard.
“The key to making minor potions isn’t about controlling variables through precise measurements and strict order, but about the alchemist’s adaptability. Your cauldrons should be boiling by now. Add Salamander Powder and Barley Powder from the ingredient pouch on your left.”
A student raised their hand.
“How much should we add?”
“It doesn’t matter. Add as much as you feel is right.”
Following Francesca’s instructions, Simon and the other students added the ingredients freely.
Soon, Simon’s cauldron turned green and began to emit a bitter smell.
“Now, those whose cauldrons are emitting blue smoke, raise your hands.”
About half the students raised their hands.
“You’ll be making a poison potion with a nerve-paralyzing effect. Next, those with green smoke?”
The rest, including Simon, raised their hands.
“Those with green smoke will be making a poison potion with acute headache and hallucinogenic effects. It’s effective against mages and necromancers.”
The students blinked and looked at each other.
This was definitely not in the textbook or any pre-study materials.
She stepped down from the podium and walked among the students, rattling off instructions.
“Those with green smoke, take off your jackets and hang them on your chairs. The assistants will bring you additional ingredients.”
“Now, this is a common step for everyone. Skim the oil that’s forming a thin layer on the surface of the water. Plant-based fatty acids weaken the potency of the poison.”
“Keep stirring. You have to stir constantly until the potion becomes viscous. Be careful with the heat; if it’s too strong, the potion might solidify.”
Perhaps it was the contrast to Lang’s soporific lecture, but Francesca’s class felt lively and dynamic.
She enthusiastically instructed the students, sweat dripping from her brow.
Inspired by her skill and effort, the students’ eyes began to sparkle as they followed her instructions.
“My potion is turning yellow. Is that okay?”
“Excellent. A slightly yellow hue indicates a high-quality poison potion. You could even sell that in Rochester.”
A sellable potion!
The student’s face lit up at the unexpected praise.
Their friends nudged them, offering congratulations.
“C-Catherine Meyer! It was blue smoke at first, but now it’s green!”
“The ingredients at the bottom of the cauldron must have mixed in when you stirred, changing the effect. You’ll have to switch to the hallucinogenic formula. Mr. Hesse, please bring the green smoke ingredients here.”
Francesca walked around, checking the students’ cauldrons.
Then a girl raised her hand.
“Claudia Menzies! Professor, my potion is a little strange…”
Francesca’s expression hardened.
Claudia, realizing her mistake, quickly covered her mouth.
“I am not a professor, Claudia.”
“S-Sorry, Assistant!”
“Alright, what’s the problem?”
Her anger was fleeting. Francesca smiled gently and guided Claudia.
After listening to the explanation, Claudia added more Salamander Powder, and Francesca even patted her head, praising her.
“Hey, hey, Simon.”
Rick leaned closer to Simon and whispered,
“I think I understand why old Lang is still at Kizen. His assistant is incredibly competent!”
“…You’re right.”
Claudia, completely engrossed in Toxicology, even started asking Francesca about majoring in the subject.
Simon watched Francesca with a complicated expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
The class was nearing its end.
Francesca gave the students who had successfully completed the potion some free time.
She then gave the remaining students another chance and guided them through the process.
Simon, having successfully made the poison potion, was flipping through his textbook.
“Simon! Should we prepare this for the Cyclops fight? Don’t you think the poison potion will be effective?”
Simon, who had been thinking the same thing, smiled.
[You’ll need to push your abilities to the limit this week to prepare for facing the Cyclops. Don’t take any class lightly; master everything you learn and apply it to the practical assessment.]
He was realizing that every lesson could be applied to the practical exam.
Jane’s teaching methods were truly effective.
“Idiot. That won’t work.”
Meilyn approached them, arms crossed.
Camibarez stood beside Simon, smiling brightly.
“Minor Poison Potions don’t work on mid-sized monsters. It definitely won’t affect a Cyclops.”
“Is that so?”
Simon silently continued flipping through his textbook.
Then his hand stopped on a particular page.
‘Rehak mushrooms as an ingredient?’
It was the mushroom Anna Polentia sometimes used to neutralize poison and cook with.
Simon read the entry carefully.
“Meilyn, what about this?”
“What?”
Meilyn came over and looked at the page Simon was pointing to.
“…….”
After a moment of silence, Meilyn’s eyes widened, and she rushed back to her seat.
“Simon! What page is this?”
“254.”
Meilyn frantically opened her textbook and began reading the entry intently.
“Guys! I think this might work if we can make it!”
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