A character with extreme difficulty to master and has the worst performance in almost everything. Val Ashbluff was considered a trash character in the game because he couldn't use magic in a fantasy world where everyone else could.
[Due to the 'Inc...
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When the awkward atmosphere that I hated the most wafted around, I became frustrated. However, unexpectedly, it was relieved by Asteria.
“Are you just gonna stand there and do nothing during the whole project? At least introduce yourself or something. Everyone knows my name, right?”
The two boys nodded awkwardly.
“Ugh, this is annoying. As long as we do the project properly, we'll get good results so quit being so gloomy already.”
“What do you know? This group's as good as done anyway so just leave us alone already.”
Kurt bluntly refuted, but Asteria only snorted
“You have the personality to give up before even trying. How did you even get into Astraea?”
“W-what?”
“I know having this guy in the group is very troublesome, right?”
'Oh, I’m sorry about that It's not like I wanted to be here as well.'
“But it doesn’t matter. After all, at least three alchemists from the Alchemy Department come to examine the practice test. Professor Hemlock cannot arbitrarily ruin our grades.”
“Oh….”
I had no idea. The other boys looked surprised too, and Asteria flicked her own light blue hair behind her back as if proud of herself.
In fact, I believe I read somewhere that intel was the most important thing to Asteria, who had lost everything.
As Kurt became silent, the quiet boy named Pryce slowly opened his mouth.
“Well then… Are we gonna do our project now?”
“Isn't that obvious?”
“What a relief. I really wanted to do this.”
“I’m glad you’re motivated.”
And then she looked at me with a suspicious gleam in her eyes for no reason. What? Just because I wasn't doing anything doesn't mean I'm not motivated. I was simply mentally cheering you on.
“Hmm, then how are we going to gather the ingredients?”
“Of course, each of us has to get some.”
Alchemy materials were difficult to procure, and the processing was also quite complicated. It was a lot of work, and as such tasks would need to be divided between the team members.
“Then… What ingredients do we need?”
Now, I thought about pretending to know it, so I searched for the ingredients of ‘D Vitality Potion’ with Cryptic Glasses but Asteria opened her mouth first.
“Twenty severed tails of fire-attribute lizard, 300ml of iodine solution, seven grams of pure silver, ten grams of fairy grass, pine needles...”
The ingredients’ names flew out of her mouth. Unlike me, who had to search for it, she had it all memorized.
Indeed, one of the characteristics of Asteria was [Versatility].
Whether it was magic, alchemy, politics, business or stocks, she was a woman who was good at everything. In a sense, she was more impressive than Deon and Orion.
“Honestly, these are ingredients that are not difficult to find in Celestria's market. You’ll all be able to get them, right?”
The boys nodded their heads, but they seemed wary of what they would be asked to get.
Because among those materials some were difficult to obtain even in Celestria.
“Then, first of all, who’s going to get the fire-attribute lizard’s tails?”
This was the ‘Demon Corpse’ category.
No matter how hard I memorized the textbook, it was difficult to find out which material had better quality when actually obtaining a demon corpse. It was a material that everyone was reluctant to get because they had to take responsibility if the quality of the finished product deteriorated.
I raised my hand without hesitation.
“I’ll get it.”
Asteria narrowed her eyes at me, questioning my confidence.
“You do know that demon corpses are the most important thing in alchemy, right?”
“Of course.”
“…To be so confident means something. Can I trust you?”
“It’s no problem.”
Asteria nodded her head reluctantly.
'Wow, this little girl doesn’t trust people.'
Obviously, it was true that selecting materials was difficult. If it wasn’t for the analysis function of the Glasses, I wouldn’t be able to pick them out easily.
But in truth, I didn’t plan to use my Glasses.
‘It’s a fire-attribute lizard. I guess I’ll just have to catch it myself.’
I was thinking of a direct delivery.
Meanwhile, Professor Hemlock went to see a certain student.
“Erick. Will you send this note to the first-year C group alchemy students?”
Thelma handed the note to a student named Erick. The content of the note was nothing special.
[Notice: Please note that the practice test assignment is changed from ‘D Vitality Potion’ to ‘Thelma Zeus Potion’.]
A very simple statement about changing the subject of this exam. The new assignment; Thelma Zeus Potion, was a vitality supplement developed by Professor Hemlock, whose concocting method could be easily practiced by students with available materials.
“…Except for Group 12.”
“Yes?”
At Thelma's words, Erick looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled.
He immediately realized that Ashbluff and Asteria belonged to Group 12.
“Ahem, of course.”
Erick was a member of the Casspian faction, so he quickly recognized Hemlock's intentions.
‘With this, they will thoroughly fail the exam.’
The practical test was unconditionally supervised by a professional alchemist from the ‘Alchemy Tower’.
Since Astraea was not a professional alchemy training institution, it was intended to easily open an avenue for transfer or employment after graduation if a student with outstanding talent in alchemy appeared in the academy.
Thinking about it positively, it was a chance that could give an alchemist wings in his career, but…
On the other hand, if you looked disorganized in front of them, it meant that your path as an alchemist was more likely to be blocked.
‘Yes, your alchemy may be amazing. But if you are a student, you should behave like one.’
‘This will be a lesson that thoroughly teaches you that no matter how good a student is, he is only playing in the palm of the professor’s hand.’
