Supreme Magus novel Chapter 92

Author’s Note: I have renamed Master potionist in Alchemists, sounds much better imo

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After a bit of chit-chat, the Count was forced to return to his daily routine. He had to manage both his and the fief that once belonged to her late wife’s family. Even with the help of his children, it was still a mammoth task.

He knew very little of the neighbouring Milla County, and most of the old retainers where either corrupt or untrustworthy, resenting the Lark household for what had happened to their previous Lord.

Even after four years, there was still a lot to do and a lack of loyal personnel.

Lark had resolved to split the Counties, giving Lustria to his son, and the Ghishal’s lands to his daughter. That way, both had the opportunity to make their spouses marry in the Lark household, allowing them a much ample choice.

Lith could not believe that both the Count’s children would have an arranged marriage, while Rena had been able to spend her life with the man she loved. Nobles had an easier life, but even that came with a price tag.

Their personal life had to be sacrificed in the name of the responsibilities that their title involved.

Having still a couple of hours before having to return home, at Solus’ insistence Lith went back to the withered zone, allowing Solus to take once more her proto tower form.

"That was mean on your side, you know?"

"What did I do wrong this time?" He sighed.

"I said that we have two labs, yet you didn’t even glance at the alchemic one. Not even once."

"Maybe because I have no idea how a Master Alchemist works? It could be a room filled gold bars or candy canes, I could not make head or tails anyway."

This time, Lith entered the second door, right in the alchemic lab.

It was different from the Forgemaster room; it was full of stills and small bottles. There were a lot of glass jars, each with its own tag, marking the ingredient they were supposed to hold.

Yet just like the day before, everyone of them was empty. Lith walked among the jars, some were for trivial things like wood shavings or metal beads, while others were labelled with exotic monsters or magical creatures body parts.

Fur, claws, horns, everything seemed to have a use for Alchemists.

"Impressive." Lith admitted after examining what seemed like a production line.

"But I still don’t get it!"

"Fine! Let me give you a recap of the first lesson."

Suddenly Lith found himself in Solus’ memories, surrounded by ghost-like shapes that he supposed were students attending the lesson. It seemed Solus hadn’t paid them much attention, they were so blurred to be unrecognizable.

The Professor, instead, appeared so real that Lith would have not be surprised if he turned towards him and asked what the heck he was doing there.

"Hello, my dear students. My name is Peln Reflaar, and I’ll teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about the art of alchemy."

He was a man in his early thirties, about 1.75 meters (5’9") high, with short blond hair and grey eyes. He also had perfect teeth, white enough that Lith almost expected him to shoot laser beams every time he smiled.

The tight-fitting clothes revealed a fit muscular body, full of vigour and energy. He was by far the most handsome man Lith had ever seen.

"Some of you, may have heard that an Alchemist is the cheap copy of a Forgemaster.

Alas, that’s not entirely false, but it’s not true either. The reason because the two classes are scheduled together, is because I am not going to lie to you. I won’t sugarcoat any aspect of this job.

So, if at any time you want to leave and join the Forgemastering course, you can do it."

After a second, since no one was moving, Reflaar continued talking.

"First of all, you have to know that I am new to this job. The old Professor, like his Forgemaster colleague, had almost managed to make this class die. Alchemists already have a poor reputation, couple that with a belligerent fool, and you get a recipe for a disaster.

Most students choose their specialization courses based on what their parents want or what their heroes do. Do you remember a story with a valiant Alchemist as a protagonist? Well, me neither.

The crafting department has always been the ugly duckling of magic, and I don’t see it changing in the near future. At least legendary rings, weapons and armours had to be enchanted, so albeit with a secondary role, Forgemasters appear in those stories.

That leaves us completely out of the picture, to the point that many don’t even know of our existence. At this point, many should be asking themselves: ’what am I doing here?’ or ’why should I take this class?’."

His dramatic pause worked, Lith was eager for an explanation.

"The answer lies here." Reflaar opened his left hand, revealing what it resembled an orange flavoured jelly bean. After letting the students take a good look of it, he backstepped a bit before throwing it against the far end of the wall at his back.

As soon as it hit the wall, the jelly bean exploded, releasing raging flames. Only the class’ safety measures allowed the students to remain unscathed by both noise and heat.

"That, my students, was a tier three Fireball." Without letting them recover from the shock, he took out a wand, and with a flicker of his wrist lightnings crashed one after the other against the wall in the same spot the fireball had struck.

"And those were tier three Lightnings, all cast in rapid succession from a magic wand, with no casting time or mana consumption."

Reflaar then took a pause, allowing them to understand what he was saying.

"As I told you before, I’m not going to lie to you. Being an Alchemist is an amazing job. Where Forgemasters are like artists, spending lots of time and energy on every single one of their creations, we Alchemists are like bakers.

The fruits of our endeavours are not made to last, cannot be passed down through generations. They must be prepared quickly, in huge batches and for an affordable price, saving countless lives every single day. _{freёweɓnovel.com}