After the meeting concluded.
Having arranged to meet Elena, I returned to the Student Council President's office. Ciel, who had finished her duties for the day, greeted me upon my arrival.
"Welcome back…?"
Her eyes, brimming with curiosity, scanned me from head to toe. It was understandable; Roen, who had spent his entire life looking like a common thug, was now dressed impeccably.
I set down the briefcase Ciel had prepared for me and offered my thanks.
"Yes. Thanks to the documents you prepared, the meeting went well. I also took the liberty of using some of the cologne from the drawer."
"…"
Ciel nodded silently, then moved to tidy up the briefcase I had set down before taking my overcoat. She expertly brushed it off and hung it on the rack before retrieving a teapot and cups from the cabinet.
"I will prepare some tea for you."
"No, thank you. I'm heading to a cafe soon anyway. I have someone to meet."
Ciel tilted her head, a hint of surprise flickering in her eyes, but she put the tea set away as requested.
"Someone to meet, Lord Roen? That is… unexpected."
"Is it?"
"Yes. You don't exactly have a single decent friend, do you?"
"…That's true."
Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. While there were plenty of delinquents among the Union's students who formed their own cliques, Roen wasn't part of any of them. His infamy was too great for a simple group of punks to contain; even they tended to avoid him.
I loosened the necktie that was choking me, then gestured toward the room attached to the office.
"Ciel. Is the laboratory ready for immediate use?"
"Yes. I have procured all the supplies you requested."
"Good. You may leave for the day."
"…Understood."
Though she clearly had questions, Ciel didn't press the matter and quietly withdrew.
Click.
I stared silently at the door she had closed behind her.
"Hmm."
Ciel was truly the model of a competent executive assistant.
But just like with Roen, my information on Ciel is severely lacking.
The plotlines related to Roen were full of foreshadowing but were never properly resolved in the game. Even I, who had cleared it countless times, didn't know much about Roen or the people in his inner circle. Therefore, there was a limit to how much I could guess about Ciel's true identity or her intentions.
It would be convenient if she were nothing more than a loyal servant to Roen and House Devalis.
…But given my situation, I can't afford to be that complacent.
I couldn't let my guard down, even around her. For now, I would play the part of a Roen who had turned over a new leaf, celebrating the start of a new semester and his recovery from a long hospital stay. That should help explain away any awkwardness in my behavior. I would have to gradually improve our relationship while gathering information about her along the way.
Creeak.
With my thoughts settled, I pulled open the door tucked away in the corner of the office.
The President's office consisted of a central workspace and three adjoining rooms: a private restroom, a sleeping chamber, and Roen's personal laboratory. It had originally been a storage room, but Roen had spent a fortune converting it into a lab where he could practice alchemy.
Although the original Roen had died before ever becoming the Student Council President, I intended to make full use of his legacy.
Flicker, flicker.
As I opened the door, bright magic lights hummed to life one by one, revealing a cozy, high-end interior.
"Oh-ho."
One bookshelf was packed tightly with grimoires, while the opposite wall featured a display cabinet filled with various experimental tools and enhancement stones. There was a magic safe for valuables and a refrigerated compartment to maintain the freshness of alchemical ingredients.
Furthermore, a dazzling array of artifacts was lined up inside another display case. It was a collection so magnificent it was hard to put a price on it.
Just how much is all this worth?
I first opened the display case and checked the artifacts Roen possessed. I needed to see if there was anything as useful as Derod's Ring.
[Bishak's Grace]
[Lugane's Glasses]
[Arin's Pendant]
[Gehiron's Belt]
[Aegis Shield]
This was just the number of Relic-grade or higher items he owned. In the game's lore, Relic-grade items were high-class artifacts used by legendary heroes. In the game, you'd have to grind for dozens of hours to collect all of these, yet here they were, just sitting in a cabinet.
It was a fine collection, truly befitting the lineage of the great House Devalis.
Clank.
I began equipping the various items stored in the display case.
[Vitality: 28 (-14)]
[Agility: 16 (-8)]
[Strength: 15 (-7)]
[Magic Power: 35]
[Intellect: 32]
[Charm: 90 (-63)]
Roen's stats rose to a somewhat respectable level.
"Phew."
After donning the items, I let out a sigh of relief.
That's much better.
Perhaps thanks to the increased stats, breathing felt easier and my movements were smoother. It felt as if I had finally set down a heavy backpack I'd been forced to carry. My mind felt clearer, too—likely a result of the boost in Intellect.
Roen's initial stats must have been so low because he had removed all his equipment during his medical treatment. Looking at it now, it seemed Roen's stats in the game were balanced around him having these items equipped by default.
Gear-dependent, huh…
I looked at the items covering my body and nodded slowly. This suited Roen's [Alchemy] trait perfectly. Alchemy was a magic specialized in creating, transforming, or enchanting specific substances.
I know how to acquire most of the high-end items and equipment in Myrillin Saga.
If I could use the [Alchemy] trait to improve the high-grade artifacts I acquired, I wouldn't fall behind even the most powerful named characters later on. With such grand dreams in mind, I closed the door.
Whoosh.
As the laboratory door shut, a magic device activated to maintain a constant concentration of mana inside.
"Hmm."
I stood still, feeling the density of the space slowly change as a mysterious energy—mana—filled the air. I fell into thought. The most urgent task right now was to restore the durability of Derod's Ring before meeting Elena.
If I meet Elena without the ring, there's a high chance she'll see right through me.
Clink.
I slid the black ring off my finger, placed it on the alchemy table, and checked its detailed description.
[Derod's Ring]
• Classification: Accessory
• Rarity: Epic
• A ring used by the Lord of Darkness, Derod, for his personal amusement. Its durability is low due to the ravages of time, but its effect remains outstanding.
• Effect: Nullifies all demonic energy emitted from the body and all effects derived from it.
• Durability: 1/44
The ring's remaining durability was 1.
To think it lost 3 durability points during that short meeting.
It was true that an item's durability tended to decrease faster when it was already low, but this was still too rapid. If I had to guess the reason for this anomaly…
It must be because of Elena.
Just as ice melts faster near a fire, the longer I was near Elena—a being of pure divine power—the faster the durability of Derod's Ring would plummet. Ultimately, restoring the ring was essential for my immediate meeting with her and for my survival at the academy.
Now, how do I do this?
I stood motionless, staring down at the ring. In terms of game mechanics, I knew every method to restore an item's durability, but I wasn't sure how that would manifest in this physical reality. Besides, I was a modern person. Even if I understood the existence of mana intellectually, I had no experience wielding it. It was like having to learn how to walk or breathe all over again.
This is when I need the game system to step in.
If I took a specific action, the system would probably help me. No, it had to.
"…"
My mind made up, I stood before the alchemy table. I placed both hands on the surface, closed my eyes, and began to take deep breaths.
"Hoo…"
As I breathed, feeling the flow of mana drifting through the room, I waited.
Ting!
The system message window I had been waiting for appeared before my eyes.
[Would you like to begin the Alchemy Tutorial?]
A faint smile touched my lips.
"Accept."
*
A short while later.
[Alchemy Tutorial completed.]
[Magic Power Stat +1, Low-grade Alchemy Stone ×5 acquired.]
Shaaa.
The brilliant light that had filled the lab faded, and the strange smoke cleared, revealing a blue crystal on the workbench. I removed the gas mask I was wearing and picked up the crystal with a gloved hand.
"I see. So this is how it works."
This was an item created as a result of the tutorial: a Mana Replenishment Stone.
[Mana Replenishment Stone]
• Classification: Consumable Item
• Rarity: Common
• A refined, low-grade magic crystal. Consuming it restores spent magic power.
• Effect: Temporarily restores 5 points of 'spent magic power'.
All magical acts consumed magic power. My current Magic Power stat was 31. It was temporarily reduced because I had used 4 points during the tutorial. It would recover naturally over time, but for now, I only had 31 points available. Using a Mana Replenishment Stone in such a situation would restore that depleted pool instantly.
I should hold onto this.
I stored the Mana Replenishment Stone and the Low-grade Alchemy Stones in separate packages. Then, using the knowledge from the tutorial, I began the process of restoring Derod's Ring.
Roen's current alchemy level is Low-grade, Level 3.
The ability to restore an item's durability normally unlocks at Low-grade, Level 5. I shouldn't have been able to perform the restoration, but…
[Albany's Alchemist's Workbench]
• Classification: Magic Equipment
• Rarity: Rare
• An alchemist's workbench crafted by the master, Albany. Only 100 exist on the continent.
• Effect: While performing alchemy at this workbench, the user's alchemy level is temporarily increased by 2.
• [Demerit]: When performing alchemy at this workbench, the magic power cost is doubled.
Thanks to this workbench—one of Roen's many collectibles—I was able to proceed. I placed my hand on the surface and began the process.
"Analyze structure."
Ting.
After confirming the essential information about Derod's Ring, I checked the required ingredients.
"Required materials."
The system kindly listed the necessary components, so all I had to do was find them in the lab.
Clatter.
I meticulously searched the display cabinets, found the materials, and placed them on the workbench. Glass bottles of various colors lined the table. Since this was critical, I double-checked each one.
Purified water, magic crystal fragments, low-grade enhancement stone, low-grade alchemy stone, skeleton bone powder, resentment stone, dark bat serum, harpy feather, divine power potion…
And.
The alchemist's blood.
Squeeze.
I made a small cut on my hand with a utility knife and dabbed the blood onto a petri dish.
The ultimate goal of alchemy was to attain a higher state of matter and soul, thereby reaching the origin of the world. This was no different from high-tier mages seeking truth or knights honing their martial arts to pursue their own "Path." Though the methods differed, it was all a struggle to reach transcendence through human effort.
Thus, every alchemical act had to contain the soul of the caster. Blood, acting as the fingerprint of the caster's magic power, was an essential catalyst.
…Or so the lore goes.
Click.
While measuring the ingredients, I prepared to light the burner.
"The alcohol lamp is…"
I looked over the equipment. A proper mage could light a fire with a snap of their fingers, but Roen was a half-baked mage specialized only in alchemy. He couldn't use any magic other than [Alchemy], so to produce fire, he had to rely on items.
Click-clack.
I used a magic device to light the lamp. It was strangely nostalgic, reminding me of science experiments back in school.
"Next."
Following the memorized sequence, I added the ingredients to a large round-bottom flask. Normally, such a task would require extremely precise measurements, temperature control, and mana stability, but the system handled the fine adjustments. My role was simply to follow the recipe.
To put it simply, it was as if the system would cook a gourmet meal for me as long as I mimicked a famous chef's movements. Of course, the failure rate increased with the complexity of the task, but for a simple durability restoration, the success rate was 99%.
As anyone who has played a gacha game knows, the chance of that 1% actually happening is almost zero.
As if to confirm that…
Ting!
[Great success in restoring the durability of Derod's Ring.]
[The durability of Derod's Ring increases significantly: 1 -> 22]
[Gained experience for the Alchemy trait. Current: Low-grade Level 3, 85%]
Nice.
I had succeeded. And it was a "Great Success," yielding twice the effect of a normal restoration.
Whoosh.
The smoke and dense mana were vented out through the lab's intake system. I quickly removed my gas mask and protective gloves and picked up the ring. Its durability wasn't fully restored, but it would hold for a while. With this, meeting Elena would be no problem.
Thirty minutes have already passed.
I checked my wristwatch and nodded. It took longer than I thought, but that was fine. Elena had a massive weakness for desserts; she could probably sit happily in a cafe all day as long as there was cake.
Flutter.
I left the lab, grabbed the overcoat Ciel had hung up, and headed to the meeting place.