Translator: AnubisTL
Ten days passed in a flash, and the day Mentor Clark had mentioned for class finally arrived.
Jieming woke up extra early that morning. After breakfast, he followed the directions in the academy handbook to the alchemy workshop.
The Noren Academy's alchemy workshop was located in a relatively secluded corner of the academy grounds. Unlike the towering spires that dominated the campus, it was low and sturdy, resembling a solid fortress rooted firmly in the earth.
Its outer walls were constructed from dark stone, etched with fundamental runes.
Stepping through the workshop's main entrance, Jieming found himself in a spacious interior. The air was thick with the mingled scents of metal, minerals, plants, and various strange chemical reactions—a peculiar but not unpleasant aroma.
Realizing he was still early for class, Jieming decided to explore the workshop.
The workshop's interior was a complex labyrinth, resembling a massive beehive composed of countless rooms and corridors of varying sizes.
There were warehouses stacked with raw materials, high-temperature smelting areas, magic potion brewing zones filled with distillation equipment and test tubes, and numerous basic and advanced experimental labs.
The location for their first class was a spacious basic alchemy lab located on the eastern side of the workshop.
The entire laboratory was constructed with silver-white metal walls, housing dozens of sturdy workbenches. Each workbench was equipped with an adjustable Magic Energy lighting fixture, a set of fixed metal clamps, and a ventilation chimney.
When Jieming entered the basic alchemy laboratory, he was surprised to find quite a few people already inside.
Judging by the emblems on their robes, only Jieming, Amy, and another male apprentice with a somewhat arrogant demeanor were true alchemy apprentices.
The emblems on the others indicated they were apprentices from other branches. Jieming even spotted the genius apprentice with Ninth-Tier Soul Talent, whom Mentor Clark of the Soul Branch had personally accepted as a disciple during the aptitude test.
The other apprentices seemed equally surprised by the genius's presence, and a group had gathered around him.
Jieming had no intention of joining the crowd. Instead, he found a quiet spot near the wall.
What puzzled him was Amy's presence.
"You're not with the others?" Jieming asked, his tone surprised.
Over the past few days, he had occasionally run into Amy in the dining hall, and they had exchanged a few words. He had confirmed that she was indeed a social butterfly.
No matter what kind of person someone was, Amy could always find the right way to communicate with them. Jieming even began to suspect she might possess some kind of supernatural ability related to communication.
Amy greeted Jieming and casually shrugged when he asked his question. "Quite the opposite, actually. I don't think now's the right time to try making friends. If I went up there now, I'd just be background noise."
Jieming nodded noncommittally. After all, she was the expert in this area, and he had no right to second-guess her.
"Speaking of which, there are only three of us in the alchemy department's freshman class. What are all these other people doing here?"
"They're here to study alchemy too, but for them, it's just an elective course. As far as I know, besides that genius from the Soul Branch, the Augusta family's Ninth-Tier Talent heiress and the Horn family's Eighth-Tier Talent heir have also chosen electives in other Logistics Department disciplines."
"You can even take electives?" Jieming murmured, surprised.
He gazed at the genius with Ninth-Tier soul purity, recalling Wizard Jack's words from their earlier conversation.
It seemed the Logistics Department truly was the orthodox lineage of the Noren Workshop. Even if these geniuses chose the Combat Department as their primary focus, they would still be assigned to study in the Logistics Department for further training.
Jieming understood why these top geniuses received special treatment. Although Wizard Jack had claimed that innate talent wasn't crucial for wizards, Jieming's own experience with mastering the meditation technique had taught him otherwise. A strong innate talent provided a significant advantage at the starting line.
In cultivation, momentum was everything. A single step ahead at the beginning could lead to a cascade of advantages, making true comebacks rare.
"I'm so envious," Jieming sighed. "If only I could take elective courses from other schools."
While alchemy suited his needs well, combining it with potionology or rune studies would be even more ideal.
"You can take electives if you want," Amy said, glancing at Jieming. "Our alchemy classes meet only five days a week, leaving the rest of the time free. As long as you complete the assigned coursework and pay a few merit points, you can study at other departments."
"Oh? The admission handbook didn't mention that," Jieming's eyes lit up. "How many merit points do electives cost?"
"Not many. I heard that introductory courses in each department of the Logistics Department cost only five merit points. But you'll have to buy your own materials..."
Their conversation ended abruptly when Mentor Clark suddenly appeared at the podium.
He remained his usual bald-headed, monocle-wearing, and stern self, clad in an alchemical robe that, though worn, was impeccably clean and polished.
Upon Clark's arrival, the apprentices gathered around the Ninth-Tier Soul Talent fell silent, scurrying to their nearest workstations like startled quail.
"Welcome to alchemy, one of Noren Academy's most stable and foundational disciplines," Mentor Clark announced, his voice calm and measured, completely unfazed by the apprentices' reactions.
"Here, you will learn the core principles of alchemy: understanding, deconstruction, and reconstruction."
"Understanding involves comprehending the essence of matter, analyzing its elemental composition and energy properties. Deconstruction is the process of breaking down matter into its fundamental units. Reconstruction, guided by your will and mental power, allows you to reshape matter into new forms or imbue it with new properties."
Mentor Clark's gaze swept across the apprentices, his tone turning serious. "Alchemy demands exceptional mental power. Your mental power is your most potent tool. The precision with which you control your mental power will determine the limits of your alchemical potential."
He approached a small workstation beside the lectern, where an irregularly shaped, heavy-looking golden metal block rested.
"You should all have reviewed the fundamentals of alchemy beforehand, so we won't waste time on that. Today, our first lesson is basic shaping," Mentor Clark said calmly. "This is one of the most fundamental practical exercises in alchemy, involving controlling the shape of objects through mental power. We will be practicing with gold."
Upon hearing the word "gold," some apprentices' faces lit up with surprise or excitement.
In the mortal world, gold is an extremely precious and widely accepted currency.
Mentor Clark seemed to read their thoughts, explaining coldly, "In the Wizard World, gold is not rare. Having dominion over multiple planes, we have countless ways to obtain this metal. Once your alchemy skills reach a certain level, you can even transmute other substances into gold."
"Compared to other metals, gold has stable properties and a simple composition, making it easier to analyze alchemically. Although it resists mental power, making it more difficult to control, this resistance also means that even if you fail, you won't trigger violent energy reactions, explosions, or toxic gas emissions. At most, the material will be damaged or its shape distorted. It is the most suitable and safest practice material for beginners."
(End of the Chapter)
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