Translator: AnubisTL
All eyes turned to the commotion. An apprentice lay sprawled on the floor, his workbench in disarray, metal shards scattered everywhere.
He had apparently been attempting to shape not gold, but some kind of hard, unstable metal. Under the influence of his uncontrolled mental power, the material had undergone a terrifying transformation, even exploding violently.
Worse still, some of the flying metal fragments had embedded themselves directly into the apprentice's arms and face!
These shards didn't merely lodge on the surface; instead, like living organisms, they slowly "grew" and "fused" into his flesh, inching deeper with each agonizing scream.
Clearly, this reckless apprentice had unconsciously imbued the metal with some kind of flesh-corroding property during the alchemy process.
Mentor Clark's expression darkened instantly. He strode over, but made no immediate attempt to help.
He cast a cold glance at the apprentice writhing on the floor, his body pierced by the invading metal shards, and a mocking smile crept across his face.
"Hmph, foolish," Mentor Clark's voice was as cold as ice. "How many times have I emphasized strict adherence to safety protocols? No unauthorized use of unknown or unstable materials in basic exercises! And absolutely no unauthorized attempts at dangerous alchemical processes!"
He swept a glance over the apprentices, their faces pale with fear.
"Every year, there are fools like this, relying on a bit of cleverness and courage, thinking they can reach the heavens in a single bound. This is the consequence of failing in form control! Inadequate mental power control, misdirected energy, can only create monsters that harm both themselves and others!"
"As for you..." Clark turned to the apprentice still writhing on the floor, groaning in pain. "For causing severe damage to the laboratory and incurring medical expenses, a total of 15 merit points will be deducted. You must repay this within the next month, or there will be plenty of wizards eager for another experimental subject!"
With that, without any visible movement from Mentor Clark, two protrusions immediately appeared on the silvery-white metal wall beside him.
Two pools of liquid-like silver metal flowed to the ground, rapidly twisting and transforming into humanoid Magic Puppets.
"Take this fool for treatment!"
At Clark's command, the Magic Puppets' eyes glowed crimson. They seized the apprentice by his hands and feet, completely ignoring his struggles, and forcibly carried him out of the laboratory.
During the struggle, the apprentice's metal occasionally came into contact with the Magic Puppets' bodies, snapping off. Yet from the fractured metal surfaces flowed crimson blood.
It was clear that the fusion between the metal and the apprentice's flesh was far more profound than anyone had imagined.
This scene shattered any romantic illusions the apprentices might have harbored about alchemy, like a sudden, jarring awakening.
Alchemy was a form of Wizardry, not merely a realm of mystery and knowledge, but a rigorous and perilous discipline.
"By the next class, I expect you to be proficient in shaping gold!"
Thus concluded the first alchemy lesson, leaving the apprentices shaken and burdened with their mentor's assignment.
After class, the apprentices left the laboratory, each clutching their misshapen lumps of gold and heavy hearts.
Jieming, cradling his ugly golden cube, seemed to have an idea. He stood before the workbench, lost in thought.
"I heard that poor guy's father was also an alchemist wizard. He always acted like he knew a lot about alchemy, so even though he chose potionology, he still planned to make a weapon to impress everyone," Amy said, suddenly appearing beside him.
"...I never imagined the consequences would be so terrifying."
Jieming snapped out of his daze and glanced at Amy. "What are you planning to do next?"
"Nothing special. I'll probably just go back and keep practicing alchemy... What about you?"
"Same here. Do you know any good ways to earn merit points?"
"If you were one of the older apprentices, there would be plenty of options: selling magic potions, trading weapons, completing commissions, or submitting academic achievements for merit point rewards."
Amy shrugged. "But for us right now... we can only earn merit points by doing manual labor at the alchemy workshop. What's up? Is there something you want to buy?"
"I have an idea. I might want to rent a laboratory," Jieming said, not hiding his intentions.
He had many secrets, and for safety's sake, renting a laboratory was the only way to ensure his privacy.
Renting a laboratory was something he couldn't keep secret from others.
"I know you're not one to lose sight of priorities, but I still have to remind you: if you're just practicing alchemy with gold, your dorm room should be sufficient," Amy cautioned.
Jieming shook his head. "No, I just have some ideas I need to verify."
"Wow, as expected of the genius of our alchemy class! I have high hopes for you!" Amy said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.
She didn't press further, understanding that in the Wizard World, "knowledge" and "inspiration" were highly prized.
After a moment of thoughtful frowning, Amy offered her suggestion: "Forget about formal laboratories—the prices are astronomical. But... if you only need a short-term rental, there are plenty of low-level labs available."
"These low-level labs aren't cost-effective in the long run, but they're perfect for apprentices like us who just need them for short periods."
"Oh? Where can I find these?" Jieming asked, intrigued.
"Each school's ground floor lobby has a mission board. You can check there. All the labs listed are academy-certified and relatively safe."
"Thanks."
After saying goodbye to Amy, Jieming headed straight to the ground floor lobby of the alchemy workshop.
He had noticed earlier that the lobby walls were lined with machines resembling ATMs. When he first arrived, it was still early, and there were few people around. Now, queues had formed in front of the machines.
Jieming spotted a massive notice board on the wall, densely packed with various tasks and their corresponding merit point rewards.
This was the workshop's daily operational model: apprentices earned merit points by completing assigned simple tasks.
The tasks varied widely, but most required some specialized knowledge.
For example, several tasks caught Jieming's eye:
Preparing cleaning solutions for the laboratory, requiring basic potionology knowledge. Crafting standard-sized quartz containers, demanding precise alchemy techniques.
To power certain magical devices, one needed a basic understanding of energy conduction...
Beyond that, there were almost no tasks that required no knowledge whatsoever, and even those offered meager rewards.
Jieming frowned as he looked at the tasks that earned only a dozen or so merit points per month:
"It seems relying solely on these ordinary tasks won't be enough to accumulate merit points... I should check how much it costs to rent a laboratory for a short period first."
(End of the Chapter)
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