Chapter 451: Isn’t This What Alchemy Is All About? "What do you think you’re doing, Chuck?" the Professor of the Alchemy Class, Professor Nora, asked as the troublemaker added a few strange ingredients into his cauldron. She had asked the class to make a basic Fire Resistance Potion. The ingredients were listed on the board. Chuck’s additions were nowhere on that list. "Professor, this is a new and improved Fire Resistance Potion that I thought of just now," Chuck explained while patting his chest with confidence. "Trust me. This will work!" The corner of Professor Nora’s lips twitched as she zeroed in on the tail of the red salamander that Chuck was about to drop in his cauldron. "Chuck, do you want me to give you a failing grade?" Professor Nora asked, convinced that she had just seen the tail twitch. "Professor, why do you always target me?" Chuck protested, looking so pitiful that anyone who didn’t already know him would assume he had been unfairly treated. "Just look at Dim Dim! It’s also adding a bunch of stuff into its potion, but you’re turning a blind eye! This is favoritism!" Hearing someone call its name, Dim Dim turned to look at Chuck while holding a bar of chocolate. The little bun blinked once then twice. When it was certain that Chuck was looking at it, it casually tossed the chocolate bar into the bubbling mixture. Dim Dim then hummed as it used a little ladle to mix everything inside its cauldron, which was releasing a sweet scent inside the classroom. "That’s because Dim Dim is not a student," Professor Nora replied coolly. "Also, it’s not making a Fire Resistant Potion. Dim Dim is just mixing ingredients to make a chocolate cupcake!" Seeing the look of disbelief on Chuck’s face, she pointed at the little bun as it cracked an egg against the edge of the cauldron. It then used a little whisk to mix the ingredients before taking out a carton of milk from its dimensional storage and poured some into a measuring cup. Chuck cleared his throat before shifting his attention back to the Professor. "Professor, trust me, I will make a higher quality Fire Resistance Potion," Chuck declared. "I believe that as a student, I shouldn’t be satisfied with the existing formula. I should push the boundaries of knowledge by trying to bring out a better product! Isn’t this what alchemy is all about?" Professor Nora reluctantly nodded. "Fine. But, if you fail to make a better version of the Fire Resistance Potion, I’ll give you a punishment for not following instructions. This is still a class for fundamentals. You cannot be running before you can walk. So prove to me that you indeed can walk already." "Deal!" Chuck nodded. He then added the tail of the red salamander into his concoction and mixed it in. A red smoke was rising from his mixture—which was now neon pink—but he paid it no mind. He was simply following the inspiration he had received from his Unique Skill, Burning Will [EX]. This skill not only increased Chuck’s firepower, it also made him more prone to experimenting. Chuck, being Chuck, was certain that his experimentation had a high chance of success. Alex glanced at Chuck before shifting his attention to Dim Dim, who was still humming while shifting some flour into its cauldron. Just like his roommate mentioned earlier, Professor Nora did give Dim Dim preferential treatment. The little bun was well behaved in her class. It often baked confections during Alchemy Class, which it shared with the professor. Professor Nora had found Dim Dim’s creations so delicious that she had added some baking ingredients to the pantry for the little bun to use. Half an hour later, Alex finally finished crafting the Fire Resistance Potion. ’Just a low-grade one huh?’ Alex frowned. ’Maybe the fire is too hot. It might have affected the mixture.’ One by one, the other students also finished crafting their potions. Alex could tell that Lavinia’s potion was a mid-grade one as it was closer in color to the example on the board than his own. As for Nessia, she once again received high marks for crafting a high-grade Fire Resistance Potion. Suddenly, Professor Nora felt a faint ripple of power coming from Chuck’s cauldron. A moment later, a few puffs of golden smoke hit Chuck straight in the face, but it only made Chuck laugh like a mad scientist. "It’s done!" Chuck declared before slowly siphoning the mixture inside a small vial. Professor Nora went to check the troublemaker’s new creation. "Let me see it, Chuck," Professor Nora said. Chuck grinned. "Here you go, Professor." The Alchemy Professor narrowed her eyes as she gazed at the rich red potion that glittered due to the specks of gold inside of it. She had to admit that it looked very impressive, so she decided to use a tool to appraise it properly. ——— < High-Grade Greater Fire Resistance Potion > — A potion that will increase Fire Resistance by 50% for two hours. ——— The potion that Professor Nora had asked the class to make could increase Fire Resistance by 20%. The one that Nessia made was a High-Grade one with a 25% increase in Fire Resistance. It was very obvious which of the two students made the better potion, so Professor Nora decided to reward Chuck properly. "Chuck gets 500 Academy Points for making a High-Grade Greater Fire Resistance Potion," Professor Nora announced. Her declaration shocked everyone, including Nessia, who had always been at the top of the class. Chuck laughed proudly with his arms crossed over his chest. This was the first time that he managed to top the class in any alchemy assignment, and it made him feel good about his hard work. Alex also clapped his hands to applaud his roommate, who seemed to be improving after learning the skill, Burning Will [EX]. ’If only I had more Academy Points, I might have given Nessia and Evangeline some Skill Books as well,’ Alex thought. ’But since Nessia already has the Codex of Eternal Weave, she will still become strong as long as she keeps on making Runic Formations.’ When the class ended, Dim Dim also finished baking its cupcakes, which it shared with everyone in class. The little bun was now considered the mascot of Class 1-C, having already won the hearts of the girls, who also had a weakness for sweets like their Professor. Just like Chuck, Renard and Charles also showed great progress when the Martial Classes started. Both of them became significantly stronger, surprising their instructors, who were quick to praise them for their improvement. Renard had been working hard as of late, even training late at night to master his new skills. Clearly, he was preparing for the upcoming duels in the kingdom of Solara so that he could protect someone whom he didn’t expect to become so dear in his heart. —---