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Around the time when rumours about Jarien being banished from the Dawner Duchy were in full swing, in the Cuzlades Academy.
A young girl with platinum-silver straight hair with goldish-orange endings cascading down her back and seemed to be unaffected by the wind as she moved about ignoring the murmurs and stares she was gathering as if she was used to them.
The stares she was garnering were simple enough for her to discern easily as they were the usual stares she got like: awe, envy, jealousy, respect, fear, desire and the most prominent one being lust.
She was lucky that she was a daughter of an elite family otherwise, who knows what these people would have done to her as the only thing stopping them was fear of her family's backlash to act on any of their desires.
This was also the reason she was awfully aware of her position in other people's mind as they just saw her as a tool to get closer to her family which resulted in her distrust of people recently as she only started noticing the two-faced act after getting lectured by her brother.
The girl who was walking with an elegant gait suddenly stopped and turned around when she noticed a very intense gaze and her cold black eyes found the source of the gaze and after noticing who it was, she turned and kept walking back to her dorm room.
'Mason Hiddleton? this bastard still has the guts to eye me' thought the girl as she stared at her face in the mirror that portrayed her angered expression.
The girl decided to let him be for now as they were both in the academy and she could not do anything to him inside the academy. Also, it was not worth it to ruin the plan that she had been concoting since she took out Lim and saw Mason's disgusting acts.
"Just some more days and you will pay for your sins" muttered the girl to calm herself down. She had been aware of a lot of things about society ever since she decided to confront the truth and change herself.
Whether her change would be for the better or worse was unknown for now but one thing was for sure, that it would make her stronger in the long run.
She had been taking care of improving herself and upgrading her mana core to E- rank and today was the day she was finally going to breakthrough but it needed her to be relatively calm and so she started meditating.
Slowly her breathing became calm as she started taking deep breaths in and out and trying to keep her mind as empty as she could so that she could break through relatively easily because at the time of her awakening itself her mana core was E-rank thus, she did not need any excess mana or a mana gem to break through.
…
…
…
After what seemed like a long time but it was just 4 hours,
The entire room which was filled with mana fluctuations for the last few hours had finally settled down and the ambient mana in the atmosphere was calm like the calm before the storm.
Suddenly, a vortex appeared in the centre of the room that started sucking in the mana making the room rumble like crazy for what lasted but a few seconds as it all returned back to its peaceful state.
"Huuu..."
With a deep breath, the girl opened her eyes and started observing the mana inside her body which had increased in quantity by almost 50% and the quality of mana had also increased albeit miniscule.
"I can finally advance to the rank of 2nd Rate(proficient) Alchemist…" said the girl as confidence was oozing out of her body while a smile painted her face and her fists clenched in determination.
Only then did the girl remember that she was still wearing her academy uniform and she had forgotten to change it in her urgent situation as she had barely calmed herself down when her mana started running amok for a breakthrough.
The academy uniform was nothing fancy as it was made for young awakeners who would be at max E-rank as that was the requirement to graduate. If you failed to do that by the age of 15 then also you will leave the academy only without a graduation certificate.
This was the major reason that all the children who attended the academies below the age of 15 wanted to reach E-rank as this would help them graduate as well as give them a chance to enter the world academy.
The girl had just completed one such requirement today and now all she had to do was go get her rewards for this and accept a mission from the Mission Centre. As long as she could finish the mission in time, she'd graduate and be directly admitted to the world academy.
Well, it was not like she needed that to enroll in the world academy but it was for her pride that she attended this academy and it eventually helped her increase her combat skills in a safe environment making her chance to be higher ranked inside the world academy.
The girl had changed to another set of her academy uniform which was simple white trousers paired with a white shirt and black overcoat. All the clothes were marked with light blue lines along the sides matching the navy blue tie and black shoes.
As soon as she walked out of her room and left the hallways, she had garnered attention but this time most of the students were awed and full of astonishment as the mana around her was not completely stabilized which gave away the fact that she had broken through.
All the other students had the same uniform to her except for the blazer as they wore a blue colored overcoat which matched with their stripes lining the sides of the clothes. All the students wore advanced watches which were their ID cards.
The watches could easily monitor if a student was injured or out of mana and inform the instructors so that no student gets bullied across campus as using mana was strictly forbidden outside of a teachers presence.
They could easily mark the location of the students and hence, they knew that the girl was coming to inform them of her breakthrough and to pick up her graduation mission.
Unexpectedly, the girl went to the alchemy building as her mind was too engrossed in finally reaching the next realm of alchemy. As that would allow her to brew the potion that she had been eying for a long time.
After entering the alchemy building, she went straight to the end of the hallway and stood at the door before straightening her posture and knocking once.
"Professor Rey, May I enter" the girl voiced out in a polite tone as she waited for a response.
The door slowly slid up a little followed by a 'Whoosh' sound as then the door slid open completely as a male middle-aged voice answered her "Come in"
She straightened herself and then walked inside with measured steps and soon reached her professor who seemed to be reading a book but did not even look up from his book until he finished reading.
Around 30 minutes later, Professor Rey closed the book and looked at the girl and observed her. Soon, he smiled and stood up as he walked past her and stood at a table full of different materials.
"You reached the next rank faster than I expected. Now you can practice the practical skills and improve it to match your theoretical levels." said the Professor looking up straight into the girl's eyes with a proud look of a father.
The girl had grown accustomed to her professor's antics and had followed him when she saw him walk past her. She was currently looking around curiously recognizing some materials and others not on the table separating her and Professor Rey.
"Alright listen. Your theory has already surpassed even the 2nd rate alchemists but your rank and ability to manipulate flames were restricting your growth but now you cross that limit" said Professor Rey as he brought the girl's attention to him.
"But you have made a mistake, you should have first stabilized your core before coming here. I have informed the instructor-in-charge about your breakthrough but you still need to go pick your graduation mission. For your mistake, as punishment you can only leave the lab when you brew a E+ rank lowest-tier healing potion." said the Professor as he looked at the girl in front of him with a smile.
"Yes, sir. I apologize for my rash actions. I try my best to fulfil your expectations of me" said the girl knowing full well that the potion she was tasked to brew was a tricky one as 2nd rate alchemists can barely make E-rank potions after some months of practice and she had to make a E+ rank one for her first try.
The professor was well aware of the task and difficulty of the potion yet he asked her to brew it as he believed in her talent. He wanted to kindle the fire of alchemy in the girl as he didn't want her to ignore alchemy after she enters the world academy next year.
'Time really passes huh' sighed the Professor as a tired look overtook him watching the girl pick and prepare the ingredients required for the potion slowly which brought a smile on his tired face.
He is the head of the Alchemy Department in the Cuzlades Academy and is a Peak(zenith rank) Alchemist at the young age of 34 yet he could not break through the Master rank as he was still stuck at B+ rank for the last 5 years.
His knowledge had long exceeded even some master alchemists yet his rank stopped him from honing his practical skills. This stopped him from creating any A-rank Special grade potions and some high-grade A-rank ones.
The reason he wanted the girl in front of him to be interested in alchemy was because he knew that she was very talented and would definitely become a master alchemist . There was even a chance of her becoming the youngest master-alchemist if she put her all into it.
Her talent was evident from the first alchemy class when she overshadowed all her peers and soon became talk of the alchemy faculty but it did not take long for those once praises to become snide remarks of jealousy.
Of course, knowing her background no one was stupid enough to say it to her face but he was displeased with it so he ended up teaching her one-on-one even if he could not make her his disciple due to his previous one, he still wanted her to shine in the world of alchemy.
As her professor was lost in his own thoughts, she was working hard and had reached the last step of preparing the potion which was to sublimate the essence and convert it into a liquid of right density and viscosity.
If the earlier part was moderately easy, then this was hell mode difficulty but the girl was confident in her lessons that she had gotten from her professor. For her, he was the first professor who wasn't jealous of her talents and only loved alchemy.
She had seen her passionate professor teaching her to the best of his ability as she had only recently got to know that among the books he gave her there were a few that even some Peak Alchemists would hardly find and would never give them to anyone except their personal disciples.
She remembered how hard it was to read through all the books he gave her as she had to also focus on becoming a better mage and improving her rank but thanks to him, she could say that she was one of the most knowledgeable alchemists among the same rank.
She had developed pride about this unknowingly and Professor Rey was worried that it may hinder her development as without a rival or someone to humble you, one easily gets conceited and the girl was from an elite family which only added to his worry.
Finally, she started brewing the potion by lighting up flames using her mana on the stove on which a conical flask was hanging up in the air with the help of a stand as direct heat may dehydrate the ingredients making the potion to be dry and not form a liquid at all.
Many alchemists had tried forming solid pills but it was found that they easily lost potency and storing every pill in a special container would make it difficult to trade whereas liquid potions could not only be easily drunk but also applied on the wounds externally making it easier for the skin and wound to absorb to potion directly making healing it faster and easier except for the increased pain.
Using her right hand, she kept sending mana to maintain the flames at the right temperature and her fire affinity made this process a whole lot easier for her compared to others. With her right hand she put the processed ingredients one-by-one into the flask according to the recipe of the required potion.
The grade and rank of the potion depended on factors such as; raw quality of ingredients, temperature of the flames, mana of the alchemist, environmental mana, time for each ingredient to be put in, extraction process, materials of apparatus and various other factors.
After sweating hard to control the flames and turning them off, she was very tired but the last step was not what she could delay as the more she delays, the more the quality of the potion will drop.
The last step is theoretically the simplest one as the alchemist has to store the formed potion in a suitable vial else, the effectiveness of the potion drops but it needs to be done immediately without a break which makes it taxing as it can not be done by a different alchemist than the one who made it lest the mana inside the potion collide making it unstable.
It took her entire 2 minutes to store the potion in the vial and seal it. It was but a measly 50 mL yet it almost drained all her mana sending her into mana exhaustion.
If it were anyone else, they would have never tried brewing such a difficult potion just after breaking through but her bloodline ability passively made her control mana better than others which prevented her from exhausting her entire mana pool saving her from a lot of trouble.
"You really are reckless" said Professor Rey as he pursed his lips seeing her current state and yet her hand holding the vial was outstretched towards him.
"You pass but stop being so reckless. You could have done it easily if you just…" Professor Rey stopped abruptly as he saw her fall to the ground and fainting after hearing that she passed.
*sigh* "What a reckless brat" mumbled the professor as he let her rest as he went to observe the potion brewed by her. He might seem annoyed but he was smiling from the moment the potion was made as he was proud and happy for his student.
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…
…
The girl woke up and found herself alone in the room with a note next to her that read
'You passed and are now a certified 2nd rate Alchemist but stop being so reckless and go to the mission center when you wake up'
She had a broad smile on her face as she read the note but her face scrunched at the thought of what her next actions would be.
She slowly got up and went straight to the mission center even though it was evening and as she had expected, she saw someone she didn't want to.
She skipped past him and walked to the receptionist sitting at the opposite side of the entrance.
"I am here to select my graduation mission" said the girl as she opened her ID by operating her watch.
"AH" the receptionist exclaimed at the bluntness but shut up upon seeing who the perpetrator was. She hurriedly operated and confirmed that the girl had broken through to early-E rank and then she turned back to face the student.
"Student, the missions can only be taken by teams of at least 3 students along with 1 senior for safety purposes so unless you have a team then you need to wait before…" said the receptionist but she could not complete it yet she kept shut seeing the one who interrupted her.
"There is no need for that, is there now? Why don't you team with me Evelyn? Counting you we will have 4 E- ranks making the chances of clearing the mission higher" said the boy who she had passed up by.
"Mason Hiddleton. I don't need your help." said Evelyn as the both of them stared at each other.
"Uhm…students, you should get along as you have been teamed up by the higher-ups for this dungeon expedition which will take place 2 months from now" intercepted the receptionist which brought a smile on Mason's face and a cold expression from Evelyn.
"Haha, looks like we'll be working together in the future" said Mason as he smiled, happy at this development.
Evelyn just looked at him and left without a word but her cold expression was terrifying as no student came in her path and even her friends who had come to congratulate her had halted in their steps sensing something amiss.
She finally dropped off her façade as she arrived at her dorm room and fell on the ground as today was very exhausting for her. She barely had enough strength to reach her bed and order dinner in her room which was a privilege that came with being the vice-president of the student council.
After eating dinner, she was roughly back to normal as she looked around her room that was spacious enough for her to brew the potion she had been planning to but she did not have the materials nor the apparatus for it now and she needed it for the dungeon raid that was in 2 months, so she could wait and perfect her plan increasing her chances at success.
Her room was quite empty as it only had a bed, a closet and a bathroom. Rest of it was completely white as she had not decorated it at all along with the fact she had removed the sofas and table from the room making it very spacious.
With a content smile, she finally went to bed to sleep as she laughed remembering the scene at the mission center and at the boy's stupidity.
She knew that he would force her to team-up when she went around flaunting her breakthrough and he ended up bribing and using his family name to do it.
Of course, it would never happen as those same people told her about it and she asked them to do it saying "I can graduate earlier and my friends have a long time to reach E- rank, so it is better to do it this way"
She had learned a thing or two from her family about scheming so she was sure it would work as Mason was not smart enough to figure it out and her reasons were spot on to prevent any suspicion towards her for future troubles.
Unbeknownst to Mason who was laughing and all smiles at this moment, he had just pushed himself off the cliff as he was being targeted by a growing huntress who wanted to use him as her practicing target.
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