"Great," the boy replied. "Shall we go? Today, I have my first Artificery class."
Alphonse and Sophie stood up from the table while Marie discussed something with her assistants. The boy was particularly excited about his first class in his specialization.
'Finally. I need this piece to unlock my other plans,' he thought.
Sophie, on the other hand, although happy to participate in the Healing Magic classes, had already had great lessons in the Arcane course. She had no teachers capable of putting students to sleep, so it was just another class for her.
The carriage trip between the casino and the academy had already become routine for both of them. They were even learning to sleep with the vehicle's sway.
As soon as they arrived at the castle courtyard, Sophie parted ways, heading to the infirmary, where she would have her following classes. Meanwhile, Alphonse was looking for a classroom near the blacksmithing shop.
The boy had to leave the castle and walk along the long avenue outside until he found a small establishment with the blacksmith's symbol. He opened the door; however, no one was at the counter. Without waiting for someone to appear, he walked to the work area, but again, all the furnaces were out, and no one was working.
'Strange,' he thought, returning to the establishment's entrance. 'Could there be another one on this street?'
While he was thinking, the blacksmith's door opened, and a woman entered.
She was almost the same height as Alphonse, although she seemed to be an adult. Her green, narrow eyes seemed to evaluate everything around her, with rounded glasses that gave an air of intelligence and sophistication.
Unlike other people he had seen on the continent, she had raven-black hair cut short. She was wearing a gown with an intricate garment of deep teal silk, which was not manufactured in the empire.
Her gown seemed to be at its limit, trying to prevent her breasts from bursting out of the garment.
'She is certainly not from the empire,' the boy thought, noting the woman's details before him.
"We're closed; this time is for classes. Come back later," she said before Alphonse could explain himself.
"No problem, I came for the classes," the boy replied.
"Great, follow the stairs. Our classes will be on the second floor," she smiled and pointed the way.
As he went up the stairs, he saw a large room with few seats. However, there were large tables around the room with hundreds of instruments blinking or making noises. Inside the room were at most ten people, both men and women. However, they were all extremely thin and wore long gowns.
'They must be mages from the Arcane course,' the boy thought, not recognizing any of them.
As he sat down, he noticed the judgmental looks of the others. He still didn't understand why, but not being part of the magic course clearly made him stand out from the rest of the class.
However, it didn't take long before the teacher entered the room.
"Nice to meet you. I am Professor Ayumi, a blacksmith in my spare time," she introduced herself. "However, many know me better as [ArchMage] Ayumi."
Hearing the professor's [Profession], the magic students began to cheer. Alphonse understood that it was a [Profession] that had evolved due to her ability, but he didn't know the level of this evolution.
"I will teach you about Artificery. However, I need to align my expectations with yours for those who wish to take this class," Ayumi explained. "Unlike several other professors, I disagree that magic is an unknown and mystical art. Magic is a science with much to be discovered, but it should be predictable and replicable."
Alphonse could understand what she meant; although he had studied for only the last month, he could comprehend the functioning of mana in a simple and replicable way.
"Because of this, Artificery is a fusion of alchemy and engineering, aiming to create, invent, and alter objects through magic," Ayumi concluded. "Any questions?"
However, no student spoke up.
"Great, Artificery is a complex subject and one that I will hardly be able to teach with a class of our size. Because of this, I have a standard test that I always conduct at the beginning of my courses." The professor went to a chalkboard at the back of the room and began to write her test.
"You will have one week to invent or alter an object through magic. Additionally, you must present the method you used to the class." Ayumi finished writing and began to explain, looking at the students. "The worst will be dismissed from this specialization and must seek another or try again in the next course. As for the best, I will consider inviting you to my laboratory."
Again, murmurs started among the magic students; many had already decided what they would do. Some had even failed in other courses and continued trying this specialization. Therefore, several of them had considerable experience with this test.
However, this did not shake Alphonse. 'It's quite simple. I just need to show some of my experiments,' he thought. 'But which ones? It doesn't make sense to present something valuable.'
"If no one has any more questions, you are dismissed. I expect you here next week," Ayumi ended the class and quickly left the room, heading to the front of the shop.
While the other students were leaving the room, Alphonse took the opportunity to explore it a bit more, analyzing the tools that were laid out and some notes on the board. There was nothing special that he didn't already know, but it was interesting to observe someone else's laboratory.
'It's time to return to the penthouse. I have to start preparing my project,' the boy thought.
--
--
BOOM
After a small explosion and a week of work, Alphonse's project was finally ready.
"Alright. Now it's nine out of ten; I still have to improve our chances," the boy said after analyzing his results.
Marie ran through the door as the smoke from the explosion exited through the window. "Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yes, yes. Just a slightly failed experiment," the boy replied while coughing some smoke.
Now calmer, Marie assessed the state of the room. "You will need to find somewhere else for your lab."
He looked around and saw several scorch marks along the carpet and walls. Additionally, smoke was coming out of the window of a famous casino.
"No doubt," he replied.
"I will prepare a place in the basement, but you have to be careful so that no one else discovers it," Marie commented before leaving.
Alphonse grabbed his notes and the item he had created and left, running in time for his presentation. Luckily for him, punctuality was not one of Ayumi's best traits, and she had not yet arrived at the blacksmith.
All the students were seated with their objects in hand, waiting for the teacher to start the presentations. The door opened suddenly, and Ayumi entered quickly and sat in one of the chairs.
"Who wants to start?" the teacher asked, without giving the students time to think.
One of the students from the Arcane course raised his hand. With the teacher's nod, he took the front of the room, carrying his item.
"Hello. My name is Alessandro. My presentation will be related to this item." The boy, dressed in a gown commonly used among mages, pulled the item out of a wooden box. He seemed to have brought a crossbow.
"I infused a magic to accelerate the projectile, allowing that with a small infusion of mana, whoever is using the weapon can fire multiple bolts without needing to reload."
As soon as he finished explaining, the boy demonstrated the shot by embedding a wooden bolt on the room's floor.
He then described how he had inserted the magic into the object, the high complexity of making it activate only when the trigger is pressed, and that he had researched that object for over six months to create it.
As soon as he finished the presentation, the teacher still seemed to be making notes.
She raised her eyes, analyzing the boy. "Why did you make this project?"
Alessandro didn't know what to answer. "What do you mean, professor? Because it seemed cool and challenging."
"But what is the usefulness of what you built?" Ayumi asked.
"Um... to allow hunting without having to reload a crossbow?" Alessandro replied, but it seemed like he was asking.
"In a continent with millions of people, you created an item that can only be manipulated by less than 0.01% of the population who know how to control mana. Am I correct?" the teacher asked.
"Yes," he replied, lowering his head, not knowing where to look.
"Alright. Disqualified. You have the skill, and you can learn this on your own. But for now, you lack vision; study more, explore more, and return in the next course if you wish," she spoke quickly to the boy.
Although he tried to control himself, it was possible to see the look of sadness and disappointment on Alessandro's face.
Like him, several other students presented one by one. Some were better than others; however, all were rare items typically considered relics.
"Alright. Next."
Alphonse got up and walked to the front of the room.