"Success!"
Lucian's eyes glimmered with excitement as he saw the system notification. He closed his eyes briefly, quickly assimilating the flood of new knowledge in his mind. Nearby, Carrie observed Lucian's calm, reflective demeanour, feeling a bit anxious. Her thoughts drifted back to her own experiences with sorcery research.
Could it be that... my design didn't quite reach Lucian's expectations?
Feeling a hint of nervousness, Carrie glanced at Lucian, her palms slightly sweaty. But just then, Lucian opened his eyes, looked at her, and took another look at her design drafts. He then put down the paper, smiled at her, and said, "The design is well done, but there's still plenty of room for improvement."
Carrie's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and confusion on her face.
She knew that the hunting bow she had designed with Lucian's guidance could indeed improve in terms of enchantment. They had agreed to consider ease of repair, which meant only the most basic alchemical runes were used in the design.
When Lucian suggested adjustments to the runes, Carrie felt both relieved and slightly indignant. She couldn't resist the urge to compare her work with Lucian's, wanting to see how much she truly lacked in skill.
Taking Lucian's redrawn sketch, Carrie immediately noticed the cleverness of his modifications. Unlike her design, which had space for only three enchantment runes, Lucian had managed to fit five, utilizing the limited space more effectively.
"But, Lucian," Carrie asked, looking up at him. "Won't so many runes in such a small area interfere with each other?"
"Look closely at the runes I chose," Lucian replied with a satisfied smile, amused by her puzzled expression. With his guidance, she realized the combination he chose—three-speed runes, along with durability and charge—was specifically arranged to prevent conflict and achieve a rapid-fire effect when drawing the bowstring.
Carrie was astonished. "It's similar to a full alchemical array, but it's achieved with individual runes…" She glanced down, feeling sheepish for doubting him even slightly.
[Your student Carrie feels respect toward you. Reverence Points +30]
Lucian was momentarily stunned by the notification, his mind racing with a newfound insight. He had just received an upgraded alchemical blueprint from the system, but the blueprint had also imparted knowledge of alchemy, filling in gaps in his understanding.
"So," Lucian thought, "if I teach Carrie a design, the system will help me automatically acquire advanced alchemical knowledge!" His eyes sparkled. This hidden feature would allow him to enhance his alchemical skills much faster than self-study would have allowed.
Turning back to Carrie, Lucian tried to hide the excitement from his face. He encouraged her to dive deeper into the revised blueprint, careful to appear just encouraging rather than... exploitative. Carrie looked up, sensing a deeper purpose behind his guidance, and felt a surge of gratitude.
[Your student Carrie feels gratitude toward you. Reverence Points +50]
Lucian felt a twinge of guilt, but it vanished as he and Carrie returned to their work.
Meanwhile, Lilia emerged from the library, clutching a book and filled with determination. She had attempted to advance to a full-fledged sorcerer three times, failing each time and leaving her psyche fragile. One more failed attempt would destroy her entirely. Yet she could not give up; with only a few years left to live, she was willing to gamble everything on this final opportunity.
But as she walked, she came across a black cat with three tails. Its emerald eyes stared at her, tails swaying lazily.
"Assist me in something," said the cat in a crisp, childish voice.
Lilia bowed, accepting the request without hesitation.
"If you agree," the cat continued, its green eyes locking onto hers, "I'll reward you with a standard unit of Blood Rose upon your return. However, if you advance to a full sorcerer, you must assist me five times without question."
Blood Rose—a potion powerful enough to mend her damaged psyche, granting her one last shot at advancement.