Chapter 78

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Episode 17 - Professor Lunia [1]

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Back at the Academy.

Professor Lunia and the other cadets returned to the classroom.

Shortly afterward, the potion-making lesson began.

By the way, when I returned to the place where the Teleportation Matrix was located, Rinna had gotten some ingredients for me, and unexpectedly, Lumina had given me the rest.

I didn’t know why, but I had been lucky nonetheless.

Without needing to search for anything, all the ingredients and materials had ended up in my hands after I returned.

’I already expected something from Rinna, but from Lumina, honestly, I don’t even know what to say.’

But now that I think about it, maybe she was returning the favor because I saved her that day in Zeron City.

In any case, after approximately twenty minutes, I finished the potion.

’Eh, so what do I do now.’

I already had the finished potion; the problem now was Professor Lunia.

A chill ran through my body when I thought about what had happened during the last class.

’Damn, I’m being really childish.’

I let out a sigh and finally said:

"I’ve already finished the potion, Professor Lunia."

In less than a second, a shadow was already standing in front of me.

Professor Lunia took the potion from my hands, and the moment I noticed this, I suddenly froze.

Professor Lunia examined the potion before nodding and saying as she turned around:

"Come to my office."

Then, she returned to her desk. Meanwhile, I...

’Eh, what was that.’

This wasn’t what I expected.

I was expecting a reaction similar to last time, not the calm reaction she gave now.

Confusion suddenly hit me.

"What was that."

I muttered. Then Rinna, who was beside me still making the potion, said:

"Don’t worry, Adel, I’ll protect you from that woman."

"..."

Tilting my head in confusion, class finally ended shortly afterward.

Rinna managed to finish the potion, while many other cadets failed.

***

Walking through the Academy hallways, I headed toward Professor Lunia’s office.

Since many of the professors’ offices were located in the same B-1 building where classes were held, I had memorized which door belonged to which professor thanks to Rinna’s help.

It didn’t take long to find Professor Lunia’s office.

Now standing in front of the door, I remained still for a few seconds before finally sighing and knocking three times.

"Come in, dear."

"...?"

’What the hell.’

My body froze for a second before I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

The door opened, and Professor Lunia’s office appeared before me.

Compared to Professor Ashly’s office, this one was a little different.

There was an area filled with all the equipment an alchemist would need.

Another section was filled with all kinds of plants, along with a wall display packed with ingredients and jars containing some kind of liquid, and so on.

There was also a small bookshelf filled with thick books and, in front of me, the desk.

"Why did you call for me, Professor Lunia?"

Next, I focused my senses on the woman sitting on a sofa near the desk with a glass in her hand.

"..."

Honestly, this felt strange and very, very suspicious.

Even so, I stayed near the office entrance just to be safe.

"Come now, Cadet Adel, have a seat. I’m not going to do anything to you, so don’t worry."

I pressed my lips into a thin line as I seriously considered whether I should turn around and leave.

’No, forget it. I can use this opportunity to ask about the blood of a Phoenix King anyway.’

Although there might be information in one of the books I stored in my Inventory from the cave, I had one of the best current alchemists right in front of me.

So even if she was not on the level of the forgotten legendary alchemist, she should know something about it, right?

And even if she did not, I still had dozens of books I needed to check.

Slowly, I took a seat across from her.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"It doesn’t have some aphrodisiac or paralysis drug in it, right?"

Professor Lunia blinked, then soon burst into laughter.

Her laughter was brief as she wiped away the tear that had fallen down her cheek because of it.

"What are you saying, Cadet Adel? I’m not that kind of woman."

’Yeah, sure.’

I rubbed my temples while resisting the urge to run away.

"Can we get to the point, Professor?"

"How impatient."

Professor Lunia set the glass down on the small table in front of her, then leaned back against the sofa and stared directly at me.

Then she parted her lips and said:

"Become my disciple. I will teach you all of my knowledge in alchemy. You clearly have more talent than I do in alchemy, and I must say that I am one of the three greatest alchemists in the world."

Her words left me pleasantly surprised, not expecting her to say something like that.

I focused completely on her and her emotions, but she truly meant it.

’She really is asking me to become her disciple.’

And her last words, arrogant as they sounded, were actually the truth.

Professor Lunia has crafted Mythical-Quality potions, two ranks below a Supreme-Quality potion.

That alone should already make her one of the greatest alchemists in history.

Of course, there have only been around three alchemists who managed to create potions of a quality equal to or higher than Mythical and Supreme.

And only the forgotten legendary alchemist was capable of creating Supreme-Quality potions.

Of course, it is said that there were others, but there is almost no information about them.

"Becoming her disciple..."

Professor Lunia nodded.

"Yes. Simply by becoming my disciple, I can guarantee the creation of any potion or elixir for you, as long as you provide the ingredients, of course."

"..."

My heart skipped a beat at her words.

An alchemist of her level creating potions completely free of charge as long as I provided the ingredients.

’Isn’t this paradise?’

However, I thought about it seriously.

Naturally, I should accept immediately, but despite how it may seem, I feel hesitant.

Many alchemists are hunted down or placed on assassination lists.

And Professor Lunia entered the Academy to protect herself.

Every moment of every day, she is being protected without almost anyone knowing.

At that moment, I extended my senses and felt the presence of a fairly powerful figure.

’A 9-Star is protecting her.’

A slight cold sweat ran down my back.

I quickly straightened myself without revealing any further thoughts.

’Becoming her disciple means ending up on the list of all those assassins trying to kill her.’

And, in particular, the Church of the Black Dawn had Professor Lunia as its target.

Aside from her, there were also more professors in their sights.

’And according to the current timeline, Professor Lunia dies during the second semester.’

Her death was a huge blow to the empire.

Losing a great alchemist was a heavy loss.

So, what should I decide?

Professor Lunia’s assassins are very strong. They even sent a Class 9 villain to keep in check, most likely, the person currently watching over her.

And the rest of the assassins are Class 6.

’Unless, of course, I’m by her side at that moment and I’ve already advanced to 5 Stars. Using the Eye of the End, there wouldn’t be much difficulty in killing those villains.’

But there were still probabilities.

The possibility that something unexpected could happen.

So I thought about it seriously.

"You can think about it for as long as you want. I don’t mind waiting."

Professor Lunia said after noticing my thoughts.

I slightly raised my head and, smiling, said:

"There’s no need. It’s fine, I can accept."

I said it without hesitation.

I came to the conclusion that if I could save her, then so be it.

And if not, then there was nothing else to do.

She would die, and that would be the end of the story.

It’s not like her death would have any major impact on the story anyway.

Yes, higher-quality potions and elixirs would disappear.

Yes, the trade of high-quality potions and elixirs would stop functioning.

Auctions, pharmaceutical companies, and the like.

But if we’re talking about any impact on the main characters or the protagonist, Lumina, then there is none.

’Mhm, but for me... maybe there is.’

She’s the only one who could truly teach me real alchemy.

And as she said before, I would gain huge benefits just from being her disciple.

That’s why I accepted becoming her disciple, but at the same time...

〖Traitor, I am your only master, understand? I’m the only one who should be your master and no one else. Why are you betraying me like this, disciple?〗

’But she’s an alchemist, and I have talent for alchemy, while you’re a swordswoman.’

My master shouted irritably.

〖So what? A master is a master, you little idiot. Just wait until I have a body, you’ll pay dearly for this.〗

I smiled awkwardly without responding to her threats.

It must be said that sometimes she acts very childish.

In any case, while I let my master threaten me, Professor Lunia continued. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Great, you’re my first disciple, so as your master, I’ll teach you everything I know."

"Thank you. Ah, right, I have a question I’d like to ask you."

"Of course, what do you want to ask? If it’s within my knowledge, I’ll answer it, naturally."

Obviously, I wasn’t going to show it to her. I simply wanted to satisfy my curiosity.

About what could be done with the blood of a Phoenix King, and perhaps with the blood of a Great Ancient as well.

Though regarding the latter, I still didn’t know whether to use it later as leverage against Director Bernice or find some other use for it.

In any case, I voiced my question.

"Professor, do you know what the blood of a Phoenix King can be used for?"