Over the next few days, Helos’s life was filled with two things.
Mandatory courses. During the day, she went to those boring classes like a qualified, good student.
At night, she dived into her room, losing sleep and forgetting to eat as she studied that fragmentary ancient alchemy book.
That ancient book Agatha gave her seemed to open a door to a new world. The system of alchemy recorded within was completely different from the orthodox theory taught by teacher Emilia.
Some parts were filled with malice, and the whole was chaotic, jumping between topics, and even mixed with all sorts of bizarre and whimsical ideas.
But it was precisely this characteristic that deeply attracted Helos. She poured all her spare time into the work of reconstructing the recipe for the [Alchemy Bomb].
The piece of dark star iron she got for free from the mysterious shop was incredibly hard; ordinary tools could not leave a single mark on its surface.
Helos had to concentrate all of her weak mental power onto a specially crafted rune carving knife, grinding and etching it bit by bit.
At night, she was like the most focused craftsman, fighting continuously for several days and nights.
Finally today, she carefully embedded the [Mana Core] into the complex mechanism crafted from the dark star iron. When the last part clicked into place perfectly, a black metal sphere the size of a hand grenade lay quietly in her palm.
It looked inconspicuous, with a smooth and cold surface. Only when rotated under the light could one faintly see the twisted runes cleverly hidden in the structural gaps.
“It is… finally complete.”
Helos let out a long breath, her eyes filled with an indescribable sense of accomplishment. This thing was not a product of the [Ultimate Alchemy] system’s “one-click production,” but the first “secret weapon” she had deduced, reconstructed, and manufactured herself.
She felt like she was nearly collapsing. Looking at this creation that had condensed several days of her heart and soul in her palm, a strong sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart.
Next was the most critical step.
She focused her spirit, sank into her consciousness, and activated [Alchemy: Activation].
This alchemy skill seemed to exist to compensate for her lack of mana in the [Ultimate Alchemy] system.
It could not let her use those magic tools that required mana to operate, but it could be used to “ignite” those alchemy items she made herself that met the criteria, injecting them with the most basic “startup mana.”
As her heart willed it, an invisible force surged from her body into the black sphere in her hand.
A tiny tremor came from it.
Helos was pleasantly surprised to see that on the surface of the [Alchemy Bomb] in her palm, those hidden runes actually lit up one by one, emitting a faint blue light!
Success!
It was activated!
Helos carefully put the bomb away with immense excitement.
She glanced out the window; it was still early.
She had to find a place to test its power!
She immediately called out to Gavi, and the two left the dormitory together, heading straight for the academy’s public testing grounds.
The Royal magic academy’s testing ground was located in the northwest corner of the campus, a vast outdoor area. It was specifically for students to practice magic or test various magic tools.
The area was surrounded by a pale green magic barrier tens of meters high, shrouding the entire site to prevent strong mana fluctuations or explosion aftermath from spreading and affecting other buildings on campus.
When Helos and Gavi arrived, quite a few students were already practicing inside.
“Fireball!”
“Ice Arrow!”
“Wind Barrier!”
Students were scattered in groups of two or three in every corner of the field.
Some were practicing basic elemental magic on targets in the distance, with fireballs drawing arcs in the air and ice spears whistling into the bullseye; others were chanting complex spells, attempting to summon their own summoned familiar; and some were testing their own newly invented magic tools.
The entire field was filled with colorful magic radiance and intermittent chanting sounds.
Helos looked at the bustling scene before her, then lowered her head to look at the unremarkable black iron ball in her hand, a strange sense of incongruity arising in her heart.
The style seems a bit off.
Why does everyone else have cool magic, and I am the only one with physical blasting?
She pulled Gavi, trying to avoid the crowds, and walked to the most remote corner of the field. This place was close to the edge of the barrier, and there was no one around, only a dummy target used for testing power standing alone.
“Gavi, stand a little further back,” Helos instructed.
She took a deep breath and looked at the [Alchemy Bomb] in her hand again. The faint blue rune light was flickering steadily.
Although she did not know how much power it had, it shouldn’t be too outrageous, right?
She estimated that the power of this thing would be impressive if it matched the full-power blow of a C-rank adventurer like Barton.
She did not hesitate any longer and threw it with all her strength toward the empty target in the distance!
The small black ball drew a beautiful parabola in the air, flying precisely toward the target.
“Let’s step back a bit more.” Helos still felt uneasy, pulling Gavi back a few more meters, hiding behind an obstacle used for cover, peering out only half her head, looking forward to the bomb’s impact point with anticipation.
However, just a split second before the bomb was about to hit the target—
A sudden change occurred!
Gavi, who had been standing quietly beside Helos, saw the faint lights in her eye sockets erupt into a blinding scarlet without warning!
Before Helos could even react, an irresistible, immense force came from her side.
Without giving her any time to react, Gavi pulled her petite body into her arms, aimed her own sturdy metal back toward the direction of the explosion, and at the same time, her feet kicked the ground hard, retreating rapidly toward the rear!
“BOOM—!!!”
Almost at the same moment, a deafening, terrifying roar that seemed to tear the sky apart came from the direction Helos had just thrown!
That was not an “explosion” at all; it was like the roar of a volcanic eruption!
Helos was tightly protected in Gavi’s arms, feeling as if her eyes were instantly swallowed by white light.
Immediately following, a terrifying shockwave mixed with flames and dust swept across the entire test field like a landslide or tsunami!
She could clearly feel countless flying sand and stones hitting Gavi’s back like a torrential rain, making dull and terrifying impact sounds.
She was pressed hard against the ground by Gavi, unable to even lift her head.
The whole earth was trembling violently, as if in agony.
The other students practicing magic in the field suffered an innocent disaster.
Although the closest student was still nearly half a field away from the center of the explosion, that terrifying shockwave still knocked them head over heels.
“Help! What happened!”
“The barrier! The barrier is cracking!!”
“Waaaaah——!”
Screams and cries erupted into a mess.
When the terrifying roar finally subsided gradually and the rolling smoke covering the field slowly dissipated, Helos stood up with a pale face, supported by Gavi.
She stared blankly at the direction she had just thrown the bomb, completely stunned.
There was nothing there.
No dummy target, no lawn, nothing at all.
There was only a huge scorched crater with a diameter of at least over 10 meters, emitting thin wisps of green smoke.
Even the previously indestructible pale green magic barrier at the edge of the field had cracks like glass hit by a heavy hammer. It shimmered with unstable light, clearly unable to hold on much longer.
Helos opened her mouth, but could not make a sound.
She looked down at her hands that were still trembling slightly.
Is… is this the thing I made?
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