“Ankat actually showed up… The worldline is shifting more than I expected…”
Lomio pondered the situation in front of him.
If it weren’t for my brother covering for me just now, letting my card quality reach Excellent, things might really have gone south with all these little groups causing trouble!
As one of the capture targets in the game, this drunken Sorcerer is such an alchemy powerhouse that even the protagonist tugs her ear and scolds her!
Not someone to mess with, and burdened with karmic ties—Lomio couldn’t afford to provoke her!
But… when it comes to squeezing some benefits out of her, Lomio’s guts began to grow wildly once more.
Sure, my bottom line is flexible, but I don’t mess around, I don’t break the rules—in this game world, I’m easily one of the most principled!
Racking up credits, strengthening myself—what else are schools for?!
Lomio ran through Ankat’s personality and preferences in his mind. While she was still lost in the quality of the card, Lomio launched into yet another performance.
“I’m terribly sorry, Professor. I’m actually not an Alchemist by class, nor am I any sort of professional.”
“…?”
These words made Karenina furrow her brows, quietly listening.
“Oh? So you’re saying… you…”
For a moment, Ankat didn’t know what to say.
Judging by the situation and the quality of the card, it seemed she had no reason to lose her temper at this student.
Especially since he was so quick to admit his mistake!
Besides…
Alchemy isn’t some convenient trick…
That line struck right at her heart!
Alchemy is about changing the world, about challenging the unknown and the impossible!
“That’s right. My knowledge comes from an Alchemist who once passed by my family’s territory. She personally taught me for a month.”
“I’m only half-trained, lacking in sense and experience, and I’ve disturbed my classmates. I truly apologize for that.”
No sooner had Lomio finished than Beatrice’s smile bloomed and she stepped forward:
“Oh come now, no one’s really blaming you. We just wanted to warn you for your own good—wouldn’t want you to get hurt!”
Though that’s what she said, her gaze roamed shamelessly over Lomio’s body, as if licking him.
“Crack.”
The sound of cracking knuckles suddenly echoed out.
Lomio looked towards the source and saw it was “Kavnir’s fist, clenched hard.
“Relax, I’m acting.”
He stealthily signed with his hands, and only then did his good brother’s expression ease up.
“A passing Alchemist taught you for a month!?”
Ankat nearly dropped her bottle!
Back when she started learning alchemy, she needed three months of apprenticeship before she could make her first high-quality card!
But what does this mean!?
A month of practice, and not only can he refine materials, he can produce an Excellent card!?
Maybe you should be the Alchemist instead!?
“Who was your teacher?”
“Genova. Stormwind—that’s what she called herself.”
Lomio named a legendary figure in the game world—one who had never been implemented.
The Lumen Sage!?
Hearing this name, Ankat was stunned on the spot.
That legendary mountain of Alchemy?!
This answer made Karenina’s pupils contract sharply!
She’d considered many possibilities, but never imagined her examiner would be connected to the unapproachable sacred mountain in every Alchemist’s heart!
So, that card’s quality… could it already be… Excellent?
Beatrice, on the other hand, was unimpressed: “Never heard of her. You sure you weren’t tricked, classmate?”
Lomio nearly lost his composure.
An Alchemist who doesn’t recognize the founder.
That’s like saying Apple invented the cellphone—such narrow-mindedness is honestly laughable.
Ankat glanced at Beatrice, the corner of her mouth twitching. She wanted to snap at her, but forced herself to hold back.
Karenina simply shook her head, the faintest hint of a pitying smile curling her lips.
The subtle shift in atmosphere finally made Beatrice sense something was wrong.
She frowned: “What’s with those looks?! How come… I’m the only one who doesn’t know this person?!”
“That’s right.” Karenina nodded with a serene smile, her tone calm. “Strictly speaking, Madam Genova only invented a single thing. She’s not exactly famous.”
“What the—!”
Any sense of unease in Beatrice vanished instantly, and she returned to her haughty air.
“A so-called famous Alchemist with just one creation in her life? That hardly counts!”
“Indeed.”
At the most fitting moment, Lomio unveiled the truth behind the farce.
“She just invented a little thing called the ‘Alchemical Platform’.”
“She only laid the foundation for all of us who came after—certainly not well known.”
He added softly, with a hint of regret:
“The seniors just work silently, building the whole class system. Young folks like us… tend to forget about them.”
Ankat glared at Beatrice, jaw clenched, the alcohol in her eyes burning.
She recognized this student—he was one of the new ones who’d awakened the Alchemy class this year.
“Indeed.”
Ankat forced the words out through gritted teeth.
“Who wouldn’t say so?”
“…Alchemical Platform?”
Only then did Beatrice catch on, her face turning pale in a matter of seconds!
But her self-assured smile didn’t disappear—it just shifted back onto Lomio.
“No need to be embarrassed, classmate. Just consolidate your knowledge, and next time this won’t happen again.”
“You… That’s my business, but you breaking the operating regulations can’t just be swept under the rug!”
She was clearly getting anxious.
“But of course.”
Lomio took the lead, looking straight at Ankat:
“Since it’s already happened, and with a professor present, may I ask you to check the surveillance and point out my procedural mistakes?”
Trying to go one for one with me?
You wish!
“Gladly. I want to see just how much of the real craft you picked up…”
With that settled, Ankat activated the venue’s surveillance magic, rewinding time a bit.
Genova’s legacy?
Is it real?
Could it be?
As an Alchemist, Ankat found it hard to imagine anyone in the world could have such a fortuitous encounter!
But if there was a flaw, it had to be somewhere in the surveillance footage!
Would he be exposed, or proven genuine?
Ankat, and everyone present, watched with bated breath.
Arcane energy surged, reconstructing and replaying every detail for Ankat to see what had just happened.
From Lomio carrying a sack of “garbage”, to his refining, to being watched by everyone as he closed his eyes and fused the card…
Every step that landed in Ankat’s eyes delivered an unprecedented shock!
Could it be?
That question quietly transformed into another in her heart.
“How did he do it?!”
“Genova… Alchemical Platform…”
“Eyes closed… could it be, the Alchemical Platform left by the Lumen Sage has a mode of perception that transcends sight, which I never knew about?”
The more she thought about it, the clearer it became!
Perhaps only Genova, the very creator of the Alchemical Platform, could have passed down such miraculous skills!
Even training a successor who could perfectly blend materials through perception, even without vision!
Wait!
Suddenly, Ankat realized there was still something off!
If these female students were present the whole time and witnessed everything, how could they not see the genius at work…
And yet, their first reaction was to report and cause trouble?
Ankat’s gaze swept over the girls.
She realized they weren’t looking at her at all. Their eyes were glued to Lomio—or else, to Kavnir’s face.
Brazen and shameless, as if picking tonight’s dinner.
Bastards!
Ankat’s grip on the bottle grew so tight veins popped.
Trash—brains stuffed full of nothing but lewd filth!
This whole incident, from start to finish, was just stirring up trouble for the sake of it!
And now, they wanted to use her authority as professor to pin an unshakeable stain on their classmates!
As long as these two boys admitted to endangering their safety, hoped for a private settlement, or apologized…
What demands would they raise next? Ankat didn’t even want to imagine!
“You’re using me as your tool to mess with men?!”
Nearly thirty years of singlehood had Ankat boiling with rage!
If not for her rough luck in love all these years, would she have ended up a heavy drinker with her relationships going to hell thanks to alcohol?!
Even as a mentor, I restrain myself—what’s your excuse?!
Tomorrow is the first class division!
You garbage who stain the art of alchemy—get ready to score a big fat zero and go home to leech off your families!
Let MC cook!!!