Chapter 21
Alchemy, Chemistry, Breaking Bad
Lunch time had arrived.
Once again, a terribly tasteless meal was served.
It was a soup made from leftover vegetables, with bread and milk.
As the meal seemed like something only peasant farmers would eat, a collective sigh escaped from the mouths of most of the academy students, who were from wealthy families.
Although it was still just two meals like this instead of three, their spirits were already beginning to break.
The problem was, they were so hungry that they had no choice but to eat this.
“Ugh, I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Damn. I want a Milan-style steak with wine gravy sauce and cinnamon sugar on top.”
The students forced the food into their mouths.
To those students, Gibbs gave a warning.
“The academy’s schedule gets very tough in the afternoon, so it’s better to eat well now. You might not be able to eat anything for dinner because you’ll be too exhausted.”
“Huh?”
“I’m already so tired…”
The students had been using the hot water magic endlessly, and their heads were buzzing. If they had no talent for magic, they would have just wasted time resting, but they all had magical talents. They were all drained after consuming mana, but more difficult classes awaited them in the afternoon.
‘But even if it’s tough, what can we do if we can’t eat?’
‘This bread is so hard, the effort to eat it feels like it takes more energy than the nutrition it provides.’
The students once again soaked the bread in the soup and milk, trying to break it into pieces. Since there were many leftover pieces of bread, Idnia took some to keep.
The afternoon class was basic alchemy, taught by Dryad Nylia. She was a Dryad and a Druid from the Vigrant Empire.
Nylia seemed to be enjoying herself as she sprayed water on the roots near her feet using a sprayer.
“Ooh… Nutrient solution. As expected, the plant-based nutrient solution is so good. I can even feel pleasure. Oh, my… ah…”
Realizing that the students had entered the classroom, she cleared her throat and put on her glasses.
Many of the students were seeing a Dryad for the first time, and they looked at Nylia with curious eyes.
The forest fairy, her beautiful appearance, and her mystical blend of animal and plant features certainly captured the students’ attention.
“Hello. I am Nylia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Uh… it’s a Dryad.”
“First time seeing one.”
“Well, everyone, it might sound strange, but if you really want to be good at alchemy, you need to learn chemistry.
Basic chemistry is an elective, but I would appreciate it if you could take it. The assignments are easy, and the grades are good.
And, and!
If you sign up for chemistry now, the first 20 students will receive a bromide calendar with my embarrassing picture.
Ah, it’s a very naughty one, featuring me naked. I couldn’t refuse when they asked me to be a model back in my younger years…”
“……”
A significant number of the male students appeared to be intrigued.
Perhaps because she wasn’t a professor yet, but a lecturer, she was going to such lengths to promote her class.
However, the idea that a lecturer, a Dryad at that, was selling her sexuality to promote her class seemed wrong to Idnia.
‘Is this okay?
The original story, “Awakened Girl Concert,” was a female-oriented game, but why is the female instructor trying to sell products with her sexual appeal?
No, it’s morally questionable for a lecturer to use such tactics to sell a course, right?’
At that moment, someone raised their hand.
“Ah, the student over there?”
It was Izolde Polchen. She asked with a bold attitude.
“I’d like to sign up for basic chemistry right now. You said chemistry would help me do alchemy better, right?”
“Yes. In fact, the basic alchemy class isn’t really about teaching alchemy itself but rather teaching the groundwork of alchemy, in other words, the manual labor involved.
The real theory is taught in chemistry.
Oh, but you’re a female student?”
“Yes.”
“Then you won’t need the bromide, right?”
“If you give it to me, I’d be grateful. I’d like to see what it looks like with my own eyes.”
“Alright. True beauty doesn’t distinguish between men and women.
Oh my, it’s embarrassing, but I can’t help it. I happen to have one, so I’ll give it to you.”
“……”
What Nylia gave her was a promotional gardening calendar.
“I heard this was your bromide.”
“It’s my bromide calendar. When I was younger, I was tempted to become famous, so I ended up doing it…
It’s embarrassing, so look at it in secret later.”
“The calendar? Ah, this is from 10 years ago. The calendar…”
“Yes, just focus on the pictures.”
“Hmm?”
When Izolde opened the calendar, she found portraits of various gardening activities. It was a series of photos showing gardeners potting special plants.
“Ah! This is too suggestive.”
“…What?”
“Especially those saplings and roots. Oh, so suggestive and sinister. This is so inappropriate for a minor…”
“……”
Many of the male students’ shoulders drooped.
So, this is what she meant by giving away her naughty bromide?
“Does the calendar have a portrait of the instructor?”
“Yes. But it’s a secret who I am in the pictures…”
“……”
At this point, students who had been interested in signing up for chemistry probably backed out.
Izolde scoffed and passed the bromide calendar to the surrounding students.
The male students gathered around, expecting to find something inappropriate, but to their surprise, all the pictures were just gardening scenes—watering plants, pruning branches, and grafting plants.
“Seriously, how much does she love gardening to make a calendar about it?”
“Oh, my mom loves it too.”
The upper-class students continued flipping through the calendar, muttering to themselves.
Despite their efforts, they couldn’t find any scandalous images of the Dryad.
“Now, everyone. Let’s start with basic extraction magic for alchemy.”
Nylia, somewhat disappointed that not many students had signed up for chemistry, began the lesson. She held out a small lettuce root.
“Extraction magic helps you draw out the active ingredients from medicinal plants more effectively. For example, do you know what this leaf is?”
“Lettuce?”
“…Huh? San-chue?”
“Ah, no…”
Idnia, embarrassed, had spoken in Korean by mistake.
At that moment, as if to mock Idnia, Izolde Polchen raised her hand.
“It’s Romaine lettuce.”
“Yes, it is. It’s a vegetable. Did you know that this vegetable has a sleep-inducing effect?”
“Really?”
The students were curious. They had never seen anyone fall asleep just from eating lettuce. If such vegetables had such effects, people would probably be falling asleep on their way home from eating.
“Haha. Actually, there’s so little of the active ingredient in it that it’s virtually impossible to put someone to sleep with it.”
“Then let’s use extraction magic.”
With a wave of her hand, the active ingredients from the Romaine lettuce were extracted, forming a single drop of gleaming liquid.
She called over the nearest student, Atos, who wore a rapier in his uniform as he admired the Cardinals’ elite guard.
“Here, student. Try this.”
“Uh?”
Atos blinked.
“Wait, you’re a Dryad. But is it okay to eat a plant in front of you?”
“Ah, do you think eating plants would upset a Dryad? If that were the case, wouldn’t all the Dryads go around killing herbivores in the forests first? It’s fine, go ahead and eat it.”
Atos hesitated but reluctantly ate the Romaine leaf with the active ingredient.
The moment he did, his eyes glazed over.
“Ugh… zzz.”
Atos started to fall asleep on his feet, unable to control the overpowering drowsiness.
“This is what happens. Now, wake up.”
Nylia shook Atos awake, and when he regained consciousness, he marveled.
“Wow. That’s amazing. I couldn’t resist the sleepiness…”
“Right? Haha. Today’s assignment is to extract active ingredients from herbs and fill these bottles with them using extraction magic.”
Before that, I’ll teach you the incantation.”
‘Yong chuulhara!’
‘…I knew it. It’s in Korean.’
Idnia smiled wryly as she recognized the incantation in Korean.
