Chapter 43: The Test is Over, and Alchemy Class

Lion Heart laughed at my face again. He seemed to enjoy seeing me scared.

"Relax, I’m just joking. I’ll talk with Frederic, and then let the Hunter Society know about the test. You should get your temporary badge by tomorrow."

"Finally I can leave this academy," I said.

It wasn’t because staying in the academy to learn was boring. It was actually nice to have that structure. The problem was that Bob eventually would need to devour monster crystals, so I had to have a way to leave the academy and go get them.

Last time, exploring the nearby rifts only happened because I had Ethan’s help. I didn’t want to keep relying on him to do my own things.

Anyway, before I left the room, though, I decided to talk with Lion Heart about something else. He looked trustworthy enough for me to share that.

"Do you think they can hear what we’re talking about in this room?" I said.

Lion Heart gave me a thumbs up. That was a problem. I wanted to talk to him about Frederic and his vampire friend.

So I just gestured for him to know we could talk about it later.

We left the room together without saying anything. Once we stepped out of the underground area, Frederic was right there waiting for us.

"So?" Frederic asked. "Did he pass the test?"

"He did," Lion Heart said. "I’ll go speak with the Hunter Society about this."

Frederic slightly bowed his head and let Lion Heart go. He might be the academy’s principal, but S-Rank Hunters were the big dogs. People had to respect them, especially Lion Heart, since he was among the best of the best.

The students watched him as he walked through the courtyard, heading toward the area where his private plane was. He wasn’t using his ability anymore, so some students didn’t even recognize it was him. That was funny.

I went back to class. Dorian was still testing everyone. Almost done, though. Zeph was up again. He looked at me with rage-filled eyes but didn’t say a word. I already knew the bastard would try something. These people just couldn’t lose, it seemed.

Professor Dorian came over to have a chat with me, pausing the test for a moment.

"Did you actually pass the test?" he asked.

"I did," I said. "My temporary badge should come tomorrow."

"Impressive, honestly. Also, I want to talk to you about something after class."

I waited until the tests were over to talk to Dorian. Brian, Selena’s brother, didn’t look too happy that I’d actually become a temporary C-Rank Hunter.

"How did you get so strong so fast? You already passed me."

It was like he was pissed his sister was looking up to me instead of him.

"Just luck, bro. I know you can reach it too, just train harder."

Train harder. Classic bullshit. I was growing strong fast because of my good primordial slime friend, Bob.

Dorian pulled me aside to talk.

"I’ll be sending some students on a mission into the rift next week. What do you think about being their leader? You’re the best one among the new students."

The way he talked to me, treated me, felt way different now. Was he being softer because I almost died inside the Unstable Rift, or was it because I was actually stronger than the rest? No idea.

"How big will the teams be?" I asked him.

"Three. I’m thinking of setting you up as the leader, with Ethan and Tom. Then Camille as another leader for Selena and Brian. These are your friends, right?"

"Yeah. What about the other students?"

"I’ll have second year students as their team leaders," Dorian said.

Things were looking pretty good. Sure, some problems were still chasing me, like Frederic being weird, vampires, and that bastard Zeph who would definitely pull something, but hey, I had to see the good things when they came. No reason to only think about the bad.

Now that I could go out on missions to explore the rifts, I’d gain monster crystals to keep growing stronger, and make Bob happy too. Who knows when the tiny slime would get enraged again.

"Okay, sure. I’ll be the team leader," I said.

"Great."

We left the gymnasium for a quick lunch break. In the afternoon, there would be a new class with a professor I hadn’t met yet. It was about herbs and stuff. Probably about making potions that could heal us.

Ethan and Tom were with me in the canteen grabbing lunch.

"You’ll be our team leader? No way," Ethan complained. "Tom, you won’t believe the things I know about him..."

"Shut up!"

Ethan didn’t know shit. The guy was just trying to act mysterious because we shared the dorm.

After lunch, we rested outside in the small park in the middle of the academy. The spot was known to all students who wanted a nap. It had benches, soft grass, lots of trees, and silence. Everyone respected the vibe, so no one screamed or acted insane during nap time.

Some students went back to their dorms to nap too.

Around 1 pm we headed to the greenhouse where our class would take place. All the first-year students were there.

Selena and Brian had already taken that class, so they weren’t there. Camille wasn’t either.

The teacher was different from all the others I’d met — a woman. She wore linen shorts with a shirt that was pretty... revealing. Honestly, I was kind of aroused by it.

"Y’all can call me Bree. I’m here to teach you how to identify herbs, whether they’re useful to grab during your rift runs or dangerous since some might be poisonous."

"In future classes, I’ll also teach you how to actually make useful potions, but that’s later. For now, let’s focus on identifying herbs and learning about their properties."

The class was pretty interesting. I paid close attention, trying to remember everything I could.

At one point, Bree wanted to demonstrate a poisonous herb.

"I have the antidote for it, so you won’t suffer much damage. It’s just to show how dangerous some herbs can be."

She then chose someone to participate in the demonstration, and of course, it had to be me. I didn’t want to go.

"You," she said. "The boy who survived the rift. Come forward."

Damn it. My reputation was the reason she picked me, apparently.

I went forward, standing next to her while everyone else stared at us. She held a dark green herb in her hands.

"This one can burn the skin, so it’s not just about not eating the wrong herb. Even touching them can cause serious harm because of the toxin."

Bree looked at me and said, "This might hurt a little, but don’t be scared. I have the antidote here that will nullify the toxin in your skin."

I simply nodded, not worried about that tiny herb at all. She moved it toward my right forearm, and when it touched my body... nothing happened.

I knew that would happen. My body had decent toxin resistance now after getting the Primordial Serpent bloodline, so that low-grade herb couldn’t affect me.

Bree frowned, puzzled by what she saw. The students had the same question in their minds.

"Why isn’t it working?"