Chapter 247: Trial [1]

Chapter 246

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Episode 62 - Trial [1]

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"A-are you perhaps a... A-a masochist?"

"....?!"

’What the hell...’

I had heard that some people could misunderstand a simple word and turn it into something much bigger.

The thoughts of these people were usually strange, perhaps because they would hear a single word and assume it meant something else.

Thus, Clementine looked at me with far too many emotions, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

I had no idea how many thoughts had crossed her mind in less than a second after misinterpreting my words.

"Hey, no, wait a second."

I took a step forward, but she suddenly backed away warily.

"...?"

Noticing this, I stopped dead in my tracks and raised both hands as if I were in the middle of a robbery.

"W-wait a second. Whatever you thought, you’re completely wrong. Believe me, you misunderstood me."

".....?"

Even so, when I took another step, she slowly backed away.

’T-this is... frustrating.’

Normally, I wouldn’t have cared if she had misunderstood my words, since I didn’t care about other people’s opinions or the way they looked at me.

Even so, for some reason, I couldn’t let her leave with this misunderstanding.

For some reason, I felt a chill run down my spine.

So, to avoid wasting too much time on this misunderstanding...

Whoosh!

I appeared in front of Clementine and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Listen, whatever you thought, it was a huge misunderstanding. I wasn’t referring to... that or whatever you’re thinking. I simply..."

Before I could continue, she said:

"N-no, I-I... I’m not going to judge you. Besides, I’ll keep it a secret... so, could we just end this here, please?"

".....?!"

I let out a sigh, feeling a strange migraine coming on.

"Fine, then listen carefully."

Clementine nodded as sweat beaded across her forehead, staring at me with trembling lips.

"When I said to hit me, I meant that the fight was going to start, not that I wanted you to hit me for the sheer pleasure of it."

She nodded carefully.

"Please adjust your line of thinking according to the main objective we had: a fight to test your skills. Understood?"

She nodded a second time without saying a word.

I briefly glanced at her emotions before releasing her shoulders.

"Aah, from now on, whenever I say something, don’t overthink it; otherwise, I’ll have to do something to you."

At that moment, Clementine quickly backed away and wrapped her arms around her chest.

"W-what does that mean... D-do something to me... y-you’re talking a-about that..."

"...?!"

’Aah, damn it.’

***

Five weeks had passed since the beginning of the first year’s second semester.

For a month and a week, life at the Academy had naturally been difficult.

Especially because of the enormous number of misunderstandings I had with Clementine.

Every day, I had to make sure she didn’t misinterpret something I said, only to approach her and clarify what I meant.

However, she wasn’t the type of person to spread gossip.

So, in the end, I stopped keeping an eye on her.

On the other hand, the practical classes had become extremely intense, and day after day, the cadets returned to the dormitories simply to sleep.

Seeing this, the second-year cadets couldn’t help but smile.

Aside from that, I also had several sparring sessions with Lumina, during which I finally created the First Stance of my Martial Art.

Now, I was beginning work on the Second Stance, where I would implement the concepts of Time and Space.

Tap! Tap!

Walking through the Academy’s hallways, I was currently heading toward Professor Lunia’s office from the Alchemy class.

Although she had called me in for a training session and to test the improvements I had made in Alchemy, there was also a second purpose.

’Today is the day, right?’

According to my memories, some villains whom Director Bernice had yet to apprehend would make a move to kidnap Professor Lunia if possible. However, if that wasn’t possible, they would kill her in her own office.

Although Professor Lunia had a bodyguard assigned to her by Director Bernice without her knowledge, somehow, that bodyguard would be isolated inside a Zone of Isolation.

Thus, my goal today was to prevent that from happening and arrest the villains.

I wasn’t going to kill them because they could be interrogated for information that might reveal the identities of the other villains infiltrating the Academy.

’In any case, they’re Class 5 villains, along with their leader, who’s Class 6.’

Since I had increased my strength by using the Golden Elixir a month ago, I could now deal with a Class 6 villain quite easily.

My stats, which had been elevated to the Eight-Star level thanks to my Divine Body, gave me an overwhelming advantage against enemies who were barely one rank above me.

Knock! Knock!

I knocked on Professor Lunia’s office door. Shortly afterward, she said:

"Come in, dear."

"...."

I opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind me.

Then I took a seat at a table covered with potion bottles and various other things.

Professor Lunia was making a potion at the time. She seemed completely focused on it, but then she said:

"You took a while, dear."

"Professor... no, Master, I’ve told you not to call me that. It sounds weird."

It’s not like I was married to her or anything that would warrant her calling me that.

Besides, she was my Master in Alchemy.

Which made the way she addressed me sound even stranger.

’Aah, don’t even get me started on the first day I attended her class.’

Remembering that moment sent a strange shiver down my spine.

"You said it yourself. I’m your Master and, to a certain extent, something similar to a family member, so I’ll call you whatever I want."

’No, that’s... pretty weird.’

I mean, you could call the relationship between a Master and their disciple a family-like relationship.

The relationship itself might be close, but the word family carried an entirely different meaning.

"Then, let’s begin."

I asked as she poured several liquids into a bottle and then used Mana to mix them together.

After a minute, she finally finished and said:

"Now we can begin."

Within a few minutes, the table was cleared and then covered once again with a variety of glass bottles and potion-making ingredients.

After arranging everything, the professor said:

"The objective this time is to create an Advanced-Quality Potion and then reverse its creation while preserving its ingredients as much as possible."

This was known as ’Potion Recreation Relativity’, which involved naturally creating a potion using its ingredients.

However, given the situation, you needed a specific potion.

And those ingredients had been used to create a different potion.

Potion Recreation Relativity was used to reverse the potion’s creation process.

And, ultimately, you would obtain its ingredients once again. Of course, they would have fewer effects than they had before being used.

However, in an emergency, this formula could be applied to recreate an entirely different potion.

Thus, I began creating the potion.

It was a poison potion known as the Twenty-Eight Poisons.

After a few minutes, I finally finished creating it.

A sharp, acidic aroma wafted from inside the bottle.

’I’m immune to poisons, so I can drink it.’

Although I was curious to test my poison immunity, Professor Lunia was present, so I put that curiosity aside for later.

"Now reverse the creation process and recreate the new potion."

Using Potion Recreation Relativity, I manipulated the Mana in a different way.

The process was arduous and tedious, but after thirty minutes, I managed to extract the ingredients. Now, the bottle contained nothing but water.

Meanwhile, floating above the palm of my hand were several different liquids, each one being the essence of one of the ingredients that had been used.

Thus, I began creating the antidote that counteracted the effects of the Twenty-Eight Poisons.

Ironically, the antidote for this poison was contained within its very own ingredients.

After about three minutes, the new potion was complete.

Clap! Clap!

Professor Lunia applauded as she examined the potion.

"Wow, even though I’ve only known you for a few months, you’ve improved so much that you can even use Potion Recreation Relativity."

I smiled and asked:

"So, we’re done with today’s session, right?"

Professor Lunia nodded slightly.

"Of course. You can leave if you want."

"I’m not in a hurry to leave. I wanted to make a few potions to recover from fatigue."

"Of course. You can take whatever ingredients you need, as long as you don’t use them all up."

I nodded and then went to sit at another table. Afterward, I laid out the ingredients I had gathered and then took a few bottles.

’They should be here by now.’

I extended my senses, and at that moment, I sensed the presence of the bodyguard.

"....."

Then, all of a sudden, his presence vanished into thin air. In that instant, I could feel his Mana moving to attack, but it was already too late.

’If I remember correctly, that’s a Relic, right?’

Using the Zone of Isolation could alert anyone nearby, but the Relic being used concealed the presence of the Zone of Isolation to prevent others from sensing it.

’I’ll make that Relic mine.’

At that instant, multiple presences suddenly appeared out of nowhere inside the office.

Professor Lunia raised her head and looked at those present.

"Who are you?"

She stepped back while gathering her Mana to attack.

However, at that moment...

"...Yes, who are you?"

".....!"

"....?!"

"....!"

"....."

I had appeared right beside the Class 6 villain, causing the others to retreat and attack.

But before they could do anything, their bodies froze. Then, I placed my hand on the leader’s shoulder and released my Inverted Mana.

"¡Aargh...!"

A powerful scream escaped the leader’s mouth as he felt my Inverted Mana tear through his insides.