Chapter 12 Lesson

Ten days passed in a flash, and it was the day that Mr. Clark had mentioned for the class.

Benjamin got up early today on purpose. After eating, he followed the instructions in the admission handbook and walked towards the alchemy workshop.

The alchemy workshop of Norn College is located in a relatively remote corner of the college area. It does not have the eye-catching appearance of a tall tower. Instead, it appears low and heavy, like a solid fortress rooted in the earth.

The outer walls are composed of a dark rock engraved with elemental runes.

Walking into the workshop, the interior space is spacious and the air is filled with a mixture of the smell of metals, ores, plants, and various strange chemical reactions. It smells a bit strange, but not pungent.

Seeing that it was still early for the class time as announced, Benjamin simply started wandering around inside.

The interior structure of the workshop is complex, like a huge beehive, consisting of countless rooms and corridors of different sizes.

There are warehouses filled with raw materials, high-temperature furnace areas, potion preparation areas filled with distillation equipment and test tubes, and a large number of basic and advanced experimental areas.

Their first class was held in a spacious basic alchemy laboratory on the east side of the workshop.

The entire laboratory is made of silver-white metal walls, and is filled with dozens of sturdy workbenches. Above each workbench is an adjustable magic lighting device, as well as a set of fixed metal clamps and an exhaust chimney.

After Benjamin walked into the basic alchemy laboratory, he was somewhat surprised to find that there were quite a few people inside.

However, judging from the badges on these people's robes, the only real alchemy apprentices were Benjamin, Amy, and another male apprentice who looked a little arrogant.

The badges on the others showed that they were all apprentices from other schools. Benjamin even saw a talented apprentice who had passed the ninth level of soul purity in the qualification test and was directly accepted as a disciple by the soul department mentor.

The other apprentices seemed surprised by the other party's appearance as well, and a group of people were surrounding the genius.

Benjamin had no intention of joining in, but instead found a more secluded spot against the wall.

What surprised him was that Amy was here too.

"You're not with those people?" Benjamin sounded a little surprised.

Occasionally, when he met Amy in the cafeteria these days, they would communicate with each other, and he also confirmed that this girl was indeed a sociable person.

No matter what kind of personality the other person has, she can always find a suitable way to communicate, which even made Benjamin wonder if this girl has any relevant supernatural powers.

Amy greeted Benjamin and casually spread her hands after hearing his question: "On the contrary, I don't think now is a good time to make friends. If I go up now, I can only serve as a background at best."

Jieming nodded noncommittally. After all, the other party was the expert in this field, and he really had no right to point fingers:

"Come to think of it, there are only three of us in this year's alchemy series. What do the rest of these people do?"

"Of course, they're here to learn alchemy, but it's just an elective for them. As far as I know, besides this Soul-focused genius, the ninth-level talent of the Augusta family's eldest daughter and the eighth-level talent of the Horn family also seem to have chosen other logistics-focused schools as electives."

“I can actually take this elective…”

Benjamin looked at the genius with the ninth level of soul purity and recalled what Wizard Jack had said to him.

It seems that the Logistics Department is indeed the orthodox department of the Noren Workshop. Even if these geniuses choose the Combat Department, they will be arranged to study in the Logistics Department.

As for the fact that these top geniuses were given special care, Benjamin understood it very well. Although Wizard Jack said that a wizard's talent was not important, he knew better after having experienced the introductory method of meditation that having a good talent could make one ahead of others at the beginning.

When it comes to cultivation, if you are quick at every step, only a few can truly make a comeback.

"I'm so envious! I wish I could also take courses from other schools." Benjamin sighed.

Although alchemy is already very suitable for his needs, it would definitely be more suitable if it could be combined with potions or runes.

"If you want to take electives, that's fine." Amy looked at Benjamin. "Our alchemy course has classes every five days, and the rest of the time is free for you to spend as you please. So as long as you complete the course assignments assigned by the teacher and pay a few points, you can go to other different schools to study."

"Oh? The admissions handbook doesn't mention anything like that." Benjamin's eyes lit up. "How much do the points for taking other courses cost?"

"Not much. I heard that the basic knowledge of each school in the Logistics Department only costs five points, but teaching aids and other things need to be purchased separately..."

The two stopped talking shortly after because, without them noticing, their mentor Clark was already standing in front of the podium.

He still had the same stereotypical appearance of a bald head and a monocle, and wore an alchemical robe that looked old but was washed to a shine.

Seeing Clark's arrival, the apprentices surrounding the ninth-level soul talent fell silent and hurriedly found the nearest experimental table to stand on like quails.

"Welcome to alchemy, one of the most stable and foundational subjects in Nolen Academy." Instructor Clark didn't care about the reactions of the apprentices below at all. His tone was calm and unhurried.

"Here, you will learn the core of alchemy—understanding, decomposition, and reconstruction."

"Understanding is the recognition of the essence of matter, analyzing its elemental composition and energy properties. Decomposition is breaking matter down into its fundamental units. Reconstruction is the use of mental force to guide energy and matter according to your will, reshaping them into new forms or giving them new properties."

Instructor Clark's gaze swept over every apprentice present, his tone becoming serious. "Alchemy requires extremely high mental strength. Your mental strength is your strongest tool. The precision of your mental control determines the upper limit of your alchemy."

He walked over to a small operating table next to the podium, on which sat a rather heavy-looking, irregular block of golden metal.

"You've probably all already reviewed basic alchemy, so there's no need to waste time. Today, our first lesson is basic shaping," Instructor Clark said calmly. "This is one of the most fundamental practices in alchemy, controlling the form of an object through mental power. We'll be practicing with gold."

Hearing the word "gold", some apprentices showed expressions of surprise or excitement on their faces.

In the mortal world, gold is an extremely precious hard currency.

Mentor Clark seemed to see through their thoughts and explained coldly, "Gold is not rare in the wizarding world. With control over several planes, we have countless ways to obtain this metal. Even once your alchemy skills reach a certain level, you can use other substances to transform them into gold."

"Compared to other metals, gold is more stable and has a single composition, making it easier to analyze using alchemy. Although it is more repellent to mental energy and more difficult to control, this repulsion also means that even if you fail, it won't trigger a violent energy reaction, explode, or produce toxic gases. At most, the material will be damaged or distorted. It is the most suitable and safest practice material for beginners."

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(End of this chapter)