Sid's gaze was so intense that Yun Wei swallowed hard in fear.
He recalled for the first time the fear of being dominated by complex textbook knowledge.
Just then, he noticed two more pairs of eyes lightly falling on him.
He was used to the resentful look from Isaac.
The other one was cool...
Yun Wei calmly looked back into the past, only to see the Great Justice of Bethlehem smiling at him, a smile that was exceptionally dignified.
The other party truly lives up to his reputation as a duke from the most skilled brewing territory on the Zhuyuan Continent; he even has a knack for brewing vinegar.
Yun Wei awkwardly looked away.
He was about to end the current topic when Sid grabbed him and dragged him straight to the alchemy laboratory on the other side.
In his daze, he heard the alchemist beside him instruct the butler, "George, pack two breakfasts and take them to the break room!"
Yun Wei only had time to wave to Isaac, signaling him to relax.
Fortunately, Sid wasn't so ruthless as to take him directly into the alchemy lab.
The two eventually sat down in a small lounge next to the laboratory.
The butler brought him a baked bread roll filled with chestnut puree and blueberry cheese slices for breakfast, and Sid also personally brewed him a cup of hot cocoa tea.
Yun Wei was slowly savoring the breakfast that was quite novel to him.
On the other side, the alchemist, sitting upright, had already put on a pair of exquisite gold-rimmed monocles and was fiddling with the magic crystal plate from before.
With his smooth and effortless movements, the magic crystal panel projected a light screen onto the wall, displaying words in shorthand abbreviations. Sid picked up a quill pen and carefully copied the words into his notebook with ink.
The warm morning light pierced the perpetual haze over Alchemy City, spilling onto the Alchemist Master's fingertips as he held his quiver. The other's handwriting was light and graceful, leaping back and forth at the boundary between light and shadow.
Yun Wei blew on the hot cocoa tea and swallowed the small bread roll in his mouth.
He couldn't help but ask, "Don't you eat breakfast?"
"Wait a minute before you eat," Sid said, not looking up as he was diligently taking notes. "You eat first; I don't have much of an appetite this morning. But, if I may be so bold, I don't think this 'coal' is very useful."
After transcribing all the contents recorded on the magic crystal board, Sid put the quill back into the ink bottle.
He frowned and muttered to himself, "As for heat, drawing a fire elemental array is more controllable and flexible... Can the alloy refined from it be as hard as a weapon made of black iron?"
"As for generating electricity, I am a lightning mage myself, so it's not of much use to me..."
Although he looked at Yun Wei, he was still deep in thought and muttered to himself, "Synthetic diamonds, that's interesting, but I wonder if the output ratio can cover the costs?"
Yun Wei responded with a shy smile.
He would often inadvertently overlook the fact that the Continent of Elements was a world of magic.
Sid spread the notebook out in the sunlight by the window to air it out, and concluded, "However, we still need to conduct in-depth research before we can draw a conclusion."
He picked up his teacup, but then changed the subject, asking, "Claude, how long do you plan to stay in Alchemy City?"
Upon hearing this, Yun Wei immediately sat up straight.
He was about to speak when he heard the other person add, "Ah, don't be nervous. I'd like to invite you to study in my alchemy lab for a while. Don't worry, I'll pay you."
When he finished speaking, the handsome young man laughed and made a joke that had a distinctly Alchemy City feel to it.
Yun Wei waved his hand, but straightened his expression and said seriously, "Thank you for your kind words, Sid. Before that, I must tell you something."
He got up, walked to the door, and closed the slightly ajar door.
Then he walked back to the seated lightning mage.
It was the first time he had spoken to someone other than Isaac in such a condescending manner, so he was inevitably a little nervous.
He didn't know how to start, so he simply reached out and condensed a wisp of necromantic power at his fingertips.
This is the most basic level one magic, "Shape Mimicry." Yun Wei's gaze fell on the dinner knife on the side of the table, and he copied it exactly.
The knife took shape almost instantly.
Yun Wei gently placed the grayish-white bone knife next to the pure silver knife.
Throughout the entire process, the mage in front of him remained calm.
Yun Wei secretly observed Xi De's emerald green eyes, which were now shimmering with a complex and profound depth that he could not understand.
He straightened up and said in a low voice, "Actually, I am a necromancer, and my real name is Yun Wei."
Yun Wei felt a little uneasy.
Necromancers have always been infamous on the continent of Zhuyuan, and after the War of the Dead fifty years ago, they became even more notorious.
The Vatican's arrest warrant for him would be issued to Alchemy City sooner or later, and Yun Wei didn't want to cause them any trouble.
Even though he was unaware of the conflicts between nobles, he knew the other party's current situation.
The marriage alliance with the Grand Duke of Bethlehem signifies that the other party has already been abandoned by the House of Ryukyu.
At the very least, he will have to withdraw from the competition to become the next governor of Alchemy City.
But Sid suddenly burst out laughing.
The other person picked up the knife he had made and carefully compared the serrated edge with the original one.
Sid asked softly, as if joking, "Would you turn me into a skeleton?"
Yun Wei was stunned.
It seemed to be the first time he had ever seen Sid laugh so happily, so happily that it gave him the creeps.
How could he turn Sid into a skeleton?
He replied hesitantly, "Of course not. I have never turned a living person into a skeleton..."
“That’s fine then.” Sid stood up and moved closer to Yun Wei’s face. The two were so close that Yun Wei could see the fine magic patterns on the other’s golden mirror.
"Xi... Xide?" Yun Wei took a half step back in fear.
He couldn't understand the determination in the other party's eyes.
He was almost losing control of the wild thoughts running through his mind.
The only saving grace was that Isaac wasn't there, otherwise he wouldn't know how to explain it.
But the other party's inexplicable request was faintly heard.
Sid said, “Teach me, Yunwei. Teach me the runes of necromancy, and that spell from before.”
The fanatical and confident alchemist finally released his hold on Yun Wei, who slowly and gracefully strolled to the bookshelf to the side.
With each step he took, Yun Wei saw a different colored elemental light in the other's palm.
Yun Wei was quite familiar with this magic trick.
This was the first spellcasting technique he learned after meeting Isaac.
Element conversion was still quite common during the Second Dynasty.
However, Yun Wei would not be surprised at all if Xi De were to master this skill.
The other party's faint voice sounded again, as if sighing: "Water element cannot be compressed, earth element is too stable, and ice element comes with temperature changes."
"Only necromancy is the most suitable for making molds for alchemical tools, whether it is casting or lost-wax casting... In a fraction of a second, you can replicate an exact replica of a dinner knife."
"This necromancy from another dimension is the most suitable auxiliary magic for alchemy in the world."
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