Chapter 233 – Introduction to Alchemy

The young witches: “…”

Two to three hundred years sounded like a lot, but the Academy’s library collection had a certain degree of lag!

The inherited knowledge of witches in all fields had already been systematically researched and compiled back in the era when Lady Traci was active.

Most of the Academy’s collection dated from that period.

After that, new magical inheritances appeared exceedingly rarely.

And even when they did, any witch capable of developing new magic wouldn’t be weak. With greater strength came longer lifespans, so they weren’t necessarily dead yet.

Thus, new magic books added to the library were extremely scarce—there might not even be one in several decades.

How many new Alchemy Magic circle inheritance books could have appeared in that time?

How was what Mo Lan had done any different from having read basically all the alchemy books?

Truly, every so often she would shock them anew, constantly shattering their understanding of what was possible.

“Wait—Rune Eye, right?” Sylph flipped through 《The Witch Magic Catalog》 and found the description of this spell. “Isn’t this Human Body Alchemy Magic? Don’t you have to be able to draw runes in midair with mana before you can learn it?”

The other young witches hadn’t taken the elective in alchemy theory, so they didn’t understand Human Body Alchemy Magic or drawing runes in midair with mana. But Sylph and Vasida certainly did.

“So you can already draw runes in midair with mana?” Vasida asked in disbelief.

Mo Lan waved her hand dismissively. “I took a shortcut this time. I only practiced the single ‘Reveal’ rune needed for Rune Eye. It hardly counts as mastering mana-based rune drawing.”

Though Mo Lan said this, Sylph and Vasida both knew—if she could draw the “Reveal” rune, could the other runes be far behind?

They had originally thought that Mo Lan’s understanding of individual runes would require her to take many more detours than them, and that with her spending all this time studying Elemental Magic, she might fall a step behind them in alchemy.

They hadn’t expected that, without anyone noticing, she’d gotten ahead of them once again.

Sylph and Vasida felt both defeated and admiring, and privately redoubled their study efforts.

“Everyone’s here? Then please take your seats!” Lady Amisha had arrived at some point without anyone noticing.

The young witches stopped chatting and sat down.

Lady Amisha crooked a finger, and a small door at the back of the classroom opened. A number of items floated out and landed on the young witches’ desks.

The spacious desks were now one-third occupied by these materials and tools.

Mo Lan glanced over them—wooden boards, paper, ink and brushes, and small carving knives.

They weren’t even magical materials. Just ordinary supplies.

Seeing this, she already had a good idea of what was coming.

Sure enough, she heard Lady Amisha say:

“Alchemy Magic is different from other magic—talent is extremely important. Without sufficient talent, you won’t be able to understand or draw even slightly complex rune combinations.

So this course has different learning objectives from your other classes. It doesn’t require you to learn how to study alchemy in depth. I’ll only teach you how to make simple low-level magical items based on alchemy blueprints, to make your daily lives more convenient.

This way, your alchemy talent won’t go entirely to waste.

In class, I will teach you how to craft seven types of magical items: low-level golden bird stationery, magical clocks, magical stoves, magical lamps, magical seals, invisibility cushions, and constant-temperature magic circles.

These are all things you’ll find useful in the future. I hope that those of you with lower alchemy talent won’t slack off in this class because of it.

If you can’t learn to make them at the Academy, you’ll have to pay someone else to make them for you later.”

Most of the young witches already knew the situation. Even with poor alchemy talent, being able to make small items for personal use was worthwhile, so they all nodded.

After making sure the young witches were paying attention, Amisha began the formal lesson:

“In crafting magical items, drawing runes is the most important step.

Generally, you first study individual runes, understand them, then begin practicing rune drawing, and only after that do you craft magical items.

We’ll skip ahead and start directly from rune drawing.

There are generally three methods of rune drawing: carving with a knife, drawing with ink and brush, and drawing with magical power.

Only those who have excelled at individual runes could possibly start with mana-based drawing…” As Amisha said this, the young witches all turned to look at Mo Lan.

There happened to be one such person right here who excelled at individual runes!

Amisha, not understanding why, continued the lesson:

“…Beginners, even those with exceptional alchemy talent, will find it very difficult to master mana-based drawing from the start. You must begin with the first two methods and gradually train your magical power to obey.

When a carving knife cuts a rune, the groove it leaves helps to gather and stabilize the magical power as it converts into runic force.

Once you’ve learned to gather and stabilize magical power, you move on to drawing runes with ink and brush, channeling magical power along the ink strokes to master the direction of magical power flow.

Only after that can you attempt to draw runes directly in midair using magical power…”

The young witches turned in unison to look at Mo Lan again.

Amisha looked bewildered. “Why do you all keep looking at Moira?”

The young witches looked at Mo Lan and said nothing.

Amisha: “Moira, you explain!”

“Probably because I’ve learned Rune Eye?” Mo Lan said. “But I really can only draw the single ‘Reveal’ rune with mana! And it took me several hours of practice before the runic force would cooperate!”

“???”

“Rune Eye?”

Amisha wore the same shocked expression that Sylph and Vasida had displayed earlier:

“Your individual runes…”

Mo Lan hurried to say, “I haven’t fully mastered them yet! I just worked through the ‘Reveal’ rune ahead of time, that’s all.”

“Phew—” Amisha let out a breath of relief. Good, not too outrageously monstrous.

“Alright, let’s continue the lesson.

If you’re not pursuing advanced study of Alchemy Magic, it doesn’t much matter whether you learn to draw runes with magical power or not.

You only need to master carving knife and ink-assisted drawing.

The former is used on materials convenient for carving, like wood and stone. The latter is used on materials not convenient for carving, like metal and paper.

However, whether using a carving knife or ink, you must first practice on wooden boards.

Everyone, please open your textbooks to the low-level golden bird stationery alchemy blueprint, pick up your carving knives, and practice carving the rune combination shown in the blueprint onto the wooden boards!

Take care—the cuts must not be too deep or too shallow, neither too thick nor too thin.

You may take your time and carve carefully. Don’t rush. If you have any questions, raise your hand.”

The young witches picked up their carving knives as instructed.

Low-level golden bird stationery only needed the basic function of being carried by a golden bird and traveling through the Elemental Plane. The rune combination was extremely simple—just two runes in total.

The nesting method was also the simplest kind.

Tracing the pattern was easy enough, but carving it to meet the requirements was no simple task for young witches who had never studied carving before.

The rate of ruined wooden boards shot up in a straight line.

But for Mo Lan, this was no great challenge.

After ruining only three small wooden boards, she carved a golden bird stationery rune combination that met the requirements.

Mo Lan looked left and right, spotted Lady Amisha patrolling between the seats to give guidance, and raised her hand, waving it frantically.