Chapter 2 The Qualities of an Academic Prodigy

It seemed there was no danger, only his head was in deep thought, taking up some of his energy.

Ivan settled his mind to observe, cautiously staring at the slightly flickering membrane of light, a familiar feeling.

It should be a projected light screen.

The light screen was searching and adapting to something, and after a minute or two, the changing light screen stabilized in his view, and his head felt more relaxed.

"This—"

Looking at the thing so close at hand, Ivan couldn't help but recall a widely known saying, my son has the makings of a Great Emperor, no, it's the young master has the makings of an Academic Prodigy.

"Keep it low-key!"

He murmured softly, forcing himself to calm down.

[Apothecary Skill: lv0(1/10)]

A simple line of text, no other information.

It couldn't be clearer.

Wasn't it just like the interface in games?

Thinking about the earlier changes, he felt it might not necessarily relate to games, the appearance of the panel might just be switched to a model that he could easily understand. Anyway, it should be a good thing.

"Isn't that wrong? I also know the Body Drilling Skill, boxing, sword fighting, horse riding, axe technique, and archery. Why aren't they displayed?"

Ivan immediately thought of the reason. It probably counted from now on, and he needed to practice them again. Glancing at his injured arm, he abandoned the plan to go out and practice swordsmanship and archery.

"Close panel."

He tried issuing the command, and indeed, the membrane of light disappeared.

He called the membrane of light back the next second.

He then tried issuing commands in his mind without speaking aloud, and it worked just as well.

Unfortunately, the panel was too monotonous, and he returned his attention to the apothecary book.

"Looks like I can't hit 999 with one attack; this is going to kill someone with OCD."

Until late at night, the experience bar didn't budge, which unnerved him a bit, but he was too tired and needed to sleep first.

A new day.

Ivan felt refreshed and alert, surprisingly, his injuries had healed significantly overnight, and most of the discomfort in his body had dissipated.

The door opened, accompanied by a slight creak.

Peggy was nearby, tending to potted plants, and put down her scissors upon hearing the noise.

"Good morning, Brother Ivan, aren't you sleeping in a bit more?"

"Good morning Peggy, I slept really well last night."

"Has your injury gotten better?"

"Thanks to Mr. Orio, much better, the injury should heal in about two or three days."

He gave a relaxed answer to his sister's concerned gaze, though he wasn't actually sure of it.

He could see Peggy had deliberately waited near the door just to find out his condition early.

Sure enough, hearing his words, Peggy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I had Madam Kasey prepare breakfast, come quickly after you freshen up, Brother Ivan."

Ivan nodded lightly.

Peggy hurried towards the dining room and couldn't help but add before turning the corner, "Please don't dawdle, the food loses its taste when cold."

"I'll be quick."

Ivan nodded again, watching his sister's satisfied departure, then he rolled his eyes.

The previous self was unreliable.

The Marichadon family had been nobles up to three generations ago; his great-grandfather was a Baron but somehow lost his title. Unlike ordinary civilian families, they maintained three meals a day, occasionally enjoying afternoon tea and supper, although the food wasn't as exquisite and luxurious as that of nobles.

Today was different, his breakfast was special, richer than usual, with bread, smoked fish, eggs, milk, honey, and jam biscuits.

Sean frequently glanced his way, but due to Peggy's authority, he dared not ask for food.

Ivan noticed and found it somewhat amusing, then ate without reservation.

The jam biscuits were sour yet sweet, and the smoked fish had a unique woody and fragrant flavor.

"Madam Kasey, the food is delicious."

"Thank you for the compliment, but don't expect the same breakfast tomorrow. Today was Miss Peggy's special request."

Aunt Kasey was a household employee, currently busy with some chores on the side. She smiled at Ivan's words and then emphasized.

Ivan glanced at his sister involuntarily.

With slight caution, Peggy said, "Dad only left us enough money for daily expenses; we can't buy anything extra."

"I understand, and I'm glad you arranged it this way."

Hearing her words, Ivan decided not to inquire about the medical expenses, preferring to wait for their father's return.

It seemed the previous impression left by his former self was rather poor; he would slowly have to change their views.

Peggy felt the atmosphere at the dining table was a bit stiff and spoke up, "Brother Ivan, have you started learning the Breathing Method? I might need to prepare more food for you."

Knights practiced a type of Breathing Method that extracted the Breath of Life. Because it increases the body's consumption, they needed to eat more food daily.

Ivan said, "I need to wait until my injuries have healed."

Typically, one could start practicing the Knight Breathing Method at the age of 13, but his father clearly didn't plan to teach him the family's Breathing Method, intending for him to learn swordsmanship at the Swordsmanship Hall instead. His former self was unwilling and had been procrastinating.

Now, Ivan had other ideas.

Peggy earnestly said, "You study well, and I'll prepare the food for you."

"Hmm."

Ivan didn't refuse.

At that moment, Sean suddenly looked up, staring blankly at Ivan.

His actions caught the attention of the siblings.

Sean's face formed an ugly smile as he said, "I have one good news and one bad news, Brother Ivan, which one would you like to hear first?"

Peggy, who knew him well, understood that this was Sean's attitude after causing trouble.

Peggy said, "Out with it, what bad thing have you done now?"

Sean moved his butt forward half an inch, preparing to run away, and said, "Dad left a message for Ivan before he left. He had asked that grumpy old man to let Ivan visit the clinic the day after tomorrow to learn how to become a Pharmacist from him."

Peggy immediately understood that her brother had delayed conveying the message by a full four days, causing their brother to miss an important opportunity.

"Holy Mother above." Her eyes widened as she exclaimed loudly, "Sean, look what you've done."

"I just forgot."

By the time Peggy was ready to make a move, Sean had already darted behind a chair.

On the other side of the dining table, Ivan's face darkened; that child really knew how to cause trouble.

No wonder Old Orio was so aggressive yesterday!

He had just acquired the membrane of light ability and was contemplating how to go to the clinic to study and further explore his abilities when he discovered a betrayal from his brother.

Thinking of the pain he had experienced the previous day, he stepped in front of the exit and looked at his brother seriously and asked:

"Sean, do you know what 'the fist of love' means?"

...

Two days passed.

Early in the morning, Ivan arrived at the end of the street, where the clinic's door was firmly closed.

'Bat Gaze'

The name of the clinic probably meant that, no, it should be 'Bat's Eyes'.

He noticed the wooden nameplate above the clinic, written in ancient Vandali script, a strange name that strangely suited Old Orio.

Huh?

He sensed something and muttered 'Academic Prodigy' silently in his mind.

[Apothecary Skill: lv0(3/10)]

[Linguistics Skill: lv0(1/10)]

The panel he named 'Academic Prodigy' appeared, showing a new subject that puzzled him when he looked at it.

The past two days, he had tried swordsmanship, archery, and others; he should have a solid foundation, yet the panel hadn't changed. Conversely, today it appeared without intention, introducing a new subject.

Could it be that it depends on the potential of the subject, and those with shallow potential don't get recorded?

"Coming so late, did you expect me to come and invite you myself?"

At that moment, Old Orio emerged from around the corner of the street, his face stern.

Ivan silently muttered to close it, and the membrane of light disappeared.

He had previously shown it to his sister, brother, and Aunt Kasey; no one else could see his Academic Prodigy panel, so it likely only existed in his own sight.

"Good morning, Mr. Orio. I feel like I am almost healed."

Owing the man for medical treatment, he didn't mind Mr. Orio's attitude.

Because of Sean's mistake, another issue still existed between them, but he didn't plan to explain anything. Since Mr. Orio was famously cranky, over the years, no one who wanted to apprentice succeeded; there must be a reason.

His plan was to start with menial work and see how things go from there.

Hearing his words, Mr. Orio shifted his attention to the illness and quickly opened the clinic door.

"You're far from healed, the poison is the hardest to completely clear out. What are you standing there for, come here and let me have a look."

Inside the clinic, Ivan nervously extended his arm, unwrapped the cloth around it, and revealed a scabbed wound. The original purple-brown bulge had vanished, replaced by minor swelling with several dark spots in the center.

The dark spots confirmed Mr. Orio's words; some poison was still left.

"Thud."

His arm unsuspectedly received a heavy punch, right at the site of the wound, and the pain you can imagine was intense.

Ivan stared at him wide-eyed.

"Need to break it up first, to squeeze it out easier."

Mr. Orio ignored his look, applied some medical oil, skillfully poked a few small holes, squeezed out the poisoned blood, cleaned it, applied ointment, and bandaged it—a fluid completion of everything.

After bandaging, he pointed at a table and said, "Clean up well. You now owe me 3 Gold Coins, so make yourself useful around the shop."

Hearing this, Ivan silently started to clean up.

Over the past two days, his memory seemed to have enhanced compared to his previous life; he had memorized the medical book.

It only increased his experience by 2 points; reading it further wouldn't increase it anymore.

If he wanted to increase his experience points, staying in the clinic was certainly important.

Thus, he was motivated to work.

Seeing him tidy up around the place with injuries and not shirk, Mr. Orio didn't say anything, but his gaze softened; he had heard about his stubborn nature before.

The clinic wasn't very big, just a shop facing the street. On the left inside the shop were several rows of medicine shelves with various bottles, jars, boxes, and other items scattered about.

In front of the medicine shelves was a consultation table where Mr. Orio usually saw patients, and on one side against the wall was a workbench with various tools on it.

On the right side of the shop, there was a cleaning station that could be separated by a curtain.

Behind the shop was a room split into two halves: one side was a storeroom and the other was his apothecary lab.

Mr. Orio, wary of him being a novice, hesitated to let him handle much, so there actually wasn't much menial work.

Seeing him wander around idly while appearing lazy.

Mr. Orio suddenly commanded, "Fetch 2 ounces of chilli pepper grain."

Ivan paused for a moment, there was no one else here, he was definitely giving the order to him.

Was this a trial or a test?