Chapter 18: The Treasure Trove of Waste Paper Piles

Anna's lecture was captivating, offering a clear and engaging introduction to the ancient art of alchemy. Two hours flew by, and Anna left the classroom as energetically as she had entered.

"Alchemy... this seems to align well with the Miracle Furnace," Richard mused, rubbing his chin as he stared at the blackboard. Alchemy covered a broad range, with potions and magical apparatus being the most well-known.

Potions required recipes and extensive practice, both costly in magic stones. Magical apparatus, or as apprentices called them, magical tools, were no different, with spell models and practice materials being equally expensive as potion recipes and ingredients.

However, this wasn't a major hurdle for Richard.

He could compensate for extensive practice through skill extraction, and potion recipes and spell models could be directly extracted as well.

According to Anna, though alchemy was costly, it could also be lucrative. Her alchemy shop in the academy's commercial district earned her nearly a hundred magic stones monthly, even with minimal management.

"The library should have books on alchemy. I'll check them out later," Richard decided.

Leaving the classroom, Ellie tried to drag Richard to the commercial district, her excitement about its vibrancy apparently awakening her shopping instincts.

"No thanks, I'm heading to the library," Richard waved off her invitation, leaving Ellie to stomp her foot in frustration as she watched him walk away.

Returning to the library, Richard found that the fairy librarian, Fina, was absent.

Searching his crystal ball for alchemy books, he stumbled upon a section of books labeled as unknown.

"Unknown? That's intriguing."

Richard located the section housing these unknown books and found several apprentices browsing through them.

"Excuse me, senior, could you tell me what these books labeled as unknown are?" Richard inquired of a young-looking apprentice.

"Oh, a newcomer?" the apprentice replied, surprised. "These are notes from deceased wizards during the Wizard Wars, written in cipher. Only the original wizard could understand them. The principal put them in the library, hoping an apprentice might crack them."

She gestured to the surrounding apprentices. "We're all here hoping for a lucky break."

"I see. Thank you for your help."

Heart pounding, Richard had a bold idea.

He picked up a notebook, the symbols within completely foreign. Instead of attempting to decipher them, Richard used the Miracle Furnace.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Extractable Information: Constitution Enhancement Potion Recipe]

[Extraction Cost: 25 Mental Power]

[Insufficient Mental Power]

"So, these ciphers can be extracted too."

Suppressing his excitement, Richard saw the bookshelves as a potential goldmine.

He replaced the notebook, noting its code number, as he currently lacked the mental power to extract it.

But with so many notebooks, Richard was confident he'd find one he could extract now.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Extractable Information: One Hundred and Thirty-Two Failure Cases]

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Extractable Information: Three Hundred and Forty-Two Diaries]

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Extractable Information: Experiences with Thirty-Two Otherworldly Beings]

As Richard continued to probe with the Miracle Furnace, his initial excitement turned to bemusement.

What were these wizards recording in their notes!

Frustrated, Richard returned the notebook detailing mating experiences and noted its number.

Ahem, don't overthink it.

Richard was simply interested in the biological structure of otherworldly beings.

After much searching, Richard finally found a notebook he could extract.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Extractable Portion: Bloodline Alchemy Recipe]

[Extraction Cost: 15 Mental Power]

[Proceed with Extraction?]

"No."

Richard pressed the crystal ball to the book's number, and a line of text appeared on it following a flash of light.

[Apprentice Richard has borrowed Book n7891, borrowing period three days. Please return to the library to renew. This book is a free book and may be recorded.]

"Free books can be recorded, but I guess those requiring magic stones can't," Richard pondered, rubbing his chin. "I wonder how the academy prevents paid books from leaking, maybe a curse?"

Richard didn't dwell on it; he was a rule-abiding person.

Returning with the notebook to his dorm, Richard chose to extract it. Familiar with the ensuing faintness, he awoke to find the sky darkening.

"Let's see what this Bloodline Alchemy is about."

Absorbing the white light, Richard learned about Bloodline Alchemy.

"It involves integrating other creatures' bloodlines into one's body, accessing their abilities or strength when needed. It's not limited to one creature; Bloodline Alchemy can fuse multiple bloodlines for a synergistic effect."

Recalling Saban, whom he had killed, Richard's mind raced.

Saban's transformation seemed akin to Bloodline Alchemy. Could legendary knights be wizards or wizard apprentices using Bloodline Alchemy?

Rushing to fetch Saban's bracers, Richard compared their contents with the notebook's information. The rhythmic breathing patterns recorded on the bracers matched the notebook's, which referred to them as a breathing method for awakening bloodlines in the first stage of Bloodline Alchemy.

Remembering Saban's visible breath, Richard slapped his thigh.

"Exactly! The essence of legendary knights is Bloodline Alchemy. The tales of their immense strength and unique abilities are just wizards or even apprentices using Bloodline Alchemy."

This discovery thrilled Richard. Eagerly, he headed to the academy library with the notebook.

"Introduction to Alchemy," "Ancient Alchemy," "On the Merits and Drawbacks of Bloodline Alchemy"... Richard gathered book after book on alchemy, forming a plan in his mind.

He envisioned building a comprehensive combat system centered around alchemy.

With wizards' myriad methods, each could be likened to a card in a deck, with corresponding counters. Richard's idea was to use alchemy as the core card to construct his deck.

He now needed to confirm whether alchemy could fulfill this role.

As he delved into each book, absorbing information about alchemy, Richard's understanding broadened, solidifying his resolve to use it as his combat system's foundation.

Magical tools, potions, Bloodline Alchemy, magic formations... Alchemy's breadth and depth made it suitable as a core combat system.

After thoroughly reviewing all borrowed books, Richard exhaled deeply.

A combat system, centered on alchemy and supplemented by various spells, took shape in his mind. He now needed to expand his knowledge to fully develop this framework.

But before that, he needed to accomplish one more thing.

Finding a mentor to learn alchemy.

Requesting continued support.