Surviving As A Mage In A Magic Academy [EN]: Chapter 362

When Yoner arrived at the workshop after getting the call, Ethan was still frowning at the flask.

“Not yet,” he muttered.

“Ethan, let’s eat lunch first,” Yoner said.

“No. There are still some unwanted bits left,” Ethan replied.

“It’s okay if it’s not perfect, just give it here,” Yoner said.

“It won’t be perfect by itself. It needs more work to be finished,” Ethan insisted.

“The person who ordered it says it’s fine, so what…!” Yoner exclaimed.

Yoner was surprised, but Ethan just kept looking at the flask.

Not knowing how to stop him, Yoner sat next to him and watched what he was doing.

Ethan shook the flask, turning it around, and even held it to the flame, concentrating hard.

Yoner remembered what her sister, Yoane, had said about Ethan’s work.

Yoane had praised him for his neat work, saying he was much better than the other assistants and was very happy about it.

Yoane had said that alchemists these days were too impatient and lacked focus, so even the same extraction often had bad results.

If the fire was too strong, the undissolved bits would make the liquid cloudy. If the fire was too weak, the properties would change. It was rare to find an alchemist who could do the work just right.

Remembering this, Yoner felt a little sorry for how she treated Ethan.

But then, she stood up and pulled Ethan out of the workshop.

Yoner didn’t want to encourage the crazy perfectionism of her sister and Ethan.

“Stop it. Let’s eat, then you can work,” she said.

“No! Yoner! Just one more time! If I do it just one more time…!” Ethan pleaded.

“This is *our* workshop, Ethan, not yours!” Yoner said.

Yoner took the workshop key, put it in her pocket, and then pushed Ethan’s back.

During lunch, everyone asked Ethan questions. They were all curious about his skills.

“Ah. I have a question too,” one alchemist said.

“Ask anything,” Ethan replied.

“I’m preparing the ingredients for Dobruk’s Jade Dream Potion, but I’m stuck trying to dissolve Muknyeong Silver into a liquid. There are still some unwanted parts…” the alchemist explained.

“Ah. That’s possible. The Jade Dream Potion is tricky. Is the liquid murky like mud even though you dissolved the silver? Since a wizard’s magic has limits, you need to change the flame. There’s Jade Earth in the workshop, so try changing the fire while sprinkling it,” Ethan advised.

“Thank you. Ah. But it’s silver, not mud-colored,” the alchemist said, surprised.

“Yes? Then it’s dissolved well?” Ethan asked.

“There are a few grains left…” the alchemist admitted.

“That’s fine,” Yoane said.

“No. If I give in and there’s a problem with the potion, it’ll be hard to fix,” Ethan insisted.

The alchemists stared at Yoane.

They seemed to be saying, ‘Isn’t Master Maykin ruining a young wizard?’

Yoane wasn’t bothered by their looks.

If she cared about such things, she wouldn’t be able to run such a workshop with such passion.

‘I told him not to be too obsessed with being perfect and to take it easy, but Wodanaz is too much of a perfectionist,’ Yoane thought.

“By the way, I’m curious about the professors on the street…” Yoane began.

“Ah, Master Maykin. Can I ask about the magic you used when making the test solution earlier? It seemed like solution rotation magic, but it was different,” another alchemist interrupted.

“The magic I used wasn’t solution rotation magic, but magic that reverses it up and down…” Yoane explained.

As Yoane was talking, she realized the topic had changed again.

Before she could say anything, Ethan asked another alchemist a question.

“By the way… gulp. This thing,” Ethan mumbled.

“How can you say that and still eat all the food? Yes. What are you curious about?” the alchemist asked.

After Ethan asked three more questions, all the dishes were empty, and lunchtime was over.

The alchemists got up and stretched.

“Time already…” one said.

“Let’s not take a walk today and start right away,” another added.

“Let’s go. Master Maykin. We need to finish the work we didn’t finish this morning,” someone said.

Yoane followed with a slightly annoyed look.

As the work piled up, Yoane put aside the questions and focused on her work.

Yoner was scared by Yoane’s intense way of making them work.

It was the same in Einrogard, but wasn’t Yoner’s friend someone who wouldn’t even need the law to live right?

Yoner worried that her friend would grab her and summon a water orb.

But Ethan quickly did all the work without complaining, as if he was used to it.

“You worked hard,” Yoane said.

“Thank you,” Ethan replied.

“By the way, you should start getting ready to go back to school soon. Is there any potion you want to learn?” Yoane asked.

Learning how to make potions was not easy.

Of course, the recipes for basic potions could be found in any bookstore.

But the recipes for potions that involved the research of alchemists, like >Dobruk’s Jade Dream Potion>, could not be obtained unless the alchemist allowed it, even with money.

In alchemists’ guilds or workshops, it was even stricter.

The recipes for these potions were secret, and people would be killed if they were copied.

So, it was a big favor that Yoane was teaching Ethan how to make potions at the Maykin family’s workshop.

It didn’t feel like a favor though…

Yoane wanted him to pick one potion that he needed as a student going back to Einrogard for the second semester.

Knowing a useful potion would be helpful when starting school.

Ethan carefully asked, “Are you sure it’s okay?”

The gift was so big that he was worried.

‘Is she going to ask for something in return for the recipe?’ he wondered.

“You’re Yoner’s friend, so I can give you this much. And you’ve done a good job,” Yoane said.

Yoane was sincere.

Compared to other assistants, Ethan deserved the gift.

“Yoner. What potion do you think would be good?” Ethan asked.

“W-Well… Yoane is careful with me about these things too,” Yoner admitted.

She didn’t tell her all the secrets of the workshop, even though she loved her sister.

Business is business.

“I guess we won’t need an invisibility potion with magic items we can use.”

“What about a potion to think faster?”

“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll write it down for now. A potion to hide us or confuse anyone chasing us would be good too.”

“A potion to make our magic stronger might also help.”

“Should I write down a smoke bomb potion to throw at the people chasing us?”

“Lee Han, have you been talking about potions for very specific situations for a while now?”

“Have I?” Lee Han looked puzzled. The potions seemed generally useful to him.

“Can’t you suggest something, sis?”

“You’re leaving it up to me?” Yoaneen smiled. She looked a little surprised, but she seemed to like her younger brother being childish. She thought for a moment.

“A potion to make mana stronger…”

“It’s alright.”

“It’s fine.”

“Okay, then this might be better.” Yoaneen picked up a quill and quickly wrote down the list of ingredients and the recipe.

Neat handwriting quickly filled the white paper.

“Here. Take it.”

“What kind of potion is this?”

“You’ll know when you make it. It uses ingredients that are easy to find, so it won’t be hard.”

“Thank you, Ms. Maykin.” Lee Han took the paper and thought about it. ‘What is it? It seems like it makes something stronger… but it’s not mana enhancement…’

“By the way, can you tell me about the rumor that the professors fought in the street? Now that we’re done, you can take your time…”

“Ah, so that’s what you wanted to know?” That was what Yoaneen seemed to want to ask about earlier. Lee Han got ready to tell the story of the crazy professors.

“Ms. Maykin! You need to come now!! Cauldron number 7 is overflowing!! We’re going to waste all the ingredients!”

“Let’s see each other next time, everyone! Bye!” Yoaneen quickly said goodbye and walked into the workshop after the alchemist.

Lee Han watched Yoaneen walk away. He thought she seemed angry.

“Is she angry?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it, Lee Han. It’s their fault.”

“Ugh… eeeugh…” Nilia groaned as if in pain.

Gaynando asked, worried, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Why did I have to get first place… Sorry, I was thinking. What did you say?” Gaynando glared at his friend and turned away. ‘She’s showing off!’

“Were you all studying?” Lee Han asked. He had just come back from Puyo’s magic wand workshop and was surprised to see his friends in the reception room.

Gaynando held up a textbook to hide a magazine and said, “Yeah.”

“Why is it always open to page one?”

“Alright… have some snacks. More importantly, why is Nilia like that?”

Gaynando took a bite of a cream puff and grumbled, “She’s upset because she got first place.”

“Has the story we talked about at the mansion moved forward?” Lee Han asked, understanding the situation.

Nilia’s idea was very good. It was so good, the Maykin family decided to use it, not just give her first place.

“I thought so…”

“What do you mean you thought so!”

“What’s going on?” Yoner asked, walking in late.

“Are they trying out Nilia’s idea?”

“Yeah. It seems like they’re going to try it out.”

“Wow…”

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“It is amazing.” Lee Han, Yoner, and Raetford looked at Nilia with respect.

Nilia was so nervous that she couldn’t even sleep.

“What if it fails! What am I going to do!”

“The Maykin family has a lot of money, so it doesn’t matter… right?”

“That’s right. It’s okay.”

“If Yoner gets into trouble!”

“He won’t get into trouble. Even if it fails, it’s the fault of the people who chose it.”

Lee Han nodded, agreeing with Yoner’s words.

“If it works, the Maykin family should give something as a thank you.”

“That’s right. I should say something.”

“Stop before I shoot you both.” Nilia’s stomach hurt because her friends were already planning for success.

The Maykin family wasn’t going to blame Nilia or make her do it all herself. The Maykin family’s staff would use Nilia’s idea.

She didn’t need to worry, but she couldn’t stop feeling anxious. ‘If it fails, it’s because of my idea…’

Lee Han asked Yoner when Nilia got too anxious, “If it’s the Maykin family, they would have done well on their own… right?”

“Yeah. Oh, they also said to invite Professor Einroguard.”

“Oh, Nilia. Did you hear? Professor Einroguard is also…”

“Oh? Then I don’t have to take one of his classes next semester?”

“That won’t happen.”

Lee Han listened to Gaynando and Yoner. He paused and thought, ‘Even if we get ready now, the work will start during the semester. Can I leave class whenever I want? Will Headmaster Skull let me?’