The Witcher: Astartes Of The Bear School

Chapter 71: Alchemy Practice

Lan had no idea what expectations Aretuza Academy had for his future. Right now, all he felt was a chill. 

"What kind of warmth does this damn profession bring?" the witcher muttered. "It's too cold!" 

"These coins are too cold!" 

A heavy, even cumbersome, bag of coins flipped up and down in Lan's hands. 

These coins represented the cold, unfeeling laws of profit in this world, the dirty power and influence of the world—but there were just too many of them! 

So much so that even the usually stoic witcher couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as he muttered to himself. 

The weight of the massive coin purse was enough to make even the cold-hearted witcher crack a grin! 1500 orens—though he wasn't sure how it had suddenly become half more than agreed upon, it was a good thing. 

Margarita had given him the cash directly. 

This allowed him to directly interact with the academy's sales and procurement departments. 

The academy itself was a complex entity. If they had let the witcher pick items directly from the reserves, they would have had to set up a special valuation and monitoring position just for him. 

But by letting him "buy" from the units already responsible for sales, they saved a lot of administrative hassle. 

At this moment, Lan had rented a temporary alchemy classroom in Aretuza Academy for 10 orens a day. 

As expected of a magical academy, even the price was high enough to make one bow in admiration. 

"But it's worth it, sir." Mentos reminded Lan in his mind. 

"Alchemy is a technique with fixed procedures. We have the ability to familiarize ourselves with and master it in a very short time, but only if we have the appropriate environment and equipment. Just this alone, the convenience Aretuza provides far exceeds a mere 10 orens." 

"I know, I know... but I'm the one paying, so can't I complain a little?" 

While chatting with his AI, Lan walked toward the alchemy classroom he had booked. 

The room he was assigned to stay in was in a small palace and the lowest level of Thanedd Island, just below Aretuza, known as the Loxia Palace. 

It was lavishly decorated with excellent artistic taste. Rumor had it that even when the academy held grand gatherings and kings or their close associates visited, they were only allowed to tour this level. 

But where Lan was heading now was the teaching area above the Loxia Palace. 

When he arrived at the door of the alchemy classroom, a little girl with brown hair and gray eyes was already waiting there, holding a large package. 

"Good morning, my lord." 

"Arya, I've told you before, I'm not a 'lord'... I don't know where you learned all these troublesome manners." 

Lan shrugged helplessly and took the package from Arya's hands as she dodged slightly. 

Inside were the raw materials for today's alchemy practice. Though the package looked large, most of it was fluffy plant leaves, so it wasn't heavy. 

Of the four who had arrived in Vizima, York had already returned to Crow's Perch to report. 

But Arya, the little girl, had refused to part with Lan. When asked about her hometown or family, she would spout terms no one knew, like "Winterfell" or "Direwolf." 

Margarita, though she preferred pleasure over politics, was still a highly knowledgeable sorceress. Yet even she had no idea what Arya was talking about. 

Seeing the girl so determined to become the protagonist of a knight's tale, Margarita didn't arrange a menial job for her in town, instead letting her serve as Lan's squire. 

Arya seemed to know exactly how to be a good squire—not just any squire, but the kind who served noble knights. 

"As per your request, I've purchased ten ounces of honeysuckle, three bottles of high-purity dwarven spirits, twenty ounces of dried black reed petals..." 

The little girl pulled a note from her pocket, nervously swallowing as she reported item by item. 

Lan felt she was like a new employee on her first day, anxious and excited about performing well. Even if she hadn't seen a witcher or magic before, was this level of excitement necessary? 

Lan sighed. "You don't need to be so nervous. Today's just practice. I don't even know what I'll end up making." 

"Oh, oh, okay, my lord!" 

Lan pursed his lips, pushed open the classroom door, and wondered if this kid might actually be a noble from some distant kingdom who had been teleported here by accident. Her manners weren't just proper—they were downright aristocratic. 

Entering the alchemy classroom felt like stepping back into a chemistry lab from his original world. 

Of course, it was school-level. 

Familiar items like distillation flasks, beakers, measuring cylinders, mortars, and test tube racks were all there. Though glassmaking wasn't widespread in this world, mages always enjoyed the best. 

"Woo-hoo! I feel like my proficiency is already increasing before I've even started, Mentos. Back in high school chemistry class, my precise titration skills were top-notch!" 

Seeing familiar things, Lan couldn't help but feel happy. But Mentos was quick to pour cold water on his enthusiasm. 

"That's your imagination, sir. All practice items this time use roughly processed raw materials, which are vastly different from the precisely purified prefabricated chemicals you used in school." 

Simply Just figuring out the concentration will be enough to drive you crazy. 

Lan didn't mind. He placed the package of raw materials on the table. With a flash of orange light from his Igni Sign, the candles in the alchemy classroom lit up with a 'poof'. 

"Begin practice. Establish project: Potion [Swallow]." Once Lan gave the command, Mentos entered assist mode. 

"Command received. Alchemy assistance initiated. [Swallow] alchemy formula recorded. Procedure..." 

Mentos's perfect memory made Lan's alchemy progress very smoothly. At least, it looked smooth. 

He didn't have the usual confusion of someone entering an unfamiliar experimental setting for the first time. 

To Arya, the observer, the array of oddly shaped glassware was already dizzying, and putting them all together was even worse. But Lan, who was also here for the first time, seemed to memorize the positions of all the equipment at a glance. 

When he needed to use a particular piece of equipment, he didn't lower his head to search or compare. Instead, he reached out, grabbed it, and used it immediately. 

The raw materials in his hands first passed through a small balance for weighing herbs. But this weighing process rarely lasted more than five seconds before the materials were transferred to a mortar or distillation flask. 

Witcher potion formulas were designed for hunting, not as terrifyingly complex as academic potions. 

After a series of actions, Lan left behind a pile of experimental equipment that needed cleaning. 

The witcher handed the task of cleaning the equipment to Arya, instructing her to rinse it with clean water at least three times and then let it dry upside down. 

"Thirty minutes for one [Swallow] potion... The efficiency is too low." Lan frowned as he held the orange-red potion in his hand. 

Mentos also exited assist mode. 

"Skill analysis in progress. [Alchemy] -23%. Sir, with all due respect, before we focus on improving efficiency, it's best to confirm that this is indeed a [Swallow] potion." 

The young witcher raised an eyebrow nonchalantly and took a small sip of the orange-red potion. After savoring it for a moment, he swallowed it with a grimace. 

"...You're right, Mentos." 

Lan's expression stiffened. 

"This is, at best, a vitamin-rich alcoholic drink." 

First alchemy practice—failure. 

***

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