Mechanical Alchemist

The Royal Academy of Emperor Luying is located in the Quentin District on the north side of the Lokwarren River, where the wealthy gather.

There, there is a very extensive group of classical Gothic-style gardens, which is the main campus of the Academy.

Since last night's ball did not leave any troubles behind, Su Lun and Sabina did not need to worry about being targeted, and the two took a luxury carriage to the north.

Su Lun did not wish to ride a more convenient steam motorcycle because the wealthy districts in the north prohibit motorcycles.

In the eyes of the gangs, those modified cool motorcycles are just seen as cheap transportation used only by the lower classes, being dangerous and vulgar in the eyes of the wealthy.

After the carriage crossed the Linden Iron Bridge over the Lokwarren River, the road conditions and environment immediately changed dramatically.

Su Lun looked at the scenery outside the window from inside the carriage.

The streets were clean and tidy, with classic-style buildings visible everywhere.

Unlike the south city's civilian districts, teeming with steam machinery, this area has almost completely retained the ancient style of the Linden from hundreds of years ago.

There are very few pedestrians on the streets of the wealthy districts, but each one is either wealthy or noble.

The only modes of transport were various luxury carriages, bicycles, and carriages displaying noble family crests.

Each street block had royal female cavalry on large black horses patrolling, looking quite commanding.

It looked outdated yet everywhere glowed with opulence.

The street trees were broad-leaved plane trees costing tens of thousands of silver coins, fragile and bright flowers always adorned the roadside flower beds, and no one picked up the sparkling gold and silver coins in the fountains and wishing wells. Even the pigeons here were a rare breed of Radiant White Feather pigeons, proud and beautiful, having their own territorial circles, definitely not mingling or mating with ordinary pigeons...

In the carriage, Sabina introduced to Su Lun, "This is how the wealthy parts of Linden are. The nobles here almost reject anything new. In their eyes, the older the objects they use, the more they showcase the family's ancient heritage. Some even wish they could hang the mummies of ancestors from hundreds of years ago in their carriages to flaunt their pure noble lineage..."

Pausing for a moment, she added, "It's those stubborn old geezers who want to maintain power. They're also scared of change. That's why Emperor Luying has fallen much behind compared to Mafa, and the gap is widening."

Su Lun grinned slightly as he listened.

At that moment, the carriage turned a street corner, and suddenly the view opened up, revealing a splendid array of buildings in the far distance.

Sabina pointed to the distant building with white walls and gemstone blue spires emerging on top, saying, "That is the castle where the Bonaparte royal family resides—Frederick Palace."

Although Su Lun had heard of it, it was the first time he saw it with his own eyes.

The building before him was indeed very beautiful.

Grand, spectacular, exquisite, sacred, majestic...

All words describing the beauty of a royal building were not an exaggeration when applied to it.

Thinking that in a couple of months, he would have to agree to engage under the identity of "Fick" to Miss Yekaterina in the palace to receive the Empress's engagement blessing, Su Lun suddenly lost interest in the building.

Moreover, it was now confirmed that followers of the Outer Gods had infiltrated the royal family.

There was an unknown Big Shot inside this palace.

...

After a while, the carriage traveled all the way to the Academy's street, and then they saw the main gate of the Emperor Luying Royal Academy.

The Royal Academy does not prohibit outsiders from entering, provided that you are a noble.

Sabina's carriage bore the family crest of "Count Demakula," allowing uninterrupted passage to the Academy's dormitory area.

The area like a beautiful garden, with buildings hidden among lush green trees. Those luxurious two-story villas with wine-red roofs are the dormitory buildings for the students.

Su Lun and Sabina got out of the carriage.

Although nominally, the explosion genius Jike was his disciple, in fact, they hardly spent much time together.

Moreover, since parting in Blizzard City, Su Lun had not contacted him again.

Therefore, he did not know Jike's current situation.

The two walked leisurely along the shaded path, and Su Lun started talking about the experience when he took Jike as his disciple.

Listening to it, Sabina also remarked, "Sir, you previously had another disciple, but you never mentioned him. As your maid and intelligence officer, I feel I've neglected my duties."

Su Lun smiled and said indifferently, "Taking Jike as a disciple was also a coincidence. His experience was quite tragic as well—his stepmother had killed his father, leaving his family destroyed. I didn't want him to get entangled in my troubles again..."

That was something he had deliberately not mentioned.

At that time, his own situation was not good, having just been hunted by the Lei family, and later causing quite a stir in the North Sea.

Having Jike as his teacher was not necessarily a good thing.

So, he had let him be.

Now that conditions were good, and he had just come to the Royal Academy to look for notes, he naturally wanted to check on him.

...

Su Lun had only heard that Jike had successfully enrolled in the Royal Academy he had long dreamed of, but he knew nothing more.

By his calculations, he should be a second-year student now.

But Emperor Luying Royal Academy is the largest Alchemy Academy in the entire empire, with over fifty thousand students enrolled.

Even the dormitories were staggeringly large, so it was unrealistic to slowly search for him.

Su Lun went directly to the dormitory manager. Upon asking, the manager actually said there was no student named "Jike James" in the second-year dormitories?

This caused quite a confusion.

Exiting the dormitory area, Sabina looked at Su Lun's puzzled expression and asked, "Could he have enrolled a year late and now is a first-year student?"

Su Lun also found it strange and analyzed, "It shouldn't be the case. Given Jike's level of alchemy knowledge at that time, it should have been more than enough to pass the Royal Academy's entrance exam."

Thinking it over, he also felt that Sabina made sense; perhaps for some reasons, Jike was delayed in enrolling.

The two decided to walk to the new students' dormitory area to inquire further.

The Royal Academy's environment is excellent, filled everywhere with the sounds of birds and the scent of flowers.

Since there was still plenty of time, they were in no hurry and leisurely strolled through the campus.

Along the way, they encountered many students wearing royal academy uniforms. Each one in the prime of youth, bursting with vigor, their youthful faces brimming with exuberance.

Being able to study here meant one was either rich or noble; regardless of their talent, these students were destined from birth to become the future "Big Shots" of the Emperor Luying's empire.

As they walked along, the two of them bumped into some students who had second-year badges on their uniforms.

Thinking about it, Su Lun stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, students, have you heard of a second-year student named 'Jike James'? He should be from the Potion Academy."

Unexpectedly, these students actually knew him.

"We are second-year students from the Potion Academy. We haven't heard of a person named 'Jike James'..."

"Jike? Oh, my God! Not that madman who researches bombs, right? That guy hasn't been expelled yet?"

"Seems like he's our classmate, but... that guy hasn't come to classes for a long time, right? I heard that after he blew up half a building in the lab last time, the academy forbade him from conducting such dangerous potion experiments there, and they definitely won't allow him to do experiments in his dorm either. Haven't seen him around for a while..."

"Oh, that guy really is a madman. I guess he is the only one in our Royal Academy's history to have blown up the Potion lab three times. Last time, who knows what dangerous thing he concocted, but the fire that it caused was unquenchable, and it nearly spread to the entire experimental area. That deserved fellow, he even blew off a few of his own fingers..."

"Now that you mention it, I kind of remember. Isn't Jike the only one in our class who scored full marks in the dangerous potion assessment?"

"Yes, that's him, a poor devil from a furrier family! I also heard that the academy refused to make him pay for the damages to the buildings anymore, yet he shamelessly refused to withdraw from school. Now, he lives with the lowly gardener servants. It seems he's still continuing his dangerous experiments..."

"..."

Su Lun listened as everyone eagerly talked about their classmate known for his "mysterious," "mad," and "terrorist" labels.

He immediately confirmed that this Jike was indeed his prodigy student in bomb-making!

Next to him, Sabina listened to the descriptions from other students and looked quizzically, thinking what a special protégé her master had recruited?

Since they came looking for Jike, Su Lun and his companion were also scorned by those young nobles.

Thinking they were probably some poor relatives who had come to visit.

Su Lun didn't mind.

Fortunately, having now acquired definite information, he breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself, "So he lives in the servant quarters, no wonder I couldn't find him in the dormitories."

Jike was just a merchant's son, naturally seen as inferior by these young nobles.

Though all were students of the Royal Academy, there was still a hierarchy of contempt.

That was, the noble students were a cut above those commoners who had made it into the academy through their own merits.

After all, even the finest commoner students could only aspire to find their best jobs working for companies owned by nobles after graduating.

This class divide had persisted through centuries in the academy, almost impossible to break.

...

Now knowing the direction, Su Lun and his companion followed the signs and left the dormitory area, and walked to the remote lakeside beyond it.

Although the landscaped campus of the Royal Academy was a pleasant sight, it required a host of servants and laborers to maintain.

Beside a lake planted with many water lilies stood several low buildings—the servant quarters of the academy.

Su Lun looked at those old small buildings and immediately guessed where Jike might be.

Among them was a little cabin showing clear signs of charring, out of sync with the neighboring houses.

The two walked over, but before they could get close, they saw strange green flames suddenly shooting from the house.

The nearby servants seemed accustomed to such events; upon hearing the noise, they ran out, shouting to fetch water to put out the fire.

"Quick, get water! That guy Jike has set his house on fire again!"

"Don't use water! He said the green flames shouldn't be doused with water, let the fire burn itself out!"

"Oh, my God, I just hope the kid Jike doesn't burn himself."

"..."

Su Lun listened to the servants' conversation, his eyes brimming with exasperation.

The smoke and green fire were not too severe.

Just then, a figure wearing a gas mask hurried out of the house, while cheering, "Hahaha... I did it! My phosphorous bomb ingredient experiment finally succeeded!"

The nearby servants, who seemed to have a good relationship with Jike, earnestly doused him with cold water.

"Hey, kid Jike, you've got to be careful. If you make such a big ruckus again, the academy really will kick you out."

"Seriously, keep it low-key. Look, the smoke has risen so high that now the whole academy will likely see it."

"..."

Hearing this, the young man wearing the gas mask repeatedly bowed, apologizing to everyone, "Sorry everyone, there was a little problem with the ventilation, sorry for the trouble. I'll be more careful next time."

With that, he lifted his gas mask, revealing his excited face.

But on closer inspection, one side of his face bore distinct burn scars, making his otherwise handsome and sunny boyish look somewhat fierce and fearsome.

But Su Lun still recognized that the unscarred half of the face was indeed his disciple, Jike's, appearance.

Jike seemed to have noticed the two outsiders who had been watching by the lakeside for a while.

A distinguished lady in a black dress and a gentleman wearing a hat.

He was puzzled as to why someone would visit the servant quarters, and was about to dive back into his still-smoking lab.

But suddenly, Jike paused for a moment, instinctively feeling that the smiling gentleman looked somewhat familiar.

He jolted awake, recognized the visitor, and exclaimed excitedly, "Teacher?!"

Smiling, Su Lun nodded from afar, "Jike, long time no see."

....

Realizing he hadn't mistaken the person, Jike excitedly ran over.

Upon seeing each other, he respectfully performed a mentor-protege greeting, "Teacher! It really is you!"

He certainly hadn't forgotten that if it weren't for his teacher's kindness, he would have died in the northern lands of Blizzard City. Without his teacher's guidance, he could never have succeeded in getting admitted to the Royal Academy.

After his father was killed by that venomous woman, his teacher became the most important person in his life.

After parting in Blizzard City, there had been no news of each other, and he never expected to meet again at the Academy!

Oh, it was like a dream!

After making his salutations, Jike glanced at the beautiful lady who was affectionately hooking her arm through Su Lun's, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and guessed, "Teacher... is this lady your wife?"

Whoever it was, since she was an elder, etiquette required him to greet her properly.

While talking, he likewise bowed to Sabina, a bow reserved for greeting an elder.

"This..."

Su Lun smiled, not knowing how to introduce Sabina.

Calling her that wasn't quite right, but it wasn't entirely incorrect either.

Sabina, who understood, didn't wait for Su Lun to speak and skillfully dissolved the momentary awkwardness. With a smile that lit her eyes, she complimented Jike, "What sweet words."

She seemed pleased with the title, but immediately switched the topic, "However, I am not your 'teacher's wife'. I'm a close friend of your teacher."

Jike sort of understood but still respectfully said, "Madam, hello."

Sabina smiled and nodded, then took out a gold pocket watch she had prepared earlier, saying, "This is a gift for our meeting."

She wasn't Su Lun's wife, but she was an affectionate elder to Su Lun's disciple.

Befitting a first meeting, the rites of courtesy were indispensable.

As she spoke, she added a blessing, "As an excellent alchemist, I hope you can precisely grasp every moment of time."

"Ah... this..."

Jike recognized at a glance that the pocket watch was quite valuable.

This handcrafted pocket watch from "Wanda Patek Philippe" was one of the few luxury brands most beloved by nobles. Each one was worth at least several hundred thousand lisos.

This lady just offered it as a gift?

Although he knew it was an elder's gift, it was too expensive!

Even in the wealthiest times at home, his father had never worn such a lavish pocket watch.

Jike appeared somewhat overwhelmed and turned his pleading eyes to Su Lun.

Su Lun hadn't expected Sabina to be so thoughtful and had even prepared a meeting gift, so he smiled and said, "Take it."

Hearing this, Jike dared to accept it and in a complicated tone said, "Thank you, Madam."

...

As Jike took the pocket watch, Su Lun also noticed something unusual about his left hand, which he had kept hidden.

It was a blast injury, leaving only two fingers remaining.

He then asked, "Jike, did your hand and face get injured in a laboratory accident?"

Jike, a bit embarrassed that his teacher saw his plight, replied, "Yes, teacher. Previously, I miscalculated some new material reactions due to my inexperience, leading to an explosion..."

Having heard some gossip from Jike's classmates before, Su Lun was aware that his disciple's situation at the academy wasn't good.

However, he refrained from elaborating and merely looked on nonchalantly, saying, "It's not a big issue. I still have some 'Activated Silver'; I'll make you a mechanical prosthetic later, so it won't affect your life in the future, and for burn scars on your face, 'Advanced Cell Regeneration Potion' can resolve it, so that's not a big problem either."

Jike, taken aback by these words, displayed complex emotions in his eyes: touched, delighted, surprised.

But he soon realized, if his teacher's friend could casually give a gift worth hundreds of thousands, the issue of his irreparable limbs seemed trivial in his teacher's eyes.

In the end, he just uttered, "Thank you, teacher."

Although Jike still didn't know the origins of his teacher, from the moment they met, Su Lun had given him a strong sense of trustworthiness.

Upon meeting, Jike then remembered something and asked, "By the way, teacher, why did you come to the Royal Academy?"

Su Lun straightforwardly replied, "I had some matters to attend to at the academy and wanted to check on your wellbeing."

While speaking, he remembered what those students had said and asked with concern, "I met some of your classmates earlier and heard you haven't been attending classes for a long time. Did something happen? Also, why do you live here?"

Although he knew the Royal Academy was not very hospitable to civilian students.

Since he had accepted this disciple, naturally, he did not want to see him face unjust treatment.

Hearing the inquiry, Jike showed a hint of embarrassment and hesitated, "Teacher, I..."

However he looked at it, him being in such a state was an embarrassment to his teacher.

Yet Jike mustered the courage and explained, "In my first year, I already completed all four years of coursework at the academy. Ammunitions are a very niche subfield within potion studies, and with Luying's mechanical military industry lagging, the subject was also not prioritized at the academy. Thus, this semester has mostly been me looking up data in the library and conducting experiments..."

Su Lun heard the helplessness in Jike's tone and remained silent.

He knew this was the truth.

Potion studies indeed was one of the fundamental subjects in alchemy.

However, ammunition studies was indeed a niche area.

Traditional magicians despised external substances like explosives, especially in a traditional alchemy holy site like the Royal Academy at Luying, it naturally received little attention.

Jike again looked troubled and continued, "As for why I live here... it's because... it's because I caused several explosions in the laboratory before, which significantly impacted the academy and also caused substantial damage. The dorm was also convenient for dangerous experiments, so I moved here..."

Su Lun silently listened, slightly furrowing his brow.

His disciple wasn't exaggerating the situation, but he downplayed some of it.

Being a noble institute, civilian students were bound to face ostracism.

Especially the financially challenged students.

Seeing Jike's neck covered with a gas mask that was nearly worn out and considering he did not spare to replace it, Su Lun could tell his situation was strained.

He directly pointed out Jike's problem and asked, "Has your family's savings run out?"

Jike felt embarrassed, but ultimately nodded, "Yes. Although the Academy's materials are cheap, the ammunition formula experiments require a lot of materials and equipment. I've spent all the savings from my father's fur business before he passed away..."

His tone was full of self-blame, as if it was his squandering that had led to this embarrassing situation.

But, seeing his teacher's calm and concerned expression, Jike finally voiced the grievances he had never told anyone, "I don't want to give up. Because the academy has the best library in Emperor Luying, the cheapest material supply, the best experimental equipment... Once I drop out, there would be no more chances. So... so... that's why I stay here. Although it's not very good, at least I can continue to stay at the academy..."

In a word, he was out of money.

The Royal Academy boasts educational resources unmatched by any other Alchemy Academy in the Emperor Luying Empire.

Although filled with mockery and cold looks, Jike's deep love for Alchemy made him unwilling to give up this only path of study.

Thus, he could only shamelessly stay at the academy, even if it meant living with the despised menials, he did not care.

Hearing this,

Sabina, standing by, had a brief twinkle in her beautiful eyes.

Su Lun's expression hardly changed, and after listening, he simply said, "Let the past be the past. Now that I'm here, focus on studying the Ammunition Science you love. As for everything else, you have me."

Hearing this resolute "you have me," Jike stood petrified, as if struck by lightning, "I... I..."

A moment later, as if clouds parting to reveal the sun, the gloom in his eyes suddenly cleared, and brightness gradually emerged.

From the first day he entered the Royal Academy, he had never felt such a surge of emotion.

That was a warmth and confidence that Jike, alone since his father's death, had not felt before.

He then belatedly realized that he still had a powerful support in his teacher!

Su Lun did not say much, merely stating, "Clean up the lab, and let's take a stroll around the academy."

Upon hearing this, Jike's face, slightly disfigured from burns, showed a serious expression, "Yes!"

...

Before long, Jike had tidied up his laboratory.

He then followed Su Lun and Sabina, strolling through the campus.

After chatting for a few moments, Su Lun also realized that his disciple was indeed living a hard life.

Studying to be a Magician of Alchemy is very expensive, even more so in the discipline of "Potion Science."

And the most expensive are the Potion apprentices.

Every qualified Pharmacist has certainly used a vast amount of materials to get there.

For Jike's merchant family, which was fairly wealthy, it was barely manageable originally. But with his father's death, there was no sustainable source of income. A large amount of experimental materials had already depleted all their savings.

As a result, now in the academy, he could only make do by piecing together, earning credits, doing hard labor to get some compensation. He even had to pick up the scraps and broken materials discarded by other students in the laboratory to support his own experiments.

Now, even eating required him to set aside his dignity.

But he didn't feel the hardship because a firm belief in his heart had always persisted.

Listening to those experiences, Su Lun felt a mixture of complex emotions.

Jike looked at his teacher and the lady with serious expressions, pretending to be indifferent. He said, "Teacher, it's really nothing... I eat the same plentiful food as everyone else here."

The academy provided free and plentiful food to the students.

Indeed it was the same, but the food gardeners and menials ate was leftover from the noble students—the food that should have been thrown out after being left overnight.

Listening to this, Su Lun fell into deep thought.

This disciple of his had a tragic life experience, but these hardships had now become the increasingly resilient qualities that radiated with excellence from him.

Su Lun felt this was a good thing.

He did not dwell on this topic and instead asked, "By the way, Jike, what were you researching before? I mean that green flame..."

As soon as the experiment was mentioned, a light appeared in Jike's eyes.

He excitedly introduced his findings: "Oh! Teacher, it's an ancient dwarf forging formula, called 'White Phosphorus Catalyst.' I found this ancient recipe in the library and managed to decode it. Since it is an ancient formula, many materials are missing, so I tried to alter it, and created 'Phosphorus Indestructible Bombs.' These are the bombs that cannot be extinguished no matter what, burning the target completely..."

As he spoke, his eyes filled with nothing but zeal for explosives, "Teacher, my initial experiments have already succeeded! With enough materials for further experiments, I will soon be able to produce those bombs!"

On hearing this, Su Lun nodded her head without sparing any praise. "You have done very well indeed."

"Really?"

Jike, seemingly affirmed by others for the first time, blushed with excitement, "Do you also think my research is pretty good?!"

"Yes."

Su Lun reaffirmed: "Explosives are a field of study with infinite potential. It is not inferior to any branch of Alchemy."

Seeing Jike's eager eyes, he encouraged, "Keep going. When your dreams come true, the world will inevitably see the brightest light in you."

"Yes!"

Jike, as if greatly inspired, trembled with gleaming eyes, "I knew... I knew! Even if the entire world doesn't understand, you, Teacher, can definitely grasp my ideas!"

That sentence was like a guiding light suddenly seen in the darkness!

The excitement is hard to articulate.

Once in Blizzard City, it was Su Lun's encouragement that affirmed his future path to become an Ammunition Expert rather than a dentist or a lawyer.
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He excitedly shared his plans for the profession, "You know, Teacher, many people look down on Ammunition Experts, look down on explosives. They think those are only applicable in low-skill job areas with inferior alchemy formulas. But they are wrong! Their understanding of explosions is too narrow! Explosions shouldn't be confined to just explosives; some special energy release processes can also be called explosions, like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes' energy releases... also, when certain materials' microscopic structures undergo fission or fusion, they can produce terrifying energy explosions too! That's also the direction I've been researching... Those people don't even know, theoretically, just a few hundred kilograms of those special explosives could blow up the entire Linden! That level of explosion... that's the perfect art in my heart!"

"..."

Su Lun, hearing the descriptions from Jike, suddenly felt... It sounded very familiar.

Explosions are art?

Ultimately, geniuses are all madmen.