Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 110 [Ancient Alchemy] Clues to Professional Fusion

"One of the best alchemy teachers in the academy. Although his spiritual power level is only that of an advanced apprentice, he is a senior alchemist."

Holt explained in a low voice, while guiding Ron to the registration desk for "Elemental Affinity":
"His teaching is not limited to textbooks, but focuses more on practical application. For someone who is already a professional potion master, this teaching method is more efficient."

Ron nodded gratefully: "Thank you for the recommendation."

Holt shook his head slightly. "No need to thank me. Within the academy, we are happy to provide appropriate guidance to those who are truly talented."

After completing the registration for "Elemental Affinity", the two walked out of the hall and came to a relatively quiet small courtyard.

A breeze blew by, bringing a faint scent of flowers.

"Ron." Holt suddenly stopped and his tone became more serious: "How much do you know about 'favor'?"

This direct question made Ron's heart tighten.

Favors are one of the hidden secrets of the wizarding world, not usually discussed openly among apprentices.

Holt brought it up suddenly, obviously testing him.

Ron decided to respond carefully: "Mrs. Allen mentioned something."

Holt's eyes flickered slightly, and then he nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

"As expected." He said softly, with a sense of relief after confirmation in his tone:

"Mrs. Allen rarely imparts this core knowledge to ordinary apprentices. It seems that she thinks highly of you."

He looked around to make sure there was no one around before continuing:

"Now that you know about the existence of 'Favor', there is some information that may be useful to you."

"Many courses in the academy are ostensibly about imparting knowledge, but in reality they are also about finding potential apprentices who can provide 'favors'."

Holt explained, his voice low and calm:
"Just like the two courses you signed up for - they both have advanced options. After completing the basic courses, the instructors will selectively provide more in-depth guidance based on the students' performance."

Ron nodded thoughtfully, which roughly matched what he had learned from Mrs. Allen.

"Most notable," Holt continued, a rare flash of enthusiasm in his eyes:

"In the advanced course of 'Elemental Affinity', the instructor will provide a spell model free of charge to outstanding students."

"Spell model?" Ron raised his eyebrows. This information really piqued his interest.

“Yes, but it’s not a perfect, ready-to-use model,” Holt explained.
“It’s a prototype that needs to be perfected. It’s the instructor’s personal creation.”

"I see." Ron suddenly realized:
"So this is one of the operating mechanisms of 'grace' - the mentor provides an imperfect concept and prototype, and the student improves it through his or her own understanding and efforts. The growth and breakthroughs generated in this process will be fed back to the mentor himself or herself."

A hint of approval flashed in Holt's eyes:
"You're a quick learner. In fact, that's why so many academic journals circulate freely within the wizarding world, containing a wealth of spell prototypes and theoretical ideas waiting to be perfected."

"By inspiring and guiding others, you can improve your own immature ideas and gain more 'favors'."

Ron said thoughtfully, "It's a win-win strategy."

"That's right," Holt nodded.

"Unfortunately, the Black Mist Jungle is too remote, and those more valuable academic journals are rarely circulated among apprentices. This is one of the reasons why many apprentices choose to take paid courses - it is their only way to access high-quality extraordinary knowledge."

The two continued walking along the gravel path, the surrounding flowers and trees swaying gently in the breeze.

"However, I've noticed that many people are learning multiple wizarding arts at once."

Ron expressed his doubts: "Won't this be a distraction?"

Holt shook his head and gave an understanding smile:

"This is a common misunderstanding. In fact, all wizarding skills are essentially similar, especially at the basic theoretical level. Once you master a skill, the speed of learning other related skills will be greatly accelerated."

He paused, as if trying to figure out how to simply explain this complex concept:
"For example, both potions and alchemy involve the transformation of material properties and energy conversion, but their applications are different. A potion master who is proficient in potions will learn alchemy much faster than an ordinary person."

"That puts me at ease," Ron chuckled. "I've always been worried that learning multiple skills at the same time would be too distracting."

Holt looked at the sky and nodded slightly:
"It's getting late, and I still have a mission with the Enforcement Team to attend to. Your first 'Alchemy Practice' class should be this afternoon, good luck."

"Thank you for your information and advice, Senior Holt."

Ron said sincerely, "If there's anything I can help you with in the future, you can always send someone to me."

"That's not necessary. Sharing knowledge within the school benefits both parties. Next time I have questions about Potions, I hope to be able to consult you at any time."

Holt waved his hand, a hint of regret in his eyes:

"To be honest, I've been studying Potions for almost ten years, but I'm still only a senior Potions apprentice. I'm still a long way from being a professional Potions Master. This is probably the huge gap between mediocrity and true genius..."

Watching Holt leave, Ron's mind was in turmoil.

"Alchemy practice, elemental affinity..." he muttered to himself, "plus bloodline activation research, this month will be very busy."

In the afternoon, Ron arrived at the "Alchemy Practice" classroom on time.

The classroom is a spacious hexagonal space with a large alchemy workbench in the center, surrounded by twelve smaller student workstations.

Each workstation is equipped with basic alchemical tools and some commonly used materials.

Students arrived one after another, most of them wearing the gray robes of novice apprentices, and only a few wore professional badges.

Ron noticed that the youngest student present looked several years older than him.

When everyone was in their seats, a silver-haired old man walked into the classroom.

He was wearing a dark brown robe with silver embroidery on the cuffs and collar, and it was obvious that he was the speaker here.

"Welcome everyone to 'Alchemy Practice'." The old man's voice was deep and powerful:
"I am Thompson, a professional alchemist. I will guide you into the world of alchemy over the next month."

His eyes swept over every student present, and when he saw Ron, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes.

"Today we are going to learn the first basic technique of alchemy - purification of materials."

Thompson said, pulling out a seemingly ordinary black stone from the inside of his robe: "Before performing any alchemical changes, ensuring the purity of the material is the most basic requirement."

He placed the stone on the workbench and made a strange gesture with his hands above it. Then the surface of the stone began to glow, and several substances of different colors gradually separated.

“What appears to be a simple stone actually contains a variety of elemental components,” Thompson explained. “The first step in alchemy is learning to identify and separate these components.”

Over the next two hours, Thompson explained in detail the basic principles of material purification and several common methods, and personally demonstrated some basic operations.

Ron was concentrating on recording every detail. As a potion master, he already had a pretty deep understanding of the materials, which made learning the basics of alchemy relatively easy.

"Now, each of you has a piece of stone in front of you," Thompson announced. "Please try to use the method I just taught you to perform a preliminary elemental separation."

Ron looked at the gray stone in front of him and took a deep breath.

He had read similar operation descriptions in "Basics of Alchemy" before, but this was the first time he had actually performed it.

He followed the gestures he had just learned, mobilized his mental strength, and carefully touched the surface of the stone.

At first, nothing happened.

Ron adjusted the way he output his mental power, trying to guide the energy in a gentler way.

Suddenly, a faint glow began to appear on the surface of the stone, and several thin lines of different colors emerged from it.

[New Skill Included: Alchemy (Beginner)]

[Alchemy (Beginner) Experience + 1]

"Very good, Ron Potion Master." Thompson's voice suddenly came from behind:

"Your mental control is very precise, which is the most critical foundation in alchemy."

Ron was a little surprised that the old man remembered his name, but he still nodded humbly in thanks:

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Thompson. Potions also require precise mental control, which may give me some advantages."

"Potions and alchemy do have a lot in common,"

Thompson agreed, his eyes gleaming with approval:
"Both seek to achieve specific goals by changing the form of matter, but with different emphases."

The old man pointed to the rays of light emerging from the stone:
"See these? The red represents the fire element, the blue represents the water element, and these tiny golden particles represent the extremely rare light element."

Ron observed carefully and could indeed feel that the energy fluctuations emitted by light of different colors were different.

Thompson seemed satisfied with his understanding and continued to explain:

“The next step is to learn how to separate these elements and store them. In advanced courses, we will teach how to recombine these elements to create new substances with specific properties.”

"Is that the core of alchemy?" Ron asked, a gleam of curiosity in his eyes.

"You can say that." Thompson nodded slightly:

“To decompose and recompose, to understand the world’s composition and then reshape it to one’s will—that is the essence of alchemy.”

The old man's words reminded Ron of the simulated battle device, which was undoubtedly the product of the combination of alchemy and mental magic. It created a virtual yet real experience by changing the perceptual structure of reality.

"Teacher Thompson."

Ron hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question in his mind: "To what extent do you think alchemy can change reality?"

A deep light flashed in Thompson's eyes, and he looked at Ron meaningfully:
"That's a good question. What are the limits of alchemy? This is the ultimate question every alchemist is exploring."

He said slowly:

"Some say alchemy can only transform matter, while others believe it can touch the very essence of reality. If one day you can combine the three main wizarding skills into one, becoming the legendary 'Ancient Alchemist', perhaps you will find the true answer."

[Ancient Alchemist] Need to combine three types of mainstream wizard skills into one?
The information provided by the other party fully aroused Ron's interest.

Perhaps the path to advancement for high-level professions in the future will be reflected in this kind of fusion... he guessed secretly.

In the following time, he devoted himself to learning the basics of alchemy, not missing any details.

[Alchemy Experience + 1]

[Alchemy Experience + 1]

[Alchemy Experience + 1]

……

[Current Progress: Alchemy (Beginner 13/50)]

By the end of the course, Ron's alchemy skills had reached a preliminary stage of understanding this new art.

As Holt had said before, these wizarding skills can be applied to other similar situations, and with a foundation in potions, he can get started quickly.

"That's it for today's lesson."

Thompson concluded:
"I hope you will review what you learned today when you return. In the next class, we will learn how to preserve separated elements and their basic properties."

The students began to leave one after another. Ron was about to pack up his tools when Thompson came up to him.

"Ron the Potions Master."

The old man's voice was deep. "You seem to have an unusual understanding of alchemy. If you're interested, you can stay after class for some extra practice."

Ron understood that this was a rare opportunity - Mentor Thompson clearly saw his potential and was willing to provide more guidance.

"Thank you very much for the offer, Mr. Thompson," he said sincerely. "I'm happy to accept the opportunity."

Thompson nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. Alchemy is a discipline that requires constant practice. Theory alone is far from enough."

After the other students had left, Thompson pulled out a small metal box from inside his robes. "I thought you might be interested in this."

Ron took the box and opened it carefully. Inside was a crystal emitting a faint purple light.

(End of this chapter)