The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Stamok's rushed final exams ended two weeks after the start of the war.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and the true "owner and mascot" of the Heisenberg Pharmacy, Junev, began a rare personal business session.

Of course, there were also students who came from Tuss College, carrying a stack of theory exam papers, thanking him for his teaching over the past half semester.

Speaking of which... shouldn't that awards ceremony that Iseria attended be coming to an end by now?

Yonivore accepted a few gold coins from the customer, numbly picked up the medicine from the shelf, stretched, and subconsciously looked at the half-closed oak door.

"Yonev—" The girl's joyful shouts came from outside the door even before she appeared.

boom!

The oak door was pushed open by Iseria, who was wearing a sleeveless white dress and a brown vest, and was carrying a stack of parchment scrolls.

The shop's customers skillfully made way for her to reach Eunicevo.

As expected, Iseria, like a white shooting star with a trail, even though she tripped on the steps... she still rushed to the black-robed alchemist's side in an instant, put the stack of parchment scrolls on the table, and spread them out one by one.

"Look, look, look! All A+ grades!" She disregarded her "boss lady" image, bracing herself on the table and panting heavily, her sky-blue eyes sparkling as she looked at Yonivore.

"Higher-order elemental theory," "Higher-order magic source application"... Shouldn't she be studying the basic version? Yunefu raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The parchment also bears the gold-embossed seal of the Tuss Institute in the lower right corner, making it impossible to fake.

"Professor Marcus said that I'm the only student in this year's class to get all A+!" Iseria's voice was tinged with pride, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

"He even asked me if I wanted to consider further studies at school... I said I'd think about it," the girl said, bringing her slightly flushed face close to Yunevo, clearly hoping for praise.

Yunevo first carefully put the parchment scrolls away, then looked at Iseria's somewhat awkward face, and chuckled as he reached out his hand towards her little head...

Then I bent my finger and gave her a flick on the head.

"Ugh!"

"Not bad, that's my style..." Yunefu withdrew his hand, blew away the "smoke" rising from it, and looked at Iseria: "Adding more frosted milk jelly will really make you sick."

"Add three more! The frothy milk pudding is really delicious!"

"Remove one..."

"How can you bargain like that!" Iseria covered her head and glared at Yunevo.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore," Yunefu said with a satisfied smile, moving his recliner into the shadows... He then walked back to the counter, took out a few gold coins, and quietly slipped them into Iseria's hand.

Iseria paused for a moment, then quickly clenched the gold coins in her hand: "Then I'll go now—"

"Let's have lunch first, it's hot outside... the frosting jelly will melt by the time we get back," Yonivo interrupted her.

"Oh..." The girl obediently put the gold coins into her pocket.

The aroma of mint and dragon's breath leaves lingered in the incense burner, its tranquil blue hue swaying gently before the counter, the edges of the leaves shimmering with a faint fluorescent glow.

So peaceful...

Iseria was pacing around on the first floor, looking for empty spaces to mount the parchment sheets with A+ grades.

If Nehta were in the store right now... he could be lounging on a deck chair, acting as a mascot.

Speaking of that rat-man, its rat-path plan should have been perfected with the assistance of the headquarters, right?

The tranquility was broken by a rustling sound, the source of which was in the corner of the first floor, behind the row of cabinets—or more precisely, the ventilation duct opening hidden by the tapestry.

The customers in the shop were already used to such commotion... ever since the ratman who called himself the "agent" took over the apothecary for a while.

Yoniv didn't even lift his eyelids.

A few seconds later, a grayish-brown front paw emerged, followed by the familiar long face and the unforgiving sharp beak.

Nehta shook off the dust and emerged from the vent, a large oil paper package still wrapped around its tail.

"Oh, everyone's here," it said naturally, pulling over a chair to sit down, unfolding the oil paper package to reveal the plump, shelled nuts inside, and then casually grabbing a few and tossing them into its mouth.

"Even the accounts are wrong... Busy meditating?" Nehta joked.

"It is not meditation."

"Doesn't this make you look more professional?" The rat-man chuckled, looked around, and unconsciously slapped the chair leg with his tail.

Most of the customers in the pharmacy had left, and the rest were heading out...

"Speak if you have something to say," Yonivo said.

Nehta paused, brushing the nut crumbs off his front paws. Unusually, he didn't crack a joke, but instead lowered his voice: "There is something..."

It fiddled with the remaining nuts in the oil paper package, lost in thought. After a long silence, it spoke: "Sixth Brother, do you still remember my good-for-nothing brother?"

Yoniv nodded; of course he knew…

That ratman was two litters bigger than Nehta, short and stout like a bag of cement by the roadside, walking with his head down and hopping from side to side, but his eyes would light up when business was mentioned.

Nehta is a fourth-tier mage, possessing not only maxed-out combat talent but also remarkable business acumen...

When it comes to combat, the ratman Lao Liu is completely clueless; he can't even detect the most basic magical fluctuations.

But when it comes to business, it can estimate the average daily turnover of every shop on the entire Miracle Chain Street in a quarter of an hour, and can tell from a few simple pleasantries whether the other party is genuinely interested in cooperating or just trying to lower the price.

This is something even Nehta is ashamed of.

When Yunevo first saw it... the short, fat rat-man, baring its chipped front tooth, looked at him with its shrewd eyes and asked, "So... this deal is settled?"

That was a long time ago... much earlier than when he officially joined the Alchemists' Guild.

"It's been in trouble lately," Nehta said without elaborating, simply taking the crossbow down and examining it in his hand.

Ionev didn't say much, just waited for Nehta to catch his breath...

"I just... came to say hello," the rat, who could laugh maniacally on the battlefield, said with obvious embarrassment. He stood up and added, "That newly opened bakery on the city wall... has pretty good food. You can take Iseria to try it."

It turned around and walked towards the tapestry, dragging its tail... The tapestry was lifted up and then fell down again.

Yoniv rested his hands on the table, his eyes lowered in thought.

Speaking of which, when was the last time I saw that short, fat ratman?

It was after that ambush, after I had scrambled into the sewers in a sorry state...