The most shameless alchemist in history

“I know this without you telling me… What, haven’t you already given up struggling? Since you’re going to die anyway, you might as well stay here and die with more dignity. Why bother running away?” Dure asked Grenier mockingly as he ran.

"Hey, buddy, I was just joking with you. Why are you taking it so seriously? Who would risk their life? Let's run away quickly. While it's wreaking havoc around here, we might find a chance to escape through the crack." Grenier gasped for breath.

He and Du Lei had already escaped several hundred meters away in the blink of an eye, but no matter how fast they ran, the tentacles followed them like shadows. The huge tentacles also followed for several hundred meters, and under their pounding, the solid walls of the underground mine were as fragile as paper.

The two of them ran with all their might, barely a fraction faster than the tentacles. Everywhere they went collapsed, and if they were even a fraction slower, they would be buried in the vast ruins.

"Wait, you said we can escape through the gap, what do you mean?" Dure stopped and asked immediately after hearing Grenier say that.

"Hey buddy, it's fine if you stop on your own, but don't grab my arm!" Grenier looked behind him, startled by Dure's actions. Dure had clearly grabbed him, preventing him from moving forward, which made him anxious, fearing that the parasites would catch up.

"Explain yourself clearly. What exactly were you hiding from me just now?" Du Lei's expression was very serious, and he was particularly concerned about this question.

"Hey buddy, I'm not hiding anything from you. It's just that time is limited, and I'm not giving a lecture, so there are some things I haven't explained clearly. Okay, what I mean is, the parasite is a monster created from within the system. It devours everything around it..."

"To put it another way, it will destroy everything. The essence of the magic simulation system is a large barrier. Normally, we would leave this place through the teleportation array, but now the teleportation array has stopped working due to the presence of the termites, which is why we are trapped..."

Grenier understood that if he didn't give an explanation, Dure wouldn't let him leave, so he had no choice but to stay and explain.

"You mean the termites will break down this barrier, allowing us to escape through the cracks?" Durei understood what he meant.

“That’s right, that’s how it is. Now that I’ve said everything I need to say, I can go now… Oh no, they’re catching up again!” Grenier kept glancing behind him, afraid that the termites would catch up with him and be completely devoured.

Just as he was explaining to Dure, he clearly saw the tentacles that he had managed to shake off a small distance catch up again. This made him cry out in surprise, and he took off running with Dure again. From here, they could already see the exit of the underground mine ahead.

"What will happen to the termite after it destroys the entire barrier?" Dure stopped Grenier only to get him to reveal more information, not to push him into a fire pit. Now that Grenier has revealed a lot, he let go of his hand, and the two of them ran wildly together.

“You ask what will happen to it? Of course it will break free from the barrier and go to the real world, and then continue its devouring journey, devouring everything it can see, whether it's mountains or lakes, the result is the same no matter what.” Grenier explained as he ran.

“In that case… we absolutely cannot let it escape the barrier range of the magic energy simulation system, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable!” Dure stopped again, and Grenier also stopped, but this time Grenier was not being pulled by him, but the two of them had already left the entrance of the mine.

“I know the consequences will be dire, but buddy, the only thing we can do right now is to save our lives. Why are you worrying about all that? Those are things for the big shots of the Magic Energy Association to deal with, they have nothing to do with us, understand?” Grenier turned his head to face the mine entrance.

They didn't feel anything while they were in the mine, but now that they've left the mine and look back, they can see that the entire massive mountain is teetering on the verge of collapse, dust fills the air, and deafening noises ripple through their eardrums, as if something is about to crawl out.

.

307 Stripping Part

Inside Maple Leaf Academy, the students were already suspicious of the sudden magical water curtain that appeared midway through the building. Especially after seeing the entry of the military and members of the Magical Energy Association, there were many different opinions. Although these opinions varied and could not be agreed upon, they all had one thing in common.

That is, no matter which explanation it is, it has nothing to do with the word "good thing". In conjunction with a series of events that have happened at Maple Leaf Academy before, such as the collapse of Ash Tower, this made the students even more worried, and their concerns were quickly addressed by the academy.

"Students, please maintain order, don't panic, and don't run around. This is just a drill. We'll be fine once we reach that hill over there. Students in the back, please hurry up..." Under the dim moonlight, a large number of flashlight beams appeared near Maple Leaf Academy.

Thousands of students, organized by the college and escorted by the military, began to move towards the other side of the mountain. Student council members maintained order along the way. It was clear that the move was sudden, and many people were still in their pajamas and not fully awake.

"What's going on? I'm so sleepy. Why did you suddenly wake me up so abruptly? Is this some kind of exercise in the middle of the night? Are you crazy?" The male student, disturbed from his sleep, yawned and was very dissatisfied.

“This isn’t a drill, it’s a complete evacuation. Didn’t you see the academy is completely sealed off, and people from the Magic Energy Association and the military have moved in? This must mean something serious has happened,” a student said, offering a different opinion.

"What, another major incident? So many things have happened this month already. By the way, have you noticed that there isn't a single first-year student around? What's going on?" The male student looked around and noticed this detail.

"I don't know what's going on at Maple Leaf Academy. The past two years have been peaceful, so how come disasters have been happening one after another just one month into the semester? It's really unsettling." The students hung their heads dejectedly and turned to look in the distance toward the academy.

After the evacuation arrangements were made, Maple Leaf Academy, which originally had thousands of students, became deserted, with only a small number of people remaining on duty.

The meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held in the conference room of the office building, was moved to the sports field near the academy. At this time, the teachers of Maple Leaf Academy were gathered here to discuss countermeasures. Aaron, the researcher of the academy who had been mentioned by both Fant and Owl, was also invited to the sports field.

"Teacher Aaron, you used to be a member of the Magic Energy Research Institute. Do you have any good suggestions on this matter?" Teacher Deer asked Aaron. They were at their wits' end, and Aaron, who was usually a loner and rarely interacted with others, had become their lifeline.

"Suggestions... actually, the Magic Energy Association and the military have already made countermeasures, right?" Aaron was a young man who looked to be only in his twenties. He was tall and slender, handsome and elegant, a very charming young man.

"They already have a solution? But I haven't heard them mention it." Charlotte was taken aback. After the people from the Magic Energy Association arrived, he asked them how to resolve the incident, but they didn't provide a suitable solution.

"The reason they don't say anything is because they know they will definitely be stopped if they do, and even if you implement the countermeasures proposed by the Magic Energy Association, the consequences after things calm down and are resolved will be unbearable for the Magic Energy Association. So they decided to keep it a secret."

Aaron seemed to know the Magic Power Association's methods very well, and he spoke with great certainty.

"What exactly is the countermeasure that the Magic Energy Association is hiding from us like this?" Fant pressed for the answer.

"The solution is actually quite simple. Since we can't suppress the simulated space occupied by the magic energy system, we should create a brand new barrier to completely trap the emerging parasites, or even shatter the entire space here and eliminate them along with the parasites."

Aaron spoke softly, his face showing no change in expression, but the meaning behind his words was enough to shake people to their core.

"Completely trapping and shattering space... what exactly does that mean?" Charlotte was still somewhat doubtful.

“Teacher Charlotte, isn’t Teacher Aaron’s explanation clear enough? Think carefully about why the Magic Energy Association wants us to go out and take refuge.” As Charlotte’s mortal enemy, Fant had already understood Aaron’s meaning, and his face turned very ugly.

“Let us take refuge… Could it be that they… intend to use our Maple Leaf Academy as a prison for parasites?” Charlotte thought carefully and came to this conclusion, which greatly surprised him.

“Although it’s hard to accept, judging from their actions, it is indeed the most likely thing to happen.” Aaron nodded.

"How could this be? Then our Maple Leaf Academy will become..." Charlotte found it hard to accept. He had made becoming the vice dean of Maple Leaf Academy his lifelong pursuit, but judging from what Aaron was saying, the future of Maple Leaf Academy was definitely bleak.

“If that kind of thing really happened, Maple Leaf Academy would probably be reduced to ruins, wouldn’t it?” Fant thought for a moment and answered for Aaron.

"What about the students who are trapped? What will happen to them?" The elk was more concerned about the students' situation.

“Some people might escape through the cracks the moment the space is destroyed, but even if they do escape, what awaits them is a barrier to deal with the termites, so being left in the broken space forever seems to be their only fate,” Aaron said calmly.

"How could this be? Do the people of the Magic Energy Association just ignore the lives of students like this? They are so young..." The deer covered her mouth, finding it hard to accept.

“Compared to the chain reaction of destruction caused by releasing the termites, you’ll find that this little sacrifice is actually insignificant,” Aaron sighed.

“But what exactly is this so-called parasite? Isn’t it hiding in the loopholes of the magic simulation system? How could it possibly appear in the real world?” Norton was particularly puzzled by this, so he asked Aaron, who, as a former researcher at the institute, was most likely to know the truth.

"The parasites are a disastrous consequence of the rapid development of magical energy technology. Scientists, driven by short-sighted greed, have recklessly plundered magical elements from the world in order to maximize the use of magical energy for humanity, extracting the pure portion and converting it into magical energy to create weapons for humankind..."

Aaron paused here, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"We know that, tell us something we don't know," the owl urged impatiently.

"Don't you know? Aren't you curious... where does the remaining part go after the pure part is extracted and converted into magical energy?" Aaron got to the heart of the matter.

.

308 Pre-set

Dure and Grenier ran as fast as they could and managed to escape before the underground mine collapsed. But the danger did not disappear. After leaving the mine and coming to the surface, the pitch-black night was suddenly replaced by a large area of ​​crimson, and the underground was shaking with loud rumbling noises.

Looking back at the mine from Dure's position, one could clearly see the mine crumbling apart amidst the rumbling sounds, with something about to crawl out from underground. The enormous hand seemed capable of blotting out the sky and the sun. Compared to that behemoth, Dure and Grenier were as insignificant as dust.

"Luckily, it hasn't found us yet. But given its appetite, even if it did, it probably wouldn't give us any special attention. We can take this opportunity to escape. Look over there, there's a crack in the space. It's a little dangerous, but that's the place!"

Grenier watched the enormous creature crawling out of the ground from afar. He couldn't help but swallow hard. He had no courage whatsoever to confront such a behemoth. He looked around and soon saw a shocking gash torn open in the dark night sky not far to his right.

Crimson lightning tore through the night sky, like sharp knives slicing countless scars, hissing and crackling from the dark gaps. The rolling yellow sand in the distance was disappearing at a visible speed, indicating that this place would soon collapse completely.

“As long as we get there and jump into the crevice, we can escape this dangerous place… Hey, buddy, what are you standing there for? Come on over here!” After finding the right spot, Grenier ran over as fast as he could, waving and beckoning Dure to follow him.

At this moment, the two of them had arrived at the opening of a torn spatial rift. They could jump down with just a slight leap, but even Grenier was unsure what the outcome would be. However, this was the only solution he could think of for the moment.

"No, we can't just leave like this. If we let it leave our space, it will inevitably sweep through the entire magic simulation system and devour everyone in the system. And once it devours the simulation system, it will descend into the real space, and the entire academy will be destroyed."

Dure shook his head at the crack and stopped, showing no intention of jumping in.

"Hey, buddy, didn't we just say that those are things for the higher-ups in the association to worry about, not for us to worry about? Right now, our priority is to save our lives. We still have a chance before it completely destroys this place, otherwise it will be too late!" Grenier urged.

“You can leave if you want, I’ll stay here.” Dure shook his head, rejecting Grenier’s offer.

"What? You're staying here? Dude, are you out of your mind? Are you just going to stay here and wait to die?" Grenier shouted. In his opinion, the guy in front of him seemed pretty smart, but how could he be so stubborn and inflexible on such a crucial issue?

"I've made up my mind. If you want to leave, do it now!" Du Lei's attitude was very firm.

"You bastard... I've given you all the advice I could. Since you're determined to die, then you can stay here. Goodbye!" Grenier didn't have the fearless spirit to live and die with Dure. Firstly, his relationship with Dure wasn't that good; they were just strangers who met by chance.

Secondly, Grenier wasn't the kind of person with a spirit of selfless sacrifice. Seeing that Dure was determined not to leave, he no longer hesitated and jumped into the crevice. Soon his body disappeared, leaving Dure alone to watch the termites crawling out of the ground from afar.

“Alright, the troublesome person is gone now, and I’m the only one here… Hmm?” Dure watched Grenier leave, feeling a sense of relief. Just as he was about to unleash his full potential, he noticed a figure flickering in the distance, which puzzled him.

"The adventurers have fled. Will our homeland be completely destroyed?" Not far from Dure, he clearly saw a middle-aged man with a full beard in the ruins, watching the towering flames fall like a rain of meteors, and he cried out in despair.

"Is that person... the NC that Grenier mentioned? He's supposed to be a simulated puppet, yet he has his own thoughts? But now..." Dure sighed at the sight. He had originally tried to go forward and pull the middle-aged man out.

But soon a large ball of flame fell down, landing where the middle-aged man was, turning his surroundings into a sea of ​​fire, leaving no chance of survival.

"What, kid, do you actually sympathize with such a puppet?" A voice rang out at this moment, its tone mocking.

Dure didn't look around to find the source of the voice, because he knew very well that there was no one around after Grenier left, and the voice wasn't coming from anywhere else, but was directly in his mind.

"There's no point in sympathizing with him; this is probably his predetermined fate," Du Lei shook his head, giving an ambiguous answer.

"You brat, have you ever thought that your fate was also predetermined? Or even that the fate of all humanity was predetermined?" The voice rang out again. If there were other people present, they would definitely find it strange, but there was no one else around.

Dure is talking to himself!

But Dure knew very well that the person speaking to him was none other than someone from the Void Abyss.

"Pre-set up? What do you mean?" Du Lei frowned, somewhat confused.

"You humans are born, grow old, get sick, and die. After you are born, you grow up obediently, study, get married, work hard for your family, then your body is worn down, then you get sick, and finally you die alone. Isn't this a predetermined fate?" the Void Abyss creature retorted.

“No, it’s different. Even though everyone is subject to the natural law of birth, aging, sickness, and death, everyone’s emotional experiences are different.” Du Lei shook his head; he didn’t agree with that.

"Emotional experiences? What are those?" The creature from the Void Abyss was somewhat confused and couldn't understand it.

"It's the emotional bond between you and someone, the care you have for them, the concern you feel for them, and how their every move affects you," Du Lei tried to describe.

"Do you have someone you're attached to?" the Void Abyss creature continued to ask.

"At the moment... I don't think so, right?" Du Lei thought for a moment, not entirely sure about the answer to the question.

"I really don't understand you humans, this is just too complicated." The Void Abyss creature gave up on getting to the bottom of the problem.

"Don't you creatures of the Void Abyss experience birth, aging, sickness, and death?" Du Lei retorted.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death? Our lives are not that complicated. There are only two things: survival or destruction."

.

What is the name of 309?

None of the people at Maple Leaf Academy, whether they were the teachers facing a heated discussion, or the people from the Magic Energy Association and the military, knew the current situation within the simulation system, nor did they know which room the culprit, the Parasite, who caused the current disaster, was located in.

But Dure knew, because at this moment he was confronting the termite that had broken through the underground mine and was wreaking havoc on the surrounding space. Of course, the termite had not yet noticed Dure's existence, because Dure was too insignificant, as humble as dust, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.

Meanwhile, the termites arrived on the ground in a massive, sky-covering mass. Countless crimson lightning bolts tore through the night sky, leaving behind shocking gashes. Inside these gashes were countless bizarre vortexes, into which massive boulders from ruins were sucked in and pulled.

The massive rocks were instantly torn to dust by the whirlpool, leaving only small pebbles that trembled a few times before disappearing as well. The whirlpool was the same place where Grenier had jumped in earlier. Dure didn't know whether Grenier had escaped safely or had been crushed like a rock.

“I have no interest in the way you Void Abyss creatures live. I only know one thing: we are now in a relationship where we share both prosperity and adversity. If I perish here, you will also disappear completely and be utterly destroyed, right?” Durei said to the termite.