The most shameless alchemist in history

"What kind of test is this? They actually want us to run to the back mountain to feed the animals. Does anyone know where the back mountain is? This is my first time at Maple Leaf Academy, and I have absolutely no idea where to go." A student shouted from the crowd, feeling that the test had come too suddenly.

"I don't know where the back mountain is either. Just follow them and you won't go wrong. Hey, don't push! One hour, one hour, hurry up!" The students followed the crowd and climbed the steps. At first, they were quite energetic, but soon some of them couldn't keep up.

"Oh no, my legs are starting to ache. What's wrong with Maple Leaf Academy? Why are there so many steps? Aren't they tired of climbing them? I'm used to hiking and climbing stairs all the time, so why am I so tired?" A student complained, noticing something was wrong.

Durei saw all of this, but he followed behind calmly, neither trying to be the leader nor being left far behind. The Keita siblings were right next to him, since the steps were only so wide and hundreds of people rushed up at once, making it crowded.

"Kelly, what's going on? I can usually climb this mountain so easily, but today it's so difficult. It's like something's wrong." Keita encountered the same situation as everyone else. In just a few minutes, he climbed more than two hundred steps, which was more than halfway up the mountain.

However, the higher he went, the more his physical strength was consumed, and this level of consumption exceeded the normal range, which had to attract his attention.

“Brother, if you want to know the answer to the question, just look at Dure and you’ll understand.” Although beads of sweat were dripping from Kelly’s forehead, she was undoubtedly much better than her brother Keita. Instead of answering Keita’s question directly, she turned to Dure.

"What's wrong with me?" Dure didn't quite understand why Kelly was pointing at him, and felt confused by Keita's questioning gaze.

“Something’s not right. This guy doesn’t have any magical energy fluctuations, so why isn’t he sweating at all? I used magical energy to make up for my physical exhaustion, but I’m actually having more trouble than him.” Keita observed carefully and noticed something was wrong, so she immediately pointed it out.

"The problem lies in the magic energy. Dure didn't use any magic energy, so the nearby barrier didn't affect him. But you, brother, used magic energy, so you were affected by the barrier, consuming double the magic energy, which is why your stamina is depleted much faster than usual," Kelly pointed out incisively.

"Magic energy has not only failed to become a tool to help us move forward, but has instead become a burden?" Dure realized this as Kelly reminded him, and nodded slightly. They spoke very softly, and because there were too many people nearby, not many people noticed what they were saying.

"Ha, how can this be? What kind of ridiculous rule is this? The person who set up this barrier by making magic a burden must be out of their mind!" Keita was very dissatisfied with this and immediately started cursing. He was the type who didn't care about anything and just wanted to curse to his heart's content.

"Actually, when you think about it carefully, isn't this just a matter of course? The entrance test measures a student's talent. So-called talent isn't about how much magical energy they've mastered, but rather the speed at which they learn magical energy and the amount of magical energy they can store." Kelly glared helplessly at her brother.

Dure didn't have a direct concept of magic energy, but when he heard the brother and sister talking about magic energy, he listened patiently from the side.

“That’s right, talent lies in learning speed and capacity, is there a problem?” Keita nodded in agreement with his sister.

“That would be a big problem. For students who haven’t mastered magic, like Dure, and for students who have mastered magic, like you, brother, isn’t this unfair treatment? If mastering magic is all it takes to get into school, then what’s the point of testing talent? We could just compare ages.”

Kelly did not side with Keita just because he was her brother; she objectively provided examples to illustrate the situation.

“Hey Kelly, why are you siding with outsiders? I’m your older brother, and I’m far more talented than this guy!” Keita was a little unhappy. He always thought highly of himself, and it’s no wonder he was angry that his sister had told him in front of others that he was inferior to others.

"Putting talent aside for now, the fact is that Dure is in much better condition than you, brother. He is still calmly climbing the stairs. But if you continue to use your magic power and force yourself to keep going, you won't even be able to climb the stairs properly, let alone get to the back mountain."

Kelly glared at Keita. She was the thoughtful type who cared a lot about other people's feelings, a completely different type from Keita.

"Damn it, I was tricked by this setup. I get it, as long as I don't use magic power, I'll be fine. Humph, I won't lose to this kind of guy. Kelly, just you wait and see! Charge! Charge! Charge!" Keita was very unwilling to accept this. After deactivating his magic power, he charged forward in one breath.

He quickly left Dure and Kelly behind. He trusted his sister completely; a mere test wouldn't be a problem for her.

"What a willful older brother. He should at least listen to what others have to say." Kelly sighed deeply, wanting to call out to Keita, but it was too late.

"Actually, Keita's straightforward personality is quite cute. By the way, Miss Kelly, may I ask you a question?" Dure wasn't angry at Keita's recklessness. In the blink of an eye, they had climbed more than three hundred steps, but the steps were not the end of the test. Only ten minutes had passed.

“Durey, you don’t need to be so polite. We’re about the same age. You can just call me Kelly. What’s up? Just tell me.” Kelly shook her head kindly. She was a very easy person to get along with and had a good impression of Durey. She was happy to make friends with him.

"Actually, what I wanted to ask was about magical energy," Du Lei hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

114 Magic Power

Dure had heard mercenaries in Hot Spring Village talk about magic power a long time ago, but at the time the mercenaries just thought he was a greenhorn and never told him the details. Now that he has come to Maple Leaf Academy and has been hearing about related concepts from people again, he has no choice but to prepare early.

Kelly was gentle and open with him, which greatly increased Dure's goodwill towards her. He took this opportunity to try to learn about magic energy from Kelly, which was better than having no idea about magic energy when he encountered related problems later.

"Magic energy? Dure, you haven't studied magic energy before?" Kelly pondered for a moment before asking Dure.

"Although I've heard of magic energy before and seen some magical beasts, I still don't understand the specific concept of magic energy." Du Lei spoke the truth on this issue because Kelly was someone he had finally managed to catch and ask her questions about. If he pretended to know what he didn't here, it would be a loss.

“I see. Actually, the concept of magic power isn’t complicated. Dure, you mentioned earlier that you’ve seen magical beasts, right? Have you ever thought about the difference between magical beasts and humans?” Kelly nodded. She didn’t look down on Dure because of his ignorance, but patiently explained.

"Isn't the difference between monsters and humans a difference between species?" Dure frowned, wondering what Kelly meant by asking this.

“It’s not wrong to explain it from the perspective of species, but if we go back to the source, the reason why magical beasts are magical beasts is because of the special nature of their structure, which allows them to better absorb magical elements from the air.” Kelly explained it in a different way so that Dure could understand it more easily.

"I do know about the magical elements in the air. Air is composed of various trace elements, including oxygen and hydrogen. These are relatively new concepts that have only been proposed in recent years." Du Lei nodded. Although he had been staying in the hot spring village for a long time, he always learned about the outside world through books.

"This is indeed a concept proposed in recent years, but the concept of magical elements was proposed a long time ago. Alchemists believed that different elements, when mixed together, would produce different reactions, such as combustion and freezing. Therefore, they called the elements that create these reactions magical elements."

Kelly further explained that although she was about the same age as Dure, she knew much more than Dure. Obviously, she had received professional training before coming to Maple Leaf Academy. Otherwise, Keita would not have such abundant magical power and be so confident and smug.

“Wait, there’s something I don’t understand. Why is it magic element and not magic energy? What’s the difference between magic and magic energy?” Dure caught this key point. He had never been clear about these two concepts and had been confused about them for a long time.

“Actually, there’s another concept that’s easily confused, and that’s magic,” Kelly added.

"So, what's the difference between magic, magical energy, magic, and magical power?" Dure added this point, asking as well.

"To be specific, magic is the power that combines elements in the air. All living things can absorb it, but due to the differences in the structure of living things, the power absorbed and transformed also varies greatly," Kelly explained in detail. At this time, they had climbed more than four hundred steps.

"So, after the human body absorbs magical elements, they are converted into magical energy, but magical energy cannot be released directly, right?" Dure's mind worked quickly, and he came to this point in the shortest amount of time, tentatively asking Kelly.

“That’s right. Just like when the human body inhales air and takes a breath, it carries out the necessary metabolism for life. But when the inhaled air is exhaled, it is no longer the original air. It will contain a lot of impurities, for example,” Kelly tried to use an analogy.

"Like farting," Du Lei immediately came up with a conjecture and blurted it out.

“That analogy isn’t wrong. But magical beasts are different. They have different physiological structures, so they can release magic power directly, and even with greater purity.” Kelly was amused by Dure’s analogy and continued to explain.

"Therefore, humans cannot directly use magic power; they can only convert it into magical energy, store it, and then release it through magical energy weapons. These magical energy weapons are often made using the crystal cores of magical beasts. This is because they utilize the special physiological structure of magical beasts, namely, their crystal cores, right?"

Dure quickly grasped the relationship between the two, demonstrating a remarkable ability to think critically that impressed Kelly.

"That's roughly it. The crystal cores of magical beasts are the key to magical energy weapons. Humans, through their own training alone, are far from being a match for magical beasts. Only by using magical energy weapons can they fight against them. Of course, they can still defeat low-level magical beasts, but I'm talking about high-level magical beasts."

Kelly paused here, "Especially for magical beasts of Steel rank and above, Steel rank is a very important dividing line."

She added, gesturing as she spoke, that if it weren't for the limitations of the environment, she wouldn't even mind drawing a sketch for Dure.

“I understand. But what about magic? What is magic all about?” Dure recalled the boy Bai Ye he had met on the train. Bai Ye had mentioned that he could use ancient magic, but he didn’t actually use it when the snow wolf appeared.

This made Du Lei suspect that Bai Ye was lying, but considering the circumstances at the time and his feelings of caring for Bai Ye, he did not press the matter.

"Durey, you should know that there are always exceptions to everything. Although humans cannot directly convert magical elements and need to release them through magical energy weapons, this only applies to the vast majority of people. There is a very small number of people whose physical structure is different from that of ordinary people and who are born with the ability to convert magical elements."

Kelly's expression turned serious, just like when her teacher had taught her this.

"Humans with different physical structures can actually exist like this?" Du Lei was taken aback, but after thinking about it carefully, he gradually nodded. After all, the world is full of wonders, and even the eastern and western continents are connected by railways, let alone others.

“Yes, there are. Humans with this special ability are very rare, but they all share a common name,” Kelly said solemnly.

"What's the name?" Du Lei knew Kelly had touched on a crucial point and immediately asked.

“Ancient species,” Kelly said, enunciating each word clearly.

115 Cut the rope

While Dure and Kelly were talking, they had already successfully climbed the hundreds of steps leading to the gates of Maple Leaf Academy. When Dure looked back down, there were still hundreds of students struggling with the steps, most of them stuck in the middle. It was a test of physical strength and perseverance.

But climbing the steps didn't mean the first round of testing was over, because their destination was on the back mountain, not at the main gate of Maple Leaf Academy. The testing continued, and after a short rest, Dure and Kelly followed the crowd toward the right side of the academy.

"Dure, haven't you received any professional training before? Although you're not climbing very fast, you've still managed to do it with ease. I think if you wanted to, you could easily catch up. Why do you have to stay behind so slowly?" Kelly asked in confusion.

She realized that Du Lei had been holding back his strength all along. The crowd filed towards the back of the academy. She had looked at the map of Maple Leaf Academy beforehand and knew how far it was from their destination, so she wasn't in a hurry and walked slowly. There were three or four hundred people ahead of her.

"There are many rounds of testing, as long as you can pass, that's fine. Why do you have to compete for rankings? Those rankings not only don't bring any benefits, but they also attract attention. It's not worth it, is it?" Du Lei shook his head. He had already weighed the pros and cons and decided to maintain the status quo.

“Durey, you are really patient. My brother is different. He always wants to be number one in everything. If it were just in my hometown, it would be fine, but after leaving home, he will encounter more and more talented people, like that Sterling, who is more talented than my brother.”

Kelly looked ahead and saw her brother Keita racing against Sterling at the very front of the crowd. The two of them maintained a high speed and were in the leading group of the group, with everyone else following behind them. It was clear that they both wanted to compete for first place.

“This world is too big, and there are too many people. Although I just left the snow mountain and came to this world to broaden my horizons, it’s really different here from the snow mountain. There are too many competitors to compete with for first place. How can you possibly win every first place?” Du Lei shook his head again.

He was a very self-aware person. Even though he was the undisputed core figure in the Black Wind and Copper Mountain group in Hot Spring Village, and Black Wind had actually fought with him several times to compete for first place, he knew that Hot Spring Village only had a few dozen people.

But now, not to mention other places, there are hundreds of peers vying for admission to Maple Leaf Academy alone, not to mention the students who have already officially enrolled in the academy. Du Lei turned around and looked inside the academy's walls. There must be many people watching their test right now.

He could easily imagine those people watching their competition like it was a farce. It wasn't that he didn't want to compete; it was that he didn't dare to.

“If only my brother could think like you, it would be great. Unfortunately, he will never give up unless he fights to the bitter end. Well, once we cross that suspension bridge, we will reach the back mountain of Maple Leaf Academy, which is our destination.” Kelly sighed again as she spoke of her brother.

That was the guy who had given her a headache since she was a child. She shook her head and stopped talking about Keita. Instead, she pointed ahead. By this time, they had left Maple Leaf Academy far behind. A suspension bridge stretched across their front, swaying in the wind.

The suspension bridge was made of wood and was suspended by dozens of ropes arranged in an orderly manner, forming the main structure of the bridge. In the gaps between the ropes, wooden planks were laid to make stepping boards for people to pass through. Two or three hundred people had already crossed the bridge one after another, and soon it would be the turn of Du Lei, Kelly and the others.

“There are advantages to competing and advantages to not competing. Kelly, don’t take it too seriously. Just let him do what he wants. We’ll be there after we cross the suspension bridge. Hmm, what’s up ahead? There’s someone there. What does he want to do?” Dure originally wanted to say a few words of comfort to Kelly.

After all, Kelly had given him a lot of information, and the two could be considered friends. But at this moment, he noticed that someone had stopped on the other side of the suspension bridge. He couldn't see who the other person was or what they were planning, but no one crossed the bridge.

"Hey, what's going on up ahead? If you're not going to go, can you at least stop blocking the road?" someone complained.

"Idiot, didn't you see there are people guarding the suspension bridge over there? It's not that easy to cross." Someone nearby scolded.

"What? Even if he wants to guard the suspension bridge, he's all alone. We have over a hundred people here. Are we afraid of him?" someone scoffed.

"That's right, he's alone, but look what he's holding. That madman is holding a dagger, and he's trying to cut the ropes on the suspension bridge." The student who understood the situation pointed to the dagger in the man's hand on the other side of the suspension bridge, reminding him that such a sudden situation was bewildering.

"What? He's going to cut the rope? Is he crazy? Hey, don't do anything stupid! Get out of the way, we're in a hurry!" The students, finally realizing what had happened, dared not cross the suspension bridge rashly. If the rope were cut in the middle, they would inevitably fall to the bottom of the suspension bridge.

Because of the terrain of Maple Leaf Academy, they had to climb up a winding path. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had to climb hundreds of steps. Below the suspension bridge was a drop of over a hundred meters, with pebbles falling down. The pebbles got smaller and smaller until they were barely visible when they hit the ground. Anyone who fell down would definitely die.

"Hehehe, you bunch of lowly people, you're just a bunch of stupid farmers, yet you dare to dream of studying at Maple Leaf Academy? I will not allow you to become my classmates, that would be an absolute disgrace. So you should stop here and not come any closer."

On the other side of the suspension bridge was a chubby boy who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was dressed in rich clothes and was clearly of noble birth. He was holding a dagger and began to cut the ropes of the suspension bridge next to him, which made the bridge sway. The people on the other side were all on tenterhooks.

"What did you say? Damn it! You're going to stop us here for this reason? It's infuriating! Oh no, there are only twenty minutes left until the deadline! If he really cuts the rope, we'll be trapped here and won't be able to reach our destination!"

As one student sternly reprimanded the others, he glanced at his pocket watch. The watch showed that it had taken them forty minutes to arrive, while the allotted time was one hour. If the suspension bridge was indeed destroyed, they would be unable to complete the test and would be eliminated.

116 is too early

After crossing the suspension bridge, it's about a five-minute walk to the destination of the students taking the Maple Leaf Academy entrance exam. Once there, they will rest and wait for the time to run out before the next round of testing. So far, more than two hundred people have arrived.

Students who arrive usually don't look back to pay attention to what's behind them, but Dure and his group were an exception. On the other side of the suspension bridge, the chubby nobleman's dagger wasn't just for bluffing; he quickly cut the rope on the right, causing the suspension bridge to suddenly sink.

"This is bad. Although I don't know his reason for doing this, once the rope is cut, we will be stranded here. Even if there is another way to get around to the back mountain, twenty minutes is definitely not enough. The suspension bridge is nearly fifty meters long, and there is no way we can fly across it."

Although Kelly was young, she was calm and quickly understood the situation. She originally thought that passing the mere entrance test would be easy, but the current situation was like a wake-up call. With her recommendation letter torn up by Keita, she was likely to be eliminated here.

"Grow wings? Maybe we really can grow a pair of wings, who knows?" Du Lei walked to the back of the crowd. At this moment, all the students looked at each other, and no one dared to step forward rashly. Some of them were begging the chubby boy not to do such a thing that would harm others and himself.

Some people made loud threats, but no matter how soft or hard they were, the chubby boy wouldn't listen. He excitedly cut the rope on the left. Once both ropes were cut, the suspension bridge would inevitably collapse, turning the once smooth passage into a chasm, which would be a huge problem.

"We're doomed. That guy was serious. We're all going to be eliminated here. I should have been faster than him. Damn it, losing like this here is so unfair. You bastard, I'll definitely teach you a lesson for doing this!"

The students, filled with resentment, shouted angrily, venting their emotions, but none of them dared to step forward rashly.

"Hehehe, shout all you want, you're all going to be eliminated here anyway. Almost there, almost cut through, but the dagger is a bit dull." The chubby guy on the other side of the suspension bridge was excited, completely ignoring the people's anger and behaving extremely badly.

"The time hasn't come yet, isn't it a bit too early to talk about elimination now?" Just when all the students were at a loss, someone in the crowd stood up. He looked at the chubby boy on the other side of the suspension bridge and tried the suspension bridge under his feet. It was swaying.

"Hey, what are you trying to do? That madman isn't joking. He's already cut one section of the rope. If he cuts the other one, the suspension bridge will be completely destroyed. People will die if they fall from this height. Don't play with your life!" someone shouted.