The most shameless alchemist in history

Du Lei looked at the vast crowd of runners. He had made a lot of preparations for the entrance test of Maple Leaf Academy, but when it started, he found that none of his preparations were useful. The test method was too bizarre. The two rounds of tests so far can be summarized as running, running, running.

“That being said, identifying talented students requires appropriate methods, which is really…” Kelly shook her head. Physical strength was not her forte, and she harbored deep resentment towards this testing method. On the other hand, her brother Keita was running around happily.

“You think this is really outrageous, don’t you?” Dure said what Kelly didn’t say.

“Don’t you think so?” Kelly believed her questioning was perfectly reasonable.

"In some ways, it is indeed outrageous." Du Lei thought for a moment and gave an ambiguous answer.

"Is there another level of understanding?" Kelly asked in surprise.

“Of course there is, because running is an endurance training. If you only pursue speed, then people with poor physical strength will definitely suffer. But Charlotte didn’t set a time limit, right?” Dure asked Kelly.

"The first round of testing clearly stipulated that it should be completed within an hour, but it seems that there really is no time limit for the second round of testing." Kelly thought about it carefully and found that it was indeed as Du Lei said.

"So the problem is quite simple. Running twenty laps around the huge Maple Leaf Lake does seem difficult, but that's assuming you have to compete with the leading group for a good ranking. If you slow down and it's purely a test of endurance and willpower, I don't think it's too difficult."

Dure ran very slowly. Even though he grew up in the snow-capped mountains and could traverse mountains and rivers as easily as walking on flat ground, he still slowed down. Meanwhile, Keita and Sterling from the First Army Group were already almost half a lap ahead of him, and they were still competing for first place.

“What you’re saying makes some sense,” Kelly said after careful consideration, agreeing with Durei’s words.

“Since everyone comes to Maple Leaf Academy to study magic energy, although I don’t know much about magic energy, I think the process of mastering magic energy is like running around Maple Leaf Lake. It’s a cyclical process that requires perseverance. You absolutely cannot give up halfway. If you can’t even finish twenty laps…” Du Lei paused here.

"Then how will you persevere through the tedious and agonizing daily learning of magic powers? So let's keep going," Dure said casually.

Is 120 fair or not?

Those who can come to Maple Leaf Academy to study must be people with perseverance and awareness. Otherwise, with so many academies, why would they choose to come to such a far place as Maple Leaf Academy to suffer? But even with perseverance, it is difficult to persist under the wear and tear of time.

When the students had run ten laps around Maple Leaf Lake, many of the originally large group of three hundred people could no longer keep up. Some began to slow down and were left behind, and some even considered giving up. As time gradually passed, it became afternoon.

“We’ve been running since early morning, and we’re exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. Meanwhile, those people are eating and drinking well on the side. What are we to them, monkeys for their amusement?” A student looked at the noble students in the maple forest.

Skipping the second round of testing, they laid out tablecloths under the maple tree, took out the food they had prepared in advance, and enjoyed the pleasant afternoon. The tempting aroma of the food stimulated the noses of these hungry students, and some even whistled at them as they ran.

"Give it your all! You've already run ten laps! Ten more laps and you'll finish the test. But at this slow pace, it'll probably be evening by the end of the day, haha. But don't rush, don't rush. If you finish in a flash, it won't be worth watching."

The noble students shouted from afar, pointing and gesturing at the running crowd, all grinning as if they were watching a play.

"Those guys, relying on recommendation letters and bribes, don't have to run around. They just stand there making sarcastic remarks. What's wrong with this college? Shouldn't everyone be on the same starting line when selecting students? This is so unfair!" A student angrily rebuked.

"Do you think the world should be like this? Should everything be fair?" Du Lei happened to run over next to the student. Hearing the student's complaint, he couldn't help but respond. The male student who spoke looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old and was nearly 1.75 meters tall.

"Isn't this what fairness is all about? Oh, right, you're the one who helped us on the suspension bridge before. I haven't thanked you in person yet. Without you, I wouldn't have even passed the first round." The boy originally wanted to complain a bit more.

But when he saw Du Lei clearly, he recognized him. After all, there were hundreds of eyes staring at him from the suspension bridge.

"I'm helping myself rather than you guys, so there's nothing to thank me for," Du Lei shook his head, not taking credit for it.

“But you had already crossed the suspension bridge, so you could have just left without us, right?” The boy did not agree with Du Lei’s statement.

"Interpret it however you like, so now that you've passed the first round, are you planning to give up?" Du Lei asked him in return.

"Give up? What a joke! I traveled all the way from the Land of Swamps to Maple Leaf Academy, not for the sake of giving up. It's just that what I see here is too unfair. I left the Land of Swamps because I thought it would be fair, but what I see and hear here is no different from what I saw and heard back home."

The young man hated evil as if it were his enemy and was extremely indignant about it. The laughter of the noble students in the maple forest provoked him, causing his anger to ferment and spread rapidly.

"The word 'fairness' is nothing more than a psychological comfort that weak people seek to make up for their laziness. It's not worth mentioning." Du Lei scoffed at the word "fairness." He shook his head slightly and looked at the roadside. Many people had stopped running.

"What does the psychological comfort of laziness have to do with laziness? Aren't those nobles lazy too?" Although the boy felt grateful to Dure, he wouldn't budge on this issue. The reality was obvious: they were sweating profusely, while the nobles were enjoying gourmet food.

"As long as you are diligent enough and persevere, provided that your diligence is used in the right place, not in the wrong place, such as farming, then sooner or later you will be better off than them. You think it's unfair that you are running while they are enjoying themselves."

"So, from another perspective, after you undergo magic training, you are also training diligently, while the nobles are also indulging in pleasure. With this disparity, when you easily defeat them, will they also complain about the unfairness?" Dure asked the boy rhetorically.

"That being said, it is undeniable that those nobles have more resources and more conveniences, which puts them far ahead of ordinary people." The boy was still bothered by this point; it was a hurdle he couldn't overcome in his heart.

"The fact that they have more resources and more conveniences shows that their families have devoted more effort and energy many years ago. They are just inheriting the benefits of their predecessors. When you achieve success one day, you will also give your children the greatest possible convenience, won't you?"

Du Lei asked the boy a question in return. He didn't care about fairness at all, even though he had also suffered a lot of cold looks.

"Well, I haven't thought that far ahead yet," the boy was stumped by Du Lei's question. After all, he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and talking about his children was something that would happen many years later.

"So just focus on what you're doing right now and don't let things you can't change for the time being affect your mood. No matter how angry you are, what can you do? It will only make your situation worse. If you want to change the unfairness in your eyes, then go for it."

Du Lei glanced at the noble students in the maple forest, who were shouting and making sarcastic remarks at the students who were running around.

"I think I understand now. I will continue to work hard and I will never give up here." The boy nodded emphatically. He had been full of resentment, but now he had a sudden realization and was no longer fixated on the so-called fairness in front of him.

"What are you talking about? I just heard something about children. Dure, you're not married, are you? You might even have children." At this moment, Kelly slowly ran up from behind. She had just overheard Dure and the boy's conversation.

"What are you talking about, kid?" Dure was a little confused.

“Didn’t you guys say that? I heard everything just now.” Kelly winked at him.

"No, you misheard. That's not it," Du Lei hurriedly waved his hand.

"Oh, no? That's a real shame." Kelly looked somewhat regretful.

"What's there to regret?" Du Lei almost spat out blood.

"No, we've already completed eleven laps. Just nine more laps and we'll be done. Keep it up, everyone!" Kelly shook her head and sped up.

The afternoon sun was pleasant and leisurely, but the boys and girls were still sweating profusely.

121. Utilization Value

The test of running twenty laps around Maple Leaf Lake continued until dusk. As night fell, the last student finally finished the last lap. Of course, this was only the part of the students who persevered to the end. Many others gave up halfway and left Maple Leaf Lake dejectedly.

Maple Leaf Academy had prepared teleportation imprints to send the students who failed to complete twenty laps back to the foot of the mountain. Originally a large group of three hundred people, only less than two hundred people completed the second round of testing, and more than one hundred people failed to persevere and were eliminated.

"Finally finished? I'm so exhausted. I don't even know how I managed to keep going. By the seventh or eighth lap, my legs were practically numb. I felt like I was completely broken." Kelly sat on a rock by the lake, pounding her legs.

"Kelly, I've told you to practice more all the time, but you never listen. Now that it's crucial, you realize you're going to mess things up. You should at least learn from me, your older brother. You're my sister, after all. If you get eliminated, where will I put my face?" Keita grumbled.

"Do you think everyone is a simple-minded, muscle-bound idiot like you? Besides, in these two rounds of tests, you didn't help me at all except blame me. In this respect, you're not even as good as Dure. Who is my real brother here?" Kelly glared at Keita fiercely, very dissatisfied.

“Hey Kelly, if you want to blame me, blame me. Why did you drag that kid into this and keep siding with an outsider like him? Even if I’m magnanimous, I’ll still get angry.” Keita pointed at Dure, completely ignoring the latter’s opinion. Being spoken to like this by her sister made her lose face.

"Then you can stay angry all you want. You argued so fiercely, but you still didn't win first place," Kelly retorted, unable to tolerate her brother any longer. She then turned and walked away. By this time, it was completely dark, but fortunately, the sky was full of bright stars and the moonlight was clear.

The crescent moon was reflected on the calm, mirror-like surface of Maple Leaf Lake. A gentle evening breeze stirred up ripples. The young men and women, exhausted from a long day, leaned against the lakeside. Some idly tossed pebbles into the lake. Before today, they were complete strangers to each other.

After a long day of hard work, many people remembered each other's names. After all, being away from their parents, in addition to being independent, they had to rely on friends and companions to live a lot. Different small groups began to form quietly.

“I heard about what you did today.” Sterling walked toward Dure as he sat alone by the lake.

"What could possibly happen today?" Dure pretended not to know, somewhat surprised that Sterling was paying so much attention to him.

"Today, during the first round of testing, you helped over a hundred people cross the suspension bridge," Sterling added.

"So that's what you meant. It seems there is such a thing. What, is there a problem?" Du Lei asked him in return.

"I don't understand why you would do this, why you would help those trash who can't even solve this little problem. And even if they pass the first round with your help, many of those hundred-plus people will not pass the second round of testing and will be eliminated."

Sterling directly pointed out his doubts, stating that he could find no explanation for Duray's actions.

“I wasn’t trying to help anyone out of pity; I was just doing what I believed was right,” Dure shook his head.

"Do you think you're right? Do you think helping them is the right thing to do, or do you think they have some use to you?" Sterling spoke bluntly, his face always taut. If the moonlight shining on someone else's face could be described as "gentle," it was as white as snow and as cold as frost on his face.

"Use value, maybe," Dure said, not wanting to argue further with Sterling, and did not refute this.

“Even if you’re going to use someone, you should choose someone who has value to you, like that Keita. But you’ve chosen to stand against him. That doesn’t seem like the right choice.” Sterling looked at Keita, who was comforting her sister, and scolded Dure.

“Whether to choose or not, there is no right or wrong. If you come to me to reprimand me, I cannot understand your reason for doing so. If you use your logic to explain it, I am very confused. Are you trying to use me? Then why don’t you use Keita?” Dure retorted.

“Because you are more useful than Keita, ten times, a hundred times,” Sterling said in a low voice, but his tone left no room for argument.

"Can I take that as a compliment?" Durree didn't expect Sterling's answer and remained silent for a moment before responding.

"Don't do such stupid things again. You're not like them," Sterling said before turning and leaving.

"Thanks for the reminder. And congratulations on getting first place in both the first and second rounds of testing." Dure said to Sterling's back, but by then Sterling had already walked away and seemed not to have heard him. The moonlight blurred his shadow.

"Excuse me, do you know that person?" Just after Sterling walked away, someone came up behind Dure.

“You’re right, the guy who struck up a conversation with me while I was running during the day. What’s your name?” Du Lei turned around and recognized the boy who had spoken to him during the day. The two had talked quite a bit, and he had a deep impression of the latter.

"My name is Lance. I didn't expect you to remember me. That's great!" The boy named Lance introduced himself, somewhat overjoyed.

"My name is Dure. By the way, did you ask him about Sterling earlier?" Dure remembered the boy's name and inquired about his purpose.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little curious. Is his name Sterling? He's quite the celebrity now, having won first place in two consecutive rounds. A lot of people are talking about him." Lance looked at Sterling from afar, filled with curiosity about the latter.

"What, if you want to know more about him, you can just go and talk to him," Du Lei said with a smile.

"Durey, please spare me. That guy is a loner and hard to get along with. Besides, I'm just curious that you know someone like that. I have no interest in him. It's best to keep your distance from him." Lance shook his head.

"Do we even know each other? I wouldn't say we know each other." Du Lei disagreed.

The moonlight spilled across the lake, creating a rare and tranquil night.

122 Train you

The more than two hundred students, including Du Lei, who had passed the second round of tests were exhausted. It could be said that they had been running non-stop since they gathered at the foot of Maple Leaf Academy in the morning, from morning till night. They only had two short breaks in between.

This is hard for adults to accept, let alone these teenagers, most of whom are around fifteen or sixteen years old. After such a difficult day, the elimination rate was barely over 50%, which shows their determination and that they will not be easily scared off by the test.

However, just when they thought they could finally get a good rest, and that even if they had to camp out by Maple Leaf Lake, they could fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, Charlotte, the examiner, reappeared. With the help of the torchlight, everyone's attention was drawn to Charlotte.

"First of all, I congratulate you all on persevering through a day of testing. However, don't get complacent because of this achievement. For Maple Leaf Academy, which has countless honors, this perseverance is just the entry standard. Please listen carefully to what I am about to say."

Charlotte cleared her throat and glanced around. The students who had been resting all stood up, their eyes filled with hatred as they looked at Charlotte. After all, everyone knew that Charlotte was the one who had exhausted them. If the truth was as she said, then so be it.

But in reality, Charlotte was nothing but a high-sounding fraud. While they were sweating profusely, the aristocratic students were leisurely watching the show. This unfair situation made the student group particularly dissatisfied, after all, not everyone was as open-minded as Dure.

"Just say what you have to say already, hey, hey, are you trying to mess with us again?" one student complained. Although Charlotte was a teacher at Maple Leaf Academy, and normally no student would dare to offend him, Charlotte's behavior was so unpleasant that the students' emotions were about to explode.

"How dare you talk like that? What do you mean by 'torture'? This is to train your willpower to be as strong as steel. I've already said that this is an essential ability for students of Maple Leaf Academy. Considering you've had a hard day, I came here especially to bring you food." Charlotte clapped her hands.

Soon, students wearing the distinctive white uniforms of Maple Leaf Academy came over pushing carts; there were more than a dozen of these carts.

"What? This guy is so kind to bring us food?" The male student who had spoken earlier was stunned. He looked at the carts in confusion. His impression of Charlotte was terrible. He never expected that Charlotte would come to bring them things. Everyone was surprised.

"That's right. What, you don't think I'm deliberately messing with you, trying to exhaust or starve you, do you? These are freshly baked breads, still warm. Eat up." Charlotte uncovered the cloth covering the cart, and soon a steaming aroma filled the air.

The students were already starving, and their appetites were immediately whetted when they saw the food. In no time, everyone gathered around.

"It really is bread! I've been starving! Give it to me, please! Thank you! It smells so good! I've never had such delicious bread before."

"Well, I didn't expect Charlotte to finally do something decent. I was really misunderstanding him before. I feel really bad."