The most shameless alchemist in history

"I've only been gone a short time, and the guild is already gone? It happened so fast, so suddenly." Riley couldn't accept this reality. To him, the Cerberus Guild was like a home, even though in recent years, the rise of newcomers in the guild had squeezed his living space.

But his special feelings for the guild were irreplaceable, and now he was being told that the guild was finished. How could he accept that?

"Boss Riley, don't worry too much. Look, it says 'suspected' above, which means it's uncertain whether they've all been wiped out." Blackwind didn't know how to comfort Riley, after all, this news was really too shocking for him, because Cerberus was a very famous guild.

Even when he was still in Hot Spring Village, he often heard mercenaries talk about it, and the mercenaries' faces were full of longing when they talked about Cerberus, which shows its status in the mercenary world. The reason he chose to follow Riley was because Riley was a cadre of Cerberus.

Like his childhood playmates, Black Wind was unwilling to live a mediocre life in a small village. He wanted to leave the village and venture into the world, and the Cerberus would be his opportunity. However, before he even reached the Kingdom of Dogs where the Cerberus lived, he suddenly learned of this news.

"Damn it, who did this? Who did this?" Riley was immersed in grief and anger. He slammed his fist on the wall, denting it completely. This attracted the attention of many people. Black Wind quickly waved and smiled apologetically to the people around him, indicating that everything was alright.

"Boss Riley, please don't summon anyone. We're currently far away in the Land of Mountains, and we can only get some general information from the newspapers. We'll discuss the details once we arrive in the Land of Dogs. Let's go buy tickets quickly." Black Wind was extremely shocked by the news.

If Cerberus were truly destroyed, it would mean that his efforts to gain Riley's support would be in vain. However, he was a very calm person, and after weighing the options, he decided to go to the Land of Dogs to learn more about the situation before planning his next move.

227 Teleportation Barrier

Dure, who was about to go back, was grabbed by Nono. She dragged him to the right side of the academy without saying a word. Dure couldn't understand her intentions at all and asked her several times, but she just wouldn't speak. After the two arrived at a magical barrier on the right side of the academy, light appeared.

Before Du Lei could react to what was happening, the surrounding scenery distorted and he felt dizzy, which almost made him faint. Fortunately, the dizziness did not last long and soon disappeared, and the surrounding scenery became clear again.

"Teacher Nuonuo, what's going on? Where are you taking me? At least say something! Why is this place different from before?" Du Lei asked repeatedly, trying to figure out what was going on, but before Nuonuo could answer, he froze.

He clearly remembered being near the academy, but only a few seconds had passed, and the surrounding scenery had changed. He looked around and felt that something was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he was. However, he was certain that it wasn't the academy.

"What, haven't you been here before?" Nono finally spoke, leading Dure down the steps. Nearby was a marble building, the interior of a large building, with solemn and grand crystal chandeliers hanging in the air. Compared to Dure's astonished expression, Nono's expression remained unchanged.

"It seems like I've been here before, but oh right, I remember now, this is the academy's reception area at the foot of the mountain." Du Lei thought for a long time, carefully searching his mind, trying to find a memory that matched this place. Soon, a flash of inspiration came to him, and he remembered something that happened not long ago.

"Looks like you're not completely stupid. That's right, this is the academy's reception area in Maple City. You must have been here before. But judging from your reaction, didn't you use the teleportation barrier before?" Nono pointed to the magic barrier behind her, where light shimmered.

“I’ve seen teleportation barriers in books, but it actually exists, and it’s right behind us. I just experienced it once. Wow, it only took a few seconds to cross such a long distance. It’s incredible.” Du Lei was surprised.

He savored the feeling of being teleported just now, and it still wasn't enough. If it weren't for Nono being there, he probably would have gone back to experience it again.

"Strange, when you came to the academy to register, shouldn't you have used the teleportation barrier to get there? That's the academy's rule. You didn't use it, so how did you get to the academy?" Nono looked at Du Lei with an incredulous expression, somewhat puzzled by this.

"What? There's such a rule? I've never heard of it before. As for how to get to the academy, of course we run there on foot. Isn't that how everyone does it?" Du Lei scratched his head, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

"Running on foot? Are you kidding me? This is such a long distance. If you run on foot, it would take you all night to get there." At this moment, Nuonuo and Du Lei had already walked out of the reception area. When she heard Du Lei's words, she pointed to the majestic and imposing mountains and couldn't believe it.

"That's right, that's how I got to the academy. Back then, no one told me I could use a teleportation barrier or anything. I even encountered an attack from a magical bear on the way." Du Lei answered truthfully. If Nono hadn't shown him the teleportation barrier today, he wouldn't have known it could be so convenient.

"I remember the teacher in charge of the reception area was that big fat guy, Fant, right? He didn't even help you use the teleportation barrier, making you travel such a long way. Is that guy out of his mind?" Nono thought carefully. As a teacher at the academy, she knew the teachers' duties.

“Yes, it’s that chubby Mr. Fant. I think he might have forgotten.” Dure found a reason for Fant.

“No, that’s not right. It’s not that he forgot. He must have done it to conserve magic energy. This is really too much.” Nono shook her head. She rejected Dure’s guess. She thought about it carefully and quickly came up with the only reason that could explain his actions.

"Does using a teleportation barrier really consume a lot of mana?" Du Lei asked, puzzled.

"What do you think? You don't think going through the teleportation barrier is as easy as crossing the street in front of your house, do you?" Nono glared at him.

"There's no road in front of my house, and there are no horses in my hometown," Du Lei corrected the question quietly.

"I don't care if your hometown has horses or not. Using a teleportation barrier consumes a lot of magic energy. The longer the teleportation distance, the greater the consumption. Of course, building such a teleportation barrier also consumes a huge amount of energy. Usually, the distance of a teleportation barrier is not long, otherwise there would be no need for trains." Nono scolded Dure in an annoyed tone. While explaining to Dure, she also mentioned the trouble of building the barrier.

“I see. Professor Fant didn’t need to use a teleportation barrier for an ordinary student like me to conserve magic energy. That’s only natural, it’s nothing.” Dure nodded. He finally understood Fant’s intention, but he didn’t blame Fant.

"Hey, he tricked you, and you're still praising him? There's a limit to how much of a pushover you can be. Besides, Fant isn't just saving magic energy; the academy gave him a crystal bottle as compensation for his magic energy consumption." Nono was very dissatisfied with Dure's attitude.

"A pushover? This is the first time someone has called me that. But it's not like that at all. As for the crystal bottle, is it a crystal bottle containing magic energy essence?" Du Lei chuckled at Nono's "pushover" label, but he didn't argue or explain. Instead, he asked about the crystal bottle.

"Huh? I didn't expect an idiot like you to know about crystal bottles. Did you see it in a book?" Nono looked at Durei in surprise.

"Pretty much, I guess. Someone offered me a bottle before, but I didn't accept it." Du Lei casually recalled how a man named Leo had approached him not long ago and offered him magic energy essence.

"So that's how it is. I thought you were so engrossed in books that you became a complete fool. Wait, what did you say? Someone offered you magic energy essence, and you didn't accept it." Nono didn't notice anything strange at first, but she quickly exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Du Lei nodded seriously, readily admitting it.

"This isn't just a question of whether there's a problem or not, it's a huge problem! Don't you know how precious the Magic Energy Essence is? So many people would kill for it, and someone offered it to you, and you refused it? Have you gone mad from reading too much?" Nono scolded loudly.

"Is it really that exaggerated? It's just a bottle of magic energy essence. Teacher Nono, do you want it too?" Du Lei didn't seem to care much about it.

"Of course you want it! Anyone who studies magic power would want magic power essence. It can be directly absorbed and used. Let me give you an example. After a battle, someone has exhausted all their magic power and can no longer continue fighting. At this time, a bottle of magic power essence would be just what they need." Nono was afraid that Dure didn't know the value of magic power essence, so she immediately gestured with her hands and explained it to him in detail.

"What happens after we get a bottle of Magic Energy Essence?" Du Lei nodded, patiently listening to Nono's explanation.

"After drinking a bottle of Magic Energy Essence, your magic energy will be greatly restored. Depending on the quality and quantity of the Magic Energy Essence, it may only restore a portion, or it may restore it completely. Some Magic Energy Essences may even enhance your attributes. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Nono rattled off a whole bunch of things in one breath, describing them vividly.

“I think I understand now. It seems that the Magic Energy Essence is indeed a very precious thing. So how is it made?” Dure nodded. Although he knew the preciousness of the Magic Energy Essence, he did not regret the decision he made that day. He just couldn’t tell Nono about it here.

Otherwise, given Nono's current attitude, she would definitely pin him to the ground and beat him up.

"I don't know how to make the magic energy elixir. Only alchemists know the recipe; it must be quite complicated." Nono waved her hand. She had absolutely no interest in alchemy; it was a dry, obscure, and anti-human subject.

228 Where to go?

After Du Lei and Nuonuo left the Maple Leaf Academy's reception area, a carriage was waiting at the entrance. Du Lei glanced at it from afar, but because of the previous incident of a carriage collision, he had an instinctive aversion to such things and immediately turned his head to walk around the carriage.

But Nono grabbed him and forcibly pulled him into the carriage, which left Dure somewhat bewildered. After Nono was seated in the carriage, she glared at him, telling him not to make a fuss. The latter finally understood that the carriage was there to pick up Nono, and then he calmed down a bit.

"Teacher Nono, where are we going? You should at least tell me. I don't even know our destination. This is so unfair!" Du Lei looked at the scenery outside the carriage window. They were heading towards the center of Maple City, even though it was already dusk.

But for this bustling southern town of the Snow Country, this was just the beginning of the excitement. Many pedestrians flocked to the streets, shopping in front of various shops, and street performers performed magic tricks, attracting the attention of many people, especially children who occasionally exclaimed in surprise.

"What, are you afraid I'll sell you out? What did you say before? You said you could conquer heaven and trample hell, and now you can't sit still anymore?" Nono looked lazy and relaxed, completely ignoring Du Lei's worries.

"No, it's just that... never mind, pretend I didn't ask anything. Anyway, I've entrusted my life to you, Teacher Nuonuo." Du Lei originally wanted to ask more questions, but seeing Nuonuo swinging her toes, he knew that no matter how he asked, she definitely wouldn't give in, so it was better not to ask.

"What use is your life? You talk as if anyone cares about it. I'll stop here and you can get out with me." Nono looked out the window and signaled the driver to stop. The driver, Du Lei, was an ordinary-looking man in his thirties chewing on some grass.

"Hey, are we here already? I can get off the bus myself, you don't need to pull me." Du Lei wanted to look out the window to see where they were, but Nuonuo reached out and pulled him off the bus without saying a word, and he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"Stop talking nonsense and come in with me." Nono showed no recklessness and dragged Dure forward.

"I told you to slow down, this is a tailor shop!" Du Lei complained. If it were anyone else, he probably would have lost his temper long ago, but firstly, Nono was his teacher, secondly, Nono didn't seem to have any bad intentions, and thirdly, she was a cute girl.

This forced Du Lei to swallow his grievances. He was dragged along by Nuonuo for a while, and when they finally stopped, Nuonuo pointed to a shop in front of him and gestured for him to go in. Du Lei looked up and saw that it was a tailor shop, and a rather luxurious one at that.

“That’s right, it’s the tailor shop. Is there a problem?” Nono led Du Lei into the tailor shop. The tailor shop was very large, with more than a dozen rows of clothes racks inside, displaying all kinds of clothes. Several staff members were busy in the shop.

"Of course there's a problem. What are you doing in a place like this? Are you here to buy clothes?" This was Du Lei's first time in a place like this. Seeing all the trendy new clothes made him feel dazzled and a little guilty, since he didn't have any money in his pocket.

"You idiot, what are you doing at the tailor shop if not buying clothes? Do you think I'd come here to buy a pig?" Nono gave Du Lei a disdainful look.

"Welcome! How can you two help us?" A lovely young lady approached Nono and Dure after the staff noticed them.

"Here we go again? Didn't I tell you I came to buy clothes, not pigs?" Nono was getting impatient with the barrage of questions.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I can recommend some of our latest styles to you. Please come this way." The sales assistant wasn't angry at being scolded by Nuonuo for no reason. She maintained her polite smile and pointed to the right, indicating that Nuonuo should come with her. She would explain the various styles in detail.

"No, no need to go over there, just stay here." Nono shook her head, refusing the sales assistant's offer and insisting on staying in this area to browse.

"Hey, Nuonuo, this is the men's section. If you want to buy clothes, go over there. I think those over there would suit you better." Du Lei felt sorry for the sales assistant who was being harassed by Nuonuo and persuaded Nuonuo to go to the right side to choose.

"Who said I can only buy clothes over there and can't stay here? And did I say I was buying clothes for myself?" Nono glared at Du Lei. She really wondered what was going on in this guy's head. He usually seemed pretty smart, but he was incredibly stupid when it came to certain questions.

"Huh? I'm not buying clothes for myself, who am I buying them for?" Du Lei was still confused.

"I take back what I just said." Nono was on the verge of a breakdown because of Du Lei.

"What are you saying?" Du Lei assumed that Nuonuo was apologizing to the sales assistant for her arrogant attitude earlier.

"I didn't come here to buy a pig, I brought a pig to buy clothes! Oh my god, how could you be so stupid?" Nono cried out in despair, leaving Du Lei still dumbfounded. But the saleswoman next to her saw it clearly and kept smiling, though her gaze shifted to Du Lei.

Meanwhile, at Maple Leaf Academy, Lance, who had just finished class, headed towards the training ground with great enthusiasm. However, on his way there, he encountered an old acquaintance. There weren't many people at Maple Leaf Academy who could be considered his acquaintances, and Kelly was clearly one of them.

"Hey Kelly, you're done with get out of class too?" Lance greeted Kelly from afar.

"Are you stupid? Our get out of class ends at the same time. Since you're out of class, of course I'm out of class too." Kelly wasn't alone; there was a cute girl next to her.

"Oh, I see. I didn't even notice that before. Kelly, you're amazing, you know everything." Lance scratched his head, still smiling. It was rare for him to get angry.

"Good afternoon, Lance. Do you remember me?" Behind Kelly, a cute girl came up to greet Lance.

“I remember, of course I remember. Your name is Cecilia, right? You’re Kelly’s classmate.” Lance thought for a moment and indeed remembered that he had met her just two days ago. She seemed to be Kelly’s best friend in class, and the two were always inseparable.

“It’s not Cecilia, it’s Messiah. You idiot, it’s very rude to say the wrong name,” Kelly corrected.

"Sorry, sorry, it's Messiah, Messiah. I have a bad memory and I'm not good at remembering complicated things, so I don't like reading." Lance scratched his head sheepishly. He wasn't wrong; he was always the type to get carried away with his passion.

"It's alright, Lance, I'm just happy that you still remember me. By the way, where's Dure? I don't see him. Where is he?" Messiah looked around, trying to find Dure's whereabouts, but there were no companions with Lance, only other students passing by in a hurry.

"No need to look, Dure isn't there." Kelly poured cold water on Messiah's hopes. As a good friend, she knew what Messiah was thinking.

"Sigh, he's not here? This is the second time already. I still haven't seen Du Lei. I really wanted to see him, see what he looks like, and get to know him." Messiah's previously high spirits suddenly turned into disappointment.

"There's nothing to see about Dure, why worry about him all the time? By the way, where did Dure go? I haven't seen him all day." Kelly wasn't particularly concerned about Dure, but after glancing at Messiah, she still asked on her behalf.

"Dure was late this morning and didn't come to class. I heard him say he took leave or something, but I don't really know. However, I do know that he left with Teacher Nono at five o'clock." Lance thought for a moment and told what he knew.

“What? He’s with that teacher Nono again?” Kelly frowned.

The word "Messiah" next to "again" captures this key word.

“Yes, is there a problem? Didn’t you say, Kelly, that in order to fight against that young lady Euphemia and Charlotte, we need to win over Teacher Nono as our support?” Lance didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“But they’re together way too often, it’s really suspicious,” Kelly thought to herself.

The “suspicious” Messiah’s sensitive nerves were once again stirred.

"Oh dear, what's suspicious about that? Dure and Teacher Nono are getting along very well. Teacher Nono is so cute, unlike that fierce Charlotte." Lance didn't notice Messiah's change in expression and said with a smile.

"Du Lei, Du Lei, absolutely not! I will not admit defeat, I will never admit defeat!" Messiah seemed to have suffered a great shock, and she turned and left angrily.

"Oh Messiah, what's wrong with Messiah?" Lance was puzzled by her reaction and couldn't understand it at all.

“You’re not a girl, so of course you wouldn’t understand. But I always feel that Nono isn’t as simple as she seems.” Kelly didn’t seem to care about Messiah’s reaction, as if it was expected. On the contrary, Nono was what she cared about most.

229 Misleading the youth

When Du Lei came out of the tailor shop, he was still a little dazed, while Nono next to him had changed from being extremely dissatisfied to being very satisfied. The two of them boarded the carriage again, and the carriage slowly moved along. It was almost six o'clock.

"Teacher Nuonuo, is this alright?" Du Lei still felt uneasy and uncomfortable all over.

"I'm telling you, you're a boy, why do you have so many questions? Tell me, what's the question this time?" Normally, Nuonuo wouldn't have said another word and would have shut him down. But now she was in a good mood, so Du Lei had a chance to speak.

"These clothes must be very expensive." Compared to before he entered the tailor shop, Du Lei was completely transformed. He had changed from wearing a white Maple Leaf Academy uniform with gold trim into a brand new black evening suit.