The most shameless alchemist in history

"Boss Simon, this guy was the one who messed things up for us last time. His name is Lan... Lan something, anyway, he's not a good person." Sido recognized Lance and reported the situation to Simon again.

"My name is Lance, what Lance what what? How come your memory is so bad? By the way, who are you?" Lance was very angry that people couldn't remember his name. While scolding him, he stared blankly at Sido, who did look somewhat familiar.

But I just can't remember where I saw Sido before.

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279. Getting into trouble.

Even if Lance had a bad memory and didn't know where he had seen them before, there was at least one thing he was sure of: these people were definitely not good people. Surrounding Dure here was not for a social gathering or anything like that; they were clearly here to cause trouble, and they were not easy to mess with.

If it were anyone else, seeing such a scene, they might have run away, after all, it's always wise not to get involved. But Lance didn't think that way. He's always been a stubborn person, and even though the current situation was very bad, he stood next to Durei, not backing down an inch.

"You ask me who I am? You bastard, have you forgotten your handsome face, Uncle Sido?" Sido was furious at Lance's reaction. At least he remembered the general outline of Lance's name, but Lance himself didn't even have a vague recollection of him.

"Oh, Sido." Lance nodded thoughtfully when Sido introduced himself, which made Sido's expression improve slightly.

"Well, do you remember now? I am the famous Uncle Sido. Oh, no, with Boss Simon here, I am your second uncle. You should show some respect to me and Boss Simon!" Sido said arrogantly, but upon seeing Simon's gloomy face, he immediately changed his tune.

"Sido, aren't you the one who delivers milk at the academy? Why are you stopping Dure? Are you trying to sell your milk products?" Lance stepped forward and patted Sido on the shoulder, which made the originally awkward atmosphere suddenly become somewhat comical, even Sido was stunned.

"Delivering milk? What do you mean, delivering milk? Your brain is full of milk, no, it's full of cow dung! I'm Sido, the wicked Sido, the Sido who does bad things! How could you forget me!" Sido was practically going crazy.

"Enough! My time is precious. I didn't come here today to watch this farce!" Simon's face remained gloomy, but as Lance and Sido got caught up in this strange loop, his expression grew increasingly grim until he suddenly roared out.

"Boss Simon... This is all that idiot's fault. I was almost completely confused by him. Yes, we're here to settle accounts with you... That's what I was going to say, but I need to correct myself now. We're here to settle accounts with you!" Sido realized his earlier lapse in composure.

He quickly composed himself, and righteously rebuked Dure and Lance. His self-righteous demeanor made it seem as if they were performing some heroic act of upholding justice.

"Settle accounts? Are you talking about settling accounts for the milk? I haven't bought any milk from you." Lance was increasingly puzzled.

"I've said it eight hundred times already! It has absolutely nothing to do with milk or anything! Why can't you understand? I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget..." Sido was furious. He immediately stepped forward to teach Lance a lesson. Lance's open humiliation of him made him feel extremely embarrassed.

"Get out of here, you disgraceful bastard!"

Just as Sido was about to fight Lance, Lance took a step back, lowered his center of gravity, and prepared to fight. But suddenly someone shouted and kicked Sido away. The kick was incredibly powerful.

Xido had no time to react before he was kicked against the wall and landed slowly, curling up in a ball with a pained expression on his face.

"Boss Simon, I..." Sido looked at the person who had just kicked him in pain, who was none other than Simon, who had been wearing a gloomy face all along.

"I'm very sorry that my idiot subordinate has caused you trouble," Simon said coldly to Dure and the other man.

Although he said "sorry," his face was filled with murderous intent, and his expression didn't look like that of someone apologizing at all.

"No...it's nothing really, but he's still your companion, how could you treat him like this?" Lance was also shocked by Simon's actions. To attack one's own companion was something Lance couldn't understand at all.

"Companion? He's nothing but my lackey, and the kind who can't even get things done properly. So let's get down to business." Simon glanced coldly at the trembling Sido. No matter how arrogant Sido had been just now, he was now cowering in the corner, not daring to look at him.

"Hey, that's really going too far!" Lance was fixated on the fact that Simon had beaten up Sido.

Although Sido was on the opposite side of him, Sido's current predicament has also garnered his sympathy.

"What, you dare to interfere in my affairs? But my question seems a bit redundant, since you've already interfered once before, haven't you?" Simon stared at Lance with a sinister look, which made the latter shudder, even though he spent all his time in the training hall and had dealt with many people.

But Simon's venomous gaze made Lance very uncomfortable, and he subconsciously took a step back.

"So, senior Simon, you came all the way to the alley to ambush me, not to teach your subordinates a lesson for us, right?" Dure had been watching from the sidelines the whole time. He glanced at Sido, who was trembling in the corner, and saw fear in Sido's eyes.

“One hundred crystal cards,” Simon suddenly said, uttering a seemingly unrelated statement.

"What?" Lance had no idea what he meant by suddenly saying this.

"I mean, you messed up my business before, so give me a hundred crystal cards as compensation, otherwise..." Simon's words carried a threatening tone.

"Otherwise? What do you want?" Lance remained composed. Although Simon didn't seem like someone to be trifled with, he wouldn't back down.

"Otherwise? Otherwise... this is what will happen to you!" Simon slammed his fist into the wall.

At first glance, this action seems a bit nonsensical; it looks like a childish act of someone with a bad temper venting their anger.

However, the thought vanished completely before it could even form in Dure's mind, because Simon's movements were swift, and his fist was even faster. The hard wall was shattered by his powerful punch, leaving a large, cracked crater!

"I'm so sorry for accidentally damaging public property, Sido. You'll be responsible for fixing this." Simon looked at the cracked wall, ignored the sweat beading on the foreheads of Dure and Lance, and swaggered away.

“This…this…” Lance stared at Simon’s departing figure, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

"This is truly a full-blown demonstration; it seems we've gotten ourselves into big trouble," Dure said with a wry smile.

"Then what should we do?" Lance asked Dure for his opinion.

"What else can we do? Let's just take it one step at a time." Du Lei shook his head and turned to leave.

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280 Re-entering the Ruins

After leaving the alley, Dure and Lance did not return to their dormitory. Normally, Dure would be studying alchemy in the library or a secluded grove, while Lance would be training hard on the training field.

But now the level assessment is imminent, which is a critical time for Dure. Of course, extraordinary things must be done in extraordinary times. Lance doesn't understand what's going on with Dure, but he just follows him to see if he can help Dure in any way. They end up in a place that Lance never expected.

“That Simon guy is really going too far. He even beat up his own companion and called him a lackey. That’s shameless. Dure, what do you plan to do? Simon is a very troublesome opponent, and... this is..." Lance said worriedly.

He was usually an optimistic guy who never thought about anything unnecessary, but the situation he was facing now was particularly serious. Not only was Dure's level assessment difficult to pass, but Simon had also come to extort money from him. This made him think more, and he was really worried for Dure.

On the other hand, Dure remained calm and composed, showing no signs of distress. Lance, preoccupied with his conversation, hadn't noticed where he'd gone. When he saw Dure stop and looked around in surprise at the desolate and dilapidated surroundings, he was astonished.

Although Lance had never been here before, he was quite familiar with the place, as it had once been the focus of discussion among the students of the academy. More than half a month ago, the source of the panic among the students was here, the site of the Ash Tower that collapsed with a crash.

"As you can see, this is the Ash Tower, it used to be, but now... all that's left is a collapsed crater." Dure had been to the vicinity more than once, and he had witnessed the collapse of the Ash Tower and the formation of the crater firsthand. In fact, he had played a significant role in it.

“I remember this place was previously designated as a forbidden area by the academy, but with the collapse of the Ash Tower, the ban was lifted. However, this place was already lifeless, and then an earthquake happened, so hardly anyone comes here. Dure, what brings you here…”

Lance had heard many rumors about the Ash Tower, such as ghosts appearing there, or how many people had died there. In all the versions, there was one thing in common: the Ash Tower ruins had become a place that students feared, and no one wanted to go near it.

But Dure's arrival here despite the tight schedule really puzzled him, leaving him wondering what Dure was thinking.

“Lance, you should know the dilemma I’m facing right now,” Durei said, not answering his question directly, but asking a different one.

"I know, of course I know. Didn't that scheming woman say before that your crystal bottle has many cracks and can't hold magic, so you can't pass the level assessment? So she gave you some kind of pill, saying it could temporarily seal the cracks in the crystal bottle."

Although Lance wasn't good at thinking and his memory didn't seem to be very good, he hadn't remembered Sido's name or anything before. However, that only applied to things he didn't care about. He was very concerned about Dure's affairs, so he remembered them.

"But Du Lei, you must be careful. That woman made an enemy of us before, how could she be so kind as to help you? Besides, she also said that this pill has side effects, which will make the crack bigger and bigger and harder to repair. You must not fall for her trick."

Lance still harbored resentment over Elune's past mistreatment of them, and his concerns were not unfounded. Everyone does something for a reason, and he couldn't imagine that Elune had any reason to help them. Such worries were not without merit.

“If she really wanted to harm me, she didn’t have to tell me about the side effects of the pills. As for her reasons for doing this… I don’t know for now, but not knowing doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I have no choice but to take the pills to get through this temporarily.” Du Lei shook his head.

"But Dure, you still haven't said what you came here for, or what your connection is with the crystal bottle?" Lance knew he couldn't convince Dure, and after a sigh, he still couldn't understand why Dure had come to the Ash Tower ruins.

He looked around. The area was desolate and dilapidated, with large swathes of trees dead and water bubbling in the swamp. Perhaps this was the only place in the vicinity where he could make a sound, and even birds were unwilling to stay here for a moment.

"The connection to the crystal bottle is that... the bottle must be filled with water, and this is where the water is placed." Du Lei continued forward. Fiery clouds painted most of the sky, but the area remained shrouded in gray.

"Bottles again, water and stuff, Dure, you've completely confused me." Lance scratched his head, unable to figure out the connection.

"The reason you were able to make such great progress in a month is that Maple Leaf Academy is a place with abundant magical elements. During your training, you subconsciously absorbed a lot of magical elements and then converted them into usable magical energy, just like a stove boiling water."

As Dure moved forward, he explained to Lance that a month ago he could easily take Lance down, but now, a month later, he couldn't even touch the hem of Lance's clothes.

"But I didn't absorb or transform anything. I don't understand such complicated things." Lance was still confused.

"Because your body does these things for you. Absorbing magic power and converting magical energy gradually becomes a part of your body, just like breathing. Although you don't do it consciously, it keeps running unconsciously," Durei continued to explain.

"Huh? Is my body really that amazing?" Lance was taken aback.

"Of course, humankind... or more accurately, life is the greatest miracle in the world. There is nothing more perfect than life. No matter how advanced science and technology become, whether it's steam, machinery, or magic, it can never create anything more perfect than humankind."

Dure nodded, at this moment he felt a sense of awe.

“Now that you mention it, Durei… it does seem to make sense.” Lance still didn’t quite understand, but he finally started to grasp the gist of it.

"So you spent a month finally filling your crystal bottle. Even if there is some depletion during training, your magic will be restored after a good night's sleep. But I am different. I don't have your long accumulation process, so my absorption under normal circumstances will be extremely slow."

When it came to the crucial points, no one understood his own situation better than Dure.

"There's only one day left. That sounds like a tough challenge," Lance said, his voice filled with worry.

"Therefore, I can't rely on the normal method to absorb magical elements, that's too slow. I must choose the most efficient one," Dure said with certainty.

"Most efficient?" Lance still didn't quite understand.

"Absorbing magic in a more forceful way, in a place where the magical element is more concentrated, is the only option I can make right now." Du Lei looked at the collapsed pit and suddenly jumped in!

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281 Come with me

The collapsed pit was about ten meters high. Under normal circumstances, jumping down would definitely break one's leg. Moreover, the ground was uneven and contained a lot of sharp rocks. When Lance saw Dure suddenly jump down, he was startled and tried to stop him, but it was too late. He could only rush over.

However, when he reached the edge of the pit, he saw that Dure was sliding down the slope, which relieved Lance. If he was sliding, he could dissipate most of the force. Dure had reached the bottom of the pit in no time, and Lance slid down with him.

"Durey, you should at least give us a heads-up before you do anything. You suddenly jumped down like that, and I thought you were thinking of doing something stupid." Lance complained after landing steadily on the ground. The sky was already somewhat gloomy, and after they came into the ruins, the light became even darker.

"Do I look like someone who's thinking of doing something rash?" Dure asked him back. He rummaged in his pocket for a while, pulled out a candle, and lit it with a match. With the help of the candlelight, he was finally able to see the surrounding scene clearly, and he moved forward with the help of the dim light.

“That doesn’t seem like it… By the way, Dure, you just said that the magical elements here are more concentrated than outside? But… I don’t feel it at all.” Lance recalled what Dure had just said. Although he was slow to react, his perception was not bad.

“Because we haven’t arrived at the right place at the right time yet,” Dure said without turning his head.

"Huh? What right time, right place, Dure, you're talking in such profound terms, I don't understand at all." Lance was full of question marks.

“You can just follow me… But… Lance, are you sure you want to come with me?” Dure suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.

“What do you mean by ‘certain’? Dure, you’re in trouble now. Shouldn’t I be there to support you as a friend?” Lance thought Dure’s words were nonsensical. At this point, they continued their descent, and the sky was no longer visible above them.

“What I mean is that things might get a little dangerous, and you don’t really need to come with me,” Dure corrected his wording.

“If there’s danger, I’ll definitely come. Why wouldn’t it be necessary? We’re friends, right, Dure? No matter what you think, I won’t forget that if it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t have even been able to get into Maple Leaf Academy. So I will never leave.”

Lance's attitude was unusually firm; he was determined to follow Dure no matter what he said or did.

"I understand. I might not be able to handle this by myself. I need your help." Du Lei thought for a moment and then nodded.

"That's right! Just tell me if you need my help. Hehe, charge! No matter what lies ahead or what kind of opponents we face, we'll wipe them out!" Lance's blood boiled, and he followed behind Dure with great enthusiasm.

Ahead lay endless darkness. Two boys moved forward, guided by the light of a candle. What awaited them was the unknown, or perhaps, being completely swallowed by the darkness.

Meanwhile, outside a secluded two-story detached building in the southeast corner of Maple Leaf Academy, someone gently knocked on the door. The knocker was a girl who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. Although the building was inside Maple Leaf Academy, most students were unaware of its existence.

Firstly, its location is indeed very remote, far from the teaching buildings and training grounds, and the surrounding area is sparsely populated and very quiet. Secondly, this area has been designated as a restricted area by the academy, and ordinary students are stopped before they even get close, so it is understandable that few people know about this place.