The most shameless alchemist in history

"Can you guys stop chasing us? If we went just a little further, we could escape this hellhole. Hey, Dure, wake up! Are you alright? Hey? Oh no, Dure is unconscious too. I don't know what's wrong with him. I should have stopped him from coming here."

Lance looked at the pursuers behind him. There were dozens of monsters chasing after him. They landed on all fours and climbed up the wall at great speed. Before, Lance could barely hold them off on his own and could send a monster flying with a single punch, but now his magical energy was severely depleted.

Secondly, with Du Lei now on his shoulders, he couldn't move as freely as before, and he also had to keep Du Lei safe. As a result, he was in danger several times, and his arms were bitten by the monster, leaving them covered in blood.

If he could escape safely, a few injuries would be fine, but the most desperate reality facing Lance now is that he simply cannot escape on his own. There are just too many monsters, and they are incredibly fast, blocking Lance's path ahead of him.

With the exit just a step away, Lance was completely unable to fight his way out in the face of their onslaught.

"Are we going to die here? Dure, it's not that I'm not being fair, I've done my best. Damn it, is it because I haven't trained hard enough? These guys are never going to stop... You should wake up, it would be better if you were the only one who escaped." Lance put Dure down.

If Dure were conscious, Lance would be confident he could create an opening for Dure's safe escape. But Dure is unconscious, so even if an opening is created, Dure wouldn't be able to leave on his own. This is especially frustrating for Lance, who is now in a desperate situation.

"It's come to this point, there's no use complaining. The only thing to do is to fight it out. You won't let us leave, and I won't let you have it easy either, so let's settle this with a fight to the death!" Lance clenched his fists, already prepared to fall here.

But before he falls, he will not let those monsters with ferocious fangs on the other side get away with it; this is bound to be a fight to the death!

"You idiot, don't get so easily carried away with your emotions, okay? Is Dure there? Bring him out right now!"

Just as Lance gave up hope of escaping, a sound rang out, which startled him.

"Huh? This is... Teacher Nono? How come you are..." Lance looked up at the hillside, where someone was looking down at him.

At this moment, Lance had already led Dure out of the underground ruins and onto the surface. They could see the bright stars and moonlight in the sky. The bright moonlight shone down and shone on Nono's profile, making her look radiant even at night.

"What? How could that be? Can't I just stroll here? Stop babbling and bring that stupid guy out here right now. I'll clear the way for you!" Nono interrupted Lance. Although she had just arrived, she quickly understood the situation after surveying the battle.

“This… I understand!” Lance couldn’t understand how Nono ended up here; he didn’t remember anyone notifying her.

But receiving support in such a critical moment gave Lance a boost. He nodded heavily and picked up Dure, who had been lying on the ground, again.

"Then let's begin. You disgusting creatures who appeared out of nowhere, all of you, turn into ice sculptures." Nono took a deep breath, faced the moonlight, and flipped her wrist. Light shone, and soon a longbow solidified in her palm.

She nocked an arrow and released her finger from the bowstring, aiming at the monsters below. The arrow shot swiftly into the ruins!

With Nono's help, Lance rallied with the determination to break through the encirclement. Ice pillars kept forming around him, their hardness violently impacting the monster horde. The sudden drop in temperature made Lance shiver, a veritable disaster for the dark green monsters.

Amidst their pitiful cries, they were sealed in the ice before they could escape, and a thick layer of frost formed on the ground. Lance dared not be grateful for the reinforcements, because he too became a target of the ice arrows. If he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been hit!

While Lance was frantically carrying Dure away, on the other side, atop the academy's clock tower, someone was gazing at the eastern sky.

"Teacher, what's wrong? Why aren't you resting so late? Why are you here?" Yuffie asked from behind the girl.

Although she looked older than the girl, she still addressed her as "teacher" with great respect.

For someone as proud and arrogant as her, who has never suffered any injustice since childhood, to achieve this is extremely difficult. There is only one reason for this: the girl has enough ability to impress her, and even inspire her to admire and aspire to become as capable as the girl.

"What do you see over there?" As one of only two young female teachers at Maple Leaf Academy, Owl didn't answer Yuffie's question. Instead, she pointed to the eastern sky and asked, clearly very interested in that area.

"Over there? I remember over there was... the direction of the Ash Tower, but didn't the Ash Tower collapse more than half a month ago? There's nothing there now except a big crater." Yuffie felt a little confused, wondering why her teacher would ask this.

"The upper part of the tower has indeed collapsed, but what about the base?" the owl asked rhetorically.

"Under the tower? Shouldn't the foundation be under the tower?" Yuffie thought for a moment; she did know a little about architectural structures.

“Let’s go take a look… Hmm? That magic is… Never mind, it seems we don’t need to go.” The owl had already taken a step, but she quickly sensed something and dismissed the idea.

"Huh? Going to see... but not going again? So are we going or not?" Yuffie was completely confused by her teacher.

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288, that was just in time!

The commotion caused by the Ash Tower ruins was quite significant. Not only did Nono notice it, but the academy also promptly discovered the abnormal situation and immediately dispatched the Maple Leaf Guard, composed of elite students, to suppress it. The leader of the Maple Leaf Guard was Flying Fish, an old acquaintance of Du Lei.

Although the unknown dark green monsters that emerged from the depths of the ruins caused Lance a lot of trouble, they were quickly eliminated by Nono and Feiyu. Not only that, Feiyu also personally led people into the ruins to hunt them down.

Du Lei, who had fainted, was taken to the academy's infirmary for treatment by Nono. Seeing that Du Lei had not woken up for a long time, Lance was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth. Fortunately, the school doctor soon informed him that Du Lei had just collapsed from exhaustion and was not seriously injured.

This gave Lance a moment's relief, but before he could relax for a moment, he faced a new problem. Nono found him and questioned him about why he and Dure were in the ruins of the Ash Tower. After all, she had reacted quickly enough, but by the time she arrived, they were already there.

This made it hard for Nono not to suspect that Dure and his companion had appeared underground in the ruins for some purpose. Moreover, judging from their appearance, it was very likely that the monster that emerged from the ruins was lured out by them. With Dure unconscious, she could only treat Lance as the only person to interrogate.

"Well... well... actually we just... just... what to do, what to do? Dure didn't teach me how to answer..." Lance faced Nono's questioning. Although he still had a smile on his face, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He wasn't good at lying to begin with, especially since the person he was lying to wasn't just anyone, but Nono. Remembering Dure's repeated warnings that he absolutely must not tell a third person what happened under the ruins, Lance found himself in a dilemma, unsure of what to do.

"Just tell me what it is! I think you and Du Lei sneaking around in the ruins in the middle of the night must have some ulterior motive. What, you still want to hide it from me now? Don't forget, if it weren't for me, you two reckless guys would be finished!"

Nono looked very angry. She scolded Lance loudly. Fortunately, Dure hadn't woken up yet, otherwise he would have been the first target. After all, everyone knew that Lance was just a muscle in his arm, while Dure was the one who planned and played the role of the brains.

“But Dure told me not to tell anyone…” Lance was getting anxious; at this point, he had no choice but to betray Dure.

"You idiot, do you think your words will convince those people at the academy? Saying things like that will only get you two sent to solitary confinement." Nono looked around and saw that there was no one else nearby except her and Lance, which at least made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Huh? Solitary confinement?" Lance had never considered the consequences of his and Dure's actions.

"In my opinion, being put in solitary confinement is too lenient. Forget it, I can't explain it to you anyway. Just remember, if anyone from the academy comes to ask you why you were at the ruins of the Ash Tower in the middle of the night, just say that you discovered something unusual about the Ash Tower and asked them to investigate. Understand?"

Nono sighed. She had already come up with an explanation for Lance, and she knew very well that Lance alone would not be able to get away with it.

"But Teacher Nono, didn't you ask us to investigate? Did you tell Dure, but he didn't tell me?" Lance was a little confused. He didn't remember hearing from Dure that Nono had asked them to investigate.

"You idiot, why are you so narrow-minded and inflexible... I feel a little sorry for that guy, having a teammate like you." Nono was about to be defeated by Lance. She was clearly helping him, but he not only didn't appreciate it, he didn't even realize it.

"Nono, come here for a second." Just then, someone called Nono from outside the door. The person standing at the door was Feiyu.

"Remember what I just said, be careful!" Nono reminded Lance again before leaving the room.

"But whether you actually sent Dure to the ruins or not, I won't know until Dure wakes up... But it's great that he came back alive. I almost thought I was going to die in that hellhole. What were those things that came out of the ground? They were disgusting."

Lance still couldn't figure out what Nono meant, assuming that there was some kind of agreement between her and Dure. After thinking about it for a long time without reaching a conclusion, he gave up on thinking about those complicated questions. Recalling his experience of escaping from the ruins, he was still shaken, and he had several wounds on his arm.

These were all left behind by those dark green creatures. If Nono hadn't arrived in time, he would have had no chance of survival.

"The school doctor said that Du Lei fainted because he was too tired. Is Du Lei really okay? If he was just too sleepy, he wouldn't have slept for so long. And the way he looked before... If I had known it would be this dangerous, I would have stopped him no matter what and not let him go to that place."

"And there's the magic absorption he mentioned before... I wonder if he's managed to do it successfully. Tomorrow is the level assessment, and with him like this... all we can do is pray. But don't worry, Dure, if you get eliminated, I'll leave with you."

“We’re friends, you know. Although you said staying here is the best option and you’d do anything to stay here, the continent is so big, and there’s more than just Maple Leaf Academy. I really don’t understand why you’re so persistent. You’re such a strange person.”

After Nono left, only Lance and the unconscious Dure were left in the room. Lance was talking to himself.

“But the reason why Dure is Dure is precisely because you are so strange. I’m so sleepy, I want to go back, and my stomach is upset…” Lance yawned slowly. He had exhausted his strength in the ruins and had been guarding Dure ever since he came back.

He was both tired and hungry, as evidenced by the rumbling in his stomach.

"Hey, isn't this Lance? What are you doing here? I heard about what happened to you. You went to explore the ruins for the sake of the academy. That's really amazing!" Someone walked over from outside the room. It was a male student who Lance recognized.

"What? I thought it was someone else, but it's you, Kabu. What's up?" Lance recognized Kabu as his friend from the training ground. The two got along quite well, and he was bored when Kabu showed up again.

This is so timely.

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289 helpful friends

In Lance's memory, Kabu was a very clever person. Although his performance on the training field was not very good, he was very good at dealing with people, and everyone was happy to associate with him. Although Dure had reminded Lance to be careful of Kabu when he talked about Kabu before.

But Lance didn't take it seriously. He wasn't like Dure, a quiet person who could spend a whole day with just a book or a pile of books. He was outgoing and loved interacting with friends. He had made quite a few good friends lately, and Kabu was one of them.

Lance has a flaw: he trusts his friends excessively. Now, when he was tired, exhausted, and hungry, Kabu suddenly came over, which at least gave him someone to talk to, instead of the one-sided scolding he experienced with Nono earlier.

“What could be wrong with me? I heard about your heroic deeds and thought you must be here alone, tired and hungry, so I brought you some late-night snacks. How about that? Pretty generous, right?” Kabu walked over to Lance and handed him a bag.

"Huh? A midnight snack? And it's even... my favorite pork floss and ham bread! That's so kind of you, Cappuccino!" Lance opened the bag and was so happy to see the bread inside that he almost shouted out loud. This was exactly what he needed right now.

"Eat slowly, eat slowly. Oh, right, there's still milk here. I knew you guys must be starving after running errands. By the way, how's Dure? Has he not woken up yet?" Kabu handed Lance another bag of milk, then glanced at Dure behind Lance.

Dure was still unconscious, but compared to when he was first brought in, his breathing was even and his condition seemed much more stable. Otherwise, Lance wouldn't have been able to leave him here alone to watch over him.

"The doctor said Dure is fine, just overworked. He'll be fine after some rest. Where did you get all this? Aren't all the bakeries closed this late?" Lance asked Kabu while eating.

"Well... of course, I stocked up on these in advance to have as a late-night snack. I just wanted to check on you because I knew you'd been working hard. I'm relieved you're all okay. I was really worried about you when I heard you went to such a dangerous place." Kabu patted Lance on the shoulder.

"Is that so? But Kabu, how did you know that Dure and I went to the ruins?" Lance asked casually. He didn't think too much about it, but he just felt that it was a bit strange that they came straight to the infirmary after returning in a hurry and didn't go anywhere else.

Logically speaking, the news shouldn't have spread. Kabu had no reason to know about it. If it were Dure, he would have found out immediately. However, Lance's confusion about this matter only flashed through his mind; he didn't think about it in such detail.

"This...this...I only heard it from someone. Someone saw you go to the infirmary." A hint of panic appeared on Kabu's face, but he quickly waved his hand and tried to make up an excuse. His way of covering up was not very clever.

"Oh, is that so? I didn't expect you to come and visit me so late with gifts. I'm so touched. Oh no... my stomach... ouch, I need to go to the bathroom." Lance was so moved by Kabu's actions that he almost burst into tears.

But at that moment, he suddenly clutched his stomach and curled up, clearly his stomach was starting to upset.

"The toilet is over there, just turn left after you go out," Kabu quickly pointed out the way to the toilet to Lance.

“But here…” Lance looked outside the door, then looked back at Dure, who was still unconscious.

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm here. I'll help you take care of Dure. Just go and come back quickly." Kabu patted his chest confidently.

"In that case, I'll leave Dure in your care for now, Kabu. It's so nice to have such a kind friend like you. I'm going to the restroom now!" Lance, without any suspicion, immediately bent over and jogged towards the restroom after receiving Kabu's agreement.

“That’s right, having a kind-hearted friend like me is your good fortune, but having a stupid friend like you is his misfortune…” After Lance ran to the toilet clutching his stomach, Kabu’s kind demeanor changed completely, and his face slowly turned vicious.

“I’ve sent the troublesome guy away, so the rest is up to you. Oh, and don’t forget my reward.” Kabu stared intently at the still unconscious Dure, then whispered towards the door. Soon, a dark figure flashed in.

"You'll get your reward. You escaped last time, but you won't be so lucky this time. Kid, just die in peace!" A young man in a black robe flashed in from outside the door. His face was covered with a black cloth, so his appearance and features were not clear.

But you could hear the raging anger in his voice, because the failure of the last operation had already brought him shame, and he absolutely could not fail this time!

"It seems Lady Luck is on my side again. I'm very sorry, but you've failed again." Just as the man in black brandished his dagger, intending to kill Du Lei, Du Lei, who had been lying peacefully on the bed, suddenly jumped up and stood facing the man in black with his back against the wall.

"What? Weren't you unconscious? What happened?" The man in black was also startled by Du Lei's actions. He turned to look at Kabu, very confused, because according to Kabu's information, Du Lei should have been powerless to resist, like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Don't...don't look at me, I don't know what's going on either." Kabu was also confused, not knowing how Dure had woken up.

"What a useless piece of trash!" The man in black glared at Kabu, the erroneous intelligence having completely disrupted his plans.

"But don't think you can escape this time. With your abilities, you're dead this time!" The man in black turned to look at Dure. Kabu was just a small fry at best, and he didn't take him seriously. At this critical moment, the most important thing was to complete the mission.

"Whether we're doomed or not, we'll only know after we try." Du Lei beckoned to him provocatively, already prepared for battle.

"You're just a low-level six-star magic user, how dare you shout here? Go to hell and repent!" Enraged by Du Lei's provocative words, the man in black brandished his dagger and charged forward, determined to take Du Lei's life!

"You look down on a low-level six-star magic user, but would a high-level nine-star user like me be worthy of your attention?" Just as Du Lei was about to be killed by the man in black, a voice suddenly came from outside the window.

Along with the sound came a sharp white light!

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290 He's the one who has something going on.