The most shameless alchemist in history

"By the way, what's the name of the guy who didn't appear among the five red magical reactions?" Yang asked.

Of the five, the only one who could possibly know was Ross, because he had recorded almost everything that happened at the academy, and having records meant that he knew.

“That person’s name is… Let me flip through my notes and I’ll find out. Let me see which page it is.” Ross immediately opened his notebook.

“It’s Durrell,” someone answered for Ross.

"Huh? Elune, how did you know?" Hugh, who had originally planned to snatch the laptop, looked at the girl with suspicion.

I never expected that Elune would remember my name; I must be an exceptionally powerful person.

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293 I really care about you

Charlotte was in a great mood today, not because of the sunny weather or the number of silver coins she had picked up, but because she was one step closer to the position of vice dean. The reason for this was, of course, related to a certain clueless fellow. At this moment, Charlotte had fastened her bow tie.

He looked at himself in the mirror in his office. He was always a person who paid great attention to his appearance, and on this special day, he had to dress up. After all, he was in charge of the level assessment, and countless eyes were watching this assessment. He had to handle it properly.

"This is it! A red tuxedo paired with a pink bow tie, it's absolutely perfect! Hehehehe, kid, you've been getting so close to Teacher Nuonuo before, I've been thinking about how to take you down without anyone noticing, it's been giving me a real headache for a while..."

Charlotte looked in the mirror and talked excitedly, having been looking forward to what was about to happen today for a long time.

"If you behaved properly and kept a low profile in the academy, even if I wanted to pick a fight with you, I wouldn't have a proper excuse. But you, on the contrary, skipped classes for almost half a month, willingly walking into the line of fire. This saved me a lot of trouble, although I still left you hanging on by a thread..."

"But I know your situation very well. Although I don't know how you passed the magic energy reaction test, your true level is only a low-level one. This is truly a disgrace. How can an ordinary low-level student become a member of my Maple Leaf Academy..."

"This is something I, as the future vice dean, cannot tolerate! But thanks to you, I'm one step closer to the vice dean's seat. Who told you to offend Miss Yuffie and that young master Boca, whose uncle is one of the academy's board members..."

"I failed to deal with you last time and didn't satisfy Miss Euphemia, which has caused us to drift apart. But that's alright. This time, I'll take care of you and satisfy Young Master Boca. Then the vice-principal's seat will be mine for the taking!" Charlotte became increasingly cheerful.

"Ahem, how can I be so complacent about this achievement? As the vice dean of Maple Leaf Academy, I should have composure and restraint. Alright, it's time to get going." Charlotte straightened her back, head held high, and left the office with a spirited air, heading towards the west square.

Meanwhile, Du Lei and his group had arrived at the West Square. Du Lei was somewhat surprised to see the bustling crowds at the West Square.

"Hey, Du Lei, why are there so many people here? I don't remember there being this many freshmen, do I?" Lance looked around. He remembered the approximate number of people when he passed the test, which was only about three or four hundred. But now there were more than a thousand people surrounding him.

"It's not just freshmen who're here, there are also your upperclassmen, those not-so-cute guys are all waiting to see your amazing performance." Nono replied expressionlessly, it was clear that she didn't like those upperclassmen, because they were older than her.

"It feels like we're being watched like gorillas, it's really annoying. But Dure... are you really okay? This is really worrying, you know your passing threshold is..." Lance tried to scare the onlookers with a fierce look.

But the effect was minimal, so he had no choice but to give up. He was also worried about Du Lei's situation.

"It's an eight-star mid-level, right?" Dure knew what Lance was worried about.

“Yes, I don’t mean to doubt you, Dure, but you were only a low-level six-star yesterday. Even if you are very powerful, to cross twelve levels in just one day is really…” In Lance’s eyes, Dure had always been a very capable person who could always solve all kinds of troubles.

However, the problem facing Dure at this moment could no longer be described as "trouble," but rather as an utter disaster.

People can solve problems with their intelligence and wisdom, but in the face of disaster, they always feel powerless to some extent.

"We always have to give it a try," Dure smiled, looking relaxed and not at all as nervous as Lance.

"Hey, don't be too confident. Remember what I just told you? As long as you make that suggestion, you'll definitely pass." Nono, unusually, didn't discourage Du Lei. She earnestly gave him a word of advice, having gone to great lengths to help him pass.

“I’ve remembered, in a last resort…” Dure nodded.

"What do you mean by 'absolutely not'? Don't you think your current situation is bad enough? Do you even understand the situation, you idiot!" Nono was enraged by Du Lei's attitude and unleashed a torrent of abuse at him.

"Well... I understand, I'll try." Du Lei knew he could only go along with Nuonuo and couldn't go against her wishes.

Otherwise, he would have given Nuonuo a good beating.

"It's not about trying, listen up! It's about going all out, giving it your all!" Nuonuo sternly corrected his wording.

"Alright, alright, I'll give it my all." Du Lei didn't dare to argue with Nuonuo any further, or he'd get another scolding.

"That's more like it. You can go ahead then." Nono finally nodded in satisfaction, gesturing for Dure to head towards the center of the square.

"Teacher Nono really cares about you." Lance chuckled and whispered as he walked away from Dure.

"Really?" Du Lei dismissed the question.

“Of course, you don’t know that Teacher Nono is usually cold and sarcastic to people, and never gives them a kind look,” Lance replied confidently.

"Well, she didn't give me a friendly look either," Du Lei said with a wry smile.

"Well, I can't really explain it, but I always feel that Teacher Nono treats you differently from others, very specially." Lance couldn't figure it out either.

"Then I'd rather not have this special treatment and give it to you." Du Lei knew his own bitterness.

"No, Du Lei, you can't be discouraged. You have to be energetic! By the way, with so many people gathered together, how are we going to start the level assessment?" Lance looked at the large crowd gathered in the square and felt at a loss for what to do.

"Huh? Don't you know the evaluation rules?" Dure was surprised by Lance's reaction.

"Rules? I heard it's something about a fight, and I'm all ready." Lance rubbed his fists together, full of fighting spirit.

"It was a fight, that's true, but not here," Du Lei confirmed halfway.

"If not here, then where? The training ground?" Lance was indeed completely unaware of the evaluation rules.

“Of course not, to be precise, not in this space we are in,” Dure explained patiently.

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294 Disappointed in you

Lance didn't understand Durei's meaning at all. In his understanding, this ranking assessment should be similar to what he tried every day in the training ground: grouping the freshmen participating in the ranking assessment into groups and then having one-on-one competitions. Lance had been looking forward to this for a long time.

But now Dure tells him that's not the case, which makes Lance not only disappointed but also confused.

"It seems that although Lance, you spend every day in the training field, you've only been engaging in real, hands-on competition with other students, and haven't done any mock tests, right?" Dure sighed when he saw Lance's bewildered expression and asked helplessly.

"Um... Dure, what is a mock test?" Lance scratched his head and asked in a slightly embarrassed voice.

“The simulation test is a space created by a high-level magic user using magic energy. Everything that happens in this special space is not real... For example, it's like a dream.” Dure confirmed from Lance’s reaction that he was indeed completely unaware of this.

After sighing, Du Lei patiently explained to Lance that there was still some time before the level assessment would begin.

"Dreaming? You can train in your dreams? That's too far-fetched!" Lance was startled by the word and felt resistant.

"Actually, it's not entirely like that. The so-called simulation..." Dure tried to describe it in more precise terms.

"The so-called simulation is just about focusing on fighting. Even if you get hurt, it doesn't matter. In the simulated environment of the level assessment, only about one-tenth of the damage you take is converted into the real world." At this moment, someone took over Dure's words and explained the problem for him.

“Kelly? Your explanation is really…” Dure recognized the person who had come over. He did not agree with Kelly’s explanation; it was too perfunctory.

"Oh, I see. It's about charging forward in a fight. I would have understood if you had explained it like this earlier!" Lance's reaction surprised Dure.

"Your comprehension skills are truly unique," Du Lei said, impressed.

"Du Lei, are you alright? I heard you were injured before, how are you now?" A head popped up next to Kelly.

This is Messiah, Kelly's inseparable best friend, who is particularly interested in Dure's affairs.

“It’s all just trivial stuff, I’m fine, but you are…” Du Lei had seen her before, but he never knew her name.

"It's Messiah! Messiah, I've been wanting to say hello to you, Du Lei, for a while now, but I haven't had the right opportunity. Now that I have, please remember my name!" Messiah was lively and not at all shy about introducing herself.

“Messiah? Okay, I’ll remember that.” Dure chewed on the name and nodded.

"Hey." Just as Dure was talking to Messiah, someone called out to him from behind.

"Are you... Sterling?" Dure was no stranger to Sterling; the two had met several times before.

"What are you trying to do? Are you here to cause trouble?" Lance was very wary of Sterling's approach.

"Looking for trouble? Probably not?" Based on Dure's understanding of Sterling, he didn't seem like the type to do anything unnecessary.

"Du Lei, you don't know, that guy has been picking fights with people every few days lately, and he's beaten up a lot of people." Lance may not know about other things in the academy, but he knows everything about fighting and brawling.

“I’m looking for him, I have no interest in you.” Sterling’s attitude was indifferent to Lance’s questioning. He pointed at Dure and gestured for Lance to get out of the way.

"What do you need me for? It's nothing, just let me say a few words to him." Dure gestured for Lance to step back for the moment.

“But…” Lance was still very worried.

“It’s alright. There are so many people here, what can he do? Besides, with his current reputation in the academy, he won’t do anything to Dure.” Kelly knew Sterling much better than Lance, and she gestured for Lance to step back.

"I understand. I'm warning you, don't do anything unnecessary, or I won't let you off the hook!" Lance then stepped back.

He, Kelly, and Messiah retreated to a distance of more than ten meters, leaving only Dure and Sterling alone in a corner of the West Square.

"I really don't understand why you would associate with someone like that. He's mediocre, and his potential is destined to be limited." Sterling glanced at Lance's retreating figure in the distance; he didn't have a very good opinion of Lance.

"I guess this is what they call 'friends'?" Dure wasn't quite sure about the answer to his question.

“Friends? You actually believe in such a ridiculous relationship?” Sterling scoffed.

"Maybe I believe it a little bit." Dure shrugged, appearing somewhat nonchalant.

“Believe me, harboring such naive ideas will eventually get you killed,” Sterling declared.

"It?" Dure wasn't quite sure what he meant.

“You call him your ‘friend’?” Sterling sneered.

"Alright, let's put this matter aside for now. So what brings you here?" Dure didn't consider Sterling his friend. In fact, Sterling had contacted him several times, and he had no idea what Sterling was up to.

“I just want to confirm one thing,” Sterling stated his purpose.

"Confirm what?" Du Lei was somewhat surprised by the answer.

“I heard you’ve been missing for almost a month and your level assessment is still at a low level, which is very disappointing,” Sterling said coldly.

"Disappointed? I'm really sorry, I didn't want it to be like this either, but as you said before, I'm just an average person, and my potential is destined to be limited." Durrell retorted to Sterling's words, with a touch of humor.

“You… are different from everyone else.” Sterling shook his head.

"What's different?" Du Lei immediately asked.

“You’ll find out in time. I was indeed disappointed before I saw you, but I’m not now.” Sterling turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute, you haven't said what you want to confirm yet," Du Lei called out to him.

“I’ve got the answer I wanted, and it has nothing to do with you, so you don’t need to know,” Sterling replied, pausing.

"What do you mean by asking me to confirm? It has nothing to do with me. Explain yourself clearly. Hey... have you gone far?" Dure was completely confused by Sterling. In his impression, Sterling was a strange person.

"You've got your answer, but where is mine?" Dure shook his head. He couldn't hold a knife to Sterling's neck and force him to answer, so he had no choice but to give up.

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