Chapter 179 — The Three Processes

Chapter 179: Chapter 179 — The Three Processes

Chapter 179 — The Three Processes

Victor turned toward the door.

The moment he saw who had entered, his attention lingered for a second longer than it should have.

The girl looked to be around fifteen years old and stood roughly five foot six. Her appearance was elegant without seeming forced.

Her hair fell just above her shoulders, long enough to frame her face naturally. A faint bluish hue ran through it, becoming more noticeable whenever the light caught it.

Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue.

They almost looked like polished gemstones.

Yet despite her noble appearance, there was something gentle about her expression. Her eyes were calm, and there was a natural sweetness to her features.

Even the way she walked was different.

Every step was precise.

Controlled.

Graceful.

She carried herself like someone accustomed to being watched.

Victor stared for a second too long.

Then he looked away.

A minute later, Zack leaned over and lightly nudged him.

Victor glanced at him.

Zack wore a knowing smile.

Victor ignored him.

A couple of minutes passed before the girl made her way toward the remaining seats.

Elder Benton glanced at the clock.

"Grace."

The girl stopped.

"You’re about one minute away from being late."

His voice remained completely flat.

"Fortunately for you, I haven’t locked the doors yet."

Grace gave a small nod.

"Apologies, Elder Benton."

"Have a seat."

She looked around the classroom.

Only a few seats remained.

One of them was directly beside Victor.

Grace walked over.

Victor watched her approach from the corner of his eye.

She stopped beside the chair.

"You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?"

Victor immediately moved over slightly.

"No, not at all. Please."

Grace smiled.

"Thank you."

She sat down.

Benton stepped forward.

"All right."

The room fell quiet.

"We’re about to begin."

He looked around at the students.

"Today, in the Tier One Elite Alchemy Class, we’re going to review the three fundamental processes of potion creation."

Everyone remained attentive.

"You should already know these processes. This is nothing more than a refresher."

Benton raised one hand.

"The first step is ingredient refinement."

A small flame appeared above his palm.

"You burn away the useless material contained within the ingredient using your bloodline flame."

The flame flickered.

"Your goal is simple. Remove everything unnecessary until only the essence remains."

The flame disappeared.

"The second step is essence separation."

Benton continued.

"Once you have the essence, you must separate the individual components properly. Too much or too little of one essence will alter the final mixture."

He paused.

"Your flame must remove precisely the right amount."

Several students nodded.

"And finally..."

Benton looked around the classroom.

"The third step."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"Fusion."

Victor’s attention sharpened.

"This is the hardest part of Tier One alchemy."

Benton raised his hand again.

A small sphere containing several different essences appeared above his palm.

"This is where skill and Soul Power control become essential."

The essences began slowly rotating.

"Too much fire..."

The sphere suddenly destabilized.

Boom.

It disappeared.

Benton recreated the sphere.

"Too little fire, and the essences won’t fuse at all."

The different energies remained separated.

"You need perfect control."

He closed his hand.

The essences finally combined into a single glowing sphere.

"Only then can you produce a stable potion."

Benton looked around.

"Everyone understands?"

The class nodded.

Victor nodded as well.

But something bothered him.

Wait.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

What about pill condensation?

He glanced toward Benton.

Surely he hadn’t forgotten the final step.

But Benton continued speaking as though the lesson were complete.

Then the answer came.

"Eventually, when you reach the point where you can perform pill condensation..."

Benton paused.

"You will be classified as a Tier Two alchemist."

Victor froze.

What?

For a moment, he simply stared at Benton.

That wasn’t how the Library had taught him.

In the ancient system, pill condensation was still considered part of the first tier of alchemy.

Why?

Victor frowned.

Something was missing.

The system of alchemy had changed.

Somewhere along the way, the Tower’s modern classification had separated itself from the ancient system he’d been learning.

He didn’t know why.

But now he had another question to answer.

Victor looked around the classroom.

Everyone else seemed to accept Benton’s explanation without a second thought.

No one questioned it.

A faint sense of disappointment settled in Victor’s chest.

He had been looking forward to this.

He’d thought that finally entering an Elite Alchemy Class would give him a chance to learn something new.

Instead...

So this is what Tier One alchemy has become.

Benton clapped his hands once.

"Enough theory."

He gestured toward the ingredients prepared on the tables.

"Begin."

The students immediately got to work.

Victor picked up his ingredients.

He activated his Black Flame.

The familiar black fire appeared above his palm.

He carefully began refining.

The process was easy.

His Soul Power control had already developed far beyond what was necessary for this stage.

Within minutes, the useless material began separating from the ingredient.

Victor continued working carefully.

He didn’t rush.

Ten minutes later, he finished.

Victor glanced around.

He was the first.

Benton didn’t look surprised.

Considering Victor’s flame control, he had probably expected him to finish quickly.

Victor looked around the classroom.

Grace was still working.

Zack was close behind.

Alex was also progressing steadily.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

I shouldn’t stand out too much.

He had already attracted enough attention.

There was no reason to make things worse.

So when the class moved into essence separation, Victor deliberately slowed down.

He maintained a steady pace rather than finishing immediately.

Grace occasionally glanced toward him.

Her expression remained neutral, but there was a faint trace of confusion in her eyes.

Victor had been one of the first to finish the previous stage.

Now he was moving slower.

Did he slow down on purpose?

She couldn’t tell.

Victor kept his expression neutral.

Eventually, he finished the separation process.

Benton passed by and gave both Victor and Grace a small nod.

"Good."

The rest of the class continued working.

It took roughly forty-five minutes before everyone finally finished.

Then came the third process.

Fusion.

Victor immediately understood why this was the hardest part.

The entire classroom became quieter.

Everyone focused.

Flames flickered across the room.

Essences began hovering over the tables.

Some students struggled almost immediately.

Others managed to stabilize their mixtures for several minutes before losing control.

Grace was different.

Her movements were fluid.

Precise.

Her Soul Power flowed through the flame with almost perfect consistency.

Victor watched her for a moment.

She was genuinely skilled.

A student several seats away glanced at her.

"As expected of the Tower Master’s disciple."

The tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Another student quietly responded.

"Not everyone has the privilege of being taught by the Tower Master."

Grace didn’t react.

She simply continued working.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Tower Master’s disciple?

He hadn’t known that.

He glanced toward Grace again.

She remained completely focused on her fusion.

Victor began his own process.

Zack started beside him.

Victor deliberately matched Zack’s pace.

He tried to make his control look slightly less refined.

But there was a problem.

Victor’s Soul Power control had become too natural.

His movements were almost instinctive.

The essences rotated smoothly.

One merged with another.

Then another.

The sphere stabilized.

Victor stared at it.

Damn.

He had done it too cleanly.

He tried slowing down.

It didn’t matter.

The final mixture formed into a stable sphere.

Even Grace’s result wasn’t quite as stable.

Victor stared at his fusion for another moment.

I’m supposed to be hiding this.

Benton eventually walked past Victor’s table.

He stopped.

His eyes examined the finished fusion.

"Your fusion is particularly good."

Victor looked up.

"Thank you, Elder."

Benton studied the sphere for another moment.

"Very refined."

Victor smiled awkwardly.

His eyes remained on the sphere for another second before he moved on.

Victor watched him leave.

Zack’s concentration briefly broke as he glanced toward Victor.

The sphere above his table shifted dangerously.

Zack quickly focused again and managed to stabilize it.

Then he looked at Victor.

There was a question in his eyes.

Victor pretended not to notice.

Nearly an hour later, the entire class had finished.

The students placed their completed potions before Benton.

The Tower would sell them afterward, using the proceeds to help cover the cost of the ingredients used for training.

Once everything was collected, the students began packing up.

Zack turned toward Victor.

"Victor."

"Hm?"

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

Victor looked at him.

"Do what?"

"Alchemy."

Zack frowned.

"I don’t remember you knowing how to do any of this six months ago."

Victor smiled.

"Let’s just say I’m a fast learner."

Zack stared at him.

"I don’t know anyone who can learn alchemy that quickly."

He shook his head.

"The fusion process alone took me almost a year to learn."

Victor laughed.

"I had some time before those six months."

He paused.

"I studied alchemy a little."

Zack looked at him for a moment.

He clearly wasn’t completely convinced.

But he didn’t press the issue.

Zack turned back toward his things.

Victor’s smile faded slightly.

He hadn’t expected hiding his alchemy ability to be this difficult.

He looked toward the front of the room.

Benton was standing there.

And staring directly at him.

Victor’s expression went blank.

Here we go again.

But the look in the elder’s eyes made one thing very clear.

Victor had given him another reason to be curious.