Chapter 180 — The Body Armor Potion

Chapter 180: Chapter 180 — The Body Armor Potion

Chapter 180 — The Body Armor Potion

The class was beginning to wind down.

The students had finished their potions and were gathering their things when Elder Benton stepped toward the front of the room.

"Before everyone leaves, there’s one more thing."

The room quieted.

"As you know, this class is only held once a week."

Benton looked around the room.

"That means the majority of your learning will happen outside this classroom."

He reached down and picked up several small bottles and stacks of paper.

"This week, you will have an assignment."

He began walking between the desks, handing each student a small potion and a formula.

"You are expected to study the formula and understand how the potion is made before returning next week."

Benton continued walking.

"That means going to the library, researching the ingredients, understanding their properties, and determining where you can find them."

Several students exchanged uncertain looks.

"And yes."

Benton’s expression remained completely serious.

"You will have to find the ingredients yourselves."

A few students immediately began whispering.

Benton raised his voice slightly.

"Every ingredient required for this potion can be found within the caverns."

The room grew quieter.

"There are designated areas throughout Basement Levels Four and Five where these materials can be found."

He paused.

"But you must collect them yourselves."

Benton looked around the room.

"If you purchase the ingredients from a shop, obtain them through the warehouse, or acquire them through any other means that bypasses the assignment..."

His expression hardened.

"You will be expelled from this class immediately."

Several students swallowed nervously.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes!"

The answer came from the entire class at once.

"Good."

Benton continued.

"Anyone who fails to complete the potion by next week will also be expelled."

The room erupted in quiet gasps.

A few students looked genuinely nervous.

Benton didn’t seem particularly concerned.

"This is not a beginner’s alchemy class."

He looked across the room.

"This is the Elite Tier One Alchemy Class. You should expect the work to be difficult."

The room fell completely silent.

Benton’s eyes moved across the students.

Eventually, they stopped on Victor.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

"I wonder who will make it this year."

Victor’s expression remained neutral.

He couldn’t tell whether Benton was simply addressing the entire class or deliberately reminding him that he was being watched.

Either way, Victor had no intention of giving him another reason to be suspicious.

Benton continued handing out the final instructions.

"You’re welcome to work alone, but I strongly recommend working in groups."

He paused.

"Some of the ingredients can be dangerous to collect. There’s no reason to make things harder than necessary."

Once everyone had received the materials, Benton returned to the front.

"That will be all."

He looked around the room.

"Have a good day. I’ll see you next week."

The students slowly began packing their belongings.

Victor looked down at the formula.

At the top was the name of the potion.

Body Armor Potion.

His eyes moved across the description.

The potion temporarily strengthened the body to withstand attacks at roughly the level of a Rank One Spirit Gathering cultivator.

Victor raised an eyebrow.

That’s actually pretty useful.

For him, not so much.

His current body was already far beyond what this potion could offer.

But for someone in the Body Tempering realm?

This could be a lifesaving treasure.

If Victor had possessed something like this back when he’d been fighting the panther in the Sanctuary, things might have ended very differently.

At the very least, he probably would have suffered fewer injuries.

His eyes moved down to the ingredient list.

There were five materials.

Turtle Manticore Core — Rank Ten Tempered Beast.

Bulwark Flower.

Fire Grass.

Turtle Manticore Hide.

And finally—

Black Heart Fungus.

A small star had been placed beside the final ingredient.

Victor’s eyes narrowed.

He recognized every ingredient.

His countless hours studying plants, beasts, and alchemy inside the Library had already given him that knowledge.

He didn’t need to research what the ingredients were.

But Benton had specifically told them to research where they could be found.

That was information Victor didn’t have.

Before he could think about it further, Zack leaned closer.

"Victor."

Victor looked over.

"Why don’t we go together to find the ingredients?"

Victor nodded.

"Yeah. That’ll work."

Zack grinned.

"Sweet. An outing with my bro."

Victor laughed.

Victor glanced toward Grace.

She was looking in their direction.

She seemed as though she wanted to ask something, but didn’t want to intrude.

Victor looked at her.

She seemed perfectly capable of handling herself, but there was no reason not to ask.

"Grace."

She looked at him.

"Would you like to come with us?"

Zack immediately turned toward Victor.

His expression practically screamed, What are you doing?

Grace seemed slightly surprised by the invitation.

Then she smiled.

"Yes."

She nodded.

"I’d be happy to come. Thank you for asking."

Zack stared at her.

She actually agreed.

He looked at Victor.

For a moment, he couldn’t understand how Victor had managed that.

Grace was usually rather distant when people approached her, especially when someone invited her to do something outside of class.

Zack silently raised both thumbs toward Victor.

The three of them agreed to meet at the Library the following day at one in the afternoon.

That would give them enough time to research the locations of the ingredients and plan their route into the caverns.

Eventually, Victor and Zack left the classroom together.

They walked through the hallway for several minutes before Zack spoke.

"Honestly, man..."

Victor glanced at him.

"I’m really glad you made it out alive."

His voice was quieter now.

"For a while, I was worried something had happened to you."

Victor’s expression softened.

"Yeah."

Zack nodded.

"I know you said you don’t want to talk about it."

Victor glanced at him.

"But if you ever want to tell me what happened... where you were... anything like that..."

Zack smiled.

"I’ll listen."

Victor smiled back.

"I know."

He gave Zack a light pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks for caring."

Zack nodded.

He looked like he wanted to ask more.

There were clearly questions he wanted answered.

They continued walking.

After a few minutes, Zack looked toward Victor.

"You want to grab something to eat? Maybe get a drink at one of the restaurants in the market?"

Victor shook his head.

"Not today."

He paused.

"I need to get back to my apartment."

Zack looked at him curiously.

Victor glanced at him.

A small smile appeared.

"I’ll tell you another time."

Before Zack could ask anything else, Victor turned and headed in the opposite direction.

He already knew Lyra would be waiting.