Chapter 726 General Terms within Power Rankings

"In conclusion, that’s what Time Perception means."

Professor Kent Preacher said calmly.

He stood in the middle of the training ground, with the holographic screen still displaying the three general terms of power behind him.

The students remained seated in their circle, their attention on the professor as he brought the first part of the lesson to a close.

"No matter how fast you think you are, even with your reaction speed, thinking speed, and other actions that require a particular span of time to execute an action..."

He brought his hands close together, using the small distance between his palms to demonstrate his point.

"An Alchemist at the Arcanist Alchemist rank will perceive you at a different speed from that of general time."

He spread his hands farther apart.

The students followed the movement of his hands.

Some glanced at the space between them, while others continued listening to his explanation.

"Which means..."

Professor Kent looked around the circle.

He didn’t immediately provide the answer.

Instead, he left the question hanging for the students to consider.

"What does that mean?"

He asked.

A few students remained quiet, while others seemed to be putting the pieces together.

They had already heard how Professor Kent could perceive their movements differently during the Combat Festival.

Now, he was explaining that the difference wasn’t simply about moving faster than someone else.

It was also about the time in which an Alchemist perceived the world around them.

"It means that a high-ranking Alchemist possesses the ability to perceive general time and their own reality of time at the same time."

Willow Derlis answered in realization.

Clap!

Professor Kent brought his hands together with a pleased smile.

"Correct, our very serious Crimson Flower."

He said playfully.

Willow’s Crimson eyes moved towards him.

"Professor, you tend to like stealing my job of giving nicknames."

Vera said casually.

Professor Kent placed his right hand against his chest and took a step backward, as though he had just been accused of something outrageous.

"I would never."

He replied with a straight face.

"I only ever use the nicknames My Lady, The Jewel of Ash, uses."

"A top professor, you are."

Vera replied, praising Kent with her usual dry tone.

Her expression remained calm, and there was little change in her voice.

It was difficult to tell whether she was genuinely praising him or simply playing along with his joke.

"A praise from my class number one. I’m so happy."

Kent replied with a simple smile.

Willow looked at the professor, then shifted her gaze towards Vera.

Her Crimson eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the two of them.

She didn’t say anything, but it was clear that both Vera and the professor were making fun of her.

Karla shook her head helplessly as she watched the shameless professor.

She had been standing behind him throughout the exchange, and although she had grown accustomed to his behaviour, she still couldn’t help reacting to it.

Other students also looked awkwardly at Lady Willow Derlis.

Some were trying not to show their amusement, while others simply looked between the three people at the center of the exchange.

The students who supported Vera, however, made their pleased expressions rather clear.

Willow’s supporters frowned at them.

The little exchange had done nothing to ease the division among the students.

If anything, it had given the two sides another reason to look at each other.

Professor Kent eventually decided that he had entertained them enough.

"Alright, let’s move on to our next term."

He brought the class back to the subject of the morning.

Karla swiped the screen of the Zphone Tablet.

The holographic display changed, and the second general term of power ranking appeared.

Physical Stats Interaction.

Beneath the words was an image of the human body.

The students shifted their attention towards the screen.

Some looked at the image first, while others read the title again.

Professor Kent raised a hand and pointed towards the display.

"For all humans, we have different physical stats. Things like our strength, running speed, IQ, and so on."

He lazily listed the examples labelled on the image of the human body.

His tone made the explanation sound simple, but the students understood that the subject was connected to the differences between Alchemist ranks.

"But this term focuses on one major stat, which is?"

He asked the class again.

"Strength, Professor."

Prince Charles Aethelmont answered before anyone else could.

"Correct."

Professor Kent said calmly, giving the prince a thumbs-up.

"Hehe... acting like he’s actually smart."

Prince Tristin whispered to Felix, Gareth, and Desmond, who were sitting close to him.

Felix laughed under his breath.

Charles could feel his brother’s gaze on him, but he didn’t react.

He kept his attention on the professor, as though he hadn’t heard the remark.

Tristin’s comment wasn’t particularly loud, but it had reached the people sitting beside him.

Professor Kent, however, had noticed enough to intervene.

"Prince-Five, please stop being the odd child out and focus before you score low yet again in your academic results."

He said casually.

A few students immediately covered their mouths to hold back their laughter.

Charles was among those who enjoyed the professor’s words the most.

He didn’t need to turn around to know that his younger brother wouldn’t be pleased.

Desmond didn’t bother hiding his mocking grin as he looked at Tristin.

Felix also looked amused.

Tristin’s expression tightened.

He had already been irritated by the remark about his academic performance, but seeing Desmond’s reaction only made things worse.

He looked away, trying to contain his frustration while the professor continued the lesson.

Professor Kent didn’t give him any further attention.

"As our dear Prince-Four has answered, the Physical Stats Interaction term generally focuses on the strength of an Alchemist."

He paused, allowing the students to settle down again.

"But what makes this term important when differentiating high ranks from low ranks is that an Alchemist beyond the Arcanist Alchemist rank can’t be hurt by any form of Alchemy attack below that Alchemist rank."

The students became more attentive.

Professor Kent let the explanation settle before continuing.

His gaze moved across the circle, checking that they were following him.

"Basically, the body becomes impervious to any form of Alchemy attack below the Arcanist Alchemist rank. And to put it more simply, Meister Alchemist Cognis can’t interact with that of an Arcanist Alchemist."

He continued, reaching the conclusion of his explanation.

A sense of understanding began to spread among the students.

Some nodded faintly, while others looked at the professor with greater interest.

The explanation had given them a clearer idea of what Physical Stats Interaction meant in the context of power rankings.

It wasn’t simply that a higher-ranked Alchemist possessed greater strength or could withstand more physical damage.

There was a difference in how their bodies interacted with the Cognis and Alchemy attacks of lower ranks.

For an Alchemist below that level, an attack that should have caused damage will not have the expected effect against someone who had reached the Arcanist rank.

Professor Kent continued.

"But then, it’s quite the same thing that happens when a Novice Alchemist tries to fight an Adept Alchemist or even a Meister Alchemist."

He brought another point into the explanation.

The students listened.

They were already familiar with the difference between Novice, Adept, and Meister Alchemists. Most had learned that a lower-ranked Alchemist couldn’t simply overcome a higher-ranked opponent by attacking repeatedly.

The gap in power was too great.

Even when a Novice possessed enough courage to challenge a Meister, courage alone wouldn’t make their attacks effective.

"That’s why a Novice Alchemist can’t easily make up their mind to face an Alchemist above their rank. But then..."

Professor Kent’s expression changed slightly.

"We have geniuses and crazy hardworkers who can break that gap."

He glanced towards a few of the top students.

The students followed his gaze.

"You geniuses and resilient hardworkers either have physical stats that naturally boost your Alchemy combat stats, or an understanding of Cognis control and Cognis reserves that allows you to push yourselves further."

He continued calmly.

"Even though you’re still in the Novice or Binder Alchemist rank, you can reach a level where you’re able to face an Adept Alchemist, or even manage against a Meister Alchemist."

Several students immediately turned their heads.

Their gazes moved towards Vera Ashenlocke, Ravenor Burnwick, Lyra Ashburn, Veda Ashenlocke and Ezra Ashenlocke.

They were the best examples of what Professor Kent was explaining.

During the Combat Festival, they had each faced young Alchemists whose ranks were higher than theirs.

Yet they hadn’t struggled as badly as most people would have expected.

Some had even managed to challenge opponents who possessed a clear advantage in Alchemist rank.

The students remembered those matches.

They had watched the exchanges, the use of Cognis, and the way the top performers handled their opponents.

The difference in Alchemist rank had been there, but it hadn’t been enough to make the matches one-sided.

Vera, Ravenor, Lyra, Veda and Ezra had each shown that a lower-ranked Alchemist could still stand against someone stronger under the right circumstances.

Of course, that didn’t mean every student could achieve the same thing.

Professor Kent had already made it clear that such individuals were geniuses and resilient Hardworkers.

Their physical abilities, Cognis control, and reserves allowed them to push beyond what was normally expected of their ranks.

Ezra remained quiet.

He had no reason to react to the attention directed at him.

His gaze stayed on the professor, listening to the explanation.

Vera also didn’t appear particularly interested in the students looking at her.

She simply maintained her attention on Kent.

Ravenor’s expression remained composed, while Lyra seemed to pay little attention to the gazes around her.

Veda felt a bit embarrassed of the gazes of his fellow students.

Professor Kent continued before the students could become distracted.

"But that genius and resilient boost you all have ends when you come face-to-face with an Arcanist Alchemist."

His voice became serious.

The change in his tone drew the students’ attention back to him.

"You can’t even push your Cognis with Alchemy Accessories to create an Arcanist-rank Alchemy attack, not to mention using an Arcanist-rank weapon."

He moved his right hand to the side as he added the final part.

The students understood the warning.

The gap they had been able to overcome between the lower ranks and the Meister rank wasn’t something they could keep overcoming indefinitely.

No matter how talented or resilient a Novice or Binder Alchemist was, there was a point where their abilities would no longer be enough to challenge the difference in Alchemist rank.

Even the top students had limits.

Professor Kent’s explanation had made that clear.

"Professor."

Grace Evergrey raised her hand.

Kent turned towards her.

"You may speak."

He replied calmly.

"But I used the Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 against..."

Grace began, but her words stopped when she remembered the person she had faced.

Her mind briefly returned to that battle.

She remembered the weapon in her hands and the moment she had used it against Vera.

The memory of the needles that had pierced her body followed soon after.

A sudden shiver ran down her spine.

She had barely finished speaking, yet the memory was enough to make her hesitate.

"Ah, you mean your battle against Lady Vera Ashenlocke."

Professor Kent replied, already understanding what she was referring to.

"Yes."

Grace nodded.

She secretly glanced towards where Vera was sitting.

There was a small concern that Vera might be looking at her.

The memory of their fight was still unpleasant enough that she would rather not draw the girl’s attention to it.

But Vera’s gaze remained on the professor.

That was a relief to Grace.

But somehow, it also felt worse.

It was as if Vera hadn’t even acknowledged her existence.

Grace quietly returned her attention to Kent.

"The firearm you used is definitely from the general Arcanist series. The Anti-Tank Rifle. But that wasn’t an Alchemy firearm you used. It was a normal Mauser Tankgewehr M1918 enhanced by the Circuit Systems integrated into the rifle."

Professor Kent answered calmly.

He looked towards Grace as he explained the difference.

"Quite powerful when used, but its power was truly only up to that of a High-Meister firearm."

He added.

The students paid attention to his answer.

Then...

"So, if it had been the actual Arcanist rifle, then what would have happened?"

Grant Evergrey asked, looking at Professor Kent curiously.