"Kyaaaaaa!!" ［Alea］

  A loud scream echoed all throughout the forest, rog the ground and sg away the birds and little critters. Fear, terror, and dread ainted on the face of the young dy, her whole body trembling ever so slightly.

  In front of her stood a small creature, several legs like tidy stubs, eyes even smaller than apple seeds, and a long body which stretched and pressed time and time again. It was a devourer of leaves and the destroyer of crop fields.

  It was a teeny-weensy caterpilr. A cute green one.

  "Get that away! Get that away from me! Kale, you bastard!" ［Alea］

  "Really no. Do you think you have the power to say that?" ［Kale］

  "Kyaaaaaa!! D-Don't e any closer!" ［Alea］

  Kale drew closer with the caterpilr in his hands, a another ear-ripping scream rang out in the forest. The young dy soon ran away, tears f in the er of her eyes as if she was being chased by a monster.

  It has been a couple hours since everyoarted t the Academy, and they have explored a couple pces from the libraries all the way to testing facilities. With the three childhood friends apanying them, it was never b.

  And now, Kale is chasing Alea with a fused caterpilr in his hands. The young dy has always been afraid of bugs ever since she was, and it was of the only few times in which he could take revenge on Alea. She is to otherwise.

  "Seriously... Rather than fool around.. They should start colleg herbs..." ［Edin］

  "Mmn... Is it always like this, Edin?" ［Yuna］

  "Unfortunately, yes... Though, you'll most likely get used to it sooner or ter. Everyone in the css already knows." ［Edin］

  As they progressed with their tour, they now arrived at Darius' Pocket Forest. It ace expanding more than a hectare, and is lush with all sorts of vegetation. There are also a number of little birds and critters l in the forest.

  The Pocket Forest's main purpose is to traiudents how to collect herbs and materials in the wild, immersing them in the enviro which they will enter many times iure, and to get them aced ting by themselves.

  Sometimes, the Academy also summons moo test how students will respond to sudden dahey might experien the wild. Of course, these monsters are only lower rank ones like goblins, trentlings, and slimes.

  After all, what a persohe most in the wild is vigind preparedness. It is so that no matter what kind of ued situation may arrive, they will still be able to respond properly, and eheir own survival.

  "Too bad... There is mu the way of rare herbs, though..." ［Yuna］

  "Well, this is just a training area, after all. The Academy would be expending a lot if there are rare herbs here." ［Grey］

  "I know, but there's only on pnts here..." ［Yuna］

  "You could still do some basic alchemy with them." ［Grey］

  "Uuu... I guess you're right..." ［Yuna］

  Everyone ti the forest, and they found a couple iing things here and there. Even though it was just a pocket forest, it was a fully funing ecosystem plete with food s and various retionships between anisms.

  There are also pnts around like fruit trees and berry bushes which produce edible fruits which the students could harvest anytime they wao. Even if you're poor, you will not starving if you're resourceful enough.

  "e here, Alea～! Mister Caterpilr wants to greet yー Uwaah!" ［Kale］

  Kale tio chase down Alea, but because he was only paying attention to the young dy, he didn't notice the roots below him and tripped on them splendidly. He pnted his fa the ground, a stinging paiing him.

  A low groan resounded ever so subtly, Kale feeling his face for any wounds, and just when he was relieved that there wasn't any, the footsteps of terr in his ears. A mad and irritated Alea stood in front of him, menagly.

  "Kale... You asshole... You know what's , right?" ［Alea］

  "A... Alea... We... We talk this over... N-No need for violence..." ［Kale］

  "Kale, grit your teeth... I'm gon you up." ［Alea］

  Said Alea with a dark smile on her face, a terrifying expression blooming whilst she raised her ched fists, irked veins popping out of it. The screams of Kale soon reverberated all across the pocket forest, pain running down his veins.

  A handful of punches were thrown, and the young man was beaten bd blue. Though he looked pitiful, he also deserved it after all the things he did. He might not admit it, but he was an idiot like Edin. They really were childhood friends.

  Shenanigans aside, everyone tinued fing in the forest and collected materials which seemed useful to them. From edible ferns all the way to refreshing herbs, they made sure to not make any waste and treat the forest gratefully.

  "Then, now that we're done here. Should we head to our stop?" ［Edin］

  After the pocket forest, everyone headed out once again, the sound of rolling pebbles and breaking twigs eg oer another as they exited the forest. It didn't even take them a minute, greeting the abundant sunlight once again.

  They walked down the corridors, much emptier and quieter than usual. Many of the students have already gone back to their dormitories or exited the campus to have fun, making sure they enjoy the rest of the day.

  The destination which they headed to was her than the boratories which many students duct their experiments on. A pce to brew with alchemy and produew products. A pce of innovation.

  "This is our boratory. Though it may seem smallー" ［Edin］

  BOOOOOOMMMMMM

  What an explosive greeting it was... Literally...

  Edin couldn't even finish his words, when a loud explosion suddenly rang out from one of the boratories. Clouds of smoke and dust soon followed, a cacophony of coughs and grunts filling the air soon after.

  Though, perhaps the most astonishing thing was that everyone was retively calm, her one of them fling nor screaming in panic. The students only took a quick peek from their room, heading baside as if it was no big deal.

  "Sorry about that, everyone! We'll be more careful ter on!"

  The voice of a pubest b throughout the hallways, and a couple remarks followed it soon after. The smoke was then fanned aeople going back to their usual business without much care about what just happened.

  "Umm... Are... Are they okay? That sounded pretty horrible." ［Yuna］

  "Don't worry too much about it, Elena. This happens all the time," ［Kale］

  No, you should definitely worry... Is what Yuna wao say, but as an alchemist herself, she khat there are times that experiments fail and explosions occur soon after. She has experie many times already, after all.

  Of course, with her skills and precisioher one of the explosions she caused was as loud as thunder like the ret one is. It was actually quite shog and fusing that everyone was very calm, ag like it was another normal day.

  "Actually, remember Edin's failure we talked about just this m. It was even louder than this one. You know, like a real explosion." ［Kale］

  "You're exaggerating, Kale. It wasn't that big of a deal." ［Edin］

  "That's right! pared to the mess you made st semester, that one is a small one. You really thashed our boratory st time." ［Alea］

  "Well, some sacrifices are o be done in the name of alchemy." ［Edin］

  "Shut up, you dumbass! Do you know how expehe whole equipment was?! I couldn't even spend a single kiel that time! All because of your fault!" ［Alea］

  Rage burnt in the eyes of Alea as she started choking Edin, reliving the rese she had during that semester. The tter couldn't even struggle and try to break free, Alea's strength overp his wimpy body without much trouble,

  "Haah... There they go again..." ［Yuna］

  "Kale, we take a look in the boratory now?" ［Grey］

  "Sure. I'll make sure to run you through everything." ［Yuna］

  With how often they fought, Grey and Yuna didn't bother quelling the two, and simply headed ih Kale guiding them. Edin and Alea will fix the problem on their own anyway, so it was better to just leave them alone.

  As for the boratory itself, it in and ordinary one, plete with basic items and equipment needed in facilities. There was also a stock of ingredients present, stored carefully to make sure and preserve them before usage.

  If they o use more fancy equipment, all they o do is ask permission to use the testing facilities, with the supervision of the teacher. That way, they save on costs, while also making sure the students are disciplined.

  "There are more seats and apparatus here than usual... Do you share this boratory with the others too, Kale?" ［Yuna］

  "Yeah. We share this with the same people we share the greenhouse with. It's just more ve for everyohat way." ［Kale］

  "What about private boratories then?" ［Yuna］

  "Those are only reserved for the Professors and the top students. Well, I've never really been in one, so I don't really know much about them... Did the Headmaster provide one for the two of you?" ［Kale］

  "Well... Let's just say that he did." ［Grey］

  "Ahh... I'm so jealous." ［Kale］

  Or so Grey said, but the truth was, the Headmaster didn't just provide one for them, but one for each of them. Though, there was no reason to decre it out loud a into nonsensical and unnecessary trouble.

  The boratory tour epsed quickly, Kale expining things in a very simple and easy to uand manner. After all, they were all already familiar with the items present so there was o make things any more plicated.

  Time passed some more and they then headed out towards other sorts of facilities. There were the utility shops, the dormitories, the rexing cafes, the club rooms, and also some secret areas where they could hang out without getting disturbed.

  "Waah～! You sure know a lot about these things, Kale... That's amazing!" ［Yuna］

  "Well, what do you expect from a deli?" ［Alea］

  "Hey! How many times do I have to say it?! I'm not a deli!" ［Kale］

  And so, there were only a couple more buildings in the campus left. Edin saved the best for st, all of them heading towards there as the sky started to ge colors, the sun slowly setting over the distant horizon.

  HAAP!! HYAAP!! HAAAT!!

  But before they could head there, they happened across a couple of training grounds with quite a handful of people present. Some were running around in ps, some were swinging their swords, and some were participating in close quarters bat.

  In fact, there were even some exceptional people iraining ground, trading quick blows oer ahey were already at the level of knights, able to cut down trees with their bare hands and stand subjugate ogres with ease.

  "These are..." ［Yuna］

  "Pretty bizarre, right?" ［Alea］

  Though it may be a normal sight in Knight Academies, Alchemist academies rarely possess any training grounds, mostly fog on boratories and facilities which all students could use to improve themselves with.

  After all, many alchemists simply buy herbs on the market or in the Guild, only but a handful of them going out into the wild and searg. There is practically no reason for them to risk their lives when they could just tinker in their boratories.

  But Darius is different. Other than knowledge, they also houdents to be able to survive in the wild. They train their stamina, instincts, battle senses, and even teach them about weaknesses and strategies to use against powerful enemies.

  This not only increases their ce of survival, but will also allow them to gather ingredients and materials which would need a mountain trek, a s crossing, cliff climbing, water diving, and many more. All to quer every area in the world.

  "These are rules made by the Headmaster when he received his position. And it is also the reason why Darius is the way it is today." ［Kale］

  "As expected 'Warring Alchemist'... He really is something," ［Grey］

  "Though, we're still far from the level of our seniors. Hahaha." ［Kale］

  "Right, right. Edin would even lose to a child in terms of stamina." ［Alea］

  "Hey! Why are ying my o this?!" ［Edin］

  It was amazing indeed, but perhaps what's even more amazing was the fact that the Headmaster pays attention to every little detail in the Academy. He made sure that the students learn in an immersive and petitive enviro.

  Not only are the facilities top notch, the merit system in pce is also outstanding. It doesn't matter what one's social status is. As long as they are capable, the Academy will wele them with open arms. A pce where skills matter.

  The sun tio sink down the horizon and they also tiheir stroll. They headed towards yet aructure, located at the rear end of the campus, already looking grand and galnt from afar.

  "Here we are! Wele to the Grand Viritra Hall!" ［Edin］

  Edin procimed with the brightest smile there is, a grand orchestra of shimmers and sparkles pying out behind him. The whole hall was filled with priceless items, all encased in fortified gss and dispyed atop their owals.

  There were Superirade potions, antique apparatus, delicate magic tools, scrolls, maery, rare and preaterials, and some replicas of the national treasures stored in the Royal Treasury. It was a feast for the eyes.

  "Waah～! There's so many items! I wonder what all of them do!" ［Yuna］

  "Elena, don't be too rowdy. You might break something." ［Grey］

  "There's o worry about that, Shin. As you see... These items are protected with magic. Even High-Rankers would have a hard time with them." ［Alea］

  "Well, it is pretty grand..." ［Grey］

  It wasn't just grand, it was exceptional, even surpassing the security systems ba Earth. Not only are the protective gs very tough, there is also an arm system and protective arrays which will be activated the moment ories to break them.

  Even the prote spells outside, in the museums all over the city, was nothing in parison to the various yers of magi the item's ste. Even if ories, it would be of no use with such absurd security.

  In fact, the whole Hall was so amazing, even S-rankers would find it very difficult to break in and out. Only transdents would be able to bypass such security. In other words, it was safe to say that it was a nigh impregnable Hall.

  "Shin, look! Look! I found araem here!" ［Yuna］

  "Hm? Is it a magit again?" ［Grey］

  "No, it's a magic tool. e and have a look!" ［Yuna］

  "Oh... It really is... I wonder what it does." ［Grey］

  And as one would expect, Yuna was greatly excited, zooming all over the pce as she looked at the items ily and curiously. Her eyes were literally sparkling iement, a smile never fag away from her face.

  Well, it isn't like Yuna was the only oed. Though not as obvious, Grey's heart was also rag ihusiasm as he fulfilled his curiosity, appraising ead every siem he came across and w if he could recreate them.

  "Are these all the alchemy-reted treasures of the Kingdom?" ［Grey］

  "Well... I guess you could say that. Though, most of these are made from Darius. This is the academy's prized colle." ［Edin］

  "That's right! They say everything here costs millions! Millions, they say!" ［Alea］

  "Alea, calm down. No one's fighting you." ［Kale］

  There weren't just items which could be bought with a few millions, but some were already as precious as Superirade, Peak-Tier items which are already in the hundreds of millions, maybe even more.

  Grey and Yuna tio walk down the hall, heading upstairs after expl the 1st floor. It was yet anrand hall, filled with even more costly items that Grey and Yuna would have never found if it wasn't for the others.

  "Mmn?" ［Yuna］

  Just as they explored the sed floor, a certain item caught their eyesー or rather, it stood out like a sore thumb with it being isoted from the others and a rge pedestal holding the item. Its prote was also on another level.

  It was a small potion stored in a small vial, vines of gold and silver c the gss tainer. I was a light, pink fluid which shimmered like pink diamonds uhe starlight. It is both beautiful and breathtaking.

  "That's the 'ar of Youth'..." ［Kale］

  "The 'ar of Youth'... Wait! Isn't that?!" ［Yuna］

  "That's right. It's the Headmaster's greatest creation!" ［Kale］

  The 'ar of Youth'... It is a Legendary-Grade item which, as the name suggests, allows oo go ba their youth aain that appearail the day they die. A potion coveted by many of the wealthy and powerful.

  Though it doesend one's life, just the fact that you'll look young again and that your body will be back to its prime is already hy. One wouldn't have to feel the pains of old age and experience a privilege High-Rankers share.

  As for the reason why Fran made such a potion, it was because of his wife. He really doesn't mind her looking old, but people often talked about how he was the only one who retained his youthful appearance, which made his wife ever so anxious.

  And so, he spent several years formuting such a potion and scoured the whole ti for the ingredients, finally making the potion which allowed him to bee one of the three Legendary Alchemists in the world, presenting the "ar of Youth" to his one and only beloved.

  In other words... He was just another fool for his wife...

  "The Headmaster's really sweet, isn't he? I wish I could also get a prince charming like that! And a handsome o that!" ［Alea］

  "Heh... Only an idiot would fall foril like you." ［Edin］

  "Huh? Did you say something just now, Edin?" ［Alea］

  "Like I said... Only an idiot would fallー Keukkk!!" ［Edin］

  And speaking of fools, another one was sent flying by Alea's fist once again. Alea was just in a good mood, and he just had to ruin it, eveing his words just because Alea asked him ironically.

  Meanwhile, whilst Alea was busy beating up Edin, Yuna's eyes were tched towards the "ar of Youth", gazing in sileh plex thoughts running inside her mind, obviously pting about what was before her.

  As frey, he could only watch the young dy think ever so seriously. A subtle ale smile bloomed on his face, letting her be in her own world. Something inside of her was brewing like a violent storm.

  DONGGG DONGGG DONGGG

  Time passed by like the whistling wind, and the sun soo over the horizon. With the ringing of the bell, it was now time for the students to return to their dormitories and their homes, retiring after another long day.

  Grey and Yuna also separated with the others auro Camellia Valley, then heading upstairs after having a fulfilling dinner. It was a day filled with satisfa, one far better than any school days Grey ever had.

  "Yuna, are you alright?" ［Grey］

  However, ever sihey returned from the Academy, Yuna has been in a daze, her mind seeming to be somewhere else. It was so severe that she wasn't even paying much attention while she was eating dinner, ing as much as usual.

  "A-Ah, yes...? Did you just say something now, Grey?" ［Yuna］

  "... 'Yes', huh... Why are you formal all of a sudden? You've been spag out a lot, you know?" ［Grey］

  "I... I was...?" ［Yuna］

  "Yeah... Well, you still look cute when you're spag out, though." ［Grey］

  "G-Grey! W-What are you saying?! Geez!" ［Yuna］

  Well, all she needed was a little teasing and Yuna was back to normal, blushing red as she pounded Grey's chest with her closed fists. Still, Grey kept on smiling, soon pg his hands on top of her head, patting her ever so gently,

  "You just got some new ideas, didn't you?" ［Grey］

  Yuna paused for a while, and nodded her head. The moment she saw the "ar of Youth", a strong surge of determination bubbled inside her heart. She also wao achieve something grand in alchemy, her goals id before her eyes,

  She uzzled and ag all meek, but Grey couldn't be any happier. All he could do was be supportive of her, flig his fio summoe to Sanctuary before them, much to Yuna's surprise.

  "Make sure to not overwork yourself too much, alright?" ［Grey］

  A smile blooming on his face, Grey permitted Yuna to use the Sanctuary facilities to her heart's tent, letting her work and py as much as she as long as she doesn't her health. Of course, he'll also be helping her.

  "... Un! I'll keep that in mind!" ［Yuna］

  "You silly girl, don't just keep it in mind, do it." ［Grey］

  "U-Um!" ［Yuna］

  A pinch to the cheeks, light and filled with affe, Grey scolded Yuna a little bit. He was a bit worried about her tendencies, but how could he bear to stop her when she was wearing such a sweet and cheerful smile. He was the biggest fool of them all.

  CHAPTER 365 END