Chapter 46

Good morning from room 09001 of the Myosui Dormitory. It's January 4th today. I'm Herman. Well, I've had my morning shower, so let's go have breakfast. There are already a few people in the morning cafeteria. I wonder if there will be any bread left for me. ...There is. I'll go for bread and soup then. Congee and soup is a bit odd. I really want pasta. The bread is hard and doesn't use yeast, so I think improving my diet is essential. I doubt they have the idea of adding ale to the bread dough. To make yeast from nuts, you need a bottle, but I have plenty of preserving jars. If I want to make it popular, I really need some connections. ...I assume there are nobles in the Abundance Society, but are there any nobles who have tried to popularize crops? ...Oh, I remember, the cotton that can be harvested all year round is a mysterious one. Could it be the product of past alchemists?

After finishing my meal, I returned to my room. Now, let's do some embroidery. I'll make progress during my free time. I want to reach a proper level of embroidery. Then, I wonder if I can learn alchemy from the Abundance Society before my classes. I'll finish the embroidery quickly. Doing embroidery every day is tough.

It's 2:55 AM, and I'm in room 0801 of the 2nd building. There are about 20 other students. Wands are something to aspire to. But 20 people, isn't that a lot? Is this normal? Yesterday's classes had only me. The Life Creation School is popular, I see. Well, the teacher has just arrived, so let's start the class.

"Only the new students should raise their hands. Be honest."

...What's going on? Ah, there might be second or third-year students here for the spirit tree saplings. This is to confirm. ...There are 4 new students, including me, and quite a few returning students.

"I won't make any for the returning students. Buy your own materials! It's sad, but you should be able to buy them yourself. Now, leave the room. If you want to learn how to make them, stay."

The returning students left one by one. ...It seems the alchemist who taught us has already taken measures. ...Well, if you know how to make them, you can do it yourself. Good luck, seniors.

"Now, there are 4 of you left. Choose a pot and bring it here. I'll teach you how to make the spirit tree sapling with the pot you bring."

...Well, there are various pots, but we'll be together for 5 days. ...Any pot will do. I picked up the nearest pot with a round mouth and lined up, but I was already the fourth. Was it too early? There was no need to rush. ...Well, it's fine.

"This is a spirit tree sapling. You need to plant it in a pot with a magic stone. I'll teach the first one in detail, so the other three should watch carefully."

...Well, you have a pot, right? You place the magic stone in it, right? Then you place the sapling in the soil, right? That's it. There's nothing difficult. You don't have to do anything special with the roots. You just place it. ...It's not difficult at all. Is this really okay?

"Is it easy? It is. On the first day, be careful not to let the sapling fall. After that, just water it with magic-infused water for 5 days. The shape will vary depending on the person, but the quality of the magic stone is low. So, I recommend remaking it with a better magic stone when you get one. When the leaves of the spirit tree sapling fall off, it's done. It will turn into a wand on its own. It might be short or thick, but it's your wand. You probably won't use it for long, like the seniors today, but the second one should be almost the same shape. It's mysteriously easy to hold."

It's mysterious, why are they the same? Is it because of the quality of my magic? ...Well, it doesn't matter. The spirit tree sapling was distributed to me, the fourth one. It was freshly made by alchemy right there. But the commoner dorm is underground, so do we need sunlight? Doesn't photosynthesis require sunlight, as my previous self would ask?

"Do we need to expose it to sunlight?"

"No, it's not necessary. It grows fine in the commoner dorm. That's just how it is."

I asked, but it seems we don't need it. It's strange for a plant.

"Can we give it a lot of water?"

"Yes, if you don't give it enough, the leaves will remain on the 6th or 7th day. Just give it plenty. It won't cause root rot. Well, there are limits, but as long as the soil is good, it should be fine. It might be better to think it will be done in 5 days, but even if it takes 7 days, the wand's effect won't change."

It's fine to give it plenty of water. Maybe I should be more careful about not giving it enough.

"Well, you can try different things from the second one. But research shows that the appearance doesn't change much even if you do."

Well, if the effect is the same, it's fine. I'll put it in my 'Extend Space.' I'll give it plenty of water when I get back to my room. I can use the magic manipulation techniques I learned from the Dawn School to infuse the water with magic. ...It might be difficult without a magic stone. Well, it will be what it will be. ...Hey? The other three are already gone? They're not here.

"Can I go now?"

"Yes, you can. In fact, I'm waiting for you. When you leave, I can leave too. We can have a Q&A session here, but you probably want to water it, right? You can go."

"Understood. Thank you."

So, the class ended in less than an hour. ...I'll go back to the dorm and give it water. A pot will do, right? I don't want to buy a watering can just for this. I'll use a teapot. The next class is from the Eternal Light School, so I could have stayed, but I didn't have anything to talk about.

I returned to my dorm room and set the pot next to the tea leaves. If it grows to the ceiling, I'll think about it. For now, let's give it water. I turned the tap and filled the pot with water, then used magic manipulation to infuse it with a lot of magic. ...Maybe the pressure is weak or the water has a limit, but it's not going in much. The soil took it in easily last time. Well, it's fine. I slowly poured the pot of water into the pot. The soil seems to drain poorly... maybe it's clay-like. It's not soaking in much. Well, they said to give it plenty, so this should be fine. The rest of the time is for embroidery. I have about 3 hours until the Eternal Light School lecture, so I just need to make sure I'm not late for class. Let's make progress.

It's around 6:55, and I'm in room 0802 of the 1st building. I almost didn't make it. I was a bit too close to being late. But I made it, so it's safe. This time, there are about 6 students. It's the second day, so maybe more students from the 1st and 2nd buildings are attending? I went to the 5th and 6th buildings first, so it might be rare. ...The students from the Shadow and Light School who didn't have much enthusiasm probably didn't expect a class on the first day. They were more interested in research.

It's 7:00, and the teacher hasn't arrived yet. ...The other students are getting restless. There are so many of us, so we must be in the right classroom. They must have checked. Well, the teacher will come eventually. The student from the Shadow and Light School who didn't have much enthusiasm was on time, so maybe they're just not enthusiastic. Or maybe they're clumsy. Just then, the door opened with a bang.

"Phew, just in time! Right?!"

The teacher said, but it's actually 7:02, so it's a bit late. Well, let's forgive it. It's good to have a broad heart.

"Since it's just in time, let's start."

A nice follow-up. It seems everyone agrees, so let's start quickly.

"It's fine if it's just in time! Let's start the class!"

The teacher is quite bold and energetic. After confirming the number of students, the teacher brought out 7 large cauldrons from the 'Extend Space.' It's good that there are enough for everyone. Otherwise, we would have to go get more. ...Someone else would have to do it.

"Now, each of you choose a cauldron. After you choose, take this magic cloth and ink."

I'm sitting at the back, so I automatically get the leftover one. But the sizes are almost the same, so I don't even know if there's a need to choose. It doesn't matter since it's the leftover one. I received the ink and magic cloth. The magic cloth is the one we used in the Shadow and Light School. I noticed when I was embroidering that the alchemy array gradually fades. It was gone when I brought it back, which surprised me. But it was good that it didn't shift and the array reappeared in the same position. Otherwise, I would have to finish the embroidery in one go or add magic periodically, which would be a trap. The ink is probably for the cauldron, as I remember from the Alchemy Encyclopedia. But it must be tough for alchemists. I don't know who started using alchemy first, but they must have started from scratch with no cauldrons, arrays, or wands. It's amazing and admirable. I received the talent, but I didn't even know how to use it.

"Now, let's project the alchemy array onto the magic cloth. When you infuse the cloth with magic, the array should appear. Then, use the ink to draw the array on the bottom of the cauldron. Let me know when you're done."

So, I quickly made the array appear on the cloth and drew it on the bottom of the cauldron. From experience, it's best to rely on talent for these things. I relied on talent to make the array appear on the cloth and thought it would do the drawing too. As expected, talent did the job, and a beautiful array was drawn. The circles are perfect, and it's excellent. It would have been perfect if talent could do the embroidery too, but embroidery is outside its range. It's a shame.

"Teacher, I'm done."

"Okay, you're the fourth. Remember that. I'm checking the others now."

It seems there were people who finished before me. I thought I was doing well, but I was the fourth. Maybe the nobles already knew about the alchemy array. Well, it didn't take long, so it's fine. ...The teacher came quickly.

"Okay, 7-star array. And 13 intersection points. You got a good array. Now, you don't have a wand yet, right? Here's a magic stone. Infuse it with as much magic as you can and throw it into the cauldron."

I did as told, infusing the stone with magic to the limit and throwing it into the cauldron. ...A rainbow-colored liquid started to emerge. ...It stopped. It didn't overflow.

"Great, the cauldron is complete. This liquid won't spill even if you tilt it. Isn't that amazing? Your class is over. I'll check the next student, so you can go."

The teacher moved on to the next student. ...The teacher is quite busy. Well, it's fine. Since it's over, let's go back and continue the embroidery. The simple embroidery is almost done. I think I'm making good progress with the embroidery. The proper embroidery will take some time, but let's go back.

So, it's past 8:00, and I'm in the middle of embroidery. The alchemy cauldron is in its designated spot, making it feel like an alchemist's workshop. I'll carry it during class. The