Chapter 76

Good morning from room 5-0304. Today is October 13th, the day of the seminar. I'm Herman. The October classes have gone smoothly, and finally, it's seminar time. This time, we have a guest from the Yumei School for the Fertility Meeting. ...It's my fault, I'm sorry. Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule.

The classes were, well, normal...? The Eimei School's class was on the basics of healing. We conducted an experiment to see how effective potions are. The class involved bringing in a death row inmate for the experiment. I had a bad feeling, but I guess we learned a lot. The recovery from cutting up a death row inmate, breaking bones and then healing them. For this level, basic potions are enough. For more severe injuries, intermediate potions are needed. For even more severe cases, advanced potions and above should be used. The class was conducted while listening to the teacher's voice and the death row inmate's screams. Ethically, is this okay? Isn't this a bit too much? This is still just the basics. What about the advanced classes? Losing an arm or something? Is this a death row inmate? Is this the Eimei School's punishment? I think it's necessary, but I don't want to get injuries that require intermediate potions or above.

The Tetsu School's class was on the basics of weapon alchemy. It's about restoring weapons with a magic wand. ...Yeah, it was supposed to be done during combat. How much fighting are we supposed to do? Just carry a secondary weapon, okay? So, the class was about manipulating the magic wand to shape the weapon and solidify it with magic mushrooms. ...To do this during actual combat? That's crazy. Moreover, my weapon is a sharp one. A large sword that's more like a blunt weapon would be fine, but a rapier needs to be sharpened after restoration. So, this technique is useless.

The Zou School's class was on creating a four-legged walking golem with a skeleton. We added a skeleton to the golem from September. It was said that if the golem gets bigger, the maintenance frequency increases. The maintenance cost for the carriage golem planned for November will increase significantly due to the consumption of magic mushrooms and magic stones, so it's better to add the skeleton. Since we plan to make two carriage golems, I carefully considered the skeleton structure. Even a small improvement in efficiency is good. The knowledge of ball joints from my previous life was very useful. The ball joints made with alchemy are even better than those from my previous life. They stick together even without covering a hemisphere. I used extra earth attribute magic stones, but it was sufficient for a test. The efficiency of my carriage golem will surprise everyone.

The Dawn School's class was on creating magic cloth and embroidery thread. We had already made the embroidery thread. ...It feels like a long time ago, but it hasn't been a year yet. This is for the new students, not for myself. Soon, I'll have juniors. It's a bit nostalgic. ...I probably won't meet them.

Finally, the Yumei School's class was on the second modification of skeletons. We plated the skeletons with magic iron. This only enhances durability, not strength or intelligence. However, after this, it's impossible to enhance the skeleton with other creatures. Apparently, plating with magic gold is the strongest. ...Only in terms of durability. It's about power, not combat ability. Without an increase in strength, it's not very useful.

So, the Eimei School's class was the most useful, even though it was the most insane. There's still the advanced class left. The Zou School's class will consume a lot of materials in the future. I have a lot of magic stones in stock, but they'll be gone in an instant. Well, let's focus on the Fertility Meeting. ...Serena hasn't arrived yet, but two people from the Yumei School are here. One is a man, who seems to be a dark elf. His skin is dark brown. It's the first time I've met a dark elf. I'm not fighting with elves, but dark elves are said to have a longer lifespan. It's about 100 years longer, but it's almost negligible. I don't think it's right to dismiss it as a negligible difference. ...Humans only live for about 100 years.

The other is a woman, who seems to be a halfling. She's small. ...It could be a small human, but since she's a friend of Deborah, she's probably a halfling. She has the same hair color and style, but it lacks luster. The effect of hair wash liquid is explosive. ...The halfling who came this time has very lustrous hair. Even without a mirror, she should fix her bed head. It's sticking up in 5 or 6 places. She should take more care. Even I, a man, take some care. She's probably lazy. ...The dark elf man doesn't seem to care, so it's probably normal for him. Well, let's start the Fertility Meeting as Serena usually does.

"It's time. Let's start this month's Fertility Meeting. First, we have guests from the Yumei School. Please introduce yourselves."

"Understood. I'm Russell Eaton, a dark elf. I'm the seminar leader of the Yumei School's Ring of Life and Visceral Seminar. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Nancy. I'm a halfling. Nice to meet you."

"I'm the seminar leader, Bruce Campbell. Thank you for coming. I'd like you to look at this report immediately."

"Hmm, --- I see, --- that's why you called us. Nancy, take a look."

"Yes. --- What?! You made it?! The unclean magic stone?!"

"Yes. The unclean magic stone is a magic stone that remains when a summoned undead is defeated, as we understand it. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. To be more precise, it's a magic stone that retains the residue of dark attribute magic. ...From this report, it seems that a residue of any attribute other than dark can also become an unclean magic stone. The fact that the goblin became a goblin zombie when the unclean magic stone was used is proof that the unclean magic stone was successfully created."

"By the way, this is the actual unclean magic stone. And this is the created monster."

"--- It's definitely an unclean magic stone. When magic is channeled through it, it feels like it has an attribute, but it can't be extracted, which is a characteristic of unclean magic stones."

"Hey, what exactly is an unclean magic stone? Since it can create undead, it's not strange to think that the Yumei School is involved."

"Hmm, as I explained earlier, it's a magic stone that retains the residue of an attribute's magic. In alchemy, impurities are usually removed, so it can't be made. When dark attribute materials are used for summoning, the dark attribute in the material is used up and sealed in the magic stone, which is how the unclean magic stone is created. This report's results and considerations have been included, and I believe it's probably correct. ...However, the research hasn't progressed much due to the lack of samples."

"That's right. We couldn't conduct proper experiments due to the lack of samples. It was something we could get once every ten years."

"Probably, there was a concept that it could lead to the enhancement of undead, but the lack of samples has delayed various experiments. It's known that unclean magic stones are not suitable for summoning, but other than that, they're useless. The research hasn't progressed much due to the lack of samples. This is the case for all seminars."

"Why are they not suitable for summoning?"

"Because the dark attribute magic is necessary for summoning. Even if it's a magic stone, it's known that the material is more suitable for summoning. The unclean magic stone is just a residue of an attribute, not dark attribute magic. It can be considered as a neutral attribute."

"What's the difference between a pure magic stone and an unclean magic stone?"

"Expressing it as a pure magic stone with the neutral attribute removed might be a good way. The unclean magic stone is inferior to attribute magic stones. ...From the fact that it can be purified, it might be the opposite of the holy attribute. There's no good way to express it."

"If it's the opposite of the holy attribute, is it an evil attribute?"

"It could be considered an evil attribute. However, until we study its characteristics further, we can't say for sure if it's truly evil. The fact that it can be used to enhance undead suggests that it has evil characteristics. There are still many unknowns, and the research is ongoing."

"In other words, although the characteristics are not fully understood due to the lack of samples, it can be considered a new attribute?"

"No, it's an exaggeration to call it a new attribute. It's just an impure, unclean magic stone. From the fact that it can't be considered a neutral attribute, it might be more accurate to say it's not an attribute at all."

"Then, is it correct to understand that it has the potential to change significantly depending on future research?"

"Yes, I believe new insights will emerge one after another. Thanks to the public release of this, the research will progress."

"Hmm, it seems it will be a long-term research."

"I don't have enough lifespan for that. ...It's not a seminar that seeks immortality, but if I were to pursue this, I would want to become immortal."

"I've heard that the Zou School has no restrictions on publishing the slime and mucus, so I plan to publish it. Is it better for the Yumei School to publish it as well?"

"Yes, please publish it. Recently, due to the activation of the Gen School, the Yumei School has been pulled along. If we can get a large number of unclean magic stones, it would be great."

"That's right. I believe undead can be enhanced even more. ...Russell, please make sure it's controllable this time."

"I can't promise that. Sacrifices are inevitable in experiments. It would be better to invite the Tetsu School."

"...It's not controllable?"

"The High Revenant couldn't be controlled. We even gathered talented tamers, but it was a failure. I thought it would be possible to control undead, but it didn't work. Even if we could control Elder Liches or those with self-awareness, it would be good. If we can enhance them with unclean magic stones, it's possible that self-aware undead could be born. The experiment is an experiment because we don't know what will happen."

"...Do you need the remains of the goblin zombie created from the unclean magic stone? And the mucus?"

"Sure, I'll take them. We'll continue to create more, but more data is better. Nancy, take them. You'll be working on the experiments together."

"Sure, I'll take them. Thank you."

"Please take the unclean magic stones as well. You won't use them anyway, right?"

"...Sure. Here, take the failed ones as well."

"Thank you. I'll take them. ...But, do you fail that much? Talent should guide you, right?"

"We mix in materials that don't react to talent, like mucus and slime. ...Most of them fail."

"This is just a rush. Normally, alchemists don't do experiments that fail."

"Right. This time, it's because of this guy. He's only in his first year."

"Wow, quite active in the first year. Failing is also a part of learning. Nothing is wasted. Are you taking the Yumei School's classes? Undead are very useful."

"I'm taking all of them. I plan to continue using skeletons."

"In that case, you'll want something that moves infinitely. It's a common desire. If you have unclean magic stones, you might be able to create powerful skeletons."

"If you can, please publish it. Infinite power is great."

"Yes, I understand. Golems are powerful but require maintenance."

The discussion with the Yumei School ended. Next, it will probably involve the Tetsu School. I know, I know. I was born under such a star. ...But how will the Tetsu School be involved? Will they develop new sword techniques? ...I'll probably be on the receiving end. There are various techniques besides flying swords. But that would be more about combat, not alchemy. ...It's a bit odd to think of the Tetsu School as alchemists. Well, if I live without worrying, I'll be involved. If I do various experiments, something will come out of it. That's it for today. Thank you for your hard work.

Whether you found it interesting or not, it's fine.

I would appreciate it if you could provide an evaluation.

If you could point out any issues in your feedback,

I think I can reflect them in my writing.

...Probably.