CHAPTER 54

Idnia taught Milena her own vanilla extract recipe.

“You see, if you modify and extract the lignin inside the plant cell walls, you can make vanillin — that’s the base of vanilla scent.”

As Idnia explained the spell structure and target points, Milena was shocked.

“What? This is modified extraction magic? And at such a high level?”

“Yes. Is that strange?”

“You’re a first-year, right? And you can do this? Sure, I can do modified extraction, but this is such a tiny target. Honestly, I can’t do this level myself.”

“Oh, really? Well, I start with this modified extraction because it completely breaks down the lignin structure, making it easier to pull out the core contents. If you want to save magic power when extracting lignin derivatives, heating it would help. Try heating it to 140 degrees and use salt as a catalyst. The chlorine in salt helps break down the lignin…”

As Milena listened, she felt more like a student than a master.

“I thought I was a decent alchemist… but she’s the daughter of the Betelgeuse duke?”

She realized she had more to learn from Idnia than to teach.

“Is it really that strange?”

“It’s not strange—it’s genius.”

“I’m not a genius. I’m just standing on the shoulders of giants.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, I can see far not because I’m tall, but because I’m using the knowledge of the people who came before me.”

“I don’t know who your ‘giants’ are, but I’ve studied hard, and I’ve never heard this.”

“Oh, I actually discovered this during paper-making. And the Betelgeuse duchy has lumber mills.”

When Idnia said that, Milena finally understood. She knew that the Betelgeuse duchy was a major wood exporter.

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

Milena followed Idnia’s advice and tried the spell, but she got tons of errors.

The mixture had a bit of a vanilla smell, but the amount and purity weren’t good enough to sell.

There were too many impurities, so she would need to purify it again — which would use a lot of magic.

“It works, but there’s too much impurity. I can’t believe a first-year student can do this and I can’t.”

“She’s not just any first-year. She’s our master.”

Heukrang chimed in proudly, not that he understood magic — he just believed in Idnia.

“If you grind the wood into pulp and treat it with chlorine or vinegar before casting, it’ll work much better.”

After seeing Milena fail, Idnia kindly gave her some tips.

Then Milena made a proposal.

“…Um, would you be willing to make the growth potion here using those materials? I can provide all the equipment.”

Milena wanted to see how Idnia worked, and Heukrang caught on quickly.

“Master, she’s trying to copy your technique.”

Milena winced at the accurate call-out, but Idnia smiled and agreed.

“I’d be happy to. There’s a lot I want to learn from you too, Milena.”

“Heh, I don’t know if I have much to teach, but sure. Let’s share what we know.”

Milena showed Idnia the recipe and lent her special magic wands needed for the process.

“You can use these freely.”

“I don’t know the effect-enhancing spell. Could you teach me?”

“Oh, right. You are a first-year… hard to believe. You’ll learn it in class soon anyway… fine.”

Milena taught her the effect-enhancing spell.

At first, she doubted a first-year could understand, but Idnia grasped it easily.

“Oh, so you embed the spell to attack the potion’s effect receptors. But it doesn’t last long — can I cast it after making the potion instead?”

“The effect is strongest if you cast it during brewing. If you’re worried about the duration, use a potion base.”

“The potion base? We learned that in class. What’s it made of again?”

“What? You don’t know?

You know all this difficult stuff, but not the basics? Your knowledge is oddly unbalanced.

The potion base is made from mandrake juice. It stores the effect-enhancing spell — sometimes for two weeks, sometimes forever.”

“I see.”

Idnia learned many practical potion-making skills from Milena that day.

After seeing Idnia’s crazy skills and knowledge, Milena stopped asking for money. She realized that having a connection with Idnia would be more valuable than payment.

With Milena’s help, Idnia created the plant growth potion she needed.

“What did I just witness?”

“Pardon?”

“How can you make this much potion from just that small amount of ingredients? That’s insane. Your spell control is insanely good.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Watching you isn’t enough to copy it.”

Milena gave up trying to copy Idnia. She was too impressed to be jealous.

“I should buy more potion bottles. I’ll pay.”

“No need. I’ll gift them to you.”

“You? Giving a gift?”

“Yes. Take it as a sign of friendship. That’s rare for a merchant like me.”

“Thank you.”

Idnia sincerely thanked Milena and left the shop with Heukrang and her new potions.

“…So geniuses really do exist,” Milena muttered as they left.

Outside, it was still raining.

“Wow, it’s been raining all day. Master, we’re out on our break… what now?”

“It’s fine. A little rain won’t hurt. Besides, you looked bored while I was working.”

“Well, I don’t know anything about magic or alchemy, but one thing’s for sure. You’re a wizard now. That alchemist was shocked! You’re a genius!”

“I’m not a genius. That’s too much.”

“Well, I’ll keep saying it. I’ll brag to everyone that my master’s a genius.”

“Don’t do that. It’s embarrassing.”

“Then how about food? A restaurant was bought by the southern Medici family — their cooking got really good.”

“No, we have somewhere to go first.”

“Somewhere?”

“Yes. We need to use this potion. Let’s go to the swamp.”

“What? In this rain?

The swamp’s dangerous. Monsters live there.”

“That’s exactly why we’re going.”

Idnia and Heukrang headed toward the swamp.

At the bottom of the mountain where the Academy stood, rainwater formed a swamp. It was infused with leftover magical substances, making it a magical danger zone.

Students weren’t normally allowed near it.

Before entering, Idnia released the restraint on her “Tyrant Aura.”

“Heukrang, ready your weapon. Things will get dangerous now.”

“Got it. I’ll scout ahead.”

Heukrang drew his dagger and led the way.

“This part’s swampy, but that side is firm. Watch your step — it’s slippery.”

“Okay.”

As they walked deeper into the swamp, they saw fish-like humanoid monsters with bone and coral spears.

Whack!

Heukrang took them down quickly.

“They’re weird, but weak if you break their flow.”

“Be careful. They’re tougher than humans. If you don’t destroy their core, they can still fight even when injured.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this—wait, something’s coming. Deep in the water… this feels bad.”

“We’re in the right place.”

Idnia pulled out a small potion — the growth potion she had made.

“What are you doing?”

Heukrang watched as Idnia flicked the bottle.

It flew like a bullet and hit the swamp.

Then, the monster hiding in the water revealed itself — a massive, corrupted swamp creature.

This thing absorbed all kinds of magic waste from the Academy. It had high magic resistance and could drown its enemies. It even healed itself in water.

But if you hit it with the growth potion…

Plants started growing rapidly inside its body — reeds and water plants burst through its flesh, tearing it apart.

“GRRRAAARGH!”

The monster staggered toward Idnia, trying to attack, but its body kept breaking apart. It couldn’t move without shedding more of itself.

In the end, it reached her and raised a fist—

BOOM!

Idnia punched it once, and the monster exploded into pieces.

“…You made that potion just for this? But how did you know it was here?”

“The swamp gets new monsters every few months because of all the magic trash dumped here.”

Idnia examined the remains of the creature.

“Let’s see… ah, here it is. The ‘Swamp Spirit’s Heart.’ And this…”

She found a glowing green obsidian shard and a small treasure box. Inside were a gold-and-gem necklace and a cross.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

“No spells. Just jewelry. I’ll sell it. I was hoping for a magic sword, but I guess that drop rate was too low.”

“Magic sword?”

“Yes. There’s one called Man-Eater that upperclassmen made. It’s supposed to be in this swamp. Oh well.”

Idnia wasn’t upset. In the original game, the drop rate was super low — and besides, most enemies couldn’t even survive one punch from her anyway.

“Well, now that we’ve made some money, shall we get a good meal? I’ve skipped too many today.”

Idnia and Heukrang finally returned to town, ready to eat.