A couple more hours passed, and sadly, Raelis wasn’t able to find any more Vitriol Roses.
There were a few students scattered throughout the forest, and while some had shiny herbs, none of them were actually the Vitriol Roses.
Though, I can’t say I know what those herbs are. I just know that they’re not nearly as special as the actual thing.
Nevertheless, he didn’t give up his search.
Or so he would have hoped to say, but when the sun began to rise once more, it marked the end of the lesson.
How did he know that? Well...
[I’ll be teleporting you kids back shortly. Make sure you’re not naked, since I’m not in the mood for public humiliation,] Arius said. [Oh, and if you don’t have the materials necessary for the potion, then you’re going to wash the toilets.]
He let out a chuckle.
[I forgot. Good morning to you all.]
With that, Raelis sighed and checked himself all over.
He had a Yellowleaf Flower as well as a Sugar Leaf. The only things he was missing were the two Dashcap Mushrooms, but he was sure Alice was going to spare him some.
But as the minutes went by, he started to grow a bit uneasy. Therefore, he made his way into the darker part of the forest.
He spotted a few Dashcap Mushrooms in the distance, so using stealth, Raelis snuck up on them, killed them, then cut off their limbs, and eagerly waited to be teleported.
And just a few minutes later, his vision distorted. Just as fast, it came back.
When it did, he found himself standing in an open field, just outside the academy.
The headmaster floated right above them, a wide smile on his face.
"Welcome back, everyone," Arius greeted. "Since classes start in just two hours, I suggest you all get some rest, or rather, take a shower. You stink."
"Hey... we were in the forest for over a day. Why do we have lessons today!?"
"Yeah! What’s the point!? We’re tired! We’re going to brew bad potions!"
"Stop whining, for god’s sake," Arius said with a sigh. "You lot are like a bunch of annoying rats. Sorry, that might be a strong word. You lot are like a bunch of idiots. You don’t want change, and you reject hard work. How else do you expect to succeed if the academy, as well as the environment, babies you?"
The headmaster descended slightly.
"You will have to spend weeks on end without sleep because you’ll have the threat of demons looming over you. How do you expect to do that when you complain about a single night out? Just deal with it!" Arius added.
After a brief pause, he continued.
"Three people managed to find the Vitriol Roses."
The moment he uttered those words, silence descended onto the courtyard.
"Only three people...?"
"Raelis Varekan, two Vitriol Roses."
"Clea Valentine, two Vitriol Roses."
And finally, the headmaster’s gaze landed on a particular boy.
"Mathieu... orphan? I see... One Vitriol Rose."
"These are the three people who managed to get the herbs. Congratulations. You may come with me to retrieve your reward."
In the next instant, the headmaster snapped his fingers, causing Raelis, Clea, and Mathieu to vanish from the courtyard, and reappear in a wide hallway inside the academy.
In front of them was a large golden door, belonging to none other than the headmaster himself, who, just a second later, reappeared in front of them.
He nodded to himself in satisfaction, then opened the door to his office, revealing the spacious inside.
Yet despite the size, there was only a single desk at the far end of the room, and behind it, a giant arched window.
It resembled the one he had seen in Baron Ingram’s office, but it seemed nobles just liked having their backs turned to assassins.
But in this case, the headmaster was more than strong enough to deal with any and all threats that might come his way.
Nevertheless, he walked behind his desk and sat down, then crossed his legs.
"Very well, state your requests," Arius said. "Which of you wishes to turn the herb into a potion? Raise your hands."
Out of everyone, only Raelis raised his hand.
The headmaster nodded. "Alright, hand it here. I’ll give you the recipe and—"
"I’m going to save it for now," Raelis interjected. "I don’t want to try right away, and seeing the recipe won’t help me much since I won’t be able to practice with such valuable ingredients."
Of course, Raelis was just bluffing. He was going to smuggle one of the Vitriol Roses out of the academy.
I want the Divine Alchemist to brew it for me. There’s no way I’m touching something this precious.
"You wish to save it? Hmm... I’m afraid that no matter how many books you read, or how good you become at alchemy, this is one of those potions you can only learn to brew through trial and error," Arius said, raising a single finger.
"You must regulate the temperature in small intervals while also adding the appropriate amount of materials. If you add too much, the potion is ruined. Sure, you can salvage it if you follow the book properly, but have you ever seen a failed potion recipe? No. You haven’t. Because all these fancy modern books focus on perfection and completely fail to account for beginners!"
"I’m sure you’ll be surprised, headmaster," Raelis said confidently. "When the time comes, I’ll show you the potion myself."
After a brief exchange, the headmaster let out a sigh.
"Fine. You can do whatever you wish. Just know that you must brew it yourself. No external help. If you get someone else to brew it for you, then you’re going to be expelled," Arius said sternly.
He narrowed his eyes. "And trust me, I have my ways of finding out. Whether it’s through messengers or the scent of the herb itself, I will know. So don’t even try it."
Raelis rolled his eyes inwardly and nodded.
He was going to do it, that much was certain.
But it seemed like he needed to come up with the perfect fallback plan until then.
The headmaster leaned back slightly.
"I assume the rest of you wish to see the vault? Very well... Follow me."