At this point, Rezen's alchemy skills in the field of potion-making was still far from desirable. This was especially so after he focused on his cultivation foundation for three whole months. He didn't have much chance to continue his alchemy training

Another branch of alchemy is artifact refining which made it possible for someone like Quard to have such a powerful weapon

If it was any other Deviant Mage in the 4th cycle, they would definitely be defeated. After all, this magic already has the power of a 5th cycle magic spell

Even Rezen has to take it seriously as he jumps back to put some distance between himself and the magic artifact

"That's useless!" Quard sneered. Despite the fact that this was akin to cheating as he utilized external power that is only possible because of his family's wealth, he doesn't really care

As long as he can beat up Rezen and teach him a cruel lesson then this is worth it

With a frown, Rezen retrieved his magic wand to amplify his magical power. The increase wasn't much since the wand was a basic one but it was better than nothing

He pointed his magic wand and he sent rays of sunlight to dispel these arms coming out from the mirror

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The rays of sunlight and the arms released by the mirror collided, canceling each other. However, the arms were clearly superior as it took more than one ray of sunlight to destroy them

lightsΝοvel After all, this magic spell from Quard's magic artifact is already at the level of a 5th cycle magic spell and not just the ordinary one. Its power was already approaching the 6th cycle

While Rezen can fight against power at the 5th cycle, since this one is infinitely approaching the 6th cycle and he was already quite exhausted, it would be hard for him to resist

After all, he hasn't consumed spirit plants above his level to the point that he can crush mages at the 6th cycle. If it was a power of a Body or Spirit Mage at the 6th cycle then the Rezen can easily resist but this magic spell has the power of a Deviant's magic spell and was clearly superior

Still, Rezen was not afraid. Seeing that his attack wasn't working, he opted to use another attack

The yellow light at the top of his magic wand vanished and was replaced by a purple light. A wave of purple energy spreads and dissipates in the surroundings as Rezen continues dodging the hands targeting him

Since he opted to use magic that wouldn't destroy these hands, one hand after another grabbed Rezen's body in an attempt to pull him inside the mirror"If this gets any more dangerous, I have to interfere soon" Mage Feather who was watching from the sidelines thought and she was ready to help Rezen any moment from now

While Rezen is clearly superior, there is a reason why everyone fought for resources. It can breach the gap between the strong and the weak!

Just look at the current situation. Normally, Rezen can easily crush Quard with the prowess he showed but because the latter has a precious magic artifact that can release power above his level, the former is now in this dire situation

After seeing that Rezen got caught, Quard's expression turned into excitement. If Rezen entered his mirror and was assaulted by the [Mirror Torment] spell then he would definitely suffer a lot!

However, before Rezen is imprisoned by the mirror, an unexpected thing happened

"Huh?" Quard suddenly found his vision blurring and at the same time, he felt something dripping from his mouth

Despite his blurry vision, Quard raised his hand into his lips to touch the 'strange liquid'. Although he can't see clearly anymore, when he looks at the liquid that stained his hand, he still realizes what it was

Blood! It was blood!

As soon as realization dawned upon him, Quard vomited blood in both pain and confusion

What happened? Why is he vomiting blood now? He was on the brink of winning against Rezen. Why is he experiencing such a thing?

"No... could it be..." Quard realizes something as a word pops up in his mind before he loses consciousness

"Poison"

Indeed, he was poisoned. While Rezen showed talent to more than a few attributes of magic, he never used poison-type magic before. This was because he didn't have the mystic gem for that attribute but things are different now

Poison-type magic has become one of the attributes that he is talented at. He didn't even have to use the strange moss that grew while absorbing contaminated stones. His own magic was enough

After all, Quard was weaker than him and he also didn't expect that Rezen would poison him

As Quard loses consciousness, the magic that the magic artifact released is also cancelled and the arms and hands made from light dissipateFortunately, this magic spell is still something that Quard has to control personally. It cannot be activated and function on its own

Without the caster's control and power, the magic spell was automatically canceled

Hence, Rezen won and not only that, he was the only one is able to secure a plaque since the others were either unconscious or unable to move anymore

With a bitter smile, Mage Feather spoke. "Alright, you won, the fifty merit points are yours. As for the others... we need to start another match that will only include the number 1 plaque and below"

"Just let your student token absorb the plaque and the number of your merit points will be updated. You can now go to the Merit Hall if you want to use your merit points"

Fortunately, the academy already expected that some students might lose consciousness because of this event. As such, for the first day of the second semester, this was the only class that these students needed to attend. The real class will start tomorrow

"Understood!" Rezen said with a nod as he did what he was told

——-

Tryst Academy, Merit Hall

"Please bring me a list of alchemy-related items for the potion branch" Rezen said to the staff of the Merit Hall. This time, it was a woman who greeted him and the woman handed him the list that Rezen asked for without saying anything

As Rezen browsed through the list of items, he couldn't help but sigh. He thought that he was rich now but it seems like the path of alchemy is really the path of burning money

He earned 50 merit points from the class earlier and when he entered the Krome Underground, he also earned 5 merit points from his trip. These 5 merit points are equivalent to killing 25 magic beasts at the 4th cycle of the Junior Rank though not all of his kills are magic beasts at the rank

Of course, Rezen also 'cheated' to make his score lower. The token to record the number of his kills needed mana to function. He simply withdraws his mana when he doesn't need to increase his kill count

After all, while he can be outstanding, he can't be too outstanding. In terms of killing speed, he has a huge advantage because he can easily recover the energy that he used compared to the others

No one would consume spirit plants recklessly as he did because of the impurities that they will accumulate. It was only because he has his farm that can easily grow even precious soul-related spirit plants that he can become this reckless

With 55 merit points in hand, Rezen can be considered as rich compared to the maged at his batch but it turns out that he was too poor!

Just one alchemy-related book that can support him to become an alchemist appropriate at his current rank already costs exactly 50 merit points and this is just one book!

An alchemist doesn't only need one book! After all, just how many books does an alchemist need to have?

With a frown, Rezen turned to the Merit Hall staff and said "Is there any way to obtain alchemy-related knowledge without using too many merit points?"

The staff acknowledged him and she nodded her head. "Tryst Academy is a Battle Mage academy so it doesn't really offer any advantages to students that want to learn alchemy"

"But of course, alchemy is also indispensable to an academy. It would be too costly if the academy didn't have its own alchemists of various branches. As such, there are academy members that are not students or teachers responsible for the production of potions, magic artifacts, magic scrolls, and so on"

"If you have some skills for potion-making, you can approach a Potion Maker and offer your assistance to them in exchange for their knowledge. Considering that we are in a Battle Mage academy, those alchemists will be more than happy to have assistants that can help them with their work"