In the past, although Rezen already walked the path of an alchemist to fully utilize the spirit plants his farm grew, his own priority was still his personal strength. He devoted almost all of his time to cultivation

Back then, his talent was still extremely low and he needed to compensate it with hard work. As such, he doesn't have much time for alchemy. However, things are different now

Since he theorized that he can now consume spirit plants up to the 9th cycle of the Junior Rank, the matter with his talent is temporarily alleviated. He can use more time and energy to progress with his alchemy

If he can brew more precious potions then his cultivation would also be faster than before and he also wouldn't need to consume raw spirit plants. After all, a potion's effects are better than raw spirit plants in most cases

"Thank you" Rezen said, taking the advice of the staff and after asking her where the Potion Makers were, he immediately went to them

Fortunately, his student token contained a map of the academy and with its guidance, it wasn't hard for him to know the direction

——

"Is this the Alchemy Workshop? It looks more normal than I thought!" Rezen commented after seeing the building for the alchemy workshop

Due to the eccentric Headmaster of the Tryst Academy, there were many buildings with strange looks. Specifically, they are either red or pink in color and filled with hearts from the outside

Rezen doesn't know if the Headmaster was already a hopeless romantic before and the external appearance of the various facilities already looked like that or they just recently changed because of Treen but it doesn't matter

He can't help but think that the aesthetic of the academy was ruined by the Headmaster

"Although it doesn't look weird, it looks more ordinary than I thought"

Potions are extremely important to mages and it seems like Tryst Academy is really a Battle Mage Academy. The Alchemy Workshop, specifically the branch of Potion Makers looked too ordinary and it was only three stories high. There were also a few people coming in and out of the workshop

"Still, I know that the potion-making knowledge I can gain here is better than I could get on my own" Rezen thought as he approached the workshopactionJust like the other facilities, the entrance was guarded by two guards and Rezen spoke to them

"Hello, my name is Rezen. I'm a second-semester student and I have some knowledge in potion making. I'm hoping that I can learn alchemy from the great alchemists inside the workshop in exchange for the little assistance I can provide" Rezen said humbly

Alchemists have great reputations because even a genius will fall behind a mage who is mediocre but is greatly blessed to have the assistance of great alchemists

It wouldn't hurt Rezen if he acted humbly in exchange for the plethora of knowledge he could obtain

"A student that dabbled in alchemy?" The two guards said at the same time in surprise as they glanced at each other

It seems like students of Tryst Academy who are also trained in alchemy are really rare after seeing the surprise on their faces. However, it didn't take that long before Rezen's eyes widened

"Huh? Huh?" Rezen wanted to say something but was unable to

The two guards suddenly went forward to grab each of his arms and they dragged him inside the workshop

At first, Rezen wanted to resist but he found that the power of these guards are too strong for the current him

Even if he wouldn't lose to a 5th cycle mage, and he can also last some rounds against 6th cycle mages, these guards are different. Rezen can feel how powerless he is against them

This can only mean one thing. Even if they are not Senior Mages, these two should be high cycle Junior Mages!

After all, the standard that Rezen set for himself is for Deviant Mages. If it was a Spirit or Body Mage then even if they are at a high cycle, he wouldn't feel this powerless!

The disparity of strength between a Deviant Mage and either a Body or Spirit Mage was huge after all. It was common for Deviant Mages to fight across their rank if the opponent was not a Deviant Mage. Perhaps, things would only be different if it was a Junior Mage and a Senior Mage were fighting

After all, the distance between the Junior and Senior ranks is vast. It is not something that can easily be breached even if the Junior Mage is a Deviant Mage and the Senior Mage is just either a Body or Spirit Mage

Fortunately, Rezen didn't sense any hostility from the guards. He instead only felt like these guards are afraid that he will run away from them after learning that he has some knowledge when it comes to alchemy

Along the way, Rezen met some people. All of them have huge bags under their eyes. If Rezen didn't know any better, he would think that they were zombies due to how dark the skin under their eyes was

"They look really pitiful" Rezen thought while looking at them with pity, not knowing that he would become like them soon

In fact, it was not only Rezen that is looking at them with pity. At first, these people were confused as to why he was being dragged by the guards but soon, a look of realization dawned upon their faces. This time, it was their turn to stare at Rezen with pity which made the latter uncomfortable. Just what exactly is the meaning of those gazes?

Soon, Rezen found himself inside a room and the scent of herbs and the heat from furnaces were more potent than outside

"What the fuck? Do you want to die?! Look at how many impurities these essences have! You might as well just ask mages to consume the spirit plants raw!"

"You, do you want me to fuck your mother and grandmother?! Why are you so slow?! That's what happens when you neglect your training when it comes to manipulating your soul energy!"

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! You bastard, look at how much essence you are wasting. You are not only removing impurities, you are also removing the precious essence of these herbs! Are you rich? Are you a third-generation heir? Well, even if you are, I still don't care! I'll still fuck your ancestral land in hopes that it will give birth to a fucking alchemist because a fucker like you is no alchemist!"

"And you, fuck it! I don't know why but every time I look at you, I get fucking irritated. How can someone be this fucking ugly?"

As soon as Rezen entered this alchemy room, one verbal abuse after another entered his ears and his face couldn't help but darken

He can't help but have a bad feeling about this as he glanced at the guards who moved their heads to the side guiltily. Rezen has a feeling that these guards are here to sell him off

"Fuck! This academy is really brutal! Why do they accept students every three months? Look at how many potions we have to make just to barely reach their quota. I swear, if not for earning fucking money, I would have long stopped doing this fucking job!"

The fucker... I mean, the alchemist that seems like will die if they don't say the worst 'fuck' complained. Just like the others, he too has a very dark skin under his eyes. He has the look of a person that has not slept a wink for weeks

People would normally pity such a person but with how much profanity was coming out of his mouth, no one will have the energy to feel pity for him

One glance was also enough to realize that this type of scenario was a common occurrence as the other alchemist inside the room although flinched didn't show any other reaction. It seems like they were already used to it

After some time, the alchemist finally noticed the guards and Rezen

"Hey, you fuckers, did you finally come here to give me another apprentice? I hope this fucker won't run away from me after just a week!" The alchemist said while looking at the guards and Rezen before making a threat

"If you fuckers don't give me enough apprentices, you can say goodbye to my potions!"

The guards smiled bitterly as he introduced the alchemist to Rezen

"Kid, this is Alchemist Fuchk" one of the guards said and Rezen nodded his head as if that name suited the alchemist very well

"E-ehem, his name's spelling is F-U-C-H-K" the guard clarified as the spelling of the alchemist's name was different than what Rezen is surely thinking

Although this alchemist loves the word 'fuck' too much to the point that his name has the same pronunciation, at the very least, the spelling is different