Glory Cael Magic Academy had long been divided into two major camps.
On one side was the Department of Magic, where students could summon lightning and fire with a wave of their hands. On the other was the Department of Alchemy, where people spent their days tinkering with jars and bottles.
The students in the Department of Alchemy often barely scraped by in their combat classes, but when it came to the ability to demolish buildings and cause destruction, they were second to none in the entire academy.
As for why their laboratories were now all located underground—that was thanks to a certain feat where they nearly turned half of the teaching building into fireworks.
The Headmistress, having reached the end of her patience, signed an order for all alchemy faculty and students to move their equipment into the deep underground. Her reasoning was quite blunt:
"If you blow things up again, at least none of you will escape. You can all rest in peace down there together."
The intention was, of course, to pressure them into operating with more caution.
Unfortunately, this group of people seemed to have been pickled in heavy tomes and complex formulas for so long that their logic had become rather convoluted.
They exchanged glances after hearing the instructions, then one by one, they revealed knowing, cold sneers.
"Hmph, do they think they can use such a method to limit our steps in exploring the truth and the eruption of our talent? They underestimate the wisdom and... survival instinct of alchemists!"
Thus, a grand movement of underground infrastructure construction began.
While moving their main laboratories and equipment into the designated underground areas, the big shots and minor figures of the Department of Alchemy gave full play to their professional skills and subjective initiative.
Under the guise of rationally planning experimental zones, ensuring clear emergency evacuation routes, and complying with safety regulations, they mobilized every available resource. Armed with various models of engineering golems, directional demolition devices, and rock-softening potions, they secretly carved, reinforced, and disguised countless intricate safety passages throughout the underground labs—passages known only to the members of the Department of Alchemy.
These passages branched out in all directions. Some led to the wilderness outside the academy, some connected to the city's sewer system, and some were even dug directly beneath the teaching buildings or warehouses of other departments.
Their complexity and secrecy were enough to make even the most seasoned thief gasp in admiration.
In this way, the alchemists' logic formed a perfect closed loop: What if an experiment failed, causing an explosion, leak, pollution, or the summoning of an unspeakable entity?
No problem!
Immediately activate a protective barrier that could last for a few minutes, then skillfully dive into the nearest safety passage, activate shielding and purification devices, and make a clean getaway.
As for the laboratory itself, or whether the ground above would collapse, be blown to bits, or be occupied by strange things... that wasn't their priority.
Academy property could always be rebuilt with new funding applications, but the precious alchemists and their unfinished great ideas had to be preserved.
It was this very style that made the Department of Alchemy the biggest headache and the most avoided entity within the academy.
In the original game, the player's character would occasionally be walking down the road when disaster struck from below. They would be inexplicably caught in various incidents caused by failed alchemy experiments, leading to character injuries, damaged equipment, or even the direct loss of precious activity days. It was considered a major pitfall in the player experience.
Not only that, the Department of Alchemy was a breeding ground for characters with unique personalities.
One supporting antagonist from the original work, who was the epitome of an annoying pest, was a member of the Department of Alchemy and the Second-year Representative.
She was a female character with a vicious tongue who loved calling everyone "trash~ trash~."
One of her most blood-pressure-raising behaviors was using her influence to publicly call on her fellow alchemy students to "not accept any alchemy commissions from that guy, lest you lower the standards of our department." This set up numerous obstacles for the player's progress.
Though she lacked combat power and couldn't trigger a "Game Over" on her own, her constant harassment and sabotage successfully made her one of the most hated characters for players.
In short, in the eyes of most faculty and students, the Department of Alchemy was a high-risk trouble spot populated by paranoiacs, vandals, neurotics, and the socially inept.
If one could avoid contact, they did. If contact was necessary, they had to be incredibly cautious.
Therefore, when Greg recovered from the dizziness of the explosion and the pain of the fall, and heard those lab-coated students mention keywords like "concept," "experiment," and "demonstration," he understood exactly what he had encountered.
Fury, like a barrel of ignited gunpowder mixed with resentment over his -10 Luck stat, instantly overwhelmed Greg's remaining sanity.
"You mother-f#%@ing...!!!!!"
A torrent of vicious profanity targeting their mothers, enough to make the crudest sailor blush, poured from Greg's mouth like a flood, slamming into the three alchemy students.
The sheer intensity of this verbal assault, the novelty of the phrasing, and the sincerity of the emotion left the three of them stunned. They froze in place, their expressions shifting from confidence to shock, and then to confusion.
In their experience, most students in the Magic Department were nobles. Even when enraged, those of noble birth usually maintained a certain level of decorum and subtlety in their insults.
They typically used roundabout sarcasm or condescending, contemptuous terms to vent their dissatisfaction.
That way, even if the alchemists were being insulted, they could easily pretend they didn't understand.
But someone like Greg, who dispensed with all pretense and went straight for their relatives... they were seeing this for the first time.
This was completely outside their database for handling insults. For a moment, they didn't know how to respond—should they argue, apologize, or join in the shouting match?
Just as Greg was getting parched and felt the foul air in his chest had been vented slightly, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint figure in the distant night sky out of the corner of his eye. It was flying toward the area outside the academy walls at a moderate speed.
Greg's brain felt like it had been doused with ice water. He jolted, and all his cursing stopped abruptly.
Silvia!
He whipped his head around, staring intently at the flying figure about to vanish into the night!
Crap! I forgot the important stuff! Silvia has already been taken! While I was arguing with these idiots!
"This damn Luck stat! This is exactly why I didn't want to come to the surface!!!"
Greg let out a silent roar in his mind.
He could no longer be bothered to tangle with these alchemy fools. He didn't even want to waste another second looking at the smoking crater.
"You guys better remember this! This isn't over between us!!"
Only having time to leave behind that furious threat, Greg's figure shot out like an arrow from a bow, quickly disappearing around the corner of the garden path. He left the three alchemists staring at each other, standing there in a daze.
"Phew... that... that scared the life out of me..."
The tall boy wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking toward where Greg had vanished with lingering fear.
"Who... who was that? A student from the Magic Department? His... his language was so... so filthy! I've never been talked to like that in my life..."
The skinny boy pushed up his glasses and muttered in a low voice,
"Actually... it wasn't that bad. It's not like I have a mother anyway..."
After they spoke, they both instinctively looked at the third person, who had been relatively quiet.
"Hey, Aiden, what are you spacing out for?"
The tall one nudged him with his elbow.
"You're not actually scared by that guy's threats, are you? He's just a magic student. No matter how much he yells, what can he do to us? We're from the Department of Alchemy; the professors always protect us."
"No."
The man called Aiden slowly shook his head, his voice low.
"I'm not thinking about his threat. I'm thinking... don't you think that guy looked familiar?"
"Familiar?"
The skinny boy and the tall boy looked at each other, both showing confused expressions.
"Yes."
Aiden turned to his two companions and said emphatically, "Don't you think he looked exactly like... Greg Sass?"
"Greg Sass?"
The tall boy froze for a moment, then it clicked. His expression turned a bit strange.
"Oh! You mean that guy from the Magic Department... whose reputation is even more notorious than ours in the academy?"
"Yes, him," Aiden nodded.
The skinny boy curled his lip, dismissively saying,
"So what if it's him? I heard he's been publicly disowned by the House of Sass. He doesn't even have his noble status anymore. He's just a commoner student now, maybe even worse off than a regular commoner. How could he threaten our department?"
"That's what people say..."
Aiden's brow furrowed even deeper, and he instinctively lowered his voice. "But have you heard... a certain rumor about him?"
"A rumor? What rumor?"
Both of them were piqued by his mysterious tone and leaned in closer.
Aiden scanned the surroundings to make sure no one else was nearby before speaking in a whisper.
"A while ago, I happened to hear an upperclassman who's a teaching assistant for the second-year basic alchemy course mention it... He said our Second-year Representative, Chloe Ivy... the reason she was able to leave the slums, gain admission, and even get a full scholarship from the Department of Alchemy... seems to have something to do with Greg Sass."
"What?!"
The tall boy and the skinny boy gasped simultaneously, their faces twisted in disbelief and shock.
"Chloe Ivy?! That... that Chloe Ivy who is privately called the Tyrant of the Alchemy Department and the Nightmare of the Second Year?! She... she has a connection with Greg Sass?! How is that possible!"
The tall boy's voice cracked.
Clearly, this Chloe Ivy possessed a terrifying reputation within the Department of Alchemy that made people tremble at the mention of her name.
"No, that... that has to be just a rumor, right?"
The skinny boy also began to stutter, his face turning pale.
"The two of them... they don't look like they belong in the same world at all! Besides, I've never seen them have any contact..."
"I hope it's just a rumor too."
Aiden's expression was equally grim. He took a deep breath and said slowly,
"But there's no smoke without fire. If... I'm saying if there's even a shred of truth to this rumor..."
He looked up at his companions, his eyes filled with unprecedented gravity and a trace of hidden fear.
"If Chloe Ivy really has some kind of relationship with Greg Sass that we don't know about... then..."
Aiden didn't finish his sentence, but the tall boy and the skinny boy had already turned deathly pale. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads again, even more profusely than when Greg was cursing them.
In the night wind, the three of them stood by the still-smoking crater, staring toward the direction Greg had vanished, speechless for a long time.
A bone-chilling coldness quietly crept up their spines.
Rate on N.U.
