Chapter 9

[Translator - Clara]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 9: It’s Not Over Yet (1)

Bubbling-

"......"

Oscar, wearing goggles and a gas mask, turned off the lamp as he stared at the flask.

He transferred the contents into a reagent bottle with precision and no wasted motion.

"Hmm, not bad."

They say form is temporary, but class is permanent.

Now that the practice concoction was done successfully, he felt a bit more at ease.

‘I was worried about feeling a disconnect because of the new body, but thankfully, I’m fine.’

In this case, it’s not the body but the mind that remembers. It was also fortunate that even after 20 years, the tools were still the same.

If he’d had to deal with newfangled magical engineering tools, he would’ve been lost.

“Whew, phew!”

Just then, Fran entered the lab, carrying a bag bigger than himself.

Thud!

He dropped the bag and collapsed to the floor.

“Ugh, my poor back….”

“The ingredients?”

“All here. Good job, right?”

He handed over a crumpled receipt from his pocket.

Oscar checked the list and nodded.

"Well done."

“Hah, of course. I’m thirsty. Got anything to drink?”

“I have a fatigue recovery potion.”

“Oh? That’s expensive. I’ll take it.”

After chugging down the potion, Fran’s face brightened with renewed energy.

"Ah! Nice and warm. Did you make this yourself?”

"Yeah."

“Where’d you get the ingredients?”

Oscar pointed to the back of the room.

“There were some left in the pantry.”

“…Those ingredients were bought at least ten years ago.”

“It’s fine, you won’t die.”

It’s good for building immunity when you’re young.

Ignoring Fran’s darkened expression, Oscar opened the bag and was impressed.

“These ingredients are in good condition. I should thank the shop owner later.”

“Thank me. The shop owner actually got mad, saying I was only taking the best ones.”

“With that kind of eye, maybe you should quit magic and be a merchant.”

You could probably make it as a top trader.

“Actually, if the White Tower collapses, I might—ouch!”

Fran suddenly yelped and held his head, looking at Oscar with wide eyes.

“Why’d you hit me?”

“Sorry, I reacted instinctively when you mentioned the White Tower collapsing.”

Guess the reflexes are still there.

“…Seems like you haven’t lost any memories, huh?”

Fran pouted, suspicion in his eyes.

“So, what do I do now?”

“You’re here to help?”

“Yeah. Elder Fidelina told me to help after delivering the materials, saying it’d be hard to manage alone.”

Acting like she couldn’t stand him, yet she still worried.

He didn’t really need an assistant, but it can’t hurt.

‘Actually, this is perfect. I’ve been curious about this kid.’

In young Oscar’s journal, it said that the White Tower currently had a number of “troublemakers.”

Gifted but each one had some screw loose.

Fran Sirius, right in front of him, was one of those troublemakers.

‘If even those troublemakers got their act together, it’d be a huge boost to the Tower’s power.’

Oscar’s insight was usually spot-on, so it wasn’t a baseless comment.

Anyway, he could figure out more while making potions.

“First, let’s organize the ingredients.”

After a short while of bustling around, a mountain of materials was piled up on one side of the lab.

Fran put on his goggles and gas mask, eyeing the stack.

“These all seemed pretty dangerous when I bought them. They’re all toxic plants, right?”

“Just because they’re poisonous doesn’t mean they can’t be used in medicine.”

Black lily of the valley, red safflower, ghost mushrooms, and mirva leaves.

The ingredients were ancient, known for their use in both poisons and medicines.

“So, Fran, what’s the first step in using these toxic plants?”

“Put them in water and boil them. Gotta remove the toxins first.”

Correct.

You have to boil them for at least twelve hours, changing the water periodically to draw out all the toxins.

“But that method has one fatal flaw. It removes more than just the toxins.”

The beneficial medicinal properties these plants contain.

When you remove the toxins, you also lose those valuable components.

“With these toxic plants, after removing the toxins, only about 16% of the medicinal effects remain.”

“Eh? That’s it?”

Fran looked shocked.

“It feels like such a waste, but what choice do we have? We can’t use them if we don’t remove the toxins.”

“But what if there was a way to extract 98% of the medicinal properties without worrying about the toxins?”

“No way. If that were possible, you could monopolize the potion market….”

“You could, just like the White Tower did in the past.”

In fact, back when Oscar was the Tower’s master, the White Tower did have a monopoly on potions.

Realizing this, Fran’s eyes shook.

“No way… Are you saying you restored that method?”

“More or less.”

Oscar picked up four ingredients and moved to the cauldron.

He placed a perforated metal plate over the boiling water.

“Fran, do you know what dumplings are? A dish from Yan country.”

“I know them. I’ve even had them before.”

“Great. To make dumplings, you need a steamer.”

Steaming is a method of cooking with the hot steam from boiling water.

Oscar carefully placed the ingredients on the plate, letting the steam seep into them.

“This way, we can minimize damage to the ingredients while still heating them.”

Of course, leaving them there too long would still cause damage.

So, after exactly one minute and twenty seconds, he retrieved the ingredients.

“There, the prep work is done.”

“But the toxins are still in there, right?”

“Correct. Now comes the removal.”

Oscar glanced at him.

“You know basic magic, right?”

“...I’m not great at it, but I know the basics.”

“That’s enough.”

Oscar nodded and drew out his magic in one swift motion.

“Air Drain.”

Woosh!

As he cast the spell, steam billowed from the prepared ingredients.

Oscar used his magic to hold the steam in place.

“Now, we’ll selectively remove only the toxins floating in the steam.”

“...How?”

“Like this.”

Whoosh!

A breeze blew, pulling the toxic elements cleanly out of the steam, as if washing dirt from a shirt.

“The remaining steam is toxin-free, so all that’s left is to mix it in the right proportions. Red safflower, 23%. Mirva leaf, 47%….”

With a casual flick of his fingers, the steam divided into portions and filled the reagent bottles.

Click!

After closing the last bottle, Oscar turned around.

“Done. That’s a cure for Cadena Flu. Easy, right?”

“...Do you even know what the word ‘easy’ means?”

“Stop whining and give it a try yourself.”

Fran’s face fell as he moved to the cauldron like a condemned man, eyes closed, trying to recall the steps.

‘Damn it, how did he do it? The first step was….’

Air Drain.

Woosh!

Fran quickly captured the steam from each ingredient and held it in place.

‘Not bad.’

Watching him, Oscar gave a small nod of approval.

To be honest, this was something a level 3 mage would struggle to imitate after seeing it just once.

‘Though his ability to control mana is a bit shaky, it's not bad.’

At least on the surface, it didn't look all that different from how he had done it.

‘But I guess that's as far as he goes.’

After stabilizing the steam, Fran could only struggle without doing anything further.

[Translator - Clara]

[Proofreader - Gun]

He kept glancing over like a dog in need of a bathroom break, as if he was subtly asking for help…

Finally, Oscar asked.

"Why are you just standing there?"

"Geez, you know I can’t dual cast!"

Dual casting was the ability to use two different spells simultaneously, a skill typically only grasped by mages at level 4 or 5.

"Well, someone like you, a genius, probably picked it up early."

"It’s not that I’m a genius. It’s easy if you know the trick."

It was like learning to ride a bike.

Once you learned, you never forgot.

Oscar asked in a gentle voice.

"Every time you try dual casting, your mana flow tangles up and backfires, doesn’t it?"

"H-How did you…!"

Before Fran could add anything, Oscar spoke up.

"I’ll teach you. Dual casting."

Fran’s ears perked up at the offer.

It made sense since dual casting was a secret skill no one easily shared.

Unless you were born into a family of mages or had a high-ranking mage as a mentor, you’d have to figure it out on your own.

"…Really? You're not lying?"

"Really. It’s easy once you know the concept."

Oscar raised both hands, each showing one or two fingers.

"Alright, you see two hands in front of you. Which hand is more suited for dual casting?"

"Well… the right hand, I guess."

"Why do you think that?"

"You’ve got two fingers extended—somehow that feels like dual casting would work better."

"Correct. So what do you think these fingers represent?"

"The number of spells? Because it’s dual casting?"

"Wrong."

Oscar smiled faintly.

"This is where most mages go wrong with dual casting. They get fixated on completing two spells simultaneously."

"…Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?"

"Nope. If you’re off-track from the beginning, you’ll never reach the correct destination."

He wiggled his right hand, forming a V with two fingers.

"These two fingers actually represent mana."

"Huh? Mana, not spells?"

Fran looked baffled, repeating the unexpected answer.

"Yeah. Think about it. When someone who can’t dual cast tries to summon mana as usual, then abruptly splits it in two before casting—of course the flow would get tangled and backfire. That’s an advanced technique for people already used to dual casting."

"In other words, it’s like trying to run before you can walk?"

"Exactly. The proper way to practice dual casting is to prepare two streams of mana from the start: one for Spell A, the other for Spell B. That way, the flow doesn’t tangle."

"Ah…"

Fran’s pupils shook slightly.

Listening to it, the explanation felt simple and obvious.

"Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Every failure was because the mana flow tangled."

"You were in a rush."

Oscar explained, answering Fran’s question.

"You want to dual cast as soon as possible, to get ahead of others. But where would you find time to look back and pinpoint what went wrong? People tend to just keep trying until it works, only grasping this method when they’re around level 4 or 5."

That must be why there’s the saying, ‘More haste, less speed,’ he thought. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Oscar shrugged.

"Alright, now that you know the method, give it a shot."

Fran closed his eyes, concentrating for a long moment before slowly opening them.

"Prepare two streams of mana from the start, then summon them one by one…"

He completed each spell.

Although the concept was unfamiliar, Fran instinctively controlled the two flows of mana.

Unlike before, the mana flow didn’t tangle at all.

As a result, Fran stared blankly at the two magic circles before him and muttered.

"…Wow. This was that easy?"

"Magic’s always like that. Once you succeed, it always seems simple."

Fran, wearing a slightly dejected look, asked in confusion.

"So why is this so highly regarded that no one teaches it openly?"

"They don’t want to."

People who took until level 4 or 5 to grasp it don’t want to give it away freely to younger mages.

This attitude became like a tradition.

To Oscar, who had already lived one life, it seemed nothing more than foolishness.

‘That’s all stubbornness and pride.’

In a bloody battlefield, there was no place for such customs.

To survive another day, people constantly shared secrets and collaborated.

‘That’s the kind of culture the White Tower needs now.’

Not useless traditions or empty formalities, but active teaching and sharing of knowledge.

Oscar looked at Fran, who had set a good example, with pride.

"Good job. You’ve got talent. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to succeed on the first try."

"Well, that’s thanks to your great explanation…"

Though embarrassed, Fran couldn’t hide his excitement.

This guy was weak to compliments, huh?

Oscar smirked, glancing at the clock.

"Alright, now that you can dual cast, let’s make the antidote again."

Thanks to Fran’s unexpectedly fast learning, they quickly used up the materials.

"Whew, I’m exhausted. I did well, didn’t I?"

"Yeah, you did good."

Fran flopped down as soon as they finished.

Meanwhile, Oscar, who’d been equally engrossed, just checked the vials with a tired gaze.

"About 514 bottles. Not bad."

That should be plenty for negotiating with Archbishop Baldwin.

A pleased smile spread across his lips when—

"Oscar!"

Bam!

The lab door flew open, and Maxim entered with a grave expression.

"There’s a problem."

"What is it?"

Maxim handed over a report instead of answering.

[Blue Tower and Newtech Pharma spotted visiting Sirin an hour ago. Likely meeting with Archbishop Baldwin.]

"Looks like… we were a step too late."

Well, of course.

An archbishop like him wouldn’t waste time without backup plans.

"The Blue Tower and Newtech. So these are Archbishop Baldwin’s countermeasures, huh."

After scanning the report, Oscar spoke.

"This is certainly unwelcome news."

"This isn’t the time to sound so calm. If they’ve already signed a deal with him for the antidote…"

"Our antidote would be useless."

Even if theirs was more effective, the White Tower wouldn’t want to antagonize the well-established Blue Tower for it.

Maxim patted Oscar’s shoulder in consolation.

"Cheer up. Life has its bad days. There are other ways to make money."

"…No. It’s not over yet."

"But there’s nothing we can…"

"There is one way we can try."

Oscar raised his head, his eyes shining with resolve.

Surprised by his unyielding gaze, Maxim asked.

"One way? What do you mean?"

"A speed race."

"…A speed race?"

"Yes."

Oscar, with a serious face, asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"The Elder’s flight speed—it’s faster than most carriages, right?"

[Translator - Clara]

[Proofreader - Gun]