Repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results is called insanity. I refuse to be labeled as such, and I'll prove that quote wrong!

While reading the magic book from Nortis, I discovered something called "magic cycle connection." It's a process known as merging. I once saw Felix use it on his 'dead of phoenix'—his magic cycles combined and merged into one.

I tried to replicate it but failed.

"Here we go! Attempt sixty-five!"

I merged two magic cycles. They started shining but were instantly destroyed. This time, I ran out of mana.

"Is this what they call a bottleneck? Do geniuses face bottlenecks too?"

Let's visit Alex and Maria. I am bored

You know the drill—I arrived at Alex and Maria's house in Mernes.

"Why are you here?!" Alex screamed when he saw me after walking out of the kitchen.

"Alex, it's rude to point at our Savior," Maria scolded him.

"But—"

"Stop, Alex."

Look at them—it's only been about two weeks since that incident, and they already look like a couple.

"Ahem, Alex, teach me your Alchemist Magic."

"Why?"

"I want to learn all magic."

"Alchemy is completely different from Offense and Defense magic. Are you sure you want to learn from the beginning?"

"Why not?"

"Okay then."

Alex sighed and sat down across from me.

"First, alchemy isn't about creating something, but drawing out something and using it."

He cast a magic cycle on an apple, and the apple juice started floating out from the fruit.

"See?"

"Hmm."

I saw an ant and created one magic cycle with variable extract on it. The ant dried out, and a tiny drop of water could be seen floating.

"How did you do that?"

"What? I followed your magic cycle."

"You're never supposed to use it on living things—in fact, you can't!" he said while freaked out.

"I just ca—"

I immediately felt nauseous, and my heart hurt.

"What the hell!"

"How much mana do you have?"

"I never count it. Please give me a glass of water."

I rested for a while. This symptom is a sign of mana deficiency. I never imagined if I used it on bigger animals, I'd probably drop dead.

"Let's continue."

"You still have mana?"

"I recovered a bit."

"How?"

"..." I see him with a stop-asking face.

"Okay, the next step is fusion," he said, creating a magic cycle. He combined my ant droplet and his apple juice; both started shining and became a yellow-colored solution.

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"Just like that, we have a simple solution. Use a cauldron or any medium if you have it—it's a waste of time and mana to use magic cycles."

"Are there only two types of magic?"

"There are many, like cook, separation, division, conditional fusion, combust, conditional separation, evaporate. But why use them if we have tools? Most emergency solutions only need extract and fusion."

"Teach me conditional fusion."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Just imagine you have two solutions already mixed with other stuff. You don't want this mixture combined with that mixture from this mixture," he said, pointing his finger at nonexistent things.

"What the hell are you explaining? Oh.. Like mix AB and mix BC, you want to mix AB and BC but only the B gets mixed, so ABBC?"

"That's... a new way to explain stuff... but yeah."

"Um... Savior, we never learned your name," Maria asked.

"Oh, right. I never introduced myself. I'm Ruby Greydoll."

"You're a Greydoll?" Maria inquired.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I've heard some unsavory rumors about the Greydolls. Apparently, some nobles have been gossiping about your family's rude attitude. They claim you chased out a visiting noble while a dragon was roaming nearby. As a result, the noble was allegedly attacked by the dragon but miraculously survived."

"Dragon attack? Fucking bullshit! Do they think dragons are like common wild monsters that appear every day? If they were really attacked by a dragon, they would surely be dead. Besides, we'd notice if a dragon was attacking. Yes, we forced him to leave, but that's because they were badmouthing us for three days straight. How could we not be angry? Who's the rude one here?"

I blurted all of that out in one breath, my mood souring again.

"fucking damn pigs, dare to spreading false rumors," I muttered.

"Are you planning to go to school?" Alex asked.

"What school?"

"Well, for nobles. How old are you?"

"I'm probably almost 9 years old."

"Yeah, you could enter a basic noble school."

"What do they teach there?"

"Basic magic, basic swordsmanship, stuff like that."

"Do you think I need to go? Are my skills that low?"

"For you is a big no, most noble kids need to go there while making connections, joining factions, and such."

"The Greydolls are neutral. Our money comes from the guild and hunter association."

"That's... interesting."

"That's why we've stayed at baron rank, never rising to count. My grandfather was literally one of the strongest swordsmen in the kingdom, yet we have no connections at all."

"Umm... do you both want a cookie?" Maria walked to us with a plate of cookies. I grabbed one and ate it.

"Wow, this is so good!"

"Really? Thanks!" said Maria while blushing.

"Maria is always good at cooking."

"I just started learning, ahaha."

"This is too good for a novice. You're a prodigy!"

"No way, no way. Ruby, your magic skill is also too good for a child. You're the prodigy!" I can see Maria's face become red.

"You're both prodigies." Said Alex.

"Your alchemy skill is godlike, you know?" Maria said while trying to hit Alex, but he easily evaded it.

"Oh Alex, you can move faster than anything hostile to you, like—"

"Yeah, I can do it now."

I cast a fire bullet. He immediately moved to the right, so fast.

"What the hell are you doing?! That thing almost hit me!"

"You really are faster. Wow, aren't you a perfect-born alchemist? Your escape skill is too good."

"I wish..

I grabbed another cookie and ate it.

"So sweet."

"Ruby, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" I looked at Maria's face.

"Are you a god?"

"UHGH!!, No!" I choked on my cookie.

"How can you separate Alex's bloodline?"

"How can I know? I just said it to look cool. I didn't expect it to really happen." I then drink water.

"Are you blessed by a god?"

"Hmm... not sure."

"Then are you an apostle?"

"Apostle? Does meeting a god count as being an apostle?"

"You met a god? Who?"

"Chronos. Why are you so interested? Are you a wannabe saint?"

"No, I'm just... excited to meet someone like me."

"You're an apostle?"

"Yeah! God of cooking..."

"That's... uh..."

I don't know how to respond.

"Isn't that good?" Alex said. "You know how cooking has played a big role in making peace throughout history, right?"

"I didn't learn history except for magic."

"Are you really a noble kid?"

"My parents never told me to study, actually."

"That's probably why you all still stay at baron rank."

"Are you insulting us?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

The idea of going to noble school is pretty interesting, but I still resent what happened at the first party I attended.

I then went home after Maria gave me a bag of cookies, how did she know I want more cookies to take home?

After going home, I saw a yellow-haired man standing at the main gate, he wore heavy armor and a giant claymore on his back, after I walked closer, I saw his face similar to someone's.

"Are you my uncle?"

"If you are that stickman Clavis daughter, then yes"

Damn, my father called as a stickman.