“So, what if we mix in some manaflower extract?” One of the students asked. Which managed to prompt the old professor to sigh in frustration. She took off her glasses, pinched and pulled on her glabella before putting them on.

“This is the third time I’m answering this question in the span of three minutes young man. Maybe pay some attention to the class instead of thinking up interesting questions,” she said in her rough voice. Alec appreciated this alchemy professor’s wise and old looks, as none of the professors in this academy seemed to age normally.

“But I was-”

“Silence. You are disturbing the class, Mr. Alisson,” the professor shut the student up before ordering one of her floating chalks to start writing on the blackboard.

[Status Enhancement With Potions]

“You know what, let’s change the topic for now. As some of you might know, there are a plethora of potions that improve one’s stats, such as strength enhancement potions or agility enhancement potions,” the elderly professor explained.

“However, unfortunately, none of them are permanent. Unlike magical artifacts that can be used to achieve sustainable but rudimentary increases to one’s stats, all the potions known to us give temporary enhancements,” she further explained. This was answering one of Alec’s long-lasting questions. Was permanent enhancement potions a thing? He had yet to try it out with The Author’s Pen, which made him wary of such a decision. He didn’t want to empty his entire mana pool again after all.

“But, as you guys seem so keen on disturbing me with your idiotic questions, our main topic will be about regeneration potions,” she went on to say. Whatever annoyed reaction she expected the students to give, it didn’t come. No one really cared about which potion they were learning at the moment, as very few of them would even have the money to try them out. Not to mention the fact that they would eventually learn about other types of potions too.

“Let’s start with the simplest one, the epitome of potion crafting. The kindle of civilization, the invention of the health potion,” she started explaining. Then she went on to explain what the invention process looked like and how the potion developed over time.

‘Huh... Funnily enough, this health potion seems to be very similar to the discovery of farming and writing in its essence,’ Alec commented in his head. ‘As its properties were very mixed, it could also be used to grow crops faster, which eventually caused them to start living in bigger groups to keep a steady supply of potions all the while increasing the chances of passing down the knowledge about it. However, when did writing in the history of this world first appear? I should look into that.’

“So,” one of the students raised their hand to ask. “What if we added some manaflower extract into that?”

“Hmm... It would probably explode...” the professor muttered under her breath. However, by that point, Alec had already zoned out from the lecture. Throughout the lectures he had attended during his first week, he had realized a weird side effect of the focus potions he took. They would make it harder for him to listen to the lecture when people asked questions or the professor jumped from topic to topic. Instead, it was much easier to read through the books he had bought for the lectures.

‘Fortunately enough, the previous Alec seems to have left me a good bit of money to operate with,’ Alec thought. Although he wasn’t exactly sure how much his expenses would be in the future, he could extrapolate from how much his meals cost. The money inside the academy was counted in credits, and the students would spend it strictly on the academy grounds.

Even though each student would be provided with a meal card that could get them three free meals a day, an extra, same-sized meal would cost two credits. Alec had around 5000 credits in his account which could buy him a good two and a half years' worth of meals if he wanted.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

‘That should be pretty good, right? I wonder how much that would make in USD?’ Alec contemplated. Shortly after, the professor dismissed the class. In a short few moments, the only person left in it was Alec. Noticing that he also left for his direction, which was the alchemical market of the academy. He had been feeling the need to browse through the market and see what the prices were for a long time. Now that they had learned about the health potion, he had an excuse to go and see the ingredients.

Making his way through the paved pathway twisting and turning throughout the academy grounds, Alec managed to reach his destination in twenty minutes. Swearing at the designer who decided on the planning of the academy, he walked up to the building.

It was very small compared to the other, more grandiose buildings in the academy. It was as big as an average house for a family of five. Its looks were more biophilic, in tune with nature if one might say, conflicting with the general gothic architectural style of the academy. With its wooden walls and the green-painted clay tiles covering its roof, it looked almost cute in Alec’s eyes.

Pushing open the wooden framed door with icy glass panels covering its inner parts, Alec felt herbal scents, mixed in with the spicy waves of incense wash over him. A small bell attached to the upper left corner of the door frame rang with the sudden airflow, signaling the entrance of a new customer.

When Alec stepped inside, he noticed that the inside of the building was mainly separated into two parts. The part he was currently in was the one that occupied the biggest part of it. This spacious hall was decorated with tens of stalls, all occupied by different colored and shaped herbs of all types.

Further beyond those stalls was a bar-style counter that stretched the entirety of the building’s length. There were a few doors and a stairwell that led to the upper part of the building, however, none of them gave any hints on where they might be leading.

Assuming that behind those doors were the living spaces for the employees, Alec stepped inside. Throwing a couple of curious glances around, he walked up to the counter with steady steps.

Manning the counter was a lady with auburn hair and hazel eyes. Alec had adjusted to the whole ordeal of the average person looking like a supermodel from his previous world, which made people look mostly normal in his eyes. This woman was no different in this aspect.

‘I wonder if I would have a hard time being attracted to the people back on Earth if I went back there...’ Alec mentally muttered before snapping out of it.

The woman had a gentle smile on her face, which Alec returned as a courtesy before nodding. Taking a final look at the nearby stashes of herbs, he asked, “Hello ma'am, I was looking for the necessary herbs for a beginner-level health potion but...”

However, before Alec could finish his sentence, the woman giggled to herself while bringing her hand to her mouth. The smile on her face seemed to have gotten even wider before she started speaking.

“No need to call me that. I’m a student too. I’m just working part-time,” she said. Alec barely held himself back from facepalming on the spot.

‘How the fuck would I know? You could be twenty years older and I would be none the wiser,’ Alec thought to himself. Lowering his head to look at the tag attached to the girl’s green apron, Alec read her name.

“Alright... Alyssa. Can you show me the herbs?” Alec said with a gentle smile on his face, glossing over the blunder he had just made. The girl named Alyssa played along.

“Sure! You said... Beginner-level health potion... Follow me,” she said before suddenly jumping over the counter, surprising Alec in the meantime.

“That’s an interesting way of...”

“It’s faster this way,” Alyssa cut Alec off before walking away. Alec followed her with clumsy steps before they stopped in front of some herbs. “These were hand-raised by our staff, the best quality! Even if you made a beginner-level potion with these, it would turn out to be as effective as the intermediate-level ones!”

“Huh... Really..?” Alec asked with one of his hands on his chin. His gaze slowly slid past the herbs and settled down on the price tag. His eyes widened as his hands dropped to his sides.

“500...”

“Yes! It’s just 500 credits!” Alyssa affirmed innocently. Alec turned his head to look at her innocent smile, which now seemed slightly eerie.

‘She... She must be a witch! She isn’t a student! She is just LARPing as one!’ Alec thought. ‘This herb is fucking worth one-tenth of my entire savings!’

“Is that price for a kilogram, by any chance?” Alec asked with a shaky voice. A brief coldness, like the edge of a cold steel knife, flashed in Alyssa’s eyes.

“Haha... You are so funny, sir. That’s obviously for one stalk!”

‘Did I say witch? This woman is a demon!’