A week has passed after Alex made a Crystal Pill. He continued practicing his skill during that time.
Suddenly Firia came in and wanted to meet him, "Alex."
Alex looked at her solemn face.
"I... I want to learn Alchemy like you. I know this request was very absurd since the Alchemy was a long-lost technique but, please teach me," she bowed.
Alex immediately went to her and helped her up, "If you want to learn, just ask. You don't need to bow like this, I will teach you."
"But, I want to ask you first. Why do you suddenly want to learn Alchemy?"
"I... I felt powerless when I saw you making pills a week ago. I thought that I had been through the hardest and already gave my best effort. But when I saw you making those pills, I know that my effort is not nearly enough. With the way I am now, I can't help you with anything and will only become a burden to you. If I learn about alchemy, I might be able to help you even just a little."
Alex was dumbfounded by her words. But he also felt moved by her action. Unknowingly for him, the locked door in his heart was unlocked. From now on, Firia would slowly open the door and go inside his heart.
"Alright, I will help you. But, learning Alchemy is very hard, you know. Don't expect me to go easy on you."
"Don't worry, I am not that easy to break. I will make you astonished with my effort and result. I might put you in shame with that, 'Teacher'."
"Wha-what are you saying? Don't call me 'Teacher.' Just call me Alex like the usual or I won't teach you," first he smiled at her determination, but when she called him 'Teacher,' he couldn't help but retort.
"Hehe... yes," she giggled.
Alex could only shake his head, "Okay, for now, you need to practice flame control first. I will teach you a bit now. You might want to take note of that."
"Don't worry, I have prepared that as well," she immediately took out a few blank papers and showed them to him.
Alex shook his head, "You come prepared huh..."
"Alright. Flame control is..."
Alex stopped his training and taught her about flame control. He taught her slower compared to the dean. After all, Firia's experience was nowhere near the dean, so he patiently taught her. Firia absorbed all the knowledge from Alex at a very fast speed. They said that crucial information from an important person was absorbed and remembered at a very fast speed. Like how you remembered your girlfriend/boyfriend's phone number for the very first time. You could somehow remember them at one go.
After teaching Firia about Alchemy, he continued with his own training. After a week, he found that Firia's flame control was enough for her to try making some rank 1 pills. So he invited her to see the dean. After all, the one who had the ingredients was him.
"Teacher."
"What do you want? Where is the other lass?" The dean was a bit confused. Usually, when he came to visit him, it was either alone or accompanied by the two girls together. But seeing Alex only with Firia this time, he was surprised.
"Well, do you have any rank 1 pills that we used to make?"
"Of course I have, the demand is still quite high, especially from the military. Unlike rank 2 pills, these rank 1 pills are easy to get and do not cost that much."
"I see."
"Why do you ask about them?"
"Mmm, Firia wants to learn Alchemy, so I teach her about flame control. Now, a week has passed since, and I think her flame control is enough for her to start making pills."
The dean then looked at Firia.
"I want to learn about Alchemy, with the way I am now, I have no power to help him. So I thought, with this Alchemy, I can at least help him no matter how little it is. Please help me," Firia bowed deeply.
The dean was surprised but his expression immediately became an appreciation. When one had a connection, they usually relied on their connection too much. Especially if the connection they had was something like Alex. But this Firia, not only did she not rely on Alex so much, but she also bowed down to him. That meant, she was also prepared to be rejected by him. Since she was his 'woman', if she wished for it, Alex surely gave it to her. But Firia didn't want to take it for granted. A woman like this would be stronger one day.
The dean looked at Firia with appreciation, then nodded. He pointed at his workshop, "Sure, you can use them. They are in there, you can ask Alex how to use them. If you want to practice more, just stop by. You don't need to come with him together."
Firia was surprised, she was very happy and that made her let out a bit of tear in her eyes. She bowed once again, "Thank you very much!"
The dean looked at her and nodded. Then he turned to Alex who didn't say anything this whole time. His eyes were telling him, 'You do your job now!'
Alex nodded, he let out a gentle smile, "Firia, let's go. I will explain how to use the ingredients now."
Alex led her to the workshop. Inside the workshop, there was a pile of ingredients there. The ingredients were sorted out meticulously. Alex hadn't been here for a few months so he was astonished at how it looked now. He took a good look at some nostalgic pill names. 'Body Tempering Pill', 'Muscle Refining Pill', etc.
"Alright, let me explain to you all of these pills. First, this is the Restoration Pill. This is for those who just start learning Alchemy, so I want you to make this pill after I finish explaining all of the pills in this room. The process to make this pill..."
He continued explaining the pills to Firia. He took a day to explain and guide Firia to make her first pill. Firia was also seriously making the Restoration Pill. She managed to make a few peak-quality Restoration Pills that day. Her new fire after she took the Quenching Fire Pill helped her so much. She made pills like Alex when he just started to learn about Alchemy. But Alex didn't have any teachers at that time. All in all, her result was very satisfying.
"Alright, let's stop here today. As the Teacher said, you can use these ingredients all you want. If you have any questions you can ask Teacher or me. I will be in my usual training place."
"Thank you very much!" She said satisfied. She wiped out the sweat on her forehead with her hand. Alex immediately handed her a towel after he saw this. They finally got out of the workshop.
"How is your progress?" The dean who was sitting in his chair asked them.
"She was very good. She even made many peak-quality pills on her first day."
"This is all thanks to Alex's guidance. If I make them alone, I don't know what will happen," Firia modestly said.
"It is very nostalgic remembering that day. We didn't know how to make the right pill, so we continuously researched that," the dean said.
"Yes, it was very satisfying to see the first pill without impurities in it," Alex said.
"True, it was very satisfying. Alright, since you are done. You should go back. Alicia already came here to look for you two," Alex and Firia were surprised that Alicia searched for them.
"Oh right, where is Sherry?"
"Sherry was still in the field. Sherry usually comes back here in an hour."
Sherry usually stayed in the Dean's courtyard, after all, it was big. If she stayed with Alex and Alicia, she might be spotted by the other students and that would cause a big scene. So he advised Sherry to sleep in the dean's courtyard and the dean also approved of it.
"Then we will go back. Thank you very much, Teacher."
Alex and Firia left. They bid farewell in front of Firia dormitory. Alex then went to his room. On his way, Alex decided on something.
"System, can I take out arts/techniques from the system and let it out for others to read?"
[You can't, Host]
"For real?" Alex bitterly asked.
[No, you can't]
Alex sighed.
[But Host can take out the arts/technique from the system and copy it yourself]
Alex's eyes brightened when he heard that.
[But, System needs to warn you, Host. Although you can copy the technique, you also need to see the compatibility between the art and the user. Also, a certain art such as the cultivation manual is a no-go. It is not like the system banned you like that. As I said previously, the Mana in this world is imprinted by the world's will. If they cultivate it, the energy gathered by cultivation will only be engulfed by the world's will, and it will be useless.]
He sighed before finally deciding, "System, I still have unused gacha tickets, right?"
[Yes, there are 241 in total, Host]
"Use all of them in Technique Gacha."
[Are you sure, Host?]
"Yes."
[Processing]
[Basic Sword Art x2]
[Fencing x3]
***
[Archery Manual]
***
Alex looked at the technique he got. Now it had varied a lot. He saw many new techniques, such as 'Split Step', 'Shadow Strike', 'Wind Sword', etc.
But there was one thing that caught his eyes the most.
[Frozen Manual]
He immediately took it out. "System, this frozen manual..."
[It was a rare rank item, Host]
Alex's eyes flashed. He went silent for a minute and sincerely said, "Thank you, System."
He didn't know why, but he always got something that he wanted at the right time if he excluded the numerous junk items. That was why he sincerely thanked the system.
[You're welcome, Host]
After he got the manual, he stopped his track and immediately made a copy before going back to his room. He copied the Frozen manual. He also copied the 'Sky Movement'. Although the 'Immovable Step' or 'Heavy Step' wasn't very useful to Alicia or Firia, the 'Flash Step' or 'Fleeting Step' were very useful for them. They could use them as they bombarded the enemy with magic.
He wanted to make a copy of 'Sanguin Sword Art' or 'Spear Throwing Art' but refrain from doing that for a while. Even though he made a copy for them, no one around him could use them. He swiftly copied the two arts.
When he finished copying the two manuals, it was almost midnight. He hurriedly went back to his room.