Last Gun Alchemist

Monday arrived beneath the brilliance of the morning sun, its warm rays spreading across the Royal Academy grounds and slowly chasing away the cold that had settled during the night.

For Ezra, the morning began almost exactly like every other school day.

He woke up early.

Took his heat-stimulating pills.

Freshened himself up, changed into his training clothes, and left his residence to begin his usual morning routine.

It was almost as if yesterday hadn’t happened.

As if he hadn’t collapsed in the middle of the Royal Academy Shopping Complex, been carried to the hospital unconscious, and spent several hours receiving treatment after his Silent Enlightenment had forced his body through Cognis Reverse.

Ezra didn’t allow any of that to interrupt his routine.

Cyrus joined him during his morning jog, just as he usually did, and the two boys continued along one of the paved routes leading toward the training areas.

The morning air remained cold enough that every breath they released produced a faint mist before their faces.

Their boots repeatedly struck the stone path.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Several other students were already outside as well, some jogging in groups while others trained alone.

Normally, Ezra and Cyrus would have continued toward the Training Center after finishing their run, but today they didn’t have enough time.

Their first class was starting earlier than usual.

Because of that, the two finished their jogging routine and returned to prepare for class instead of entering the Training Center.

A few minutes passed.

Students gradually began arriving at the First-Year Academy Center from their different residences.

However, unlike their first class, the General Studies of Alchemy class wasn’t being held inside one of the classrooms.

Instead, their lesson was taking place on the academy training ground.

By the time Ezra arrived, most of the students had already gathered.

Throw pillows had been arranged across a wide section of the training ground, forming several columns with enough space between them for someone to comfortably walk through.

Ezra found a place and sat down.

Cyrus, who also just arrived, dropped onto another throw pillow close to him.

Around them, the other students settled into their places with their legs folded, talking among themselves while waiting for the lesson to begin.

There were also several familiar faces among them that hadn’t been present during the previous classes.

The students who had spent most of last week recovering in the Royal Academy Hospital after their practical test had finally returned.

Some still carried small signs of what had happened.

A bandage here.

A healing patch there.

One boy still moved his shoulder carefully whenever he adjusted his sitting position, while another had a thin healing strip running along the side of his face.

Their injuries had mostly healed, but the memories clearly hadn’t.

Especially considering who had been responsible for some of them.

After a short wait, Professor Kent finally arrived.

Karla walked beside him while carrying several of his teaching materials.

Unlike the students sitting neatly across the training ground, Kent looked completely relaxed.

His long coat shifted behind him with every step as he walked toward the gathered class.

Then his eyes landed on the returning students.

"Oh..."

Kent stopped.

Several students immediately looked at him.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"You all are back from the dead."

"..."

The returning students stared at him.

Some of their faces immediately darkened.

A few students who hadn’t been hospitalized couldn’t stop themselves.

"Pfft."

Quiet laughter spread through several sections of the class.

One returning student slowly turned toward his friend, who was laughing beside him.

"Who the hell are you laughing at?"

He punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

The friend rubbed his shoulder, although the grin on his face remained.

"Sorry."

He clearly wasn’t.

"Alright, alright."

Professor Kent clapped his hands several times.

Clap! Clap!

"Settle down."

He spoke as though he hadn’t been the person who caused the disturbance in the first place.

Several students looked at him strangely.

Still, after a few seconds, the laughter and conversations gradually died down.

Kent waited until most of the students were quiet before walking toward the center of the training ground.

His relaxed expression remained.

"Okay."

He placed both hands behind his back.

"Now we’re entering one of the most important aspects of General Studies of Alchemy."

Kent began walking slowly between two columns of students.

Heads turned as he passed.

Even students who had looked half-asleep only moments earlier began paying more attention.

"The Three Main Skills in Alchemy."

Kent stopped suddenly.

His eyes moved across the students.

Then...

"You."

His finger pointed toward a female student who had been quietly talking with the boy beside her.

The girl froze.

The boy immediately looked away, pretending he had absolutely nothing to do with whatever conversation they had been having.

Kent stared at her.

"What are the Three Main Skills?"

The girl quickly stood from her throw pillow.

"Mmm..."

Her eyes moved around as she tried to remember.

"The first is the Law of Inversion."

Kent waited.

"The second is the Law of Magnetism, and the last one is the Law of..."

Her voice slowly disappeared.

She knew there was a third.

Unfortunately, knowing that there was a third wasn’t particularly useful when she couldn’t remember its name.

Kent waited for several more seconds.

The girl looked increasingly uncomfortable beneath the attention of the entire class.

"The Law of Equalisim."

Kent finally supplied the answer for her.

The girl released a small breath of relief and started lowering herself back toward her throw pillow.

"Remain standing, Miss."

She stopped halfway down.

"..."

Several students quietly turned their faces away to hide their smiles.

The girl straightened again with an embarrassed expression.

Kent had already turned away from her.

"Many of you talented young Alchemists should already know how to use the Law of Inversion, since it’s the first skill and the easiest of the three to learn."

"But Professor."

Willow’s voice immediately interrupted him.

Kent’s eyes moved toward her.

Willow sat with her back straight, her expression serious as usual.

"Not every Alchemist can learn the Law skills in the first place."

She looked directly at him.

"So how can you simply call the Law of Inversion easy? Isn’t that misleading?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Kent waved one hand lazily.

"Our serious Miss Willow of Derlis."

His tone made it sound as though Willow had given him another problem to deal with instead of asking a reasonable question.

Willow narrowed her eyes.

"But let’s remember something."

Kent stopped walking.

He turned toward the students and spread his arms slightly.

"Where are all of you?"

Nobody answered immediately.

"The Royal Academy."

Kent answered himself.

"The academy with some of the best Alchemists in the entire kingdom teaching you."

His lips curved into a smirk.

"So yes, the Law skills are difficult for Alchemists in general, and there are many Alchemists who may never learn even one of them throughout their entire lives."

Kent raised one finger.

"But I’m not currently teaching just any random collection of Alchemists."

His finger moved across the seated students.

"I’m teaching you."

Some of the noble students straightened slightly.

Many of them had already received private training before entering the academy.

Others came from families whose Alchemy Paths had been developed over generations.

And even those who hadn’t received that kind of training now had access to professors who stood among the best teachers Britannia could provide.

Kent’s smirk widened slightly.

"And more importantly, you have excellent teachers."

He pointed at himself.

"Like me."

Willow stared at him.

"Like you?"

Her eyes narrowed further.

"Of course, like me."

Kent answered without the slightest shame.

"..."

Several students looked at him strangely.

A murmur slowly began spreading through the class.

"Is he serious?"

"He probably is."

"That’s the worst part."

Kent’s eyebrow twitched.

"Law of Inversion!"

His voice suddenly increased in volume.

The murmuring stopped almost instantly.

Kent smiled.

That worked.

He returned to his normal tone.

"Is what?"

Several students hesitated.

Kent didn’t immediately choose anyone.

Instead, he answered the question himself.

"Using opposite Cognis to alter Cognis."

He raised both hands.

"Let’s keep the definition simple for now."

Kent extended his pinky fingers toward one another.

"Positive energy being affected by negative energy."

His two fingers moved closer.

Then he suddenly pushed them apart in opposite directions, demonstrating a repelling movement.

"But..."

Kent lowered one hand.

"Don’t misunderstand what that means."

He looked across the students.

"Performing the Law of Inversion isn’t simply sending your Cognis into your opponent’s Alchemy and expecting something wonderful to happen."

He shook his head.

"It also isn’t as simple as altering your own Alchemy or changing a function of your body."

Kent paused.

"No."

His gaze moved from one student to another.

"And why is that?"

This time, a voice answered him.

"Because you have to understand the formula behind the object or energy you’re about to alter."

Prince Charles spoke calmly from where he sat.

Kent’s head turned toward him.

"Correct."

Snap!

Kent snapped his fingers and pointed directly at Charles.

"Exactly."

He began walking again.

"To properly perform the Law of Inversion..."

Kent raised his index finger and touched the side of his head.

"You need this."

Several students stared at him.

"Your brain."

He tapped his temple.

"And preferably one that works quickly."

A few students chuckled.

Kent continued without stopping.

"Your brain needs to calculate the formula behind the existence of the Alchemy you’re trying to alter."

He lowered his hand slightly.

"What’s producing the effect? What the Cognis is doing? What formula is holding that Alchemy together? What formula makes up the Symbols constructing the Alchemy circle? What formula is behind the energy you want to alter?"

Kent’s eyes moved across the students.

"You need to understand what you’re trying to alter before you can properly produce its opposite."

Several students had already begun writing notes.

"And if we’re talking about altering a body part..."

Kent raised his hand.

He flexed his fingers once.

"Then things become even more complicated."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"That is already an advanced application of the Law of Inversion, so don’t start experimenting on yourselves because you understood one lesson."

Several students who had been staring thoughtfully at their own hands immediately stopped.

Kent noticed.

His lips twitched.

These children...

He continued.

"If you can’t calculate what you’re dealing with, then drawing out the opposite form of your Cognis is nothing more than a draining waste."

Kent spread his fingers.

"Cognis isn’t infinite."

That was something every Alchemist sitting there understood.

"Especially when you’re still learning."

His hand slowly lowered.

"At the earlier stages, performing the Law of Inversion consumes a large amount of Cognis, which is why a Half-Star Novice Alchemist shouldn’t even dream about trying to use it."

Kent glanced toward several students.

"And even some proper Novice Alchemists don’t possess enough Cognis to comfortably attempt it."

The students became quieter.

Calling the Law of Inversion, the easiest of the three suddenly sounded a little less comforting.

If this was the easiest...

Then what were the other two like?

Kent didn’t explain them yet.

Instead, he walked toward Karla.

She had remained standing quietly near the front of the training ground while holding the teaching materials he had brought in his space bag.

Kent reached inside.

Then pulled something out.

A folding chair.

"..."

Karla stared at him.

Several students stared too.

Kent calmly unfolded it.

Clack!

He placed the chair on the ground and sat down.

As though that wasn’t enough, he reached into the pocket of his long coat and pulled out a pair of black shades.

He put them on.

"..."

The entire class remained silent for several seconds.

Cyrus slowly leaned toward Ezra.

"Does he always carry that around?"

Ezra glanced at him.

"Probably."

He replied plainly.

That somehow felt like the most reasonable answer.

Kent crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms.

"Now..."

He looked much too comfortable for someone who was supposed to be teaching.

"As I’ve already told you, these Alchemy skills are among the main objectives of this course."

Kent adjusted his sitting position.

"With my training, all of you should at least master one or two of these skills before graduating from the Royal Academy."

His finger rose.

"And there is another reason you should take this seriously."

Several students immediately focused.

"Academy Points."

That got their attention.

Kent smiled faintly.

"For every one of the Three Main Skills you learn to the required stage..."

He paused.

"...you’ll receive thirty thousand Academy Points."

The reaction was immediate.

"Thirty thousand?!"

Several students straightened.

Even those who hadn’t looked particularly interested in the Law skills suddenly seemed much more awake.

Thirty thousand Academy Points for a single skill wasn’t a small reward.

And if someone managed to learn all three...

That would be ninety thousand Academy Points.

Kent watched their reactions with amusement.

"Don’t start celebrating yet."

He raised one hand.

"Although, you don’t need complete mastery, but you do need to reach a reasonable level of use."

His finger moved slowly from side to side.

"The academy isn’t going to hand you thirty thousand points because you managed to perform the Law of Inversion once and then collapsed from draining your entire Cognis Pool."

Some of the excitement settled.

Kent leaned farther into his chair.

"Now..."

His shaded eyes moved across the class.

"Is there anyone here who has already passed the required stage in any of this skill?"

He lifted his hand.

"Raise your hands."

For the first second, nobody moved.

Then...

A hand rose.

Another followed.

Then another.

One by one, several students raised their hands across the training ground.

The students who hadn’t raised theirs immediately began looking around.

"As expected of our year’s geniuses."

A male student whispered while staring toward Ravenor.

Ravenor had one hand raised while looking plainly toward Professor Kent, seemingly unconcerned by the attention he was receiving.

Another student looked at him with a trace of frustration.

"My family got me a teacher specifically to learn the Law of Inversion."

He sighed.

"But I was never able to learn it."

The student beside him glanced at the raised hands.

"Well, we can’t compare ourselves to them."

He spoke seriously.

"Lady Vera and Lady Diane were obviously going to be among them."

Another student nodded.

Nobody seemed particularly shocked by those names.

Many of the students who had raised their hands belonged to families known throughout Britannia for producing powerful Alchemists.

Professor Kent began counting.

"So..."

His finger pointed toward the first student.

"Miss Diane Bergwyn."

Diane kept her hand raised, although her sleepy expression made it look as though she might lower it simply because holding it up was becoming too much work.

Kent’s finger moved.

"Miss Vera Ashenlocke."

Vera sat calmly with one hand raised.

Her face showed no pride.

If anything, she looked mildly bored by the attention.

"Mr. Veda Ashenlocke."

Veda smiled faintly.

"Mr. Ravenor Burnwick."

Kent continued.

"Mr. Desmond Derlis."

Desmond’s hand remained raised while his other arm rested lazily against his knee.

"Miss Willow Derlis."

Willow looked completely unsurprised.

"Prince Charles."

Charles remained composed.

"Miss Fatima Drakes."

Kent’s finger continued moving.

Most of the students simply nodded along.

None of those names were particularly shocking.

Then Kent’s finger reached the final raised hand.

"And finally..."

He stopped.

"Mr. Maxwell."

The atmosphere changed.

Several heads turned.

Even some of the students who had their own hands raised looked toward Maxwell.

Their expressions were different now.

Confusion.

Surprise.

And in a few cases, disbelief.

Maxwell’s hand remained raised.

His golden eyes moved around as he noticed everyone staring at him.

"..."

The students continued looking.

Vera.

Veda.

Diane.

Ravenor.

Desmond.

Willow.

Prince Charles.

Fatima.

Those were names people expected.

Children from powerful families.

Recognized geniuses.

Students who had received training and resources that ordinary Alchemists could only dream of having.

But Maxwell?

Many of the students who had raised their hands themselves were now staring at him with shocked expressions.

Professor Kent remained seated in his folding chair, black shades covering his eyes.

His finger was still pointed toward Maxwell.

And judging from the small smile appearing on his face...

He had noticed their reactions too.

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