Last Gun Alchemist

"It’s not only its Alchemy ability, which so happens to boost its strength to the point of being equivalent to an Arcanist Alchemist rank. Which makes me wonder how an ordinary incomplete-Star Adept Alchemist like me is supposed to counter a monster like that."

Jeremy protested.

His voice carried a mixture of frustration and fear as he looked down at the research document in Ezra’s hands.

He had only been reading through the information for a short while, yet the more he looked at it, the worse his expression became.

He raised one hand and began counting with his fingers.

"But let me not even get started with its home advantage."

He raised one finger.

"It’s size advantage."

Another finger joined it.

"It’s poisonous spit."

Another.

"And the fact that... that’s the only thing we know about the monster we are supposed to hunt cleanly, when there are more."

Jeremy finally lowered his hand.

His face had become more troubled with every point he listed, as if he were slowly building a case against Professor Nine and expecting the professor to understand just how unreasonable the mission was.

Unfortunately, Professor Nine only looked at him.

There was almost no reaction on his face.

"That’s why you will research more about it."

Professor Nine replied without caring about how Jeremy felt.

"Argh!"

Jeremy stretched his arms outward in frustration before grabbing the sides of his head.

"You are not getting it."

His voice rose slightly.

Professor Nine blinked.

"Of course, I’m not getting your complaint."

He replied with a completely clueless and unbothered expression.

Jeremy went silent.

He stared at the professor for several seconds.

His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

He genuinely didn’t know how he was supposed to convince Professor Nine that sending an incomplete-Star Adept Alchemist to hunt a monster with the combat ability of an Arcanist Alchemist was a terrible idea.

Luke looked at his friend with pity.

He wanted to help Jeremy, but there was nothing he could do.

Everyone in their year, as well as most of the second-years who had spent enough time around Professor Nine, already knew that there was almost no winning an argument with him.

Professor Nine could listen to an entire explanation, understand every word, and still give the exact same answer afterward.

The only person who could at least try to argue with him was Latisha.

"But this monster does have weaknesses, right, Professor?"

Ezra asked before Latisha could say anything.

His voice was calm, and unlike Jeremy, there was no fear in his expression.

Professor Nine turned his attention toward him.

"It does."

He paused for only a moment.

"But it’s your team’s job to research everything about this monster."

Nine lifted one finger.

"From its habitat..."

Another finger.

"To its meals."

Another.

"To the differences between its sexes, how its reproduction works, the length of its lifespan, its weaknesses, its dangerous features, and even what small organisms live inside its inner-body quantum system."

Professor Nine spoke quickly, listing each point as if he were reading from a checklist that had already been prepared.

Jeremy’s expression became even worse.

Ezra, however, remained focused.

The professor’s words had already changed the way he looked at the mission.

This wasn’t simply a hunting assignment.

Professor Nine wanted them to understand the creature from every possible angle before they attempted to capture or kill it cleanly.

"About the small organisms living inside the monster."

Professor Nine pointed at the document he had given them.

"I already placed a full research report on that aspect, and I will explain more about them. So, when you finally bring the monster back, you will raise them yourselves and write your research report on them."

His pointed finger moved up and down slightly as he emphasized the final part.

"All of this I just mentioned will be used as your full research theme."

"Okay."

Ezra replied plainly.

"Okay?"

Jeremy looked at him in amazement.

He turned his head toward Ezra as if he couldn’t believe the boy had accepted the assignment that easily.

"I might be new to this club, but from just my little encounter with the professor, I know that for this particular mission... he won’t accept our refusal."

Ezra spoke calmly.

There was no point arguing when the person giving the assignment had already decided what they were going to do.

And, truthfully, Ezra wasn’t bothered by the mission.

It would be fun to experiment with my present Alchemist rank on a monster equivalent to an Arcanist Alchemist.

The thought crossed his mind while he continued looking at Professor Nine.

His eyes briefly returned to the document.

There was danger involved, but danger wasn’t enough to make him reject an opportunity to learn something useful.

"And I’m sure the Professor isn’t planning to send us to our demise without choosing an equally strong group that can at least handle the mission."

Ezra said while looking directly at Nine.

He didn’t know anything about all the other members who had been placed into his group.

However, from what Latisha had said when she was distributing the numbered balls, Ezra already suspected that several members of his seven-man team would not contribute much to the actual combat side of the mission.

Some of them might be useful for research.

Some might have useful Alchemy paths.

But there were definitely a few who were going to be dead weight if the team encountered a monster with the strength of an Arcanist Alchemist.

Professor Nine’s expression suddenly changed.

"Oh... thank you for reminding me."

A small smirk appeared on his face.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.

Professor Nine turned toward Latisha.

"Latisha, change Miss Diane Bergwyn to join this team."

He pointed toward Ezra’s group.

"While this boy should join the team she was in."

His finger moved toward a random member of Ezra’s original team of seven.

Latisha looked at the arrangement on the holographic screen.

She understood what he meant immediately.

"Naturally."

She nodded without arguing.

Diane, who had been sitting not too far away, slowly looked toward Ezra’s group.

Her expression remained sleepy as usual, but there was a small change in her eyes when she realized she was being moved.

Jeremy looked at her.

Then he looked at Ezra.

Then he looked back at Professor Nine.

He seemed to be realizing that the team was becoming much more reliable.

"Shouldn’t I join too?"

Vera asked plainly.

She had been quietly watching and listening to the conversation without interrupting.

Professor Nine turned toward her.

"No, Miss Vera Ashenlocke."

His answer came immediately.

"You will be in charge of all written research proofreading and selection."

Vera’s eyes remained calm.

She didn’t complain.

Professor Nine then turned toward the senior club members who were responsible for that work.

"The people I put in charge of this work are all completely useless."

The words landed heavily.

Several of the senior members froze.

Their expressions barely changed, but the slight tightening around their eyes showed that the words had struck directly at their pride.

They were already used to Professor Nine’s straight-arrow insults, so none of them dared to argue.

"Professor?"

A second-year female member of Vera’s team raised her hand slightly.

She looked toward Nine with a nervous expression.

"Does that mean Miss Vera Ashenlocke is leaving our team?"

There was a small amount of hope in her voice.

She clearly wanted the professor to say no.

"Obviously yes."

Professor Nine replied straightforwardly.

"She’s much too big of a figure to be with the likes of your team."

He pointed toward Vera.

"Vera will work alone."

The second-year female opened her mouth slightly.

She looked genuinely shocked.

The loss wasn’t just because Vera was a strong member.

It was Vera Ashenlocke.

A noble from one of Britannia’s powerful Duke Houses.

For the girl, the opportunity to work closely with someone of Vera’s status had suddenly disappeared.

The chance to get close to a noble like Vera had gone up in flames.

Even the other five members of her group also looked immediately disappointed.

Their shoulders lowered slightly, and their earlier excitement disappeared.

"Don’t worry."

Professor Nine pointed toward Luke.

"Luke will join your group as her replacement."

"I will?"

Luke pointed at himself.

His expression showed genuine surprise.

The female second-year and the other members immediately brightened.

"Thank you, Professor."

The five group members said almost at the same time.

Luke looked at them scratching the back of his head.

"Why do I get the feeling you all are still not happy about it?"

The female second-year quickly looked away.

Luke’s mouth twitched.

He wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or feel offended.

Professor Nine waved his hand.

"Alright, I’m done with you two. So, shoo."

He waved toward Jeremy and Ezra.

Jeremy turned around and walked back toward his seat.

Ezra had already started walking away before the professor even finished speaking.

As he returned to his place, he noticed that Professor Nine was already assigning other duties to the remaining club members.

Jeremy followed behind him, still shaking his head.

Even so, his mood had changed compared to earlier.

With Diane Bergwyn joining the group, and with Ezra Ashenlocke also in the same team, someone Jeremy had already heard wasn’t a person to be underestimated, he finally felt that there was at least some hope.

Maybe this mission wouldn’t be as terrible as he first thought.

"Next."

Professor Nine pointed toward another second-year club member.

This was one of the members in Maxwell’s group.

"Also, you, Maxwell. Both of you should come."

He said while moving through the documents in his hands, searching for the correct assignment.

The second-year student sighed heavily.

He stood from his seat and walked toward Professor Nine.

His expression wasn’t exactly happy.

I’m stuck with a commoner who even the Professor called out as if he’s someone important.

He thought while looking toward Maxwell.

And our group doesn’t even have that many noticeable strong Alchemists except me and the other second-year.

His thoughts continued as he approached the professor.

My only prayer is that Professor Nine gives us a much easier monster.

He stopped in front of Nine.

"Here."

Professor Nine handed him the document.

The second-year accepted it with both hands.

Maxwell remained a short distance away and leaned slightly forward to check what was written on the paper.

The second-year lowered his eyes.

He read the first line.

Then the second.

His expression slowly changed.

His eyes widened for a moment.

He immediately raised one hand and placed it against his forehead.

His fingers pressed against his temple as he rubbed it while shaking his head.

He didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to.

Every upperclassman who saw that reaction already knew exactly what it meant.

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