Chapter 46: *Laughing at him*
Kevin then decided to pour his potion into the hermetic bottle provided for this purpose. After putting down his cauldron and sealing the bottle containing his first low-grade Healing Potion, he sat down cross-legged directly on the floor.
He pulled his hood over his head so it hid half of his face and continued to follow the instructions written by their teacher, which advised them to rest for one hour between each potion to restore their Soul Force reserve.
Although he didn’t need the rest—he could have crafted six more potions before needing a break—he remembered that he was only supposed to have 180 Soul Force points. Instead of wasting an hour resting, he decided to meditate. He was curious to see the difference that his high-grade black necklace would bring him, the one that allowed him to double his efficiency while meditating.
Ian, who was giving advice to the first students who had failed to craft their potion, was surprised to hear whispers in his class. He looked around and realized that at least six students were looking toward the corner of the classroom. He apologized to the student he was assisting and went to see what was causing all the commotion.
He halted when he saw a student sitting cross-legged with his hood concealing much of his face. From the movement of spiritual energy around this boy, there was no doubt that he was meditating. Ian stepped forward, increasingly curious about this student, and noticed the low-grade Healing Potion in the hermetic bottle on the table—the one provided by the Sun Sect to new mages. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it appeared perfectly executed.
He took the potion and opened the bottle to check its quality, and as he had correctly guessed, this boy had succeeded on his first try in crafting a low-grade Healing Potion, managing to do so in only 20 minutes. It was very impressive, and this boy probably came from a family of mages. For them, such an achievement was nothing exceptional.
He turned to the other students and asked, "Does anyone know his name?" He saw them all shake their heads and finally said, "You should concentrate on your own work. This boy has already managed to craft his first potion, and instead of resting, he has decided to meditate. So, you should all follow his example instead of wasting your time chatting with others."
All the students immediately got back to work, wondering who was this boy that their teacher had just praised. Ian continued to help the other students while waiting for this boy to finish meditating; he too was eager to know what family he came from.
Kevin, unaware that he had become the center of everyone’s attention, was meditating peacefully. The particles of the elements he could see had actually doubled, allowing him to absorb more and more of them. The effectiveness of this necklace was truly remarkable. When the familiar message from his System appeared before his eyes, he looked at the summary of his meditation, and the difference was obvious.
[ Summary of your meditation ]
Lightning Element Level 5: 6,457 / 20,000
Water Element Level 3: 1,766 / 5,000
Wind Element Level 1: 542 / 1,000
Earth Element Level 1: 234 / 1,000
Fire Element Level 0: 0 / 200
Kevin thought maybe he should ask Axel to use the fire element of his sword; if he meditated after Axel had used up his chakra reserve, he should be able to absorb enough fire particles to progress to level 1.
After Kevin came out of his meditation, he stood up, removed his hood, and took out the ingredients needed to craft a second Healing Potion. When Ian saw him get up, he approached and asked him while Kevin prepared the ingredients for the second potion, "Congratulations! Your first potion was perfectly executed. May I know your name and what family you come from?"
Kevin looked at him, puzzled. He really wondered why everyone felt the need to ask such questions, but since Ian was his alchemy teacher and he liked the way he taught, he answered politely, "My name is Kevin, and I’m an orphan."
Ian’s eyes widened in surprise, and he then remembered that Alan had mentioned a new student named Kevin who had an affinity with three elements. He asked, "Are you the Kevin Alan told me about, the one who has an affinity with three elements?"
When Ian dropped that bombshell, the class suddenly fell silent. Kevin, who didn’t care what others thought about him, replied, "That’s right, teacher. Alan was the one who tested me, and he is also the one who taught me how to meditate."
Ian couldn’t believe his luck; it was the first time the Sun Sect had recruited a mage with an affinity for three elements, and he was in his class—how awesome! He cleared his throat, aware that his behavior had been a little inappropriate, and said to Kevin, "You did a great job; keep going like this, and watch your Soul Force reserve. Alan warned me that it was only 180, so don’t exhaust yourself."
Kevin nodded and replied politely, "Yes, teacher, I’ll be careful. Thank you for your advice."
Kevin could hear his classmates teasing him and didn’t need to read their lips to know why they were laughing. 180 Soul Force points was just a little more than the minimum required to become a mage. It was easy to figure out that this number must seem ridiculous to many of them.
Ian on the contrary was truly upset; what he hated most were those kids who thought they were better than others and took the opportunity to bully those perceived to be weaker. But it wouldn’t be like that in his class. He suddenly clapped his hands, drawing the attention of all the students to him, and then pointed at some of them.
He made it clear for everyone, "For those I just pointed out, this is your last warning before being excluded from my class for a week. And for everyone who has made fun of him, I think you’ve all forgotten an important point."
Kevin was surprised that the teacher was defending him. It wasn’t like he cared what they said about him; in fact, he really didn’t care. But well, those brats deserved this warning anyway.
