“Is that so? You'll find out when we meet.”
Instead of defending herself as she had before, Alisa responded coolly to Lan Qingyou's skepticism and returned to the spectator seats occupied by The Masquerade.
“Boss Lan, you’re being a bit much.”
Once the members of The Masquerade had left, Lan Qingyou thought she would finally have some peace. To her surprise, Gu Xiaobei spoke up at that moment.
Lan Qingyou was completely baffled.
“What? What did I do now?”
Lan Qingyou looked at Gu Xiaobei, whose face was puffed up like a steamed bun.
“Boss, is turning slimes into jelly really such an unpresentable research topic?”
“Ah...”
Lan Qingyou was stunned.
That was quite the unexpected angle. She never imagined the problem would arise from there!
“Sorry, I was just using it as an analogy.”
Lan Qingyou let out a sigh.
She had almost forgotten that there was someone right here who researched magic gourmet food.
No... perhaps it was precisely because there was a gourmet researcher present that she had instinctively used an analogy everyone would understand...
“Alright, get ready. It’s almost time for battle.”
Changing the subject was one of Lan Qingyou’s best skills. With just a few words, the previously fuming Gu Xiaobei calmed down.
“Battle, huh...”
“I’m just here for the show.”
“I think it should be fine if I just surrender as soon as I get on stage.”
At the mention of the battle, the members of Tarot Villa began to stir again.
One after another, they muttered incomprehensible things about how scary it was or how they didn't want to fight, all while frantically scrolling through their cards to prepare combat supplies.
Unlike a reckless man like Li Huai, who was born for pure combat, many people in the villa relied on an item-based style.
Even Lan Qingyou was no exception.
Despite currently possessing over twenty types of magic, her combat focus remained on items.
It wasn't that she didn't know the importance of increasing her own strength; it was simply that, at this stage, she hadn't found any suitable magic to truly enhance herself.
As for Seymer, since he currently had no way to leave, he could only rest with Tarot Villa for the time being, staying close to his student-slash-'boss.'
In any case, he just had to surrender and withdraw once he entered the battlefield.
Consequently, he wasn't particularly flustered.
He even calmly accepted a wine glass from Riesling and a pair of chopsticks from Gu Xiaobei.
The members of the villa were currently passing around his thesis.
Because the things described in the paper were so enticing, they had gone as far as to split the manuscript page by page so everyone could read it simultaneously.
It was clear how important Professor Seymer's research was.
“Professor Seymer, speaking of which, what’s the deal with that woman?”
After sitting back down, Lan Qingyou took a sip of juice and looked at Seymer.
Alisa had already shown hostility. Although that hostility seemed somewhat nonsensical, it was still necessary to be on guard.
Since someone familiar with Alisa was right there, it was only natural to ask for clarification.
Especially since her own Magic Eye was useless against her.
“Sigh...”
Lan Qingyou's question made the professor sigh.
After draining his wine in one gulp, Seymer spoke.
“Have you ever heard of alchemy?”
“...”
Lan Qingyou, who had been listening with anticipation, almost laughed in exasperation at such a question.
“Of course. I know you are currently an authority and expert in alchemy, so I’m not asking about the alchemy of the Kalim continent. I’m asking about the alchemy of Blue Star.”
Seeing Lan Qingyou's reaction, Seymer knew his question had been misunderstood, so he immediately clarified.
After all... his current knowledge of alchemy had been learned from Lan Qingyou.
Oh, so he was asking about Blue Star alchemy...
“That... of course I know.”
Lan Qingyou nodded.
“Isn't it that stuff about claiming to turn stones into gold and base metals into precious metals?”
“Yes, but not entirely.”
Seymer shook his head.
“What do you mean?”
“While Blue Star alchemy is indeed filled with legends of material transformation, like turning base metals into precious metals...”
“In reality, the famous alchemists of history—or the later chemists and physicists—were more focused on researching how to create a Panacea that could cure all diseases.”
Seeing that Lan Qingyou didn't quite follow, Seymer explained more clearly.
“Ah... the Panacea. I've heard of it. Come to think of it, in a way, the Life Potion should count as a Panacea. After all, as long as you don't die on the spot, it can pull you back.”
Lan Qingyou looked up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment before speaking in a long, lazy drawl.
The Life Potion was the second potion she had ever attempted to make.
She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but looking back now, the thing was indeed quite incredible.
Setting others aside, when her own palm had been pierced, it took only one bottle taken internally and one applied externally—two bottles in total—to heal it completely.
Although the recovery time was slightly extended due to blood loss, it was still just a matter of sleeping it off.
“Though, this is partly because everyone gained a health bar after coming to the Kalim continent. Without that, many things would be hard to say.”
While the Life Potion was very much like a Panacea, one couldn't ignore the objective fact of the 'health bar.'
Lan Qingyou added this final thought.
“True. In this regard, neither health points nor mana points can be ignored. But the focus of our conversation isn't on that issue right now. You need to pull your thoughts back.”
...
Why did she feel like she was being lectured by a teacher in class?
Lan Qingyou fell silent, then looked at the professor.
“Well, if that’s not the point, then what is?”
“The point lies beyond that. To the alchemists of Blue Star, a Panacea was merely a stepping stone. Once that research was conducted, anyone would unconsciously steer their research toward the next threshold.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“The Philosopher's Stone.”
“You said what?”
Lan Qingyou, juice in hand, froze the moment she heard that term.
The Philosopher's Stone?
That thing truly counted as a legendary existence.
But because it was so legendary, she, as an alchemist, had never even considered it.
After all, legends were rarely reliable.
“The Philosopher's Stone, also known as the Elixir of Life. In the West, it is called the Philosopher's Stone or the Fifth Element, while in the East, it is referred to as the Golden Elixir or the Touchstone. Therefore...”
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