“Oh ho! A portal?”
Lan Qingyou was slightly surprised when Alisa stepped into the rest area through the swirling light portal she had opened.
Although it was her first time seeing this skill, she immediately recognized its application and principles.
Thus, she spoke a name that might not be the skill's actual name, but one everyone could understand.
“The basic essentials for an alchemist are understanding, decomposition, and reconstruction. Clearly, you are qualified in this regard,” Alisa remarked, seeing Lan Qingyou recognize her skill at a glance.
Although she didn't like this little girl who always stole her spotlight, her pride and reserve as an alchemist led her to acknowledge it.
However, Lan Qingyou didn't seem particularly grateful.
“Is that so? Then I truly thank you for the compliment.”
Lan Qingyou dramatically clasped her hands over her mouth, pretending to be deeply moved, which earned her a roll of the eyes from Alisa.
Even Li Huai, standing nearby, reacted the same way.
Having known her for so long, he could easily detect this level of sarcasm.
“But you poisoned him just now, didn't you? Wow~ Giving him a taste of his own medicine... how terrifying.”
Continuing her exaggerated gestures, Lan Qingyou's tone of voice became even more dramatic.
Indeed. Others might not have seen what happened, but it couldn't escape Lan Qingyou's eyes.
“Eh? It was poison?”
Li Huai was stunned. Although he leaned toward that theory, he hadn't seen exactly when Alisa had administered the poison.
“When?”
“Right when she waved her hand. Good grief, how do you have such fast medicinal synthesis capabilities?”
Lan Qingyou answered Li Huai's question while watching Alisa walk past her.
Alisa glanced at Lan Qingyou with a flippant look, gave a faint smile without saying a word, took a glass of juice, went to the sofa, and began leisurely reading a book.
Li Huai wanted to ask something else, but before he could speak, he was teleported out, along with his opponent for this round, Xin Tianle.
Lan Qingyou didn't care about others' affairs. Even if this match decided the participants for the next one, she didn't care. She was currently more interested in the clever poisoning trick Alisa had just pulled off.
“Is it because of a Magic Eye? Or a skill?”
Looking at Alisa, Lan Qingyou murmured to herself and then smiled.
To others, Alisa might seem arrogant, but to Lan Qingyou, it was more like pride.
“No, it must be your research results, right?”
A smile appeared on Lan Qingyou's face.
Someone who had been obsessed with alchemy and mysticism back on Blue Star because of her ancestors' research, only to actually become the kind of alchemist her ancestors could only dream of after coming to the Kalim continent... how could she not be proud? Especially when she had her own research goals and achievements.
As Lan Qingyou finished speaking, Alisa, who had been calmly reading, paused slightly.
It was only for a fraction of a second, but the observant Lan Qingyou caught it.
Having found her answer, she became even more unbridled.
“Looks like I'm right. Being able to instantaneously concoct a potion that neutralizes the opponent's poison, pierces their domain, and kills them... that must be your research direction.”
“Something like rapid concoction?”
“But I didn't see you mix anything by hand, so it must be internal. Are you using mana to control cells or something to do the concocting? It sounds quite risky.”
Truth be told, after the great battle with the treants in the cave and establishing magic circles and potions as the primary direction for the Witch race's development, Lan Qingyou had also tried to research rapid potion concoction to deal with future challenges.
But no matter how she researched, the idea of shortening the brewing time never came to fruition.
After all, extracting medicinal components from materials was inherently time-consuming. Shortening it meant insufficient components, which meant weakened effects.
Aside from greenhorns who had just started alchemy, no alchemist would deliberately choose to weaken a potion's effect.
But Alisa seemed to have done it. In fact, her brewing time was even more terrifying than imagined—it was practically instantaneous.
“It's precisely because it's risky that it's worth researching. As far as the results go, I personally believe the risk was worth it,” Alisa said calmly.
As if she had done something completely trivial.
Lan Qingyou rolled her eyes.
Compared to Lan Qingyou, Alisa was a genuine PhD graduate. And the chemistry she studied was just one of the many subjects Alisa had mastered.
So, compared to Lan Qingyou, who was self-taught in chemistry halfway through life, Alisa was highly educated—a true product of elite education.
This attitude certainly befitted her status as an elite.
“You brewed it while sitting in the chair, didn't you? Or rather, can you only brew it in such a relatively static state?”
Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Lan Qingyou asked more specifically. She didn't expect an answer anyway; she just wanted to annoy her.
However...
“No, I just wanted to sit. 'Relatively static'? My research is not such an inconvenient thing.”
...
She actually answered!
But the way she answered... why did it feel like she was the one showing off and annoying Lan Qingyou instead?
No way! I'm actually annoyed! I need to eat something to calm my nerves!
“Ursula, do you want some tiramisu?”
Lan Qingyou turned to Ursula, who was standing not far behind her.
In fact, Ursula had been in this state ever since they entered the rest area. One could say that except for matches, she was always like this.
In the past, Lan Qingyou might have felt uncomfortable. But after hearing about Ursula's past from Diana, she didn't stop or scold her for this behavior.
After all, when someone treats you like a god, it's a bit much to try and stop them.
“Clan Leader, your tiramisu.”
Not long after she spoke, Ursula, who hadn't replied, brought over a plate of small cakes.
“...”
Lan Qingyou felt like she was being force-fed.
She had meant to ask if Ursula wanted to eat with her, to spite the 'lonely' Alisa.
But clearly, the other girl understood it as Lan Qingyou wanting to eat.
Of course, she couldn't blame Ursula. After all, she was the type of person who avoided human contact as much as possible if she could help it.
Rate on N.U.
