The Founder of the Mana School: Nicolas Rome

Looking at the serious Alisa, Lan Qingyou finally understood why the other woman harbored such hostility toward her.

Initially, seeing her behavior, Lan Qingyou had assumed it was because she had stolen the spotlight or perhaps because of the Emerald Tablet. She thought those were the reasons for the animosity.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

The Material School and the Mana School...

To put it simply, these two schools represented two different philosophies within alchemy.

The Material School advocated using the transformation and harmony of physical matter to perform alchemical transmutations.

For instance, brewing the desired medicinal properties from herbs and mixing them with the properties of other herbs was the most typical form of material harmony.

Another classic example was the transformation process of turning stone into gold or other minerals one required.

The Mana School, on the other hand, advocated using as few external materials as possible, relying instead on one's own mana to perform alchemical transmutations.

To put it even more plainly, the Material School followed what Lan Qingyou often called equivalent exchange—if you wanted to obtain an item, you had to trade something else for it.

While one's own mana was used in this process, it made up a very small percentage of the total effort.

The Mana School aimed to increase that percentage, breaking free from the dependence on matter to the point of achieving the ability to create something from nothing using mana alone.

Of course...

Although the two schools seemed at odds—one might even say they were as incompatible as fire and water due to their conflicting philosophies—they both shared one common consensus.

That was the phrase Albert often repeated: 【Alchemy is omnipotent.】

But there was a problem.

Whether it was the Material School or the Mana School, these were terms used by the alchemical circles of the Kalim continent a thousand years ago.

While it was possible for a transmigrator to know about them, very few would actually bring them up in conversation.

And they certainly wouldn't become hostile over such a thing.

But now that Alisa had admitted to being part of the Mana School, there was only one possible answer!

“Nicolas Rome.”

Lan Qingyou spoke the name as she looked at Alisa.

“Yes.”

Seeing that Lan Qingyou’s train of thought had finally caught up, Alisa’s face wore a gratified and haughty smile.

So, who was Nicolas Rome? And why did Lan Qingyou know that name?

To answer that, one would have to look back at Albert's Alchemy Journal.

In the journal, aside from recording his own alchemical insights and formulas, Albert mentioned two people more than anyone else.

One was his mentor, Zosimos Baham—the architect of Baham's Formula, which Lan Qingyou had encountered while studying Cartography.

The other was his lifelong best friend and greatest rival, Nicolas Rome.

According to Albert's journal, Albert was born into a ducal family and was raised as the heir to the title when he became Zosimos’s disciple.

Nicolas Rome, meanwhile, was a commoner who could only support his family by transcribing manuscripts for others.

However, because Rome was talented and excelled at calligraphy and drawing, Zosimos made an exception and accepted him as a student after Rome had transcribed some books for him.

Thus, the two crossed paths.

Despite the vast difference in their social status, they quickly became best friends during their studies due to their similar ages and interests.

For the next decade or so, whenever one of them encountered a bottleneck in a research project, the other would provide full support.

In this friendly atmosphere, they supported each other through many research subjects.

This not only allowed them to accumulate significant wealth in a short time but also brought them immense prestige.

Not just within the alchemical world, but throughout the entire empire, many knew that two geniuses of alchemy had been born on the continent.

After all, shortly after many of their research projects succeeded, the butler of the ducal manor would put them into operation, quickly commercializing and distributing them.

While they made money, they also brought convenience to many people.

As a result, some observers began to refer to them as the Twin Moons of the Empire, using the moon as a symbol for alchemy.

The sentiment was that while there was only one sun in the sky, their empire possessed two.

However, the good times did not last.

Due to certain academic disagreements, the two eventually parted ways and went their separate paths.

Indeed.

That disagreement was over whether alchemy should rely more on matter or more on mana.

It could be said that Rome was a genius. With the help of Albert and their mentor, Zosimos, he perfected a theory that was sufficient to overturn the alchemical rules that had been in place for thousands of years.

Neither Albert nor Zosimos thought much of this theory, however.

After all, alchemy without a material foundation was not a long-term solution.

In fact, it turned out exactly as they had expected.

From the day Rome's Mana School appeared, it became a niche theory outside the mainstream.

Although he took on many apprentices for research, there were no significant breakthroughs afterward.

This situation persisted until the two eventually collaborated once more.

However, as for the specific details of that later collaboration, Lan Qingyou was unsure.

The journal hadn't recorded it.

But the reason for the other woman’s hostility likely stemmed from this history.

“So, are you here to seek revenge for your teacher or something like that?”

Lan Qingyou slowly lowered her flying magic broom until she was level with Alisa, looking her straight in the eye.

“You really did receive Albert’s inheritance. Unfortunately, you guessed wrong this time.”

Alisa curled her lip dismissively.

Earlier, when she heard the other woman use the term equivalent exchange, she had wondered if this Witch of the Tower was the disciple of her teacher’s old rival.

After all, that term was a concept Albert had realized during his research.

As it turned out, her guess had been correct.

“Even though I studied Rome’s theories and indeed consider him my teacher, what do the grudges between Rome and Albert from a thousand years ago have to do with us outsiders from Blue Star?”

Eh?

It wasn't for Rome and Albert?

Lan Qingyou was stunned by her incorrect assumption.

“Then you are...”

“Didn't I say it before? A duel. A duel with Professor Seymer and the Emerald Tablet as the stakes.”

Alisa repeated her words from yesterday.

Except today, she sounded much calmer than she had during yesterday’s impulsive outburst.

So...

“But since Professor Seymer refused, let's just use your Emerald Tablet as the stake.”

“No... why do you feel the need for this? Because of the Emerald Tablet? Is it really because of that World Item that’s useless for anything other than a few lines of text!?”