Chapter 52: Witch Anna & Tricked
Aurelius brushed the sweat from his forehead.
Ever since he became an Awakener and his Base Stats had improved, he had seldom gotten exhausted, save for the battles he had gone through.
Yet after following Professor Anna’s relentless instructions for the past half an hour, even he felt mentally and physically exhausted.
’Thankfully, it’s finally over...’
Aurelius sighed, his gaze subconsciously moving toward the female Professor beside him.
Sometime during the process, Anna had already lit a cigarette.
She leaned lazily against her chair, one leg crossed over the other, looking far more exhausted than Aurelius himself. From time to time, she would smack her lips.
Sensing his gaze, Anna breathed out a cloud of smoke.
"I didn’t expect you had it in you, kid," she said, taking another puff.
"You are surprisingly tough, unlike what your useless appearance would suggest. Could it be that you’ve been working out?"
Anna shook her head, letting out a sigh.
"It’s good to be young. Strong and sturdy..."
Her words and the satisfied expression lingering on her face left Aurelius speechless.
Every word was fine on its own.
But how come when they were all put together, he felt as though they had just done something indescribable?
Recalling Anna’s previous instructions, guiding his movements step by step, that feeling was only strengthened.
Subconsciously, he looked down on himself and then at Anna.
Both wore clothes. Both were neat, evidence that nothing unusual had happened between them.
Upon confirming this, Aurelius breathed a sigh of relief and his eyes moved to the side.
There, several complicated instruments could be found resting on top of the laboratory table.
Vials occupied the central position.
Some were shattered, with fragments lying beside them; others were filled with a murky liquid that squirmed eerily, while the one at the center stood out.
Within it was a deep golden liquid that shone beautifully, resembling the orange glow of the morning sun.
This vial contained the result of Anna and Aurelius’ efforts over the past half an hour.
Yes.
Unlike what the previous instructions would suggest, Professor Anna had not forcibly brought Aurelius into her laboratory to develop a secret love relationship between teacher and student.
Rather, she had summoned him to become her assistant!
Recalling the previous process of refining the Potion, Aurelius finally understood why she had failed so many times, nearly demolishing the entire library.
Even he, an Alchemist, found it difficult to keep up with her.
Thankfully, they had succeeded in the end.
Although Aurelius was not familiar with the Potion itself, the several notifications had already confirmed this.
"Ding!"
"Mission—Potion Maker has been completed!"
"Rewards: 1 Skill Point. 1000 EXP. Professor Anna’s Favorability."
The rewards were as expected. Although they were modest, the Skill Points and Experience could prove useful in the future.
As for Professor Anna’s Favorability, it wouldn’t matter under normal circumstances.
However...
[Anna Aimingway. Level 46 Witch]
Levels 1 to 20 corresponded to Rank 1, while Levels 21 to40 belonged to Rank 2.
The Ranks beyond that followed the same pattern.
This meant that Anna, who was casually resting with a cigarette in her mouth, was actually a Rank 3 Awakener!
A Witch!
This was the first confirmed Rank 3 Awakener Aurelius had encountered since arriving in this world. Besides her, the only other notable person he had come into contact with was the mysterious Homer.
Their meeting was unexpected.
The fact that Anna had appeared in the Ernst Academy only made their encounter even more strange.
’I’ve already investigated it over the past few days.’
’Although there are several Awakeners among the Academy staff, all of them are Rank 1 Awakeners, including the Principal.’
Aurelius had suspected that even if the Academy had any hidden Awakeners, they would at most be at Rank 2.
Yet Anna’s existence completely shattered that expectation.
Although countless thoughts were racing in Aurelius’ mind, none of it showed on his face.
He maintained a calm expression, that of an ordinary student facing an ordinary teacher, afraid that Anna would discover that he had seen through her identity.
Thankfully, his acting skills appeared to have improved.
Anna didn’t notice anything amiss.
Seeing Aurelius stare at the Potion and then at her, she smiled.
"You should be proud of yourself. I’ve asked many people to help me, including several Professors."
"Unfortunately, they all failed. They were either too impatient or could not keep up for long," she shook her head, sending a cloud of smoke toward Aurelius.
"Kid, I like you! Your stamina is quite good!"
"I can’t watch an extraordinary talent like you be buried in the Ernst Academy. I’ve decided!"
She clapped her hands together, as though she had made a tough decision.
"I’ll accept you as my student. From this day onward, you can walk through the Academy with your head held high."
As she spoke, Professor Anna rose to her feet.
After smoothing her clothes’ wrinkles, she approached Aurelius and patted him on the shoulder.
Then, she folded her arms proudly.
"You don’t know how lucky you are at the moment. One day, you’ll come to recall this day and thank your lucky stars."
She suddenly paused.
"... But first, I have to give you a task. To make sure you’re worthy of being my student."
Reaching into her bosom, Anna retrieved several pieces of paper and slammed them onto the table.
She then pointed at the ingredients on the nearby shelf.
"You have two days. I’ll give you forty-eight hours to craft ten of each Potion. If you need any help, feel free to ask the other Professors."
"Good luck!"
The moment she uttered the final sentence, Anna bolted out of the room.
Aurelius was barely able to capture the outline of her figure.
Soon, she had vanished into the staircase.
Through the window, Aurelius could see her stroll out of the library wearing a victorious smile, as though the plan she had been hatching all this while had succeeded.
Silence filled the laboratory.
Aurelius blinked.
He glanced at the stack of Potion Recipes before him, then at the mountains of ingredients on the shelf.
Soon, he realized.
He had been tricked!
What was this claim about accepting him as her student?
Anna was clearly trying to pass her work off to him!
No wonder she had been so casual about accepting a student.
’I should have seen this. The Player Panel didn’t react at all.’
’If a Rank 3 Awakener had truly accepted me as their student, there should at least have been a change in my titles.’
Aurelius shook his head, thinking that he had been too naive, fooled by Anna’s Witch identity.
But slowly, the smile on his face reemerged.
Looking down at the many Potion Recipes, he listened to the bell chimes ringing inside his mind while part of his attention remained on the stream of notifications.
"Potion Recipe Detected!—Ironblood Potion."
"Potion Recipe Detected!..."
"Ding! Mission Issued!"