Chapter 65: Elixir (1)

I frowned as I stared at the message I just received from Professor Baldwin.

Professor Baldwin: The leech monster is dead.

The leech monster was the key lead in tracking down Jackal. Professor Baldwin had personally sealed it inside a life-support pod to make sure it stayed alive. Yet, suddenly, it was dead?

Dale: Was it killed in a break-in or something?

Professor Baldwin: No, it just exploded out of nowhere.

When I read that it exploded out of nowhere, I became sure Jackal had a hand in this. So, I clicked my tongue and sent a reply.

Dale: This has Jackal written all over it.

Professor Baldwin: I think so too.

Whatever the cause, our only real lead had been the leech monster, and now it was gone. Any further pursuit was essentially impossible. Still, we had already squeezed out most of the information we could anyway.

In fact, the monster’s sudden death had revealed something new: Jackal could remotely kill his familiars. That was a valuable piece of intel in itself, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Dale: In that case, with no other clues, we’ll just have to wait for him to make a move.

Professor Baldwin: Seems that way.

Dale: Understood. I’ll be in touch again soon.

Just as I was about to close the message window, Professor Baldwin sent another message.

Professor Baldwin: Wait a moment.

Professor Baldwin: c( ‘o’)っ

Did she just use an emoticon? I doubted my eyes.

It was a popular emoticon that had been trending among cadets lately. Cadets threw those around all the time, but to see a seasoned hero like Professor Baldwin use one? That was rare, almost surreal.

Professor Baldwin: Why do I suddenly feel deeply irritated?

Professor Baldwin: Dale, are you perhaps thinking something disrespectful right now?

Seriously! What kind of absurd power does the Blessing of Insight have? I wondered.

Dale: I swear on my parents’ names. I would never.

Professor Baldwin: Hmm, but didn’t you grow up in an orphanage?

Dale: Did you just call me a parentless orphan who doesn’t even know his mother and father’s names?

Professor Baldwin: Ah, no! That’s not what I meant!

I could practically see her panicking through the text. Naturally, I didn’t let up. I pressed harder.

Dale: Assuming all orphans don’t know their parents’ names is a narrow-minded insult to the hundreds of thousands of us who grew up in orphanages!

Professor Baldwin: I’m sorry, Dale. That was thoughtless of me.

Dale: As long as you understand.

Professor Baldwin: I want to apologize properly. Could you tell me your parents’ names?

Dale: So, what were you trying to say earlier?

Professor Baldwin: Dale.

I could almost hear Professor Baldwin sighing deeply from the other end of the message window.

Professor Baldwin: Let’s get back on topic.

Dale: Yes, ma’am.

Professor Baldwin: A mana stone was found inside the crocodile monster.

A mana stone was a type of magical crystal found within demonic monsters, used for crafting artifacts, magical tools, potions, elixirs, and more. Even the Hero Watch I was using to chat with Professor Baldwin had a mana stone embedded in it. Of course, the ones used in it were just low-grade mana stones for everyday tools. Low-grade mana stones could be mass-produced, even without hunting demonic monsters. Naturally, they were the go-to choice for lifestyle magic gear like the Hero Watch.

Only low- to mid-grade stones could be produced artificially. Anything beyond that required direct extraction from a demonic monster, which made stones of high grade and above exceedingly rare and expensive.

Moreover, even killing a demonic monster didn’t guarantee you’d get one. The more eyes a demonic monster had, the higher was the potential grade of the mana stone it contained, but the lower was the chance of it having a mana stone at all. In other words, a mana stone being found inside an eight-eyed demonic monster was very promising news.

Dale: What grade is it?

Professor Baldwin: They say it’s high-grade, almost top-tier.

Dale: Almost top-tier? Isn’t that just high-grade then?

Professor Baldwin: Its mana volume rivals top-tier stones, but its purity and quality fall short. So, it was officially classified as high-grade.

Dale: Oh, wow!

That meant the mana content alone was on par with top-tier mana stones.

Dale: How much would it sell for?

Professor Baldwin: Hard to say, but easily five million gold at minimum.

In old Republican currency, five million gold meant over five billion won, which was enough to buy a house in the heart of Valhalla City. It was way too much to just brush off.

However, I didn’t have the right to claim the monster’s remains. As a cadet without an official Hero License, I had no authority to claim the loot from a demonic monster’s corpse. Moreover, the crocodile monster was Jackal’s familiar. It was technically under investigation, which made arguing for a share of the loot a bit difficult.

I groaned softly, frustrated by the whole situation, when suddenly, a soft chime rang out. A new message popped up from Professor Baldwin.

Professor Baldwin: I’m putting you in charge of handling the mana stone.

Wait, what? I was shocked.

Dale: You’re giving me the mana stone?

Professor Baldwin: That’s right.

Dale: But I don’t have the right to claim it.

Professor Baldwin: You’re the one who killed the crocodile monster, aren’t you? You may not have your Hero License yet, but that doesn’t give me the right to handle something that belongs to you.

Damn, now this is what a true educator looks like! If it were Professor Kane, he would’ve handed it over with a hundred strings attached, all while making a show of how generous he was being, I thought.

As expected, Professor Baldwin, whose life experience overflowed to the point of being excessive, handled people with a skill and finesse that set her apart.

Professor Baldwin: Do you perhaps not want it?

Dale: If that’s your decision, Professor, then I suppose I have no choice. I’ll accept it and make sure it’s put to good use.

Professor Baldwin: …

Professor Baldwin: ૮(⇀‸↼‵‵)ა

Professor Baldwin replied with a sullen-looking emoticon, as if something didn’t sit right with her. But it seemed even the Blessing of Insight couldn’t read someone’s exact thoughts, as she didn’t push any further.

Professor Baldwin: I’ll have Vincent deliver the mana stone to you.

Dale: Understood.

About thirty minutes after our exchange ended, I heard a knock at the dorm room door. It was quick indeed. When I opened the door, I found Assistant Instructor Vincent holding a square box.

“Professor Baldwin asked me to deliver this to you,” he said.

“You got here fast.”

“It was Professor’s order, after all.”

Even in his brief response, his unwavering loyalty to Professor Baldwin was obvious. I let out a chuckle and took the box. When I opened it, a faintly sinister black glow seeped out. It was the mana stone. I picked it up, noticing it was about the size of a clenched fist, and gave a firm nod.

“Looks good,” I said.

“Wow! It was a mana stone,” he said.

“You ran an errand without even knowing what you were delivering?”

“It was Professor’s order, after all.”

His reply left me speechless, making me wonder if that was what happened when you became an assistant.

I gave him a dry smile, and Vincent stared at me for a moment before saying, “Lately, Professor seems quite interested in you, Dale.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

Wasn’t it something about me being her type? As absurd as that reason was, her actions left little doubt that Professor Baldwin held some level of affection toward me.

I asked teasingly, “Are you jealous, by any chance?”

Vincent only gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “As if. To me, Professor Baldwin is like a mother. She’s the one who saved me when I had lost all hope and was wandering aimlessly.”

“She saved you?”

His expression grew distant, as though he were recalling the past. “Yes. I’m also one of the survivors of a demon attack, just like her. Many others also owe her their lives. She even runs a foundation for victims who’ve lost their homes and families to demons.”

This was the first I had heard about Professor Baldwin running a charitable foundation. “I didn’t know that.”

Vincent’s voice brimmed with respect as he looked at me. “She donates everything she earns as a hero and as a special professor to the foundation. She insists that even spending money on herself is a waste, so she only wears cheap brands. She’s someone who’s given up her life for the sake of others.”

He then said, “To be honest, I’m relieved.”

“Relieved?” I asked, surprised.

He gave me a faint smile. “That Professor has found someone else to focus on, someone like you.”

“I…”

Vincent gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. “Haha! You don’t have to take it too seriously. People’s hearts can’t be changed just because someone wants them to.”

His eyes suddenly gleamed sharply. “Just… remember this one thing. If you ever hurt her, I won’t stand by and watch.”

His hand lightly brushed the hilt of the sword at his waist.

I held back a smirk and gave a small nod. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then, I’ll be going.” Vincent gave a polite bow and turned to leave. “Oh, by the way, about that mana stone, do you plan to sell it? Or do you have some use in mind?”

“Hm, not sure yet.”

It was a high-value item that would fetch at least five million gold if sold, but using it seemed the better choice to me. High-grade mana stones could be refined into elixirs that increased mana. Moreover, I still had that elixir I got from Yuren. If Professor Bastion handled the elixir, he could probably amplify its effects even further by adding the mana stone.

Vincent gestured to the stone, still radiating its eerie black light. “If you’re going to use it, you’ll need to have it purified first.”

He was right. Mana stones freshly harvested from demonic monsters couldn’t be used unless they were purified with holy power.

“If you’d like, I could introduce you to a purification mage from the Holy Empire that specializes in purifying mana stones.”

I gave a sly smile and shook my head. “No need.”

Why would I need to rely on some random purification mage?

“I already know someone who can purify mana stones,” I said.

It was someone leagues above any mediocre priest from the Holy Empire, someone blessed by not one, but all Seven Gods—a true Saintess.

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