The Lone Wanderer-Chapter 270: Last class

Percy carefully poured the contents of the cauldron into the funnel, counting each droplet as it trickled into the pinkie-sized vial.

‘…99… 100… 101.’

Technically, this was already more than a full dose – enough to meet Dugris’s objective. But Percy didn’t rush to celebrate, not feeling great about this batch. Shaking the vial, he watched the liquid with bated breath. It glowed with an olive-coloured light, releasing a faint scent of mint.

More importantly, however, it barely swirled inside the tube, moving more like syrup than water. A frown creased Percy’s face. Sure enough, it was another failure… freewebnσvel.cѳm

“Sorry, kid. This is almost as thick as a gel. No way it passes through a needle.” Dugris agreed with his assessment, patting his shoulder apologetically.

“Alright.” Percy sighed. “I still have time for three more tries, right?”

Getting a nod back from the teacher, he washed his tools, starting over. This time, he adjusted the amount of fungal tar, hoping the small tweak would make all the difference.

Unlike his previous brews, the tattoo ink was judged not only by its quantity, but also its quality. If it was too viscous for its intended purpose, then it didn’t really matter how much of it he made.

Not that the batch he’d just brewed was completely worthless – it could still be consumed like a regular potion. Still, that defeated the whole purpose of adding the mud mana in the first place, meaning that Percy had just wasted his time and resources for nothing.

‘Maybe I should have picked something easier for the last brew…’ he thought as he waited for the cauldron to heat up.

Funnily enough, he’d already achieved both the correct viscosity and a sufficient yield to win the challenge. Just never in the same batch. Suffice to say, it was only a matter of time until he got it right. Unfortunately, time was the one thing he was quickly running out of, as today was the last class this term. If he failed, he’d miss the opportunity to enter the Wiseman’s Chamber and, with it, several months’ worth of free training.

Even worse, he’d lose his only chance to heal Leo. Should that happen, the boy would die shortly after he left Felmara, turning Klatz and Lyn’s worlds upside down.

‘No. No second-guessing.’ he shook his head, fixing his gaze on the cauldron. ‘It’s way too late to try something else. Besides, I haven’t lost yet. I just need to make the next couple of attempts count.’

Pushing away his doubts, he focused entirely on his craft. Using both his eyesight and Mana Sense, he watched the mixture closely, responding to every shift in the cauldron the moment it happened.

He wasn’t alone either. He’d drawn quite an audience by now, both the teacher and the other students having long abandoned their own tasks, opting to observe him instead. The kids had already given up on the competition, accepting they wouldn’t get anything more done this term. Most of them were still stuck on the second objective, though a couple had yet to make it past the pill.

Several minutes passed as the cauldron bubbled, over a dozen pairs of eyes glued to the concoction. Yet, the lab was silent as a graveyard, nobody daring to utter a sound, afraid of distracting him.

Once the reaction was complete, Percy lowered the temperature again, pouring the ink into another vial. This time, he exhaled in relief upon seeing it flow much more smoothly than before.

“The viscosity is perfect.” Dugris confirmed.

A wave of gasps rippled through the room, as everyone waited patiently for the result. Only one thing remained – the quantity of the ink!

“…97… 98… 99.”

Percy’s heart clenched as the last droplet he needed stubbornly refused to come out.

“Come on, Leo! You can do it!”

“Yeah, you still have two more attempts!”

“Almost there!”

“You just need a bit of luck!”

Percy glanced around the room, some warmth spreading through his chest as he listened to his classmates cheer him on. Even Dugris nodded at him approvingly, the stern man having come to respect him over the past few weeks – a stark contrast to their rocky start.

Rinsing his equipment again, he grabbed six more vials. Uncorking them all, he emptied the first four into the cauldron – the ones with the healing potions. The others were full of tar, so he stopped about halfway through the last one. Then, with steady hands, he began to stir, reigniting the heat.

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Soon, the third batch was done.

Before evaluating it, Percy took a few deep breaths to calm down, wiping the sweat off his brow with his elbow. Needless to say, the suspense had taken its toll on him – there was just too much riding on this.

Upon pouring the ink into the vial, one thing immediately became clear. The quality was a little worse this time, the liquid being slightly too watery. Percy’s expression fell, as did the other students’.

But he didn’t let it get to him. The difference was small, so it wasn’t necessarily a failure. It would all depend on Dugris’s judgement. For now, Percy was better off making sure the quantity was sufficient.

“…100… 101… 102!” he exclaimed.

Everyone’s faces lit up at the sound of that, but they weren’t as quick to celebrate. They turned to their teacher, looking at him expectantly. Picking the vial up, Dugris held it in front of his eyes, giving it a swirl. With his free hand, he rubbed his chin as he scrutinized Percy’s brew.

The latter couldn’t help but nervously tap his foot, and he wasn’t the only one. It wasn’t until a couple minutes later that the man finally spoke, putting them out of their misery.

“Let’s see… I’m sure you’ve realized it’s a bit worse than the last one. Personally, I’d be embarrassed to sell this in a store.”

As soon as his words fell, the room broke in disappointed groans and clicking tongues.

Percy was about to clean up his equipment to prepare for the final attempt, when Dugris unexpectedly grabbed his forearm.

“Don’t be in such a rush – I wasn’t done.” he chuckled, some new hope flashing in everyone’s eyes. “Sure, it’s not ideal, but I think it’s just about thick enough to form a stable tattoo. It might come out a little distorted, but it’ll do it’s job…”

“You mean… the challenge…?” Percy’s heart skipped a beat.

Dugris smiled.

“Congratulations, Leo! I honestly thought I’d made the challenge too tough for you guys, but you proved me wrong.”

The room erupted in cheers, as everyone took turns hi-fiving Percy and showering him with praise. Dugris didn’t stop them either, allowing the kids to celebrate for a few minutes. Only then did he clear his throat, causing the chatter to die down.

“Alright, pipe down everyone. I’ll talk to Leo after the class about his prize. For now, we still have about half an hour left. I could have asked you all to attempt another brew, but I have something else in mind.”

The students looked at him in confusion, though nobody spoke, waiting for him to elaborate.

“Leo. Open the cabinet to your right, and bring me the set of needles on the top shelf. I’ll give you all a practical demonstration of how to inscribe a tattoo. And you can keep it afterwards. Think of it as a bonus reward for the added difficulty.”

Percy nearly jumped from his seat, struggling to contain his excitement. Sure, the tattooing process wasn’t as hard as brewing the ink, and he’d already read up on the theory, so he was confident he could figure it out by himself. Still, learning directly from a master would save him a lot of effort and wasted potions later. Alas, there was a small problem with this…

“Sir, I’m grateful for the offer, but do you mind giving somebody else the tattoo? I’d rather experiment some other time by myself…”

Obviously, the teacher found his excuse a little odd, but he didn’t make a big deal out of it. Shrugging, he called another boy forward – Korin, the second best in the class.

The real reason why Percy had refused was because the Moirais’ Decree would have gobbled up the life mana the moment the ink touched his body. In fact, he had been forced to handle all the ingredients with extreme caution over the past few weeks, to avoid ruining them or exposing himself.

Over the remainder of the lesson, Dugris explained everything to the students, from how deep into the skin they were supposed to penetrate, to how they were meant to pour the ink into the needles.

‘Will I have to commission specialized needles back home?’ Percy wondered.

Probably not. He couldn’t craft such a thin object with his reinforced mana yet, but he could control the soft variant a lot better, and it should be more than hard enough to pierce through his skin.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Dugris completed the tattoo on Korin’s shoulder. He didn’t go for anything fancy, just a simple circle, choosing functionality over beauty. Even then, the circle came out a little crude, its perimeter somewhat fuzzy.

“Like I said, this is what happens when the ink is thinner than it should be.” Dugris explained, though he failed to fully mask the embarrassment in his voice.

Percy didn’t know if the problem lay with the ink, or with Dugris’s skill, but it didn’t really matter. The tattoo was barely visible under the boy’s fur, and it would be gone in a year at most.

As soon as he was done, Dugris kicked the other students out of the lab, asking Percy to stay behind.

“You will enter the chamber next Resting Day – so the day after tomorrow.” the teacher said.

“This soon?!” Percy raised an eyebrow, not having expected that.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Not at all!” Percy hurriedly said, more than satisfied with this result. “I just thought I’d have to wait in a queue.”

This was something he’d been worried about. There was only one training room, and hundreds of teachers in the academy – each with a recommendation to give. Had the Wiseman’s Chamber been booked for the next several weeks, he wouldn’t have known where to cry.

“There are queues sometimes, but not in the middle of the year.” Dugris explained. “Most of the teachers give their recommendations near the exams, after making their minds up, with some of them spilling over to the start of the next year. But I’m confident it’s free next week. I checked yesterday, and I’ll book it for you as soon as we’re done here.”

“Thank you, sir. Both for this opportunity, and for the course.” Percy said, giving the man a deep bow. “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’ve really enjoyed your classes.”

“Don’t mention it. You’ve earned this through your hard work, Leo. I was a fool for nearly kicking you out.”

Percy nodded. Picking his stuff up, he was about to leave the lab, when Dugris spoke again.

“Before you go, let me offer you a word of warning.”

“Hmmm?” Percy tilted his head, having no idea what this was about.

“The next Mana Flow class will take place in the Auditorium, two days after you exit the chamber. And Lord Rhaziel will personally oversee the lecture, as always.”

The teacher’s words sent Percy’s mind into turmoil. The last thing he’d expected was to come face to face with a god. But he bottled his emotions up, not letting them show on his face. If this was truly a common occurrence, then Leo was supposed to know about it. Either way, Dugris wasn’t done.

“Son, I’ve no idea what madness possessed you last year but… I really hope – for your sake – that you don’t do anything stupid this time.”