A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 169: Tense Study
Chapter 169: Tense Study

Arix, intrigued by the waist-high robot, crouched down to inspect it closely. ’A talking, moving robot!’ She felt the urge to take it apart.

”Master, damaging public property will get your punished,” PO said, his big eyes blinking innocently on its screen-like face, as if reading Arix’s mind.

”It’s okay, I have money,” Arix said, her fingers itching to dismantle it. But before she could proceed, PO’s cute voice chimed in again.

”Besides compensation, you may also fail to pass personal assessment,” PO warned kindly.

Arix paused. ’Great, now I’m being threatened by a robot.’

Arix took a deep breath and forced a smile, saying, ”I was just joking. You’re so adorable, how could I be so cruel to take you apart?”

”Master, I have a lie detection function and has detected that you are lying,” PO responded honestly, without any sense of tact.

Arix: ... ’Is this robot really here to help me?’

Arix rubbed her forehead and sighed, ”PO, turn off the lie detection function.”

”Okay, master. Turning off PO’s lie detection function. Please wait three seconds. 3, 2, 1. PO’s lie detection function is now off. Is there anything else you need, master?” PO asked sweetly.

”Show me around the house and explain the layout,” Arix said, eager to explore the beautifully decorated house.

”Okay, master, please follow me,” PO said, leading the way. At each spot, PO gave a detailed and charming introduction.

”This is the living room. You can hang out with your friends here,” PO began, standing in place.

Arix nodded, following PO and listening to its detailed, endearing explanations.

”This is the bedroom. You can adjust the bedroom environment here. There are currently 574 options to choose from,” PO said, pointing to a small screen on the wall.

Arix curiously tapped a button for a light rain mode. The bedroom transformed into a bamboo forest with the gentle sound of rain falling.

After trying out a few more options, Arix lost interest. She then followed PO to the study, kitchen, bathroom, potion room, and training center.

Seeing such a well-equipped house made Arix feel uneasy. It felt like a setup, offering something so nice before trapping her.

Arix suddenly looked at PO and asked, ”Does the school assign a campus butler to every student?”

”No, currently only you, master,” PO answered honestly.

”Who sent you?” Arix asked again.

”An extraordinary talent with ambitions as vast as the universe, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, capable of ruling the world with a pen and conquering it with a sword, a combination of beauty and wisdom, the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, admired by all - the HMA president,” PO said, finally getting to the important point after a bunch of flattering nonsense.

Arix rubbed her forehead. Then she said to PO, ”That’s all. You can go now.”

After checking her schedule, Arix was pleasantly surprised. Not a single class conflict among her five departments today.

She raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and decided to attend classes in all five departments. It wasn’t out of diligence, but rather curiosity—she wanted to see if in-person classes were better than online ones.

The main motivator was the Psychic Ware Department. The classes were tough. A month of online lectures left her feeling lost.

Today’s class was hands-on, and she hoped that practical experience would make a difference.

With her mind made up, Arix checked the time on her opticomputer. Two hours before her first command class—just enough time to tidy up her place before heading out.

Using her psychic abilities, Arix scanned every corner of her home for surveillance devices.

Once she was sure it was clear, she felt safe to summon Cupid and the others from the psychic world.

”Arix, you’re at school!” Cupid exclaimed excitedly, flying into her arms and snuggling close.

Arix hummed in response, gently patting Cupid.

Smiling at the other two, Vita and Sophia, she said, ”This is home for the next four years. Any ideas on how to decorate?”

Cupid looked around the bedroom and pointed at the large windowsill. ”Arix, I want to make a nest there so I can sleep and watch the moon at night.”

”Alright. Vita, Sophia, want nests there too?” Arix asked.

”Sure,” Vita nodded.

”Whatever,” Sophia replied, indifferent.

Seeing no objections, Arix decided the large windowsill would be a sleeping area for the three of them. She bought the most comfortable pet nests she could find on the interstellarnet and set them up there.

With the bedroom sorted, Arix took Cupid and the others to organize the alchemy room, the training center, and more.

PO even came by to help. Concerned PO might reveal their presence, Arix activated confidentiality mode in his system to keep the house’s secrets safe.

Once everything was in place, Arix checked her opticomputer again. The two hours were almost up.

”Cupid, Vita, Sophia, want to stay here or come to class with me?” she asked as she got ready to leave.

”Go with you,” they replied in unison, turning into streams of psychic power and retreating back into Arix’s psychic world.

Amused by their clinginess, Arix shook her head with a smile. She left the house and headed towards the Department of Strategy and Commanding building, with PO watching her go, looking a bit sad.

HMA’s seven departments each had their own six-story building.

The Department of Strategy and Commanding’s first floor was a practical room, while the second to fifth floors were designated for freshman to senior classes.

Each floor was divided into four classes: A, B, C, and D. The top floor housed the teachers’ offices.

When Arix arrived at the Department of Strategy and Commanding A class, Drexel pulled her to sit next to him. She then noticed that Marceau was also there.

A bit surprised, she greeted him politely, ”Hi, Marceau.”

Marceau, who had seemed annoyed because of Drexel, visibly softened when he saw Arix. He nodded back in greeting.

Shortly after their exchange, the teacher arrived. The class followed its usual routine: studying various military strategies and watching historical videos of great leaders commanding battles.

After an hour, the class ended, and Arix said goodbye to Drexel and Marceau before heading to the Class A in the Department of Chemistry building.

She had hoped to sit with Calista but found out that Calista didn’t make it into Class A and was placed in Class B instead.

With no other choice, Arix found an empty seat and waited for the class to begin.

This Chemistry class involved the practical task of making a Star-Class potion. Most students needed the entire class to complete it, but Arix finished her potion in less than ten minutes.

Her astonishing speed drew the admiration of her classmates and the attention of the mentor.

Arix calmly handed her potion to the mentor, who placed it on the detector.

Moments later, a screen displayed the potion’s quality report.

Seeing the nearly perfect scores, the Chemistry mentor felt a mix of admiration and a renewed desire to make Arix the department’s first-chair student.

”Miss Kering, your talent and skill make you well-deserving of being the Department of Chemistry’s First Chair. Why don’t you reconsider?” the mentor said with hopeful eyes.

Previously, he had extended this offer during online classes, but Arix had always declined.

”Sorry, sir. You know my situation, so I can’t be the First Chair,” Arix replied firmly.

Though the title of chief sounded prestigious, it was akin to being a sergeant, responsible for many class duties. It wasn’t suitable for Arix, who was involved in several departments.

Fortunately, the mentor was reasonable. He sighed but didn’t push further.

After her Chemistry class, Arix made a quick exit. It wasn’t that she was particularly eager for the Psychic Ware Department class, but the mentor’s wistful gaze had given her chills.

She felt like she was being watched as if she were a heartless deserter, despite being a pure and innocent young woman.

While chemistry was almost natural for Arix, like drinking water, the Psychic Ware Department class was her nightmare. She held an Insectoid Core in one hand and a carving knife in the other, unsure where to start despite her prolonged efforts.

Psychic Ware was designed to nourish and upgrade psychic power, as well as heal the psychic world. This was different from Arix’s Psychic Healer, which required sacrificing a core each time and couldn’t enhance psychic power.

The Psychic Ware created from Insectoid Cores could be used almost indefinitely unless physically damaged.

The process of creating Psychic Ware was similar to crafting formation plates in the magic world; the difference was that one used magical power to carve the formation plates, while the other used psychic power to carve the Insectoid Core. Both methods shared a common challenge: they had to be completed in one go. If interrupted, the Insectoid Core would be ruined.