Last Gun Alchemist

”The local guards made their complaints and were given assistance from State Alchemists, but all of them disappeared just like the rest.”

Agnes looked through the research report with the same amazed expression Jeremy had while reading the combined report.

Her eyes moved across the pages, following the information they had gathered over the past few weeks.

”Finally, an Imperial Alchemist had to intervene, finally revealing that this was all the work of a Ghost Crawler.”

Diane spoke softly before covering her mouth with one hand while she yawned.

Her half-closed light-blue eyes remained on the report for another moment before she lowered her hand.

All six members looked at the document spread across the table.

The laboratory had become much quieter than before.

The usual conversations from the other groups had already faded, leaving only the occasional movement of paper and the low hum of the laboratory equipment around them.

”This is crazy work, Ezra.”

Jeremy looked at him with clear amazement.

”When you said you would finish all the combined reports by yourself, I thought maybe you were getting ahead of yourself since you’re just a first-year, but then...”

He paused and looked toward Agnes, Emily, and the other two upperclassmen sitting around the table.

The look on his face showed that he still couldn’t quite believe how much work Ezra had managed to complete.

Jeremy remembered how badly the others had countered his argument when he had first questioned Ezra’s ability to handle the report.

They had reminded him that Ezra Ashenlocke was the same person who had once presented his invention before a crowd of close to one million people, both those physically present and those watching through Skynet.

He had stood before that enormous audience and used his own written presentation to explain his invention.

If Ezra could handle something like that, then who else among them could have written a report of this level?

Diane had also supported them because, logically, Ezra was the best choice for the job.

Jeremy finally laughed at himself.

”Hahaha... I was really stupid.”

He scratched the back of his head while looking slightly embarrassed.

At that time...

Ezra didn’t care whether Jeremy had agreed with the decision at the beginning or not.

He simply didn’t want someone with low skills writing their final report.

He knew exactly how much of a headache it would become if Vera reviewed the report and decided that their research wasn’t good enough.

She could easily send it back to them.

And then she could send it back again even if it was now in passable stage.

And again.

Until someone with the proper skills finally rewrote it.

Ezra had no desire to experience that.

At least, not because someone else had decided to write a poor report.

Agnes closed the document in front of her and looked toward her fellow classmates.

”Samuel, Hugh.”

Both boys turned toward her.

”Have you both bought the stocks on medical elixirs?”

She asked.

”Yeah.”

The two nodded.

Jeremy leaned back slightly in his chair.

”I heard that you Ashenlockes got the manuals on the Alchemy Circles for the new gun part and ammunition at the end of the second month.”

He looked toward Ezra with an excited expression.

There was a noticeable amount of interest in his eyes.

”Yes.”

Ezra replied plainly.

”That’s really good.”

Hugh nodded with a pleased expression.

”Our firepower has increased even more.”

Jeremy added, also clearly pleased by the information.

Ezra didn’t say anything.

Well, it’s not the only thing I have in my arsenal now.

He thought to himself.

Now that he had reached the Adept Alchemist rank, there were a lot of guns within his Gun Alchemy set that he could now create and for the mission, he wanted to try them out.

He had only been able to use a limited number of them before.

But with his advancement, more possibilities had opened up.

Ezra kept that thought to himself.

There was no reason to explain everything he had gained access to.

Not that he planned too.

”Alright.”

Jeremy gathered his documents and stood from his seat.

”We will all meet at the entrance of the Black Zone when the day for departure arrives.”

He looked around the table one last time.

”Say your goodbyes to your friends and prepare your minds.”

His tone was calm, but the words carried more weight than the casual way he said they suggested.

The Black Zone was no longer just something written in their research documents.

They were actually going there.

Jeremy left the laboratory as the bell announcing the end of the club activities rang throughout the clubhouse.

The students around them began packing their belongings.

Chairs scraped lightly against the floor as everyone stood, and the sound of documents being folded and placed into bags filled the room.

Diane slowly stood up.

Her light-blue eyes were still half-closed as she walked toward where her maid was waiting.

She was going to leave together with Vera again.

”Yo.”

Cyrus raised one hand and waved.

He was already preparing to leave.

Ezra looked toward him.

”How is your group’s preparation for your hunt going?”

He asked calmly.

”Honestly, it should be easy.”

Cyrus sighed.

”But with the way Maxwell and Ernest are always arguing, I think we’re going to die from Ernest’s nagging and Maxwell’s stubbornness.”

His voice carried the tiredness of someone who had already listened to too many arguments.

”I mean, I get why Ernest wouldn’t like Maxwell and would think he’s going to be a burden to the group, since he hasn’t seen how crazy that guy is.”

Cyrus explained his frustration while he and Ezra walked out of the laboratory with the other students.

The group slowly moved through the clubhouse corridors toward the exit.

Their footsteps mixed with the voices of other students leaving their own club activities.

”Your group sounds fun.”

Ezra replied flatly.

Cyrus stopped for half a second.

He looked at Ezra in disbelief.

”Are you trying to tease me?”

”Process it however you want to process it.”

Ezra continued looking ahead as he walked.

”You are definitely making fun of me.”

Cyrus acted as though he had been deeply offended.

He placed one hand against his chest before looking around at the other students passing them.

Then he noticed Maxwell.

Maxwell was walking calmly with Cherry as always.

The moment Maxwell saw Cyrus, he raised one hand and waved.

Cyrus waved back.

Cherry immediately hid behind Maxwell when she noticed Cyrus looking at her.

”Ha... ha... haha...”

Cyrus laughed awkwardly.

He lowered his hand.

”Am I that ugly that she’s running away from me?”

He asked in a low voice.

Ezra didn’t say anything, since to him... it wasn’t his business to answer.

He simply continued walking.

Cyrus eventually recovered almost immediately and continued beside him.

”You know, I just realized I haven’t seen your lady and you together in the club for weeks now.”

He said it plainly.

His eyes shifted toward Ezra as he tried to see his reaction.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly at Cyrus.

Cyrus continued speaking as though he hadn’t noticed.

”Normally, I would get to watch you two go at each other, talking in your plain and flat tones, and be entertained whenever I saw you getting frustrated.”

A grin appeared on his face.

”But since the end of the first month, Vera has been really busy.”

He paused.

”Even you.”

Ezra remained silent.

Cyrus didn’t push the subject any further.

The two eventually reached the exit of the club.

Lucy was already waiting there patiently for her master.

She stood near the entrance with her hands together, her usual bright smile appearing the moment she noticed Ezra.

”Master.”

Lucy waved happily.

Ezra’s expression remained calm as he approached her.

Cyrus looked at Lucy’s bright face.

”Her smile never gets old.”

He said with a simple smile on his face.

”And she’s growing more and more.”

Cyrus had already known that Lucy was much older than both him and Ezra, even though all three of them looked relatively close in age from the outside.

Of course, Lucy always had this matured look to her to other people when she wasn’t around Ezra.

”You really are lucky to have a maid like her.”

He said plainly.

Ezra only glanced at him.

He then took out his ID card, scanned it against the Club’s exit system, and walked out of the clubhouse.

Cyrus and Lucy followed him.

The three of them left through their usual first transport before separating to board the Noble Steam-Carriage that would take them back to their residence.

The ride was quiet.

The Academy gradually disappeared behind them as the Steam-Carriage continued along the road.

By the time Ezra arrived home, the sky had already darkened.

He went straight into his study as he always did.

The room was filled with the familiar smell of neatly arranged paper, scent spray, and the faint metallic scent coming from the small pieces of equipment he had left inside a box on his worktable neatly arranged.

Ezra placed his belongings down.

Then he returned to his studies.

After finishing what he needed to do, he continued working on the small layout he had begun developing for his Nano Path.

He wasn’t trying to rush the process.

At his current Adept Alchemist rank, there was no reason for him to force the development of the path before he was ready.

If anything, rushing it could create a much bigger problem.

In order to create a proper cultivation process for the Nano Path, Ezra needed to perfect its Philosophy to a certain level first.

And the Philosophy needed to be stable enough for the cultivation process to work.

If he attempted to cultivate the path without fully understanding its Philosophy, there was a chance of causing a Cognis reversal.

And that was something Ezra absolutely didn’t want.

Creating a new Alchemy Path wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t something that could be completed simply by copying an existing path and changing a few things.

The Philosophy, the Cognis circulation, the cultivation method, the Alchemy formulas, and the relationship between the path and the body all had to work together.

One mistake could ruin the entire system.

Ezra leaned back in his chair and looked at the unfinished layout on his desk.

Several pages were spread across the table.

Some contained notes.

Others contained rough diagrams.

There were also sections where he had crossed out entire ideas and written new ones beside them.

He stared at the work for a while.

Then his thoughts slowly moved toward Andraver.

I wonder if Andraver felt the same way while making the Sun Alchemy Path.

Ezra rested his chin against one hand.

The thought stayed in his mind for several seconds.

Creating an entirely new path was probably something that even Andraver couldn’t have completed quickly.

There had to have been countless failed ideas.

Countless adjustments.

And probably more than a few moments when he wondered whether the entire thing was even possible.

Ezra looked back at his own unfinished work.

A small smile appeared on his face.

He wasn’t in a hurry.

There was still plenty of time.

For now, understanding the Philosophy was more important than trying to complete the path.

He eventually closed the book in front of him and began putting the papers together.

The room had become quiet.

The only sound left was the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.

Ezra looked toward it.

It was already late.

He had done enough for today.

He closed his Zphone Tablet and stood from his chair.

Tomorrow would bring another day of Academy life.

And after that, another.

But eventually, the day of their departure into the Black Zone would arrive.

Ezra rearranged his study materials as well as research and diagrams properly, then turned off the light in his study before leaving the room.