Chapter 383: Periodic Table of Elements
After the party from the Witch Workshop arrived in the Northern Territory, they received a warm reception from the Northern officials.
After all, this is an entire workshop of several certified Alchemists, who are highly sought after in the Northern Territory, especially since they hold an invitation from Perfikot himself.
Thus, they were swiftly accommodated in the guesthouse not far from the Lord's manor, receiving a remarkably high standard of hospitality.
This left the members of the Witch Workshop feeling both honored and astonished, as they had not experienced much of the world before Heine took over the workshop.
Although Weir was once the president of the Alchemist Association, she no longer desired to be involved in the past following her retirement, so she naturally did not reveal her position.
Thus, among her students, only Heine knew the history her teacher once had.
"Please rest for a moment, I will inform the Lord of your arrival. She will summon you as soon as she has the time, so please be patient," the official receiving the Witch Workshop's party said courteously. After explaining the situation, he handed a document to Heine, explaining: "This document is the Lord's latest academic achievement. She requires us to distribute it to every Alchemist visiting the Northern Territory, hoping you can offer suggestions for improvement on her research findings.
For this, the Lord has even offered a reward. Any suggestion that gets adopted can earn a thousand gold pounds, and particularly outstanding contributions can be granted a noble title."
Hearing that Perfikot had even offered a noble title as a reward, the members of the Witch Workshop became very curious about the document, intrigued by what kind of academic achievement would warrant such a high level of treatment from Perfikot.
After exchanging pleasantries with the official to see him off, the others immediately gathered around Heine, eager to see what Perfikot had written in the document.
Even Weir, standing to the side, showed a bit of curiosity. After all, as an Alchemist, it was impossible not to be interested in the latest achievements of Perfikot, reputedly the strongest Alchemist of the time.
Soon after, she saw the title on the document: The Periodic Table of Elements—On the Composition of Matter.
Seeing this title, Weir was momentarily taken aback before realizing what Perfikot had written about.
"Heine, let me take a look at the document. This is truly remarkable!" Weir reached out to Heine, directly taking the document from her hands.
Although the others were displeased with Weir for her previous unexplained departure, they still respected her very much as a teacher, especially when she became serious.
Seeing her teacher finally showing a rare seriousness, Heine was naturally delighted to hand her the document.
After quickly skimming through Perfikot's document, Weir's first response was unexpectedly to ask: "What comes next? Why does it stop halfway? Are the so-called elements really atoms? What a novel and intelligent idea!"
With her knowledge, Weir naturally perceived the value contained within Perfikot's document, even though it simply outlined fundamental concepts of molecules and atoms, along with some relatively simple ideas. Nonetheless, in Weir's eyes, this document was more precious than gold.
"Teacher, they only gave us this much." Heine shyly reminded her teacher.
Weir immediately reacted, showing a slight displeasure that quickly turned to admiration: "This is a brilliant strategy. No Alchemist could resist the lure of such knowledge! First, cast out the bait; once an Alchemist sees this document and becomes interested in exploring it further, they are bound to want to know more, forcing them to come to the Northern Territory and serve this Northern Count to learn more!
It's truly ingenious! This Northern Count is not only a genius Alchemist but also possesses a keen hand in politics!"
Weir did not hold back in her praise, as the concepts of atoms and molecules are highly alluring to Alchemists, serving as a key to understanding the world and providing precious knowledge that allows Alchemists to comprehend the essence of the world.
No one would disseminate such precious knowledge for free; in the past, this could even become the core doctrine of a school, rarely taught to disciples.
As a traditional Alchemist, Weir knew well how such precious knowledge would be safeguarded by those schools and families to prevent its leakage.
Yet, Perfikot openly published it, even inviting all Alchemists to propose modifications. In Weir's view, besides luring these Alchemists to serve Perfikot, it also demonstrated her noble character in wanting to disseminate knowledge.
No matter what intentions Perfikot had or what considerations led her to reveal this knowledge, she has, objectively speaking, spread this invaluable knowledge, which alone is highly commendable.
Especially since, before this, Perfikot had already publicly revealed Imaginary Alchemy to the entire Empire, a knowledge capable of overturning an era, which made her all the more respectable.
Even Weir, during her tenure as the president of the Alchemist Association, although dedicated to spreading alchemical knowledge and cultivating more newcomers, never had the generosity to disseminate such precious knowledge freely. Even when teaching disciples, she imposed rigorous tests before imparting it.
However, although she couldn't do such things, it didn't stop her from admiring those who could. Therefore, Weir had already changed her attitude and directly said to Heine: "Heine, it seems our trip to the Northern Territory was indeed right! That Count is truly worth meeting! To freely publish such precious knowledge and allow all Alchemists to provide improvement suggestions, the Count's character is impeccable!"
Although Weir had heard of Perfikot's bloody and brutal reputation, to Weir, these stories had no real impact compared to the valuable knowledge Perfikot openly shared, leading Weir to form a seemingly atypical view of Perfikot's character.
Heine did not comment on this; she simply asked Weir: "Teacher, will you formally pay respects to the Count? Although we have an invitation letter, your formal visit, given your status, would probably receive more attention, wouldn't it?"