When the plot-skips players into the game world

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Lily, who stood behind Aiwass, widened her eyes in surprise as she looked at her young master seated in the wheelchair before her.

Lily only knew that Aiwass liked to read strange books at home, but because she strictly adhered to the discipline of a personal maid, she had no idea he was so well-learned!

Gazing up at the quiet students from the podium, her tea-colored pupils seemed to shimmer with light.

Yes, this is it...

It's wonderful; it's exactly like the college classroom I've dreamt of!

When Aiwass reached this point, he smiled and said, "You must be wondering... why was the Black Hawk Duchy, the only country that preserved a complete military system, ultimately devoured by the Star Antimony Kingdom?

"That's because, the Star Antimony Kingdom inherited the largest legacy of the Empire—

"The Demon Scholars who were nearly exterminated by the Son of the Moon, and the Necromancers who, as loyalists of the old Empire, became targets in the early stage of the Fractured Earth War. Being the biggest losers, they had almost nowhere to go. It was then that those emerging alchemists from 'The Twelve Keys,' who had amassed a huge amount of capital and talent during the war, gathered them together and established the Star Antimony Kingdom.

"The alchemist who led the defection from the Alchemy Association and founded 'The Twelve Keys' was Valentine I, the founder of the Star Antimony Kingdom. These alchemists from commoner and minor noble backgrounds did not destroy the old imperial nobility system, but kept it intact, carrying on without changing a bit of the ancient imperial traditions. Even the legal and official systems were virtually unchanged. Therefore, the people welcomed the rule of Valentine I even more—they simply had a more enlightened, younger emperor who came from among them, and essentially, their way of life did not change much.

"This alchemist unified all the civilian alchemists, proclaimed the establishment of a nation based on alchemy, founded universities to openly teach alchemical knowledge, and lifted the ban on the sale of all alchemical books. The word 'Star Antimony' carries the meaning of 'heart of a lion,' and that is why the symbol of the Star Antimony Kingdom is a golden heart.

"Unlike the traditional alchemical heritage of the Narcissus Duchy, the alchemists of Star Antimony were not seeking 'knowledge of the world,' but rather to obtain the power to 'change the world' to the greatest extent. They only created 'useful things,' based entirely on utility, pursuing research with a clear purpose.

"This is the biggest difference between 'Star Antimony-style Alchemy' and traditional alchemy. Some of the knowledge in our modern 'chemistry' comes from this Star Antimony-style alchemy. Doubtless, students—I believe this is the key point. This is why the power of the Star Antimony Kingdom rose so rapidly, even allowing it to engulf the powerful Narcissus Duchy and Black Hawk Duchy."

Alchemists are proud. No one can dictate an entire nation's alchemists to conduct research in specific fields for the benefit of their ruler and country.

—Unless that path is one chosen by the alchemists themselves.

"During the Fractured Earth War, Valentine I continued to capture, study, and decipher the Son of the Moon... Eventually, he demystified some of the arcane knowledge of the Path of Love, turning it into his power.

"After that, Valentine I proposed a brand-new concept: He believed the Philosopher's Stone was unattainable. It went against one of the natures of the Path of Balance—'equivalent exchange', so he no longer considered the Philosopher's Stone as one of the three ultimate goals of an alchemist. Discover stories with m,v l'e|m-p|yr

"He introduced a new ultimate goal, which is another path he presented in his 'Triumphal Chariot of Antimony'—the ascension of antimony, the creation of 'Star Antimony.' Before this time, antimony was not one of the 'seven planetary metals' valued in traditional alchemy; it was Valentine I who started the alchemical research on antimony.

"Because antimony represents animal nature in alchemy, the refinement of antimony also signifies the refinement and ascension of animal nature.

"That is to say—if the method is correct, any mortal can ascend to divinity. This is the core belief of the people of Star Antimony."

Aiwass concluded just as the bell of the hourglass on the table rang out. The content in the book was also perfectly finished.

And upon hearing the sound of the bell, the students began to voice their complaints.

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"Ah, is it over already?"

"Professor, let Aiwass continue speaking!"

After all, the "history" Aiwass talked about was abnormally rich in filling in the details that were briefly mentioned in history books.

In this world, secrets are wealth, and knowledge is power.

The things he spoke of also involved a great deal of superficial knowledge about alchemy. For Avalon, where alchemy had only begun to rise twenty years ago, these were things that most students could not access and were curious about.

It was like those video creators who popularize niche but advanced knowledge, whose videos even those students who usually couldn't be bothered to listen to classes watched with rapt attention.

Aiwass deliberately steered towards the conflict in Paths, then shifted the focus to alchemy, exactly for this moment.

He remembered that even a top student like Senior Hayna couldn't resist the allure, although part of the reason was that she had an affinity for the Path of Transcendence and was inherently rebellious... But this also showed that despite the existence of Queen's Authorized Alchemy, it remained a deeply mysterious entity even at the Royal Law University.

So, these freshmen were naturally even less able to resist.

Aiwass himself was two months behind, the son of a professor, and had a close relationship with Hayna. This could actually cause his classmates to be distant from him.

But he knew.

Hidden among these students were a large number of side quests—although he had forgotten many of the details and triggers of those tasks, he clearly remembered the dense white question marks on the map. He also remembered the most crucial rewards.

When he first entered school in the storyline, just after skipping the opening CG, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy shit," when he saw those question marks.

In the game, as an outsider with an unclear identity and without old classmates, the player usually had to complete at least two tasks to interact with these students. The first task typically involved solving some problem or trouble to gain their trust. Facing some difficult-to-deal-with students, one might even have to complete a complex chain of tasks.

And the second, or rather the last task in a chain, was the real "mission." Completing it would yield a large amount of money, items, and books, or unlock reputations and secret shops in some areas.

Going through them one by one was just too troublesome and a waste of time.

Aiwass's entrance was so striking partly because he intended to build presence, to make his classmates remember him. He was establishing a persona of being "mysterious, gentle, and knowledgeable"... Later he would establish another persona of being "strong and helpful," essentially using his reputation to skip the initial "trust tasks."

Seeing the exceptionally friendly and affable response from his classmates in front of him, Aiwass knew that his primary task had clearly been accomplished!

It was all thanks to the assist from Senior Hayna and the professor.

With the almost "transfer student" mystery BUFF, Aiwass's maneuvers were much more effective than if he had just started school normally!