The Value of Things Varies from Person to Person

“Eh.”

A condition?

No wonder it looked like such a high-end item.

“Yeah. A condition. I picked this one after a lot of deliberation at the capital’s magic tool shop, too, you know?”

It did look good.

If you asked whether I wanted it, the answer was an emphatic yes.

Artifacts like that weren’t common.

In modern times, even potion bottles were trading at extremely high prices.

Hardly any companies could make them, and most were just reused potion bottles from the tower or the abyss.

“What’s the condition?”

“Come to our lab, pick a topic related to potionology, and research all day…”

“Goodbye!! Ughk.”

I immediately turned to flee, but she grabbed me by the nape of the neck.

Isabel’s staff was glowing.

“Ahaha, no need for that. What would I even make a beginner like you do?”

Was she joking?

“But what would you have done if I’d said I wanted to join?”

“Then we’d let you in and start with training, of course. There are actually quite a lot of second-years.”

So you were just testing me.

Scary. So scary.

“Anyway, there’s only one thing you need to do with me. Go to the western forest and fill some mana test tubes.”

“…Huh?”

Wasn’t that an extremely easy condition?

If I went with Isabel, I wouldn’t get scolded.

“Of course, we’ll be using the equipment I’m giving you now.”

“Whaaat!? Professor Karnaroff said that place was dangerous...”

“Hm? It’s fine. At my level, I can harvest mana there without it noticing me.”

I wouldn’t mind if it noticed me, though.

“Then I’m unnecessary?”

Honestly, it seemed like Isabel alone would be enough.

“Not quite. If I do it alone, there are a lot of things I have to worry about. And.”

“And?”

“It’s also so I can teach you how to condense natural mana in a test tube.”

Ah.

So it was basically an extra lesson from Karnaroff.

I thought I was being kidnapped to the lab.

“All right then. When should we go?”

“Right now!”

“Eh?”

* * *

It was my first time visiting the western forest during the day.

At night, it was a forest so mystical it couldn’t even be compared to the eastern forest.

But in the daytime, it looked similar to the eastern forest.

I followed Isabel around with the set she’d given me.

I couldn’t use my inventory in front of Isabel, so even though it was heavy, I had no choice but to carry it.

“Hmm? No beasts are showing up. Normally, if I hide my mana, they should come out...”

“Yeah.”

Probably thanks to Adrian.

The magical beasts in this school would quietly avoid me when they saw me.

Even beasts that looked stronger than me did the same.

“Well, it’s convenient and nice enough, so whatever.”

And so we arrived at the spot.

This place had quite a concentration of natural mana, even within the western forest.

Of course, the clearing where I’d drunk with Adrian last time was the best spot for gathering mana.

But that place was Adrian’s territory.

“So, how do you gather mana?”

“Could you take out a test tube?”

I took out a test tube from the leather packet I’d been given.

“This is the magic circle that gathers mana.”

She pointed at the magic circle and explained each part one by one.

“The runes of absorption, compression, and amplification. You learned these from Karnaroff, right?”

“Yep.”

“Then do you know how to activate a magic circle drawn on a physical object?”

“I wasn’t taught that.”

“So you didn’t get that far. It’s actually pretty similar to ordinary magic.”

Isabel picked up a test tube.

A magic circle for gathering mana was engraved on it.

It was definitely a more complicated magic circle than the one I’d picked up.

“The difference is whether you pour mana into a wand or into the drawn magic circle.”

Isabel gripped the test tube with her characteristic hand motion, then pointed to the start of the magic circle with the tip of her fingernail.

“This time, hold the test tube between your index and middle fingers, and press the drawn magic circle with your thumb.”

I activated the magic circle that way.

Pouring mana into the magic circle drawn on a glass test tube required far more concentration than I’d expected.

If I made even the slightest mistake, it felt like the test tube would crack.

“Mm. Good. Just like that.”

After a little time passed, the magic circle began greedily sucking up the surrounding natural mana.

And the liquefied natural mana slowly began to fill it.

After a few minutes, the test tube was filled with quite a bit of mana.

“When it’s about eighty percent full, close the stopper right away.”

Following Isabel’s instructions, I closed the cork stopper.

That filled one test tube.

“You don’t get many chances to enter the western forest, so fill them all while you can! It’s not a place you can usually come to.”

“Uh... yeah. I should.”

I filled the rest of the test tubes.

After filling all the test tubes, I looked over at Isabel, who was also concentrating as she filled hers with mana.

“Huh? You’re done?”

“Yep.”

I had filled all the test tubes with mana.

It was time to go back now.

On the way back, I asked Isabel.

“But how do you get the other ingredients?”

“Hm?”

“Mana potions.”

“Honestly, whether it’s mana potions or stamina potions, mana is the most important part... and the other ingredients should be available at the School Market.”

So it was the School Market again...

I should stock up on a lot of silver coins.

Looks like it’s about time to put ‘that’ on the market!

But that would only be when I ran out of materials.

“Can mana test tubes be filled in the eastern forest too?”

“You can, but... the animals get in the way there, and above all, the mana density is far too low.”

Though she said that, compared to modern mountains, the mana density in the eastern forest was actually much higher.

It was the western forest’s density that was absurd.

Still, I’d get scolded if I went into the western forest.

Both Karnaroff and Aris.

“To fill all of your test tubes... you’d need to spend at least a full day on it.”

Mm.

I’ll just go and get scolded.

They say it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

“And the western forest has very high natural mana purity. It also lowers the chance of potion failure.”

“Why?”

“Because a dragon lives there.”

Ah.

When it comes to mana, dragons do come to mind.

“In fact, Reinhart-made mana test tubes sell for a very high price.”

Hm.

Looks like there’s a profit angle here too.

In truth, potions were more valuable in modern times.

The recipe for mana potions was monopolized by a few companies.

And stamina potions cost whatever the seller asked.

Then I should make potions and sell them in the modern world, and fill mana test tubes to sell here.

“Though if we’re being honest, the best of all is dragon mana.”

Isabel said casually, lacing her fingers behind her head.

“Can you make potions with that too?”

Doesn’t that count as the dragon’s own mana?

“A dragon’s own mana has properties identical to natural mana. If you make potions with it, the grade can jump at least one or two tiers without any side effects.”

“Well, it’s an incredibly hard material for humans like us to obtain.”

“Why?”

“I hear the elder dragons manage it very strictly through trials.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t pass the trial, you can’t even get any of it. Of course, if they do give it, they give quite a lot at once.”

Isabel sighed.

“Ahhh, I’d love to do research while using dragon mana at my leisure too.”

“I see.”

“Ah, but your talent is impressive, so maybe you’ll get a chance to undergo a dragon’s trial someday.”

A trial, huh.

I didn’t need anything like that.

‘Ah, maybe chugging liquor was a trial too?’

Hmm.

I do have one, though.

Should I make one?

Dragon mana test tube.

* * *

—Zzz...

In the middle of an ordinary day.

I was sleeping lazily as usual under the sunlight.

So warm...

Then, someone’s voice came to me.

“Yumia, Student Yumia!”

“Huh, huhng?”

“Do you even intend to respect the history of our empire!?”

“Pardon?”

“You really lack the basics. As expected of a commoner... minus three points.”

Georgia, the Imperial History professor, clicked her tongue and returned to her seat.

It just seemed like she didn’t like me.

In truth, she didn’t seem to have had a very good opinion of me or the commoner-born students to begin with.

Since I didn’t attend class at all, I was probably singled out.

But after the werewolf incident, she’d been showing obvious signs of hostility.

But I’d prepared a countermeasure this time too.

After class ended, I planted a bean beneath the spot Professor Georgia would step.

Along with a very fragile ordinary test tube containing condensed natural mana.

And then Professor Georgia stepped on the spot where the test tube was.

—Crack.

She tripped and fell over from the mound that suddenly popped up.

“Kraaagh! W-what is this?”

“Puhuhu.”

“That’s what happens when you bully other people.”

Aris had said that Professor Georgia had once harshly berated a commoner student over something trivial.

She’d also told me that Professor Georgia was a parachuted appointment belonging to the noble faction.

Come to think of it, if she were really professor caliber, there was no way she wouldn’t notice a trap like that.

If it had been Karnaroff, he would’ve hunted me down and punished me instead.

Anyway, I was living an ordinary, if happy, everyday life.

Though I think I’d have been twice as happy if there were no assignments.

Even so, time passed pretty quickly.

The cold that had occasionally hinted at winter’s presence vanished without a trace.

At repair class, Karnaroff gave his usual ominous smile.

“Now then, everyone. Starting next week, midterm exams begin.”

The midterm season had begun.