"Where did you see that?" Jon asked curiously, narrowing his eyes at Elara.
She frowned, thinking hard, and shook her head. "I don't remember."
Before he could press further, a third voice cut in, drawing both their attention. "Ancestral Language."
Elija, who was close enough to see Jon's notes, stared at the scribbled lines with a mix of surprise and certainty.
"Ancestral Language?" Jon repeated, turning to the elf.
"It truly is the Ancestral Language." Elija kept his gaze fixed on the notebook. "I knew I'd seen it before. Where did you learn something like this?"
Elara's eyes widened too, startled by her friend's declaration. "You know this language?!" Her voice carried disbelief as she stared at Jon, waiting for an explanation.
Jon opened his mouth, searching for a convincing answer, but he had no time to come up with one. The conversation was abruptly cut off by a cold, ironic voice.
"I see my class isn't interesting enough for the class leader."
Seraphine had stopped her lecture. Her cheerful expression was gone, replaced by her usual severe mask. The silence that filled the room was almost tangible.
"Perhaps your knowledge of alchemy is also far too great for my simple class, Jon?" The teacher's words dripped with sarcasm, stirring everyone's attention.
Rumors about the last fencing class had already spread through the Academy. It seemed Seraphine hadn't resisted the temptation to test the freshman who drew so much attention.
Jon lifted his eyes and answered calmly, unfazed by the sarcastic tone. "Just a small idea, after some inspiration your wonderful lecture gave me."
A murmur rippled through the room. For a moment, Seraphine blinked in surprise. 'What? He's really talking about alchemy?' Her initial question had only been meant to embarrass him for disrupting the class. 'He's proficient in fencing, archery, and now alchemy too? Impossible.'
Still incredulous, the elf took a few steps toward Jon's group. "Would you care to share with the class? Perhaps everyone could have an inspiration as well."
Her comment drew condescending laughter from the scattered students.
"Hahahaha..."
"This idiot thinks he's someone just because he has a bit of talent."
"If he keeps this up, every first-year instructor will put a target on him."
"The fight for leadership in three months will be easy."
The mocking laughter echoed, heavy with disdain. Jon clenched his fists under the table, holding back the irritation growing inside him.
'Prejudice in this world is like a disease. It's suffocating.'
Seraphine's eyes stayed on him, waiting for his answer in front of the entire class.
'Since these snobs asked for it, a little humiliation should do.' Jon thought, standing slowly, calm and indifferent. His classmates looked at him with malicious smiles, expecting him to stumble before the teacher. Elara watched silently, her expression attentive, while Elija bit his lip, curious to see what Jon would say.
Jon adjusted the notebook on the table, lifted his gaze, and spoke naturally. "Red Mountain Flower mixed with Tundra Cotton and Mora Tapinella is the basic recipe for a mana potion."
A murmur swept the room. Seraphine crossed her arms, studying him coldly. Jon, however, didn't seem intimidated. He continued with the same serene tone, almost as if speaking to himself.
"However... what if we add Taproot Root to the process?" He paused briefly, just enough for the students to hold their breath. "The effect wouldn't just be stronger but would also apply a buff that could increase mana reserves by... maybe twenty percent."
The classroom fell into absolute silence. The way he spoke, as if constantly calculating outcomes and predicting effects, left even the most mocking students unsettled.
'Let's see if she notices something missing.' Jon thought, hiding the essential detail only someone with the alchemical restructuring mod would know.
Seraphine, still with her arms crossed, narrowed her eyes. Her serious expression concealed her surprise. 'This isn't in any basic manual. That combination is far too unstable... but if it were true...'
Some students exchanged confused looks. Others began whispering, unsure if Jon was merely making things up or revealing something that truly surpassed common knowledge.
The atmosphere of the room had changed. The laughter and jeers had turned into tension and expectation, everyone waiting for Seraphine's response.
The elf finally uncrossed her arms and walked to the desk, each step echoing in the suffocating silence. Her blue eyes fixed on Jon like blades seeking to pierce any mask he wore.
"Interesting..." her voice came out low, laced with suspicion. "So you claim it's possible to stabilize Taproot Root in contact with Red Mountain Flower without neutralizing Mora Tapinella's effects?"
Jon only smiled, letting the doubt hang in the air.
"In fact, I feel something is missing. The explosive nature of the root's mana would destroy the recipe."
Jon stared at the beautiful elf as if trapped in a deep dilemma. The classroom's silence was nearly palpable, everyone waiting to see if he would continue. Then, slowly, he began to sit, but not before murmuring in a perfectly pitched tone, as if speaking only to himself: "Maybe this will work..."
The words echoed, and Seraphine heard them clearly. Her eyes narrowed in surprise, following every movement of the boy. 'He really understands alchemy... and even thinks of creating stronger recipes?'
Jon's comment wasn't, by itself, revolutionary. Anyone who had studied for years could reach the same conclusion about the Taproot Root's instability. But Jon was only fifteen. There hadn't been enough time in his life to accumulate such experience unless he'd dedicated every waking moment to studying ingredients, poisons, and their interactions.
And Taproot Root wasn't a common item. Besides being poisonous, it wasn't easy to find, usually restricted to veteran alchemists or noble families with their own reserves.
'Interesting.' Seraphine thought, hiding the sudden glint of curiosity in her eyes.
The elf returned to her place at the center of the room, her posture impeccable as always. In a calm voice, she resumed explaining the basic ingredient combinations as if nothing had happened. Yet her eyes betrayed her apparent indifference. From time to time, she cast subtle glances toward Jon, evaluating every detail of the boy.