The Alchemist, still holding the bizarrely effective knife with a delicate grip, slowly turned his gaze across the courtyard. His eyes landed on Nolan—disheveled, tense, and trying his best to shrink into the background despite being the accidental star of the moment.
"You made this knife?" the Alchemist asked, his tone not accusing, but genuinely curious.
Nolan blinked. His first instinct was to deny it. But what was the point? He just gave a student a mystery weapon that solved a problem none of the Mana Knights could. Pretending would be worse.
He gave a short nod.
The Alchemist tilted his head, examining Nolan more carefully now. "Huh. It feels sloppy—but it works. Maybe you could become a Mana Alchemist too."
Nolan twitched. His eye twitched. His lip twitched. His soul twitched.
In his mind, he uppercut the man so hard he bounced off a cloud.
