Without a gifted magic apprentice, magical attainments can never be improved. No matter how rich his knowledge is, he can only be a weak law scholar at best. However, unlike the profession of a magician, an alchemy apprentice with a lot of knowledge has no problem becoming a full-fledged alchemist as long as he is willing to work hard. Talent for an alchemist is only the determination of whether he can become a master figure.

This shows why it is difficult for civilians to enter the alchemy branch to study. Because there are very few literate people among the common people, and even fewer people can learn the basics of alchemy on their own. On the contrary, wealthy children come from well-to-do families who not only have the opportunity to receive literacy education at an early age, but also whose families can afford to buy enough books for their children to read and learn.

When Catherine was at the Royal Academy, she often had the opportunity to meet Master Griggs. Because this master often came to visit his teacher Quisling. So Griggs is also familiar with Catherine, and occasionally chats with Catherine on the academic side.

Alchemists are usually naturalists, and what distinguishes them from magicians in their knowledge structure lies in its breadth. The disciplines that magicians focus on tend to focus on one aspect, such as ancient elves, history, magic circles, elementology, theology, and so on. Emphatically, alchemists are more concerned with specific material properties. Of course, there are naturalists among magicians, and there are also scholars who specialize in a certain aspect of research among alchemists, and the two sides are not entirely separate.

Catherine was interested in alchemy, so she learned a lot about the basics of alchemy. However, this is not unrelated to her mercenary group career, and it is necessary to be adventurous and well-informed. After the female mage established the mercenary group, she once returned to the Royal Academy during her vacation and listened to a few lessons from Master Griggs in the Alchemy Academy.

This is thanks to the two masters, Gisling and Griggs, for their preference for her, in general. Scholars or students from other disciplines are not so easy to enter the Academy of Alchemy.

Master Griggs, who was sitting by the fireplace, always facing the firelight, raised his hand over his shoulder and beckoned Catherine to come and sit down. The mage hesitated for a moment before walking over. "I'd like to see. What other tricks can you think of? She thought to herself, the Demon King would not hurt herself. This is already a foregone conclusion.

Griggs' face is bronzed, stiff and expressionless, and he speaks as if wearing a mask. "Tell me, child, why are you here?" he asked the female mage sitting beside him.

Catherine stared at the archcarcist, making sure that his appearance matched her memory. The female mage said, "Master, maybe you should tell me first. Why are you here? It's a soul illusion, it's made from my memories. Truth be told, you shouldn't be here. I doubt that you are not Master Griggs himself at all. There's a bastard who's been around me all the time. ”

"What a blunt child. Griggs glanced over at Catherine. He probably wanted to smile, but his expression didn't change, "Soul Illusion, well, that's what happened. Rest assured. I'm not the bastard you say. You really should be grateful to Quisling, he really loves and protects you, the only female disciple. I'll give you this thing first, it's called the Soul Cube. ”

Griggs held out his hand, and a square appeared in his hand that was constantly changing with light and dark luster. Catherine saw in the square. A flame jumps from time to time, and occasionally it can be seen taking the form of a small bird.

"Don't be afraid, it's your stuff. Griggs sent the Soul Cube to Catherine and motioned for her to take it, "The Soul Cube is a secret magic item developed by the Academy for the kingdom, and I am the head of the research team. Of course, its development is not yet complete, and at the moment there are only a few samples. ”

Catherine took the Soul Cube with suspicion. "What's the use of that?"

"Very useful. "Like so I can communicate with you here, and like protect your soul." ”

"At the beginning, when this Rubik's Cube was first developed, someone needed to do the functional test. Your teacher then suggested that you be one of the testers. Griggs began to tell the origin of the Soul Cube, "Tests are usually dangerous, so we implant it deep in your soul without your knowledge. ”

Hearing this, the corners of Catherine's mouth twitched slightly.

"Don't think Quisling is putting you in danger. Griggs apparently noticed Catherine's small emotions, "The so-called danger is about as great as the probability of the collapse of my alchemy research institute. If it weren't for the danger of experimentation, you wouldn't have had a chance to apply for a place in this test. ”

"By the way, I don't have much time to stay here. When the fire in the fireplace goes out, I'll get out of here. Catherine looked at the fire, and it was a little weaker.

Seeing Catherine nodding, Master Griggs said again: "This Soul Cube is not a finished product, and its activation conditions are very harsh. I'm sorry I didn't meet you until today. Quisling has been worried ever since he found out that you were heading to the Doden Mountains. However, as long as the Soul Cube is not activated, it means that you are not in real danger. If you have anything you want me to tell him, tell me now. ”

Catherine's mind was still in doubt, and she still wondered if Griggs in front of her was real or fake. When will the kingdom be able to develop magical items for the soul?The mysteries of the soul are not accessible to humans, not only because of the difficulty, but also because they are taboo. In the canon of the church, it is written, "The soul is sacred and solemn, and no mortal shall desecrate." Souls cannot be used for magical research, and there is a consensus among the major magic schools and religious churches.

"If I understand correctly, this is a magical item that acts on the soul. Wouldn't the church take care of making such a thing?' 'Thou shalt not blaspheme the soul,' which is what the canon says. Catherine asked.

"It's impossible for the church to know about it. As for the study of the soul, in fact, neither the religious church nor the major colleges have stopped. Of course, this realm is called the realm of the gods, and it is really difficult for us mortals to touch. Griggs patiently explained, "The soul is not an inscrutable thing, though. Dragons are able to use so-called soul magic, such as dragon pupil burning. As we often call the undead, they are essentially embodied souls. After conducting academic exchanges with the Western Continent, we learned that the Dead Realm is a strange country with soul bodies as the main composition. Moreover, in the realm of the dead, the undead are only a part, and there are many different forms of soul bodies. Another example is the celestial paradise that the church often says, where people go when they die. In fact, some studies have shown that it is a soul body region similar to the Death Realm, but it is difficult for us to go there. ”