The Mage of Primordial Chaos

The old man gave a sigh, like he really didn't want to be doing this—who could blame him? Teaching a bunch of kids alchemy was about as boring as things got. Some of us here had previous knowledge on the subject, but for the most part, alchemy was a very niche expert field. The majority of the population didn't delve into it, and the craft of alchemy was mainly just reserved for the big families specializing in it.

"Now… I suppose I should start with the basics of the basics," he said. "My surname is Kun. You can juts call me Old Man Kun. No need for honorifics or anything like that… it's all pointless. First, let me see… how many of you have had previous experience in alchemy?"

Of the class, only Zhao Xiuying and about five others raised their hands. I chose not to, instead concealing my special alchemy physique as a Golden Alchemist for the time being.

"Hah… well, this is better than I expected, at the very least…" Old Man Kun muttered. "All of you, go grab a pill furnace from the sides, and place it on your desks. Today, I'll teach you the basics of alchemy."

The class did as told, some excited, others bored. Many considered alchemy to be a dull art—after all, compared to something like beast taming or outright fighting, it was true, alchemy was a lot less exciting and intense. However, the beauty of alchemy lay not in the process, but in the end result.

Once every student had a pill furnace, Old Man Kun began teaching them the basics of pill refining. Combining herbs, listening for their sound, and merging them using mana to form a single, harmonious note. However, just then, Zhao Xiuying raised her hand.

"… Listening, is not necessary, for practicing alchemy."

I blinked. What's this girl talking about?

Old Man Kun similarly appeared bewildered, but he soon narrowed his eyes at her.

"… What? How can you merge the pills together if you don't listen for their sound?"

"… Demonstration."

With that brief word, she got to work, closing her eyes and refining a basic pill with the low-grade materials and herbs provided. However, I hadn't noticed it before, but unlike my refining process, she didn't appear to be intently listening or anything. Her eyebrows were perfectly at ease, much like her mind, and she didn't even seem to be using her ears at all.

Old Man Kun noticed this as well—Xiuying was not listening for the sounds produced by each herb at all, and was instead focusing on some other attribute of the herbs that I couldn't identify.

Within seconds, she was finished—the process had been much faster, and the resulting pill was…

"What…?! A Silver Alchemist?!"

… Yep, silver.

Old Man Kun immediately ran over to Xiuying's desk and slammed his hands down on the table.

"Girl… what's your name?"

"Zhao, Xiuying."

"The Zhao Family… no wonder. But I never heard about something like this before… do you possess a special physique?"

This was the first time I'm hearing about this as well, so I listened in intently.

"A special, physique?" Zhao Xiuying frowned. "I am deaf, if that is what, you're referring, to."

"WHAT?!"

At this, Old Man Kun nearly fainted from a heart attack. I too was shocked by this response, and I grabbed her hand.

"Wait… you're deaf? How come you're able to hear us then?"

"I, can't," Zhao Xiuying replied. "Lip, reading."

"… Wait… so all this time, she's been lip reading us?" Feng Mian gasped in shock. "Just how skilled are you?!"

"… Actually, I've heard that Elves are especially talented in language-related fields like this," Qing Yue whispered. "It's not that surprising, to be honest. The fact that she's deaf, though… that's surprising."

"Being deaf, is what allows me, to perform alchemy like this," Xiuying replied, looking down at her own hands. "I do not, listen for the herbs', sounds. I feel, their auras."

Old Man Kun's eyes widened. "I see… I see! Only those who are deaf can perceive the herbs' auras, because otherwise, their bodies would instinctively be attracted towards the sounds instead! Girl, your deafness is a special physique! And not only that, you have exceptional talent for alchemy, resulting in your status as a Silver Alchemist! Hahaha, the heavens have blessed me! I may not be able to achieve the end pursuit of the Alchemic Way, but you, girl…"

Clearing his throat, Old Man Kun regained his composure and eyed Xiuying intensely.

"… Do you accept becoming my disciple?"

At these words, Zhao Xiuying blinked. Then, she turned to me and blinked again, as if requesting an answer.

"What? Don't look at me. If you want to accept, accept. Old Man Kun's a pretty good alchemist. If you become his disciple, you'll be able to learn a lot."

"But, less time, with you."

"Uh, that's…"

"… Boy."

Old Man Kun immediately turned to me, glaring hatred in his eyes. "Do not hinder this girl's alchemic progress, you hear?"

"Oh?" Now, I was a bit intrigued. Before, I didn't care, but I didn't like it when people talked to me with an attitude like that. "What are you going to do about it? She's my woman."

"Tch…" Old Man Kun gritted his teeth and stared at me for a while longer, but ultimately just sighed. "… Forget it. I too, was once in love. If she doesn't accept, then I won't push the matter further."

Saying that, he turned away, but Xiuying wasn't done causing trouble yet, it seems.

"… He is a, Golden Alchemist."

Old Man Kun stopped in his tracks, before immediately spinning around.

"This boy? He's a Golden Alchemist?!"

Xiuying gave a nod.

"Oh… ohohoho!"

Laughing out loud, the senior chuckled and folded his arms. "In that case, perfect! I'll take both of you in as my disciples. How about it? You'll just have one private lesson with me every Sunday night, that's all. If you don't have time or don't feel like coming, you don't have to either. Just treat it as a club meeting."

"…" Xiuying turned to me, and cocked her head. I looked at her in dismay, but couldn't bring myself to get mad at that innocent expression of hers.

With a sigh, I reluctantly agreed.