When I rubbed my eyes and looked down at the status window again, the result was still the same.

[Checking Legendary-Ranked Named Monster Black Dragon Dialuria’s Unique Habit.]

[Twisted and Dangerous Love in the Dark]

[#Silly Father Complex][#Mommy is Frustrating Too]

‘What’s this?’

I became flustered because my assumption was correct, and I had a hard time understanding the situation. Smartie did seem a bit clingy, but I had never imagined she would grow up this way.

‘This…’

This was so ridiculous that I was at a loss for words. However, the fact that I had been away for so long could be the cause. I thought I loved and cherished her, but since we had been apart for a long time, it was possible that she had unlocked a strange habit thanks to that.

‘And what’s with the hashtags?’

Smartie was everything to her mom, and for her to say that about her mom would break her heart, but one thing I felt relieved about was that her nature hadn’t been decided just yet…

‘Can you change a habit that’s already been created?’

Naturally, I was worried, so all I could do was pray that a decent nature would appear. It seemed a bit late, but I had to focus all of my energy on her education.

‘I’ll change her habit if I can… and I need to pick the best and safest nature for her.’

That was how I could change this extreme situation.

I wasn’t sure if Smartie knew how I was feeling, but I knew she was being wary of her surroundings because she had her eyes wide open.

“Be nice,” I warned.

“Pant, pant!”

“You shouldn’t threaten other people,” I added.

“Kyah!”

“You can only be with me if you stay quiet. If you don’t, I’ll send you straight back to Mom. Got it?” I asked.

“Kyaaaah!”

Smartie looked dissatisfied, but I guess she didn’t want to go back to her mom because she nodded repeatedly. It was natural for her to react this way since it had been a while since we had seen each other, but she wasn’t like her usual cute self. If I had a choice, I would have sent her back to Dialugia already, but when recalling how exhausted Dialugia looked, I couldn’t do that. Controlling Smartie by somewhat threatening her like this was the best I could do, but every time female trainees walked by, she would start shaking and put her guard up. The way Smartie blinked her large eyes and snorted had to have looked cute to others because they showed interest in her, but I knew she would bite them if they got close.

When I entered the classroom while having different thoughts, I saw the trainees looking at me kind of nervously. When I took my seat, I saw them greeting me.

“Hello, Mr. Lee Ki-Young.”

“Nice to meet you all,” I greeted.

Obviously, their attitude toward me had changed compared to before. I was sure it was because of the information they had heard about me, but another reason was that the majority of them wanted alchemy to be their main job. The more they looked into it, the more they realized how unique my position was in this field. There would always be someone stronger than Cha Hee-Ra on this continent and mages more experienced in magic than Jung Ha-Yan, but from what I knew, an experienced alchemist still didn’t exist within this continent—especially among the players.

Dragon Alchemist was a unique legendary-ranked job. There may be people who have a better understanding of alchemy than me, but when it came to dragons, I was unrivaled. Basically, they once saw me as a nobody with a production-type job, but now, I was an important figure that had climbed to the top with alchemy alone. I changed their perception of alchemy because I had been selected as a seatholder for the Eight Seats, and since the trainees were focused on the class, I was sure at least one or two of them would admire me.

‘Even I think it’s kind of amazing…’

Unlike at the start of the training camp, they were writing down every word I was saying, and even Han Sora, who was sitting in the far back, was focused as if she didn’t want to miss a single piece of information. Unfortunately, I wasn’t planning on giving a lesson today.

“There’s no class today,” I announced.

“Ah…”

The trainees seemed disappointed, and despite it being alchemy experiment time, which was their favorite part of the class, I had nothing else I could teach them. It was up to them to progress from here.

“There are only three days left until the completion ceremony, and I have taught you everything I can regarding the basics. Those that have already unlocked the alchemist job will know this already, but the knowledge I gave you is a lot more than the basic knowledge that you’ll obtain upon unlocking the job,” I started.

‘Even though what I taught them was from Ramus Tucker's Introduction to Alchemy…’

There was advanced knowledge written in the epic-ranked book as well. If the trainees followed half of the lessons, no, even just a quarter, they wouldn’t have any problems making a living.

“Even if you participate in the alchemy experiment today, it won’t make that big of a difference because starting now, you’ll have to study on your own. I showed you the path up to this point, so now, it’s up to you on how you want to grow,” I continued.

A male trainee focused on my lesson asked a question.

“Then, today’s class is…”

“It’ll be kind of fun. Hm… I’ll answer any questions you have because this will probably be more helpful. You can ask any question you want,” I informed them.

“Ah!”

I saw them nodding, and even though I wasn’t sure what kind of questions they were going to ask, I was sure the majority of them were going to be academic questions. But, the first question surprised me. However, when I thought about it, it was obvious that they would ask that question.

“I-in that case, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. If it’s okay, could I ask about the creature on your back?”

I was sure the trainees were bothered by Smartie staring at them, and since I didn’t mind answering, I started talking.

“It’s a dragon.”

“Ah…”

I could hear them whispering.

“My name is Kim Min-Young, and I’m a trainee expected to join the Devil’s Guild. Um… I heard about the dragon that selected you, so is that dragon…”

“The dragon that selected me is the mother of this baby. If you go to Lindel, I’m sure you’ll see it for yourselves because there’s a large nest on the outskirts of the city. The nest is several times bigger than this training camp,” I replied.

“Wow…”

“I’d like to tell you more, but the majority of the information related to dragons is top secret. The empire is controlling the information, and there’s no reason for us to stop them. However, basic information about them has already been released to the public. Anyway, no more questions about the dragon. Any other questions?” I asked.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind me asking… about the… Mercenary Queen…”

“Yes, it’s true that we’re together,” I interrupted.

‘You call that a question?’

The one who asked was the oldest of the scummy three sisters. It seemed they had no idea just how precious this time was.

“D-Do you plan on getting more girlfriends?”

The next question was even worse. They had to be thinking that this was a question and answer session between them and their high school homeroom teacher. I wasn't sure why the three sisters were curious about that, but unfortunately, I wasn’t interested in them.

“Kyaaaah!”

Smartie had to be frustrated by their questions because she glared at them and screeched. I was kind of annoyed, but…

‘I told them they could ask anything.’

It was a sin being dumb enough not to know how precious this time was, as they had basically thrown away their chance to receive useful tips.

After giving a short answer, I waited for the next question.

“I am.”

That was when Han Sora raised her hand.

“My name is Han Sora. You… said just now that we need to study this field on our own from now on… I’d like to know exactly what you meant by that.”

“Okay.”

‘Nice.’

It was the most practical question.

“Are you asking about how you can grow?” I asked.

“It’s embarrassing to answer, but yes,” Han Sora replied.

I was sure she felt lost.

“Hm… Basically, you can think of it as joining an advanced course. Let’s say that the material we’re learning and studying right now is a car. All of you now know what a car is. You know what it looks like and what it does…” I started.

“Yes.”

“Let’s turn it into something more specialized. Yes, I said specialized. Now that you know what a car is, you just need to focus more and dig deeper and it’s up to you to decide which side you want to dig deeper into,” I continued.

“Ah…”

“Some will study the outer appearance of cars and others will study more about the engine and the internal parts. Some may even change their field of specialization because they thought about studying motorcycles. Alchemy is the same. You just need to specialize in something,” I added.

“...”

“Potions, homunculus, chimera, and catalysts are part of alchemy and of course, there are bound to be areas even I don’t know about,” I said.

“Can I ask which area you are specialized in, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“Of course. I majored in biology first. I did study other areas, but my main research started in potions and biological research. After that, I specialized in studying about dragons,” I answered.

“Ah…”

“Being a pioneer in a specific field is pretty advantageous and those that look down on alchemy are people who aren’t qualified to become alchemists. Look,” I said.

When I slowly gathered mana to my hand, there was a crackle and magic sparked out of my hand. When I snapped lightly, a pair of dragon arms started forming on both sides of the blackboard that was behind me. They were probably aware that those weren’t simple models. The size did shrink to fit the classroom, but when the arms started moving, the trainees turned pale.

“No… way…”

“Huh?”

They seemed to be in awe.

“How could… something like this… it’s not possible. How is that possible?”

‘Hard work, experience, job correction, the support of a genius mage and a devoted dragon, unlimited resources, and natural luck.’

Actually, the most important ones were the last three, but of course, I couldn’t tell them that.

“It’s kind of difficult for me to answer that question, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that what you just saw is tied to my job. You’ll find the answer if you think carefully about how alchemy isn’t just a job, but a high-ranking mage job,” I explained.

“Ah…”

“You may be able to make your crazy imaginations come to life. Some of you may be able to create a potion that’ll turn you into a superhuman after drinking it, and others might actually create a homunculus or the Sage’s Stone. Of course, there will be some who won’t understand half of the information I have given them for their lifetime, but the last question was a great question, Miss Han Sora,” I complimented.

“Th-Thank you,” she said.

“It seems like a lot of time has passed because of your useless questions, so I’ll wrap this up after saying a few words,” I announced.

“Ah…”

“You’ve done well,” I told them.

“...”

“The majority of you received offers from guilds and clans, right?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Some will join mid-sized to large guilds while others will join small clans, but it doesn’t matter because the important part is that Lindel needs all of you,” I continued.

“...”

“The reason why I started to teach here was that the city, no, the empire asked me to share some of the alchemy knowledge that I have. You’ll find the answer if you think about that. The world has changed. The empire needs alchemists, while the clans and guilds are thinking about investing more into alchemy and other production-type jobs,” I added.

“Ah…”

“All of you will become members of a project the empire has planned. I won’t tell you to stand out, but please don’t go outside and embarrass yourselves. If you don’t prove your worth, you’ll be thrown to the streets and will have to live as a beggar,” I warned.

I had no idea if they understood me or not, but the room suddenly got quiet. One thing I was sure of was that they were certainly having different thoughts.

“The reason why I taught all of you to the best of my abilities wasn’t that I liked all of you. It was because it was a national project. I’m sure you understand what I’m talking about,” I confessed.

“...”

“Don’t tarnish my name, everyone. And…” I paused.

“...”

“If you visit me when you’re having a hard time, I can at least give you some advice. Thank you for your hard work,” I informed them.