Unbeknownst to Kale’s raging thoughts, Lazek started to speak once more, "In a week, you will have to finish the three foundational books of all three professions. You can ask the Librarian of the third library, and he will show you the books."

"Apart from that, you will also have to perform three experiments daily right in front of me after coming in here at dawn. But each day it will be with less time."

"I will give you two hours in total each day, within that time, you will have to perform the experiments, and after that, you can ask me about any topics that you did not understand."

Kale eventually turned away from the winged cat and nodded, "Understood..."

***

The day after --

After coming to his master’s chamber in the Fleshcraft tower at dawn, Kale said to Lazek, "Master, I’m done..."

"Done what?" Lazek was confused.

"I finished the three foundational books..." stated Kale.

Lazek’s expression turned strange, almost as if he heard it wrong, so he questioned his disciple once more, "Did I hear that correctly? You said that you finished reading all three?"

Kale nodded.

Lazek frowned, "Did the Librarian show you the wrong books? All three of those books are quite big, you know, and filled with very complicated information."

Kale agreed, "I know..."

In fact, those books were only foundational in name; in reality, their complexity was mind-boggling even for Kale himself.

"Disciple, did you just flip over the pages or something? You do know that you have to try to memorize and understand everything written in the books, not just gloss over them," said Lazek in a soft but reprimanding tone.

Kale’s expression did not change, and he stated, "Every word and page of the three books, I have memorized it all...master."

Lazek gave him a deadpan look, not believing in his words in the slightest. Kale stated in a mildly frustrated tone, "Master, you can ask me and test whether I’m lying or not."

Lazek rubbed his chin in contemplation.

He was frustrated because he did not believe in Kale’s words,

Even though Lazek himself had a very, very powerful memory. In the past, it took him a bit more than two weeks to finish reading and understanding those three books, which was already unprecedented.

Even a somewhat talented Artificer who studies a single profession might not be able to finish one of those books in a few months, let alone all three.

So, one could only imagine Lazek’s weird expression when Kale said he had memorized all three books in a single day; in fact, it was even less than 24 hours, technically speaking.

It was like giving a book on quantum physics to a high schooler, and the kid says after a few days of reading that he understands everything, while there are people who don’t understand even a fraction of it, in their entire lives.

But Lazek was not exactly displeased by Kale’s bold statements; every genius Artificer was screwed in their head one way or another. It was true even for him. Lazek snorted, "If you really managed to learn everything from those three books, then I might as well be a dumb dog."

Kale’s eyebrows twitched, ’Oh, you stupid master, you just dug your own grave, and a grave so deep that you won’t be able to come out of it so easily.’

In the end, Lazek decided to go along with Kale’s demands and asked a simple question for starters,

"In the process of Pillcrafting, what’s the other method of Pill creation apart from using the Solvane Cauldron?"

Kale answered slowly, "The other process of Pill creation is through a vacuum cauldron, which technically is not a cauldron but more like a mini chamber of complete emptiness, not even air, or any other substance."

Lazek wasn’t impressed and asked again, "For higher quality Apprentice rank pills, how many seconds maximum can items be left in the vacuum cauldron until the start of the refinement?"

"5 to 7 seconds," said Kale.

Kale saw his master’s eyes flicker in slight interest, "Weapon Core and Pill Core, how are they created...?"

He answered without a delay, "Mana Gem is melted in a special manner and into a half-liquid form, then that substance is used for coating the Beast Core with an extra layer. And depending on the type of Beast Core it is, they are either classified as Pill Core or Weapon Core."

"How long are the Mana Gems melted for each of the two..." asked Lazek, leaning forward, the interest on his face now almost visible.

Kale sighed, "For Pill Core creation from Apprentice to Grandmaster rank, it is respectively 5.6, 6.7, and 7.8 seconds.... approximately."

"And for Weapon Core creation from Apprentice to Grandmaster rank, it is respectively 4.3, 6.3, and 7.3 seconds....approximately."

Lazek’s expression turned solemn, "Which Artificers can create the Solvane Cauldron and how?"

Kale chuckled, "Solvane Cauldron’s are a type of Chimera creature which can only be created by Grandmaster rank Fleshcrafters."

"The Solvane cauldrons are made in combination of two things, one is a Carnivorous plant, and the other is the Northern Striped Bears."

"The weak digestive system of the Northern Striped Bears is implanted within the selected carnivorous plant, and the teeth of the Carnivorous plant are dulled. So, technically, they are not a complete chimera, but a chimera through implantation, not Embryonic Fusion," explained Axel with a thoughtful expression.

Which made it seem as though he was thinking to himself rather than simply answering his master’s questions.

Lazek had a stupefied look on his face as he threw more and more questions at his disciple, and only after one long hour of gruesome questioning by the Fleshcrafter, with all that could be asked from the context of the three foundational books, was Kale given a begrudging pass. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Lazek stared at his student in disbelief, "Just...how?"

Kale replied, "I have a somewhat good memory."

"Somewhat? SOMEWHAT good memory???? If that is called somewhat good memory, then no one in this world will dare to say that they have a good memory. Are you bullshitting me, kid?" Lazek almost shouted in frustration at his diabolical student.

Kale coughed in embarrassment, "Though I have memorized most of it, there’s still much I don’t understand, and until I see those things in practice, I won’t understand them properly."

The Fleshcraft Master’s eyebrows twitched. The kid was saying that out of politeness, so that Lazek would not have to accept himself as a dog, as he had previously stated.

The fleshcrafter could only sigh in defeat. Just from the countless complex questions he had asked Kale, it was obvious to him that even if Kale did not understand all of it.

80% of the things were already clear to his disciple.

But if only Lazek knew that his student had not finished merely three books in one night. Rather, the number was actually 30...

Though what Kale said about not understanding many of the concepts was indeed true.

No matter how detailed the explanations in the books were, his semi-photographic memory could not help him intuitively grasp the subtleties unless he himself saw and tried those experiments.

Lazek closed his eyes, his body sinking onto the chair. He rubbed his eyelids, his mind going blank at the sheer possibility of all the things that can be. He remained unmoving for a whole minute or so, until his eyes opened once more with a resolute look.

Looking at his disciple in the eye, he stated, "About 6 days after, there will be a gathering of all the students of the Grandmaster Rank Artificers. Alongside all the Grandmasters, I initially did not want you to attend there, but I’ve changed my mind."

"That gathering will be like a small unofficial comparison of sorts, where the Grandmasters will each ask a bunch of questions to all the gathered disciples of their own. It’s a way of determining who got the better disciple. I want you to go there and not hold back on your knowledge."

"Because the more you show your capability to everyone, the more resources and knowledge you will be privy to...." stated Lazek in a solemn tone.

Kale thought about it for a moment and agreed, "I can do that..."

His master chuckled as he stood up, going towards the section of the chamber that was filled with advanced equipment.

He said, "Disciple, you’re one hell of a monster, with such overwhelming talent, I refuse to believe that we can’t find a way to break your damned curse. I would let myself down if I let your talents go to waste."

Kale followed behind his master expressionlessly.

The man voiced, "Now perform the three experiments right in front of me and let me see how well you can actually use that knowledge instead of just being able to speak of it."

"I will help you correct your mistakes and give you ideas on how you can improve on the points that you are lacking in..." said Lazek Oberon in a sagely voice.