Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  “Lars Brown, you’ve been admitted to the Crafts Department!” an admissions staff member said.

  “But, I applied for the Department of Alchemy, and I got great results on my written test!” Lars couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

  “I am sorry to tell you that you don’t have the gifts needed to be an alchemist!” The reply was cold.

  Lars stood outside Wisteria Alchemy College, stunned. He did not leave until late that night. Although he was successfully enrolled in Wisteria Alchemy College, Lars was upset by the fact that he could not become an alchemist.

  Ever since his childhood, Lars had been deeply influenced by his father and had aspired to become an alchemist. He became familiar with the existence of alchemists early on, and he showed great talent for designing various alchemy props in particular.

  When Lars was twelve or thirteen years old, he manufactured small hot air balloons that flew hundreds of meters high. He also made exquisite clocks and watches. He could even understand the designs of various complex alchemy items and props!

  At the age of fourteen, Lars personally designed and built a windmill in the suburbs, the same model which was now springing up everywhere in the Sean City-State Alliance!

  This idea of Lars’ had been birthed from nature’s great inspiration. In fact, he believed that as long as he could borrow the power of nature, he could do anything he wanted!

  Just when he decided to enter Wisteria Alchemy College in Finnlitt and become an alchemist, he found himself unable to cross the threshold.

  This was because he suffered one of the greatest blows of his life. Though he was young and ambitious, he was told that he was not gifted enough to become an alchemist.

  After he journeyed back home in defeat, his father met him at the door. After a long time of silence, Lars’ father clapped his son on the back and said, “The Crafts Department is also good. Later, you can take over my workshop and become its owner.”


  Lars shook off his father’s hand and shouted angrily at him, “But that’s not what I want. I have a different dream than you, father! I will be an alchemist! Certainly!”


  His father slapped Lars hard across the face and said, “Wake up, you don’t have that kind of talent! Do you think I never had that same dream? No talent is no talent!”


  Lars’ father, who also graduated from the Department of Crafts, had opened a small watch workshop in Finnlit, becoming a businessman and earning some wealth and fame. According to his father’s plan, Lars would become a wealthy second-generation watchmaker in Finnlitt, eventually taking over his father’s workshop. But, Lars refused to follow in his father’s same footsteps.

  The next day, Lars snuck away quietly with his suitcase. On the bank of the Pegasus River, he took a boat to Tephis, where the legendary Akkad Alchemy College was located.

  When he arrived, Lars was shocked by everything in Tephis! Outside the city, he saw all kinds of windmills, and there were various hydraulic spinning workshops, all of which opened Lars’ eyes to new and exciting possibilities.

  After entering the city, Lars saw so many alchemists! He also saw fantastic alchemy workshops that produced all kinds of alchemy props and tools. Seeing the vast collection of the latest guns, alchemy cannons, mechanical pulley crossbows, music boxes, hot-air balloon airships in the manufacturing stages, new shipyards and so on, were truly overwhelming!

  There were also a lot of water towers in Tephis. So, if the residents wanted water, they only needed a water pipe to get it!

  The layout of the city was also very modern and trendy, and there were several horse-drawn carriages in use on the streets. Lars could clearly see how these alchemy items, which looked very simple in design, were changing the world bit by bit!

  Alchemists can really change the world!

  Only once he arrived here did Lars really begin to understand and fall in love with the city. Although the city did not have the artistic atmosphere and romance of Finnlit, Lars was deeply moved by it, especially because it seemed to promote innovation and growth!

  At the square at the entrance of Akkad Alchemy College stood a statue of the great alchemist Akkad. A line of letters was carved on the stone at the foot of the statue, which read: Knowledge changes the world!

  As Lars stood in front of the statue, his eyes grew brighter. “Knowledge changes the world!” he read aloud.

  Lars then entered Akkad Alchemy College, attended an open class, and met his childhood idol, Ms. Marina. His greatest dream was to become one of her students.

  Here he saw what a real alchemist should be. He also learned about the highest attainments in alchemy, the mechanical alchemical lifeform, Archimonde, and the second generation alchemy table.

  Lars passed the entrance examination again, but was still told that he was not gifted enough to become an alchemist, so he was admitted to the Mechanical Manufacturing Department instead. Machinery was a tool that was used to help people reduce the difficulty of work, thus saving on labor.

  Chopsticks, brooms, and tweezers were all good examples of this. These were simple machines, while complex machines consisted of two or more simple machines operating together.

  Lars eventually decided to study here. So, instead of becoming a great alchemist, he would become a mechanical apprentice.

  Although he acquired the most advanced knowledge in Akkad Alchemy College, he could only learn how to make machinery, glass, clocks and watches, how to smelt iron and how to design ships. His studies were also limited to some basic disciplines such as mathematics, geometry, and so on.

  When it came to the specific knowledge that was related to alchemy, Lars could only touch lightly on it via public lectures. As for the specifics regarding how the alchemists meditate, the study of witchcraft, and the manufacturing of witchcraft materials, that was only circulated within the alchemists’ inner circle.

  Thus, even if Lars graduated from Akkad Alchemy College after several years of study, he still could only enter some workshops as a manufacturer. Even though he had a salary that ordinary people envied, he still could only teach ordinary workers all day long, as well as make some tools, like ordinary glass crafts, spinning machines, new carriages and so on.

  This was because advanced crafts like the production of special metals, new guns, alchemy cannons and special materials would need alchemists’ expertise. Especially when it came to the design of various alchemy products, a lot of money and time must be spent.

  As such, expert designers were recruited by these big workshops, all of whom must be alchemists or apprentices. Moreover, only alchemists could enter state and city research institutes.