CH 65

Chapter 65: Renting an Alchemy Room

Xiao Qinglan's situation was completely ignored by Xiao Qingyang. Although he had taken over the original owner's body and had the intention of seeking revenge for the original owner, his current strength was still not powerful enough. Until he became stronger, he would bide his time and wouldn't actively seek trouble with the Xiao family. Otherwise, before the original owner's revenge was fulfilled, he might end up getting implicated as well.

Growing up in a cultivation world where the strong were respected, Xiao Qingyang had always been self-aware and knew how to prioritize self-preservation.

These days, Xiao Qingyang's life was relatively smooth. Except for some subjects that required a strong foundation in this world's knowledge, such as physics and chemistry, which he found quite challenging, he didn't have many troubles to deal with.

Since everyone was still freshmen, even though many students had already been exposed to alchemy-related knowledge at home, the teachers still started from the simplest basics to ensure everyone's foundation was solid.

Therefore, the courses in these days were all about the most basic and simple knowledge, with almost no specialized knowledge related to alchemy. However, Xiao Qingyang still listened attentively in every class.

During the initial days at the academy, Xiao Qingyang familiarized himself with the surrounding environment, the classroom atmosphere, and the knowledge. He hadn't spent much time on alchemy and his remaining star coins were not much either.

Although he had a considerable amount of spirit plants and ingredients with him, there weren't many places where he needed to spend money temporarily. However, it didn't feel good to have no money on hand.

Therefore, Xiao Qingyang decided to continue refining potions and sell them on the Star Network. After all, it was one of the ways to make money, and he couldn't give it up.

But he didn't know where to go for alchemy. The dormitory was definitely not an option.

Although his success rate was high now, there were still occasional failures. If he accidentally blew up the dormitory, he would have nowhere to live.

After all, there wouldn't be an old butler or a robot here to tidy up his room.

"I feel so frustrated," Xiao Qingyang sat on the sofa with a furrowed brow, feeling troubled.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully you? Tell me who it is, and I'll go beat them up for you," Xu Kaiyang immediately showed concern as he saw Xiao Qingyang sitting on the sofa with a troubled expression.

Xiao Qingyang shook his head and said, "No, I just want to find a place to practice making potions, but I don't know where would be a good place."

Upon hearing this, Xu Kaiyang immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought it was something serious. What's the big deal? Doesn't your School of Spiritual Medicine have a Pharmacist Tower? You can go there."

"The Pharmacist Building?" Xiao Qingyang looked at Xu Kaiyang in confusion.

Although students who were admitted to the Royal Military Academy were familiar with most of the facilities in the academy, Xiao Qingyang was an outsider and had no knowledge of this.

"It's a building specifically designed for professional students like you to practice making potions. It has well-equipped alchemy rooms that are said to be very sturdy. It won't collapse even if there are multiple explosions," Xu Kaiyang explained.

It was common for explosions to occur during the alchemy process, and even students from other majors were aware of it. After all, if potions were that easy to succeed, they wouldn't be as precious and rare as they were now.

"That's great!" Xiao Qingyang happily responded.

If there was a dedicated alchemy room provided for students, he wouldn't have to worry about not having a place to refine potions, and no one would discover how many he was producing.

After studying for some time, Xiao Qingyang had a preliminary understanding of the success rate and overall quantity of potion production in this world. In any case, he was certain that his production was much less compared to others.

If he didn't conceal his abilities, his performance would surely attract attention and covetousness from many people.

Xiao Qingyang himself wasn't someone who sought attention, and he understood the principle of "a tall tree attracts the wind."

Therefore, before becoming strong enough, it was better for him to conceal as much as possible and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Although the freshmen's courses were more intensive compared to other years, it wasn't a day filled with classes. The teachers highly valued the students' practical skills and self-study abilities, so they had plenty of time for self-study.

On this day, there was only a morning class. After class, Xiao Qingyang decided to rent an alchemy room in the Pharmacist building to refine potions.

Calculating the time, it had been almost half a month since his last batch. He wondered if the customers had already decided to abandon him.

Now he relied on his online store to support himself.

He took out the academy map he received on the day of enrollment and located the building. Xiao Qingyang then headed towards the tower.

There weren't many people coming in and out of the pharmacist building, mostly senior students. Freshmen like Xiao Qingyang were scarce.

"Hello, is there any alchemy room available for rent?" Xiao Qingyang walked up to the front desk and politely asked.

"Yes, may I ask which level of alchemy room you would like to rent?" The front desk attendant replied with a smile.

Everyone who came here was either an alchemist or a future alchemist, and they were people who couldn't be offended.

"What are the options?" Xiao Qingyang asked, as he wasn't familiar with the different levels.

The front desk attendant patiently explained, "Our alchemy rooms are divided into five levels, each capable of withstanding different levels of explosion impact during potion refining. It is recommended to rent an alchemy room corresponding to the level of potions you are making. Level one alchemy rooms are suitable for refining gradeless potions, level two alchemy rooms are suitable for refining basic potions, level three alchemy rooms are suitable for refining intermediate potions, level four alchemy rooms are suitable for refining advanced potions, and level five alchemy rooms can withstand the impact of explosions from holy-grade potions."

"Of course, the rental fees for alchemy rooms of different levels are also different. Level one alchemy rooms cost ten star coins per day, level two alchemy rooms cost twenty star coins, and the cost doubles with each increase in level," the front desk attendant continued to explain. "So, may I ask which level of alchemy room you would like to rent?"

Xiao Qingyang pondered for a moment. The highest level of potion he could currently make was grade one, and he only knew how to make one type of healing potion. He was still researching others, and he didn't have many star coins left. It was truly a...sad situation.

"Let's go with a level two alchemy room," Xiao Qingyang finally decided.

Although level two alchemy rooms were more expensive than level one, the selling price of his basic healing potion was much higher than gradeless potions. It was more cost-effective to refine basic potions.

The front desk attendant asked, "How long would you like to rent it for?"

"Just one day," Xiao Qingyang held up one finger and said.

The front desk attendant was momentarily stunned. Clearly, they hadn't expected the customer to only rent it for a day.

You see, their alchemy rooms were in high demand, especially the lower-level ones. They were affordable and practical since the potions made by the alchemists in the academy weren't of high grade. Using lower-level alchemy rooms was sufficient.

Only when all the lower-level alchemy rooms were rented out would people consider renting the higher-level ones.

Moreover, the alchemists who could attend the Royal Military Academy were generally well-off, and some even rented alchemy rooms on an annual basis.

Xiao Qingyang was lucky this time. Just now, a senior student had canceled their rental, freeing up this level two alchemy room. If he had missed this opportunity, he might not have such good luck next time.

The front desk attendant explained the situation to Xiao Qingyang, and he respected the student's choice. After all, they didn't lack tenants here.

Xiao Qingyang didn't expect the alchemy rooms to be in such high demand.

He opened the terminal and checked his star coin account. Apart from paying the tuition fee at the beginning of the semester, he only had a four-digit number left.

A level two alchemy room cost twenty star coins per day, which amounted to six hundred star coins for a month. Currently, he didn't have any daily expenses, and he could have his meals prepared by Xiaotian in the dormitory. The ingredients were available in the spatial button. So paying for the rental fee shouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, if needed, he could produce and sell more potions within the month. The money would quickly come back to him.

After careful consideration, Xiao Qingyang paid the rent for a month and rented a level two alchemy room.

The front desk quickly completed the rental procedure for Xiao Qingyang and requested him to present his student badge. From now on, whenever he wanted to use the alchemy room, he would only need to swipe the badge.

However, when the front desk was entering the badge information, they discovered that Xiao Qingyang was actually a freshman. They were momentarily surprised but quickly regained their composure.

There were few freshmen who came here to rent alchemy rooms, but it wasn't unheard of. Any freshman who could come here to refine potions successfully was undoubtedly an outstanding individual in this field. Such people should be befriended and nurtured.

"The procedures are complete. Please follow our staff member; they will take you to the alchemy room," the front desk attendant's service attitude improved.

But Xiao Qingyang didn't have the energy to notice these details. His entire attention was now focused on the star coin account on the terminal, which now only had a three-digit balance.

He had to work hard to refine potions and earn money; otherwise, he would truly be left with nothing.

"Please come this way. This is the alchemy room you rented." The staff member led Xiao Qingyang to a room on the fifth floor and respectfully left.

Xiao Qingyang held the badge in front of the badge reader on the left side of the alchemy room's entrance. The door to the alchemy room opened.

The interior of the alchemy room was completely different from the outside.

From the outside, the entire pharmacist building looked like an ordinary building, except that it occupied a larger area and was taller than other buildings. The higher the floor, the higher the level of the alchemy rooms.

But the inside of the alchemy room was different from the rooms in an ordinary building because these alchemy rooms had no windows.

The walls of the alchemy room were all around, but they weren't all white. They were adorned with colorful patterns, probably to prevent aesthetic fatigue for those who spent long hours inside.

Although there were no windows, the alchemy room was spacious and bright, without a hint of claustrophobia or oppression.

Besides, once an alchemist immersed themselves in the process of refining potions, they rarely paid attention to the outside world. So, the absence of windows wasn't a concern for them. After all, everyone came here to practice potion-making, not for leisure.

When the door to the alchemy room closed, it became incredibly quiet inside. No sound from the outside could be heard. This demonstrated the effectiveness of sound insulation, preventing external noise from disturbing the pharmacist during the refining process.

Moreover, unless the alchemist opened the door from the inside, no one from outside could enter, no matter what.

Xiao Qingyang was quite satisfied with this type of alchemy environment.

He didn't have any spare time now. Apart from attending classes, he also needed to practice and refine potions. He had very little time left for potion-making, so he had to make every second count.