The Alchemist Association's press conference was nothing like Drew had imagined.
First, they made an announcement to the general public—in other words, the Alchemist Association's internal system notified everyone that another master alchemist had emerged. Then came the event for the upper circles, which Drew felt was more like a birthday party.
The Alchemist Association hosted a banquet, and people and organizations from the upper circles came with gifts.
The gifts were all items only found among the upper circles, mostly medicinal herbs.
It seemed that many of them knew Drew's area of expertise and had come specifically to build ties with him.
During the banquet, President Pierre introduced Drew to everyone.
Drew spent the time chatting with the people who came to meet him. Just then, the senior mage Cesar Menotti, vice dean of the Royal Mage Academy's School of Ice Magic, came over as its representative.
"Master Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm Cesar Menotti, vice dean of the Royal Mage Academy's School of Ice Magic.
"Congratulations on becoming a master alchemist and joining our circle.
"And besides, we're colleagues."
"Oh, you're an alchemist too?"
"No, no. We're in the same line of work, just a different field. I heard you started an academy. Doesn't that make us colleagues?"
"It's just a small venture. I didn't expect word to reach you. You flatter me."
"Master Drew, you're too modest.
"Your academy may be small, but it's become quite well-known lately.
"Your students have been making quite a splash." Dean Cesar Menotti praised him.
"Oh? What have they done?" someone nearby asked.
"They've only been at Master Drew's academy for three months.
"They've practically been transformed. Many have made major breakthroughs, and some have even caught the eye of a court archmage and become his disciples..." Cesar Menotti gave everyone a detailed account of how the students had been before and how they were now.
From what he heard, several of the academy's noble students had returned home and broken through their existing levels.
This lent further credence to the rumor that Joseph had advanced by using a special method.
Drew guessed that after learning so much, those noble students had realized that magic runes weren't as difficult as they had once seemed. When they gave them a try, they advanced just as smoothly as Joseph had.
Well, that was one heck of an advertisement for the academy.
Drew also heard news about the old mages.
None of them had advanced, which disappointed him.
After all, whatever was preventing them from advancing might not be the same problem Joseph had faced.
But once they had finished their studies, they all claimed that their understanding of magic had improved considerably.
At first, no one believed them. They assumed the old mages were just bragging. Then one of them felt he had made great progress and challenged an old rival. The two had always been evenly matched.
But this time, the old mage's deeper understanding—especially his grasp of magic runes—had greatly increased his casting speed.
In battle, he thoroughly dominated his old rival and defeated him with ease.
Many people had witnessed the duel, and the news spread quickly. After that, more people believed their claims.
When they heard that three months of study could improve their strength even if they didn't advance, many more people became interested.
Then there was Thomas.
Thomas had advanced too, becoming an intermediate mage at such a young age.
His circle had been limited, and few people knew of his talent. Now, thanks to his noble classmates at the academy, word of it had spread.
All at once, people started currying favor with him. It also got around that his mentor had died and he was currently without a teacher, so several senior and even master-level mages came to recruit him as a disciple.
In the end, he chose a court archmage as his mentor. Hearing this, Drew couldn't help sighing.
He'd had his eye on Thomas and wanted to take him in. But someone else had snatched him away.
"Oh? Which court archmage took him on?" Drew asked.
"I think his name was Nielas Aran," Dean Cesar Menotti replied.
Drew froze at the name. It sounded familiar.
Wasn't that the name of Medivh's father, the strongest human mage and an archmage of the astral plane?
As far as he remembered, Medivh's father had indeed served as a court mage in Stormwind City. Did that mean the kid Thomas was going to become Archmage Medivh's senior? (Medivh probably hadn't been born yet.)
"Archmage Nielas Aran! The fellow's certainly blessed with good fortune," someone said enviously.
It seemed Medivh's father was already quite famous.
But from Karen's memories, Drew didn't know much about him. He'd only learned of him through the game, after all.
By the game's timeline, Nielas was long dead, and all that remained was the Shade of Aran Medivh had left in Karazhan Tower.
Now he could ask around and find out more.
"Is Archmage Nielas Aran famous?" Drew asked.
"Yes. Archmage Nielas Aran is an exceptionally talented archmage. He was born into a noble family.
"He's immensely gifted, too. At just thirty, he's already become a master-level mage.
"Among the court's master mages, a group of men with white hair and beards, he stands out like a crane among chickens.
"And he's handsome and wealthy, the dream man of every young woman in Stormwind City." Someone sang his praises.
"So he's still single? No wife or children?" Drew asked.
"How could the dream man of every young woman in Stormwind City be married? That's right, he's still single."
Drew thought that Guardian Aegwynn hadn't approached him yet.
That meant Archmage Medivh wasn't even a single cell at this point.
Should he try to make contact? The man was famous, after all.
Drew thought it over and decided against it. Aegwynn would be arriving soon.
Aegwynn, the strongest Guardian to have lived for eight hundred years, had even slain an avatar of the final boss, Sargeras.
She was undoubtedly at least a legendary hero, perhaps even a demigod.
The Orb of Deception Drew had would be completely useless against her.
Having made up his mind, Drew ended the discussion about Archmage Nielas Aran. Just then, someone gave him an opening and changed the subject.
"Master Drew, I heard you made a perfect Healing Potion before?"
"Correction: a True Perfect Potion," President Pierre called out from some distance away.
Drew had no idea how he'd heard them. It seemed he'd been keeping an eye on their conversation the whole time.
President Pierre's loud voice drew everyone's attention.
Then, under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, President Pierre explained what a True Perfect Potion was and the difference between a Perfect Potion and a True Perfect Potion. His explanation earned plenty of gasps. The Alchemist Association's reputation +1 +1 +1...
"I heard the perfect... No, the True Perfect Healing Potion Master Drew made can be used by ordinary people?
"And it has no side effects?" the person who had asked earlier inquired again.
"I wouldn't say it has absolutely no side effects. It causes a poisoning effect after you take it.
"But you can fix that by taking a bottle of Antidote Potion.
"If you take both together, then yes, there are no side effects," Drew replied.
"That's wonderful! Could I buy a bottle?
"My father was badly injured while hunting a few days ago. He recovered after a Priest treated him, but he nearly didn't make it back. If we'd had a potion like that on hand, it wouldn't have been so close. It's definitely worth keeping a bottle handy."
"I want one too."
"I want one too."
"I want one too." The others realized it made sense and began asking to buy a bottle as well.
"How about this? These potions are extremely difficult to make and can't be produced in large quantities. I can only make them once in a while, so I don't have many in stock.
"Please register with my disciple according to how urgently you need one. Once I've made more, I'll deliver them to everyone in the order listed. How does that sound?"
In the end, Nelson became the busiest person at the banquet.
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