I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Priss pushed the bottle toward Ivan, speaking as usual.

Evan took the bottles and carefully put them into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Thank you, Professor."

He gave a slight bow, turned and left the laboratory.

The oak door closed behind him.

His footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, swallowed up by the corner at the end of the stairs.

In the laboratory, the female assistant emerged from the shadows next to the locker.

"This kid is quite sensible." Her voice was low and flat.

"Do we still need to send Eltin?"

Pris did not answer immediately.

He stood in front of the lab bench and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the surface.

Then he nodded.

"go."

He looked up, and a dark light flashed in his light blue eyes behind his glasses.

“I can sense that he is absorbing the Demon Hunter traits.”

"To prevent any accidents, we need to completely captivate Erdin."

Chapter 37: Mutation and Bloodthirsty Beasts

In the afternoon's recitation class, Evan still achieved a perfect score.

He answered every question he was called on to with clarity and precision, and could recite chemical equations from memory.

Even Lecturer Wright couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, a hint of ambiguous approval appearing in his gray eyes behind the metal-rimmed glasses.

Morales, sitting behind Evan, didn't seem to concentrate on the lesson much throughout the class.

Those grey-blue eyes hidden beneath his side-parted hair were constantly scrutinizing Evan's back.

"This guy's sitting and walking postures are quite normal."

Morales observed silently in his mind.

"It doesn't look like it's been used."

From a young age, he possessed a thirst for knowledge and focus rarely seen in his peers.

This talent allowed him to enter the University of the Wise through self-study with almost no parental supervision.

But today, that focus wasn't on the textbook; it was entirely devoted to observing Evan.

Ivan has changed so much in the last few days.

It was so great that he couldn't explain it using any common sense.

He had to find the answer, or the cat scratching at the wall in his head would never stop.

After the kindergarten term ends, there is always a physical education class.

Ivan walked onto the cinder-covered playground and took a deep breath of the cold air.

After breaking through to the second level of physical fitness, his lung capacity increased several times compared to a week ago.

This playground used to be the place he feared most.

Every time I run, I vomit, and my lungs feel like they've been stuffed with a lump of burning coal.

But now.

Ivan stood at the starting line, with only one thought in his mind.

Should I avoid his sharp edge?

I simply crushed his edge.

The starting whistle blew, and he took a step, his boots making a light, clattering sound on the coal slag.

While others were still adjusting their breathing, he was already able to calmly divert his attention to observe the classmates around him.

Those who choose running are generally students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Baseball requires purchasing professional bats and gloves, boxing requires paying for a training ground and hiring sparring partners, and rowing is even more out of the question—that's something for rich kids.

Running requires no equipment, no rules, just a pair of legs that can run.

The students in Evan's team generally didn't look too good.

He was sallow and pale, with bluish lips and dark purple eye bags.

It's obvious that they've taken medication.

He spotted Ryan in the crowd.

Ryan is in much better condition than the last time I saw him.

A hint of rosiness appeared on her sallow complexion, and although her steps were still unsteady while running, at least she was no longer as fragile as before, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

"Copper pills have such analgesic and blood-boosting effects?"

Ivan silently made a mental note of it.

From an appearance standpoint, copper pills can even beautify a patient's condition more than actual therapeutic drugs.

But he knew that this only pushed back the time of death by a few weeks, at the cost of making the lower classes more compliant, optimistic, and devout before they died.

This is truly the work of the Healing Church.

The run ended quickly.

The others lay sprawled on the wooden benches by the playground, panting heavily, their chests heaving.

Only Evan stood there, his breathing slightly heavier, but his face showed no signs of fatigue.

He sat at the end of the bench, took out his pocket watch from his jacket pocket, and glanced at the time.

Just then, a series of orderly footsteps came from the north entrance of the playground.

A group of about twenty female students ran over, their running postures uniform and their steps light.

In this era, girls who can enter the University of the Wise are either rich or noble.

Even when they're running, they wear well-tailored sportswear.

The colors are light blue, off-white, and light pink, creating a soft and harmonious palette.

The hair is tied up in a bun and secured with ribbons or hair clips.

With a light application of makeup, even running until her cheeks flushed only gave her a healthy blush.

Each person exudes an elegance and poise that comes from within.

Even during intense exercise, their posture resembles that of someone dancing a slightly faster-paced waltz.

The group of poor students on the bench, dressed in tattered jackets, patched pants, and broken leather shoes, stared wide-eyed.

These swans are something they will never be able to touch in their entire lives.

As the girls ran past them, a breeze carrying the sweet scent of flowers swept by, and the poor boys couldn't help but puff out their chests and take a deep breath of the mid-November chill.

"smell good."

A round-faced boy next to me sighed with his eyes closed.

Ryan walked over and sat down next to Evan, leaning back in his chair and panting.

"how are you feeling?"

Evan nodded: "Good, it doesn't hurt so much anymore."

Ryan grinned, a smile that looked particularly satisfied on his still sallow face.

"Me too. I feel better than ever before."

He lowered his voice.

"I just introduced a few classmates to go get the medicine together. We poor people should help each other out whenever we can."

Ivan hummed in agreement, offering no objection.

He knew that copper pills were a slow-acting poison, but he also knew that for someone like Ryan, it was the only straw they could grasp at.

Persuasion is pointless; in fact, it might make them think he's heartless.

After LeBon's incident, the school's "ignoring the ban" of Evan seemed to quietly crumble.

These poor students from the lower classes would nod to him today, and a few of the bolder ones would even come over to talk to him.

Ivan simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

The distance between him and these people is much greater than it was a week ago.

But he doesn't intend to show this distance.

Several students around him began to complain quietly.

"Can't I stop taking this medicine? I feel like I'm going to become an idiot if I keep taking it."

"The school will check, and they'll come to draw blood every few days."

"Then how about we have one person take it each time? Have them tell us about the side effects first? And take turns like that?"

"How can this go unnoticed?"

……

As Evan listened to these complaints, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Since you don't want to eat it, give it to me."

The thought had barely formed in his mind, and before he could even formulate a way to bring it up, his ears caught a strange sound.

A heavy, suppressed sound, like that of some primal beast, was straining to break through the iron bars.