Last Gun Alchemist

Once the sun rose and morning light began spreading across the East Wing of the Royal Academy, Ezra was already dressed and ready for his usual morning routine.

This time, Lucy was also dressed and prepared to train with him.

Sundays had slowly become her usual training day with her master, and she had already gotten used to waking up early, doing her maid duties enough to follow Ezra through the same routine he had maintained for himself.

The two left their residence together.

They didn’t have to walk for long before meeting up with Cyrus, who had already arrived with his ears plugged.

Ezra glanced at him briefly but didn’t ask what he was listening to.

The three began jogging toward the gym of their wing.

The roads around the East Wing were already active despite how early it was. Other students who had chosen to train around the same time were also beginning their own exercises, with some jogging along the same roads while others were already stretching beside the academy’s training grounds.

A Noble Steam Carriage moved along the road toward the gym.

A few noble students had chosen to take the carriage directly to the training area rather than waste their energy jogging there.

Ezra continued running without paying much attention to them.

After hours of jogging and training inside the gym center, the three eventually finished their main physical exercises.

They had trained their strength, speed, and stamina, pushing their bodies through different exercises until the sweat had begun to soak through their clothes.

Ezra and Lucy also worked on their balance.

For Ezra, as usual, balance was especially important because of the way he wanted to move during combat.

To him...

It wasn’t enough to simply possess strength.

He needed to know how to control his center of gravity more and more, while moving, attacking, and changing his position.

Once they returned home, the two still continued training for a while.

They focused more on their center of gravity.

Ezra practiced his Tai Chi, moving slowly through the forms while keeping his body relaxed and his feet firmly planted.

Each movement flowed into the next without any sudden changes.

Lucy, on the other hand, practiced the dance-fighting style he had taught her.

Her movements were more active than Ezra’s, with her body turning and shifting as she practiced the steps and motions required by the fighting style.

After some time, the two sparred once.

It wasn’t a serious fight.

They were simply testing the movements they had practiced earlier, allowing their bodies to become more familiar with the changes in balance and position.

Once they finished, they returned inside.

They freshened up and ate breakfast.

Ezra then immediately got to work.

He went to his study and resumed studying the General Studies of Alchemy, especially the book Professor Kent had recommended to the class.

His goal was to finish everything in the book before the end of the second month.

And he also intended to do the same with his other courses.

Ezra’s study plan was simple.

He wanted to read ahead of his courses whenever possible, then review the material over and over again whenever he needed to strengthen his understanding.

That way, he could spend more of his actual free time focusing on his personal research and creations instead of constantly struggling to keep up with his Academy lessons.

Lucy also joined him in the study room.

She continued studying the metallurgy books Ezra had bought for her.

Every now and then, she would stop reading and ask him about something she didn’t understand.

Sometimes it was a question about the combination of two or three metals.

Other times, she wanted to understand why a certain metal had a particular physical property or why combining it with another material would change its behavior.

Ezra answered whenever he could before returning to his own studies.

Time moved on as it always did.

Eventually, Ezra reached the part of his personal research that he had been thinking about for some time.

The bandage with a heat-generating Alchemy System.

He placed the General Studies book aside and reached for the book on Flame Alchemy.

He began reading through it carefully, trying to gain a proper understanding of the Flame Alchemy Circles he would need for the heat system he wanted to create.

He didn’t want to simply draw a set of flame alchemy circles and hope it worked.

If he wanted the bandage to generate enough heat to deal with the cold affecting his body on a regulated sequence, he needed to understand how the Flame Alchemy Circle functioned, how much Cognis it would require, and how he could reduce the amount of energy being wasted.

Ezra brought out his Zphone tablet.

He also took out a special Quill-pen designed mainly for holographic writing.

With the tablet active, several holographic screens appeared around him.

He began designing the bandage on one of them.

His hand moved steadily across the screen as he drew.

He carefully recreated the bandage using its original size, making sure the dimensions were accurate instead of simply drawing a rough image.

Once he finished the two-dimensional design, Ezra pushed that screen toward his left.

Then he opened another holographic screen.

This time, he began drawing a Novice rank Flame Alchemy Circle.

He studied the circle while comparing it with the information inside the Flame Alchemy book.

His attention moved between the design and the written information.

At the same time, he continued reading another book.

This one was about devices created with Alchemy Systems inside them.

The more Ezra read, the more he understood why the Professor who taught this course explained how deeply Alchemy Systems were connected to the technology of Britannia.

Lamp lights.

Microphones.

Zphones.

Starlixs.

Glass boards.

Fans.

Security Sensor.

Even the special Quill-pen he was using now.

All of these devices contained Alchemy Systems.

They weren’t simply pieces of machinery thrown together by craftsmen.

There was an Alchemy System inside them that controlled how the device operated.

The book explained that these systems were created by Craft-Based Alchemists.

Ezra’s eyes moved across the page.

This was different from the circuits he had learned from Rogers.

The circuits followed a concept where the thickness and thinness of lines were connected to the sequence of effects a weapon or device would perform when Cognis passed through them.

While Alchemy Systems are different.

It was more program-based.

Instead of simply relying on the structure of the circuit itself, it could be designed around a set of programmed functions that controlled how the device behaved.

So that’s why the main technologies of Britannia are made with Alchemy Systems.

Ezra thought while continuing to read.

It also gave him another reason to understand why Blacksmiths and Non-Alchemist Craftsmen struggled against Craft-Based Alchemists.

A Blacksmith could create a good physical structure.

A Non-Alchemist Craftsman could understand materials and machinery.

But a Craft-Based Alchemist had another advantage.

They could use Cognis and Alchemy Systems to create things that ordinary craftsmen could not easily reproduce.

This was a completely new field for Ezra within craftsmanship.

Until his time in the academy, he had mainly focused on circuits from the Blacksmith side, Alchemy Circle Conversion, and manual blacksmithing.

Now, he had started learning Alchemy Systems as well.

It was another phase of his growth.

Ezra looked back at the holographic design of the bandage.

The Flame Alchemy Circle remained unfinished.

There was still a lot for him to understand before he could make the system work properly.

But at least he had finally found another direction to explore.

Time continued to pass.

Eventually, the time for the Golden Circle Faction’s Welcome Party arrived.

Ezra had already stopped his research, now freshened up again and dressed.

He looked toward Lucy, walking through the corridor of his home.

”Are you ready, Lucy?”

He asked while adjusting the button on the silver sleeves of his shirt.

”Yes, Master.”

Lucy replied softly.

She walked toward the laundry room and picked up the black suit coat that had been hanging there.

Ezra waited while she brought it over.

Lucy then helped him put on the black coat, carefully adjusting it around his shoulders before making sure everything sat properly.

”I would have preferred you went all black, Master.”

She said while looking at him with slight displeasure.

Even though she was complaining, her eyes still showed how pleased she was with his appearance.

Ezra always looked especially good in black.

Because there was always a different feeling around her master whenever he wore an outfit that was completely black.

Ezra turned slightly toward Lucy.

His attention shifted to the maid dress she was wearing.

It was completely black and fitted closely around her body, giving it more of the appearance of a gown than the usual maid clothing he was accustomed to seeing.

”Since when did you buy clothes like that?”

Ezra asked plainly.

Lucy looked down at herself before turning around slightly so he could see the outfit better.

”I normally shop on Skynet.”

She replied.

”Also, this is one of the sold maid fashion clothing sets owned by Mrs. Agata.”

She sounded pleased as she turned around again, clearly showing off the outfit she had chosen.

Then she looked toward Ezra.

”Do you like it?”

There was a simple, expectant smile on her face.

Ezra looked at Lucy’s bright expression.

Then he looked at the gown.

He considered it for a moment.

”It’s fine.”

He replied flatly.

That simple answer was enough.

Lucy smiled softly.

She didn’t need a long compliment.

Her master’s approval was already enough to make her happy.

The two finally left their home.

Ezra and Lucy boarded the Noble Steam Carriage he had ordered.

Evening was slowly approaching, and the East Wing was becoming busier.

Other students living in the same wing were also beginning to leave their residences.

They were dressed in elegant clothes for their own faction parties, with some students adjusting their collars or fixing their sleeves before entering their carriages.

The journey toward the Golden Circle Faction’s mansion began.

They had to travel all the way toward the Third-Year Academy District because that was where the Golden Circle Faction mansion had been built.

Most of the major Factions had their own mansions in that district.

As the carriage traveled farther toward the Third-Year Academy District, the roads became more crowded.

Royal Steam-Carriages moved along the streets.

Noble Steam-Carriages followed behind them.

Royal and Noble Steam-Buses carried groups of students toward the same area.

Even Royal Phantom Rolls had begun appearing on the road, their sleek forms moving among the other vehicles.

The closer they got to the Third-Year district, the more obvious it became that tonight was not an ordinary Academy evening.

The different Factions were holding their Welcome Parties.

Everywhere Ezra looked, students were heading toward their own destinations.

Eventually, the Noble Steam-Carriage arrived at a large mansion.

The building stood behind a wide gate, with the name of the Faction displayed clearly on a signboard.

GOLDEN CIRCLE FACTION

Ezra looked toward the mansion through the carriage window.

The place was already busy.

Plenty of Noble and Royal Steam-Carriages were parked around the entrance.

There were also several Royal Phantom Rolls and Noble Phantom Rolls parked in orderly rows.

Students were stepping out of the vehicles in their formal clothes while servants moved around the entrance, guiding arriving guests and checking their invitations.

The Noble Steam-Carriage finally stopped.

Ezra stepped out.

Lucy followed behind him.

The moment they approached the entrance, an assigned servant stepped forward.

Ezra showed him the golden letter he had received.

The servant carefully checked the invitation before his expression changed slightly.

He straightened his posture.

Then he raised his voice.

”Announcing Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke’s arrival!”

His voice carried through the entrance and into the main mansion hall.

The announcement immediately drew attention.

Several conversations near the entrance stopped for a moment.

Heads turned toward the door.

Students inside the mansion looked over.

Some recognized the name immediately.

While others only knew that an Ashenlocke had arrived.

Whispers began spreading through the hall, mixing with the pleasant music playing in the background and the sound of the other conversations continuing around them.

Ezra stepped forward calmly.

His black eyes moved across the mansion hall.

The Golden Circle Faction had clearly prepared itself for the night.

And now, with his arrival announced to everyone inside, there was no way for him to quietly slip through the gathering and disappear into a corner.

The Welcome Party had officially begun.