Lewd Skill Stealing System-Chapter 9: Alchemy Is Interesting.

Karl felt an itch of irritation creep up his spine. This was annoying.

The way Nathan got all giddy talking about Lina? Annoying.

The way Lina had lit up when she saw him? Annoying.

He took a slow breath. Well, at least they aren't dating... yet. But from the way she reacted, the feelings might be mutual. That was a problem.

Still, Karl decided to keep the conversation going. "So, what do you do?"

Nathan perked up, eager to answer. "I work on my family's farmland. We've been running it for generations."

Karl forced a nod of fake interest. "Oh? Same with me. I'm surprised we don't already know each other."

"Yeahh..." Nathan dragged out the word, as if realizing at that moment that Karl had never existed in his world before.

Karl smirked. That's right, buddy. I wasn't here before. But now?

I'm here to stay.

Nathan stretched his arms and let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, there's some work I have to do, so I'll head out."

Karl forced a polite smile. "Sure, see you around."

With that, Nathan left, leaving Karl alone in the alchemy lab.

The moment the door clicked shut, Karl wasted no time. He grabbed a book from the shelf and flipped it open, his eyes scanning the pages hungrily. Complex symbols, reaction charts, and detailed notes on magical properties filled the worn parchment.

And to his surprise... he understood it.

The system window flickered to life.

[Wait, is this shit actually understandable to you?]

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Karl smirked, flipping another page. "Obviously. I've studied things way harder than this."

[Really? Because this looks like ancient gibberish to me.]

Karl chuckled. "Wow. You're dumber than me. That's a first."

[Excuse you, I don't 'read' texts. But I can pull knowledge from other people's skills. Big difference, idiot.]

Karl rolled his eyes. The concepts in the book weren't similar to chemistry per se, but because he had struggled through far more complex formulas and equations before, this was like reading a children's workbook.

Time passed in silence as he absorbed the knowledge, flipping through pages with an ever-growing smirk.

Then—he felt it.

A presence.

Karl blinked and looked up. Lina stood nearby, watching him quietly.

How long had she been there?

"Didn't want to disturb you," she said, a little amused. "You looked... really into it."

Karl shut the book with a thud, stretching his arms lazily. "Well, what can I say? It's interesting."

Lina hesitated for a second, then took a breath. "Hey, um... would you maybe wanna work with us?"

Karl raised an eyebrow.

Karl's thoughts swirled with amusement. Well, well... this is exactly what I was waiting for. But now comes the part where I act all humble and hesitant.

He put on a hesitant expression, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, no... I wouldn't wanna be a bother to you and your mother. You've already done so much for me."

Lina shook her head firmly. "No, you wouldn't be a bother at all. Actually, my mom called me outside to talk about this. She said she'd be willing to take on a new apprentice—if it's you."

Karl's eyes gleamed. Interesting...

He furrowed his brows slightly, pretending to think deeply about it, as if this wasn't exactly what he wanted all along.

The system, as always, saw right through him.

[Oh, come on. Isn't this what you wanted from the start? Why are you hesitating?]

Karl inwardly smirked. Obviously. But if I just jumped at the opportunity, wouldn't that make my intentions a little too obvious? Gotta sell the act, y'know?

The system groaned.

[You really are a manipulative bastard.]

Karl sighed dramatically and gave Lina a half-smile. "Well... if your mother insists, I suppose it would be rude of me to refuse."

Lina smiled. "Great! Welcome aboard, then."

Karl's smirk deepened. Gotcha.

Lina dusted off her hands and smiled at him. "Alright, come by tomorrow, and we'll get you started."

Karl tilted his head slightly, his lips curving into a lazy grin. "Tomorrow, huh? That's fair, but..." He leaned forward slightly. "Couldn't I at least get a little demonstration? You know, to see how things work around here?"

Lina blinked, then gave a small chuckle. "Eager, aren't you?"

"Curious," Karl corrected smoothly. "I like knowing what I'm getting into."

She shrugged. "Alright, I guess a quick demonstration won't hurt."

Turning to the wooden shelf, she carefully picked out a scroll embedded with intricate symbols, then grabbed a few dried herbs from a glass jar. Bringing them over to the worktable, she placed the scroll flat on the surface, arranging the herbs atop it with practiced precision.

Karl watched with sharp eyes as she retrieved a mana stone from a small pouch. It was smooth, glowing faintly with a pulsing light, almost like a heartbeat.

Taking a deep breath, Lina closed her eyes, pressing the mana stone against the scroll. The symbols on the parchment flickered, then ignited with a soft glow. A strange force rippled through the air as the herbs atop the scroll slowly began to break down—first crumbling into fine dust, then dissolving further until they shimmered into a thick, viscous liquid.

Karl's eyes gleamed with fascination.

Alchemy really is something.

With steady hands, Lina tilted the parchment slightly, guiding the shimmering liquid into a glass test tube. The process was so seamless, so refined, that it was obvious she had done this countless times before.

She turned to Karl, holding the test tube up. "There you go. Simple extraction process using mana infusion." Her blue eyes sparkled with a mix of excitement and challenge. "Wanna give it a try?"

Karl smirked. Oh, now we're talking.