Regarding the shortage of Alchemists in the Northern Territory, Perfikot actually started thinking of solutions as soon as she realized the issue.

Training newcomers is surely not a quick fix, but establishing a system for training Alchemists is necessary, at least to cultivate talent for the Northern Territory's future.

Therefore, the establishment of a specialized alchemy school in Chernobyl seemed only logical, accompanied by open recruitment across the entire Northern Territory and even the Empire.

But distant water cannot quench a present thirst—no matter how successful the recruitment, it takes at least nine months to train a novice with some basic knowledge into a qualified Alchemist certified by the Empire.

This speed of training is feasible only with Perfikot, a top Alchemist, and professors from various Imperial universities contributing their expertise.

Under normal circumstances, an ordinary person with some talent in alchemy would need at least five years of specialized training to go from complete novice to qualified Alchemist.

And this is assuming they have the talent and potential to become an Alchemist in the first place.

If their talent is poor or they simply aren't cut out for alchemy, they might never even grasp the basics, even after eight to ten years.

Under such circumstances, the cost of cultivating a qualified Alchemist is undeniably high and time-consuming.

This is why, prior to the Empire entering the industrial era, Imperial Alchemists placed great importance on apprenticeship and factional ties, as only sufficiently large factions had the resources to efficiently train Alchemists.

For any alchemical faction, efficiently cultivating newcomers is a highly prioritized concern.

After all, those recruited later can never be as loyal to the faction as those raised within it from an early age.

Even with the entry into the industrial era, the Empire established a new educational framework where universities offered alchemy-related courses. The Alchemy Department compiled alchemical textbooks in a more systematic manner to efficiently train Alchemists, yet this never fully deviated from the traditional training mode.

It's merely been a transformation from past factions or families into various university Alchemy Departments. Professors still continue training new Alchemists through mentorship alongside teaching normal courses.

The traditional aspects of factions and mentorship remain intact.

Perfikot has no specific objections to these traditions. While she hopes to efficiently train new Alchemists to address her current issues, she understands existing traditions and circumstances have their reasons and she desires to maintain necessary respect.

After all, in education, whether a mentor is willing to teach is one aspect; whether the apprentice is willing to learn is another.

Considering the current framework can cultivate qualified Alchemists at a relatively acceptable efficiency, without pressing necessity, there is no need for large-scale educational reforms to overthrow this established training mode.

However, the ongoing issues facing the Northern Territory still require resolution, causing Perfikot to be quite troubled.

Some might ask why not recruit Alchemists from the Empire's heartland?

Truthfully, if recruitable, Perfikot wouldn't mind spending heavily. Money is hardly a concern for the Lord of the North, and Perfikot could even offer noble titles as incentives for talent.

But so far, very few meet Perfikot's requirements and earn a noble title, and even those few haven't yet received the Pioneer Knight's sanction letter, possessing only the honorary title of White Bear Knight.

As for ordinary Alchemists, there is indeed a group, but their numbers are clearly insufficient.

Perfikot urged the Imperial Center for more Alchemists, but the Empire has limited numbers to deploy and send over.

This leaves Perfikot feeling quite helpless alongside irritation.

Many Empire Alchemists don't belong to the Imperial government but have their own Alchemy Workshops. Most focus on their research, and while they aren't indifferent to Empire's summons or orders, their response is often lukewarm.

When required to produce something as the Empire directed, it is manageable—like when Perfikot needed to manufacture thermobaric bombs, coordination was conducted across Langton's Alchemists and Alchemy Workshops, resulting in quick production.

However, if the Empire called Alchemists to work in the Northern Territory or operate robots to battle ash, few would be willing.

Considering the Northern Territory's remote nature and manual labor involved, the job consumes considerable energy—not a simple task for Alchemists.

Therefore, Perfikot's recruitment attempts in the Empire's heartland were scarcely met; those who responded were often struggling certified Alchemists or uncertified apprentices.

While apprentices aren't off the table for Perfikot who may spend time on pre-duty training, there's still a shortage of apprentices.

This pushes Perfikot to her limits; she, being an Alchemist herself, understands Empirical Alchemists' attitudes—without adequate incentive, it's hard to sway these unhurried and power-apathetic Alchemists.

Perfikot can't help but feel some regret. Had she not shelved Imaginary Alchemy, it could now be used as an attractive lure.

Nonetheless, after some serious contemplation, Perfikot believes she still has something sufficiently compelling to attract Alchemists to the Northern Territory voluntarily.

What she's prepared to offer is the systematic knowledge of modern chemistry from the original world.

This time she refrains from imaginary paths and returns to traditional alchemical realms, not strengthening traditional alchemy but extracting modern chemistry as a standalone subject.

Although Perfikot was a humanities student before crossing over, fortunately, her chemistry grades were good, and with effort, most learned material can be recalled, so she quickly readies what she intends to present.

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