Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Heading to the Alchemist Guild

Everything happened too quickly. The students watching from the sidelines were still in shock that Kayden was a level four Beast Master, beginning to worry about Charles in the green gas.

Unexpectedly, in the next moment, the seemingly dominant Kayden was thrown out of the arena by Charles, who had appeared from who-knows-where!

"Oh my gosh! I don't understand what just happened. Wasn't Charles in the green gas? How did he suddenly end up behind Kayden?"

"Could it be that Charles has an invisibility skill?"

"Even if he did, it wouldn't be that easy to avoid the green gas!"

"Truly, I can't comprehend the world of the strong. I can't even follow what's happening; I might as well go home and inherit the family business."

"Teacher, how did that happen?" One student could no longer contain his curiosity and asked the referee standing nearby.

The referee looked at Charles, then at the puzzled students, and sighed. The gap between the students was indeed significant.

"Your attention was all focused on the green gas, but didn't you notice there was an additional flying mystical beast in the sky?" the referee said, watching the students with anticipation, hoping that someone would figure out how Charles had accomplished this.

Unfortunately, after a moment of waiting, the confusion on the students' faces only deepened.

"The purpose of having an extra flying mystical beast was to create a large enough shadow. Charles must have a shadow-related stealth skill," the referee continued without pausing.

"The moment the Mutated Rock Bear appeared, Charles had already entered the shadows. Then, the flying mystical beast flew behind Kayden, and Charles moved along with it from the shadows!"

After the referee explained, he did not leave. He himself had a question; he couldn't quite figure out how Charles had reacted so quickly!

It was as if he had known that a fourth mystical beast would appear.

When the referee wanted to find Charles to ask him, he realized that Charles had already vanished.

On the other side, at Catherine's match,

Catherine and Camilla were locked in a fierce battle, both having activated Beast Mastery and stalemated.

"It's over! The second princess Camilla's Beast Mastery has a toxic effect, and every attack Catherine makes will be contaminated with poison!" Jace said anxiously. He had come to Genosha Calivia with Catherine, Charles, and Sadie.

Although he had acted weakly when facing an ambush, after hearing two words from Charles, Jace had a sudden realization, and the others accepted him.

"Charles, if this goes on, Catherine is bound to lose. What should we do?" Jace asked.

Charles didn't respond; he just watched quietly as Catherine's arms continued to make contact with Camilla, gradually turning a yellow-green hue.

"Aren't you worried, Charles? Catherine's attacks seem to be getting weaker," Jace remarked, puzzled by Charles's calm demeanor. He didn't seem worried about Catherine at all.

Charles slowly replied, "It's fine. She can't lose. Right now, she's enjoying the battle."

"Enjoying the battle? I can't see that at all! Catherine has been expressionless this whole time!" Jace exclaimed, wide-eyed as he tried to find evidence that Catherine was enjoying the fight, but he found nothing.

Although Catherine's face showed no expression and was quite calm, Charles could feel it—Catherine was excited; she was reveling in the battle!

The two fighters in the arena continued their stalemate, exchanging blows.

The scales of victory appeared to be tipping in Camilla's favor, yet her expression was off; she frowned, as if she were the one at a disadvantage.

As time passed, Catherine's arms regained their normal color, and her attacks grew stronger!

This was the power of the Gaoshan nationality's Beast Mastery; not only did it enhance physical attributes and strength beyond that of a Beast Master of the same level, but it also allowed for adaptation to toxins!

Now, free from the toxin's effects, Catherine was pressing the attack against Camilla!

It was clear that the match would end with Catherine's victory!

"Wow, Catherine won too!" Jace was the first to clap, then suddenly realized something and turned to Charles, saying, "Charles, does this mean you'll be facing Catherine this afternoon?"

Charles nodded; that was indeed the case. With their undefeated records, the afternoon match would decide a victor between him and Catherine.

Thinking about it gave Charles a headache. Without weapons and equipment, he really wasn't a match for Catherine.

They had sparred many times before, and there was a significant gap in their abilities.

Besides, there was no need to push for a decisive victory; Catherine was undoubtedly the strongest among this new class of students.

"Maybe I shouldn't even show up this afternoon. It would save time for me to concoct some necessary miracle drugs," Charles thought, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

Given Catherine's personality, she wouldn't like winning without a fight. Combat was the most important thing for them.

"Charles, it's time to go for the advanced alchemist certification assessment," Catherine said as she exited the arena and walked over to Charles.

Charles replied, "Don't you need to rest for a bit?"

Catherine shook her head and walked ahead toward the Alchemist Guild, with Charles and Jace leisurely following behind her.

On the other side of the arena, Camilla frowned as she applied medicine to her injured areas.

During her battle with Catherine, her opponent had shown no hesitation, attacking her weaknesses without considering that she was the second princess of the empire.

Camilla rubbed her still-painful chest and asked her companion, "Why are they all heading in the same direction?"

"Princess, don't you know? Charles is going for the advanced alchemist certification assessment, and they're all going to watch the excitement," her companion replied.

"What's so interesting about the advanced alchemist assessment? Aren't there already quite a few?" Camilla asked, somewhat confused. She usually didn't have time to keep up with news online; her days were filled with training in Beast Mastery and learning various etiquette and musical instruments.

Her companion quickly explained, "What you might not know, Princess, is that Charles successfully passed the advanced blacksmith certification assessment yesterday. He's a bona fide genius!"

Upon hearing this, a spark of curiosity ignited in Camilla's eyes; she wanted to go see for herself.

However, she had other classes coming up and simply didn't have the time.

Noticing the second princess's thoughts, her companion pulled out a phone, opened a live streaming session, and held it out in front of Camilla. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The stream was all about Charles!

In the Alchemist Guild in Genosha Calivia,

Owen sat listlessly in his office, waiting for Charles to arrive for the assessment.

He had barely slept last night, troubled by one persistent question: why had Charles outright rejected him?

When faced with Xavier's invitation, Charles had said he would think about it, but when it came to Owen's invitation, he didn't even need to think and simply refused.

Why? Why was this happening?

Was he, the president of the Alchemist Guild, so disliked?

"Grandpa, there are quite a few people outside. It looks like Charles is here for the assessment!" Camilla said, her bright, innocent eyes sparkling as she interrupted Owen's gloom.

Owen tried to hide his confusion and concern, forcing a warm smile as he said, "Let's go down as well."

"Okay!" Camilla exclaimed, eagerly turning around to run downstairs.

Watching Camilla's retreating figure, Owen's eyes held an unmistakable hint of sadness and anger. He seemed to recall something and looked toward the direction of Cyber Academy.

...

Today, the Alchemist Guild was unusually lively; the once-empty hall was now filled to the brim with people, bustling and crowded.

Not only were there alchemists, but also blacksmiths, students from Cyber Academy, and various curious citizens who wanted to see the spectacle.

"Here they come! Is that Charles? He looks so young!"

"Of course, he's only eighteen!"

"He's so handsome! Not only does he look good, but he also seems to have a great aura!"

"Tsk, an eighteen-year-old high-level blacksmith and alchemist. It's hard to imagine just how strong he'll become in the future!"

"Look, those seem to be people from Genosha's top families. Are they here just to watch?"

"Watch? Please, they're here to make an early investment!"

Three well-dressed individuals stood in front of Charles, exuding an air of superiority. Their suits were high-end custom pieces, each worth at least a few gold coins!

"Good afternoon, Mr. Charles. I am the butler of the Allen family; here's my business card."

"I'm Carter, an advisor from the Clark family group. Here's my card."

"Hello, Mr. Charles. I represent the Robinson family of Genosha and would like to invite you to a dinner three days from now. Here's the invitation."

The Allen family was, in fact, the family of General Mason. The Clark family group wasn't one of the top families in Genosha Calivia; it was the Taylor family behind them that was truly at the top. Having the Clark family group represent them seemed a bit too arrogant.

As for the Robinson family, Charles was somewhat familiar with them. Teacher Hale was from the Robinson family—well, he used to be. Now, Hale was merely a teacher at Cyber Academy.

When Charles had first arrived, he had inquired about Hale's background, but all he found were rumors. It seemed that Hale had fallen out with the Robinson family for some reason and had voluntarily left the family.

Charles looked at the business cards and the invitation in front of him and unhesitatingly took the invitation from the Robinson family first, followed by the card from the Allen family, and finally the card from Carter, the advisor of the Clark family group.

Carter observed Charles's actions, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses, a hint of dissatisfaction flickered in his eyes.

In Genosha, aside from the royal family, the Taylor family was the strongest!

Carter felt that by coming here, he was already giving Charles a significant amount of face, yet he was surprised that Charles had chosen to take his card last.