Chapter 55: The end of the test 1

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"This..."

The fifth examiner didn't know why, but he felt a strange sensation while watching Ethan's process.

His calm demeanor,

the way he prepared the herbs,

the way he adjusted the flame, everything.

Without realizing it, he started to observe Ethan's every movement, step by step, until he finished producing his second pill.

Exactly, he got lost for a moment in observing how Ethan was refining, and without noticing, ten entire minutes had passed.

He was stunned, murmuring in an almost inaudible voice, "Absolutely perfect."

In recent years, he had observed many candidates taking the test and preparing pills.

He could say with absolute certainty that he had seen it all.

From the talented to those who didn't even know what a cauldron was, nothing surprised him much anymore.

That was until today.

Among all the candidates present, only this boy successfully caught his attention.

He wasn't the most advanced, nor the most exceptional, nor did he seem to come from any prestigious family.

But even taking all that into account, the way this candidate prepared the pills managed to astonish the examiner.

Every gesture, every movement, was impeccable.

As skilled as a novice might be, there is always a small margin of error.

But in this case, everything the candidate did was perfect, down to the smallest detail.

It was as if he had prepared this pill so many times that his body had memorized the movements, executing them with absolute calm, with the attitude of one who knew there was no way to make a mistake.

This type of attitude was often seen in experts and grandmasters when they prepared pills.

At their level, preparing low-level pills was child's play, and they did it nonchalantly, knowing they wouldn't make a mistake.

"Haa, it seems I'm getting too old now.

It won't be long before the younger generations of this era surpass us."

He murmured, shaking his head, while feeling a bit of joy in his heart.

For someone like him, who had dedicated his entire life to this profession, seeing young talents like Ethan made him happy.

He was someone who had always aimed for the pinnacle of alchemy and had given his all for this goal, but unfortunately for him, he couldn't go any further.

He knew he had already reached the maximum his talent allowed.

So, seeing that the future of alchemy was in the hands of talented young people like these made him happy.

"This boy will go far," he said.

Hm?

The fourth examiner, who was next to him, heard him and gave him a questioning look, but the fifth examiner didn't bother to explain.

And so, time passed, and after another 40 minutes, the test finally ended.

"Time's up. Everyone, put everything away, and leave only the pills you have created on the table." seaʀᴄh thё novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Said the examiner from the central row.

At this, many grumbles could be heard in the background.

"No, just two more minutes, and I would have finished my third pill," said one from the second row.

"Third pill? I'm still on my second," replied one from the adjacent row, tears in his eyes.

"At least you successfully created some pills, I failed all five attempts," said another.

Though many complained, no one created a commotion.

They had failed, and so they knew they could only lower their heads and try again next time.

No one raised any complaints because they knew nothing good would come of it.

In fact, once someone had complained that one hour was too short and that more time was needed for the test.

In response, an examiner took one of the pills the participant had created and told him to eat it.

The participant didn't understand why the examiner asked him to eat one of the two pills he had created, but he did so anyway.

The next moment, the boy ended up in the infirmary.

It was discovered that even the two pills the boy had created were defective.

This was to say that the boy hadn't managed to create even a single correct pill in an hour.

It made no sense to give more time.

If someone doesn't know how to make a pill correctly, they will make mistakes regardless of the time given for the test.

The pavilion has repeatedly advised people to think twice before taking the test.

The test duration and promotion criteria are public knowledge, and many have successfully passed with these criteria.

This is to say that it's not the test that is difficult, but the examinees who tend to take the test too lightly and then end up complaining.

In fact, it has been shown several times that a person who had adequately prepared could produce three low-grade pills quite easily in less than an hour.

So, giving this much time for refining was already too generous.

The pavilion, like all alchemy associations, knew how difficult it was to pursue this path and had made sure that each of their tests was of appropriate difficulty so that a well-prepared person could pass successfully.

And yet, despite this, almost 70% of the participants still ended up failing.

And the reason for this was obvious, so no one dared to complain to the pavilion.

They knew that if they exaggerated, they would end up paying the consequences.

Though some were a bit dissatisfied with their work, they did as they were told, put everything away, leaving only the pills they had produced on the table.

The examiners passed by each table in their respective rows, one by one giving their verdict.

"Two acceptable pills, one burnt, and one too impure. You have failed."

"Three good pills, and two burnt, passed."

"You burned all five pills, and you're still here. Are you waiting for me to congratulate you for doing the opposite of what was required? Leave."

One by one, the verdicts were given, and in a few minutes, a large number of disciples were sent away.

Some left with their heads down, others sighed as if they knew it would end this way, and still others were dragged away by their companions, in tears.

In no time, the room emptied of at least 80% of the initial people.

Finally, it was the turn of the last people in each row, in other words, it was also Ethan's turn to be examined.

The middle-aged alchemy expert who was the examiner of the third row did not have a happy face as he approached Ethan's workstation.

All the tables he had checked before had failed, with one not even creating one successfully, so he had low expectations for the remaining ones in this row.

Approaching Ethan's table, he saw that there were four almost identical pills lined up.

Seeing the appearance of the pills, the examiner's expression improved a bit.

'It seems not everyone failed,' he thought as he took one of the pills and checked it.

As soon as he put a bit of his spiritual energy into the pill, his expression changed slightly.

"A purity of 49%," he thought to himself, a bit surprised, and couldn't help but shake his head a little.

It was known that all pills with a purity above 25% and below 50% were considered low-grade.

Although there was a one-number difference between 49% and 50%, this small number difference was actually a big difference in terms of the pill's effect.

Therefore, it was established that only pills with 50% purity or above were considered mid-grade, while the others were all low-grade regardless of how small the gap was that separated them from reaching 50% purity.

The requirement to pass was to create pills that were at least low-grade, so a purity above 25%.

Therefore, this pill was definitely passing, but seeing how close the boy was to creating a mid-grade one, the examiner shook his head a bit but at the same time was pleased with this examinee's abilities.

"Really not bad, let's see if your other pills are as good," he said.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, do so below.

See you tomorrow with a new chapter.