Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 21 The Casual Examiner
"Thank you," Ma Li said.

"No need to be polite. The Alchemist's Association welcomes fresh blood, no matter where you come from. Give me some time to organize things; the assessment will begin soon. However, before that, you need to pay me fifteen gold eagles as an assessment fee."

"Fifteen Golden Eagles?"

"That's right, that's the rule. Don't worry, if you pass the assessment smoothly, you'll get a reward far exceeding this amount of money."

“Alright.” Ma Li counted out fifteen gold coins from his money bag and handed them to Jia Anda.

The latter didn't look at it closely and casually put it away, saying, "You can use this time to rest or prepare."

What do I need to prepare?

"Oh, I almost forgot, you're a foreigner. The assessment process is fixed, with three rounds in total. The difficulty increases progressively. In the first round, you only need to submit one of your own alchemical creations. In the second round, you'll need to create an alchemical creation on the spot. In the final round, the examiner will give you a problem that you must solve using alchemy. If you pass all three rounds, you'll be an alchemist."

Ma Li silently memorized the assessment content, but he was not confident that he would pass the alchemist assessment.

Although the half-elf girl was convinced he was an alchemist from their first meeting, Balta, having experienced a wonderful experience, also believed his backpack was full of valuable alchemical creations.

However, Ma Li himself knew very well that he had no magic power, nor did he know anything about alchemy; all he carried were industrial products from modern society.

However, he still decided to give it a try. The cost of the fifteen Golden Eagles assessment was indeed extremely expensive for ordinary people in this world, but for Ma Li, it was less than the price of a thermos cup.

His identity as an alchemist was more important to him.

About forty minutes later, Jia Anda returned to the Alchemist's Guild, this time with two more people beside her.

A handsome blond man in a silk robe walked at the front, followed by an elderly man dressed in fine clothes and wearing six rings on his hands.

The blond man yawned. "Where's the applicant? Let's get started. I have a date at noon."

“Director Yis, let’s go up to the second floor first. There are empty rooms there that can be used as examination rooms,” Jiaanda suggested.

“Well, I prefer Master Colin’s garden beneath the tower. I can pick a few roses there while I’m proctoring the exam and bring them to the beautiful Mrs. Molossy, who loves roses the most.”

“Oh, the garden beneath the tower, what a wonderful idea!” the old man with the six rings agreed almost immediately. “My old bones are also looking forward to basking in the sun.”

Seeing that the two had reached a consensus, Jia Anda didn't say anything more and pointed to Ma Li, saying, "He is the applicant for this assessment, Ma Li from Luoyang."

The blond man glanced at it briefly, then lost interest and walked towards the garden below the tower.

Perhaps finding Ma Li's attire somewhat peculiar, the old man behind him couldn't help but take a few more glances before following him.

Finally, Jia Anda said to Ma Li, "I'm sorry, Director Yi Si comes from a very prominent alchemist family and became famous at a young age, so his behavior is inevitably a bit... capricious."

Ma Li nodded. "I understand. This might not be a bad thing."

“You don’t understand.” Jia Anda lowered his voice. “When I found him, he was busy… flirting with someone. He seemed very impatient with the upcoming assessment. If given the chance, he would definitely finish the assessment as soon as possible. I suggest you give up now, so you can still keep half of the assessment fee.”

"Moreover, according to the association's regulations, once you fail the assessment, you cannot apply for a second assessment within a year, and another director will come to Eagle Beak City six months later." Ma Li thought for a moment, "Six months and a year are not that different, I still want to give it a try, just to gain experience."

"Do whatever you want, I've already warned you anyway," Jia Anda said.

Ma Li then followed the female alchemist through the back door to a small garden full of various flowers. In the center of the garden was a white tower, about eight or nine stories high, covered with vines and roses.

Is was already squatting there, picking out roses. Hearing footsteps, he didn't turn around but said directly, "Alright, bring me your alchemical creations."

Instead of handing over the prepared items, Ma Li opened his backpack again, took out a small plastic box, removed the lid, and had Jia Anda give it to Is.

The blond, handsome man glanced at it, frowned, and asked, "What is this?"

“Ebony Rose Soap,” Ma Li said, “is specially made for cleansing the skin.”

“I know what soap does,” Is finally became interested. He took the bright red bar of soap out of the box, smelled it, and then scraped off a little with his fingernail.

"Interesting, combining roses with soap? But I doubt whether this can truly be called an alchemical creation. The elves of the Emerald Forest also add flower petals when making soap."

“I understand your question,” Ma Li said. “In that case, please allow me to submit another alchemical work. As for this rose soap, you can keep it and examine it at your leisure.”

Is's expression shifted, but before he could speak, Jaanda said first, "No, this is a bribe!"

“Don’t be so sensitive,” the old man wearing six rings said with a smile. “He just submitted an additional alchemical work. As for this bar of soap, it will be returned to him after Councilor Is has completed his appraisal.”

“Not bad.” The blond man nodded. “I’m very strict. If either of the two alchemical creations fails, I won’t let him pass the test.”

Jia Anda's face, hidden behind a veil, revealed no expression, but after a moment of silence, she relented, "According to regulations, when examiners disagree, the chief examiner's opinion will prevail."

"Looks like we've reached an agreement." Is smiled broadly, casually put away the rose-scented soap, and turned to Ma Li, saying, "You heard that? If you dare to try to fool us with soap again, your test is over."

Upon hearing this, Ma Li took out a small black cylinder and handed it to Jia Anda.

"What is this?"

“Light Activator.” Ma Li recalled the knowledge he had gained from the receptionist and tried to come up with a name that people in this world could understand.

"how to use?"

"There is a raised part in the middle that can control the switch and activate the light spell."

The three quickly found the protrusion that Ma Li had mentioned. After pushing it upwards, a light indeed shot out from one end of the small black cylinder. However, in the daytime, the light was not very noticeable.

"Your light spell doesn't look very good," Is scoffed. "Both the brightness and the range are just average."

(End of this chapter)