Death... and me

Old Worm had long since recognized Roan's ability to increase the quality of medicinal liquid. For quality alone, Light Element played a larger role than when Roan had to eliminate impurities. When it came to removing impurities, Dark Element took place as the most important one.

Waki noticed that he lost his attention for a moment.

"Ahem... Well then. The last ones have been tested already, so the top 100 has been decided. As for the ones who didn't make it, you can go back home already. That's all."

Roan, Cluhe, Lita, Avram, and the rest, who made it into the top 100, followed Waki to the back. As for the rest, they could only watch these people in jealousy. Still, Roan and the others didn't seem to be happy or anything. In their eyes, it wouldn't be a problem to pass this first test to start with. It's just that no one expected Roan to make such a high-quality medicinal liquid, so they couldn't help but look at him with interest.

Roan noticed that but didn't care. He already decided that he would enter the top 10 since he needed those Rank Four Spirit Stones to buy that skill book. Well, he would try it anyway, even if he didn't know about that book.

The alchemist exam's first phase was the same for all the halls. Because of that, all of them finished around the same time. When Roan was brought to the next testing area, there were a lot of participants that had passed the first phase somewhere else. He and the others were then guided to their own tables, where they would take the second test.

The other examination halls were not as strict as Waki, so there were more qualified alchemists from them. In the end, the second phase area still had around three to four thousand participants. Roan quickly verified his surroundings and the people there. After all of that, he shifted his attention back to his table.

'The same equipment as before. It seems like we won't be using our own tools in this entire exam at all.'

Roan then began to prepare everything since these tools were not the same ones he used in the previous room. As he did that, more and more participants arrived. Some of them tried to talk with Roan, but he simply ignored them.

At some point, Old Worm and the other spectators arrived in the room as well. Old Worm was feeling quite annoyed, though. His fellow guild members didn't stop asking him about Roan at all. Every now and then, he answered with a few words, but none of them seemed satisfied.

As all of that happened, Waki joined with the other elders from the other halls to talk.

"How was it in your halls? Was there any problem?"

The man who was talking was called Mancil Werxa. He was the main figure of the Alchemist Guilds in the entire Empire and the only Heaven Peak-Level Alchemist.

Everyone then shook their heads after hearing the question.

"That's good, then. What about the participants this time? Who are the ones worth taking notice of?"

This time, the elders finally had something to say.

"My hall had two participants who seemed capable. One did 90.23% of quality, while the other got 91.90%."

"Mine was not that well-off. The first place's medicinal liquid quality only reached 88.03%. It was quite disappointing."

One by one, they reported their findings. Finally, Waki mentioned his.

"Seems like I have the highest number of those who can surpass 90%. Four of my participants passed it. The first place even got almost 95%! Or 94.82% to be more specific."

Everyone looked at Waki, surprised. Even Mancil got a bit curious.

"Over 94%? That's quite rare. Which clan did he come from? Or maybe he was from the Sasamil Imperial Family?"

Waki shook his head in response.

"No, he came from outside the capital. Do you remember that Dalamu Sect?"

"Dalamu Sect? The Communication System Formation one?"

Waki nodded.

"That one. This boy came from that place as well."

Mancil pondered for a bit before saying.

"They are quite lucky with talents. In any case, our Alchemist Guild doesn't have much to do with Formations, so let's put it aside. So far, it seems like we have around twenty young alchemists worth keeping an eye on. Of course, while some might be bad at Medicinal Extraction, it doesn't mean it's the same with the next steps of concoction. There's still a chance of a few more talents appearing in the next phase."

After that, the elders kept talking for a while as they waited for everyone to prepare for the next test. Finally, an assistant of the guild appeared and said.

"Senior Mancil, all the preparations are done. We can start the second phase at any time."

Mancil nodded before turning around with the other elders. They all went up to the stage, where everyone immediately noticed their presence. Mancil didn't take the lead, though. He simply sat at the back and left the talk for the other elders to do. He was here basically to observe, that's all.

In the end, an elder called Oligan came forward.

"Congratulations to everyone who made it into this phase. As most of you could already imagine, the second test will be purifying. We brought several medicinal liquids from the last test. However, giving you your own creations wouldn't really serve as a test. That being said, we took the worst results that appeared during the last phase. Obviously, their creators already failed and were sent back home."

"It's no secret that the higher the quality of the medicinal liquid, the easier it is to purify it. That's why we're doing it. We want to see what you're really capable of. Anyway, you can use any method you feel like to purify the medicinal liquids. The vials with the medicinal liquids will be distributed randomly. Whatever you get will be what you need to work with."

"There is a total of 3200 alchemists remaining. When this phase is over, only three hundred will go to the next phase, so you better put your all into it."

"Alright, that's all. The exam starts now!"