Chapter 21: The Casual Chief Examiner

"Thank you," Mali said.

"You're welcome. The Alchemy Association welcomes the addition of fresh blood, no matter where you come from. Give me some time to organize, and the assessment will begin soon. However, before that, you need to pay me an assessment fee of fifteen Gold Eagles."

"Fifteen Gold Eagles?"

"That's right, it's the rule. Don't worry, if you can pass the assessment smoothly, you will get a return far exceeding this money."

"Alright." Mali counted fifteen gold coins from his money bag and handed them to Jia Anda.

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

"What do I need to prepare?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, you are an Outsider. The assessment links are fixed, and there are three rounds in total. The difficulty increases sequentially. In the first round, you only need to submit one of your own alchemy works. In the second round, you need to make an alchemy work on the spot. And in the final round, the chief examiner will give you a question, and you must use alchemy to solve it. If you pass all three rounds of assessment, you will be an alchemist."

Mali silently noted the assessment content. He was not sure he could pass the alchemist assessment.

Although the half-elf girl had firmly believed he was an alchemist since their first meeting, and Barta of Meimiao Tiyan also thought his backpack was full of valuable alchemy creations.

However, Mali knew very well that he had no magic power, nor did he understand alchemy. What he carried were just industrial products from modern society.

But he still planned to give it a try. The assessment fee of fifteen Gold Eagles was indeed very expensive for ordinary people in this world, but for Mali, it was less than the price of a thermos.

In comparison, the status of an alchemist was more important to him.

After about forty minutes, Jia Anda returned to the Alchemy Association again. This time, there were two more people beside her.

A handsome blond man in a silk robe walked in the front, followed by an old man in luxurious clothes with six rings on his hands.

The blond man yawned. "Where is the applicant? Let's start quickly. I have a date at noon."

"Council member Yisi, let's go to the second floor first. There is an empty room there that can be used as an examination room," Jia Anda suggested.

"Hmm, but I prefer the garden under Master Kelin's tower. I can pick a few roses there while invigilating and bring them to the beautiful Mrs. Moluoxi. She likes roses the most."

"Oh, the garden under the tower, that's a good idea!" The old man with six rings almost agreed immediately. "My old bones also want to bask in the sun."

Seeing that the two had reached a consensus, Jia Anda couldn't say anything more. She pointed to Mali and said, "He is the applicant for this assessment, Mali from Luoyang."

The blond man just glanced at him roughly, lost interest, and walked toward the garden under the tower.

Perhaps feeling that Mali's attire was a bit strange, the old man behind him couldn't help but take a few more looks, and then followed.

Jia Anda was at the end and said to Mali, "Sorry, Council member Yisi comes from a very prominent alchemist family and became famous at a young age, so his style of doing things is inevitably a bit... casual."

Mali nodded. "I understand, this may not be a bad thing."

"You don't understand." Jia Anda lowered her voice. "When I found him, he was busy... flirting, and he seemed very impatient with the upcoming assessment. If there is a chance, he will definitely end the assessment as soon as possible. I suggest you give up now, so you can keep half of the assessment fee."

"And according to the association's rules, once the assessment fails, you cannot apply for a second assessment within one year, and another council member will come to Yingjiao City in six months."

Mali thought for a while. "Six months and one year are not much different. I still want to try, just as accumulating experience."

"Suit yourself, I have already warned you," Jia Anda said.

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

Yisi was already squatting there, starting to pick roses. He didn't look back when he heard footsteps and said directly, "Alright, bring your alchemy work."

Mali didn't hand over the things he had prepared earlier, but opened his mountaineering backpack, rummaged out a small plastic box, removed the lid, and let Jia Anda take it to Yisi.

The handsome blond man looked at it and frowned. "What is this?"

"Ebony Rose Soap," Mali said. "Specially used for cleaning the skin."

"I know the role of soap," Yisi finally became interested. He took the red soap out of the box, smelled it under his nose, and then scraped a little off with his fingernail.

"Interesting, fusing roses with soap? But I really doubt whether such a thing can be called an alchemy work. The elves of the Emerald Forest also add petals when making soap."

"I can understand your doubts," Mali said. "In that case, please allow me to submit another alchemy work. As for this rose soap, you can keep it and check it slowly."

Yisi's expression moved, but before he could express his attitude, Jia Anda spoke first. "No, this is bribery!"

"Don't be so sensitive," the old man with six rings laughed. "He just submitted an additional alchemy work. As for this soap, after Council member Yisi finishes identifying it, he will return it to him."

"Not bad." The handsome blond man also nodded. "I am very strict. No matter which of the two alchemy creations is unqualified, I will not let him pass the assessment."

Jia Anda's face hidden behind the veil could not see her expression, but after a moment of silence, she retreated. "According to the rules, when the examiners have differences, the opinion of the chief examiner will prevail."

"It seems we have reached a consensus." Yisi showed a bright smile, put the rose soap away casually, turned his head and said to Mali, "You heard it, if you dare to use soap to fool us again, your assessment will be over."

Mali then took out a small black cylinder and handed it to Jia Anda.

"What is this again?"

"Light Casting Trigger," Mali recalled the knowledge he had obtained from the receptionist earlier and tried to give it a name that people in this world could understand.

"How to use it?"

"There is a raised part in the middle, which can control the switch and trigger the light casting."

The three soon found the protrusion Mali mentioned. After pushing it up, one end of the small black cylinder really shot out light. However, in the daytime, this light didn't look very obvious.

"Your light casting doesn't look very good," Yisi snorted. "The brightness and range are very average." ===== CHAPTER 22 =====