Death... and me

It was the first time that Roan had entered the Alchemist Guild. After all, Old Worm didn't have that free month to allow Roan to go there. The guild wasn't any smaller than the Formations' building. But what really caught people's attention was the large number of young alchemists that came to participate in the exam.

There was an enormous crowd outside the guild, waiting for their chance to enter. However, Old Worm was still a member of the Main Branch, so he was at least allowed to pass ahead with Roan. Eventually, they arrived at the counter... well, one of them. For the exam, the Alchemist Guild Main Branch prepared many temporary counters where the candidates could register.

Of course, there were a few of them reserved primarily for the disciples of the members of the guild. Old Worm obviously brought Roan to one of those.

"Oh! It's Fellow Alchemist Fauk. You rarely ever come to pay us a visit."

Old Worm nodded.

"I've been busy."

He then pointed at Roan.

"Register him for the exam."

The guy nodded and quickly passed a badge to Roan. Many members had brought their own disciples, so the guy didn't find it strange that Old Worm had one as well.

"Go to hall number seven, your group will be there. Your table is number 459. It's against the rules to use your own tools and ingredients. Everything will be provided by the Alchemist Guild."

Roan nodded as he looked beside him. He saw that everyone was paying several spirit stones before registering.

"How much?"

The man shook his head as he replied.

"Disciples of members have no need to pay."

Roan nodded and quickly put his badge away, and headed to hall number seven.

"I can't be there with you, so I'll be watching from the sides."

Old Worm then turned around and left as well. The guy on the counter couldn't help but feel that interaction was weird.

'Is that all you have to say to your disciple? And what about this boy? He should have shown some respect to his Master as well...'

Still, that wasn't his problem, so he simply called the next person in the queue.

Roan didn't take long to arrive at the hall. He went straight to his table and began to look around. The hall was really enormous, and his number 459 was still considered at the forefront. He was sure that there were at least another 3 or 4 thousand tables behind him. Not to mention that this was only one of the halls. According to Old Worm, the Alchemist Guild opened at least ten halls for the exams every year.

'They really make a fortune. The guys outside had to pay 300 Rank Three Spirit Stones for registration. No wonder they only open ten or so slots every year. If they had even more slots, the Alchemist Main Branch wouldn't even have enough space for everyone to go through the exam.'

At the front, he also saw a stage that was empty at the moment. Roan then ignored his surroundings as he looked at his equipment on the table. There were only the most simple tools that one would usually give to those who were just starting in the path of alchemy. Roan's Spiritual Sense quickly spread around, and sure enough, it was the same for everyone else.

Roan then began to sort out his tools as he waited for the exam to start.

Back in the Formations Guild, the exam didn't attract as many people as the Alchemist's exam. Alchemy was universally known for being a money-making side occupation, so it was normal for them to receive a lot more attention.

Droman quickly used his privilege to register Rean.

"Rean boy, it seems your time has arrived. Nervous?"

The man on the counter was someone Rean saw a few times during his time in the repository.

"Hmm... I would say excited instead."

The man laughed as he passed him a badge.

"Your testing field is number eighteen. I wish you good luck."

Formations usually occupied areas much bigger than alchemist tables. Naturally, they needed a lot more space to go through the tests. However, there was no way that they would have enough space for everyone to draw formations. There weren't as many people as the Alchemist Guild, but they could still fit a few thousand in their own turf.

That's why the first tests would be elimination trials where there was no need to draw formations at all. Only when the number fell to an acceptable range would the next tests start.

Rean nodded as he looked at Droman on his side.

"Well, I'm going there, then."

Droman shrugged his shoulders as he said.

"We did all we could. Now it's all up to you."

Rean smiled as he turned around and left. However, he heard Sister Orb's voice as he walked to the test field.

[Hmph! With me here, there's no way you can lose.]

'You shut up. I'm here to compete, not to cheat.'

[Why would you do that? Roan said that you should always use everything at your disposal, remember?]

'That might be the case for him, but not me. Even if I fail this test, I won't mind.'

Roan's voice then appeared in his mind.

'No can do. You better pass this test by hook or by crook. Your Circuitry Formations are linked to our Destiny Points. They're a lot more important than your naivety. Don't forget what we're dealing with.'

Rean's expression went gloomy as he replied.

'Fine! However, Sister Orb can only intervene if I run out of options. Otherwise, I want to try and see how far I can go in the tests alone.'

Roan didn't care.

'As long as you pass, then so be it.'

[The Formation Masters in this guild had been preparing the exam for a long time. I used this month in the repository to analyze all the formations being used in the testing fields. Thanks to that, I'm ready to guide you to victory at any time.]

Rean sighed as he nodded.

"Found you!"

All of a sudden, someone held Rean's arm.

Rean was taken aback as he looked at the girl by his side.

"Q-Qia, are you in the eighteenth test field as well?"

Qia smiled playfully before nodding.

"Yeap. I asked my Master if she could use her status to at least put me in the same testing group. Since it makes no difference which one we enter, it wasn't hard for her to do that."

Rean sighed as he looked at Qia's bright smile.

"You do know that we are enemies in this exam, right? I have no intention of holding back just because you are here. Our marriage is something completely different."

Qia didn't mind.

"Obviously! If you really did that, I would kick your ass. I'm also participating, intending to get one of the ten slots. I only came to the same test field so that you could see how good of a deal you got after becoming mine."

Rean felt a chill on his back.

"Becoming... yours?"

Qia narrowed her eyes at him as she replied.

"What? You will be my husband, so you are obviously mine. Any problem?"

Rean immediately shook his head after seeing Qia's dark expression.

"Ahem... Of course not."

"That's good then."

Rean felt helpless. With her obvious attacks, even he didn't know how long he would resist.