Death... and me

The attendant nodded before giving him a list.

"These are the items you will need to bring for the test. We do not provide them on our own. However, we do sell them if you don't know where to buy them. As for the test itself, it will cost 50 Rank One Spirit Stones."

Frandin couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"So expensive..."

The attendant didn't find it weird, saying.

"It's expensive since it's a lucrative occupation. Just consider it an investment. Of course, if you fail to become an alchemist, then you will have lost your money for nothing, so think twice before taking the test. We do have part of the first floor of the repository open for those who are just starting. If you aren't confident, I advise you to go there and study a little first."

Roan didn't think 50 Rank One Spirit Stones was expensive at all. However, that was because of his experience in Sunkan Planet. He quickly put those thoughts on the back of his head, though. Following that, he sent Frandin a Spiritual Sense message.

'There's no need for you to study. I already taught you everything you need to know to make very basic Earth Low-Level Pills. Just take the test straight away.'

Frandin swallowed some saliva before nodding.

"I've already practiced enough. I would like to take the test straight away."

The attendant didn't mind it.

"Very well. You have two options. Wait for the monthly test or pay extra to have an alchemist judge your work. The monthly test will start in thirteen days. As for the paid test, you can take it straight away for 100 Rank One Spirit Stones."

Frandin glanced at Roan for a second and saw him nodding his head.

"Alright. Here are 150 Spirit Stones. I'm going to buy the materials for the test here as well."

"That's good, then. You can go to the alchemy store on that side. Just ask the guys there for the materials for an alchemist test, and they'll know what you need. Remember, you can only buy these materials. Any higher-level ones are not available for purchase without being an alchemist."

Frandin nodded and headed to the store with Roan. He quickly paid another 30 Rank One Spirit Stones and received the herbs that he would use for the test.

'Do you think I can really do it? You said the pills I made were of terrible quality.'

Roan nodded.

'It's fine. Even this kind of pill level doesn't change the fact that they're Earth Low-Level Pills. That's all we need.'

Frandin took in a deep breath and nodded. He never thought in his life that he would become an alchemist. Truth be told, the time Roan spent teaching him would have been insanely expensive in other situations. And that's considering that an alchemist even wanted to teach him.

After returning to the previous attendant, they were sent into a private room where they found the alchemy tools to make pills. A few minutes later, an alchemist came into the room, as well as his assistant.

"You're the guy who paid for the test?"

Frandin nodded as he showed his Rank Two Bloodline Mark.

"A rank two bloodline mark, huh? Not too bad. However, I won't give you any leeway just because of that."

Frandin didn't mind. He just used his mark to show that he couldn't be pushed around either.

"The pill you need to make is an Energy Dispersing Pill. The minimal level is obviously Earth Low-Rank. You can start concocting. I'll just observe and wait for you to finish."

The alchemist then looked at Roan in the corner of the room before ignoring him completely. It wasn't uncommon for Zasfins to bring their humans around.

Frandin began his concoction while thinking about the last month of training Roan gave him. Step by step, his concoction proceeded without much of an issue. Of course, Roan saw several mistakes here and there, but nothing that would result in failure.

The weird thing was that the examiner seemed to be quite surprised with Frandin's method.

Eventually, Frandin opened the lid of his cauldron and took a pill out.

"Let me see it."

The alchemist in the room quickly grabbed the pill as he analyzed it with his Spiritual Sense. In the end, he smiled as he gave it back to Frandin.

"That's quite surprising. This is a superb Earth Low-Level Energy Dispersing Pill. It even makes me wonder why you don't have an Alchemist Badge yet."

Frandin was taken aback by those words. A superb one? He had made a few pills of this level, but Roan only considered them below-average products.

'I see... It's most likely because the level of categorization of pills in Roan's world is much higher than ours. Nonetheless, a very good Earth Low-Level one is still a Low-Level one. This should be enough for me to pass the test.'

Frandin was right. The pill he made just now could be considered average in Sunkan Planet. Roan even regarded it as below-average, but that's because Roan's personal standards were even higher.

The alchemist then patted Frandin's shoulders before asking.

"Boy, how old are you?"

"M-me? I'm 23."

"Only 23? That's not bad at all. It won't be long before you become an Earth Middle-Level Alchemist. I can only imagine how many years you spent studying and practicing before taking the test."

Frandin's mouth twitched in response. Spent a lot of years? How come he doesn't remember it? He started his alchemist training a little over a month ago. Well... a hellish training, that is.

"By the way, you can call me Safran. How about it, boy? Would you like to be my disciple?"

Frandin was shocked to receive such an invitation. Could it be that he really had a talent for alchemy? Unfortunately, Roan pulled him back from his delusions.

'The alchemy methods of this planet must be really shit. This guy even considers that pill of yours to be something good. If he thinks like that, then I can make even a 5-year-old kid pass this test.'

Sure enough, Frandin immediately understood that he didn't have any talent whatsoever... in the most painful way.

'You could have at least let me dream a little, you know...'