Death... and me

Frandin held his tears as he looked at Safran after receiving the offer.

"I'm sorry, Senior Safran. I already have a Master, so I can't be your disciple."

Frandin wasn't lying. Roan was, after all, his Master... Even though he wouldn't be teaching him anything else to him now that he had passed the test.

Safran nodded, not finding Frandin's words weird at all.

"As I thought. There's no way someone could make such a good pill in their first try without having a Master. I can only think how happy your master is, knowing that he had obtained a talented student like you."

Frandin smiled bitterly in response. Happy? That's the last word that came to his mind when he thought about Roan. Frandin even wondered if Roan knew what the word happy means. Still, he quickly put those thoughts behind his head.

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Safran. Would I have access to the alchemist repository now?"

Safran nodded.

"Of course! Come with me so that we can make your token."

Frandin and Roan then followed Safran into another room, where Safran passed the results to the employee there. After confirming that Frandin was a bona fide Earth Low-level Rank Alchemist, the guy ordered a token of the Alchemist Guild to be made. Frandin then received his token around an hour later.

"This is the Alchemist Guild's token. It can be used basically everywhere to prove your status. It gives you access to the Alchemist Repository and the power to buy Alchemy Items as long as you have the necessary Spirit Stones. Remember to keep this token safe since you will have to do the test again if you lose it."

The employee then explained several other rules to Frandin before he let him go. Obviously, Roan told him to bring them to the alchemist repository straight away. Unfortunately, the guard in front of the repository stopped the two of them. Soon after, the employee on the counter on the side said.

"Humans are not permitted inside the repository. There's the risk that they might destroy the information."

Neither Frandin nor Roan were surprised by that. Frandin had already told Roan that this kind of issue might come up when the time came. However, Roan also came up with a way to deal with it.

Frandin then took a bag with a thousand Rank Two Spirit Stones before putting it on the counter.

"Here you go. If my human really destroys anything, you can use these Spirit Stones to replace whatever it is. However, you don't need to worry, my human is very well trained. He wouldn't dare to do anything in my presence. Am I right, rat?"

Roan bowed to Frandin and replied.

"Yes, young master. This slave lives for you and only you."

Frandin nodded, satisfied. It's just that no one noticed his back drenched cold sweat. He wasn't doing that on purpose. Roan was the one who told him to say whatever is needed to get him through. Still, he couldn't help but feel afraid that Roan would get back at him after that."

"This..."

The guard then looked at the guild employee on the counter, waiting for his answer. The employee, of course, didn't know what to say about it. However, rules were rules, so he had to refuse. But just as he was about to say that, a voice came from nearby.

"Let them through. Since this new member is willing to pay for any losses, we don't have any issues about it."

Frandin and Roan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Safran coming their way.

"Thank you, Senior Safran."

Safran didn't mind it. He considered Frandin to be a good talent, so it was better not to lose him just because of something simple. Safran could do it since he was one of the guild's elders, after all.

The employee quickly nodded before passing Safran's token back to him.

"Since Elder Safran allowed you to bring the human, then we have nothing to say. Just remember to keep the human's hands far from our books."

Frandin sighed in relief before nodding.

"Obviously. He will only enter to attend to my needs. There's no need for him to touch the books. Let's go, rat!"

"Yes, young master."

Frandin then entered the repository with Roan right behind him.

Behind, Safran looked at Frandin while thinking.

'I wonder who his master is. Although I said he has good talent, I could see that he just started learning Alchemy not long ago. The main point is that I didn't see him using his Zasfin Soul Power at all. Also, the movements he made while concocting were more than enough proof of that. But lo and behold, he made such a high-quality pill in his first test. If possible, I want to meet him... or her.'

Safran then shook his head and turned around before leaving.

'I'll have someone follow him later.'

Frandin and Roan didn't know what Safran was thinking, and Roan definitely didn't care. Instead, they walked slowly through the Alchemist Repository as Roan used his Spiritual Sense to read through the titles of the books.

'It's so weird... Their alchemy level is so low, so how come they came up with an Affinity Enhancement Pill formula while we didn't? Could it be that Sunkan Planet had it, but it was hidden? Or maybe it's the special conditions of this world that allows one to be made?'

As Roan pondered, he and Frandin quickly reached the stairs to the second floor. So far, Roan didn't find any book related to Elemental Affinity Pills. Well, Roan wasn't surprised since the first floor was mostly filled with Low and Middle-Level Earth Recipes. An Elemental Affinity Pill was bound to be harder than that.

Sure enough, Roan found what he was looking for on the third floor, where the Earth Peak-Level manuals could be found.

-Water Element Enhancement Pill-

-Introduction to Affinity Pills-

-Water and Ice Improvement Pill-

-Yin Enhanced Water Element Pill-

It didn't take long for Roan to find a problem.

'All the books associated with Elemental Affinity Enhancement are for Yin Related Elements. Water, Ice, some variations of Earth, etc...'

Frandin then began to take down the books that Roan told him to. Following that, he sat on the table as Roan stood by his side. They had to keep up an act, so Roan pretended to be the servant, waiting for Frandin's orders. Of course, Frandin was basically browsing through the books while the one who was really reading it was Roan.

Still, Frandin couldn't help but feel shocked at the speed that Roan asked him to pass through the pages.

'Is it possible to read this fast? Or could it be that he's looking for something specific? Still...'

Roan didn't know what Frandin was thinking. However, he was really reading everything in the books. Frandin continued to pass by the pages before changing to the next book. Just like that, Roan had Frandin show him more than several tens of books in a roll. Only by the end of the day did Roan get to a conclusion.

'I see... It's not that there are only Yin Related Elemental Affinity Pills. It's just that most Zasfin Alchemists had Water Element Affinity. However, the main issue isn't just that. The problem is that Elemental Affinity Pills use the Soul Power of the Zasfins to be made. Not only that, but most pill formulas use Soul Power as well. That's not something a human can copy.'

It was then that a question appeared in Roan's mind.

'First of all, what is Soul Power? I saw Frandin using it during the battles and thought it to be a special trait of his bloodline, so I didn't care too much.'

Roan then looked at Frandin before asking.

'Tell me, how do you use your Soul Power?'

Frandin was taken aback for a second. However, he quickly recovered and answered.

'Hmm... I don't think I can explain it to you.'

Roan narrowed his eyes, which made Frandin feel a cold chill on his back.

'Wait, wait! It's not that I don't want to, but that it's impossible for me to tell you to start with.'

Roan's expression eased a little.

'How come?'

Frandin sighed in relief before continuing.

'As I mentioned before, our Zasfin Race can use our Soul Power. It's our special trait. However, you must understand that this is the same as breathing for us. The Soul Power is there, so we use it. Asking me how to use Soul Power is the same as me asking you how to breathe. Neither you nor I need an explanation. We can simply do it since we were babies. Even while we sleep, we can still do it. It's a natural condition.'

'Our Zasfin Race's Soul Power is pretty much the same thing. There isn't an explanation. Even those without Bloodline Marks can do so, just not to the same extent. Of course, our Bloodline Marks can increase the Soul Power by a lot, so the better the mark, the stronger our Soul Power becomes. Nonetheless, it's still something that we can't exactly explain how it works.'

Roan narrowed his eyes in response. If that was the case, he had reached a dead end. The only way to get Elemental Affinity Pills would be to buy them. After all, Roan wasn't in the mood to make Frandin become an Earth Peak-Level Alchemist. That would take way too long. However, it was then that he noticed something.

'The bloodline marks increases one's Soul Power. Zasfins are definitely a sub-species of our human race. If that's the case, doesn't that mean that humans also have Soul Power? Perhaps it's just way too weak for them to be able to use. But... If we somehow get one of those marks...'

And just like that, a crazy thought began to take form in Roan's head.