"Iris?"
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well, I don't know. You never even answered or tried to annoy me these past days. I thought something might have happened to you."
"Like what?"
"What?"
"Like what would happen to me?"
"I don't know. Sudden heart attack? Illness? Shyness?"
Iris, rolling her eyes, still replied, "I see, so after doing all the hard work in here, you are like the lonely wife after the breadwinner comes home. Complaining about not getting enough attention."
"What???" Michael was baffled after Iris compared their relationship to something like a housewife-plus-worker marriage, where he was the woman.
"Hey, I got that from you. Like I said, I'm all done. We can finally start with our real project." Iris said while laughing lightly.
"Hahahaha, perfect." Michael echoed her laughter in his mind. If this laughter were to be heard on the outside, it would sound somewhat evil.
After a few more rounds of bantering, Michael went to lie down, and soon the next day came.
Today was his day; Michael would finally become an alchemist.
Serious and all business, Michael stood up from his makeshift bed. Doing his usual morning routine, which included eating meat, he intentionally wore his Master S clothing robe and was ready to go.
Today he would present the outer city, a place that had been his home so far. He wanted to prove that his background didn't matter. Even people from the poor outer city could achieve something inner-city people dreamed about.
Well, his background kind of mattered a lot in regard to mastering alchemy, but whatever, maybe instead he could just change the way the outer city was seen.
"I don't know. The more I think about it, the more I don't really have anything to do with normal outer city people," he spoke in his mind.
"Yeah, you are the caveman, even among the poor," Iris answered, stabbing a knife right through Michael's brain. A critical hit.
...
After bidding Kaishi and Tianfu goodbye, he went straight to the gate separating the inner and outer city. Showing off his badge, which would expire the very next day, to the guards, he walked past them with a confident smirk.
Today he would not keep his head down.
Walking through the inner city in the morning, he didn't see a lot of people, but the people who saw him still avoided him like a plague.
Michael didn't mind and continued on, proudly wearing the symbol of the outer city.
The Alchemy Association itself was also different today. Its main gates were open, but people would question everyone who came close.
A participation document was needed to enter. Today the Alchemy Association would not take in any public requests. Today the only event was the exam.
Michael quietly showed the documents he received while first visiting and headed inside without any problems. The guards only looked oddly at each other, seeing someone participating while wearing robes that clearly showed that they came from the outer city.
The way towards the testing area was clearly marked, and Michael had no problems heading inside.
Michael arrived early. The exam would only start 30 minutes later, but he chose to show up early, not knowing about any customs relating to when to actually show up for these kinds of events.
Michael consequentially expected to arrive at either an empty or an already completely filled room.
Surprisingly though, there were exactly two other people present within the room upon Michael's arrival: Qiu Zhengyi, the alchemist clerk that had registered Michael for the exam, and Mao Ping, the person who had repeatedly annoyed Michael without any reason.
Oh, she is here to take the exam too? Michael didn't expect Qiu Zhengyi to participate as well. She already seemed much more advanced.
Mao Ping sat in the middle seat of the first row, seriously looking at the order of his different writing utensils, only acknowledging Michael with an unfriendly, annoyed look, but not speaking a word. Seemingly treating this exam as more important than talking to someone like Michael.
Each row had three seats in total. Left, middle, and right. Adding up to a total of 15 seats, excluding the three front seats that were probably reserved for the examiners.
Qiu Zhengyi sat on the left side of the fourth of the five total rows. She beckoned Michael to come over with a friendly smile, pointing to the chair next to her.
Michael smiled back and sat down next to her without saying a word, not wanting to give Mao Ping any reason to change his mind.
"Michael, you really came. I personally thought you weren't serious about taking this exam. Do you still feel confident?" Qiu Zhengyi asked.
"I am serious, and I'm still confident," Michael simply replied.
"Good, I'm really curious how you will do. I hope you'll do well; let's become alchemists!"
"Yes," Michael just nodded, not missing Mao Ping's increasingly tensing muscles.
He really needed to limit his ongoing conversation. Mao Ping looked like a bubbling volcano.
"By the way, did you notice that the Alchemy Association is not open to customers today? During the regular monthly exams, that's not the case. But every year, when the people from the in-house alchemy classes graduate, the gates will close. That is partly because the students from the oldest grade are responsible for handling administrative and customer tasks to a certain degree. At the same time, the absence of the alchemists, who have to witness and correct our test today, plays a huge role. So essentially the Alchemy Association won't really work for normal customers without these people present, so our other personnel, like elixir masters, get a day off. Oh, and there are also...
Michael's efforts were in vain. Luckily Mao Ping simply continued to focus, even while his whole body was close to shaking from the building tension.
Time passed by, and the participants trickled in slowly but surely. At ten minutes before the exam, every single chair was filled while last-minute learning and conversations took place all around the room.
These students were all very familiar with each other. They spent the last three years together to learn alchemy, after all, just like Qiu Zhengyi had already explained to Michael.
This made Michael stick out like a sore thumb, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Thinking back on his plan to represent the outer city, well, this is the best outcome.
At this point, the talkative Qiu Zhengyi had become quiet. Without saying a word, she kept looking towards the second door of the room without moving her eyes. The door itself was close to the three still vacant teacher desks and probably functioned as an entrance for them. She seemingly just wanted to let the exam begin.
Meanwhile, Mao Ping continued to sit in silence as well. Even as his friends, or rather followers, arrived one after another, chatting nonstop, he simply ignored them while slowly loosening up his body. Maybe only Qiu Zhengyi's words can make him tense up.
Oddly enough, nobody tried to talk to or even approach Qiu Zhengyi, even though she seemed like someone who would be the popular, pretty, class president type of girl in every normal school setting.
On the exact second the exam was supposed to begin, the teacher's door opened, while the entrance where the participants had come from closed.
Through the now opened door, three men walked towards the three elevated desks in the front of the room.
The students themselves all stood up and bowed deep in respect. Michael, not wanting to stick out too much, quickly followed suit.
"You can sit," the man in the middle spoke.
He had grey hair and a medium-long, well-groomed grey beard. His stern expression and aloof stature gave Michael the impression that he was the head of the Alchemy Association, or rather, this branch.
On the right side of him, another similarly old man stood, looking a lot more relaxed, even bored. With a shaved (not shaved, just...) head and a long stubbly beard, he looked quite unkempt.
The man on the left, in contrast to the other two, looked a lot younger. Michael estimated him to be around 50 years old, looking at the students with a mix of harshness and fondness depending on who he looked at. While his eyes went over Michael, though, his face turned into pure disgust.
"Welcome, young men and women," the man in the middle raised his surprisingly powerful and clear voice. "Today is the day you might graduate from trainee, plant picker, elixir apprentice, or even elixir master," he said while taking a quick look at Qiu Zhengyi. "to the true occupation everyone here yearns for. This occupation, or rather passion, is for every one of you who is interested in using nature's own gifts to create something more, something new. Something that at some point might transcend what you can even imagine. Today you have the chance to fulfill your first step towards your dreams. Today you have the chance to become an alchemist."
The old man took a deep look at Mao Ping during his last sentence. Meanwhile, he ignored the amazed and determined eyes of the other participants.
"Be aware though: this path won't be easy. Only with dedication and discipline might you be able to reach your goal. Today, we, the alchemists of the honorable Alchemy Association, will test whether you have the qualifications and potential to become an alchemy apprentice or even a full-fledged alchemist, or simply another meaningless disappointment."
"The examination consists of four separate tests. First two theoretical tests, then two practical tests. After every test, your score will be evaluated by one of us three alchemists, and every person failing the test by scoring too low will have to leave."
"After completing every test without failing, you will have become an alchemist disciple, while scoring over a certain threshold in each test will let you become an alchemist directly. Are there any questions?"
The room stayed silent.
"Good, the first test will start in 10 minutes." With that said, he walked towards the door he came from and closed it, while the other two alchemists stayed in the room, sitting at their desks.
Shortly after the head alchemist left, first whispers and then normal talking followed.
"All three alchemists at one place, unbelievable."
"Yes, and did you hear Mao Gong's speech? I never heard that the leader would give such inspirational speeches before the tests."
"Maybe it's because of Mao Ping."
"Yes, as his grandson Mao Ping needs to perform."
Michael listened to the chatter around him, just wanting the test to start. Why is there even another 10-minute countdown?
The 10-minute countdown was over soon enough, and the man on the left stood up with some "youthful" energy and started to explain the test.
"In the first test of today's examination, you will have to name the corresponding plant drawn in the picture and list the core of its growing conditions, main features, and dangers while picking it. Every alchemist needs basic plant knowledge, so the passing grade of this test is set at 85%. Meanwhile, everyone who aspires to become an alchemist needs to score a perfect 100%. Listen, a real alchemist needs to be perfect in this simple test. You will have a total of 1 hour for this test," he said with some energy before letting multiple clerks hand out the tests.
Can't even hand out the test himself? These alchemists really take themself too seriously, Michael thought.
Receiving the stack of paper, Michael quickly started to write down the plant names from his memory before describing each plant's characteristics as explained in the task texts.
The test was quite boring. The plants were mostly common plants, while spiritual plants would only show up towards the later parts of the test. All tier 1, of course.
Due to his inhuman hand-eye coordination and reading speed, he flew through the pages and was done with the whole test in about 10 minutes.
Michael didn't try to be fast; he simply wrote down the answers at a pace that was quite leisurely for him. It just so happened that his leisure pace was simply too quick for the test.
Looking away from his filled-out papers, Michael gazed around the room and saw the students around him still writing at a relatively "fast" pace, trying to get done by the one-hour mark. Even Mao Ping and Qiu Zhengyi were not done yet.
Hmm, can I already hand my test in for correction? Will they collect the tests on their own after the hour is over? Should I ask?
He wasn't sure. At school he would have just turned it in to the teacher, but he didn't want to break any unknown rules and couldn't ask either without standing out completely. This is just too boring...
Michael naturally couldn't look at the papers of the other students, since he would be accused of cheating. Well, he was quite practiced at waiting, but why did it have to be harder than the actual exam?
After some time, without any ideas on how to escape his situation, he still decided to wait, for now.
The test continued, and while some clerks, hired to observe the participants, looked at the motionless Michael oddly, the two alchemists didn't look into the crowd at all, not noticing that Michael hadn't written a word in minutes.
Soon 30 minutes had passed since the test started. At this point Michael could no longer endure it. Waiting was the worst activity, and Michael had waited long enough in his life.
He raised his hand, like he would in school.
For about five minutes nobody responded. Michael just sat there with his hand raised, like he had to do some kind of dare, making the already irritated clerks look at him with even darker looks. At some point even the "young" alchemist couldn't ignore the idiot from the outer city raising his arm.
"What is it?" He asked in a sharp but quiet tone to not disturb the other students too much.
Michael, though, relieved to finally be able to escape this uncomfortable situation, spoke louder than he had anticipated: "What happens when I'm done with the test? Can I give you the papers for correction?"
Hearing the words Michael had just uttered, the rest of the students suddenly looked up away from their tests and at Michael in shock. He had already completed the entire exam? HE?! It had to be a bad joke. Soon enough, though, they realized that they still had their test to fill out and concentrated back on their pile of papers.
Mao Ping gave Michael an especially gloomy look before returning to the test, while Qiu Zhengyi was the only student that didn't look up at all.
The alchemist on the other end simply sighed, "Don't disturb the other students. First warning. As for the test: You have exactly one hour. Not more, and not less. You may not hand it in yet; it will be collected after the time is up. Alchemists need to be patient in life. The timing is important in everything, and being too early is as bad as being too late. Without patience, you are not qualified to be an alchemist, understood?" With that, the "young" alchemist looked back down at his work, while Michael was furious.
What kind of bullshit is that? What has waiting for something in a concoction process to do with handing in a test? Now I have to wait another 30 minutes...
Michael simply decided to close his eyes and talk with Iris for the remaining time. They talked for a bit before playing games like I Spy with My Little Eye, Who Am I, and others.
Meanwhile, five minutes after Michael asked his question, Qiu Zhengyi was done with her test. After finishing looking through her answers one more time, she finally took a look at Michael, who simply sat in place with closed eyes. Qiu Zhengyi couldn't help but feel some admiration towards this mysterious person.
Time continued to pass, and soon Mao Ping, a few of his friends, and other people were done with the test. Most people seemed to have no problem on this first test.
"The test is now over," the alchemist on the left said. Exactly one hour had passed, and the tests were collected by the clerks before being split between the two alchemists in the room to correct them.
Almost all students were already done writing, so they simply handed over their filled-out papers before taking a break ahead of the second test.
They could either head to a separate break room, where food and drinks would be served, or head outside towards the garden area of the Alchemy Association.
Consequently, most students started to move the moment the break time was announced. Their expressions were mostly either focused or nervous. Although most students were confident in their given answers, there was still a long way to go to become an alchemist disciple.
Even the normally confident Mao Ping had a stoic, concentrated look on his face that was nothing like his usual overbearing self.
Michael simply walked behind the mass of students and headed towards the outside area. He chose this area specifically because fewer people were going there, making confrontations more unlikely. Meanwhile, his gloomy face made him fit in with the worried faces all around perfectly, despite his reason being quite different. Waiting is so boring…
Heading outside, the usual busy garden area was empty today, and Michael sat down on the luscious green grass, enjoying the morning sun.
"Michael?" a soft voice came closer to him.
Michael opened his eyes and saw Qiu Zhengyi walk towards him, under the astonished eyes of the onlookers.
"Fairy Zhengyi speaks with this outcast?"
"Didn't they even talk before the test? This is huge news!"
"We need to tell Mao Ping about it!"
The whispers around them made Michael, who heard everything, uncomfortable to an extreme. He wanted to send Qiu Zhengyi away immediately to avoid further confrontation, but looking at her honest smile and curiosity, he couldn't quite get himself to do it. Well, it seems like I have at least one fan.
"Michael, how did you do it? You finished the test in only 30 minutes! Did you really do it?" Qiu Zhengyi asked in excitement.
"Yes, I finished the test ahead of time. As to how, I simply wrote down the answers," Michael said, not specifying that it only took him 10 minutes to fill out the entire test.
"Wow, you are amazing! Didn't you say that you needed to go to the library before the test? I would have never thought that you would pass after saying that you are self-taught and needed to use the library for basic plant knowledge before attending the test. And you even finished first. I really hope that you got everything right and move on. It would prove that everyone can learn alchemy." Qiu Zhengyi's eyes kept getting brighter while talking.
"Like I said, I am confident," Michael answered with a sincere smile. He was quite pleased by Qiu Zhengyi, who seemed to be someone from a wealthy background yet had nothing against Michael's status. Finally someone who isn't looking down on people of lower status.
Qiu Zhengyi, being Qiu Zhengyi, obviously wouldn't stop talking after just starting. She went on about how this test was harder than the usual first tests and how the test went for her.
Michael kept talking to a minimum, not wanting to fuel the fire for more conversation, particularly after hearing the whispers about informing Mao Ping about his ongoing conversation with Qiu Zhengyi.
Just as these thoughts occurred to him, and while Qiu Zhengyi still talked without any signs of stopping anytime soon, he saw Mao Ping come to the outside, this time alone. Why did I even think about him…?
He walked over to the pair and looked at Qiu Zhengyi with some anger, completely ignoring Michael's presence, something Michael really appreciated.
"Sister Zhengyi, the next test is set to start in five minutes. Why did you waste your whole break time talking to someone like him?" Mao Ping asked with clear disdain and disregard for Michael.
"Isn't it amazing, Mao Ping?" Qiu Zhengyi began, ignoring Mao Ping's anger. "Someone like him, as you like to say, probably performed the best in the first test. I simply had to speak to him," Qiu Zhengyi said without getting annoyed, still amazed by Michael.
Mao Ping, hearing Qiu Zhengyi speak and seeing her pure joyous expression. An expression Mao Ping had never seen while speaking with Qiu Zhengyi made him clench his fists tightly; his body seemed to tense up again.
Michael thought about warning Mao Ping, telling him to relax his already strained body. Not wanting to let the raging bull Mao Ping shift his focus towards him, he refrained from speaking a word and let Qiu Zhengyi handle the ensuing situation.
"Sister Zhengyi, do you really believe that he has a perfect score? He probably either scribbled down stuff, lied about being finished, or cheated outright. Either way, he will be exposed ahead of the second test without any doubt. Come with me now and focus on yourself instead of this savage."
Qiu Zhengyi, hearing Mao Ping talk, couldn't help but shake her head, changing her excited smile to the usual stone-cold look she would have while speaking to him. "Mao Ping, you simply see someone less wealthy than you and think he is worthless. Why is the family behind an individual everything that counts about a person? If that's what you believe, what about the person himself?" Qiu Zhengyi shook her head again.
"The person is a product of the family. If the family is rich, he will be rich. If the family is smart, he will be smart. If my family is powerful, I will be powerful. The only way to add something to a person is through their genes; that is the identity of a person. Let's make a bet that will prove that I'm right. If this savage passes the test he just wrote, without cheating, I will personally apologize to him. But if he failed it for whatever reason, you will have to agree that I was right and join me for a meal," Mao Ping said with a completely straight face.
Michael, watching from the sidelines, cringed at Mao Ping's awkward try to ask Qiu Zhengyi out. Doesn't he see that she has no interest at all? Michael himself wasn't an expert in dating and love at all, more like the opposite, but seeing Qiu Zhengyi's annoyed, angry, resigned, and cold expressions while talking to Mao Ping made it quite obvious that there shouldn't be any interest at all.
Well, that explains Mao Ping's weird muscle tensions when she speaks to me. Wait, shouldn't he just ignore me since I couldn't be his match in status or power anyway, or is that the exact reason that makes him even more mad? Whatever…
"Sure," Qiu Zhengyi said to Michael's surprise, making him look at her with some interest. "I believe that Michael will have a score of 100%. I even believe that he will pass all four tests and become an alchemist today," Qiu Zhengyi said, full of confidence, as if she had no doubt at all.
Michael himself couldn't help but be confused while looking at Mao Ping's ever-changing expression, from disbelief to anger and back. How does she know? To him it was obvious that he would pass, but how was Qiu Zhengyi so sure after seeing him just a few times?
"Qiu Zhengyi, don't joke around," Mao Ping laughed somewhat nervously and angrily. "Nobody in the last 100 years did what you just said. There is no way this savage will! Anyway, I can't continue listening to your crazy statements; the test is not something to joke about. Not even for you. Don't forget to honor the bet after the tests are over," Mao Ping said while walking away. At this point he really wanted to make Michael suffer, not just because he didn't belong here, but even more so because of Qiu Zhengyi's unreasonable favor towards him.
Michael didn't think too much about Mao Ping as he headed back to the testing room with Qiu Zhengyi. Well, he probably wouldn't apologize and would hate him forever, but that wasn't such a big problem. After obtaining the alchemy license, or whatever they would give to him after passing the test, he would simply avoid seeing Mao Ping ever again; problem solved. Surely Mao Ping wouldn't go through the trouble to find Michael in the outer city after the exam, right? Right?
Sitting ready at his teacher's desk, waiting for everyone to arrive to start the second test, was Xidu Cheng.
The old man, with an unkempt outer appearance, taking the right seat, was normally very bored during these examinations. In most exams there weren't any passable candidates that had the potential to ever become alchemists anyway. Most lacked the true spirit and conviction an alchemist should have. They just wanted to become alchemist disciples to improve their family standing and to get some benefits from the Alchemy Association. A recipe for failure.
This time around, though, it was a lot different. There were two potential alchemists in between all the useless fodder. Mao Ping was the son of the current head and inherited a lot of his father's characteristics: good and bad. Meanwhile, Qiu Zhengyi was his personal favorite. The usual cold girl would dedicate every available second to mastering alchemy. She truly had the heart and wits to become something special.
Thirdly, though. There was this weird guy. Michael, was it? The guy who raised his hand during the test to ask to hand in his paper. The guy who wore an outfit made to identify someone as an outer-city citizen. A label that would bring nothing but difficulties. From this point onward Xidu Cheng needed to put his focus on him. After asking his question, he really didn't move his pen at all. After seeing this display of confidence, or what he thought was ignorance, Xidu Cheng had purposefully arranged to personally correct Michael's test. He wanted to see where this arrogant young man from the outer city took his confidence from, but the results greatly shocked him.
Looking at the students coming back, sometimes in groups, pairs, or alone, Xidu Cheng noticed his golden child, Qiu Zhengyi, coming in. Walking through the door next to Michael, she smiled and talked like Xidu Cheng had only seen her when she would learn something new about alchemy.
Xidu Cheng couldn't believe it. He knew that Qiu Zhengyi had great intuition, mostly related to alchemy and alchemy masters. Did she figure out something about him? Xidu Cheng decided, even more so than before, keeping a good eye on Michael during this second test was necessary.
The more Xidu Cheng thought, the more this usually spiritless old man became excited.
Soon, everyone had arrived. It was time to share the scores for the first test. The younger alchemist, namely Wuguan Lianjin, read out the results for every student with a stoic expression, starting with the top performer and ending with the worst-performing student.
"Mao Ping, 100%. Qiu Zhengyi, 100%. Ji Ling, 100%. Wang Ai 100%. Zhou Tian, 100%. Michael, 100%. Wu Teng, 100%..."
Out of 15 total students, nine had scored 100%, while everyone else scored above 85%. Everyone had passed the first test.
After giving the students a few moments of relief, Xidu Cheng stood up in his usual casual demeanor. "I am responsible for the second test. In this test you will need to put your theoretical knowledge about the usage of concoction materials as well as the concoction process to be evaluated. You will have 1.5 hours of time to finish the test. To pass, you will need to score 70%. If you aspire to become an alchemist today, you will need to score 95%. Any questions?"
The room was quiet for a few moments. Particularly one individual was silent and hadn't listened to the words of Xidu Cheng at all. Mao Ping still looked in front of him, completely unmoving.
He… he, that savage, actually passed? Passed the first test? In reality? Those were his first thoughts, but soon something else hit him. I lost the bet!
Not only did Michael somehow pass the test in a faster time than him, but he also lost his bet to Qiu Zhengyi, meaning that he couldn't take her on a date. No! Meaning that I have to apologize???
His thoughts weren't finished as a stack of papers was suddenly put right in front of him. Wait, the test has already begun. Mao Ping had no more time to think; this test was just as important as Qiu Zhengyi.
At this moment the tension in the room heightened tenfold. Everyone felt the weight of the second test hit them. This was the real beginning of the alchemist exams.
Xidu Cheng sat back down and took a good look at the nervous faces of the students. The test he designed this time was a lot harder than his usual tests. His main goal was to test Qiu Zhengyi and Mao Ping's qualifications, the two special candidates. In fact, it was so hard that after the standard procedure of an external member of the Alchemy Association looking through the test, the passing and alchemist grades were lowered from 80% and 100%, respectively.
But even though he had designed the test specifically for Mao Ping and Qiu Zhengyi, his full attention was on someone else entirely. He was completely focused on the surprise candidate, Michael.
He saw Michael receiving his test and shaking his head with a weird expression before taking his pen and starting to write at a lightning-fast pace. Xidu Cheng couldn't even follow along with the speed of the movement Michael's hand made and, subsequently, with the words he wrote down. Soon, a very simple yet complicated question arose within his mind. Who is he?
He looked as closely as he could, but Michael's hand was simply too fast for him to follow. Continuing to watch Michael for some time, writing with a relaxed yet somehow confused expression, he realized something else, something weird.
Why isn't he turning to the next page? Michael had written at an unbelievable pace, yet his progress regarding the pages was the same as Qiu Zhengyi's, who wrote significantly slower. What is he writing on these pages? Why is he writing so much? Xidu Cheng was confused, yet intrigued. He had the feeling that correcting Michael's test would lead to something incredible.
Time kept ticking, and Michael continued to keep up his pace. Only after fifty whole minutes of continuous writing at full speed did Michael finally put down his pen.
This test was like a college exam compared to grasping the alphabet in the first test. It asked complex questions, towards which Michael actually had to show quite a bit of his knowledge. For example, a seemingly simple task like naming all tier 1 pills using the Moonpetal Flower, a common tier 1 spirit plant, and noting down their pill formulas. Michael just knew too many. Well, admittedly, most of them were pretty useless, like the rising moon pill. A pill that simply "deepens the connection with the moon." Anyway, writing down a bunch of these pills was just too much.
The worst part, though, was that the free space on each and every paper to write down the answer was simply too small. Michael really had to write as small as possible to fit everything in, meaning as small as someone else could read. He really wondered how the others would do in a test that was even "hard" for him, although as he finished, there were still 40 minutes left to go.
"They just don't know everything you know, you idiot," Iris interjected.
"You probably just gifted this Alchemy Association a bunch of free pill recipes..."
"Oh," was the only thing Michael could say. Iris was probably right.
The test continued, and Michael was back to being bored. He played with the thought of somehow erasing a lot of the expert and advanced knowledge he wrote down but decided to keep everything in place.
He had no idea which knowledge was expected, so he couldn't just erase random passages that might be needed to pass the test. He needed to at least score 95% and didn't want to take the test again.
Maybe I can somehow charge them afterwards for all the new knowledge I just gave them? Please. Michael's hopes were not something he was confident in. Well, at least I can just sell the pills I create myself; that's something at least. Michael wasn't happy at all and felt like he had just lost an enormous amount of free money.
"Michael!" Iris suddenly said, in a surprisingly serious voice. Is she just as mad as I am?
"Yes?" He still answered, not wanting to get scolded for an actual mistake.
"My talisman you gave to Kaishi has just activated."
Michael's whole body froze in an instant.