Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pharmacists had a higher social status than mages. Although the pharmacists here were all low-level ones, they had been labeled as talents ever since a young age, and were also the successful pioneers of their generation. Hence, they were obviously proud and arrogant.
The biggest problem that they were facing now was their uncertainty about the situation and President Balbo’s stand. Although they’d been told to come here for training, none of them believed that it was true. Although they couldn’t think of any other possible reason, they still felt that they had been exiled.
That was precisely the reason for their anger and dissatisfaction. However, a small bit of their rationality was telling and reminding them not to get into a conflict with the young President who was related to President Balbo. Well, at least they were still members of the Guild of Magic, and if they were to anger President Balbo, they might just be chased out.
At this moment, the young pharmacists were all feeling extremely conflicted and more frustrated than they had ever been. They desperately wanted an outlet to vent their frustration, but they had no choice but to wait until Lin Li had left to gather together and curse him.
“Everyone, there’s no point in cursing our hearts out now. No matter what, let’s get down to business seriously. Maybe this is Teacher’s test for us,” Wilkinson said out of the blue, after which the sounds of gossip vanished.
As President Balbo’s proud disciple, Wilkinson was still their leader even though they were now in Lin Li’s territory. After hearing his words, everyone calmed down and gave it some thought, only to realize that his words did make some sense. Regardless of whether they had been exiled or not, they would still have to depend on Lin Li in order to return to the Pharmacist Guild.
They sighed and resigned themselves to fate, after which they turned to look at the formula written on the blackboard. There was pharmaceutical equipment on the tables in front of them, and beside them, there were medical shelves level with their waists which all contained medicinal herbs and materials. Everything that they needed had already been prepared, and the formula had also been written clearly on the board. Their job was fairly simple, and that was to mix the half-finished materials together to concoct the potion.
Morning passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Li put down the pen in his hand, and stared at the parchment paper that was placed in the middle of the table, which was the result of his efforts this morning. There were also dozens of other pieces of parchment paper on the side. He glanced through the formulas written on the paper carefully. Once the pharmacists concocted a suitable amount of Bone Erosion Powder, they would be able to gather the Bone Erosion Powder.
After some consideration, Lin Li decided that the defense of Black Clouds Town was the first problem that had to be solved. Since the amount of potions required was not large, he decided to let those pharmacists complete them first. After they were done, he would then teach them some things and get them to make some potions for sale.
At this moment, the door was flung open loudly. Lin Li frowned and looked at the door, only to see Wilkinson entering together with two other pharmacists.
Before Lin Li could even say anything, Wilkinson snapped, “Mr. Felic, we don’t know what grudges you bear against us, because we have never heard of you before. No matter what relationship you have with Teacher Balbo, or what kind of deal you’ve struck, we will do whatever you ask us to do since we are here. There is nothing to complain about, but what you are doing is too much. We are not here to be your toys!”
Lin Li was dumbfounded. How am I going overboard?
“President Felic, although President Balbo has commanded that we must all listen to you at the Tower of Dusk, you must not forget that we are pharmacists!” said another angry pharmacist.
Feeling bewildered, Lin Li frowned, and said, “Wait a minute. Why don’t I get what you’re saying? I just wanted you to make some Bone Erosion Powder. Why are you making it seem like I’m bullying you?”
“Bone Erosion Powder! Are you still insisting that you were just going to make us concoct some Bone Erosion Powder?”
“What’s wrong? Is there an issue? The effects of this potion may be weaker than Bone Erosion Powder’s, but the formula is just a modified version of the original one. It’s not wrong to call it Bone Erosion Powder,” said Lin Li, who was getting more and more confused. He thought to himself, I’m just making you people make some low-level potions. It’s not like you haven’t made them in the Pharmacist Guild before. Why are you making it seem like I abuse you? You guys aren’t child laborers. All of you are in your twenties.
“Wilkinson, I told you right from the start that we shouldn’t have come to see him. Let’s go home now. I believe President Balbo is not going to blame us,” said another pharmacist.
Thud.
“You two, shut up!” Lin Li hollered angrily, finally losing his temper and standing up after slamming his hand against the table. He then said to Wilkinson, “Tell me, what exactly is going on? Make things clear. Besides, you’re free to go wherever you want here, no one is compelled to do anything. Don’t threaten me with your departure.”
Lin Li was actually not angry. He was just finding it rather amusing and frustrating at the same time. It seemed the pharmacists had been spoiled rotten by the Pharmacist Guild, so much that they were all childish brats.
Although Lin Li did not deliberately make his identity known, they all knew that he was a Legendary-mage; hence, the two intermediate pharmacists immediately shut up. Although they soon snapped back to reality, they still felt rather ashamed and exasperated. However, they could not bring themselves to speak.
Wilkinson’s heart dropped out of exasperation, though he still pretended to be calm on the surface. “Fine, President Felic, since you won’t admit it, we’ll do it on your behalf.”
Lin Li instantly felt speechless after hearing the reason for their behavior. It turned out he was really at fault for having too much faith in their abilities.
The matter was actually very simple. During the concoction process, six or seven pharmacists passed out because of their own concoctions. At the start, they thought that they had just made some mistakes. However, the other pharmacists who followed the formula carefully all ended up in the same plight.
At this juncture, everyone began to find it fishy. After looking through the formula over and over again, they discovered some strange issues with it. There was one main problem that led to the entire formula becoming useless. Even if Balbo took over, he might not be able to concoct the potion successfully.
From a normal perspective, this was just a flaw in the formula, and if it were a conspiracy, it would be a trap. Due to their disdain for Lin Li, almost everyone gravitated towards the possibility of it being a conspiracy, for they felt that it was just one of Lin Li’s tricks to play them again. It was an error that should not have been made, because it was a no-brainer. It was a mistake that went against the basic theories of pharmacy, and would be obvious even to junior pharmacists.
Those who had learned the basics of pharmaceutics would be able to spot the mistake. Yet, Lin Li included it in the formula, which all of them followed out of trust in Lin Li. However, they ended up falling for the trick.
Lin Li was very surprised after hearing their words, though he was not shocked that his formula had a problem. The formula had been carefully checked and formulated without any low-level errors. He was surprised that the geniuses of the Pharmacist Guild couldn’t even make such a low-level potion. Their abilities were way too horrible.
“President Felic, I’m sorry, but in order to treat my companions as soon as possible, we have to leave immediately to go back to Alanna. We will report this to President Balbo truthfully,” Wilkinson said with a sullen expression before turning around to leave.
“Hold it right there!” Lin Li stood up and walked away from his desk. “It’s your freedom to leave and I won’t stop you from leaving. However, you can’t let me act as your shield.” He then pushed the three pharmacists away from the door and left the room.
Wilkinson had no idea what Lin Li meant, but he left before they could even flare up. Hence, they had no choice but to follow him unwillingly.
Soon, Lin Li arrived at the pharmaceutical room and pushed the door to enter. The young pharmacists were all gathered together, and there were also a few who were lying on the ground, motionless and unconscious. Fortunately, there was a ventilator under every work desk. Otherwise, there would be more affected pharmacists.
Upon sight of Lin Li, the pharmacists pulled a long face, for they had long begun disliking Lin Li. If they weren’t in his territory, they would have already begun attacking him.
Lin Li walked towards one of the workstations with a nonchalant look on his face. He then rummaged through the materials and equipment that belonged to a Pharmacist who had unfortunately passed out.
After looking at the materials and chemicals, he understood what went wrong and which mistake the pharmacist had made.
At this moment, Wilkinson chased after him with some of his peers. The Pharmacists in the room had no idea what he was there for, and they immediately surrounded Wilkinson in a bid to find out more about their concerns as soon as they saw him. However, Wilkinson stopped them and instead stared at Lin Li in bewilderment.
Lin Li was busy mixing the chemicals and half-finished products with finesse at the workstation, giving them a great shock. They could tell from Lin Li’s actions that he had a strong foundation in pharmaceutics.
Lin Li was actually feeling very frustrated as well, for he had not expected them to be so mediocre even though they were touted as geniuses. However, he could not leave them in the lurch; after all, the problem arose from his formula. Since it didn’t take too much time or effort, he decided to do it himself and concoct some antidotes for them.
Although the modified Bone Erosion Powder had become a low-level potion, it required a high-level antidote. Fortunately, they had gotten poisoned during the concoction process by one of the materials, and not the Bone Erosion Powder itself. Lin Li immediately placed a small glass of blue liquid on top of the stove and used a pipette to suck up some golden liquid, which he then gently released into the glass.
Bang! All of a sudden, glittery blue fumes wafted into the air, soon sucked away by the ventilator below the desk. Lin Li grabbed the glass which contained a silvery powder that used to be the blue liquid.
“What else are you trying to do!?” one of the pharmacists questioned while shielding his unconscious peer.
“A bunch of idiots!” Lin Li sighed and shook his head, after which he suddenly flicked the powder towards the side, causing the pharmacists to be engulfed by it.
They immediately started hollering and yelling at Lin Li.
Wilkinson dashed out of the white fumes, and questioned, “President Felic, what exactly are you trying to do!?”
Lin Li pointed at the man behind him, and nonchalantly said, “This, of course. Are you guys really planning to carry all of them back?”
Wilkinson turned around to see that the silvery white fumes had vanished, and the pharmacists who had passed out had also regained their consciousness and stood up. They were looking around in bewilderment.
Noticing the peculiar look in Wilkinson’s eyes, the pharmacists quickly stopped cursing and instead scanned themselves from head to toe before turning to look at their companions who seemed to be behaving normally. They then turned around to look behind, after which they were dumbfounded, just like Wilkinson.
It’d only been a while since Lin Li entered, yet he already managed to formulate an antidote, which was absolutely shocking. Of course, his rapid formulation did not indicate how highly skilled he was, though it showed that he was familiar with the formulation of such potions. Others might not be able to do it so quickly even after practicing for 1,000 times. All of the pharmacists were secretly comforting themselves with the lame explanation because the other possibility was terrifying and unacceptable.
All of a sudden, they began to hear some noises, and Wilkinson and his peers quickly snapped back to reality. They turned around to see Lin Li stirring the contents of a glass bottle.
Everyone turned to look at Lin Li, who put down the glass rod, and calmly said, “I proposed this training plan to President Balbo with one principle, and that was to keep everything voluntary. However, it seems that you don’t want to stay here. It doesn’t matter to me: stay or go, just decide it yourselves. However, one thing’s certain, and that is that I don’t want to be blamed when I meet President Balbo again.”
