13 Chapter 13: Did I Pass? (1/2)

Nadran did not waste any time and immediately got to work.The pill he was planning on forging was called the Dust Gathering Pill.Its primary purpose was to temporarily boost a person's cultivation speed, allowing them to grow their internal energy pool faster than they could otherwise.This was one of the only mid-slate pills he knew.

Nadran reached the ingredient shelves and began collecting the ingredients he needed.This pill required a total of 8 separate ingredients, and he was quickly able to identify them and bring them over to his station.He looked at the measuring tools he had been provided and frowned.Up until now, he had been forging pills without any measuring implements, so changing to using these devices felt a little strange to him.He measured out the necessary amount of azure grass, then looked at it, feeling something was off.

[Oh, since the grass is of a slightly lower quality, I probably need a bit more of it to compensate,] Nadran thought, adding a tiny amount of grass before placing it aside and starting with the next ingredient.His gut feeling was telling him this was right, and up until now, this feeling had only helped him in refining pills, never leading him astray.Thus, he tended to prioritize these feelings over the exact words that were written, even though he didn't know the source of the feelings in the first place.

Meanwhile, a few of the instructors were watching Nadran from a back room as he worked.They were curious as to the skills of the one who had such incredible results in the first exam.When they saw him measuring the ingredients, they were impressed.”He was able to gather the exact amount of herbs required so easily,” one of the exam assistants commented.”That is pretty impressive for an examinee… wait, what is he doing?”

The assistant blinked in confusion as Nadran frowned before adding a tiny amount of additional herbs to the measuring container, causing the level to raise just above the line that was marked on the side.”He had it perfect, then he added more.Why did he mess it up like that?” he asked, not understanding Nadran's actions.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out from behind him, catching him by surprise.”No, what he did was correct.”The voice was quiet, but seemed to contain boundless force and conviction within it.

Sweat began dripping down the assistant's forehead as he turned and looked over at the head examiner.”Professor Berylin, uh, why is what he did correct?”

Berylin smiled faintly and replied, ”He was able to assess the quality of the herb, and adjusted the amount of herb he added to account for its strength.This level of ability… I wonder who his master is?”

The assistant looked back at Nadran in shock.To get such praise from Professor Berylin, it seemed he was more than met the eye.

Meanwhile, Nadran continued measuring out the ingredients.However, he quickly became frustrated after he measured out a specific amount, felt it was incorrect, then adjusted it every single time.Due to this, he completely gave up on using the measuring devices and began measuring without them, nearly giving the assistant who was watching a stroke.

[You know, it's strange,] Nadran thought, not for the first time.[It seems like I inherently know the exact amounts of herbs needed for all of these pills.I mean, I have a pretty good sense for the weights of herbs after having sold so many in the past, but that still doesn't explain this.Isn't this the kind of thing that would be acquired through countless hours of practice?I feel like it should be, but if so, how am I able to do it with almost no past experience?Well, I guess I can wonder more about this later.For now, let's just get this pill done with and stop getting distracted.]

Nadran used a sigil to light a fire beneath the cauldron, causing it to heat up.[If only I had a higher sigil realm, I would be able to control this fire better.I can barely manipulate the heat at all.I really need to find a cultivation manual I can use once I enter the academy, or I won't even be able to improve in alchemy.]Nevertheless, Nadran tried his best to manipulate the flame, but the minute control quickly caused his internal energy reserves to deplete, and his brow became beaded with droplets of sweat.

As time passed, Nadran's concentration began to waver.After all, the exhaustion of internal energy caused mental fatigue, and if the energy was completely expended, he would pass out.[Oh no!The two grasses have started to separate into layers!How did I not notice that was happening!] Nadran reprimanded himself, angry about his lapse in concentration.Since this was the exam he had been preparing for, he was pushing himself harder than he normally would.This resulted, however, in a large amount of strain being put on his mind, leading to a mistake.While he quickly fixed it, his face looked grim.[That mistake may have been enough to drop the pill by a grade,] he thought in frustration, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind and finish the pill forging.

Zosal, who had been watching Nadran the entire time, broke out into a smile at the sight of Nadran's distressed expression.”Hah, looks like he finally realized he can't succeed in the second exam.He thought that pure knowledge would allow him to enter Mirror Dragon Academy?He's too naïve!In the end, if you can't make the pill, having all the knowledge in the world won't help you!”Zosal exclaimed and laughed at Nadran's misfortune.

Nadran finally finished refining, and he pulled three pills out of the cauldron.They were spherical, glimmering like pearls, but he looked at them in dissatisfaction before bringing them over to the examiners.

One of the examiners began speaking as Nadran approached.”Looks like he's not too happy with the results.It seems like he might not pass after all.That's unfortu…” He trailed off as he picked up the pills, his expression changing to disbelief, and quickly walked into the back room.Upon reaching the back room where several teachers were relaxing as they waited for the test result, the examiner exclaimed, ”Someone just refined two mid-grade pills!And he even made a high-grade pill!”His voice raised half an octave in shock.