Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074, page 304
Those who did not understand Gerian would simply think that he was trying to fish for some advantage. However, Lin Li had spent enough time with Gerian to know what his personality was like. He knew that Gerian was just asking those questions so excitedly out of pure curiosity.
Lin Li did not hide the events that they had experienced after entering the cave, and instead told Gerian about everything, including the Retribution Knight, Rodhart, as well as the Crimson Dragon that had been locked for more than 1000 years. He even told him about the miraculous Magical Domain.
Gerian's eyes lit up, and he shrieked in horror. "Oh my God, the Retribution Knight! What? Crimson Dragon!? Oh my… a natural Magical Domain!?"
Lin Li continued to talk to Gerian all the way until midnight, after which he finally got to the topic of the underground palace. Of course, there were some things that could not be explained, like the Eternal Furnace and the soul trader Connoris.
Gerian was extremely thrilled while listening to his stories, though he also found it a pity that he did not manage to see it with his own eyes. He also felt thankful that he did not bring trouble for Lin Li. Hence, he was filled with complicated emotions.
The next day, Lin Li summoned the pharmacists, who all looked hostile and unfriendly—though Lin Li was not at all bothered by it. He turned around to leave after telling them to follow him. After some hesitation, they suppressed their anger and did as they were told. After all, it was a task arranged by President Balbo.
Next, Lin Li declared that the first pharmacist training course had begun. "You are all talents of the Pharmacist Guild, so you must know the basics of formulating potions. What we need to do today is to prepare a potion called Bone Erosion Powder. The specific preparation method, as well as the things you must take note of, are all written on this blackboard. I hope everyone will prepare the potions carefully. Each person has only three chances of failing without penalty. If any losses are caused afterwards, you must compensate at the corresponding price."
"What!?!"
The 35 pharmacists were instantly flabbergasted after hearing his words.
God, is there still any justice in this world!? I have never seen such a shameless person before! You obviously know what we're here for! You made us do all the laborious work under the pretext of it being a training session. You may deceive others, but you can't deceive yourself, some of them thought.
This is such a joke. The Pharmacist Guild is the best place in Anril for learning about pharmaceutics. The top pharmaceutical Gurus were all from the Pharmacist Guild in Anril. You're just the President of a newly established Guild of Magic who does not have any fame in the pharmaceutical industry, or any remarkable achievements and dissertations. Who are you to train us?
Even the blind could tell what the training program was really about. However, they had no choice but to go for the training regardless of how shady it was, because Lin Li was related to their President Balbo. Everyone knew that they were just mixing chemicals and concocting potions to generate income for others. They thought, We can stay silent for the sake of Master Balbo, but you can't take us for fools.
We are pharmacists, and even the junior ones are also pharmacists. Wherever we go, everyone treats us with courtesy. Yet, when we arrived, not only was there no welcoming ceremony, the accommodations actually had to be shared in groups of four as if we were in a school dorm. We don't even get to rest after a long journey, and there's already a task assigned to us on the second day.
The most infuriating thing was that they had to compensate for the wastage of materials if they were to fail more than thrice. There would be plenty of trial and error involved in the concoction of a new potion, and the formula would require plenty of experiments to master. According to industry practice, the acceptable failure rate was at least 50%. When a pharmacist was hired to prepare a potion, the pharmacist should not be blamed even if all of it was wasted—regardless of how difficult the process and how precious the medicinal materials used might be.
Yes, we admit, we have indeed thought about using this as an excuse to waste half of the resources so as to teach you a lesson, but we haven't done it yet. How could you threaten us and disrespect our profession with such a lowly stipulation all of a sudden?
The 35 young pharmacists glared daggers at Lin Li as if he were their enemy. Oh, actually, they indeed treated him like their enemy because they felt that they were actually sent here to carry out chores for him instead of undergoing the so-called training. They could not continue to learn with their teacher, Balbo, and were worried that they would lag behind their peers after they returned to the guild. They obviously blamed the shameless Lin Li for it.
"If you're done glaring, maybe you can now proceed to look at the formula and start thinking about the preparation of the potions?" Lin Li said coldly in a derisive tone, not bothered by their glowering at all.
Although Lin Li liked taking advantage of others, he did not like to owe anyone favors. There was no contradiction between the two. He felt rather good about the old fogy Balbo. Hence, he was not out to take advantage of the training this time, and had, in fact, initiated it with the intent of making it a win-win situation.
However, Lin Li had never quite been a teacher before, and had no experience in being a motivating and kind teacher. In fact, he didn't know how to be one at all. Hence, his teaching method was just to tell them everything they needed to know and lay the ground rules, as well as inform them of what he wanted. He would at most do some demonstration. If they couldn't understand or remember what he taught, he would have no other solution, either… apart from giving them a scolding. So what if they were pharmacist? They were not Legendary-realm powerhouses. Even the high priest of the Darkness Shrine would have to be scolded.
Such a simple and crude teaching method would definitely be criticized by many if executed in the world that Lin Li had lived in before he traveled through time. However, in the world of Anril, there would be plenty of people seeking to be taught by you as long as you had a convincing ability. While allowing you to scold them, they would gaze at you in awe, assent to everything you said, and even blame their mistakes on their own stupidity.
Lin Li came up with the training program because he didn't want to owe Balbo and the Pharmacist Guild a favor, but it didn't mean that he really intended to work hard for it. Hence, he was too lazy to think about what he ought to improve in terms of teaching methods, and he believed that the pharmacists would just listen as long as they understood it. He knew Balbo wouldn't have sent fools to him.
However, for now, the young pharmacists obviously didn't think that the shameless Lin Li actually had any skills in pharmacy. They had already inquired about it when they arrived, and found out that the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic was actually only 20 years old. When they were 20, they'd been mostly apprentices, and at best had just become junior pharmacists.
After what Lin Li said, one of them wanted to flare up, but was stopped by those around him. They wished they could pin the shameless Lin Li down onto the ground and beat him to a pulp. However, they reckoned that if they were to do so, they would have to face the music when they went back, because Lin Li was closely affiliated to Balbo after all. If they were to offend him, they might not even have the opportunity to return to the Pharmacist Guild.
Lin Li obviously knew what they were thinking. Hence, he pointed at the formula of the Bone Erosion Powder that was written on the blackboard with a sinister smirk. Although he remained silent, his intentions were clear. They'd better start thinking about the formula and concoction.
All of them gritted their teeth in anger, and the sound of their teeth could almost be heard. However, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and shift their gazes away from Lin Li and onto the blackboard in front of him.
Fine, it's just three chances. You've belittled us. We'll show you what real pharmacists are like!
The 35 people sent by Balbo seemed to have been exiled in the eyes of others and even their own. However, Balbo had sent out the best pharmacists amongst the younger generation of the Pharmacist Guild in order to maximize the effects of this training. Although they were only low-level and intermediate pharmacists, they had a strong foundation and solid basic knowledge of pharmaceutics. Even if they had not seen the formula before, they could quickly master the preparation phase and minimize the chance of failure because they had a solid foundation.
Everyone shifted their gazes onto the blackboard and flew into a rage again, though they were initially planning to showcase their talents.
Bone Erosion Powder!
They knew that potion. Although they didn't know the formula, they had heard its name when they were studying the history of pharmacy, and it left a deep impression on them.
The duty of pharmacists was not just to save patients.
A terrible disaster would follow every time the Bone Erosion Powder was mentioned in history. Could you imagine what a person would look like without any bones? It would be such a horrifying scene if all 3,000 residents of a small town became boneless overnight.
Chapter 509 - Formula
In reality, pharmacists had the same potential for spawning disasters as Necromancers. However, pharmacists were in higher demand; hence, they still had some value. If necromancers were needed, all their past sins and mistakes would be forgiven and ignored, regardless of how many there were.
However, the Pharmacist Guild had also made compromises. For example, potions like Bone Erosion Powder were listed as forbidden concoctions, and members of the guild were prohibited from learning about and researching them. They were only strict about it on the surface.
At this moment, the faces of the 35 pharmacists grew sullen, for they felt angry at Lin Li for making a fool out of them. Their anger did not arise from the fact that he wanted them to concoct shady potions, but rather it was because Bone Erosion Powder was a high-level potion which could only be concocted by a senior pharmacist or pharmaceutics Master.
Yet, he requested them to concoct such a difficult potion, and only allowed them three chances of failure each despite the fact that they were only intermediate and low-level pharmacists. Even their mentors might not able to concoct the potion with just three failed attempts, let alone them. They felt that Lin Li was obviously out to take advantage of and exploit them.
"President Felic! We think that you're intentionally trying to humiliate us," said a pharmacist who seemed to be extremely young.
"Oh, why is that so? Is there anything about you people that's worth humiliating?" Lin Li asked provokingly.
Most of the pharmacists were also mages, though they might not be that great at it. Hence, a few of the pharmacists immediately began chanting a spell as soon as Lin Li finished speaking.
"What are you guys trying to do? Stop it!" interjected an intermediate-level pharmacist who seemed to hold some authority among the group even though he was much younger than his peers.
After hearing him, the pharmacists who'd begun chanting spells had no choice but to stop reluctantly. However, they were still keeping their eyes fixed on the man who had humiliated them.
Lin Li stared at the young pharmacist and finally remembered that he still didn't know the names of these pharmacists. He realized that it seemed to be inappropriate for him to scold them if he had not been polite in the first place. "What's your name?"
"Hey, did you hear that? He doesn't even know Wilkinson!"
"Wilkinson is Balbo's best apprentice. He became an intermediate pharmacist at the age of just 21 years old…"
"No one in Alanna can compare to Wilkinson in terms of pharmaceutics."
"How ignorant…"
The crowd rushed to introduce the young intermediate pharmacist, sounding extremely dignified and proud of him while staring at Lin Li provocatively. In the history of the pharmacist industry, Wilkinson could be said to be an absolute genius for becoming an intermediate pharmacist at 21 years old, so much that the other talented and young pharmacists were in absolute awe of him, without feeling jealous about him at all. They were instead proud of him because they were well aware that they would only be frustrated if they were to get jealous of Wilkinson.
However, there was one thing they couldn't figure out. Why was he, too, exiled to such a place despite being the proud disciple of Master Balbo? Had he lost his favor? Impossible! Even Elin who had made a huge mistake had now been forgiven by Master Balbo. How could Wilkinson be exiled too?
Several pharmaceutical Masters of the Pharmacist Guild, including President Balbo, had all given Wilkinson a very positive evaluation, and they were all certain that he was very likely to reach the Master level in pharmacy before the age of 30. Clearly, the pharmaceutical Masters regarded Wilkinson highly; he even could be said to be the hope of the Pharmacist Guild.
Even Wilkinson himself had no idea what mistake he had committed to deserve such treatment. Someone said that Elin had bad-mouthed Wilkinson in front of Teacher Balbo, but Wilkinson was well aware that Teacher Balbo wouldn't be easily affected by the comments of others, unless he was truly displeased with Wilkinson. But then again, what had he done wrong!?
"Wilkinson, I don't agree with you guys if you think that I'm deliberately humiliating you. You guys are not worth my time. Besides, what evidence have you got to prove that I'm deliberately humiliating you?" Lin Li said nonchalantly to Wilkinson while ignoring the gazes of the other pharmacists.
"Well, then I shall ask you this, President Felic. You should know that we people have limited abilities. In this case, why are you making us concoct an advanced potion and only allow us to make up to a maximum of three failed attempts? Is your agenda to use such a lowly trick to get some funds for your guild?" Wilkinson asked in a calm but sarcastic tone. He was just trying to say, "Are you so poor that you have to use such a method to get money from us?"
"Hahaha, an advanced potion? If this is advanced to you, your abilities are really limited and disappointing," said Lin Li who continued to provoke them instead of getting angered by their words.
Wilkinson frowned, but reached out to stop his companions who were about to lose their temper and attack again. He could sense that there was something fishy about Lin Li's words. At the thought of it, he turned around to look at the blackboard, only to see the words "Bone Erosion Powder" written clearly in a large font. However, the content below began to look strange.
Bone Erosion Powder was listed as a banned potion, and only a few people were likely to see its classified formula. Although Wilkinson was a proud disciple of President Balbo, he was not allowed to look at the formula, either. However, as a pharmacist, especially one who had a solid foundation and rich knowledge, Wilkinson was certain that the formula was a low-level one.
At this moment, the others noticed that Wilkinson was staring at the blackboard without saying anything. They couldn't help but look at it too. Wilkinson was not the only one who could tell that the formula for the potion was simple. The others could too, for they were all talented pharmacists. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been selected by Balbo. In fact, if they had not been affected by the anger, they should have been able to tell that there was a problem in the formula.
"Is this… the formula for Bone Erosion Powder?" The rest of them could not believe their eyes at all. How could the legendary banned potion have such a simple formula? They could totally believe that it was just a simple and low-level potion.
Bone Erosion Powder would probably be regarded as a weapon of mass destruction in the world of Anril. Although Lin Li didn't consider himself to be an upright role model, he did not want to spread the formula of the poisonous banned drug. Besides, it would be very troublesome if there were to be any accident during the process of preparing it. Only Master-level pharmacists would have the confidence to concoct it, and it would be impossible for low-level and intermediate pharmacists to do it.
Noticing the looks of bewilderment on everyone's faces, Lin Li walked towards the blackboard, and said, "Strictly speaking, this should be called an improved Bone Erosion Powder, or rather a weaker version of the original one. The toxicity of the powder has been greatly reduced after swapping out some of the materials, though the effects are still the same. Given your capabilities, concocting this potion shouldn't be a problem."
Although these pharmacists were very dissatisfied with Lin Li, in the end, he was still related to President Balbo. Unless they didn't want to be part of the Pharmacist Guild anymore, they would have to endure the harsh treatment and indignity. The group did not answer, and instead looked at Lin Li, who was standing in front of the blackboard. They decided to ignore him so as to vent their frustration.
Only Wilkinson, who had just spoken, was acting differently from the rest at this moment. He shifted his gaze onto Lin Li with a look of apprehension on his face. As a proud disciple of Balbo, the President of the Pharmacist Guild, Wilkinson got to where he was not only because of his talent in pharmacy, but also his extraordinary efforts. Although he had only been promoted to an intermediate pharmacist less than a year ago, he had already collected nearly 1,000 pharmaceutical formulas, all of which he had memorized.
However, Wilkinson was puzzled now—the formula of the Bone Erosion Powder on the blackboard did not exist in his memory at all. In other words, the formula of the so-called weakened version of Bone Erosion Powder had never been published before.
Did he…
Wilkinson was greatly taken aback by his own crazy idea, and immediately put his thoughts away and shifted his gaze away from the young President. He glanced at the blackboard and began to find his own ideas rather amusing.
The formula of every potion would be tested several times by the pharmacists, who often risked their lives and put in tremendous effort to formulate them. The more advanced the pharmaceutical formula, the more difficult the process would be. Everyone knew how poisonous the Bone Erosion Powder was, but who knew how many pharmacists had gotten a taste of it during researching it?
