by Zhuang Bifan
A long while later, they finally recovered from the shock. Staring at the formula written on the blackboard, Wilkinson exclaimed, "Another new formula!"
At this point, pharmaceutics had become very advanced, and the medical properties of various medicinal materials had all been proven. In other words, the quantity of formulas had already reached its limit in the eyes of various pharmacists. Coming up with a new formula was profoundly difficult.
The formula of a potion was not a random combination of several medicinal material. Otherwise, any random mixture could've been called a potion too, and there would have been countless formulas. The effects of the formula and its feasibility were the deciding factors of a formula's survival.
Lin Li's low-level formula gave Wilkinson a greater shock than formulas given by pharmaceutics Masters and Gurus would. Low-level medicaments were the most developed due to the fact that their ingredients were easily obtainable, and they could be prepared without much effort or danger. Simply put, they wouldn't feel the pinch regardless of how many experiments they conducted, since the materials were not expensive. Hence, there were more formulas which were all comprehensive. Since the various combinations of chemicals had all been tried and tested, it would be difficult to come up with a new one. In fact, there were plenty who had tried before the formula that Lin Li now came up with. However, they had probably given up because of the inexplicable questions that came along with the formula, just like with that weakened Bone Erosion Powder.
"What's wrong, Wilkinson? Is this formula new too?" one of them asked curiously after hearing Wilkinson's words. Not everyone paid attention to his speech, and people would usually only use (and therefore know) a few dozens of types of recipes.
Wilkinson nodded, and said, "It seems that Teacher's decision was right. Based on these two formulas, we can be sure that President Felic's teacher must be an extremely knowledgeable master. I really hope to ask him for advice. "
"Is he that impressive?" Wilkinson's peer who was next to him was skeptical. After a moment of thought, he said, "We haven't met President Felic's teacher yet. Why don't we find an excuse and see if we can meet him? If he doesn't have any skill at all and had only gotten these two formulas by dumb luck, we will be able to go back and explain it to President Balbo."
"This… doesn't seem too appropriate," said Wilkinson, but was actually a little tempted. For a pharmacist, nothing was more appealing than getting a master's advice. Although his teacher Balbo was also a Master of pharmacy, each Master had his own area of expertise and different perception of pharmacy.
Although a sufficient amount of Bone Erosion Powder had already been prepared, Lin Li did not immediately place the Bone Erosion Powder in the magic gears of new Black Clouds Town. Instead, he planned to wait until all the required potions were prepared before completing everything once and for all, lest someone noticed the magic gears. Besides, it would be rather troublesome to open the magic gears again and again.
Upon returning to the room, Lin Li immediately grabbed a book on magic from the bookshelf, and sat in the study room where he read it carefully, not wasting any time at all.
However, someone suddenly knocked. Lin Li put the book down, stood up, and called the person outside to enter. It turned out to be Wilkinson, giving Lin Li a surprise. After all, he had just parted with Wilkinson and the rest. "Oh, it's you, Wilkinson. Is there something wrong with the formula?"
"No, it's not an issue with the formula. I Just have some questions about pharmaceutics. Could you get your teacher to give me some guidance, President Felic?" Wilkinson frantically said with an awkward expression.
Lin Li was caught off guard for a moment, wondering why he suddenly had a master. Even Andoine might not be able to answer Wilkinson's questions.
"I know this request may be a little too much. Forget it if it's going to disturb your teacher." Wilkinson thought that Lin Li spaced out because he was put on the spot, and thus began to feel embarrassed.
"Ah, nothing, it's nothing much. Do you mind sharing with me the questions that you'd like to ask?" Lin Li asked.
"Well… the thing is… " Wilkinson could not reject it; hence, he whipped out a piece of paper. "I've written them down on this piece of paper. When your teacher is free, please help me ask those questions."
Lin Li grabbed the piece of paper on which the questions were written, glanced at the contents, and nodded secretly. He could tell from the questions that Wilkinson was indeed very talented in pharmaceutics, and it would be difficult for normal people to grasp the key points of the questions. Once the questions were answered, Wilkinson's knowledge would be taken to greater heights.
Chapter 513 - A Letter From Balbo
"In that case, I shall not disturb you any longer, President Felic," Wilkinson said while staring at Lin Li, who he felt would not be able to answer the pharmaceutical questions that he had just asked. Hence, he left in disappointment.
"Wait a minute," said Lin Li, who decided to tell Wilkinson the answers to his questions since there was nothing important for him to do at the moment. "You don't have anything urgent to do now, do you? I know how to answer your questions. If you're not in a hurry, take a seat and hear me out."
"What!?" Wilkinson asked in astonishment, thinking that he had heard wrongly.
Lin Li immediately shook his head, and said, "It's just questions about the double-helix cold extraction technique and the nine-color qualitative theory. What's so difficult about that?"
Wilkinson shrieked in shock after hearing Lin Li's words just as he was about to turn around to leave. He almost thought that he was out of his mind.
Wilkinson himself was already an intermediate pharmacist, and a proud disciple of Master Balbo. Hence, he would obviously raise substantial and difficult questions. Actually, ever since Wilkinson arrived and gained some inspiration from the concoction of process of the modified Bone Erosion Powder, Wilkinson could vaguely sense that only a senior pharmacist would be able to answer his questions.
Those two questions belonged to the scope of advanced pharmacy, and could only be answered by the senior pharmacists. Yet, the young Lin Li who had just been deduced by them to be an intermediate-level pharmacist actually said that he could answer his questions. Wilkinson refused to believe it at all.
"Let's go, I'll just tell you guys about it all together." Lin Li walked out of the door with a piece of paper. Although he initially planned to officially begin teaching the pharmacists some knowledge only after all of the potions required by Black Clouds Town had been concocted, since Wilkinson had already asked him those questions that were rather symbolic, he decided to tell them about it lest they asked him those questions again.
"Wait a minute, President Felic…" Wilkinson was at a loss. Could it be that this young mage turned out to just be an old demon who had a young appearance? He could no longer tell if he was out of his mind or this mage was just too crazy.
How much could one achieve at the age of 20? Wilkinson became an intermediate pharmacist at the age of 21, and the entire Pharmacist Guild was taken by storm back then. In the history of pharmacy, there had never been such a young intermediate pharmacist. Although Wilkinson had a reserved and humble personality, he was also a young man, after all, and it made sense for him to be proud of his own achievements.
But now…
"Everyone, wait a minute…"
Wilkinson finally snapped back to reality after hearing his words, only to discover that he had somehow followed President Felic to the pharmaceutical lab. President Felic was walking towards the podium while all of Wilkinson's peers stared at him peculiarly.
"Wilkinson, go back to your seat." Lin Li arrived at the podium. Although he had never been a teacher before, he knew what teachers were like because he had seen them before he traveled through space and time. However, he sounded like a teacher.
Wilkinson expressed assent and did not reject at all. While everyone stared at him peculiarly, he obediently returned to his seat.
/>
"Hey, what's the matter? Didn't you go to consult him? Why is he here?" one of them asked Wilkinson softly.
Wilkinson smiled wryly, and said, "I still haven't gotten the clear idea yet. We'd better look at it together."
Lin Li cleared his throat, and said, "Wilkinson came to look for me just now, saying that he had encountered some tricky issues. Although you guys can't apply it yet, it's better to know more."
Everyone finally realized that President Felic, who was standing on the podium, was actually going to give them a lecture. It was way too crazy, absurd, ridiculous, and unacceptable. Although the pharmacists were only low-level and intermediate ones, their teachers were senior pharmacists, and they often attended lectures by Masters. What rights did he have to lecture them from the podium!?
The pharmacists below the podium did not actually open the door to storm off angrily. Instead, they just remained seated and waited to see him make a joke out of himself. Some of them had already secretly gotten ready to make things hard for Lin Li and let him know that not everyone could be a teacher.
However, as Lin Li proceeded with the lecture, the audience's mindset began to change slowly. They were all known as geniuses, and none would reject a chance to learn just out of spite.
Lin Li was the only one speaking in the room; the young pharmaceutical geniuses below the rostrum had already been completely convinced by him. They were in absolute awe, and were entirely focused. They were afraid that they would miss even a piece of information taught by Lin Li. In fact, their breathing even began to slow down.
In the eyes of the pharmacists, Lin Li's figure began to get blurry, and they began to forget his age and identity. At this moment, he was purely a lecturer. They didn't wish to think about anything at all, and were just listening to him attentively. No one would say no to additional knowledge.
Lin Li stood on the podium and continued to rattle on and on while scanning the faces of the pharmacists below the podium. He was rather pleased with their attitude for now, especially since they were interested in learning and their passion was so strong that they could not be distracted at all. Although he wasn't a teacher to begin with, he believed that it would be easier to teach them from now on.
Lin Li carefully analyzed and explained the questions posed by Wilkinson from every aspect. He only stopped after two hours. At this moment, the pharmacists below the podium were engrossed in new knowledge, and none of them was saying a single word.
By the time Wilkinson snapped back to reality, he discovered that Lin Li had already vanished. Everyone broke into an uproar, and shock and disbelief were written all over their faces.
"Just now… Was I dreaming just now!?!"
It was way too absurd. Was that young president really only 20 years old? Everything that he had seen just now made him suspect that he was just a High Elf who was surrounded by humans. Pharmaceutics were different from magic, which required talent and flair. It was an acc.u.mulation of knowledge. Talent would only allow one to learn quickly and understand things better. However, it would still require some time for knowledge to be picked up.
"Oh God, the… the things that he said just now. Surely he can't be a senior pharmacist?"
Everyone shared the same doubts. Words were not enough to describe the stellar achievements that the young mage, Lin Li, had made.
"Actually, intermediate pharmacists might have that kind of knowledge too."
Others soon began to rebut, especially Wilkinson who had raised the questions.
"The fact that he could explain the questions so clearly means that he must be an intermediate pharmacist who's about to advance soon," Wilkinson murmured.
"Who is the pharmaceutics Guru who taught him? He nurtured such a monster," they said enviously. Everyone felt that they had gained a lot from the lesson this time, and began to get more curious about Lin Li.
It was extremely difficult to teach and nurture one into a senior pharmacist, what more a 20-year-old. Although the pharmacists there were all intermediate and low-level ones, none of them were senior pharmacists. However, they could tell that the content of the lecture was genuine.
The pharmacists were busy gossiping about Lin Li and discussing the knowledge that they had gained during the lecture. They seemed rather rowdy in the room.
"PAT!"
Wilkinson slammed his hand against the table and stood up, after which everyone fell silent.
"What's wrong, Wilkinson?" one of his peers asked concernedly.
Sensing that he had acted inappropriately, Wilkinson frantically said, "Nothing much. I just suddenly thought about something." He then left his seat and walked out of the room.
Everyone looked at each other in shock and dismay. They had no idea what was wrong with Wilkinson.
Wilkinson ignored their speculations and exited the room, after which he immediately returned to his room to rest. He then began fumbling about and ransacking his suitcase, pouring all of his clothes and items onto the bed. It looked as if a burglar had just broken into his room.
A long while later, Wilkinson finally found a crumpled and tattered letter in the pocket of his clothes.
"Damn it. How did I forget Teacher's instructions and caused the latter to end up in such a state? How am I supposed to bring this to President Felic?" Wilkinson murmured in frustration.
As it turned out, when Wilkinson and his peers were brought to the Tower of Dusk by Gerian, Balbo handed a letter to Wilkinson and instructed him to hand it to Lin Li. However, Wilkinson, like everyone else, thought that he was exiled to the Tower of Dusk by Balbo, and naturally didn't take his words seriously.
After everything that happened in the past few days, Wilkinson already knew that he and others were not exiled, but were actually sent there to receive training. He could say confidently and truthfully that the trip was worth it. He only remembered about the letter now.
Wilkinson read the letter over and over again for a while, after which he felt a sudden movement in his heart made him curious about the content of the letter. He felt a strong urge to sneak a peek at the letter since there was no one else around him.
There was no magical seal or glue on the envelope. Clearly, the letter was not meant to be confidential; hence, he reckoned that it should be fine to sneak a peek. Wilkinson finally persuaded himself to open the letter.
"Master Felic!"
Wilkinson almost fell off his chair in shock.
In the world of Anril, not everyone could be called a Master, for it was an honorific and not just a polite term.
I must have seen wrongly. Perhaps this letter is for President Felic's teacher? Wilkinson dared not believe his eyes. He rubbed them, but realized that there were no changes in the letter at all.
Suppressing the shock within him, Wilkinson continued to look at the rest of the letter, only to get more and more shocked. If it weren't for the fact that he had already met President Felic, he would have thought that the letter was for an elder who was as senior as Balbo.
However, the truth was that the letter was written to a young mage who had just turned 20 years old. Still, Balbo did not sound like an elder who was speaking to his junior, and it was as if the two were friends instead. Balbo often spoke to his juniors condescendingly. However, he seemed to look up to Felic.
Wilkinson could no longer continue thinking about it, for the shock the letter brought him was indescribable. He thought that that was all. However, he only realized that everything was not over yet when he flipped to the second page of the letter.
What is this!?! Teacher Balbo… is actually seeking help from President Felic?
Was there anything more absurd than this? Wilkinson was about to collapse. Teacher Balbo was not only the President of the Pharmacists Guild, but also a senior pharmacist. No one knew his academic accomplishments better than Wilkinson did. Yet, he was asking President Felic about pharmaceutics with utmost sincerity!
Chapter 514 - Master
Yes, he was not just trying to disc
uss pharmaceutics with Felic, and Wilkinson could obviously tell what Balbo meant. Balbo seemed to be sure that Felic could answer all the questions.
"It turns out there was no mysterious master at all. Felic was the pharmaceutics Master," Wilkinson muttered to himself.
Wilkinson did not doubt the abilities of the young President Felic; the letter that he read today was the best answer for his question.
Just as Wilkinson was deep in thought, his friends scurried towards the room, only to see that he was staring blankly out of the window. Someone stepped forth to pat Wilkinson on his shoulder, and asked, "Wilkinson, what's wrong? Why are you so deep in thought?"
Wilkinson finally snapped out of his trance and stared at his peers, wondering how he should talk to them about it. He did not wish to lose the learning opportunity in a moment of anger. However, he couldn't let them read the letter. Hence, he folded it, and said, "It's a letter from Teacher to Master Felic!"
"Wait… Wait, what did you say? Master Felic!?"
President Felic was the only Felic they knew. How could he be a Master!?!
They all thought that there was something wrong with their ears. They glanced at the letter immediately. If it'd been something else, they would have long snatched it away to take a look. However, it was a letter from Teacher Balbo, and it would be inappropriate for them to look at it since they were not Teacher Balbo's students—unlike Wilkinson.
"Yes, Teacher Balbo said in the letter that although President Felic has not registered with our Pharmacist Guild, his accomplishments in pharmacy have definitely reached the Master level…" Wilkinson said in a shaky voice, clearly yet to recover from the shock.
Upon hearing Wilkinson's words, the expressions on the faces of several pharmacists suddenly became sullen, and their eyes slowly began to widen together with their mouths. It was as if their jaws were about to dislocate.
