Promotion to Master Alchemist

A month later, Drew walked out of the alchemy laboratory, looking somewhat exhausted.

For the past month, he had remained inside the alchemy laboratory, researching the production of attribute concoctions.

It had taken the entire month just to fully grasp the processing of the materials.

Compared to the natural progression of his promotion to a high-level alchemist, this felt like an entirely different beast; it was truly worthy of being the ultimate difficulty of the alchemist profession.

In contrast to the production of attribute concoctions, there was one matter that could finally be addressed: the relocation of the academy.

Currently, the students had reached the final sprint stage and were about to graduate.

Drew was also preparing to find the time and place to move everything from Lincoln Town over.

He decided to leave this task to Nelson Eddie to handle.

Having previously promised to take him on as a disciple, it was time to fulfill that vow.

He would no longer need to study alongside the others; he had already learned what he needed to, and the rest could be taught while he followed by his side.

Thus, he sent word to Joseph, asking Nelson Eddie to come see him.

On the third day, Drew met with Nelson Eddie, who stood respectfully before him, already aware that Drew had become the vice president of the Alchemist Association.

He wondered what business Drew had for him today.

"Do you remember what I said before I began my experiments?"

"I remember." Nelson Eddie was thrilled; his hope had finally arrived.

"I shall fulfill the conditions I promised you today. Now, let me test your talent." After speaking, Drew produced a set of test questions for him.

He also prepared a set of experimental equipment—specialized tools for entry-level alchemy apprentices that required no mana control.

It was a non-magical alchemy formula, and the potion produced had no real effect; it was merely to test the apprentice's hands-on ability.

"I assume you have made some preparations and know how to use these? You may begin. If you say you haven't prepared, then I can only say you didn't cherish the opportunity given to you."

"No problem, I am prepared." Nelson Eddie was a merchant at heart and had long been pondering this, just waiting for Drew to remember.

"Then begin."

The written exam and the practical skills test took the entire morning.

Nelson Eddie's score was excellent; it seemed he possessed a certain degree of talent after all.

"Good, you have passed the test. I will officially take you on as my disciple. For these next two days, help me handle a task first. Once this batch of students completes their studies, I intend to move the academy to Stormwind City. You will oversee this relocation. Furthermore, move your family business to Stormwind City as well; from now on, you can hand the business over to your son—I think quite highly of him. Once you have finished, come to me to learn magic first, then alchemy. If you encounter any difficulties during the process, seek out Peter Nowell; he is the external affairs officer for the Alchemist Association. That is all."

In just three days, Nelson Eddie had everything settled.

Upon returning to report to Drew, Drew first activated his Scanning System to perform a detailed scan of his body, then formulated a training plan based on his condition.

He instructed him to first sense mana according to the plan, then begin meditation.

Having had the previous experience of consuming a True Perfect Healing Potion, Nelson Eddie already had a certain feel for mana.

He quickly sensed the mana and began to practice with focus.

I never expected my True Perfect Healing Potion to have such a hidden attribute—helping one sense mana, Drew thought. Taking advantage of the stage where Nelson Eddie was focused on mana cultivation and required no guidance, Drew began his concoction debugging experiments.

Another month passed, and the sounds of explosions frequently echoed from the alchemy laboratory, to which everyone had become accustomed.

On this day, Drew studied a bottle of potion in his hand.

So that's how it is; the mana of the concoction is stored deep within the human body.

It requires a special technique to trigger the effects. Under normal circumstances, the mana remains peacefully stored, and only after activation does it permeate the various parts of the body to form attribute effects.

The "one month" mentioned previously refers to the duration it can remain in the human body without being triggered. If triggered, the mana is constantly consumed, and the time is greatly shortened.

I knew it—if it were constantly active for a month, the amount of mana required would be an astronomical figure.

If that much mana were to explode due to a failed experiment, these protective devices wouldn't be of any use; I would have been blown to bits long ago.

I had the Scanning System to cheat during the debugging phase, and it still took me a month to successfully create this concoction. The production of this concoction is truly not easy, Drew mused.

Having successfully promoted to a Master Alchemist, Drew was in a good mood and decided to test Nelson Eddie's cultivation progress once more.

Drew tested Nelson Eddie's mana levels and found that he had already reached the standard of a human Level 1 Mage Apprentice.

It seemed he had been very diligent during this period. However, at this rate, he would never reach the height of a high-level mage in this lifetime; after all, he was too old, and there simply wasn't enough time.

But since Drew only intended to teach him alchemy, being a mage apprentice was sufficient.

Becoming a first-rank mage apprentice provided the foundation for beginning alchemy.

Drew prepared to teach Nelson some aspects of alchemy, intending to make it his primary focus, as there wasn't much of a future for him in mage cultivation.

However, Drew did not teach him alchemy directly, having him start with the most basic herb extraction instead.

Since Nelson had only just become a first-rank mage apprentice—the absolute lowest level of mage—he was unskilled at controlling mana, and his initial attempts at material extraction failed completely.

Nelson, having failed at such a simple task, briefly doubted whether there was something wrong with his alchemical talent.

Fortunately, Drew knew it was simply because his mana control was not yet up to par.

Consequently, he paused Nelson's alchemy studies and taught him some small tricks for mana control training, telling him to practice more.

Normally, using more level-zero cantrips would be very helpful for mana control, but a first-rank mage apprentice possessed so little mana that they couldn't even cast a cantrip. Thus, Drew told Nelson not to be too hasty and to balance both mana control training and mage level cultivation.

He needed to lay a solid foundation before learning alchemy.

One day, while Drew was guiding Nelson in his cultivation, President Pierre found Drew and said, "I heard your concoction was a success?"

"Yes." Although Drew had not publicized this, it was normal for President Pierre, who had access to the alchemy laboratory, to check the relevant experimental records.

Drew had initially thought President Pierre would come over the day after he succeeded.

He hadn't expected it to take several days to be discovered; it seemed President Pierre had been busy with the materials he had given him.

Drew handed the refined concoction to President Pierre.

President Pierre took the concoction and inspected it, finding the mana to be very stable. Regardless of its effectiveness, the concoction was a success, which meant another master-level alchemist had emerged.

After examining the total mana volume of the concoction in detail, he estimated it could last for ten days.

This shocked Pierre; to reach a ten-day duration on the first successful attempt was a testament to the talent of Master Drew. For an average person, three days would be considered good.

"As expected of Master Drew, to have mastered the refining method of the concoction so quickly and promoted to master-level.

I have always firmly believed you would become a master soon, but I didn't expect it to be this fast.

Let's do this: now that your promotion to master-level is confirmed, we will hold a press conference for such a major event.

Our association will spend the next few days making preparations," President Pierre said happily.

"What? A press conference? That won't be necessary."

"How could that be? Every master is precious; how can we not let people know when a new one emerges?

Don't worry, it won't be announced to everyone, only to our high-level circle. After all, only people in this circle have a use for the concoction.

It's settled then. I'll go check the dates, and once confirmed, I'll notify you." Having said this, President Pierre walked away without looking back, fearing that Drew might object.