Perfect Score

Terrance had already deduced most of the medicine's ingredients, and he was fairly sure he was right.

He also recognized all twenty different Berry ingredients before him.

That solved more than half the problem for Terrance, and the assessment was no longer difficult for him.

Next, he only needed to analyze Oddish's Burn.

Different Pokémon, different moves, different environments, and even different Berries could all leave Oddish with a Burn. Understanding Oddish's actual condition would be a major guide in deciding how to treat it.

Solving the problem did not mean solving it perfectly. Terrance wanted to solve it as perfectly as possible.

In other words, he was aiming for a perfect score.

"Interesting, but I shouldn't be wrong," Terrance murmured, his mind racing. Then a bright gleam appeared in his eyes.

Without hesitation, he picked up a red Berry with his right hand and began peeling it with the knife beside him.

"Looks like he's found a solution." Wallace, meanwhile, was in no hurry to get started. He seemed sure of victory, which had to do with his personality: everything had to be done so magnificently and elegantly.

By this point, all the candidates had actually gotten to work, and most of them had found an approach.

Even if their methods differed somewhat, they could all relieve the Burn.

As for whose was more effective, that would have to be decided by the final results.

The room was silent except for the swishing sounds of the busy candidates. Berries, leaves, medicinal herbs, pollen, and all sorts of other things were combined in their hands.

"How many people do you think will pass the assessment this time?"

The proctors had also gathered together and were discussing this group of candidates.

"Seven or eight, maybe?" someone said.

"I'm more interested in those two people's results." The speaker was Nurse Joy Rin, who had proctored Terrance and the others' first assessment.

"Oh, those two kids really are impressive, but I have higher hopes for Wallace."

"None of those three is ordinary. If I'm not mistaken, there's a very good chance the top three this time will be those three."

Finally, the person in charge spoke. "That kid named Terrance was reportedly recommended for the assessment by Master Katsumune, and Nurse Joy Jun is Master Katsumune's student."

Those words immediately startled the proctors who had not known.

"So that's how it is. No wonder they're so capable at such a young age. They have a connection to Master Katsumune."

The proctors watched the candidates as time passed bit by bit. Before long, more than half the allotted time had gone by.

"Almost done."

Terrance ground the ingredients with a wooden stick. He recognized every herb on the table, and the feeling moved him deeply. He believed the medicinal combination he had put together was already as perfect as it could be.

"Reading all those books really did pay off." Terrance shook his head, his hands moving even faster.

Time passed. Terrance did not feel strained in the slightest; instead, his movements flowed smoothly. Finally, with a smack, he stopped.

It was done.

The blue paste before him was not very attractive, but Terrance was certain it would be highly effective against Oddish's Burn.

Taking a deep breath, Terrance applied the blue ointment to Oddish, then raised his hand.

"That kid's finished!!"

Terrance was not the first to finish, but he was not slow either. The proctors could check completed work without waiting for the assessment time to end.

The proctors knew the assessment question inside and out. To become a proctor, one had to be at least an intermediate Breeder, so the knowledge tested in a junior Breeder assessment obviously posed no difficulty for them.

"I'll do it." Nurse Joy Rin, who had been watching Jun and Terrance the whole time, walked over and began helping Terrance with the examination.

At that point, a little over ten minutes had passed.

When Terrance saw Nurse Joy Rin approaching, he stepped aside. Nurse Joy Rin then picked up Oddish and examined its condition.

Before long, she put Oddish down and gave Terrance a long look.

"Congratulations, you did well."

He was smiling. Clearly, Terrance's result was very satisfactory to her.

"Does that mean I passed?" Terrance asked.

"Not yet. The remaining ointment you made still needs to be examined by the other proctors. I only gave it the first evaluation to prevent anything from happening to Oddish," she said with a smile. "The final results will be announced after everyone has finished."

"I see." Terrance nodded and looked around. By then, Jun had finished too, and Wallace had finished a little earlier than Terrance. More than ten minutes had passed, and the assessment was now in its final stage.

With nothing else to do, Terrance began to wait quietly. The next few minutes passed quickly, and the assessment ended.

The other candidates waited anxiously for the results, while Terrance and the others were quite relaxed.

As Terrance walked over to Jun, he could hear the candidates' deductions. A few were quite thorough, but he also heard some bizarre answers.

For example, a Burn caused by Will-O-Wisp, or a Burn caused by Ember...

"It was a Burn caused by intense sunlight, right?" As soon as Jun met up with Terrance, she eagerly shared her deduction.

"That's right." Her answer was the same as Terrance's. The Burn the medicine had caused Oddish was at least 99 percent similar to one caused by Sunny Day.

Hearing that Terrance had the same answer, Jun breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was confident in herself, she had still wanted to check with him.

"Looks like you both did pretty well." Wallace walked over at that moment and smiled at them.

The three exchanged smiles. With their written exam scores, the second assessment naturally posed little problem for them. Now, all they had to do was wait for the final results.

The proctors completed their review quickly as well. They did not keep the candidates waiting long before the middle-aged man in charge came over with a list.

"Next, I'll announce those who passed this assessment."

"There are ten in total, and they are-"

"Wallace, 100 points!"

"Nurse Joy Jun, 100 points!"

"Terrance, 100 points!"

Ten people's names were called in descending order of score. One had scored 98, and the lowest had scored 87. Everyone else had failed with scores below 85.

"A perfect score." Terrance breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his result. Now he was a Breeder too!

His four years of hard work had not been in vain after all. He wanted very much to share the good news with everyone at Qinggu House, but now was not the best time.

Being a junior Breeder was not enough; it meant very little. Terrance understood that he still had a long road ahead: advancing to intermediate, then even senior, and perhaps even pursuing a place among the top Masters!