Chapter 1043 Originality
"Time is up! All the examinees put your final product on your workstation!" said one of the staff who wore an Artisan uniform loudly, helping the grandmasters to conclude the exam on their behalf.
After that, the staff waited for the grandmaster's signal, but a few seconds passed and still nothing was heard from the venerable individuals. Turning their heads, they saw the attention of the three grandmasters fixed somewhere.
It seemed they were too focused on watching one particular workstation that they didn't hear the staff's words just now. Seeing such a sight, the staff nearby quickly coughed and opened his mouth.
"Grandmaster"
Startled, the grandmasters came out of their reverie. As the official examiner of the exam, Grandmaster Hazard quickly stood up from his seat and opened his mouth. "Bring all those who pass the exam requirements!"
Amongst the hundred and one examinees present in the exam venue, only one person walked to the front in confident swagger after the grandmaster spoke. That figure was someone Emery knew, Sabil.
The young man even dared to take the time to pass through Emery's workstation. Seeing the potion that was on the workbench, he looked at Emery with a haughty manner and a condescending smirk on his face.
"I win," He said curtly, before turning around and walking away. He brought the potion he had made forward. Receiving it, the Artisan staff put the potion into a piece of equipment. After a while, the results came out and the man reported to the grandmaster.
"The result that came out was Tier 4, with a potency of 105%. Classified as Tier 4 with level 2 originality."
A wide smile spread across Sabil's face when he heard the staff's words. He was so excited that he turned his body, watching all the jealousy and acknowledgement of the other 99 examinees at the venue.
However, once the potion landed on Grandmaster Hazard's hand, the man only took two seconds before opening the potion cap and pouring the liquid inside onto the floor. The grandmaster's sudden action shocked all the examinees, especially Sabil who turned around when he saw that everyone's attention was not on him anymore.
"Fail!!" Hazard loudly announced, before throwing the empty vial away.
Sabil's eyes widened. Shock and confusion filled his entire being, before eventually indignation took over. Receiving what he considered to be unfair treatment, he couldn't help but complain, demanding answers for such treatment.
Thanks to his unbecoming conduct, annoyance was evident on Grandmaster Hazard's face as he explained his decision.
"Even though the equipment rules your potion as original, you only made slight alterations from an existing potion. What's worse, 90% of the ingredients and methods are still the same." Hazard raised his voice as he stared at Sabil. "You dare to bring this kind of trash in front of me?! Fail! Get lost!"
After the farce was over and Sabil dejectedly returned to his workstation under the scornful gazes of all the examinees, the Artisan staff shouted for other examinees who had made a successful product. However, no one stepped forward.
Apparently, restorative products were really not an easy subject to pass, especially in the Artisan exam. As the Artisan staff's gaze swept over the venue, all one hundred examinees had an embarrassed expression on their faces, especially Sabil.
Seeing that no one stepped forward to present their product, the Artisan staff then about to end the exam when Grandmaster Hazard stopped him.
Turning his gaze towards a certain workstation, the grandmaster opened his mouth. "You, privileged acolyte! Why don't you come forward and present your product?"
All eyes turned and everyone saw the one pointed out by Grandmaster Hazard was none other than Emery. Various types of expressions appeared on the faces of all the examinees.
On the other hand, Emery was taken aback by the grandmaster's words. His product was made of low-tier ingredients, hence he had no plan to present what he had made since it wouldn't pass the exam requirements.
However, it seemed that the grandmaster thought otherwise.
"Hurry up and show me what you've made!" Grandmaster Hazard said a little forcefully. "You weren't planning on making all of us wait for you, were you?!"
In the face of such intense tenacity that the other party displayed, Emery could only sigh inwardly and relented. Taking the pill he had made, he swiftly walked through the rows of workstations and handed it over to the waiting Artisan staff.
As soon as the green pill landed in the staff's hands, the three grandmasters glanced at it curiously. The next moment, the pill was placed in the equipment for analysis. It didn't take long for a string of words to appear on the equipment.
[Tier 1….]
When the results of the tier classification came out, faint sounds of laughter and chuckle rang out from the examinees. On the other hand, the three grandmasters showed no reaction seeing such a result. They still had the pensive expressions that had been on their faces ever since. In this situation, only Emery was seen smiling.
Then, to everyone's surprise, several minutes had passed but the equipment still hadn't shown the pill's level of originality. Everyone quickly turned their attention to the potency percentage meter, which was still steadily increasing.
130%...
150%...
170%...
The venue fell into silence as everyone was astonished to see the number shown on the equipment. Such potency percentage figures were by no means a joke, even for a Tier 1 product.
However, the numbers still didn't seem to want to stop.
180%...
190%...
It still continued, breaking past the 200% figure, until eventually stopped at 210%. In that instant, the pill appraisal results finally appeared on the equipment. Many gasps of shock rang out in the air.
[Reviving Pill - Tier 1, originality level 5]
"Five!!"
The examinees who were all Rank 4 Apprentice Apothecary, staff who were Artisan rank, and three grandmasters who were above all of them; Everyone in the venue was shocked at the pill's level of originality.
However, one person in particular reacted in a rather exaggerated manner. At this moment, Sabil's face had turned pale with a hint of blue as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
On the other hand, Emery was a little surprised, not realizing the significance of what he had done. Sure, he knew that the pill's level of originality was special. But in his eyes, it was still a mere Tier 1 pill. There was nothing to be surprised about.
What he didn't realize was that there was actually a huge difference between level 4 and level 5 originality. Level five originality was known to be the limit of what machine capable of appraising. It was a level of originality that was on the brink of unknown territory.
It was a standard that was only achievable by the masters of apothecary, and for it to be attained by one so young made those who were aware of its importance shook their heads speechlessly.
Grandmaster Hazard walked down from the podium and took out the pill from the appraising equipment. Holding it carefully in his hands, he scrutinized the pill for half a minute before finally opening his mouth.
"This pill has exceeded the requirements to pass the exam." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I, Hazard, as examiner of this year's Apothecary Institute Artisan Exam, announce that examinee Emery Ambrose have successfully passed the exam."
Staring at Emery who was dumbfounded by the declaration, the grandmaster said, "Congratulations. You are now officially an Artisan of the Apothecary Institute."
At first, Emery stared at the grandmaster in bewilderment as his brain was still trying to process what had just happened. A feeling of confusion then arose, before it finally struck him. At that moment, happiness exploded within him.
Actually, it wasn't that Tier 1 or Tier 2 weren't part of the requirements to pass the Artisan exam. It was just that in the hundreds of years of Apothecary Institute's history, no one was daring enough to use such low-tier ingredients to pass the exam. Increasing originality, after all, is more difficult than the tier.
With that said, Grandmaster Hazard has personally taken action and given Emery a new emblem to affix to his uniform. When he turned around, Emery could clearly feel the envious gazes from the examinees when they saw the symbol in his hand.
"Privileged class uniform with Artisan badge.." This certainly brought envy and recognition to the highest standard.
Now that Emery's evaluation was complete and none of the other examinees wanted their products assessed, Grandmaster Hazard announced the end of the Artisan exam. All the apprentices were herded out, most of them looking gloomy, dejected because they didn't pass the exam.
Emery was about to leave with the crowd when he was suddenly stopped by not one, but the three grandmasters present at the exam venue.
Even though he was a little nervous because of the three bigshots in front of him, Emery was still able to speak calmly.
"Is there anything I can help you with, grandmaster?"
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Author Note
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