Earth's Greatest Magus

While the crowd of examinees left the exam venue in an overall gloomy atmosphere, the three grandmasters present stopped a certain person from doing the same.

"Young Artisan, congratulations on your advancement. I am Hypotia," said the white-haired middle-aged woman amongst the three with a smile on her face, to which Emery replied with a polite thank you.

The other man besides Grandmaster Hazard, whom Emery recognized, Grandmaster Anmir stopped his female colleague and said, "You don't need to act like that, Hypotia. The young man already has a master he acknowledged."

The woman appeared interested by the notion and proceeded to prod her colleague deeper. After knowing that it was her other colleague – Grandmaster Grom, she squinted her eyes before speaking in a rather aggressive tone.

"Huh! That perverted dwarf?!" Turning to Emery once again, she continued, "You deserve better than that old coot. You should come to my Hypotia Apothecary instead. I can make you a prominent figure within our circle in just five years."

Hearing Hypotia saying such words, Grandmaster Anmir barged into the conversation again. "Actually young man, You should put your focus on a certain master who can help you improve your skill. For example, a researcher like me can certainly help a bright talent like you into a master in ten years."

A smirk crept to Hypotia's face hearing Anmir's words, before she opened her mouth. "Don't listen to this hypocrite…"

Seeing that the situation was on the verge of going out of control, Grandmaster Hazard stepped in and interrupted his two colleagues' blatant attempt of poaching. "If you two like to chat, you can do it later."

He then proceeded to ignore his colleagues, looked at Emery and said in an earnest tone, "Artisan, if you don't mind, would you be willing to show me how you make the pill again?"

Upon hearing Hazard's words, the two grandmasters who were about to bicker turned their attention to Emery simultaneously. They seemed to be interested in the matter as well. Seeing the expectant gazes of the three grandmasters, Emery politely agreed to the request.

He walked back to the workstation he had previously used, this time with the three grandmasters tailing right behind. The grandmasters paid close attention as he gathered the required plants and then began to take the first step of concocting the pill.

[Photosynthesis]

An apparent look of interest and intrigue appeared on the three grandmasters' faces when they saw Emery cast the spell. Unaware of the three grandmasters' reactions, Emery continued to focus on mutating the plants.

After all the plants had mutated, he proceeded to light the cauldron fire while also preparing the plants to the desired state for the concoction. Once the cauldron was ready, he quickly poured the ingredients in and started concocting.

The most difficult part of the concoction was when Emery processed the poisonous fungi. The entire process, from mutating the fungi to extracting the toxin to finally mixing it together with the restorative mixture, Emery had to be careful. Especially towards the end where he needed to control the delicate balance between the two with the use of his Dao Divine Technique.

Thankfully, in the end he still managed to concoct the pill.

This time, Emery managed to make a batch of the small green pills with a golden tint. After clearing his workstation, he then gave one pill each to the three grandmasters who watched the concocting process from the start.

Without further ado, the three accepted the pill and analyzed it carefully. Grandmaster Hypotia even brought out her unusually long tongue and swallowed the small pill in her hands. There was a slight silence before the female grandmaster opened her mouth, an impressed look on her face.

"This pill is very effective for Rank 7 to Rank 1 acolytes. It could stop bleeding, grant high vigor that can boost their life sign, and even give their cells a meager positive reconstruction. Impressive indeed.." A slight sigh of pity escaped from her mouth. "Unfortunately, this product won't make a fortune."

The female grandmaster explained the cruel reality, where in most places in the Magus Universe, low-ranking individuals were considered insignificant and worth nothing. Therefore, even if the pills were cheaper, it would still not be a profitable venture.

Grandmaster Anmir, however, clearly had a different opinion to his female colleague's opinion. Beaming an encouraging smile at Emery, he said, "You don't need to mind Hypotia's words too much, young Artisan. We can't really put a price on someone's life, so I think your pill is a miraculous creation."

Emery was happy with the opinion of the two grandmasters because neither of them were wrong. After all, he had indeed not thought about making money out of the pill. He was just glad that the pill could help those he was aiming for.

Hypotia suddenly added, "It's a shame that you can't sell the recipe to the institute as well."

Facing Emery's confusion, the female grandmaster explained with a matter-of-fact tone, that even if someone knew the recipe and the steps needed to make it, they wouldn't be able to do so. After all, Emery had used many skills in the concocting process that perhaps only he himself knew.

When this topic was brought up, Grandmaster Hazard who had been silent since the completion of the concoction finally opened his mouth and asked what was growing in his mind. Hearing that, the two grandmasters also focused their attention.

It was apparent that the old man and his two colleagues were curious about his skills, and thinking there would be no harm, Emery told them the name.

"It's called Photosynthesis–" Before he could explain further however, he was interrupted by a loud exclamation.

"The Arbor master! I should have known… it's him," said Grandmaster Hazard abruptly. Hearing the name, the other two grandmasters also showed a surprised look on their faces before turning to Emery.

Apparently, the Arbor master was a legendary figure who was both famous for his extraordinary skills and infamous as he didn't want to associate himself with the matters of the Magus Universe.

"You are very fortunate to be able to learn his divine skill," said Grandmaster Hazard, with a rather complex expression on his face. The old man's face then suddenly turned serious as he continued to speak, and this time he said Emery's name.

"Emery Ambrose, I think you should really consider my two colleagues' offer. With that skill and your talent, you are not appropriate to be a figure for the frontline.." Seeing the look on Emery's face, the grandmaster said, "What I'm trying to say is that you should focus your attention on improving your apothecary rather than your battle skill."

He then explained that Grandmaster Hypotia was considered the best in the Biology department of Apothecary Institute, while Grandmaster Anmir was her counterpart in the Physics department. Either way, the two people were able to provide something that Emery very lacking of, and something he definitely needed if he wanted to improve to the master level.

"If you are conflicted, don't worry about your master Grom. I will definitely talk to him about this matter." Serious look on his face, the grandmaster affirmed once more. "As long as you are committed to improving your craft, I can help make this arrangement, you having multiple masters to work."

The grandmaster then briefly explained that the only thing he needed to do afterwards was to choose not to return home after his graduation from the Magus Academy on the basis of further study in the Apothecary Institute.

Emery should have been elated, ecstatic even, hearing such words. However, the young man who was the focus of the three grandmasters was silent. After a while, he finally opened his mouth and spoke in an apologetic manner.

"I am very grateful for the generous offer, grandmasters. But unfortunately, I currently cannot commit myself to the apothecary."

The reason as to why Emery refused such an offer was none other than his home world and the duel that would have to take place in the next 20 years. Emery didn't need to explain, but the grandmasters could clearly see how troubled his mind was and realized that what stopped him was very important to him.

However, even though they could somehow understand his decision, all three were still disappointed. With a serious look, Grandmaster Hazard spoke words that struck deep into his mind.

"Emery Ambrose, apothecary is not just about your skill or talent." He glanced at the small green pill in his hand before continuing, "You can't make such creation.. without passion. Through this small pill, I can tell how much you belong and are passionate about the apothecary. Therefore, think about it carefully."

He then added that the offer still stood and gave Emery time for him to consider his decision.

Once again expressing his gratitude to the three grandmasters, Emery left the exam venue with a new badge on his uniform and another baggage in mind.