Ono Riku's POV:
My name is Ono Riku, and I am a grand alchemist. Alchemy has been my life's passion since for as long as I could remember, so, much so that I often neglected my cultivation over my studies.
Once I turned 16, I had swiftly left home to escape my parents nagging about cultivating and joined an alchemist sect. I still remember the thrill I felt when I took my first steps into the library for outer disciples. I spent nearly every waking moment memorizing each and every book or scroll there, and the rest of the time I would use my chores as an excuse to spy on my seniors as they worked.
However, after I had finished memorizing all the books in a short 4 years, I was kicked out for pestering a bunch of inner disciples with questions I couldn't find an answer to. I then moved on to another alchemy sect where I got to assist in some practical experiments, which inspired me to try to do some experiments of my own, and 5 years later I was kicked out after accidentally starting a fire that burned down a whole street. I then joined another sect where I spent 1 year trying to earn enough trust from an elder so I could pick out a book from the restricted and only library they had, which was when I realized I had been misled by the sect's name and joined a martial arts sect, not a secretive alchemy sect. After leaving the 'Sect of Secret Refinement' I continued hopping from alchemy sect to alchemy sect, travel far and wide as I also had to outrun the rumors of my connections with multiple sects to avoid suspicion. Then 30 years later I was suddenly rejected due to my age and cultivation bringing my potential into questioning.
To rise above the apprentice status, an alchemist needs to be able to operate an alchemy furnace, and to do that, you need two abilities. First, you need to be able to interact with the materials without physically touching them, and second, is a sixth sense that lets you perceive what's happening inside the furnace without having to open them. Trying to operate one without these abilities could result in the furnace going out of control and, well, I already explained how I was thrown out of the second sect I joined.
Both of these abilities are acquired by becoming a nascent soul. This was when I realized what a blunder, I had made by neglecting my cultivation, as I spent the next 5 years boosting my cultivation with large quantities of common grade pills until I finally advanced.
However, it was still not enough, as the sudden stress on my body from all the low-grade pills I consumed made me look even older than I already did, and I became stuck with the appearance of an ancient old man, who only just rose above apprentice status. With those qualifications, there were no decent alchemy sects that would take me in. Which is why I got a job in the alchemists' guild instead.
The alchemists' guild is for the most part, a go-between for freelance alchemists and high-ranked individuals who want to sell or buy materials, pills or recipes, without having to go through the trouble of looking for people to make these transactions with themselves. To be able to act as we do means we have to have someone on hand capable of accurately appraising and verifying the pills, materials and recipes that are brought in, which was to be my job.
I regret not settling as an appraiser sooner as it let me gain experience and learn about things not found in any books I've read in the past. My years of study would have only carried me into the rank of a master alchemist, but with the knowledge and experiences I had gained through this job is what allowed me to become a grand alchemist.
However, those happy days ended when the Dark Empire took over. I was content working in a mid- to low-ranked job despite being one of the foremost experts on alchemy, but once the new regime began the alchemy guild became a part of the green palace, and I was forcefully promoted by my new weirdo boss due to my qualifications. I went through a number of different positions as the Empire grew, but I eventually ended up as a regional guild manager, a position even higher than a guild master as I am responsible for managing all the northern alchemist guilds in the Dark Empire. I am second only to that weirdo bastard in charge of the green palace that forced these responsibilities on me, both in the organization itself and as an alchemist of the Dark Empire.
Though, I don't mind the power and knowledge that comes with the position of regional guild manager, as it certainly has its perks, I certainly don't like all the non-alchemy related paperwork I have to do every day. I miss the days back when all I had to do was appraise alchemy pills and talk to experts.
"GRAND ELDER ONO!" One of my assistants shouted as he barged into my office holding a yellow pill.
"It's a 'Yellow Heart Pill' of the unique grade! Now, leave!" I said in an annoyed tone.
It's something that's been bothering me ever since I became a grand alchemist. Everyone assumes I am an ancient expert who has lived for almost a thousand years due to my appearance, but that is only because I made my advancement to nascent soul so late. Once someone becomes a nascent soul, their aging process starts to slow down to a tenth of what's normal, while each advancement after brings a rejuvenating effect, which is what has allowed the man before me to look like he is still in his thirties despite being two hundred years my senior.
What's even more annoying is that these fools are unwilling to accept the difference in our genius as they refuse to believe someone in their nineties could attain the rank of grand alchemist when they struggle for centuries to just become masters.
"Why are you still here! GO!" I shouted, as I noticed the rude old man was fidgeting awkwardly instead of leaving.
"Well… Uhm! I think you might have misunderstood, elder. The pill's name and grade has already been verified!"
"THEN WHY ARE YOU WASTING MY TIME WITH-! *Sniff**sniff*!"
*Swoosh*
I suddenly caught a whiff of something impossible and immediately swiped the pill out of his hands. I then looked, sniffed, felt, and even licked the thing as I wanted to verify with all my senses. I then rushed to pull out my alchemy tools as I cut the pill into pieces, so I could run various tests with a higher accuracy, as I just couldn't believe what my senses were telling me.
"What's grand elder Ono doing? I've never seen him so worked up before!" my receptionist asked as she came in with some more paperwork.
However, before my elderly assistant could reply, I finished the last test and practically tackled him through the wall and out of the building as I rushed to grab a hold of him.
"WHERE IN THE WORLD DID YOU GET THAT PILL! TELL ME! NOW!" I screamed as I could feel my heart beating out of my chest in excitement.
When making alchemy pills, there is one more factor to consider other than the grade of the pill itself when assessing its quality, and that is the purity. When mixing different materials together, there will often be unwanted material, or byproducts that get mixed in that can lower or even alter the effects of the medicine. These unwanted factors are what we in the alchemist profession call 'impurities'. Naturally, alchemists try to get rid of these impurities as much as possible when we make our creations. However, no matter how hard we try, or what methods we use, it is a fact that removing a 100% of a pills impurities is impossible. Even if you perfectly removed all nonessential parts of the ingredients themselves and somehow got rid of the filth down to a cellular level, on top of perfectly mixing and refining the ingredients with perfect precision and control, you would at best get within the 90% margin. This is because that the process of mixing and refining the material often creates impurities as a byproduct that often serves a temporary roll during the refinement phase. It can't be removed either during or after making the pill as any recorded attempts to do so has yielded little or no results as pill more often than not crumbles before the impurities are gone.
However, …
"IT'S 100%, OR AT LEAST MORE THEN 99% PURE! WHERE IN THE HELL DID IT COME FROM?! WHO IS THE CREATOR?!" I screamed at my assistant as I tried to shake the answer out of him.
Not only had my tests confirmed that this unique grade pill had somehow achieved such high purity that none of my methods can detect any of its impurities, but I also confirmed that this was made recently too. Meaning that whoever made this groundbreaking achievement, is still alive and likely came here with this miracle to get my attention for some important purpose.
"I-t's f-f-r-o-o-m th-e a-l-c-h-e-m-y c-o-n-t-e-s-t n-e-x-t d-o-o-r!" He spat out as I shook him back and forth.
*Swoosh*
*Thud*
I then let go of him, forgetting my office is on the top of a three-story high pagoda, as I watched him plummet to the city street below before he had a chance to stop his momentum. I then turned my attention towards the large circular building next-door, where the preliminaries for the Kaguya alchemy tournament are being held. I then moved towards it as I began to ponder the motive for taking part in the preliminaries.
The Kaguya festivals are some of the biggest venues for experts to get recognized for their skills and talent, as it's the only cultural exchange event between the 2nd martial continent and the land of immortal experts that is the isolated 3rd martial continent. Hence, why people all over the world would drool over a chance to participate in it, as it serves as an excellent opportunity to make connections with a godlike existence. He could be looking to learn from an alchemist of the 3rd continent.
However, it might be more likely he is trying to get a backer instead of a master. We alchemists heavily reliant on the quality of our tools and material to make use of our skills, which is why many search for powerful and wealthy backers who can provide both protection and resources for their endeavors.
Us alchemists are often a bit weaker compared to other cultivators. It takes lots of time and effort to become a skilled alchemist, as you not only need vast amounts of knowledge regarding the various materials, recipes, methods and theories needed to create something, but you also need to spend time acquiring the tools, materials and recipes, to practice with so you can gain the necessary experience needed to become a competent alchemist. Meanwhile, cultivators would spend that time cultivating and honing their skills. The time we spend on our craft, is the time others would spend sharpening their blades leading to a qualitative difference in combat strength between people of the same cultivation stage. Not to mention that our cultivation tends to be more unstable due to us often relying more on short bursts of qi caused by the pills we make, rather than a stable progression from accumulating qi over time. This means, our power as cultivators can also be considered inferior as this kind of spontaneous progression can cause any number of issues later down the line if we overdo it.
I myself is an example of this. While most people would have already reached the nascent soul before their fifties, I had been so focused on my studies that I had forgotten about it until it became necessary, and I rushed the process by consuming large amounts of low-grade pills until I advanced. As a result, my body had started aging rapidly from the strain placed on my body making me look like a mortal in his nineties despite only being 61 years old. The impurities from that time also nearly claimed my life later as it ended up clogging my qi canals and nearly caused my qi to deviate.
With all these challenges alchemists face, having a strong protector would be a godsend, and if the last festival proved anything, its that there are no better protectors than the experts you find on the 3rd continent. They say during the tamer's festival, a giant beast the size of a country suddenly attacked, only to be felled in quick succession by the king of the 2nd moon.
Regardless of whether or not the truth has been blown out of proportions, the fact still remains that immortals are far stronger than us nascent souls. So, there is a good chance this expert might have revealed their skill as a means to secure a sponsor for the next tournament should they not achieve their goal this time. Either way, the only thing I stand to lose here is the opportunity to meet the man behind the miracle.
Those were my thoughts as I opened the doors to the testing hall, as I had calmed my mind for a reasonable and intelligent discussion with the genius I am about to meet.
"Done!"
And just like that, that mindset flew out the window as the first thing I witnessed upon entering the room was a girl who looked like she had been vomited out of a rainbow, dunked a pot full of miracle pills all over the spectacled guild official on stage.
"Sorry, glasses-kun, but magical girls don't have time to listen to nerds! Now tell me my score so I can fight bad guys on the moon already!" I said.
*Swoosh**Sizzle*
Desperately hoping against all odds that the smell of high-quality 'Heart and Soul pills' in the air is just lingering traces from another pill, I rushed to the stage to take a closer look, but alas, I was wrong.
"G-GRAND ELDER ONO?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! EACH OF THESE PILLS ARE A WORK OF ART, AND YOU JUST THREW THEM ALL OVER THE FLOOR!!!" I screamed at the fool.
It's not too uncommon in these sorts of competitions for sore losers to have an outburst like this when they lose. She must have lost her temper after losing and decided to take it out on the staff by throwing her opponents creation at the staff. Feeling frustrated at your inferiority is understandable but, …
"WASTING SUCH PURE AND DELICATE PILLS OF PERFECTION IS AN UNFORGIVABLE CRIME!!!" I screamed as the anger surged out of me while the staff was trying to quench the fires started by my qi.
"HA! NICE TRY ROCKET-FOOT! BUT LITTERING IS ONLY A CRIME IF YOU DO IT OUTSIDE! HOWEVER, ARSON IS A CRIME BOTH INDOORS AND OUTDOORS! NOW, PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES BEFORE THIS MAGICAL GIRL SENDS YOU TO REHAB!!!" She shouted while doing a number of strange and overdramatic poses.
"WHAT?!"
Strangely enough, her weird behavior ended up calming me down as I didn't know how to react to all those off-putting poses.
"Grand elder Ono! What might do we the lowly judges owe this grand pleasure?" My weirdo superior said as he got up from his seat at the judge's table.
"Hmph! Like you don't already know! NOW TELL ME WHO MADE THESE PILLS?!" I shouted back at this smug faced weirdo.
*Giggle*
"What is so funny?" I asked as I wondered if today would be the day I finally got to see if this bastard's blood is truly green like the rumors say as I sign my resignation notice with his blood.
"Uhm! Grand elder Ono! These pills were made by her!" The spectacled man interjected before pointing at the rainbow-girl.
"Huh?"
I turned confusedly towards the grandmaster for confirmation.
"Indeed! Those pills would seem to be her doing! Though, even one as great as I can't figure out her method from just a glance!" he said, while awkwardly doing some strange hand movements.
"…"
I was speechless. The hooligan looking at me with a serious and hostile expression while practicing some kind of weird dance that was giving off the exact opposite impression, is the genius who made these pills. The same person who threw a whole pot of perfected alchemy on the floor like trash, is the same person whose genius baffled even the lord of the green palace, the highest-ranking alchemist on the 2nd martial continent.
An awkward silence filled the room. I only snapped out of my shock after watching the rainbow girl finish her dance by landing a split after a backflip.
"Okey dokey! Time to go!" She said before rummaging around for something in her pocket.
"YOU MADE THOSE PILLS?! YOU MUST TELL ME! HOW DID YU-!"
"SMOKEBOMB!!!" She shouted after pulling whatever she was looking for out of her pocket before throwing it on the ground.
*Poof*
The moment the black ball hit the ground it exploded into a smokescreen that covered the entire stage. It was cleared away in seconds thanks to a wind cultivator being present, but there was no trace of the dancing rainbow to be seen on stage.
*Cough**Cough*
"Where did she go?" I muttered in confusion, as I couldn't find her with my sixth sense.