Nakahara Ryuji's POV:
After taking the flesh and bone restoration pill, I walked over to miss Su for a quick chat before the competition started.
"Lady Su! If possible, there is something I would like to ask you later!" I said, as I felt a bit nervous now that I finally got to talk to her.
"Sowwy, but me no sign autographs! Got to keep my signature away from unscrupulous bad guys!" She said in a cute voice.
"Uhm, no! It's just tha-!"
"CONTESTANT'S PLEASE TAKE YOUR STATIONS!!!"
Before I could clear up whatever misunderstanding she was having about my intentions for wanting to talk to her, I was interrupted by the announcer telling us to take our stations. Still, I took a chance and requested something from her right before I had to go.
"If I win this contest, will you do one thing for me?!" I asked.
"Sure thing! For this magical alchemist will never lose to toast!" She answered while giving me a thumbs up in a cute pose.
It felt a bit too embarrassing to just outright ask her out in public like this, and it would be even more awkward if she said no. With this bet, I can ask her to be my girlfriend after winning the competition. That way, she will naturally follow me to the 3rd continent, where we will take shelter under an expert, until I get strong enough to protect us both myself. Then we could get married and avenge my clan together. I wonder what we will name our children.
'I think you're getting ahead of yourself lad! You still have to win this competition for any of that to matter, so focus!' My master chimed in.
"Oh, right! Sorry!"
He was right. None of my daydreams will have any chance of coming to fruition if I fail here. With that in mind I turned my attention to the announcement of what pill we are to make for this round.
"THE PILL YOU NEED TO MAKE IS THE LEGENDARY GRADE 'HOLLOW LIFE' PILL! YOU CAN NOW BEGIN!" The announcer said.
The hollow life pill is a legendary grade pill that can temporarily bring back the dead should you feed it to a corpse within a certain time after death. If you ate this while still alive, you would turn into a zombie while maintaining your sense of self, hence it is considered taboo to take it while still alive. However, some demonic practitioners use this pill as a way to extend their lifespan as the undead does not die of old age, but this will only result in their mind slowly withering away over time once the pill's effect ends.
*clink*
"Let's see, I've finished preparing the Hollow leaves, the herb of lesser life has been grinded to a paste and mixed together with the sparkle herb extract, and the other ingredients have been washed and dismantled into the key ingredients! Now, I just need to bring it together in the alchemy furnace! Hm?"
Before I started the refinement process, I took a quick glance over at miss Su while I still had the time. She was being yelled at for making pancakes instead of pills. It was actually kind of funny to watch as she accidentally flipped a pancake on to the red-faced man shouting at her.
'Stop dawdling! You don't have much time left!' My master reminded me.
Even if she fails this round, as long as I do well enough for the both of us, I am sure nobody will mind if she tags along to the 3rd continent.
"Okay, let's begin!" I said as I started the refinement process.
When making an alchemy pill, you need to carefully mix and synthesis different materials using the sixth sense to monitor and control the qi flow within the alchemy furnace. There are usually fixed intervals where certain ingredients need to be added to the furnace in order to progress the refinement. If something is added too soon, it could interfere with the process. If it is added to late, it will lessen the effects. Both scenarios will likely create impurities and have a big chance of causing the refinement to fail. Fortunately, I have my master's guidance on top of my own experiences to tell me when to add something, or what to do in case something unexpected happens.
With a minute left, I finished my pill, before presenting it to the judges.
*Sniff**Sniff*
"Hm! Incredible!"
"Young man! Did you truly make this pill yourself?"
"Yep! All by myself!" I lied.
Though it is technically cheating, I actually got some help from my master for this one. One of the perks from my master's possession is that he can also enhance the refinement process and increase the purity while lessening the difficulty. I feel a little bad about doing this, but this competition is our only hope after all.
My goodness, to think there was such a talent in this generation!"
"Indeed! Only a handful of geniuses in history managed to become grand alchemists before turning a hundred, but even amongst them, only one or two could produce a pill with a purity above 90%! I do believe we have our winner!"
"I concur! I doubt we will see another pill with a purity of 93%!"
"Young man, may I ask if you have acquired a backer yet?"
"Wei! Control yourself! As the judges of this competition, we need to remain impartial until the end! Now, if you could spare some of your time after this competition, I would greatly appreciate it!"
"Hey now! Didn't you just say not to make any moves yet?!"
"I am merely requesting a meeting after the end of the competition for a discussion! If you think that breaks any rules of impartiality, then feel free to look for the page where it says I cannot do this!"
"Then I hope you won't mind if I request the same!"
Judging by how the judges are already fighting over me, it seems finding a backer will be easier than I thought.
'Oh! It seems the lass is about to do something again!' My master chimed in.
Looking over I saw miss Su walking empty-handed towards the judges, with a carefree smile on her face. It's not surprising she has nothing to show. There are only a handful of grand alchemists on the continent, and nearly all of them are several tens of times our age, but even so she still has such a cute smile on her face. I wonder where I should take her for our first date.
'*Sigh* As heartwarming it is to see young love, I would appreciate it if you refrained from sending me your lewd fantasies!'
'AH! DON'T LOOK!!!'
I felt my face turn red with embarrassment when I realized my private fantasies leaked into the psychic link. Though, master taught me how to hide my inner thoughts from the telepathic link, I've never been that good at it. It takes a lot of focus to hide my thoughts. So, whenever I let my guard down, all my inner thoughts leak through, like my fantasies of having our first time together.
"-PURITY!!!"
Snapping my attention away from my inner thoughts were the astonished shouts of the judges. Miss Su had played a little trick on the judges by hiding her pills under their chairs. Though, even the judges are baffled as to how or when she did it.
'That's not why they are shocked! You would know that if you were paying attention rather than fantasizing about that lass!'
"Huh?"
I only understood once I turned my attention to miss Su's pills. Much of it had been torn apart to run various quality checks, but just the scent in the air was enough for me to tell that they were of a high quality. Their purity was at least over 70%, which is pretty good considering the minimum required for it to be considered a successful legendary grade pill would be around 40%.
*Swoosh*
Just as I started thinking of inviting her to a private lesson on pill refinement, I saw the judges rushing out of their seats so they could desperately shake some answers out of miss Su. They looked almost like rabid animals as they glared at her with bloodshot eyes, while accusing her of cheating.
'Though, it surprised me to, that miss Su was such a skilled grand alchemist, isn't this a bit of an overreaction?'
'Lad, have you still not caught on or are you just in denial?'
'Huh? Isn't it just that they can't believe a mortal in her teens can be a grand alchemist?'
'Those pills have a purity of 100%!'
"100?"
My mind froze in shock as I tried to process the information.
'A 100%! That's impossible, and you know it!!!'
'Indeed, and that is why their reactions are normal! Though they are most definitely a few decimals short, especially after being rolled on the floor like that, whatever the truth may be, her pills are of such a quality, that normal methods can't distinguish them from this impossibility!'
"No way!" I muttered as I stared dazedly at her.
I was in disbelief. I was surprised she could make decent quality legendary grade pills, but this is going too far. Even with master's help, I have never been able to rise above 95%, regardless of the pill or recipe I used. Even master says that most grandmasters spend their whole life without ever reaching 90%, so there is no way someone my age could have made those pills on their own.
'Master do you-?'
'No! I know how you feel, but don't let your pride blind you from the truth! As unbelievable as it may be, that girl made those pills on her own without the aid of another!'
'HOW?!'
'Ugh! I told you not to shout into the telepathic link, it hurts my mind! Anyways, you weren't the only one eyeing her this round! Her performance last round piqued my interest, so I used my divine sense to spy on her when she hid under the table! She had instantly refined those pills using aura, before throwing them across the floor until she managed to ricochet them under the judges' seats!'
'Aura? You mean that blue flame from before? Is that what lets her use a furnace?'
'More or less! The 3rd stage of aura is an unpredictable power that only the best aura wielders can harness! Its effects can vary greatly from person to person! It seems her blue flame can not only heal fatal injuries, but also greatly optimize the refinement process! It's fascinating!'
While my master's spectral eyes were gazing curiously at miss Su, I was trying to compose myself. I had mistaken that slight difference in the scent and residue between our pills to be a result of her pill being of a lower quality than mine, but it turned out to be the other way around.
"Am I no-good?" I muttered depressingly.
Ever since I met master, I have received praise from countless people for my talents as an alchemist, and I took great pride in that, but I'm starting to think it was all just a lie. All those achievements were all made possible because of master's guidance. If any other person had stumbled upon his chamber, they would have been just as capable as me. Come to think of it, master also said miss Su would have won the 1st round if only she hadn't fired that laser. I never even considered pills could have been weaponized in such a way, yet she made something like that in just an hour. I needed help just to make it into the lower 90%, but she can surpass that with ease. She is a true genius, not me.
'You are wrong, my foolish disciple!'
'How am I wrong?! Just look at how they are reacting!' I thought as I turned towards the three screaming judges being dragged away.
'Though modesty is a virtue, that does not mean you should put yourself down! Yes, she might be talented, but so are you! Even with my help, becoming a grand alchemist is not an easy feat! If those blind old fools had known your true age, they may have accused you of cheating as well! Even on the 3rd continent, a grand alchemist in his twenties is unheard of, not to mention the fact you once managed to create a pill with an 80% on your own!'
'That was just a fluke! Most of my pills tend to be somewhere between 60 to 70%! Meanwhile, she-!'
'Comparing yourself to others is a fool's errand! You are better off spending your time improving yourself rather than being jealous of others! Besides, 60% isn't all that bad! Back in my day, the norm for legendary pills was 50%, which again, is impressive for someone of your age!'
'Thanks for the peptalk! I know I don't say this enough, but I'm glad you're-!'
"PLEASE, EXCUSE THEIR OUTBURST! WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIANCING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES! THE RESULTS OF THE 2ND ROUND WILL BE VERIFIED AND REVEALED BEFORE THE START OF THE NEXT ROUND! NOW IF EVERYONE BUT MISS SU, COULD LEAVE UNTIL THE START OF THE FINALS! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!" The announcer said, cutting off my corny thoughts of gratitude.
I then left the stage as I watched miss Su being led somewhere.
Master was right, there is no point in trying to compare myself with others, and there is more to alchemy than the pill quality. There might be a slight difference in skill, but that won't matter when I become a grandmaster. Master himself said becoming a grandmaster will only be a matter of time at the speed I'm improving. If aura takes as long to train as master made it sound like, then she won't become a grandmaster anytime soon. I almost can't believe I felt jealous of her. The heavens might be cruel, but they are fair.
Besides, it might make me seem more approachable if we are of the same rank. I should take the opportunity to exchange notes on alchemy with her, it would be a good way to get to know each other once we are a couple.