Golden City
As he walked out of the portal and entered the massive and magnificent city, Emery couldn't help but be amazed. Despite already having visited this city several times, Emery always found himself gasping in wonder by the bustling and lively spectacle it offered.
Unfortunately, Emery would not be able to enjoy the sight today, as he had very limited time. He needed to rush for the exam appointment that would be held in a few hours. And, as if that wasn't enough, he knew nothing about the exam's rules nor procedures.
Emery indeed learnt a lot from his mother's book collections and from granny's medical expertise during his time with her. He also did a few of his own experiments on the subject. However, apart from those things, Emery had no real study or formal education about apothecary.
During his time in the academy, Emery had been so busy as his attention had been split up between his cultivation, spells and acolyte competition, leaving him no time to think about other things. If Emery didn't receive the notification regarding the incoming exam, he would have probably missed it completely.
Therefore, he had no improbable expectation, like succeeding the exam with a good score on his first try. Even though Emery thought of that, barely passing was surely better than failing in his book.
Emery swiftly went through the rowdy streets and headed straight to Institute of Apothecary. When he arrived at the place, Emery's eyes were greeted by three towering buildings situated like a triangle.
Emery made his way towards the one on the back, the apprentice building. As he walked inside the building, to his surprise, Emery found there were nearly a hundred or more people gathered in the main hall. All of them looked extremely focused and tense.
These people were most likely apprentices like him who came for the exam. However, Emery noticed something odd among them, to be more precise their attire. Only one third of the people here who wore the same uniform as him.
Not sure what to do amids this sea of people, Emery decided to roam the seventh floor to find Cedric. Alas, his effort only resulted in finding only another apprentice who told him Cedric was currently going through his exam. Only then Emery recalled the fifth rank exam Cedric wanted to take was scheduled today.
Shaking his head inwardly and thanking the apprentice, Emery returned to the main lobby. As he looked at those people, who wore a different attire from him, he couldn't help but turn worried.
Hence, to make sure he didn't do anything wrong, Emery went to the reception desk where a dwarf was seen attending it.
"Excuse me, I came for the apprentice exam. Am I in the right place?"
"Yes, you are. You and all these people here want to take the exam. That will be 10,000." The dwarf said with a smile.
Emery's brain short-circuited for a moment when he heard that number. "W-Wait… What? I'm sorry. Did I just hear that wrong? 10,000? As in spirit stones?"
"Yes. hand me 10,000 spirit stones for the exam fee."
"Why is the exam fee so expensive?" Emery asked in disbelief.
"The exam fee is determined by the ingredients used for the exam and they aren't cheap at all. So pay up if you want to take the exam, or bug off." The dwarf sternly said.
Emery was flabbergasted, as he knew nothing about this outrageous exam fee. To make matters worse, he didn't have any spirit stones. He spent most of his spirit stones purchasing the spirit serums and he had only 300 of them left at the moment.
Noticing the awkward expression on Emery's face, the dwarf seemed to know what was going on and said, "You can also pay using your contribution points."
When he heard that, Emery hesitated for a moment, as he understood that contribution points were worth much more than spirit stones of equal value. However, he was swimming-, no, drowning with contribution points at the moment. Hence, he thought it would be fine to do so.
Emery was about to pay the exam fee when a young man with a similar uniform approached him and tapped his shoulder, "Don't forget to say you are in the elite class." the young man said with a smile.
Upon hearing the young man's words, the expression on the dwarf's face changed a little. "Aah, you should have said so from the beginning, young man." the dwarf hurriedly said, earning him a confused gaze from Emery.
"An elite class acolyte's first rank exam will be paid by the academy. In short, it's free."
Emery was dumbfounded when he heard that. Meanwhile, the dwarf checked his identity through the database. When it proved Emery was an elite acolyte, the dwarf quickly gave him a metal slip, as a symbol of his participation in the exam. Emery was still stunned, as all of this was happening.
When the dwarf handed out the metal slip to Emery, who received it absentmindedly, he also added, "You can also receive your tools for the exam from the apothecary store. Oh, it's also free."
Emery was shocked, truly shocked. Such a different treatment and he was only an elite acolyte! This event made him wonder what kind of treatment he would receive if he became a privileged class acolyte.
Turning around, Emery did not forget to thank the young man for his reminder. If the young man didn't indirectly tell the dwarf Emery was an elite acolyte, Emery would have spent his contribution points meaninglessly. True, the amount of points spent wouldn't be much compared to what he had now. But it was still resources and they weren'tt easy to get.
"Thank you for your help."
"No problem, it was a simple matter. By the way, I am Sabil, from class 92, a regular acolyte just like the previous you."
Hearing that, Emery was startled. The youth before him seemed to know him, but Emery did not remember meeting him before.
"Do you know me?"
The young man laughed when he heard that, as if Emery's question was the funniest joke. "Hahaha, of course I know you. Right now, you are the hot topic among the regular acolytes circles. You are Emery, the savage acolyte."
Emery's mind froze for a second when he heard the last part, "S-Savage acolyte?"
"Yeah. That's your title, given because of your feats in the last game."
Emery was unsure about his feelings regarding this new title of his. It was also the first time for him to be considered famous. So, he could only make a wry smile.
A moment later, Emery spotted a little girl walking towards the reception desk while shouldering a worn-out bag that looked full of something. When she reached the counter, the girl opened the bag and Emery could see yellow spirit stones, lots of them.
The girl looked at the stones very carefully, then gave the bag to the dwarf with much caution. When the dwarf finished counting the stones and went ahead to process the girl's data, she breathed a long sigh of relief.
Noticing Emery's gaze at the girl, Sabil explained, "She is a participant from outside the academy.
When he noticed Emery's puzzled gaze, he continued, "There are only 30 acolyte from academy who will be joining the exam, the rest are people from outside the academy."
Finally, Emery realized why there were so many people with different attires. Apparently, they weren't from the academy. No wonder.
Emery then bid goodbye to Sabil and headed towards the apothecary store. There, he received his free apothecary tools, courtesy to the benefit of the elite class.
[Beginner Cauldron]
[Beginner Mortar and Pestle]
Emery himself already bought these tools before, so this was his second set. However, having an extra was always a good thing. When he was about to walk away, Emery realized the same little girl was crying and begging to the acolyte who attended the store.
"Please! Can I borrow the tools just for the exam? Please… Please... Please..." the little girl begged, bawling her eyes out.
Alas, the acolyte only coldly glared at her and said, "No! You country bumpkin should know this rule. You can always come back next month!"
"Bu- But... I already paid for the exam! Please, please, please..."
Suddenly, a set of tools she was asking for was put on the table, startling her. The girl then turned her head to the side, only to find Emery who was already turned around.
"You can have that one." Emery said, before he left the store.
"Thank you, brother. Thank you..." The girl was grateful and etched the figure of the young man who just helped her inside her mind.
The 100 participants were gathered inside the hall and the exam was about to start. Emery was completely clueless about what the exam will be about.