Chapter 1161 Scrolls and Apothecary

Suddenly, an elegant feather quill appeared on the table in front of the first scroll.

When the feather quill appeared, the golden text above dissolved and an invisible barrier formed around the platform. This barrier made it impossible for those inside to see and hear what was going on outside. However, those outside had a clear view of what took place inside.

At the same time, a stream of golden text materialized in front of Izroth with the rules of the fifth trial.

The rules were fairly simple. Izroth had to answer the question listed on each scroll. For each question, he would be given a total of 30 minutes to answer. Once an answer is submitted, it cannot be changed. And, the next scroll would be automatically unsealed until he reached the end.

Of course, receiving outside help was also not allowed. Besides the barrier that was put in place, Izroth's system messaging had been temporarily locked.

The golden text flowed down on to the table and imprinted itself.

Izroth stood alone on the platform as he set his gaze on the first unsealed scroll.

'Five questions... Based on the color coding, I assume each question must be more difficult than the last. I am interested—just what kind of questions will a grade ten Apothecary leave behind as a test?'

The first question written on the scroll was "What are the two main reasons for the occurrence of a cauldron explosion?"

'Oh? The first question is something even a grade one Apothecary should know.'

Izroth picked up the feather quill and wrote down his answer on the white scroll.

There were many reasons a cauldron could explode; however, the two main ones were a bad fire core and forcing the cauldron beyond its limit.

The latter was something Izroth had experienced personally when he first became an Apothecary and crafted the Five Cycles Pill. As for the bad fire core, it was natural that an object that relied on a power source would have issues if that power source turned out to be faulty. This was even more so given how easily agitated ingredients could be during the refinement process in pill crafting.

After writing his answer, Izroth closed the white scroll and set it back on the table. The instant he performed this action, a single word of golden text appeared before the scroll.

[Correct]

After successfully answering the first question, the next scroll was automatically unsealed. This time, it was the yellow scroll with the question, "What are the three main reasons for the occurrence of Fractured Pills?".

'The difficulty suddenly jumped a few levels. Though it's still not that challenging for someone who has a solid foundation of understanding when it comes to pill crafting.'

The three main reasons for a Fractured Pill to emerge were poor quality ingredients, a bad fire core and adding in opposing ingredients without proper understanding.

Fractured Pills were not that common because even a newly appointed Apothecary understood the importance of good quality ingredients and a stable fire core. That's why the vast majority of Fractured Pills was caused by the third reason Izroth listed on the yellow scroll.

If one did not have a proper or powerful enough stabilizer when adding opposing ingredients together, then a Fractured Pill was bound to emerge as the finished product. In the end, one could not force a fish to fly in the skies without at least giving it a proper set of wings.

[Correct]

Izroth quickly moved on to the third question as the seal on the orange scroll was released.

The question jumped yet another level compared to the last, confirming Izroth's suspicions that each scroll contained an increasingly difficult question.

"What are the Four Pill Core Ranks?"—was the question listed on the orange scroll.

'I have to thank Worldly Skies the next time I see her.'

Most players in RML would not know how to answer this question. Even Izroth himself had found out about it not that long ago. And, the only reason he discovered this was due to Worldly Skies, the second person to be acknowledged as a Pill Emperor, when they were exchanging thoughts back at the Mystical Realm Palace.

The Four Pill Core Ranks were normal, blessed, heavenly blessed and divine. Izroth swiftly wrote his answer on the scroll.

[Correct]

The following moment, the red scroll released its seal with the question, "What is the third Mana Seal of the second combination that must be performed during the crafting process of a Demonic Suppression Pill?"

Even if one had decent memory, this question would likely prove challenging for most. Not only was it a lot of pressure to craft the Demonic Suppression Pill. But, one also had to endure facing the Nightmare Shroud Demon. One would not even think to memorize all the Mana Seals in their specific order after the pill had already been crafted.

That being said, when it came to memorization, Izroth was confident that there was no player in all of RML that could even come close to comparing to him.

The name of the Mana Seal Izroth wrote down was "Heaven's Way".

[Correct]

As Izroth answered the question on the red scroll, he turned his gaze toward the final black scroll on the table.

It had been less than five minutes since the start of the fifth trial, yet Izroth had already approached the end.

'This is the final scroll.'

Izroth was curious as to what kind of question a grade ten Apothecary would consider to be the hardest among those presented thus far. And, as the scroll unraveled, he received his answer.

'Oh? This... I see. Until the end, this is the kind of person you are, Franz Winsor.'

Izroth read the last question listed on the black scroll, "What is an Apothecary?"

A person who crafted pills, someone who helped others become a better version of themselves, a craftsman who created masterpieces—if Pill Master, Blue Quill and Iron Cauldron had survived up until this point, it's likely that they all would have given different answers. That's because an Apothecary was many things. And, the answer would change person to person depending on their reasons for becoming an Apothecary.

However, Izroth thought back to the trials. From crafting the Spiraling Flame Pill and the lightning ridge, to gathering ingredients in the garden for the pill recipes, the Mana Seals, making the Demonic Suppression Pill and confronting the Nightmare Shroud Demon. He even thought about the fifth trial itself and the intent of each question.

Most importantly, Izroth considered the person who left this trial dungeon behind as a legacy, Franz Winsor.

Typically, one only left behind a legacy when they had no one to leave it behind to. This could be for many questions such as not finding anyone they deem worthy or an quickly approaching death. Either way, Franz Winsor was someone who clearly loved being an Apothecary and had a great deal of passion for it.

But, more than that, there was almost a childish, innocent and whimsical nature to some of the approaches Franz Winsor took in this trial dungeon. Almost as if, at some points, he was just having fun.

As a certain thought crossed Izroth's mind, a carefree smile found its way onto his face.

'Just as I thought, Franz Winsor, you must have been quite the prankster when you were still around. But, I think we would have gotten along.'

Franz Winsor reminded Izroth of an old acquaintance in the Seven Realms. While the two of them could not be considered friends, their paths seemed to always cross somehow. They loved playing all kinds of pranks and was up to mischievous activities. However, there was nothing they did without putting a great deal of passion behind it. This was something Izroth respected about them.

Izroth wrote down his last answer on the black scroll before closing it and setting the feather quill down on the table.

[Correct]

〈System Alert: You have passed the fifth trial «Apothecary»!〉

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated the trial dungeon «Franz's Legacy: Five Cryptics»!〉

〈System Alert: Your score has exceeded the set perfect score! You have unlocked a hidden reward!〉

Izroth received a stream of system alerts as the barrier around the platform disappeared.

Haishe and the other members of the party all rushed onto the stage as the excitement on their faces could not be hidden.

They bombarded Izroth with a series of questions about what took place and how he cleared the fifth trial so fast. After all, while they could see and hear what was going on inside, they had no idea what was on the scrolls or what he had to do.

Izroth took his time answering their questions at by one. And, eventually, told them what each question was, as well as the answer he gave to them.

After the initial excitement died down, everyone looked over to see their rewards from the system.

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