Chapter 508: Bone Erosion Powder
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The pharmacists were all sneering when Gerian brought up the topic of training. They were all staring at him in contempt as if they were staring at an idiot. Balbo was the only one who was acting like he had just obtained a treasure, making the pharmacists feel like they were almost going to pass out.
Balbo was well aware of how experienced the 20 years old Lin Li was in pharmaceutics. In fact, Balbo was no match for him at all. Although Lin Li had never admitted it, Balbo knew that he was a pharmaceutics Guru.
In the eyes of others, the training session was just a chance for Lin Li to take advantage of the Pharmacist Guild, and was also conveyed in an idiotic manner. However, Balbo knew that the benefits that the pharmacists would gain were indescribable.
Although Lin Li mentioned in the letter that the trainees would be guaranteed to rise to the next level after the training, the trainees would definitely improve greatly after receiving some tips from a pharmaceutics Guru. Hence, Balbo ignored the opposition of the other pharmacists and quickly agreed to the training plan that Lin Li had suggested.
Although Gerian kept a straight face when staring at the expressions of the pharmacists, he was laughing uncontrollably deep down. In the past, he’d frequently been mocked by those pharmacists; hence, he felt extremely satisfied after seeing how uncomfortable they were.
“30 junior pharmacists and five intermediate pharmacists. Balbo really trusts me,” Lin Li said while staring at the name list that Gerian had handed to him. Although they did not seem to be high-level mages, they were all around just 20 years old. In other words, these pharmacists were genuinely interested in learning and not performing laborious tasks.
It was obviously easier to teach and educate someone who was like blank canvas compared to pharmacists who had been in the industry for years, because habits die hard.
There were plenty of low-level pharmacists who were aged 40-50 in the Pharmacist Guild. If Balbo had not believed in Lin Li’s abilities, he would have sent some low-level pharmacists who had no hopes of becoming promoted instead of promising youths.
However, there was barely anyone who understood Balbo’s good intentions. The young pharmacists who had been allocated to their rooms were gathering together in groups of three or five and chatting with each other. They were undoubtedly gossiping about the silly President Balbo and the despicable President Felic of the Tower of Dusk.
Mages enjoyed a high societal status, yet pharmacists were superior to mages. Even the strongest mage would need the help of pharmacists whom they had to depend on to acquire some potions.
Yet, the members of the dignified Pharmacist Guild had to be trained by a Guild of Magic. No one would believe that it was purely training; it was obviously free help from the pharmacists!
Everyone thought the same, be it the pharmacists who had arrived for training or those who did not.
Lin Li did not plan to comfort or placate the feelings of those arrogant and haughty young chaps. Since he had already gotten the labor he needed, the pharmaceutical work would have to begin.
“Hey, Felic, how’s that matter that I instructed you to handle? Has there been any results yet?” Gerian began to talk about the diary after getting reminded of it.
Lin Li nodded, and said, “Yeah, it’s true, we found the place.”
“Really!? Hey, hurry and tell me what you saw. Did you chance upon anything interesting?” Gerian asked excitedly with raised brows.
Those who did not understand Gerian would simply think that he was trying to fish for some advantage. However, Lin Li had spent enough time with Gerian to know what his personality was like. He knew that Gerian was just asking those questions so excitedly out of pure curiosity.
Lin Li did not hide the events that they had experienced after entering the cave, and instead told Gerian about everything, including the Retribution Knight, Rodhart, as well as the Crimson Dragon that had been locked for more than 1000 years. He even told him about the miraculous Magical Domain.
Gerian’s eyes lit up, and he shrieked in horror. “Oh my God, the Retribution Knight! What? Crimson Dragon!? Oh my… a natural Magical Domain!?”
Lin Li continued to talk to Gerian all the way until midnight, after which he finally got to the topic of the underground palace. Of course, there were some things that could not be explained, like the Eternal Furnace and the soul trader Connoris.
Gerian was extremely thrilled while listening to his stories, though he also found it a pity that he did not manage to see it with his own eyes. He also felt thankful that he did not bring trouble for Lin Li. Hence, he was filled with complicated emotions.
The next day, Lin Li summoned the pharmacists, who all looked hostile and unfriendly—though Lin Li was not at all bothered by it. He turned around to leave after telling them to follow him. After some hesitation, they suppressed their anger and did as they were told. After all, it was a task arranged by President Balbo.
Next, Lin Li declared that the first pharmacist training course had begun. “You are all talents of the Pharmacist Guild, so you must know the basics of formulating potions. What we need to do today is to prepare a potion called Bone Erosion Powder. The specific preparation method, as well as the things you must take note of, are all written on this blackboard. I hope everyone will prepare the potions carefully. Each person has only three chances of failing without penalty. If any losses are caused afterwards, you must compensate at the corresponding price.”
“What!?!”
The 35 pharmacists were instantly flabbergasted after hearing his words.
God, is there still any justice in this world!? I have never seen such a shameless person before! You obviously know what we’re here for! You made us do all the laborious work under the pretext of it being a training session. You may deceive others, but you can’t deceive yourself, some of them thought.
This is such a joke. The Pharmacist Guild is the best place in Anril for learning about pharmaceutics. The top pharmaceutical Gurus were all from the Pharmacist Guild in Anril. You’re just the President of a newly established Guild of Magic who does not have any fame in the pharmaceutical industry, or any remarkable achievements and dissertations. Who are you to train us?
Even the blind could tell what the training program was really about. However, they had no choice but to go for the training regardless of how shady it was, because Lin Li was related to their President Balbo. Everyone knew that they were just mixing chemicals and concocting potions to generate income for others. They thought, We can stay silent for the sake of Master Balbo, but you can’t take us for fools.
We are pharmacists, and even the junior ones are also pharmacists. Wherever we go, everyone treats us with courtesy. Yet, when we arrived, not only was there no welcoming ceremony, the accommodations actually had to be shared in groups of four as if we were in a school dorm. We don’t even get to rest after a long journey, and there’s already a task assigned to us on the second day.
The most infuriating thing was that they had to compensate for the wastage of materials if they were to fail more than thrice. There would be plenty of trial and error involved in the concoction of a new potion, and the formula would require plenty of experiments to master. According to industry practice, the acceptable failure rate was at least 50%. When a pharmacist was hired to prepare a potion, the pharmacist should not be blamed even if all of it was wasted—regardless of how difficult the process and how precious the medicinal materials used might be.
Yes, we admit, we have indeed thought about using this as an excuse to waste half of the resources so as to teach you a lesson, but we haven’t done it yet. How could you threaten us and disrespect our profession with such a lowly stipulation all of a sudden?
The 35 young pharmacists glared daggers at Lin Li as if he were their enemy. Oh, actually, they indeed treated him like their enemy because they felt that they were actually sent here to carry out chores for him instead of undergoing the so-called training. They could not continue to learn with their teacher, Balbo, and were worried that they would lag behind their peers after they returned to the guild. They obviously blamed the shameless Lin Li for it.
“If you’re done glaring, maybe you can now proceed to look at the formula and start thinking about the preparation of the potions?” Lin Li said coldly in a derisive tone, not bothered by their glowering at all.
Although Lin Li liked taking advantage of others, he did not like to owe anyone favors. There was no contradiction between the two. He felt rather good about the old fogy Balbo. Hence, he was not out to take advantage of the training this time, and had, in fact, initiated it with the intent of making it a win-win situation.
However, Lin Li had never quite been a teacher before, and had no experience in being a motivating and kind teacher. In fact, he didn’t know how to be one at all. Hence, his teaching method was just to tell them everything they needed to know and lay the ground rules, as well as inform them of what he wanted. He would at most do some demonstration. If they couldn’t understand or remember what he taught, he would have no other solution, either… apart from giving them a scolding. So what if they were pharmacist? They were not Legendary-realm powerhouses. Even the high priest of the Darkness Shrine would have to be scolded.
Such a simple and crude teaching method would definitely be criticized by many if executed in the world that Lin Li had lived in before he traveled through time. However, in the world of Anril, there would be plenty of people seeking to be taught by you as long as you had a convincing ability. While allowing you to scold them, they would gaze at you in awe, assent to everything you said, and even blame their mistakes on their own stupidity.
Lin Li came up with the training program because he didn’t want to owe Balbo and the Pharmacist Guild a favor, but it didn’t mean that he really intended to work hard for it. Hence, he was too lazy to think about what he ought to improve in terms of teaching methods, and he believed that the pharmacists would just listen as long as they understood it. He knew Balbo wouldn’t have sent fools to him.
However, for now, the young pharmacists obviously didn’t think that the shameless Lin Li actually had any skills in pharmacy. They had already inquired about it when they arrived, and found out that the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic was actually only 20 years old. When they were 20, they’d been mostly apprentices, and at best had just become junior pharmacists.
After what Lin Li said, one of them wanted to flare up, but was stopped by those around him. They wished they could pin the shameless Lin Li down onto the ground and beat him to a pulp. However, they reckoned that if they were to do so, they would have to face the music when they went back, because Lin Li was closely affiliated to Balbo after all. If they were to offend him, they might not even have the opportunity to return to the Pharmacist Guild.
Lin Li obviously knew what they were thinking. Hence, he pointed at the formula of the Bone Erosion Powder that was written on the blackboard with a sinister smirk. Although he remained silent, his intentions were clear. They’d better start thinking about the formula and concoction.
All of them gritted their teeth in anger, and the sound of their teeth could almost be heard. However, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and shift their gazes away from Lin Li and onto the blackboard in front of him.
Fine, it’s just three chances. You’ve belittled us. We’ll show you what real pharmacists are like!
The 35 people sent by Balbo seemed to have been exiled in the eyes of others and even their own. However, Balbo had sent out the best pharmacists amongst the younger generation of the Pharmacist Guild in order to maximize the effects of this training. Although they were only low-level and intermediate pharmacists, they had a strong foundation and solid basic knowledge of pharmaceutics. Even if they had not seen the formula before, they could quickly master the preparation phase and minimize the chance of failure because they had a solid foundation.
Everyone shifted their gazes onto the blackboard and flew into a rage again, though they were initially planning to showcase their talents.
Bone Erosion Powder!
They knew that potion. Although they didn’t know the formula, they had heard its name when they were studying the history of pharmacy, and it left a deep impression on them.
The duty of pharmacists was not just to save patients.
A terrible disaster would follow every time the Bone Erosion Powder was mentioned in history. Could you imagine what a person would look like without any bones? It would be such a horrifying scene if all 3,000 residents of a small town became boneless overnight.