With less than ten minutes left until the crafting portion of the trial was over, Pill Master, Blue Quill, and Iron Cauldron did not have much ti to spare as they imdiately started the crafting process.
As Izroth observed their ingredients and its quality, he inwardly shook his head.
'It's worse than I thought. They pulled it out without knowing the correct harvesting process.'
Even if one was not an experienced herbalist, they would be able to see how poorly so of the ingredients collected by Blue Quill and Iron Cauldron were handled.
The worst of all was the Morning Flas. Its handling was so poor that its rank had actually changed from superior to rare!
This is exactly what Izroth thought what might happen after realizing that Haishe had forgotten one important role for this trial dungeon—a herbalist.
With his own experiences and having read thousands of books in RML, Izroth understood how easy it was to ruin an ingredient during the collection process.
That's why, when collecting the Morning Flas, Izroth followed the thod he read about in a book located at the Apothecary guild in Amaharpe's capital city.
When Morning Flas grow they release a byproduct in the soil around them. This byproduct is usually destroyed imdiately upon forming when its too close to the Morning Flas. However, it can typically be found a few ters away from the Morning Flas.
This byproduct was the light blue soil that Izroth picked up and placed around the Morning Flas before picking it. In truth, the light blue soil was not actually soil, but miniature crystals fused with the essence of the Morning Flas, natural energy, and mana.
Under normal circumstances, these crystals should have been destroyed when set around the Morning Flas. But, once the crystals turns from dark blue into light blue, they can withstand being in proximity to the Morning Flas and even has the effect of locking the plants essence within itself until it was ready to be used.
Of course, in the eyes of those who had no idea the Morning Flas and its byproduct had such an effect like Pill Master, it would seem like Izroth tossed a worthless twig into the cauldron.
'I've never heard about a trial dungeon that tests more than one profession before. That being said, it's not as though everything has already been discovered in RML. Perhaps there exists a trial dungeon out there that tests all the major professions. Whatever the case, for this particular trial dungeon, the lack of a herbalist is fatal.'
Due to the way trial dungeons functioned, it was impossible to attempt it again unless it specifically stated otherwise. This ant that it was not entirely Haishe's fault that he did not bring a herbalist along. After all, the main focus of this trial dungeon was clearly with an Apothecary in mind. This was another reason Izroth believed that Franz Winsor was a prankster when he was still around.
In the end, Franz's Legacy: Five Cryptics was a one ti trial dungeon. As a result, while it was not entirely Haishe's fault that he did not bring along a herbalist, he was still to bla for this oversight. It was common knowledge that the Apothecary and Herbalist professions went hand in hand.
While Apothecaries should have an in depth knowledge of herbs, it was not easy to collect high ranking or difficult to handle herbs without the system's aid. One wrong mistake could reduce a material's rank and quality or render it completely useless."
As ti went by and the deadline was growing closer, Pill Master was the first to finish crafting their Spiraling Flas Pills. Then, a couple of minutes after that, Blue Quill finished, followed by Iron Cauldron.
There was less than two minutes remaining until they had to repel the wave of Lava Beasts; therefore, the three wasted no ti as first up to place their finished product in the jade tray was Iron Cauldron.
[Passed]
A wide smile ford on Iron Cauldron's face.
"It's only the first trial yet it's already so difficult and ti consuming. I barely managed to finish on ti. Even though the quality isn't that great, luckily, I was still able to craft sothing. Unfortunately, only one pill was able to make it through the process." Iron Cauldron said as he released a disappointing sigh.
[Evaluation:
Quality - D
Quantity - F
Creativity - F
Points Earned: 5
Total Accumulated Points: 5]
After seeing his evaluation, Iron Cauldron could only further shake his head in disappointnt as he seed dejected.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You recently just beca a grade two Apothecary. The fact that you could form a pill is already impressive. This result isn't too bad." Blue Quill comnted.
"Aye... It's still a sha that this is my current limit. I still have a long way to go." Iron Cauldron said with a forced half smile.
Blue Quill turned to face Pill Master and said, "Elder Pill Master, I'll go first. I hope that you can forgive this junior in advance for showing you so poor results."
Pill Master gave a single nod and waved his head as if urging Blue Quill to continue. However, hidden behind his calm and aloof deanor was disbelief.
The pills Iron Cauldron crafted were clearly grade two while the ones Izroth crafted were only grade one. So, how could Iron Cauldron have gotten a lower grade than Izroth in that category?
"I suppose the actual quality of the pill must have been really terrible to receive that kind of grade. Even if that Iron brat is a grade two Apothecary, he's still too inexperienced." Pill Master thought to himself.
"Then, excuse ." Blue Quill said as he placed his pills into the jade tray.
He then continued, "I successfully crafted three grade two Spiraling Flas Pills."
[Passed]
[Evaluation:
Quality - C
Quantity - C
Creativity - E
Points Earned: 12
Total Accumulated Points: 12]
A slight frown appeared on Blue Quill's face; however, he quickly hid it.
"Since I've been a grade two Apothecary for a while now, I was confident in my ability to at least get A-grade in one category to impress Elder Pill Master. Who would have thought it would be so unreasonable in the way it grades?" Blue Quill thought to himself.
Seeing the results of Iron Cauldron and Blue Quill, those observing at the platform's side were in a state of confusion.
"Hey... They said they crafted grade two pills, right?" Mystic Lock asked.
"That's what I heard, too. I don't really know anything about pills and crafting. But, why does it feel like the grade one pills crafted by Palace Master Izroth were much better than this?" Steel Mountain stated with a frown.
When Izroth's pills first ford, a strong dicinal scent reached all the way to their location off of the platform. However, none of the pills created by the other three Apothecaries released such a strong scent. In fact, they were unable to sll any dicinal scent from where they were standing.
"This does not make any sense. How can a grade one pill be better than a grade two pill? Is it possible that Palace Master Izroth realized sothing that we're all missing?" Autumn Winds comnted.
"Knowing Palace Master Izroth, I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Haishe said calmly.
"If he knows sothing the rest of us doesn't, why didn't he share it with the others so that we can all benefit together?" Steel Mountain questioned with a frown.
"Given Elder Pill Master's temperant and the respect those two have for Elder Pill Master, do you think any of them would have listened to Palace Master Izroth even if he tried to offer them advice?" Autumn Winds ntioned.
"That's... Well, but still..." Steel Mountain wanted to retort; however, he understood that Autumn Winds words were not false.
Pill Master had been arrogant and haughty from the mont Haishe introduced him to the group. As for Blue Quill and Iron Cauldron, it was easy to see those two intentions. They wanted to learn from a grade three Apothecary like Pill Master; therefore, they would definitely follow his lead and advice over Izroth's.
"Alright, let's stop there. There is no use arguing over what's done. With the Lava Beasts wave incoming, we need to stay on guard." Haishe stated.
anwhile, on the platform, Pill Master was last person left who had yet to place their pills into the jade tray. However, after seeing the results from Iron Cauldron and Blue Quill, Pill Master had started to waver.
Originally, he thought crafting a grade two pill alone would ensure a higher grade than Izroth. But, the situation had changed.
"No, I refuse to believe so still wet behind the ears brat can do better than !" Pill Master thought to himself as he placed his pills into the jade tray.
[Passed]
[Evaluation:
Quality - B
Quantity - B
Creativity - E
Points Earned: 16
Total Accumulated Points: 16]
When Pill Master saw the results pop up before him, his face lost its color.
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