Big G, Coffee Machine and Goblin

Chapter 54 The Female Alchemist's Doubts

"Why, why did you complete every single test?" Jia Anda asked, puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Ma Li also stopped walking.

"The first test is to determine your affinity with the element of water," the female alchemist explained.

“No wonder my bucket has been leaking,” Ma Li suddenly realized. “It must mean that I have a poor affinity with the water element.”

"That's right, but you still put out the flames in the end."

"Should I have given up from the start?"

Jia Anda shook his head. "Once the assessment begins, it cannot be abandoned. The test will only terminate itself when the fire reaches a certain level. To completely extinguish the flames, one should be able to do something that scores at least 7 points, which is illogical."

"The same goes for the other three tests. Why were you able to complete each one successfully?" the female alchemist repeated. "Did you carry anything that would affect the test results?"

"for example?"

"I don't know about elemental crystals, philosopher's stones, or anything like that?"

“Impossible,” Levi said decisively. “The four-position instrument was designed from the outset to shield against interference from external objects, so that the identification results could be as accurate and truthful as possible. This is also why the test must be conducted in the mental world.”

"The Magic Academy has been using the Quadruple Gauge to test new students for two hundred years, and there have been almost no mishaps during that time."

"Then why did the test results turn out this way?" Jia Anda's beautiful eyes were filled with confusion as she stared at Ma Li and asked softly.

"What exactly is helping you?"

The old alchemist also became interested. "As far as I know, there is only one possibility for this to happen: other elements have been mixed into the spiritual world constructed by the Four Symbols."

"But you just said that nothing external can interfere with the results of the four-dimensional instrument."

“That’s right, unless that element has completely merged with his body,” Levi said. “And it can’t be the four primary elements of wind, fire, water, and earth, or any secondary elements evolved from them, because they would just be absorbed and decomposed by the elemental crystals on the four instruments.”

“This means,” he slowed his pace, his tone becoming more excited, “that this is a completely new magical element that has not yet been discovered!”

The old alchemist's inspiration came from that mysterious magnetic field, while Ma Li was reminded of the red mist that shrouded Luoyang.

He didn't know how long he had been in the red mist, but by the standards for pickled mustard greens, he should have been thoroughly pickled by now.

If the red mist is indeed a magical element, and his body is covered in it, it could explain why things brought out of the red mist don't disappear around him.

Does that also mean that after research and training, he might be able to utilize or even control that red mist in the future?
"This...is impossible."

Jia Anda now also felt that Levi's thinking was a bit too unconventional. No wonder there were rumors that this former vice dean of the Radiant Staff Alchemy Academy had gone a bit mad in his research on ancient alchemy.

The world is composed of four main elements: wind, fire, water, and earth—this has been a universally acknowledged truth in the magical world for thousands of years.

He was being far too rash to overturn a proven rule verified by countless sages based on a slightly unusual test result. But Levi was, after all, a senior, and the female alchemist said nothing more; she simply looked at Mali again.

"Would you be willing to let me... conduct some research on your body? Perhaps we can find the answer."

This statement sounds somewhat ambiguous, and even with Jia Anda's usual meticulousness, he felt a bit embarrassed when he said it.

Fortunately, Ma Li didn't seem to think much of it. He nodded and said, "That's fine, but we'll have to wait a bit. I have other things to do before I leave."

"whats the matter?"

"I've just assembled a caravan and plan to find a guild to join so we can travel around the continent and make some money," Ma Li said without hiding his plans.

Jia Anda didn't think he was neglecting his duties, although many people on the continent of Revatres secretly called alchemists "golden goose hens."

However, many alchemists, especially those with poor aptitude, still struggle with money in the early stages.

Doing business is certainly an option.

Do you need me to recommend a few guilds for you?

"Oh, you know about guilds too?"

Jia Anda nodded. "The association has a considerable demand for alchemical materials and equipment. Sometimes we also help members collect some rare materials. I have dealt with many guilds, but I only really recommend two of them."

"The Rose Alliance and the Southern Alliance are two different things. The former is a business alliance led by Lady Amanda and formed by a group of political upstarts in the capital. Although it has not been established for long, less than ten years, it has developed very rapidly."

"Lady Amanda is the King's sister, the widow of Duke Ralph, and the wealthiest person in the entire Kingdom of Menia. The Southern Alliance is backed by the lords of the South."

The situation was pretty much as Ma Li had imagined; trade in this world wasn't so easy.

Besides the monsters and bandits they might encounter along the way, they also had to deal with nobles who could turn on them at any moment, and all sorts of messy tax checkpoints. Without a strong political backer, it was virtually impossible to go far.

"Which of these two companies do you prefer?" Ma Li then asked.

"That depends on what kind of trade you want to do. The Rose Alliance members have a wider range of activities. Their footprints are not limited to the Kingdom of Menia and the Duchy of Gardland, the River Reach Kingdom, the Low Countries... the Northern Empire, and even the Dwarves and Elves have their trading posts."

"The Confederate States of America mainly operates in twelve cities in the South, but joining them also has advantages. You can enjoy the lowest taxes in these twelve cities, as well as franchises for certain goods, which can bring in more substantial profits."

Ma Li already had his answer. He still preferred to join the Rose Alliance, which would allow him to maximize his current mobility advantage. As for the low taxes and franchise rights, although they were also good, they were not essential for him. He could earn back the price difference by making one long trip.

Of course, in a game, the best strategy would be to join the Southern Alliance first to earn your first pot of gold, and then switch to the Rose Alliance. Unfortunately, Ma Li asked Jia Anda and found that transfers between merchants are not frequent, especially between competitive guilds, which rarely accept merchants from rival guilds.

In addition, he had some conflicts with the Morales family before because of the Whitewood Village incident, and Eagle Beak City was obviously in the Southern Alliance, so Mali didn't want to deal with them anymore.

(End of this chapter)