Old man Wayne entered the waiting room and walked up to the stage.
"Seems like everyone who passed the second assessment is here. Let's start the third assessment."
At this point, Albert's trio was thrilled and they couldn't wait to start the third assessment.
On the other hand, the young apprentices were dejected. It would be very hard for them to make a comeback.
Unless Albert's trio made a huge mistake, they can't get the top three spots.
Corey however, was very furious. Everything that's happening is unacceptable to him. Although it would be hard for him to get the top 1 spot, there's only a 2-point gap between him and Charles.
He looked at Charles menacingly as he thought of a way to make him fail
"Just you wait you arrogant little shits! I'll show you what happens when you mess with me!"
After a staff member handed over the rule book, old man Wayne started to explain the rules of the third assessment.
"Potions and pills, these two are the main products that an alchemist produces. Earlier, we've already tested your skills in potion-making. This time, we shall test your skills in crafting pills!"
"The rule for the third assessment is very simple, you will be asked what pill you want to make then we shall provide the ingredients."
"However, you will not be allowed to know what type of pill was chosen by the other examinees. That's all for the rules! A staff member will approach you to record what type of pill you want to make. The assessment shall start in an hour."
After saying the rules, old man Wayne left the stage.
The young apprentices immediately huddled together to formulate a plan.
"Corey, what should we do? We know there's no way these guys will mess up the crafting process so do you have any plans to mess up their ranking?
"Actually, I do! I've been thinking of a plan since earlier and fortunately, my master, Grandmaster Elisea, had some connections with the examiner for this third assessment!"
"That's amazing! What's the plan?"
"The staff member who will ask them what pill they will make is one of my master's subordinates, he will find a way to tell me later what will those three stooges make."
"As for us, we shall choose a pill which is incompatible with their pills and will reduce the. As long as one of us finishes first, they're screwed!"
"What an evil plan! I like this!"
The young apprentices laughed after formulating a plan.
Of course, their actions were captured by Albert.
He then called Marie and Charles and the three of them huddled together.
"Those losers are trying something again. Keep your guard up."
"Alright."
After a few more moments, a staff member was dispatched to gather information about what pill each examinee would make.
Out of all the examinees, the staff member chose to go to the three of them first.
"You! What pill will you make?"
Albert's eyebrows furrowed after hearing how rude the staff member was. He suddenly got an idea but he wasn't sure if it was correct so he tested his theory.
"We are still deciding, please ask the others first."
Albert replied
"No! You must make a choice now!"
A shadow of a smile appeared on Albert's face. He already knew what the young apprentices were planning due to this stupid staff member.
"At least try to act a bit better!" Albert chuckled as he thought to himself.
Albert fell into a deep thought. He already confirmed that the young apprentices were planning to ruin the effectiveness of their pills by crafting an incompatible pill.
He needed to think of a pill that they could craft in less than two hours. However, the pill should be high quality and high purity.
After a few minutes of pondering, the staff member was getting annoyed. He knew that he couldn't disqualify the three of them simply because they couldn't choose a pill.
Even more so when they're given an hour to decide and he's the one who's been forcing them to make a choice now.
"Hmm…This pill is quite complicated, however, the three of us have discovered a secret alchemy technique which will allow us to finish the pill in two hours."
"After hearing how difficult our chosen pill is, they will probably underestimate our speed which will give us a chance to finish first…Alright! Let's go with that pill!"
Albert finally decided on a pill. He then whispered to Marie and Charles to choose the same pill as him.
The two of them quickly agreed and Albert turned around to face the staff member.
"I choose the physique impurity cleansing pill!"
The staff member nodded and jotted down his choice. He then turned to Marie and Charles and asked them as well.
Marie and Charles trusted Albert so they followed Albert's plan without asking too much.
"We also choose the physique impurity cleansing pill!"
The staff member was satisfied after successfully doing his job so he walked away and asked the other examinees to make it less obvious that he was siding with the young apprentices.
Albert sneered after seeing such a scene. In the end, they were better than the young apprentices so he didn't care too much.
Finally, after asking all of the examinees, the staff member headed towards the young apprentices' direction.
"They chose the physique impurity cleansing pill."
The staff member whispered to Corey. He chuckled after hearing about the trio's choices. He knew that it would take at least four hours for them to finish such a difficult pill.
However, he also knew that these three might be faster than them so he estimated that they would take at least three hours.
"Chris, I entrust this to you. Out of all of us, you're the fastest when it comes to pill-making. They chose the physique impurity cleansing pill."
"I believe that they can finish crafting it in three hours but with your skills, crafting the physique decluttering pill should only take you about a little over 2 hours."
Hearing Corey's praise, the guy named Chris smiled proudly. He was indeed the fastest among all of them when it comes to pill creation.
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Chris guaranteed.
He then walked towards the staff member and told him that he would craft the physique decluttering pill.
After a few more minutes, the staff member returned to the examiner's office to give the list to old man Wayne.
Old man Wayne looked at the list and he was disappointed after seeing the choices of the young apprentices.
"Haaah…These young apprentices are still determined to mess with the unknown youngsters…"
He then looked at the staff member who handed him the list with a serious expression.
"Change of plans! I shall personally judge the quality of the pills for this third assessment!"