Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex failed to come up with a single inkling of an idea for the next pill. Before he could think of anything at all, the round was over.

The Divinity walked in but said nothing. He simply stepped to the side and watched the large ranking up in the sky. Alex’s name didn’t have a 100% yet, just to hide it from his opponent.

Surprisingly, his opponent didn’t have anything either.

‘He must not have managed to form a pill cloud before this,’ Alex thought and realized that Treegold would have to make the pill right now. If he hadn’t managed to form a pill cloud before this, was he going to be able to do so right now?

And the answer, with some surprise, was that he couldn’t. Treegold failed to make a pill with even 80% harmony and ended up losing.

Alex had just as easily entered the final round.

The barriers around him disappeared as the noise and sight of the audience rushed in to fill the silence. Alex heard his name being spoken from millions of lips at once, praising him for what he had done.

It took Alex a moment to gather himself from this. It had been over a dozen days since he had been deprived of this, since the start of the competition. He was surprised that he was being allowed to see this.

He wondered why that was.

He looked around at the three contestants that were still in their small boxes. All three of them were making pills.

He understood why Aethersage and Leafheart would be making their pills, but Treegold too? Hadn’t he already failed?

He felt a disturbance to his left and turned to view it. The Alchemy God had arrived out of nowhere, landing there.

“Alchemist Dawnblade, congratulations on making it to the finals,” the Alchemy God spoke, his voice reverberating throughout the audience. “How do you feel?”

Alex took a deep breath. “Drained.”

The Alchemy God laughed. “Of course you would. But don’t be done just yet. You still have the finals,” he said.

Alex nodded slowly. “Is there a reason as to why my barriers were removed, Your Majesty?” he asked. “Is there some event happening between now and the finals?”

“No, not an event,” the Alchemy God said. “We merely stopped to congratulate you and give you a change of surroundings for a while. You may return if you wish to. The finals will start in about 42 hours, after all.”

Alex raised an eyebrow before remembering what they were told at the start. The final round would start six hours after the round where they decided upon the third and fourth rankers.

Alex turned toward Treegold and understood then why the man was already making pills. He knew he had failed, so he was working to come third overall.

‘I have just over 40 hours to come up with the next pill then,’ Alex thought. ‘I should get started.’

Considering how difficult it was to come up with any pill ideas at the moment, he needed every second he could use.

“Would you mind setting back the barriers, Your Majesty? I would like to start right away.”

The barriers surrounded Alex, and he was back to thinking about the last and final pill of the tournament.

* * * * * *

Aethersage took a glance at the time and then looked back at the cauldron before him. Moonshard opened and delivered the pill within it to him.

Aethersage caught the pill with six pill veins and handed it over to the Divinity before him. The woman accepted the pill very quickly and registered it.

The number 100% appeared next to Aethersage’s name. Then, he waited.

Just half a minute later, Leafheart’s name lit up with a number next to it as well. Another 100%.

Seeing that, Aethersage couldn’t help but sigh. He had been frustrated with the same thing happening in the quarterfinals, and now he was frustrated with it in the semifinals too.

Considering Leafheart’s talent, she was going to be making similar pills as him over and over. Their battle was going to be a massive waste of both of their time.

Considering how much they respected Alex as an Alchemist, neither one of them wanted him to get a head start. So, Aethersage devised a plan.

“Senior,” he called out to the Divinity. “I wonder if you could deliver a message to Alchemist Leafheart.”

* * * * * * *

Leafheart reached 100%, but so had Aethersage. She looked down at the orange cauldron before her and took in a deep breath as she realized she was going to have to make this pill once again.

In fact, she was going to have to make this over and over until either one of them made a mistake. And with what was on the line, both would be very careful not to make another.

Leafheart prepared her ingredients to make another pill when someone else appeared before her. She stopped and looked up and was immediately surprised.

“Your Majesty!” she quickly bowed upon seeing that it was the Alchemy God himself.

“Do you have a minute, Alchemist Leafheart?” the Alchemy God asked.

The woman was taken aback by his sudden intrusion. “Umm, yes, of course.”

“Alchemist Aethersage has asked me to bring you a message. Would you like to hear it?” he asked.

“A message?” Leafheart frowned. “What is it?”

“He says that if you two continue competing like this, this will likely go on for a long time before either one of you fails. He says that by that time, both of you will be late for your respective rounds. So, he has a deal to make with you,” the Alchemy God said. “Would you like to hear the conditions?”

Leafheart thought for a moment and nodded. “What is the deal?”

“Aethersage suggests that the two of you make pills with no other aid. No formation, no talisman, no extra ingredients, or any other tools that help with making pills. Just you, your cauldron, the base ingredients, and your techniques. Do you accept it?”

Leafheart frowned. This was a difficult thing for her to accept. After all, she had only been making it by because of the extra pill she was making on the side. Without that, the chances that a pill cloud was summoned by her pill were terribly low.

However, at the same time, there was merit to Aethersage’s words as well. The more they fought among themselves, the later they would be for the next competition. And considering she had no idea what pill she was going to make, she was going to need every single second she could afford.

After a brief consideration of all facts, Leafheart turned to the Alchemy God.

“Please take a message to him from me.”

* * * * * *

Aethersage looked at the Alchemy God and waited for the answer.

“She accepts your deal, but on one additional condition,” the Alchemy God said.

Aethersage raised his eyebrows. “What’s the condition?”

“The condition is that she will only do what you say after the hour is over. Until then, continue as you have,” the Alchemy God said.

Aethersage thought for a moment and nodded. “That seems fair,” he said. “I suppose that is acceptable.”

“Great!” the Alchemy God said. “I will deliver that message and let the audience know what is about to happen.”