The evening sun found a rather haggard Felix arriving at the town of Stillgrove five days following his departure from Greenville. The town was a few miles out from the Green River Sect which was located in a valley surrounded by various hills through which it’s namesake, the Green River, passed. The Green River passed through many provinces and countries, finding it’s source in the northern Snowrest mountains, and ending up in a southern sea. It had many different names in different countries but in the country of Astra it was known as the Green River.

The town of Stillgrove was a merchant town. Nearly all of its economical activities were based off being a trading center for the Green River Sect and although technically independent, it was in practice the front office of the Green River Sect. Clients, merchants and family members would for the most part never enter the sect itself but rather patronize the various inns, markets, restaurants, and auction houses of the town. The Green River Sect had their Missions Office located in the town, a rather tall three-story building that was only rivaled in size by the Alchemy Guild and the Blackwater Trading Hall. Both the Alchemy Guild and the Blackwater Trading Hall were run by powerful outside organizations, the Astra Alchemy Guild, and the Blackwater Trading Group.

Felix decided to stay at the first inn he saw, a rather large one named The Hollow Tree. A stable-boy took care of his horse while he entered the inn. The dinner room was quite lively. Patrons of all types, young and old, local and foreign, were eating and discussing. There were even some young children running around and playing while the older family members ate and watched on. The atmosphere was pleasant, and Felix decided he liked this place. He made his way towards the innkeeper.

“I would like a room and meals for three nights” he said. Tomorrow and the day after would be free for Felix, the exam taking place on the morning after.

“Here for the exams are ye? That’ll be three silver crowns, ” answered the Innkeeper a rather short and jovial man.

Hearing the price, Felix hesitated a little bit, he could definitely afford it but according to his father one and a half crowns should have been sufficient.

“Ye think it’s expensive?” said the innkeeper with a smile. “It is, but the town is filled to capacity with young men and women from all over, coming to test their mettle and trying to join the test. Some of them even bring their whole families and so the inns are full, even if the price is high. It’s the perfect time for us to make a lot of money and so we take advantage of it!” he ended with a guffaw.

Felix smiled a bit upon hearing this. There was something likeable about the innkeeper and his refreshing honesty. He paid the man and headed towards his room. It was small and simple but clean, which was all Felix needed. He deposited his things, keeping his money pouch on his person, and locked the door behind him before heading to the dining room.

The dining hall had many smaller tables that were all occupied by various parties as well as a long rectangular table that was meant to be shared. Felix let a waitress know he would like a meal and then sat down in an empty seat at the end of the shared table.

The seat in front of his was empty and two older gentlemen were sitting to his right. They seemed to be discussing the upcoming entrance exams.

“I heard this year there will be forty martial arts students accepted and only ten for alchemy,” said the one sitting across from Felix. He was completely bald and had a full gray beard.

“So little? The alchemy’s branch prestige has really fallen. I remember five years ago when they had twenty new entrants to the martial arts branch’s thirty,” replied his companion, who sported a full head of gray hair and had a bushy gray mustache.

“It seems like many of the promising young alchemists prefer to journey all the way to the Dawning Sun Sect to study under Master Rion. His student, Master Rolfe has reached the three-star level at twenty-five years old; they say he is the most promising alchemy talent in all of Astra! Green River Sect has not produced such talent in years, people are saying Master Urius is not what he once was”.

‘Ptui’, his companion dry spat and then said, “Master Urius is the main reason the Green River Sect has stood strong for the past thirty years. And what of young Master Trelos, he also reached three-star at twenty-four years old, ten years ago! He is an unrivaled genius”.

At this the old man sitting across from Felix lowered his voice and said, “Jack, you know what the rumors say, that young Master Trelos is crazy. They say the only prospect of the alchemy branch is an insane person who veered off the correct path of cultivation and many are scared to end up like him.” At this, his friend showed signs of getting angry. The bald man continued, “Listen, I am not saying it’s true, that’s just what people say. Compared to them, the martial branch has produced many young prospects. Think of young Master Alucard, he has reached the third stage of martial cultivation at nineteen, only two years after joining the sect. He is expected to someday attain the rank of Qi Cultivator.”

“And what of young Miss Toph? She joined the alchemy branch last year and is already a one-star alchemist at the age of seventeen! She has hope to reach the two-star level at a young age”, his friend countered.

“A decent talent but hardly enough to carry the alchemy branch’s prestige.”

At this point Felix’s meal arrived and the two older men switched to talking about kings, a board game played across the continent. Felix was also an adept of the game, it was one of his only hobbies outside of training and studying alchemy, but from the old men’s conversation it seemed their level was not too high and so he lost interest in their conversation. He had learned a lot; it seemed the competition between the two branches of the Green River Sect was quite high and the relation between the two might not be as friendly as he had thought. It also seemed like a lot of interesting characters could be found in the alchemy branch. Another youngster might be discouraged upon hearing the state of the alchemy branch, but Felix was rather excited. He knew for a fact Master Urius was a great alchemist, his father had admitted to knowing less than him and so there could be no doubt as to his qualifications. Furthermore, young Master Trelo seemed rather interesting.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit though had been the mention of young Lady Toph. He wondered if this was Julia, the one who had been treated by his father. It would make sense; he had thought she might be an alchemist. From what he knew the students of Green River Sect had the second half of summer off and would usually come back a week before the entrance examinations started. Everything fit together, but he would have to wait and find out if that was actually her.

Felix finished his meal and set off to explore the town a bit before bed. He had two days and three nights before the examination and at this point training too much would not bring him any results. He was better off resting and distracting himself, so as to be fresh come the day of the exams.

The first place he headed towards was the Astra Alchemy Guild. An alchemy fanatic like him would not miss the chance to visit the prestigious establishment. Had he not been dirty and hungry from his travels he would have headed there before heading to the inn. The Astra Alchemy Guild was in fact a branch of the Alchemy Guild, a guild that could be found in every single country. They were the only organization that could officially give out star ratings to alchemists. The guild master of Astra was a four-star alchemist, the only one in the country. Astra rarely produced a four-star alchemist and when it did, they would usually head out to bigger sects or noble families of other countries. Astra was not a weak country, but it was far from being one of the strongest in the continent. Rumor had it that some of the larger sects actually controlled multiple countries, but he did not know much of outside politics and his father had always told him there would be time to worry about bigger and better when Felix himself was bigger and better. An alchemist’s apprentice should be worrying about studying alchemy.

The Astra Alchemy Guild tower was a simple yet elegant three-story building. At this time of evening, it was usually rather quiet. At the moment however, there were many young men and women visiting, no doubt here for the entrance exams. As Felix entered, he saw a dozen students gathered in a circle around a man sporting a two-star alchemist robe. He was of average height and was rather rotund.

“Our Alchemy Guild is always interested in recruiting young talents! We administer the exams for official alchemist rank, we have a catalogue of rare herbs and rare texts that may be requested from the main branch. Furthermore, we can assist you in heading out to the world. Those of you who choose to join us in the future, if you have the talent for, will be able to enjoy sizeable benefits” he said, smiling invitingly.

“Hey, are you here for the sect exams, planning to apply for the alchemy branch perhaps?” came a voice from the side.

Felix turned and saw a young man who seemed to be around his age, red-haired and freckled, smiling at him. He seemed to have come from the second floor and was holding a small brown bag with the Guild’s logo on it.

“Yes, I am” he answered.

“My name’s Arthur but my friends call me Skip”.

“Skip?”

“Yeah, I used to move around everywhere while skipping when I was a younger, the name kind of stuck”, he replied, scratching the back of his head.

“I’m Felix, nice to meet you”, Felix answered with a smile. Arthur, or Skip, seemed like a rather easy-going fellow, reminding him of his friend Reese.

“I hear this year’s exams will be quite difficult, there are many applicants for the 10 spots in the alchemy branch”, said Skip.

‘I guess he’s the type to spread and collect gossip’, thought Felix. “I thought the alchemy branch had their spots reduced for lack of applicants,” he said.

“That’s the official story, but if you know you know”, replied Skip, smirking.

“And are you just bragging or are you going to tell me?” asked Felix, playing along with a smile.

“Hehe, I’ll tell you, but you didn’t hear it from me. Got it? Unless you ever hear something juicy, in which case you did hear it from me and you should let me in on the juicy story, that would only be fair”.

Felix laughed at his new friend’s antics. “Okay, you got a deal.”

“Here’s the truth: this branch’s guild master and the head of the martial branch of the Green River Sect are old friends,” Skip said in an exaggerated whisper. It seemed like he enjoyed the theater of it all as much as he enjoyed gathering information. “They’ve been putting pressure on the Sect Leader and Elders to allocate more resources to the martial branch and encourage some of the talent to join the local Alchemy Guild instead. This is the real reason the prestige of the alchemy branch has fallen a bit. Despite that, there remains many applicants to the sect’s alchemy branch. The ratio should be something like thirty to twenty, not forty to ten”.

“I’m surprised the Alchemy Guild would do something like that”, said Felix. He had always held the Guild in high esteem and imagined himself joining it one day.

“No, no, the Guild itself wouldn’t do or condone something like that. This branch may be impressive to common folk like us, but I hear the headquarters in Sirius is a tower more than twenty stories high! And that’s just the Astra headquarters, I have no idea how large and powerful the Guild really is. This is just a small branch of little importance, and most of the decisions of this branch are taken independently. As long as the local guild master fulfills his obligations and doesn’t do anything too far out of line, he can find ways to increase his personal power.” He paused slightly and threw a look towards the two-star alchemist that was currently leading the tour. “And there will never be a shortage of snakes willing to follow along and do dirty work for a piece of the pie”.

Felix could see Skip’s furrowed as he looked at the two-star alchemist giving his presentation. He turned back towards Felix and their gazes met. At this, Skip’s expression loosened, a smile returning to his face.

“I’ll show you something more interesting”, said Skip. The presentation was over and not much had been said during its course. Outside of bragging about the merits of joining the Alchemy Guild, the two-star alchemist had merely explained the different functions of the Guild and then bragged some more.

Skip and Felix started heading away, but a young man with a one-star alchemist robe stood in their way. He was of average height and slightly rotund. Felix thought he looked familiar. It clicked and he realized the guy standing in front of them must be related to the two-star alchemist who had given the presentation and was currently answering some of the applicants’ questions.

“Arthur, I see you’ve accepted your lack of talent and have joined the newcomers to start over fresh. A commendable attitude, perhaps it will help you achieve one-star alchemist some day. I could give you lessons you know, I have very affordable rates,” the unknown young man said, mockingly.

“Jordan, we both know your only talent is nepotism and that one-star alchemist is the highest rank you’ll ever achieve. Good luck bribing an outsider for the two-star exam,” Skip answered, the content of his words spiteful but his tone overly courteous.

“Ahh the jealousy of the less fortunate is hard to bear but I must have sympathy for the uncivilized,” lamented Jordan. “Are you still spreading rumors to hide your shame? Everyone knows your father tried to apply to the Guild and was rejected, a lack of talent is not a reason to invent lies, how pedestrian.”

The fake polite smile was gone from Skip’s face and his tone was filled with anger as he said, “You shut the f…”

“Now, now, what a pleasant surprise,” a man’s voice interrupted the ongoing conflict. Felix looked over and saw that the voice was coming from the two-star alchemist who had been giving the presentation. The man continued, “How pleasant it is to see my nephew Jordan as well as Arthur, a fine young… apprentice.” He turned towards Felix, “And who might you be young man?” he asked.

“My name is Felix, master alchemist,” answered Felix politely. “I’ve come to Stillgrove to apply to the Green River Sect.”

“Ah! A promising newcomer. It always brightens my heart to see young talent,” said the man with a smile too welcoming and a tone too sweet. “The sect is a wonderful place; however, many young talents prefer joining the guild directly, you should keep that in mind.” He looked at Skip for a second, then said, “Be careful of wasting your talents away. My name is Desmond Reed, you may call me Master Reed. I trust a young man of your caliber will make the right choices for his future; our branch is open to all those who possess the required talent.” He then smiled and excused himself, bringing his nephew Jordan along with him.

“That was…” Felix started saying.

“All lies, believe me! That little piece of human garbage. Listen, my father is an alchemist under Master Urius, much more talented than Master Reed. He is faithful to the alchemy branch and has had trouble with the martial branch. At some point a rumor started spreading that he had tried to join the guild but was refused, but that’s not true, you have to believe me”, pleaded Skip.

“I do, I’ve never met a slimier person than Master Reed”, Felix said, disdain present in his voice. “Also, why do you care what I think?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t really… I just hate when people insult my father,” replied Skip, abashed. “Anyway, forget them, I’ll show you around”.

The pair headed out and Skip volunteered to act as a tour guide for Felix. They first visited the Blackwater Trading Hall, a very luxurious establishment selling items Felix had never seen before. Armor and weapons of the finest quality, some even enhanced with qi, which Felix had heard about but never seen. The enhanced weapons had special qualities such as increased sharpness and resistance. Some of the armor was enhanced in such a way that it would be both harder and lighter than its non-enhanced counterpart. That type of armor was by far the most expensive type of item on display. There were two of them and they were both priced in the hundreds of golden crowns.

All types of books were available, from the foundational books of alchemy, martial arts, and warfare tactics to rare grimoires with script Felix could not decipher. There were many more miscellaneous items, from alchemical ingredients to expensive clothing. The attendants were friendly and attractive, making their visit quite pleasant and giving Felix a good opinion of the Blackwater Trading Group. Felix had no extra money to spend, and Skip did not seem to want to buy anything, but the staff remained perfectly pleasant as they looked around.

They then visited the Missions Office. A rather stoic man welcomed them and showed them around. All the while, Skip was adding in his own commentary, allowing Felix to better understand the inner workings of the town and sect. The missions were split into levels of difficulty as well as type. Most missions involved martial arts, such as hunting parties, escort missions or even joining Astra’s army. Sect students could get higher ranked positions in the army and could join for specific missions, such as helping out for a particular battle or helping defend a border for a certain period. Those who did choose to enlist in the army permanently would have special treatment and higher ranks, depending on their level of skill. After all, sect members were much stronger than average enlisted recruits. Furthermore, sect members were exempt from being part of the regular quota of soldiers required of every town and city.

The other type of mission was what Felix was interested in. They were of the miscellaneous type, often requiring a particular type of skill. They could involve skills such as blacksmithing, tailoring, artificing but the vast majority of those were related to alchemy and its medicinal application, which made sense since the sect had a huge alchemy branch.

Missions were furthermore split into difficulty ratings, which were decided by the sect. The rewards for completing a mission would vary according to the difficulty as well as the time and effort required. Sect assigned missions rewarded contribution points, which could be used to obtain a plethora of things from the sect, from special training and pills to monetary rewards. There were also missions assigned by outsiders that had varying rewards.

After spending the evening exchanging jokes, discussing alchemy and touring the city, Felix and Skip separated, with promises to meet up again in the sect once Felix had passed his exam. Other than discussing the sect and the town of Stillgrove, they had mostly discussed alchemy and Skip had been surprised at Felix’s breadth of knowledge. He had assured Felix that he was more than qualified to pass the entrance examination.

---

The remaining free days passed uneventfully. Felix continued his training, his martial arts kept on improving at a rapid pace while his mental cultivation was somewhat stagnant, which was to be expected. He had previously mastered the flame and could now easily maintain it for hours. Improvement in his mental endurance had slowed down and the third stage remained a mystery. He had even gone to the Alchemy Guild’s library to search for books on the subject but had been left wanting. The library was open to the public for the entire week leading up to the entrance examination. He might not have a very good opinion of this particular branch after the events with Skip and Master Reed, but he wouldn’t stop himself from using free resources. After all, there might be some slightly shady politics going on, but it wasn’t like they were cannibalistic members of the mythical evil cult of Procyon.

Finally, the fateful day of the examination came. Felix was tranquil, refreshed, and prepared, as he made his way to the foot of the hill closest to Stillgrove, which acted as the sect’s entrance. At the foot of the hill was a large open field where the exams would take place. There was a small fence set up to demarcate the testing grounds. Towards the back of the testing area were large tents for the examiners to rest and discuss privately.

The testing ground itself was empty except for two strange artifacts sitting on top of a wooden table. They reminded Felix of crystal balls from tales his father used to tell him before bedtime. From what he had learned, these two red and blue artifacts were some of the sect’s most prized possessions, purchased at an unimaginably high cost from an artificer in the capital. They were powered by a person’s natural Qi. Once a person placed their hands on them, the artifacts would absorb some of that person’s Qi and then reveal that person’s dormant talent. The red one was used for martial arts and the blue one for the mental arts. Felix had no idea how an artifact could possibly distinguish something as vague as talent, but he figured that the sect wouldn’t waste time and money on something that didn’t work.

The first part of the exam simply consisted of testing each applicant with the artifacts, a process used to thin out the numbers before administering the second part of the exam. As a potential member of the alchemy branch, Felix needed to reach a martial talent of ‘passable’ and a mental cultivation talent of ‘good’, though he had no clue what exactly those two grades represented. Regardless, he felt confident in both of those. His martial talent was not as bad as he had once though, he was even starting to think he might even have a certain talent for it with how fast he was progressing since unlocking the flame. Furthermore, his talent for the mental arts were beyond doubt.

For the second part of the exam, the applicants would split up according to which branch they were applying to. The martial arts students would have a test of strength followed by sparring, whereas the alchemy students would have a written exam to test their knowledge followed by a practical exam. The practical portion changed each year, but the applicants were usually tested on the concoction of a simple pill. This was meant to test their mastery of the basics. The pills would never be unusual or particularly difficult to concoct, but the standards for success were quite high. A pill with flaws or weak potency would not be enough. This emphasis on having solid fundamentals reminded Felix of his father’s saying, “Master the basics and the rest will follow on its own.”

Nervous and excited, Felix headed towards the line of applicants. The time to officially join the wider world of alchemy had finally come.