37

Cheng Yang's surroundings distorted and he disappeared in a curtain of light.

When Cheng Yang opened his eyes again he was surrounded by thousands of magical herbs and plants.

Cheng Yang was unsurprising since all Profession tests would occur in a unique instance dungeon. As such, when you died in a test you would be transported back outside completely unharmed.

At that moment Cheng Yang heard the Alchemy Tower manager's voice in his head: "Welcome to the Garden of Pan Lan. The test will begin in 10… 9… 8…"

Cheng Yang was tense. He really hoped that the test wouldn't include a Pinnacle-Grade monster in any way. The gap between levels was biggest when you were an Apprentice, at that level fighting against higher level monsters was nearly impossible. The monsters stats would be similar and people's equipment would be too low level to provide a substantial boost.

If Cheng Yang had to deal with a higher level monster, it would be impossible for him to defeat it. The terrain of the garden was also flat so he would have no where to hide.

He felt the probability of that happening was quite low. Even if this was the Hellish difficulty trial even a High-Grade monster would be enough to guarantee that no one would pass. Even if it was hard it was supposed to be possible.

The manager finally finished counting down: "Identification and collection of alchemical components are the two most basic skills an Alchemist can learn. Some may look down on the task as menial but it is the true basis of alchemy. For your test please find and properly harvest the following components in the next thirty minutes. Sword Grass, Corpse-Thistle…"

When he heard what his test would be Cheng Yang felt 10,000 grass mud horses gallop through his mind. When they passed, Cheng Yang couldn't suppress his excitement.

The task was just getting a few components.

To anyone else this task wouldn't be easy, especially in a garden with thousands of different plants. It wasn't because modern doctors never used traditional medicines but because all of the plants worldwide had undergone drastic changes. Even if Hua Tuo himself appeared to take this test he would only be able to rely on his luck.

To Cheng Yang, this test was laughable. In his previous life, although he hadn't been an Alchemist, he had become very familiar with alchemical components since most Alchemists would hire others to gather them. The components he needed to gather were the ingredients for a Mana Recovery Potion, although it could also be a Health Recovery Potion if the proportions were changed.

Why did Cheng Yang receive such an easy test? Cheng Yang guessed it was because the creation of each test wasn't done individually by god but was an automated process. If that was the case how could an algorithm guess that he had been reincarnated? Right now the average level of strength for humanity was infinitely close to zero. That is to say, even a test where you needed to steal a plant from a Low-Grade monster could be considered difficult. Since fighting stronger monsters than that would still be easy to him, it must have changed the test accordingly.

This guess was mostly right. Profession tests were actually created without considering the average strength but instead were based off of personal strength. The difficulty was calculated so that regardless of a person's level there would always be a consistent chance of passing the test in an unintended way. For instance, if the test he had was given to millions of people, only two or three people would pass by pure luck. This was in line with the rules of this new world.

What the algorithm didn't know was that even fighting a Standard-Grade monster would be a harder test for Cheng Yang that the one it had given.

The garden wasn't large, only ten thousand square meters, but it was completely overgrown with all kinds of plants. Cheng Yang even saw dozens rare varieties that tempted him to fail the test and grab those instead. In the end he could only stare at them enviously since even touching them might mean failing the test.

For ten minutes Cheng Yang scoured the garden.

"Dragon Creeper Buds, found…"

"Mystic Ice Flowers, done…"

"Earthworm Root, here…"

In just a few moments Cheng Yang had collected all ten components.

"Are you sure those are the ten components you need to pass the test?" The manager asked when he proclaimed he was finished.

Cheng Yang did not hesitate to reply that he was.

In an instance, the space around Cheng Yang distorted and he found himself facing the manager once more.

"Are you really coming back so soon?" The manager asked, unable to help giving him a disappointed look.

It was no wonder she didn't believe in him. From her point of view, Cheng Yang achieving the level of High-Grade Apprentice in just four days put him at the absolute top of humanity. If such an amazing person were to wholly dedicate themselves to the test maybe they could produce a miracle. Even if it was possible it would still take the entire testing period to even have a chance. Since he was leaving so soon didn't that mean he was giving up and trying his luck?

Cheng Yang smiled and showed the manager the ten components he had gathered. "I was just lucky. The god of this world must favor me since the names of each plant popped into my head just by looking at them. Naturally I finished quickly."

Looking at the components Cheng Yang had placed on the counter the manager felt like she was in a dream. For someone who had yet to become an Alchemist this task was just too difficult. Even more so, Cheng Yang was the very first Alchemist so not a single soul on this planet knew the names of these plants before today!

The manager had nothing else to do but smile, since Cheng Yang had gathered these components he had passed without a shadow of a doubt. "It seems like you are a natural Alchemist my Lord. Your talent is enough to make even the gods envious. Since you are the first person to become an Alchemist I am pleased to announce that you have been granted a unique Innate Ability, the Perfect Medicinal Body. This Innate Ability will allow you to receive twice the benefits with half of the side effects whenever you use a potion. At the same time you have completed the Hellish difficulty test so your Alchemy Talent is top tier. You'll be able to see the specifics when you become an Alchemist."

The manager took out an intricate pale gold medallion from under the counter. "This is the Alchemy Profession Token, you can use it to immediately become a true Alchemist."

Cheng Yang had gotten a Profession Token in the past but his had been crude and grey, obviously far worse quality than the one he had just received.

When Cheng Yang took the Profession Token, he held it in his hand and silently used it. Immediately after Cheng Yang felt that his palm was empty and the Profession Token had disappeared.

Cheng Yang couldn't wait to open up his properties panel and found that a new column had appeared titled "Profession".

Alchemist

Level: Low-Grade Apprentice (0%)

Energy: 20

Alchemy Talent

The effect of potions that affect the Mana attribute are doubled

Skills

Identify (Low-Grade): Identify alchemy components and what potions they can make

Harvest (Low-Grade): Harvest an alchemical component without damaging it.

Refine (Low-Grade): Create a potion

Recipes

None

Compared with his class status, the information about his Profession was much more concise. Even so, the Alchemy Talent he had received was overwhelming. Ordinarily people wouldn't have any bonuses that apply to their Profession, although some people would have an Innate Ability that affected their Profession. If you completed the Hard difficulty test you would receive a few Profession Talents but weather they were good or not depended on luck.

All of those paled in front of the Profession Talent received by someone who passed the Hellish difficulty test. Most Profession Talents would increase a minor aspect of production such as reducing the amount of time, energy and resources needed to create a potion or boosting a single skill. Moreover the bonus would be far less than 100%.

At this time Cheng Yang thought of a wonderful thing. Wouldn't he be able to make potions that were four times more powerful than normal for himself? If he just used this to create recovery potions he wouldn't care that much since it would just save him some time but he knew that there were potions that temporarily or permanently increased attributes! If he combined his Alchemy Talent and Perfect Medicinal Body he would become incredibly powerful!

Cheng Yang forced himself to calm down, "Thank you for this opportunity, manager. Can you tell me what recipes are available?"

"I only have two recipes, the basic recovery potions. If you want more hurry up and increase the level of my Alchemy Tower." The manager nagged.

Cheng Yang nodded, "I'll be sure to do that, for now may I buy the Mana Recovery recipe?"

The manager happily went over to the shelves behind her and retrieved a sheepskin scroll, "This will cost one thousand Experience Fragments."

Cheng Yang didn't hesitate to buy it immediately. Although 1000 Experience Fragments was an astronomical price it wasn't unbearable for Cheng Yang.