Entrance Exam

Alex came out of the game and realized his body was not tired at all. In fact, he felt very well-rested. 'So sleeping in the game does in fact work.' He was very surprised. 

He washed up and waited for the guys to log out. During that time, he decided to check up on what exactly alchemy was. According to the Internet, Alchemy in Eternal Cultivation was the process of making pills.

"Hmm… Along with artifacts, Pills are one of the most expensive items in the game, Eternal Cultivation." He read what the information outlet was telling him. He closed his phone as his roommates started waking up and went to have some breakfast. 

After breakfast, he wanted to go back into the game, so he did. He looked at the time and realized he only had 45 minutes to make it to the Hong Wu Sect. 

He hurriedly went down to the tavern and asked the keeper for directions. The keeper's directions were simple. Hong Wu sect to the North and Tiger Sect to the south of Scarlet City. When Alex asked him what the Tiger sect was, he found out that it was a place where normal cultivators went to join. 

"So there are 2 sects in this Scarlet City, huh? I still like the idea of joining the Alchemy sect, rather than the other normal one." He said to himself. 

Quickly he made his way north, asking for directions to the Hong Wu sect along the way. When he finally reached the Hong Wu sect, he was surprised. 

Alex was now outside of a gate. Beyond the gate, he could see a tall mountain with many houses on it. The mountain was the sect ground of the Hong Wu sect.

Time was running out, so he quickly registered himself at the gate and was directed to a large tent inside the gate. Alex looked at the piece of paper that was the registration slip. It simply had the number 174, along with his name Yu Ming and age 18. 

He had almost reflexively said Alex, but caught himself in the last second. He walked into the large tent and sat in an open spot on the ground, among the many other people who were all sitting in a symmetrical fashion.

Very soon, an important-looking man, in his late 20s walked inside the tent. He was wearing a green robe with silver linings. Soon after he entered, a few dozen younger-looking men and women walked in. 

"Everyone listen up," the man said as he stood up on a podium of sorts. " I am your examiner, and I will be taking your test here. " The man gestured to the side.

The group of men and women who had entered walked around the place and handed each of them a storage bag and a slip of paper. 

"You have one hour to name all the 100 ingredients inside. If you can name more than 50, you pass. Makes sure the talisman you answer in also has your registration number and name." Saying that the man left the tent. The other people, however, stood there, watching the different examinees taking their exams. 

Alex tried to take out each of the ingredients to see what it was called, but each time to took it out, it only said [?????????]. The game wasn't helping at all. 

For the next half an hour, he fooled around trying to find the ingredient's name. Checking if he could at least name one, but he couldn't. 

"They did say the exam was hard," he sighed as he stopped thinking about the exam and instead started looking at his settings through the different things. He wasted another 15 minutes on that. 

Suddenly, he remembered something. 'Isn't my inventory supposed to show everything I have? What if I look at the ingredients using the inventory and not from the outside?'

"Inventory," he said in a low voice. A blue panel popped up in front of him that indeed had over a hundred items. He randomly picked one to see if it was named, but it was still called ??????. 

'Sigh,' he was about to close the inventory when he noticed something. In the very first box of the inventory, there was an icon for a book. 

"A cultivation method?" he wondered. He tried to click on the description, but accidentally clicked on learn. 

<Your roots and talent satisfy the conditions>

<You have learned [Alchemy God's Knowledge]>

"Huh, Alchemy?" he was stunned. 

"Cultivation Method," he said and the list of cultivation methods popped up. There was only one. 'But it was a book?' he was confused. 

'Ah right, didn't the treasure give me a technique as well? I completely forgot about that. Is this a technique?'

He opened the techniques panel, and there in the learned section, he could see a book icon. He clicked on it and opened the description.

[Alchemy God's Manual: Level 1

Grade: Mortal (Growth)

  Unlocked: You have knowledge of all alchemy material.

  Unlocked: Can learn any alchemy recipe instantly.

  Unlocked: +50% chance to produce an extra pill during alchemy.

Level 2 required to unlock  more

]

" Growth? What is that supposed to mean? This technique can level up?" he wondered, but he didn't care about that for the moment. The thing that attracted his attention was the first thing that was unlocked,

' Unlocked: You have knowledge of all alchemy material.'

"Does that mean…?" he started to have a sliver of hope and anticipation brew up deep within him. He took out an inventory and saw its name. 

[Bluethorn Leaf]

"Yes," he shouted softly.

[Horn Root Grass]

[Aquatic Berry]

It was working. He picked up the paper to start writing down the names. There was no pen, but he realized he could write in it what he wanted just by thinking about it. 

As he started writing down the name, a weird-looking pattern started to appear on the piece of paper. It took him a few minutes to name all the materials in the bag. 

At 9 o'clock exactly, the man returned to the tent and shouted, "Time Over, Everyone put your answers in the bag and pass them to your seniors."

After handing the bag, Alex walked out. He heard that they could come by tomorrow at 8 to see their results. 

Alex took his time walking back to the tavern and logged out when he reached his room. It had taken him an hour to return, so by the time he logged out, it was nearly 10 am. 

Just as he got up from his bed, he heard Logan shouting, "Yes. I did it. I broke through to the True realm." 

"Did you use any pills?" Eric asked.

"Nah. Those costs too much. The alchemist takes 50 dollars for even the lowest ones. I'm not wasting my money on that unless it's extremely necessary. 

Alex didn't get in on the celebration. Instead, he looked at his phone which had a new notification on it. It was a message from his cousin. 

<Meet 1 me outside the University East Gate at PM>