Obviously, if he didn't agree, it would make Alehan very difficult and Disol would also be embarrassed.

More importantly, his plan to join the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood would most likely be ruined.

Even if after a period of time, when things have calmed down for a while, I can successfully join the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood, but by then my reputation will probably be in terrible tatters.

This is something Richard cannot tolerate!

Moreover, since the other party wants to step on you to get to the top, you must be prepared to fail and bleed heavily!

Richard, who had experienced a series of conspiracies and battles, large and small, was no longer the clerk he was when he first traveled through time. The scene before him was just a small scene for him.

"Huh, he actually agreed." The murloc wizard apprentice was a little surprised that the overly young "Levi" in front of him dared to agree.

The next second, his eyebrows lit up with joy, and he immediately continued:

"Of course, it's about making potions. We have to follow the fixed alchemy potion formula to make the finished potion. There are so many mid-level and high-level alchemists here, so naturally everyone has sharp eyes and can tell who has the better skills."

"I understand. You mean to use the quality of the finished medicine as the criterion." Richard nodded.

Just as he was about to agree, a hoarse and slightly old voice sounded from behind the crowd.

"Hey! Why is the alchemy examination hall so busy today?"

Everyone looked back and saw an elderly lizard man walking in with a red staff as tall as a person. A fist-sized flaming gem was embedded on the top of the staff.

"This is bad! It's Nasaruddin, he will definitely take advantage of the situation!" Alehan's face changed and he muttered.

Obviously, he was very familiar with the visitor, and the visitor had no good intentions.

"Hey, is this the one you mentioned before, the deputy minister of your Alchemy Department, Nasaruddin, who has always coveted the position of the minister of the Alchemy Department?" Disol seemed to remember something.

His good friend Alehan is also the deputy director of the Alchemy Department of the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood, and the director is concurrently the vice-president who is a second-level great wizard. This is also the routine operation of the powerful departments within the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood.

He had heard his old friend complain more than once that Naseeruddin and he had different opinions on many things.

Although he spoke very subtly, people of this age and status are all shrewd people. It is obvious that the other party's goal is the right to speak.

Since the vice president who also serves as the minister is usually busy with other affairs, he does not pay much attention to the work of the Alchemy Department. Most of the time, he relies on Alehan and Nasaruddin to maintain the management of the daily affairs of the Alchemy Department.

This time, the other party suddenly jumped out, obviously thinking that this was an opportunity to use this incident to weaken Alehan's prestige.

It is conceivable that if this matter is not handled properly, it will inevitably implicate his old friend Alehan.

This made Disol's expression serious. This matter seemed to be getting bigger and bigger!

"Oh, someone tell me what happened."

Richard only took a glance and saw a glimpse of cunning in the old lizardman's eyes.

I understood it instantly. The other party must know what happened here, but he pretended to be ignorant. I'm afraid he has other purposes.

However, he had no relatives or friends in Toug City or in the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood, so this guy was most likely not coming for him. To be precise, he was most likely coming for Disol or Alehan.

At this time, Disol sent a message and quietly described the story of Nasaruddin and Alehan to Richard.

Richard nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Sure enough, where there are people, there are conflicts! Gray dwarves are also human beings, so they are no exception.

With this delay, Nasaruddin seemed to have learned the details of the incident from the alchemists who were watching. He looked at Richard from head to toe with a look of sudden enlightenment on his face, and said, "Hello, young human wizard. I didn't expect you to be a master alchemist. It's really rare."

"But it's understandable that people would be a little skeptical about you becoming a master alchemist at such a young age, isn't it?"

Looking at the other person's kind face, if Richard had not already known about the dirty deeds between the other person and Alehan from Disol.

It is estimated that you will most likely be deceived by the other party's appearance and mistakenly believe that the other party is a respected elder, who is questioning yourself for the sake of fairness and justice. In the end, you may even admire the other party's fairness and selflessness.

What a cunning old fox! "Yes, so I plan to accept the challenge from the prophet of the Tokar Lake Fishman Tribe." Richard said calmly.

Richard's ironclad words made Nasaruddin's eyes flash with joy, and he said, "Haha, you are indeed a young man, full of confidence. Then let me be the judge of the two of you."

Richard immediately realized the other party's intention and thought to himself, "So he is waiting for me here. If I let you be the judge, even if I win, you can still find fault, right?"

"If I lose, then it goes without saying that the other party can use this incident to damage Alehan's reputation. Although it may not necessarily lead to Alehan's transfer, it will definitely allow the other party to gain greater say in the Alchemy Department."

Obviously, Richard couldn't let the other party succeed.

"Oh~Excuse me, are you the master alchemist?" Richard said with a smile.

"That's right!" Naseeruddin said proudly.

"May I ask how old you were when you were promoted to Master Alchemist?" Richard continued to ask.

"Ninety-eight years old!" Although Nasaruddin did not understand Richard's intention, he quickly answered Richard's question.

"Hiss! This age is considered young among alchemy masters, right?" An alchemist turned and asked his companion next to him.

"Of course. Don't you see the race of Lord Nasaruddin? A lizardman can become an alchemy master at the age of ninety-eight. Lord Nasaruddin seems to be the first."

A group of mid-level and senior alchemists around were whispering.

Nasaruddin was quite proud of the fact that he was promoted to a master alchemist at the age of ninety-eight. Especially as a lizardman, being able to become a master alchemist at the age of ninety-eight was already a top genius that could only be seen once in a thousand years in the history of the green-skinned lizardman tribe.

"Then may I ask your Excellency, I was already a master alchemist at the age of 25, but you became one at the age of 98, and you are only a master alchemist at present. Are you qualified to serve as my judge?"

Richard asked bluntly.

And Richard deliberately lied about his age, adding ten years to it. After all, fifteen was too scary.

But twenty-five is scary too!

Richard revealed his age, causing an uproar among the people around him! "Twenty-five years old. Alchemy master!"

“Is this a monster?”

"I can guarantee that the other party is definitely not an alchemy master!"

"It's hard to say. The other party seems very confident. It doesn't seem fake."

"You!!" Nasaruddin no longer looked like a kind old man. He stared at Richard angrily and said, "You sharp-tongued human! You should learn how to respect an elder!!"

Richard smiled slightly and said, "We humans have a saying, 'The one who has the most skill is the teacher.' This means that whoever has the most outstanding skills is the teacher."

This made Nasarudin speechless! Although Nasarudin had never heard his human friends talk about Richard's words, there was nothing wrong with this truth.

Isn't it true that whoever has the most advanced skills is the most powerful in the field of alchemy? If the person with the most advanced skills is willing to teach others, who wouldn't be grateful and respect the other person like a teacher? Richard and Nasaruddin's verbal confrontation made Alehan and Disol happy. Their originally serious faces also showed smiles at this moment.

Alehan, in particular, was even more impressed by the Lord Levi in ​​front of him. With just a few words, he was able to make the old fox Nasaruddin feel humiliated.

It made him feel quite relieved!

At this time, because Richard rejected Nasaruddin's suggestion to act as the judge, the scene suddenly became a little awkward, and the fish-man wizard apprentice seemed to be urged by the fish-man prophet, and stepped forward and said: "Sir Levi, let's put aside the matter of the judge for the time being, and let's talk about the content of the competition first."

"Just now, Lord Alehan and Lord Disol both recognized Lord Levi as an alchemy master who deserves the mithril treatment given by the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood. We, the fishmen of Lake Tokar, are located in a remote area. Even the prophet is only a high-level alchemist, and the potions he specializes in are mainly based on the formula of fishmen potions."

When Richard heard this, he thought, what the hell, they are waiting here for him to jump into the trap.

However, you can first listen to what the other party is planning. If it is very disadvantageous to you, there is still time to put forward other opinions.

"Oh, how do you increase the difficulty?" Richard said with a smile.

"So, this time, the competition will focus on the murloc alchemy formula to make the Thick Scale Potion. How about that?"

"Our Lord Prophet is only a high-level alchemist. If the potion that Lord Levi finally produces is of higher quality than our Lord Prophet, he is undoubtedly a master alchemist!"

The cunning in the other person's eyes naturally could not be hidden from Richard.

However, the content of the competition proposed by the other party almost made Richard laugh out loud.

Thick Scale Potion? When Richard heard the name of the formula just now, he couldn't believe it.

You should know that this thick scale potion is also in the "Blind Clan Potion Making Notes". There are a total of eleven potion recipes recorded in the notes, seven of which are only effective against murlocs.

At that time, in order to increase the enthusiasm of the murlocs to help search for monsters, I had already raised it to the limit, so I was absolutely sure to win! Come to think of it, the other party would never have thought that I was better at murloc alchemy than them! "This is unfair! As a human alchemist, Lord Levi may have never come into contact with your murloc potion before. If you have to choose, choose the potion formula of the gray dwarves!" Disol immediately jumped out and shouted.

"But Lord Levi is a master alchemist. Master alchemists can quickly make some elementary and intermediate potion formulas after just a few tries. So this has never been an obstacle for them." The merman wizard apprentice said as he turned around to solicit opinions from the people around him.

"Indeed, if he is a genuine alchemist master, he does have this ability." said an alchemist.

"That's right."

The words of the murloc wizard apprentice were quickly echoed by the surrounding alchemists who were waiting for the test.

There may be a small number of alchemists who are really just discussing the matter at hand, but many alchemists are more uncomfortable with it. Richard understands that this is due to hatred of the rich.

After all, whether they want to join the Gray Dwarf Brotherhood or improve their treatment, they need to be assessed again and again.

However, he had chosen the special recruitment channel, which could be said to be a quick success. Moreover, he would receive Mithril-level treatment, which most alchemists would probably never be able to achieve in their lifetime.

It’s normal for them to be jealous!

However, in order to maximize his benefits, Richard naturally could not easily agree to it.

"Okay, but I have a question. If I lose, I will naturally take part in the assessment with everyone else, but what if I win? The dignity of the Alchemist Master cannot be offended. Are you, the fishmen of Lake Tokar, ready to pay the price for my offense?"

"This." The murloc wizard apprentice was suddenly speechless. He had never considered the problem that his murloc prophet would lose.

That’s right. In this world, especially in the Underdark, no one can easily offend a strong person without paying any price.

"Of course. The strong should not be offended. If Lord Levi wins, our Tokar Lake Murloc Tribe is willing to give you ten high-level magic stones as compensation." At this time, the trembling Murloc prophet stood up and made the decision in a sonorous and powerful voice.

The strong fishman apprentice looked at his own fishman prophet in surprise. Is the bet so big? The surrounding alchemists couldn't help but whisper again. Why is the bet so big?

You should know that this is not an intermediate magic stone, but a high-level magic stone, and its purchasing power is extraordinary.

Richard was delighted and thought to himself, "That's what I've been waiting for."

"Okay!" Richard nodded and agreed to the conditions of the Fishman Prophet of Lake Tokar.

"However, I have another question about the referee of the competition. Just like a formal duel between wizards, it is impossible for a wizard apprentice to judge it." Richard said calmly, while glancing at Nasaruddin with disdain.

"This" the fishman prophet found that he was indeed unable to refute this.

"Sir Levi, you can rest assured about this. Alehan and I will go and invite the chief alchemist of our alchemy department, the Grand Master of Alchemy, Sir Marshall McLean. Alehan, is that ok?" Nasaruddin said.

In his eyes, this was just a poor excuse for Richard not wanting to compete.

After a moment of contemplation, Alehan nodded at Naseeruddin's words. Alehan believed that his long-time friend Disor would not cheat him!

Richard's calm expression also gave him great confidence.

"Hiss!" The people around gasped. This is the Grand Master of Alchemy!

There are only a handful of them in the entire Gray Dwarf Empire! It seems that in Tug City, apart from His Excellency Marshall McLean, there are only two alchemy masters with a transcendent status. With him as the judge, there is naturally no problem.

Everyone was convinced! After a while, an old gray dwarf with white hair and beard was invited into the hall, accompanied by Nasaruddin and Alehan.

"Sir Levi, it seems that I have to trouble you to demonstrate your superb alchemy skills." Alehan said with a smile.

Richard understood instantly that Alehan must be worried about whether he could win.

"Sir Alehan, please don't worry." Richard said.

Thick Scale Potion is an intermediate-level potion, but the steps involved are relatively delicate and complicated. The effect after taking it is that a thick mucus will be quickly secreted in the gaps between the scales on the fish's surface. It is extremely elastic like keratin and has very good defensive capabilities.

But it is an intermediate potion that is only effective against murlocs, so many alchemists of other races would not even consider learning it, let alone mastering it.

The old murloc prophet didn't believe that this potion, which was only effective against murlocs, could be skillfully made by the young "Master Levi" in front of him.

Secondly, the old murloc prophet was quite confident that he was a senior pharmacist and had decades of experience in making thick scale potions. Even if the opponent was really a master of potions, he would not necessarily lose.

In this way, his fame would naturally rise, and he might even be able to take advantage of the situation and ask for the same Mithril-level treatment from the Brotherhood! At this time, everyone who had received the formula for the Thick Scale Potion began to discuss it.

"Hiss! This is extremely difficult!"

"Isn't it an intermediate potion? Why is it so difficult?!"

The middle and senior alchemists who got the formula couldn't help but gasp as they looked at the steps and precautions one by one.

At this time, Disol and Alehan looked at the thick scale potion formula in their hands with shock and sighed. Now they couldn't stop it even if they wanted to.

Because Richard and the Murloc Prophet have already stood on the alchemy experiment table.

At this moment, the competition has begun!

The fishman prophet began to grind the raw material iron ridge flower very skillfully. Richard followed the same steps!

But what was surprising was that Richard's speed was even faster and more skillful than the fish-man prophet! "What! How could it be so fast?" The fish-man apprentice's eyes were already bulging, and now they were almost popping out of their sockets. Looking at Richard's hand gestures that were so fast that they could see the afterimage, he couldn't help but blurt out.

"How is this possible? This Levi couldn't have just come into contact with this potion. He must have come into contact with it before or even practiced it!" The Murloc Prophet looked at Richard making the Thick Scale Potion on the fly with an expression of disbelief on his face.

Because the precipitation and mixing reaction time of the raw materials of the medicine has a fixed time limit, the time consumption cannot be reduced as the proficiency of the action increases.

But what Richard chose was not only the best order, but he also simplified it in some places!

You should know that the adjustments to the order of several steps were the best steps that the Fishman Prophet discovered after decades of trial and error.

But Richard used it easily!

Nasaruddin, who was standing by, also looked at Richard seriously, thinking to himself, "Is this a coincidence? Or does this young man really have the strength of an alchemist master?"

"If this is an accidental event, then the fish prophet of Lake Tokar had really bad luck this time. He chose a recipe that the other party had already mastered! It seems that I have to find a way to help him, otherwise..."

(End of this chapter)