42: Year-end Assessment (II)

After hearing the instruction to begin the assessment, Green quickly followed the standard procedures.

First, he carefully inspected the first blue demon leaf, then turned on various instruments to perform the three-wash and three-dry process.

Green had personally performed this entire set of procedures hundreds of times.

With the blessing of his Golden Finger, he had rehearsed it thousands of times in his mind, making him more than proficient.

But Green was still too nervous... So many eyes staring intently at him made him feel a bit uneasy.

Consequently, he made a small mistake, his hand trembling slightly.

Fifteen minutes later, 62%, a failing grade... Green took a deep breath, and at the same time, silently chanted in his mind:

“Hundredfold Harvest.”

Immediately, various insights flooded in, and Green's mind calmed down.

Seizing this opportune moment, Green wasted no time in starting the second wave of extraction.

This time, Green's hands were steady, and the entire process was very smooth.

Fifteen minutes later, 85%, excellent, assessment passed.

Green pressed on, taking a few deep breaths.

After cleaning the instruments, he began the third round of work.

76%, passing, assessment passed... After completing his assessment, Green quietly waited for the exam to end.

He didn't look around, nor did he pay attention to the other examinees.

He simply savored the exhilarating feeling of giving his all, even though his undershirt was soaked with nervous sweat... After the exam ended, the chief examiner confirmed the assessment results of the five apprentices on the spot.

Green's score was the most outstanding; he was the only one to achieve an excellent grade, but what did it matter, it didn't add any bonus points.

After signing his name on the score confirmation sheet, Green returned to the waiting area to act as a proctor.

Watching the new five apprentices take the stage for their assessment, Green didn't pay much attention.

Instead, he was thinking about what to eat for lunch... By the time all the apprentices had finished their assessments, it was already noon.

Of the fourteen apprentices who participated in the assessment (one had their qualification revoked).

Only one unlucky individual failed due to too many mistakes; the others passed without major incident.

Green, Oakes, and Ally were all assigned to different examination rooms.

Yes, Ally, this Pharmacology genius, also participated in the assessment.

It was said to be to let other Pharmacology apprentices witness the level of a genius, thereby raising the overall standard of this year's Pharmacology apprentices and preventing some apprentices from having a limited perspective.

During lunch.

Green and the other two chatted briefly, and Bigg also rushed over to offer his blessings... At 3 PM, Examination Room Three.

The assessment site for refining the semi-finished magic potion—Knight's Water.

Green was still in the first batch.

After listening to the assessment standards.

Green grasped three key points:

First, the assessment time had changed, from 45 minutes in previous years to 30 minutes.

Second, the assessment standards had significantly increased, requiring at least two good quality products and one normal quality product.

Third, this assessment offered bonus points for excellence: 10 points for achieving superior quality, and 30 points for achieving perfect quality.

Passing only granted 60 points... Green's expression was solemn.

He thought: The bonus points for excellence must be the key to distinguishing between geniuses and ordinary people.

It's like the last two major problems on every math test; the top students can easily solve them, earning ten points or more, while the struggling students can only write 'Solution'.

This exam was truly too crucial.

It basically determined the future of this batch of Pharmacology apprentices, their path forward.

The academy's emphasis on it was evident; activating the Wizard Array on the experimental table required burning magic stones, every minute and second was money. In Old Sam's Lab, Green had rarely seen the Wizard Array activated.

So many proctoring mentors and monitoring instruments also came at a considerable cost.

If Green wanted to achieve a class leap, he had to achieve a very impressive score.

This time... Green felt as if he was back at the college entrance examination site... Fighting for his dream!!!

...Green took several deep breaths in a row... He adjusted his mindset before starting the exam.

All materials were pre-processed, and Green first carefully inspected all three sets of materials.

Their appearance was excellent, the processing technique was seasoned, there were no major issues, and they were premium materials.

Green meticulously, using his self-developed operating techniques, followed the standard procedures and began his work.

The first time he was still a bit nervous, but he didn't make the major mistake he had in the morning.

Green's hands were very steady... Eight minutes later... “Quality: Good.”

“Purity: 52%.”

A good start, Green's confidence surged.

The first result was already very good, so the subsequent ones went without saying.

Green was getting into the swing of things, and his mindset became much more stable.

The second Knight's Water:

“Quality: Superior.”

“Purity: 25%.”

The third Knight's Water:

“Quality: Superior.”

“Purity: 35%.”

...Green successfully completed his performance; this was his best result normally.

In Pharmacology, Green didn't possess any genius-like intuition or sensitivity; his talent was merely ordinary.

Achieving such good results was entirely due to the blessing of his Golden Finger; this was probably Green's limit.

Although it wasn't excellent, Green was already very satisfied.

Green happily wrote his name on the 80-point score confirmation sheet.

Next was the assessment time for the other apprentices.

After all assessments were completed, of the thirteen Pharmacology apprentices who participated.

Five failed the assessment, and eight passed.

Among them, Green ranked second.

The first was a tall, thin male apprentice wearing thick black-rimmed glasses and heavy dark circles under his eyes.

One look and it was clear he had stayed up too late, his body appearing somewhat weak.

His assessment results were: one perfect, two superior, with a total score of 110 points.

Listening to the discussions of the apprentices nearby... This should be Westley, one of the three great genius Apothecaries of this cohort, alongside Ally...

The first day of assessments thus concluded.

After returning, Green, Oakes, Ally, and Bigg gathered together again.

Eating and chatting.

Oakes's Knight's Water assessment also went well, all three times were superior, scoring 90 points.

Ally, needless to say, achieved two perfect and one superior, scoring 130 points.

Undoubtedly the first place... Green heard that Ally naturally possessed a special spiritual perception, giving her a very keen intuition for subtle changes in potion fusion. Each time, by feeling alone, she could grasp the details of potion modulation.

She only took three months to form her own unique refining technique, after which her success rate and the appearance rate of high-quality potions increased several times.

A true talent, blessed by heaven.

And Ally was also so diligent, her dedication no less than Green's.

It truly echoed that saying.

Those more talented than you are also more hardworking than you.