Chapter 122: Encounter with Monroe

At Potter Academy, Simone was one of the few students—apart from the brothers of Dormitory 2015 and Victoria—who had continued to maintain a good relationship with Rollin even after Rollin’s cultivation had stagnated. He had never mocked or belittled Rollin; in fact, he even harbored a trace of admiration for him, naturally because of Rollin’s superb talent in potion alchemy.

At that moment, Rollin and Simone were riding their mounts toward the Alchemy Guild.

Rollin recalled the expression on Master Cervantes’s face when he had learned that his son Simone had become a five-star junior alchemist: surprise, excitement, and disbelief. Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, he had hurried to the room where Simone had been practicing alchemy. When he saw the nine four-star superior potions lined up on the stone platform, the few strands of his graying beard had practically curled upward with delight.

What elder did not hope that his descendants would make something of themselves? This was especially true of someone like Master Cervantes, whose alchemical attainments were second to none throughout the entire continent. More than anyone, he wished for his descendants to achieve something in this field. Now that he had seen his son become a five-star potion alchemist in less than ten years, he was filled with immense satisfaction. Compared with that young prodigy Rollin, the achievement might seem insignificant, but when measured against everyone else, it was enough to bring great comfort to an old father’s heart.

With the master’s approval, Rollin and Simone went to the Alchemy Guild to take the membership examination.

The Alchemy Guild stood in the central district of the imperial capital, Hertz City, facing the headquarters of the Church of Light and the imperial palace from afar.

The empire’s three great centers of power were all gathered here. The headquarters of the Church of Light was dominated by the sacred color of white, the imperial palace by the solemn color of gold, and the Alchemy Guild by the fiery red of flame.

Rollin and Simone stopped before the imposing gates of the Alchemy Guild. They dismounted and walked inside.

There were not many people visiting the guild to conduct business, so the entrance was relatively quiet. Several guards in loose robes stood before the gate. When Rollin and Simone approached, one of the guards came forward. He recognized Simone at a glance—the son of the Alchemy Guild’s vice president—and exchanged a familiar greeting with him. After asking Rollin a few questions, he let the two of them pass.

Once inside, they entered a spacious hall. Long lines stretched along the right and center of the room, while only a few scattered people stood on the left. Simone was extremely familiar with the place. Without asking any of the staff nearby, he led Rollin straight toward the left side of the hall.

They had taken only a few steps when Rollin noticed a familiar, alluring figure walking ahead of them.

The Alchemy Guild had one president and two vice presidents. In recent years, Vice President Cervantes had devoted himself entirely to researching advanced artifact alchemy, while President Thomas was frequently occupied with matters concerning the Church of Light and rarely came to the guild. As a result, the guild’s ordinary affairs had been left to Vice President Mandel.

Mackey was Mandel’s own nephew. He possessed a certain talent for alchemy, so Mandel had brought him into the Alchemy Guild and appointed him as the officer in charge of membership examinations. With Mandel backing him, Mackey enjoyed an extremely comfortable life in that position.

The membership examination itself was quite simple. A candidate merely had to refine a five-star junior alchemical item. Since not many people came to be tested on ordinary days, candidates had to wait until ten people had gathered before the examination could begin. At present, six or seven people stood around Mackey, and he was waiting for the remaining candidates to arrive.

Suddenly, a fiery blonde beauty in red appeared before his eyes. She had fair skin and a pair of dreamlike, enchanting eyes. Mackey had toyed with quite a few beautiful women over the years, but the moment he saw this woman, all the others seemed utterly insignificant by comparison.

“Tsk, tsk… If only I could get this woman into my bed…”

The thought rose in his heart with an excited roar.

Just as he was indulging in his fantasies, the beauty came before him.

“Excuse me, are you Officer Mackey?”

Her voice was crisp and melodious, like the song of a lark.

Mackey licked his somewhat dry lips and swallowed hard.

“I’m Mackey. May I ask what brings you here, beautiful miss?”

As he spoke, his lecherous eyes roamed brazenly over her curvaceous figure.

“I’m here to take the guild’s membership examination. One of the staff members told me to come and find you.”

A trace of displeasure flashed across the fiery woman’s face beneath his unabashed stare, but she still answered him politely.

“May I ask your name? I need to register you.”

As he spoke, he snatched a notebook from the hands of a nearby staff member. Registering candidates was not actually his responsibility, but the woman before him was exceptionally beautiful, and he wanted to use the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

“My name is Monroe,” the beauty said softly.

Mackey nodded appreciatively.

“Oh, Miss Monroe. What a beautiful name—truly suited to its owner. May I ask where you come from?”

“I’m from Potter Academy. I’m a fire-element instructor,” Monroe replied.

Mackey hurriedly scribbled the information into the notebook. Inside, he was secretly delighted.

“Only a fire-element instructor? It seems she has no powerful background. I should be able to win her over.”

At the thought, an evil smile crept across his face.

“Miss Monroe, do you know how difficult the membership examination is?”

His question had nothing to do with her registration, and Monroe could not help knitting her brows slightly.

“Yes. My colleagues have told me that the Alchemy Guild’s membership examination is rather difficult, but I still want to give it a try.”

“Miss Monroe, as the son of a vice president and the officer in charge of the membership examination, I have a way to help you pass this examination without the slightest effort. Would you like to hear it?”

Mackey lowered his voice.

Seeing the ill intent in his eyes and hearing his suggestive words, Monroe immediately became wary. Yet she desperately wanted to pass the membership examination. Only by becoming a member of the Alchemy Guild could she obtain five-star alchemical materials and continue improving her skills.

Moreover, she very much wanted to participate in the upcoming Alchemy Congress. It was held only once every ten years. Ten years earlier, her alchemical abilities had been too weak, and she had not been qualified to attend. If she missed this opportunity, her age would prevent her from participating in the next congress.

Thus, although Mackey’s behavior disgusted her, she still wanted to hear what method he had that could allow her to pass the examination effortlessly.

When Monroe nodded, a lecherous smile appeared on Mackey’s face. He lowered his voice and said, “Tonight, if Miss Monroe would be so kind as to come to my room, then we…”

Before he could finish, Monroe, whose temper was fiery by nature, suddenly shouted, “Shut your mouth!”

Her abrupt cry made Mackey jolt in fright. At the same time, gaze after gaze from across the hall turned toward them.

Intense fire-element magic surged around Monroe’s body. Pointing a finger at Mackey’s nose, she said, “I never imagined that the dignified Alchemy Guild would allow a filthy-minded man like you to serve as an examination officer. You have utterly disgraced the guild!”

As the strange gazes of those around him fell upon him, Mackey’s expression darkened. He had never expected this seemingly delicate beauty to possess such courage—to point at him and curse him openly in front of everyone. As the nephew of the Alchemy Guild’s vice president and one of its officers, when had he ever been treated like this?

“Guards! This woman is disrupting the Alchemy Guild’s examination. Throw her out!” Mackey shouted in fury and humiliation.

“On what grounds are you throwing me out? I haven’t done anything wrong!” Monroe cried angrily.

“Hmph! On what grounds? Because you’ve been shouting and making a scene, and you’ve shown disrespect toward an officer! What are you waiting for? Get her out of here!”

Mackey waved his arms and bellowed.

The guild staff, intimidated by his authority, had no choice but to approach Monroe and attempt to persuade her to leave.

But at that moment, an angry voice rang out:

“Mackey, you’re the nephew of Vice President Mandel, yet you dare abuse your position for personal gain. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”