Thus began a great shift within the Starr Alchemist Guild. It started slowly at first, with Elder Yan introducing small changes. It began with the recipes for the simple pills, those which sold the most, the easiest pills which any Alchemist rank or higher could make within the guild.

Then came the greater recipes, those which requires the Seniors, whom numbered less than three within the guild, each of whom ran small stores within the town as subsidiaries. Then came the pills for the only Expert, Jon, the son of the Elder Alchemist.

Then the work shifts changed. Whereas once the alchemists worked ten hours a day, seven days a week, it changed to nine hours, then the days were changed to six, and finally the hours went down to eight, with additional pay for any hours worked for overtime. The gruelling life of an alchemist suddenly became more bearable, something none of them could have imagined.

Once, the alchemists worked for two shifts, with four hours when they were off, which required the nobles of the town to visit them personally, bringing them a gift of at least a golden talon to get them to work, but Elder Yan changed such a rule, with the alchemists working over three shifts, with those working nights earning overtime pay for every hour, and they were forced to stop working after eight hours.

The second most shocking thing was that the alchemists were taught a new way of refining pills, and the most surprising thing was that Jon had finally stopped drinking so much. He had gotten his act together and had begun to teach them the new way of refining pills, teaching them how to utilise their alchemist fire to a greater degree.

‘It’s a good thing that you finally cleaned up your act,’ Mika thought, smiling as he received the report. His plan had only moved so swiftly because Jon was a proper Expert Alchemist, not just some nobody. Mika wondered when Jon would take the Master Alchemist test, since Jon was almost at the level, and yet he wasn’t even thirty years old. ‘What monstrous talent.’

Whispers of the rise of the guild had filled the nearby towns, and the Town Lord sat at his desk, thinking about what to do. It was true that it was good news that the guild was beginning to rise, but that meant that others may end up trying to poach the guild.

The guild had shown its dues, offering the Town Lord an appropriate gift to deal with his worries. The first batch of pills had come to the Town Lord, who had been slightly suspicious of the pills, but after hearing how great they were from his guards, he had allowed the guild to move as it pleased.

Yet, the guild had made deals with the three families within the neutral faction. Storm Fist, Moth Mind, and Black Hand. These three families worked closely with the guild, sending their Guards and Experts to assist the guild during field work.

‘I can’t do anything to step them, not when they’ve opened their doors more than ever before,’ the Town Lord thought. To show favouritism to a family was a huge issue for the town, but this particular alchemist guild didn’t show great favouritism to the three families, paying them a respectable amount for their services.

There was also the fact that Elder Yan was near crippled, and had been overwhelmed recently because of it too.

At first the Town Lord had thought it had something to do with the cripple who had managed to score well in his test, but it appeared that a mistake had been made with the marking, for Elder Yan had made a mistake when forming the answer to some of the questions, and though the boy had done well, his score had been reduced to sixty rather than one hundred. He blamed the mistake on his illness and that he had been working hard on assisting the town with its medicinal needs, hence why he changed the working schedule.

‘It doesn’t seem like it’s worked, Elder Yan,’ the Town Lord thought. If Elder Yan did die, it meant that the guild would lose quite a great force, one which allowed the town to flourish, but one that also protected the guild from outside influence.

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Yet, the Town Lord was still suspect of the little crippled boy. ‘No, if they were working together, then the boy would have gained the rank of Page when he had gone back then, but he didn’t. Unless they did that to hide their affiliation? No, why would he do such a thing for a crippled boy?’

He tapped his desk with a finger for a moment, thinking. ‘I need to show the guild that they should support me instead. How could I do that?’ The Town Lord smiled. ‘Ah, couldn’t I just do that?’

Mika yawned, rubbing his eyes one particular morning. ‘I suppose now should be a decent time? I’m ten years old so I should be able to reveal myself as a Page. They’ll think I’m a genius, but not that I’m out of this world.’

“Father, mother,” Mika said in the morning over breakfast. “I am ready.”

“Ready?” Amon asked. “You’re still young, yet. Once you’re thirteen, we’ll send you there.”

Mika turned to look at his mother, who sighed. “Why don’t we let him take it today? He still scored highly in his test.”

“Golden talons do not grow in the earth,” Amon replied. “It would be a waste if we spend the money when he’s too young. Thirteen is a good age, and if he manages to become a Page at that age, who could dare to bully him?”

“Yes, but if he becomes a Page at ten, then who could bully our family?” Martha asked.

Amon remained silent. ‘That’s true. If he does manage to become a Page at ten, then our family will rise quickly. Ami is also the best among her age, with the greatest root, so if Mika can truly become a Page, then…’ Amon pushed the greed out of his heart. ‘No, we must move in moderation.’

“Elder Yan offered to waive the fee for my next test,” Mika said, ignoring the fact that, technically, gold did grow underground, and golden talons were also forged in underground forges.

Amon sighed, nodding his head, allowing Mika to leave with a guard at his side.

“Good luck, Miki,” Ami said, hugging him tight. She handed him a small block of cheese. “If you do well, I’ll give you my entire block, okay?”

“Okay, sister,” Mika replied, taking the cheese, before heading to the guild. ‘It’s been a little while since I’ve played with those brats too.’ He thought back to all the times the Town Lord’s wife bullied the three mothers with her influence. ‘No, I need to be patient.’

“Young sir, it’s good to see you,” Rio said, smiling down at the boy as he entered the guild. “Have you come to finally take your test?”

Mika recalled the last time he had been here officially, when he had made the elder sign the contract. The last time Rio had seen him was when he was on the verge of tears after failing the test, though it was really because Mika had to pretend that he was poor at alchemy.

“Yes, Alchemist Rio,” Mika said, letting out a confident huff.

“You’re finally here, young master?” Jon asked, pouring the young sir some tea, the pair alone in Jon’s private residence.

“Bring me the test papers,” Mika said, sipping the tea. “Let’s deal with business first.”

“As you say, young master.” Jon brought him the test papers, wondering why Mika had burned the test papers when he was just going to do it again.

Mika quickly answered the questions, and created a pill using the crudest ability he could manage, yet he still almost formed hollow spots along the pill’s surface, which would have increased the potency of the pill.

Jon accepted the test and the pill, marking both down, before signing and dating the test, which would be locked away, copied, and sent away to the government office.

“How is your father?” Mika asked, sipping the rest of his tea.

“Not well,” Jon replied.

“Good.” The young boy yawned. “Then everything is moving smoothly.”

“Have you thought more about what I offered to you previously?” Jon asked.

“I refuse. I don’t want to be your brother when you’re so…” Mika thought about what his sister had called him when he was a boy. He used to talk with haughty arrogance, but his heart had been dealt great damage from his sister’s words.

Jon waited for Mika’s words, but he could see the young boy wincing. ‘What happened to you, young master?’

“Regardless,” Mika finally continued, “I don’t need your assistance in creating a background for myself.”

“As you say, young master,” Jon replied. When he had awoken up to find out that he wasn’t dreaming a few years ago, he had realised that Mika was far more profound than he knew. “What next, young master?”

Mika thought about the plan for the next few years. He had so much to do before he turned sixteen, the most important of which was to help his sister to achieve her dream. “Once your father is up, I will help him refine his ki. Then, I should return home.” Mika smiled. “There’s a block of cheese with my name on it.”

‘Why would a block of cheese have your name on it?’