Frank kept his eyes fixed on Mole as he said, "What I wrote is clear—Augustraff. That's a herb I identified from the scent."Mole held his gaze in turn. "I'm not senile enough to fail to read. My question is this—do you know what happens when Augustraff is mixed with the other herbs in this list?""Augustraff…"Nearby, Kairo did a double take before lowering his gaze and muttering to himself, "If it was really put in the soup, it would turn everything into poison! The herbs would counteract each other, and body waste would build up within the body over the next three days before whoever consumes it dies… oh!"Kairo understood right then—Frank did not make a mistake, aside from including an extra item: Augustraff.And that would in turn throw off Frank's review of the soup by a country mile.Kairo sighed and shook his head at the thought. "There's no Augustraff in the soup—my tongue wasn't playing tricks on me."If there was, that would mean that this trial is no trial, but a mas

However, Mole did not identify the Augustraff added into the soup, but Frank did.Did that not mean that Mole, despite being an elder of Kornac's Keep, lost out to one of the participants in terms of herbology and medicinal knowledge?!While he was scowling terribly, he turned toward Yosil with an exasperated look and tried to hide his embarrassment as he asked, "Chief, we've always been cordial to outsiders and potential apprentices. How could you poison everyone in a trial?""That's right!"The other participants were panicking too—what was Kornac's Keep scheming by poisoning everyone?!"Hahaha… It was just a whim I had in the spur of the moment."Yosil laughed, holding up his hands. "This yearly trial is really getting boring—it's time we try something new, don't you think?""Well, if I'm not mistaken…"Frank spoke calmly as everyone watched, "The second trial would be to identify the symptoms, thereby tailoring an antidote to counteract the poison?"While everyone gasped i

Nonetheless, Frank ignored Kairo and turned toward Mole, demanding loudly, "Are we starting the second trial or not?""Well…"Mole turned toward Yosil, since this was an unprecedented case.Yosil was staring at Frank in turn, seeing the determination and composure in his eyes, devoid of panic or fear.It seemed that he was really not throwing away his life out of sheer pettiness, but to silence all his doubters.And that left Yosil stunned.After a while, he nodded at Mole. "Begin.""Sir—""I said we can begin, or perhaps you don't understand?" Yosil's expression turned cool, projecting such a terrible presence that it left Mole flinching."N-No…"Mole leveled a troubled look at Frank before pointing at the herbs and cauldrons that the Kornac's Keep apprentices brought. "The second trial begins now! Participants, you now have one hour to concoct an antidote in an hour to counteract the poison plaguing you… or you will die!"The participants all felt a chill running down th

It seemed that the herbs were not entirely wasted on Kairo, as he actually showed skill.Still, just as Kairo was done, everyone turned toward Frank again.There were no herbs, and there was just fifteen minutes left.Seemingly sensing their stares, Frank slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet with considerable difficulty."Hehe…"Kairo smirked at Frank, feeling endlessly confident with the pure white pill in his palm.Even if Frank had profound cultivation, he was not turning the tide when he had neither the time nor the herbs.In fact, Kairo believed his victory was assured, while Frank slowly shambled toward the stage to get herbs as he watched with a smirk. He was actually surprised for once when he saw that only useless mudroots were left.Still, he understood when he looked and saw Kairo's smirk and the pure white pill he was holding.The prick had taken away the other herbs, clearly out of revenge because Frank rubbed him the wrong way.Frank, however,

Despite everyone's effort to tell Frank to concede, he breathed a long sigh and turned toward Mole. "Why is that so? I haven't given up yet.""Huh?!"Mole was left frowning, as Frank was still being stubborn even now. "Understand your position! I'm telling you to forfeit so that you won't die senselessly—I'd rather not have your death tarnish our reputation, even if this is your own fault."Suddenly remembering how Frank drank the entire cauldron of poison, Mole smirked at him.His miserable state now was certainly hilarious!That was when Frank said, "I don't need you to worry about my life."His calm words jolted Mole out of his thoughts, and he was left staring at Frank in shock. "Do you have a death wish?""Of course not."Frank looked at him confidently. "But the trial isn't over yet, is it?""No…"Mole frowned, glancing at the hourglass on the table beside Yosil. "But there's only five minutes left. What are you going to—""You don't have to worry about that."Frank s