Reaching for the Stars

Epilogue

I was in fifth place, in the top ten, it was a feat not many had managed to do, and I had already received invitations for dinner from many strangers, from guilds and families, that wanted me employed in their service. I refused all of them though, because my services weren't currently for sale, I did not want to be indebted to anyone.

Today marked the third and final round of the competition, I hadn't been sure I would even make it this far, but I had enjoyed the challenge the first two rounds brought me, I couldn't wait to see what happened in the final one, the hardest one. I was one of two Ashara Academy students left in the competition, one had gotten eliminated in the second round, and one had barely scraped their way into the third, I had doubts that he would be able to successfully finish the task assigned, after he had struggled so hard with the second round, he would not win I knew that for sure.

But with only a third of the competitors left after the second round, we were down to just under fifty competitors, having already lost over two hundred to the previous two rounds. I knew at least half of the competitors had barely scraped through into the third round, much like my fellow Ashara Academy student, they were no threat to me, but the other half, they were something to watch out for. Having finished first in the second round had enabled me to watch over all their work, there were around twenty herbalists left in the competition with some serious skills, close to mine even, if only accounting for potion brewing and such.

They were talented enough that I had no false belief that I would definitely win the competition, and even though I had known what to do in the first two rounds, didn't mean that I hadn't struggled a little, but I had enjoyed the challenge. As we set up our equipment for the final round, I observe my competitors that now number a mere fraction of what they were originally, I couldn't think of what they would choose for the third round, but that didn't mean I wasn't prepared for it, I was calm and steady as I set up my equipment, knowing that no matter the task, I would have to proceed with it anyways, there was no point to being nervous.

Of course, I knew many of my competitors weren't the same as me, some of them cursed and fumbled with their equipment, whether it was because of nerves or adrenalin that their hands were shaking I didn't know and didn't really care, their choices wouldn't affect me in the slightest. If it affected them, well that was only a benefit to me, though the people who were acting this way, were not a true threat to me anyways, numbering among the people who barely scraped their way past the second round.

"Welcome to the third and final round of this competition, now this round is something the judges and I debated much over before finally deciding what was an adequate challenge for the talented competitors who remained. This task is something never before done in an herbalist competition, and if no one can complete it then this will be the first competition ever that there will be no winner, but if someone truly completes it, then they will have gained something even more valuable then the prize of this competition.

I present before you now, the task of the final round of this competition, this is a pill formula, copies will be presented to all of you, you will have all day to successfully refine a pill, the first to do so regardless of current rank, will win the competition." Everyone stared at the pill formula he had in his hand with awe, though some of the competitors looked at it with dread, and then there was me, blinking in stunned surprise.

I grab the copy presented to me by one of the attendants, and look over the pill formula, it was just a Low-Grade Healing pill, it wasn't anything even challenging, though after all as a lost art, pill refining was extremely hard. I purse my lips, the pill formula wasn't even fully completed it was missing two ingredients, and there would be no way to know that you must separate the pills into a string to make them safe for consumption. As my fellow competitors all studiously study the pill formula's given to them, I can't help but wonder if I should act like this is difficult for me?