From Prisoner to Si Chen..

Chapter 360 Silver Bottle III

"Hey! Man! What are you doing?!"

Suddenly, two female guards nearby saw Jilan's behavior, their faces changed slightly, and they quickly drew the daggers at their waists and rushed over.

However, Gilan turned a blind eye to this, and without stopping, he rushed to the center of the square at an extremely fast speed.

There are already many young men and women standing in line here, forming a large square formation, which seems to have nearly a hundred people.

However, judging from their attire alone, 70% to 80% of these nearly 100 people were children of nobles, with only a small number being commoners.

The two sides are clearly divided and stand on opposite sides.

It was very easy to distinguish the identities of nobles and commoners, because in this era, most people could only afford linen and woolen sweaters, and there were many signs of mending, and thirty or forty patches were common.

Only the nobility wore new silks and furs, colorful leggings and pointed cowhide boots.

Gillan's sudden intrusion attracted the attention of the group of people.

Among those who came to take the apprenticeship examination, there were only a very small number of men, less than ten people. Therefore, such a "reckless" commoner male came in public, which made the nobles present look contemptuous and disgusted.

"Get this guy out now!"

A young female noble sneered.

The other nobles around her were also urging the female guards to come, and the noise was getting louder.

As soon as Gillan approached the crowd, the civilians quickly moved away, as if they didn't want to have anything to do with him for fear of being implicated.

But just as the group of female guards surrounded Jilan, a female voice with an indifferent tone and majesty sounded:
"quiet!"

Everyone quieted down and looked in the direction of the sound.

I saw a tall woman wearing a silver-white silk robe and a blonde shawl walking slowly towards me.

Beside him, there was a female minister wearing a crown and long gown. It was this person who had just spoken.

"What happened?"

The female minister seemed to be in her forties or fifties, was stern and questioned in a cold voice.

"Minister Herald, this civilian has trespassed into the assessment area. We are about to expel him."

The guard quickly lowered his head.

The female minister glanced at Jilan and said calmly:

"So what are you waiting for? Hurry up."

"Yes, Minister."

The female guards rushed forward, surrounded Jilan and were about to drag him out.

Jilan, however, looked calm and said to the silver-robed woman:
"I'm here to take the apprenticeship test, ma'am."

"Test?" The female minister sneered. "Don't waste Master McCara's time. A third-class commoner, and a man at that, will probably not even pass the first test."

"How do you know if you don't try?" Jilan said.

"Take him away!" The female minister seemed not to want to waste words and ordered the guards to come.

However, the lady in silver robe raised her hand to signal.

"Forget it, let him stay here. The assessment will be over soon."

McCalla's voice was soft and soothing to hear.

Hearing this, the female minister was helpless, but due to the status of the master, she had to acquiesce expressionlessly.

"Then let the examination begin now."

The female minister spoke loudly to everyone.

"No whispering allowed. Maintain silence at all times. Anyone violating the rules will be kicked out of Queen's Square immediately!"

As she spoke, she gestured.

Several maids came running behind him and handed out sheets of parchment to each examinee. At the same time, they were also provided with a charcoal pencil.

Jilan took the paper and pen and looked down. There was a poem written in ancient Roman script:
Statue of Siren

This is a Siren statue.

The sculptor has great skills.

The bronze statue is cleverly designed with mechanisms:
The hands, mouth, and fork tips all have water pipes hidden in them.

The water pipe of the hand will fill the pool in three days;
Fork tip water pipe, only one day to fix;
The water in the mouth will be faster,
Nine hours and thirty-six minutes will do.

If water is released from three places at the same time,
When will the pool be filled?
"Hmm... is there a math problem hidden in the poem? Yes, math is the foundation of alchemy. If you can't even solve a simple linear equation like this, you are not qualified to be an apprentice."

Ji Lan secretly thought.

'In addition, this question also hides a potential screening condition, which is literacy... If you can't understand the question, you naturally can't solve it.'

He raised his eyes calmly and noticed that the group of civilians were scratching their heads, with sad and desperate expressions on their faces. They were obviously illiterate.

Even among the nobles, a few looked embarrassed.

Gillan shook his head and wrote the answer on the parchment with charcoal: 6 hours, 15 minutes and 36 seconds.

His writing movements were quite conspicuous among the examinees and immediately attracted the attention of the female minister and Mrs. McCalla.

"Hmm?" The female minister frowned. "Why so fast? Are you really good at it or are you pretending..."

"Hmph! You, go over and take a look!"

She raised her finger and assigned a guard.

The female guard who received the order quickly stepped forward, moved closer to the blond young man, glanced at him, and then quickly returned.

"Minister, the man wrote down the answer. It's 6 hours, 15 minutes and 36 seconds."

The guard lowered his head.

The female minister was stunned.

Mrs. McCalla nodded and said softly:

"He got it right."

The female minister looked displeased, but she just snorted coldly.

Fifteen minutes later.

The guards, together with the maid, took the parchment from the examiner amid exclamations and wails.

After review and screening, 80 to 90 percent of the candidates were eliminated in the first round, leaving only a dozen people.

The only civilians left were Gilan and another young man.

Jilan noticed that the young man looked nervous, with sweat on his forehead, and seemed timid and introverted.

He quickly looked away because the second round of assessment began again. This time, each person was given a piece of parchment.

After Jilan got it, he read it again.

Soon, he raised his eyebrows.

There was another poem on the parchment, but it was full of unfamiliar ancient Roman characters and even symbols.

If he hadn't spent the mysterious points to study this language, he might not have been able to understand it. Its difficulty of identification is no less than Han Yu's "Luhun Mountain Fire and Huangfu Shi's Rhyme" in his previous life, comparable to that paragraph:

"The three lights are gone and no longer shine. Tigers, bears, elks, pigs, monkeys and apes. Water dragons, crocodiles, turtles, fish and turtles. Crows, owls, eagles, pheasants, swans and falcons. The burning stoves are all flying. Zhu Rong bids farewell to the humble and the noble. The roses are laid out in a gorgeous garden. The lotus flowers are in full bloom."

"A thousand bells and ten thousand drums make the ears choke. The sounds of chirping and humming are mixed together, and there are red banners, crimson flags, and purple streamers. The hot organs are attached to the red caps and trousers, and the skin is painted all over the thighs and buttocks. The chest is drooping and the belly is bulging, and the shaft of the cart is lifted. The face is drooping and the thighs are leopard-like."

Even a Chinese person would not dare to say that he knows every word of this poem.

You can imagine how difficult it is for the examiner to read the poem on parchment.

However, this did not pose a problem for Gillan.

He picked up the pen again and marked the pronunciation of each word with ancient romiko vowel symbols.

But there was one person who was even faster than him.

"Ma'am, I have marked it."

Not far ahead, a young woman in luxurious attire raised her hand and gestured with a confident smile on her face.

The female minister immediately sent someone to take the parchment from her hand and handed it to Mrs. McCalla who was standing beside her.

The lady in silver robe nodded after reading it and said gently:
"Yes, all correct."

"Madam, that is the daughter of Count Nicolas, named Flamel, nineteen years old, intelligent and knowledgeable, and will surely become your outstanding disciple."

The female minister laughed aside.

McCalla just hummed and said:
"No hurry, there is one last test, let's wait and see."

Another fifteen minutes passed.

The maids collected all the parchments and handed them over for examination.

This time, most of them were eliminated again, leaving only eight people. Jilan found that the civilian youth still stayed.

After the eliminated personnel were escorted out of the square by the guards, the female minister took two steps forward and said in a deep voice:
"Next is the final round of assessment."

She looked around, ignoring the two civilian men, and smiled and nodded at the noble children, especially casting an admiring look at the girl named Flamel.

"As long as you pass this round of assessment, you will be qualified to become Master Macara's apprentice."

Hearing this, the remaining examinees showed anticipation and excitement. Only Jilan remained calm and glanced at the silver-robed lady without leaving a trace.

'Mrs. McCalla is the apostle of the "Ms. Snow" in the future. So how strong is she now?'

Ji Lan secretly thought.

He didn't dare to rashly open his spiritual vision to investigate, because this would definitely attract the other party's attention.

Soon, the third round of assessment began.

This time, parchment was not distributed. Instead, Ms. McCalla came forward personally, took out three strange objects, placed them in her palms, and let everyone identify them.

They were pink corals the size of a finger, with the surface covered with tiny, dense, green bumps.

An irregular black pebble and a jagged green leaf with red veins on its surface.

"Three materials, as long as you can recognize one of them, you will pass the test."

McCalla said softly.

She walked up to the first noblewoman and raised her hand to signal.

However, the noblewoman's brows were tightly knitted together, her expression changed several times, and she opened her mouth but could not say anything.

Mrs. McCullagh shook her head and without waiting for the other party to answer, she walked directly to the next person.

"Coral, obsidian, and...ferns."

The noble woman gritted her teeth and answered.

"All wrong."

McCalla said gently.

She took another step forward and showed it to the next person.

But five people in a row gave incorrect answers and none of them passed the test.

The female minister's face became increasingly uglier. She even suspected in her heart whether Master McCara did this on purpose and had never thought of recruiting an apprentice.

All this is just the other party's way of appeasing the royal family.

Soon, a clear and lively female voice sounded:

"This should be 'Yingshan'! The other two are 'Dead Charcoal' and 'Moon Blood Grass'!"

The one who spoke was the noble girl who had passed the test the fastest in the second round. She had short purple-black hair and a pretty face.

"Your name is Flamel Nicolas, right?"

Mrs. McCalla smiled at the girl.

"Yes, ma'am."

The noble girl said respectfully.

McCalla nodded, quite relieved.

"Yes, you got two of them right... The last one is not 'Moon Blood Grass', but 'Scarlet Fern'."

"I see." Flamel said, somewhat frustrated. "Yes, the Moonblood has silver spots. I forgot that."

"That's pretty good." Mrs. McCalla smiled. "You can go wait on the side."

"Yes, ma'am." Flamel smiled and walked aside obediently.

Then he turned his attention to the last two remaining civilian youths, quite curious.

McCalla took the three materials on hand, replaced them with three, and showed them to the young man next to Gillan.

The man was sweating profusely, his face turned pale, and he stammered out three nouns.

However, what was unexpected was that one of them was correct and successfully passed the test.

"What's your name?"

Mrs. McCulla asked in a gentle voice.

The civilian young man stammered, saying:
"Ma'am, my name is Galken Sosa."

"Very well, Mr. Galken, you will also go and wait at Flamel's."

McCalla said softly.

The young civilian man named Galken let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and walked over to Flamel with his head down under the hostile gazes of the nobles.

Finally, Mrs. McCalla changed another wave of materials, handed her hand to the blond young man, and smiled gently:

"What are these three?"

Jilan lowered his gaze, and a colorful light flashed in his eyes.

Colorful entries suddenly emerged.

(End of this chapter)