I Reincarnated Into A Single-Celled Organism! - I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 152

Diana and I had been taken into a backroom where Grandmaster Bai appeared briefly. “I will be handing out the exam. You will have three hours to complete it. You must score at least 60% to qualify. I will be personally checking your answers, so if you don’t know them, don’t pretend. I don’t like my time being wasted.”

That was all the introduction he gave. He left, and the alchemist who brought us back in the first place watched as the clock began. I glanced at the first question.

The mystic plant Golden Fawn Gourd has failed to produce any offspring after various cuttings. What would you attempt to do to propagate this plant?

These weren’t multiple choice, but essay-style questions. Wouldn’t that mean that Grandmaster Bai could just say I failed no matter what I wrote? Well if such a situation arose, I’d figure it out then. In the meantime, I’d focus on answering every question as completely as possible.

Although this was an exam of mystic plants, they were still essentially plants. Sage beasts might be stronger and smarter than animals, but they still had the basic components of animals, and plants were the same. There were two types of plants, those that reproduced with spores, and those that reproduced with seeds.

The kinds that reproduce using spores include algae and ferns, while the type that uses seeds could be broken into angiosperm and gymnosperm. An angiosperm was a flowering plant, while a gymnosperm typically produced cones like pinecones and acorns. Flowering plants naturally reproduce using the flower. The flower itself was used as an attractant which encouraged birds and insects to feed from it, helping it spread seeds and pollen.

Although some plants could self-fertilize, effectively making clones of themselves, others had to depend on insects to spread genetic material from another close plant to allow it to produce fruit and seeds. These seeds all had unique paths. Some were intended to be eaten, built to survive through the digestive tract of an animal so that it could spring from the animal’s donating fertilizer. One of the more interesting was the fig, which depended on a certain kind of wasp that would crawl into it and lay eggs. All natural non-GMO figs once had a wasp inside them.

A lot of this knowledge was questioned on the exam, but often with a magical spin. Thankfully, I had both a science background as well as a library of books I transcribed. Even if I hadn’t processed the most important information from every book, I had already studied all the major ones, and I could recall the words of any transcribed book with a mere thought. Thus, finding answers that satisfied the question’s requirements was rather simple.

I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the girl next to me. We should both be taking the same exam. While I was being tricked into taking a more difficult exam, she had chosen it. She didn’t just want to pass the botany section, but further become an alchemist. That meant she was likely studying for this exam for a long time. Yet when I saw her, sweat dripping down her face, her lips mumbling the answers as her eyes stared vacantly at the sheet, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

She glanced up, but I already had my eyes back on my paper. The alchemist saw her with her eyes up and cleared their throat. She immediately returned to her page. I continued to answer question after question. With my high processing power, answers came incredibly easily, and cross-referencing multiple transcribed works only took moments. I wasn’t a supercomputer, but Parallel Processing did make me think much faster than I did when I was in college. It was like having an open book quiz and that book was the internet.

Adding to that my physical prowess and my hand didn’t even become cramped. I wasn’t able to write as fast as I could think, but I was still able to write cleaner and longer than I normally could. I didn’t suffer from hand cramps or any of the other plights of college life. After finishing and then rereading the entire exam one more time for measure, I had nothing else to do, so I stood up and handed the exam to the alchemist. They seemed a bit shocked to see me.

“I can’t answer any questions.” They looked at me awkwardly.

“I don’t have any. I’m done.” I told them, putting the papers down.

Our words caught Diana’s interest, and she was watching instead of doing her work.

“The exam is three hours. It’s only been forty-five minutes.” The alchemist spoke with a slightly mocking tone.

I shrugged. “More time wouldn’t change the result.”

They shook their head. “Suit yourself. You can return tomorrow morning for the results.”

Diana had a look of disbelief, while the alchemist just had a scornful look. I didn’t care for either of them. I bid my farewell and then headed out the door. Once on the street, I stretched my arms and legs. A certain smell struck my nose that I was able to identify, and a small smile formed on my lips. I headed off in a certain direction, and after walking over two streets I appeared in front of the tavern.

“Haha… big man, I didn’t expect to be seeing you around these parts again.” A familiar voice came from behind.

I turned around with a smile on my face. “Sammuel, I thought I might find you around here.”

“Am I so predictable?” he asked, a playful look on his face. “Never mind me, you, you’re a man who is full of surprises.”

“Is that so?”

“I can’t believe you’re the future son-in-law to the Capala household. With such status, we might have even bumped elbows before my fall.”

“Well, I’m glad I’m now qualified to be associated with your venerable self.” I chuckled.

He blinked and then looked embarrassed. “Ah, that’s not what I mean. Never mind that what are you up to?”

“I just took a herbalist exam. Waiting on the results. Thought it wouldn’t be too preemptive to celebrate.”

“The herbalist exam, is it?” He raised an eyebrow. “I suppose joining the Capala household, such a direction makes sense, but are you confident?’

“I’m not planning to fail if that is what you’re asking.”

“In that case, it sounds like enough reason to celebrate!”

I grinned. “I was thinking the same.”

Once I returned to the manner, I’d be back to renovating the mansion, so I wanted to take a break first. I’d still get to the maid’s room. I promised her, after all, but a few drinks wouldn’t hurt. I put my arm around his shoulder to lead him into the tavern, but after a step, he stopped and looked me up and down.

“You know, given your new status, the tavern might not be the best place for us to go. It’s more a place for mortals after all. I can tell the alcohol doesn’t have a great effect on you.”

“I’m not concerned about appearances.” I paused for a moment. “What do you have in mind?”

“Even if you are not, you represent a paragon house now.” He shrugged. “There is a place that might be a bit more enjoyable to visit, especially tonight. It’s called the Green Pleasure Palace.”

I glanced at him. “Pleasure Palace?”

“It is as you think, but also not. The world of paragons is extremely diverse. There are a broad range of evolutionary paths. Not everyone goes the way of the martial artist or the alchemist. Some also dedicate their lives to evolving entertainment.”

“Entertainment?”

“Poetry, music, and dance.”

“Oh, that…”

“As conducted by some of the greatest beauties this world has ever known!” He laughed, slapping my back. “And if you gain the favor of one of the ladies, palace ladies, you can go up to her room and receive some private entertainment.”

I asked a few more questions, but Sammuel continued to be coy. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to figure out if this was a brothel or not without experiencing it myself. It was probably intentional. Since the paragons seemed to all be consumed with reputation, even their sex clubs had to be shrouded in mystery. I have to say that I was a little bit interested.

I had spent a month in the taverns trying to collect information on the families, and during that time I had learned little more than their names. This was because it was a mortal tavern, and mortals and paragons didn’t mix. If I hadn’t run into Sammuel there, the entire month might have been considered a waste of time. However, now that I knew better, I needed to visit the kinds of places paragons would visit. In that case, wasn’t this Green Pleasure Palace worth checking out?

“What do you say?” Sammuel asked, looking at me worriedly.

“Let’s do it.” I grinned.

It was time to see the underbelly of the paragon families.