Many Invitations

Half a day passed by with nothing interesting happening in the competition down below. Each person was accurately naming the ingredients that came their way, with only a few of the weaker alchemists missing out on the names of ingredients they had yet to interact with.

The people on the stage took this time to talk to each other, catch up or ask questions that they were curious about.

"If your Majesty is an alchemist as I've heard, surely you would want to come visit the Thousand Blossom Valley in our kingdom, right?" the king of the Emerald Kingdom asked. "It's one of the most remarkable places in the entire continent; definitely one of the two most highly sought-after places alongside the Endless Shadow Abyss."

"Oh," Alex responded. "Then I must visit that place."