Three days have passed since the incident in the cafeteria. Nothing had happened since then and this made Drew uneasy. Drew attended classes in the morning, left for lessons with Gerald in the afternoon, and worked at the Borealis at night. Ever since his first transaction, Drew hasn't really gotten any bigger clients but he had seen the number of them requesting him for information increasing. Uenkram sure did him a huge favor. However, even though he wasn't making as much, he was still making around 10 million Kalas a night which was still a large sum of money for Drew. It was a shame that was all going to go down the toilet in six months. 

It was 3 o'clock and Drew was trying to make a new medicine that Gerald had taught him. It was a breakthrough regiment for F-Rank Genetic Warriors. More specifically, it was a regiment that increased the chanced of the Warrior breaking through into E-Rank but only by five percent. This type of regiment was highly valued as there weren't many of them on the market. The reason, the procedures to make this regiment are more complicated and the quality of ingredients used in them needs to be top-notch, basically fresh. Hence, the cost of these kinds of regiments surpasses those of other regiments of the same rank sometimes double or triple the cost. Additionally, taking into account the rarity of individuals can do Alchemy and there are very few who are talented, yes there's a difference, these regiments could cost up to 100,000 Kalas each. If Drew could successfully create one, he would have a good chance of generating extra income and making the 500 million Kalas benchmark faster while having some leftover which he could put into savings. 

The first step Drew had to do was gather all the ingredients which were already prepared for him by Gerald. If the proportions were even a little bit off, it could make the regiment nonfunctional or dysfunctional, and Drew couldn't afford that as he only had a limited supply. Using a scale, Drew carefully measured out each ingredient. The recipe that he was using was already published in the Alchemy headlines and has been proven to work by the Ozwarth Medical Facility. And if you are wondering why these people would publish such a valuable recipe to the public, it's rather elementary! (A/N: My dear Watson!) Even if one has the recipe, the equipment, and the ingredients, it does not mean one can make it easier. There are a whole ton of factors that are involved with the recipe. The temperature, the duration in which the regiment is mixed, the order in which the ingredients are put in, the list goes on and on. The worst part was, these kinds of regiments cannot be made by machines due to the properties of the ingredients and the fact that one's Otrio is also used in the process. This is another reason why these regiments are so expensive and why there is a disparity in skill between Alchemist. The purer and more stable one's Otrio is, the better the outcome the regiment will have. Drew had a test ran by Gerald to test his Otrio purity and it was just slightly above average which wasn't a bad thing. It just means that it might take him more attempts to create a regiment or in terms of combat, beat an opponent who has a higher Otrio purity. 

Drew picked up a pair of tweezers and carefully dropped each measured ingredient into the ceramic crucible which was placed on a wire platform above a tubular gas stove with its flame set on high. The blue-colored flame smelled heavily of gas as it danced above the tube. For this regiment, the crucible had to be preheated to allow for the ingredient, once put in, to interact with the heat. The odd thing about most ingredients used in Alchemy is that they automatically liquidize without any input of water or other substance upon heating. This was another mystery science couldn't quite explain even with tons of experimentation but what experimentation could figure out were the major properties of each individual ingredient. It's weird but people have just come to accept that fact as long as the products that come out of them were beneficial. (A/N: I don't think cultivation webnovels/manhuas even explain this phenomenon. Not to sure because I don't read that many.) 

The ingredients in the crucible began the liquidize into a translucent soup. It didn't smell like anything well not yet as Drew hadn't put in some of the ingredients yet which were reserved off onto at side of the table right next to a large plant whose vase was taller than the height at which the crucible was at. The wood chips used as soil were overflowing. 

Drew picked up his glass stirring rod, stirring the translucent liquid as it began to simmer under the fire. Twenty rotations clockwise. Twenty rotations counterclockwise. The mixture grew darker, turning into a golden, viscous, honey-like substance, a sweet scent emerges from it, filling up the whole room. It was time. Drew carefully carried the plate with the reaming ingredients over the crucible, turning down the flame till the color changed from blue to orange. With the tip of his stirring rod, Drew gently pushed the ingredients into the crucible, imputing a little bit of otrio to activate the solution, letting them dissolve into the golden liquid which was now turning a violet color. All according to the recipe.

Now the final step, stir the ingredients on low heat till the ingredients are fully incorporated into the mixture. Perspiration gathered on Drew's goggles as steam arose from the mixture. It was almost done. Drew placed down the stirring rod and grabbed a pair of tongs, grabbing the crucible with them and placing it down on a coaster right next to the vase, allowing it to cool for a few minutes. Gerald came over and observed the violet liquid. Tipping the crucible around with his hands, which were clad in heat resistant gloves, letting the violet circle around in the crucible before placing it into machine embedded into the wall which cooled the liquid with a dry ice fog and ran some test on it through simulations. It seems Drew had made a successful F-Rank breakthrough regiment. 

Removing the tube from the machine, Gerald handed it to Drew. Drew held the liquid under a lamp as he inspected it for any impurities. There were virtually none. 

"Congratulations on making your first breakthrough regiment." Gerald applauded. 

"Thanks, Gerald. I didn't think I could do it on my first try." Drew smiled. 

In his excitement, Drew shot up from his work seat causing the vase, overflowing with wood chips to spill over. One of the wood chips falling into the purple regiment changing its color to blue as the vase fell on the ground, shattering into a million pieces. Drew and Gerald panicked. 

"Oops." Drew chuckled nervously as he looked at the broken vase. 

"It's okay," Gerald said as he lightly kicked off a wood chip on his shoe. "The thing was only five Kalas. More importantly, Young Master, the regiment in your hand just changed color after that wood chip fell in." 

"What should I do?" Drew panicked afraid that the regiment might explode in his hand. "It could be unstable!" 

"Just put it in the test machine. The one I've installed here can withstand the power of a plasma weapon. If it explodes in there, let it." Gerald said opening the machine door. 

Hastily, Drew shoved the blue regiment into the test machine praying that it doesn't blow up. The machine, recognizing that there was a regiment in it, began to analyze it. For the next few minutes, the machine ran some diagnostics on it testing for stability, function, even poison. Drew was pacing back and forth, biting his fingernails as his body prepared to make a mad dash if necessary. Gerald, who was right next to Drew, remained calm. Suddenly, the machine stopped and a bell-like sound signaled that it has completed analyzing the regiment. 

[New Regiment Discovered] 

The machine chimed ejecting the regiment from the machine.

[Please check the data sent to the computer.]

Immediately, Drew took the regiment and ran over to the supercomputer to the side, opening a holographic screen that reflected the new regiment's data. 

"What does it say?" Gerald asked as Drew skimmed the data. 

"No way," Drew gasped. "The regiment created was actually a F-Rank Breakthrough regiment but it doesn't just increase the chances of breaking through." 

"What other effects, Young Master?" 

Drew continued.

"It's a 100% F-Rank Breakthrough regiment. Alchemists have been trying to create one for years but they couldn't figure out how! This is an Alchemy breakthrough!" 

"It seems that wood chip that fell in had played a huge role in this accidental discovery," Gerald said stroking his chin. 

"Moreover," Drew continued in excitement, "the machine only identify the main ingredients involved. It couldn't pick up the wood chip that fell in. In short, it doesn't even consider it an ingredient. It's almost as if it were invisible! If anywhere else ran tests on this, they wouldn't know what's in here except for the basic ingredients unless they saw the regiment being made in front of their eyes." 

Drew ran over to the pile of wood chips that had spilled on the ground and picked one out. Brushing it off Drew knew what kind of wood it was. 

"This is Calemond Wood! It comes from the Calemond tree which are as common as weeds here on Kraus. In studies, it's shown to not have any underlying functions except to convert CO2 into breathable O2. In short, it's basically your normal tree with nothing notable about it. It's used for gardening and building furniture. To think this simple piece of wood could actually produce such a miracle...it's almost baffling." He rambled. 

"Young Master, we should first run a few more tests to confirm that this wood is the secret ingredient to making this incredible regiment. If so, we should have Ozwarth Medical Facility analyze it to generate a price we could sell it on the market." 

Drew nodded. 

"Okay. How much ingredients do we have to run trials?" 

"Hoho," Gerald laughed. "We have enough for as much as you need. The ingredients were quite cheap so I could always get more. My judgment is, if this regiment successfully comes out as an F-Rank 100% Breakthrough regiment, I could assume that it could be sold on the market for 500,000,000 Kalas, maybe more, as no one else would know how to make it but you and myself. Also, you should take the time to write down the modified recipe. If you keep it in your communication device, you would be at risk of getting the recipe stolen." 

"If this turns out successful, we would meet the quota in order to purchase Phantom Rifle and have enough left over to purchase other items at the auction." 

"Let's not get our hopes up too high, first we must clarify this phenomenon," Gerald said calming Drew down. 

After running several more trials and testing the theory that the wood chip was the essential ingredient and some other things, Drew’s theory had been confirmed while noting down the exact amount of wood chips required to make one regiment, which was about five grams. Moreover, the wood chip is untraceable when the ingredients are trying to be identified, merging itself into the DNA of the ingredients used while making virtually no alteration to the sequences. Furthermore, since no one else would know the recipe except for him and Gerald, they could purchase all the ingredients at an absurdly low price and make a tremendous profit at the same time. 

“Shall we send this to the Ozwarth Medical Facility to be analyzed?” Gerald asked as Drew placed a sample regiment into a special briefcase.

“Yes. However, I do know someone who works there as an Appraiser and it would be problematic if she saw me as is. After all, I’ve only been learning Alchemy for seven months, and creating a brand new regiment at my stage seems absurd. I also don’t want the attention of people who know my civilian identity flocking over to me like I’m some sort of genius. It’ll be a pain.” Drew said as he closed the briefcase. 

Gerald let out a mischievous laugh before pulling another trunk out of nowhere. Where does he even get all these trunks? 

“I’m one step ahead of you, Young Master.” 

“I should’ve known.” Drew sighed. Gerald wouldn’t have been the Head Butler for the Winter family if he couldn’t anticipate these things coming.

Opening the trunk, Drew found a standard black suit with a white dress shirt, a black vest, a black necktie. black dress pants, and leather dress shoes. On the necktie, there was a silver tie clip with a snowflake charm on and a snowflake embroidered on it in silver fabric. Underneath the suit, there was a long white coat made from the same material as the suit that went down to Drew's ankles as well as a contact case with blue contacts in it. Finally, there was a nice leather wallet with an ID in it.

"So what am I now?" Drew asked. 

"Your name for this identity will be Axel Snow but more commonly known as Mr. Snow. You will be able to take on your Snowhawk form but there will be a few modifications made such as the contacts. You might have to use [Shapeshift] to increase your height by five centimeters to make this identity look more convincing." 

"Why is there a small mole under this identity's eye?" Drew asked. 

"It's for the effect." Gerald chuckled. 

"I have no complaints about it. Rather, I think the mole gives this identity a rather refined feel to it." 

"That's the point. I'm glad Young Master realizes that. Shall we get going then?"  

"Yes, please give me ten minutes." Drew smiled taking the clothes out of the trunk. "Do you also have a car?"

"Of course," Gerald replied as he walked over to a panel embedded into the side of the wall. "The question should be changed to which one." 

With the press of a button, the whole wall opened up revealing a large garage with a few luxury cars and motorcycles. Each one costing millions of Kalas! Drew couldn't even imagine that he would be riding in one of those. Heck, there was even a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, and holy shit, a Bugatti! They were all in tip-top condition. These were all cars many people dreamed to own in their lifetime. 

"I'm not even going to ask how you got these," Drew sighed feeling overwhelmed by just looking at one of them. 

"Well, they were gifts from the Winter's for my services. I remember reacting the same way as you did when they gave them to me, saying it was a small price to pay for all I've done for the family." Gerald admitted.

"The Winter's were very generous." 

"Yes they were," Gerald replied. 

"So which one are we taking?" Drew asked. 

"The Rolls-Royce," Gerald said pointing to the shiny black vehicle. "If we are doing this, you might as well do it with style and elegance. Fitting for a Snowhawk." 

>>>

Meanwhile, at the Ozwarth Medical Facility, Auntie Ryhard was just about to finish for the day. Packing up her things in her bag, Auntie Ryhard took off her lab coat and hung it over her chair before leaving her workspace. One of her coworkers, a Harpy a couple of years younger, pat her on the shoulder as she checked out from the office. 

"So Amina, do you have any plans for tonight?" The Harpy asked Auntie Ryhard as she slung her purse over her shoulder. 

"No, I'm actually free for once." Auntie Ryhard replied, pressing the down button on the elevator. "Usually, I'd have to go back and cook for the kids but since they left for Star, I now have more free time." 

"I totally forgot you had kids?" The Harpy laughed. "You look so young that I find it impossible for you to be a married woman and have kids." 

"I get that a lot, Samika. I have one kid. The other one was adopted." Auntie Ryhard admitted to the Harpy whos name was Samika. 

"That's right! Elias and Drew." Samika exclaimed as they enter the elevator, "How old are they?"  

"They're both seventeen. Elias will be turning eighteen in April while Drew will be turning eighteen in July." 

Samika clapped.

"Wow, time really flies. I still recall when you brought Elias in here when he was four or five. He was so cute back then. How is he now?" 

"He's doing fine now. Once Drew came in, he pulled Elias out his slump and since then, they have become as close as brothers." 

"That's really sweet." Samika awed. 

The elevator had reached the bottom floor where the two were welcomed by a massive crowd of people. Employees and paparazzi have gathered around. The bright flashing of cameras could be seen.  

"What's going on?" Auntie Ryhard asked. 

Samika pointed over to the crowd. 

"Not sure, I'm just as clueless as you are. Should we check it out?"

"Why not. It's not like we're in any rush." Auntie Ryhard said as they left the elevator. 

Walking over to the crowd, Auntie Ryhard and Samika found a fellow coworker who had a good view of what was going on. 

"Hey, Liam!" Samika called to an unkempt guy wearing spectacles larger than his face. 

"Oh hello, Samika and Amina." He yawned. 

"What's going on?" Auntie Ryhard asked trying to not get jostled around by the crowd. 

"I'm not too sure..." He replied. "Some Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of the building. As it did, the reporters and paparazzi began flocking the doorway." 

"Who was it?" Samika asked. 

"I don't know," He yawned again. "From the looks of it, its some rich guy and his attendant. He looks pretty young, maybe his early twenties." 

"Did you get a picture?" 

Liam rubbed his eyes.

"No. However, I was able to get a glimpse of him. He looked about 180cm, had a slim build and face similar to those superstars on the billboards. Slick back frosty blue hair and eyes that seemed to freeze your body the moment you look into them. The most striking feature of his was the small mole under his right eye. I think he's a Snowhawk." 

"A Snowhawk!" Samika exclaimed. "I have to see this. Come on Amina, we're going to push our way to the front." 

"Wait! Samika!" Auntie Ryhard cried. 

Feeling Samika's hand grab her wrist, Auntie Ryhard felt her body being pulled along as they pushed their way through the crowd. A few moments later, the duo found themselves in the front, where all the action was occurring. As Liam had described, there was the rich-looking guy and his attendant, who seemed to be an elderly man. In the attendant's hand, there was a briefcase. These two people were Drew and Gerald. 

>>>

"Gerald, why did we have to make such a grand entrance? I thought I implied I wanted it to be more subtle." Drew whispered as Gerald came up to his side.

"Hoho, you only told me that you didn't want the people who know you to recognize you, Young Master. You didn't tell me how you wanted us to enter." 

"You just wanted to do this. That's why." Drew silently spat. 

"The Young Master is quite sharp." 

"So it was just for the fun of it." Drew sighed. 

"Indeed. There are certain things I've always wanted to do in my younger days. This is one of them." 

"At least, tell me in advance," Drew complained getting quite annoyed wither Gerald's antics. 

"Very well, I will next time," Gerald said placing his hand over his heart. 

"Forget it," Drew said. "You said that the last time. I don't think it'll be happening any time soon. Anyways, we should get this over with" 

"As you wish." 

Approaching the reception desk, the receptionist working there had har hand clasped over her mouth. She had never seen such a handsome guy before in her life, quite weird due to the fact that she was working in the city. She could even feel the chilling aura being emitted from him even though he didn't activate his Otrio. Ignoring that fact, she resumed with her job. Maybe she could get his number if she tried. 

"Hi," She greeted Drew trying to contain her blush but it was written all over her face. Drew was totally her type. "How may I help you?" 

Drew didn't know whether he should laugh or cry but presumed with his business. Waving to Gerald, Gerald placed the briefcase on the counter. 

"I would like to have a regiment appraised." 

"Of courses." The receptionist stuttered as she furiously typed on her keyboard. "Please wait a second."  

A few moments later, the receptionist took the regiment in the case and sent it through a window behind it where an Appraiser began to analyze the regiment. Within seconds, the Appraiser's face changed to one of shock. It seemed as if he were going to faint. 

"Holy shit!" Everyone outside heard the Appraiser scream.

The Appraiser burst out from behind holding the regiment as if it were precious gold. 

"Who made this?!' The Appraiser demanded. 

"It's the gentleman right here." The receptionist replied pointing to Drew. "Why do you ask?" 

The Appraiser furiously pointed a finger at Drew. 

"This man had just created an Alchemic breakthrough! He had just created history!" 

The moment the employees, reporters, and paparazzi heard this their eyes shifted to the elegant young man before them. If this man was able to create something that would make the Appraiser go nuts, that could only mean one thing. This was going to be a huge scoop! 

"Please," The Appraiser begged. "Follow me. I'm going to have you met our Chairman." 

"It seems we have caused a huge ruckus here," Gerald said observing the crowd as he took the briefcase from the reception desk. 

"Ignore them. We should follow Appraiser." Drew said not paying attention to any of them. 

As instructed, Drew and Gerald followed the Appraiser who took them to the top floor of the facility where the Chairman was awaiting their arrival. The Chairman's office, located at the top floor, could only be accessed by a private elevator by high ranking employees in the facility or if there's an urgent matter that needs to be attended. In this case, it was the latter. At the top floor, the elevator welcomed the duo to an oval office. The floor was made from a tile and the furniture in it was quite modern each one was a work of art. Towards the opposite end of the office, a man with an imposing figure was looking out the long glass windows of the office with his hands folded behind his back.

"I've heard from our Appraiser." The figure spoke in a deep, gruff voice. Heavy pressure was being emitted from his body that seemed to strangle Drew. "Tell me, what exactly did you make to make me urgently arrange this meeting. Time is ticking." 

Drew replied remaining his calm. "The regiment created is an F-Rank Breakthrough regiment. It doesn't just increase the chances of a confirmed breakthrough but can induce a confirmed breakthrough into E-Class. In short, once you take the regiment, your breakthrough into E-Class is 100% guaranteed." 

The man spun on his heel facing Drew. Drew couldn't exactly make out his facial features since the office was dark but Drew could tell this man, was the Chairman of Ozwarth's Medical Facility. 

"Fascinating. You’re not lying. There has never been a regiment that has been able to do that in all of Alchemy History. Young man, who, no, what are you?" 

Drew cocked his head, a smirk formed on his face. He couldn't let this man see him 'sweat'. 

"I'm just a Snowhawk with a sense of business and Alchemy as a side job." 

"How should I address you?" The Chairman asked as the Appraiser handed the regiment over to the Chairman. 

"I should be asking you that," Drew said. "But if you insist, call me Mr. Snow." 

The Chairman chuckled. "Very fitting for a man of your caliber. I'm impressed. It's almost as if you were Mr. Heartman." 

Drew was intrigued. "You've met Mr. Heartman?" 

"Why of course," The Chairman replied as he observed the regiment. "I was the one who appraised his regiment, "Morning Dew", before it was put in the market." 

"Then it makes sense," Drew said as the Chairman finished observing the regiment. 

"Since you've come here, I believe you are also to receive a price." The Chairman concluded handing the regiment back to the Appraiser who handed it to Gerald.

"That is correct, Chairman,"  Drew replied, his frosty eyes focused on the Chairman's silhouette. 

"Then I'll make this quick." The Chairman nodded. "Since you are the sole creator of the regiment, I'm willing to value this regiment at 500,000,000 Kalas. The value will be released immediately and allow you the sell the regiment in the public market. If you don't mind, could I purchase this regiment, at this given price, for further research? This could potentially lead to more breakthroughs in Alchemy in the future." 

"Of course," Drew replied. He knew no matter how much Ozwarth Medical Facility could research the regiment, they would find nothing as the wood chip was untraceable in the regiment. The most they would get out of it or suspect is that Drew altered the process for a normal breakthrough regiment or used a super rare ingredient that could only be obtained through difficult means. There was basically no risk for him selling it to the Chairman. 

"How generous of you." The Chairman said as he prepared to transfer 500 million Kalas into one of Drew's various fake accounts. "Aren't you afraid I might try to monopolize the regiment for my own profit." 

"If you did," Drew began, "you wouldn't have asked me this question." 

He had heard of the Chairman's reputation through various news articles. He knew that the Chairman was an honest man and would never do something so underhanded. He is one of the few businessmen in this world who rose to power with a clean slate.  

The chairman laughed clapping his hands together. "Good, it seems you are quite aware of my reputation." 

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Drew replied. 

"For a young man, your sense for business is outstanding." 

Drew scratched the back of his neck.

"I've been getting that a lot lately." 

"Your talented, that's the truth. Very well, I'm impressed. It was a pleasure doing business with you." 

"Same for you, Chairman." Drew bowed with respect. 

"Relax, we are men standing on the same level. If time allows, could I perhaps invite you to a few conferences to help you expand your circle?"

"Of course." This was an offer Drew couldn't refuse. The more connections he could make, the more potential clients he could gain. "I would appreciate that." 

"Then with that, we'll both be on our ways. I've transferred 500,000,000 into your account and the news of your accomplishment shall be published the moment you step outside of this building. You don't want those digging reporters and paparazzi to chase after you." 

Drew chuckled as the Appraiser showed him and Gerald to the elevator. 

"I'm afraid they already have the instance I stepped foot into this facility." 

"Then, I shall grace you with a ten-minute head start." The Chairman said as he faced the glass windows in his office. 

"Thank you. I hope we can cooperate in the future." Drew waved as the elevator door shut. His frosty eyes focusing on the Chairman's back as it did.  

"Yes, I hope so too." The Chairman waved as he lit a cigar. 

With that, Drew was gone and the deal was closed. The Chairman, who was watching the sunset as he smoked his cigar smiled. 

"Mr. Snow." He muttered letting the name engrave into his mind. "It seems Ozwarth will be getting a little louder."