Chapter 120: The First Round of Competition

Chapter 120

The First Round of Competition

"Alright, representative students, please take your position. The number 1 institute, Ares, has sent 1 student to participate. Please proceed to position number 1 at the front."

"The 3 students from the number 2 institute, Hestia, please proceed to positions 2-4 according to your assigned numbers. Students from the 3rd and 4th institutes, and..."

The announcement from the judges echoed. All the students moved to their designated positions. Other institutes had sent a significant number of students to compete. No other institute had sent only 1 student like Ares Institute did, making Ellie the center of attention even more.

"Huh, it seems the Ares Institute is very confident in this student."

"Yeah, I heard this kid is from the legendary Professor Medik. Do they really think this kid can defeat everyone?"

"I don’t think that’s the case. Even if they sent others to compete, they wouldn’t have much hope anyway."

"Haha, it’s so ridiculous. The number 1 institute relying on just a first-year student? I don’t think they deserve to be the top institute anymore!"

"If it’s about potion concocting, maybe. But when it comes to other competitions, they’re still superior. Those people are obsessed with power, fighting like savages."

The audience nearby were likely erudite people like Professor Gannon, so when it came to the competition about potion concocting, everyone would certainly value it more than any other competitions while many institutes focused on combat competitions. This reflected their teaching preferences and tastes.

Ellie stood among the many students, unfazed, even though the first round was a potion-concocting contest...

"If all participants are ready, we’ll give you the first task. The first topic is “Low-Level Stamina Restorative Potion.” You have 50 minutes to concoct the best quality potion. Begin!"

Once the judges announced the task, the students immediately sprang into action, rushing to grab herbs. Those who reached the herbs first got the best ones. Ellie, however, did not hurry like the others. In potion concocting, herb quality was important, but mixing different qualities could result in an imperfect potion, leading to failure.

Ellie, well-practiced in the secret techniques taught by Celey, carefully selected her herbs. Despite this, her hands never stopped, rapidly gathering herbs into her basket as if without much thought.

"Look at that girl, the representative from the number 1 institute. What is she doing? Does she think this is a joke?"

"Does she really want to compete in potion concocting? Why is she working so haphazardly? If she plans to give up, she shouldn’t waste the herbs."

"Is she really Professor Medik’s disciple? Why is she acting like she doesn’t know what she’s doing?"

Criticism started to echo around Ellie, but Lucien, sitting beside Medik, didn’t feel the same as the others. He nearly smiled, seeing everyone underestimate the girl’s abilities.

Well...for a girl like Ellie, concocting a low-level potion wasn’t really difficult. The real challenge would come with level 2-star potions, since she’d only had time to learn a few types. If she had more time, she would surely be number one.

"She’s drawing too much attention to herself," Medik muttered with some displeasure, but Lucien disagreed.

"Even if she did nothing, competing alone for the institute would still make her stand out."

"I know, but I just don’t want her to show too much skill."

"Hmm? Then why didn’t you tell her not to concoct a perfect potion again?"

"How could I? Can I really ask my student to make a lower-quality potion? Would I still be considered a professor then?"

"Then let her do her best. With her high-level skills, she will be well-known soon enough."

"Sigh, you’re right," Medik exhaled wearily. He felt conflicted, wanting to tell Ellie to lower the potion’s quality, but doing so would hurt her feelings. Ellie was doing so well; he should be praising her, not criticizing.

Looking down at the first round of the competition, many students were still concocting their potions. Some had already finished and were receiving their scores continuously, with each doing quite well.

"7 points."

"8 points."

"7 points."

"6 points." The announcements continued. Even though the students were given more than 50 minutes, as soon as one student did well, it pressured the others, increasing their stress.

One student from the 2nd institute, a student of Lio, was a young lady from a family of apothecaries. She had been learning potion concocting long before entering the institute. It was no surprise Lio had a lot of confidence in her. Compared to Professor Medik’s scholarship student, his student had a significant advantage.

"Professor, I’m finished," a young girl called out to the professor who was acting as a judge. The middle-aged man picked up the potion bottle and poured it into the quality-testing apparatus to ensure the most impartial evaluation possible, avoiding subjective judging by the panel.

"Well done, you got 8 points!" For now, 8 points was the highest score any of the students had achieved. Even more impressive, this girl was only in her first year. Scoring 8 points on a level 1 potion was a clear indicator of her high potential.

"Look at that, isn’t she a student of Professor Medik’s successor? I heard she’s just a first-year student. Did she really score the highest so far?"

"Haha, why else would he be called Professor Medik’s successor? Now the pressure is on Professor Medik. I heard there was a clash between Professor Medik and his successor before the competition. If Professor Medik’s first-year student wins, people should stop saying that he has a successor. But if the other side wins, then it means the successor is surpassing Professor Medik."

"I’ve noticed since the beginning, Professor Medik’s disciple seems rather unimpressive. Look at her now...yawning as if this competition means nothing. Coupled with her haphazard herb selection earlier, she doesn’t seem like a capable apothecary at all."

"Is that so? I heard rumors that even Apothecary Celey admires her."

"Hmm? Rumors are just rumors. Do you believe them?"

"Haha, I don’t. It’s hardly likely that strict Apothecary Celey would praise a student Those who haven’t met Lady Celey might think so, but anyone who has met her would never believe it."

While waiting for the results of all the participants, the spectators were buzzing with conversation about the competition. The longer it went on, the more it distracted the competitors.

"9 points!!" Just as everyone was focused on the challenge between Professor Medik and Professor Lio, a fourth-year student from Hestia Institute had their score announced.

Scoring 9 points created a sensation among the audience. Such a high score had only been achieved when Professor Medik and then Professor Lio participated. Who would have thought that just a few years later, another student could achieve it? Even though there were still other potion-concocting contests to come, a score of 9 was exceptionally high for a fourth-year student!

"Oh my God! Hestia Institute has done it again. They are clearly challenging Ares Institute."

"Indeed, they have produced 2 students who scored 9 points, while the number 1 institute only has one! This is truly a challenge to the heavens."

"I don’t care about the first-year students competing now. I want to see such talented youths every year."

The crowd’s voices grew louder, as if they had already seen the competition’s winner, even though this was only the first round. Even Medik showed some interest in this student. It seemed there were more promising students emerging this year.

The excitement of the audience was not exaggerated. At first glance, it might seem like a difference of just 1 point. Why all the excitement? However, that 1-point difference marked a significant quality difference in the potion, unlike a simple speed difference. It indicated the potential for these students to advance to the next level.

For potion concocting, from 7 points to 8 points was like having a mountain blocking a way. They must break through this bottleneck to achieve 8 points. However, moving from 8 to 9 points was even more significant than scaling a mountain; it’s like transitioning from one world to another!

This almost confirmed that this student was born to concocting potions. It involved innate talent and an exceptional effort to understand the potions better than anyone else. Otherwise, how could they achieve this legendary 9-point score?

"It’s clear that the 2nd-ranked institute has won again." With no expectation of another student surpassing this skill level, many thought the 2nd institute had won, even before the next round began.

However...they were too quick to decide.

"Professor, my potion is ready," Ellie’s calm voice broke the silence after most of the interesting students had submitted their work. In truth, Ellie had finished her potion some time ago, but she wanted to observe the foundational skills of the other students first. Seeing an interesting student score 9 points, she decided it was time to submit her potion.

"Look at that, submitting her potion now is not a smart move."

"Is she foolish? Why not wait a bit longer? This will only embarrass her."

"Haha, maybe she’s confident in her potion, or she hopes to score 9 points too."

"Is she really Professor Medik’s disciple? Can’t she read the room?" Criticism began the moment Ellie raised her hand. Even the judging professor wished she had waited a bit longer to submit. He was a judge, not a destroyer; he didn’t want to destroy a student’s confidence.

Despite this, Ellie handed over her potion bottle. It was his duty to examine it according to the procedure.

As soon as the potion was dropped into the quality-testing apparatus, it passed through the red, orange, yellow, and green lines, reaching the light blue line. If it passed the light blue line, it meant the potion was worth more than 8 points. However, the judge felt time slow down as the dark blue line miraculously appeared, indicating that the potion the girl had submitted got a quality of 9 points!!

"You got 9...hmm?" As he was about to announce the score, his words suddenly trailed off.

His small eyes widened, almost bulging, and the hand that had held countless potion bottles began to tremble. He looked up at the student who seemed indifferent to the results and checked again, realizing that this student was only a first-year. Beads of sweat started to form along his forehead, and his reaction made the observers feel something was amiss.

"What’s happening with the judge?"

"Yeah, shouldn’t the results be out by now?"

"Why is the judge shaking like that?"

"Did that student only score 5 points, failing the first round? Is he too afraid of Professor Medik to announce it?"

"She deserves only 5 points. She wasn’t careful with her herb selection. I saw her pick wilted herbs, which was clear at a glance that they weren’t fresh at all."

"Haha, just announce it already. Whatever the result, everyone has to accept it."

"Yes, announce it. Announce it now!" The spectators, seeing the commotion as entertainment, began to pressure the judge loudly. The judge swallowed nervously at the noise.

It wasn’t that he had never seen a high-quality potion before, but...he had never seen a student, who hadn’t graduate yet, concocted a potion of such quality!!

"This student... Her potion got 10 points!!"

When he finally announced it, the noisy crowd fell silent as if someone had muted the world. This silence extended not only to the spectators but also to the other students still concocting their potions, who immediately stopped.

What did 10 points mean?

Did it mean the potion was of perfect quality?A first-year student concocted a perfect potion????