Chapter 123: The Coward and the Shameless

Chapter 123

The Coward and the Shameless

The first round of the competition had concluded, with many students failing to complete their tasks. The success rates this year seemed lower compared to previous years. Nonetheless, 9 students, including Ellie, advanced to the next round, requiring materials and equipment for all 9.

Ellie and the other students were taken to a holding room to prevent them from observing the outside proceedings and gaining an unfair advantage. Once inside the secret room, Ellie sat alone while the other students began to form groups and chat.

It appeared that students from other institutes were already acquainted with each other. Rumor had it that the potion concocting competition was held between institutes to foster friendships, except for the students from the top-ranked institute, who had never participated in any inter-institute friendly competitions. It wasn’t surprising that they now formed a single group, with Ellie being the lone outsider.

"You did well in this competition, as expected from Professor Gannon’s disciple."

"You praise me too much. The last time I won against you was purely due to luck. This round will be a new test."

"Haha, you’re as humble as ever. It’s good that you’re like this, unlike some people who get a bit of success and become arrogant, unable to see anyone else."

"Well, she’s a disciple of a legend after all."

"What legend? Just someone who was born before others. If you compare, you are also a legend, aren’t you? You can concoct a potion with a 9 score too, and your herb sorting skills surpass everyone. So, this competition should go to you. Otherwise, you’d still be 1st in potion concocting."

"Sigh, you know I still can’t take 1st place. The one with the highest score isn’t me."

"You’re too modest. I heard your professor say that a cowardly student who lacks the courage to concoct potions doesn’t deserve any position. They might be able to concoct a level 1 potion but are too afraid to prove themselves. How could such a person become a high-level apothecary in the future?"

They said this while looking at Ellie, who had withdrawn from the competition. It seemed their conversation aimed to provoke Ellie. Although it was a clever tactic to unsettling a competitor before the competition to create more chance of winning for themselves, it was also quite shameless...

Ellie ignored them. No matter what they said, she remained above all the issues. She didn’t participate in potion concocting not because she doubted her ability, but because she didn’t want to produce ineffective potions. Besides, she didn’t aim for 1st place in the Quality of Potion Concocting competition. Otherwise, she would have aimed for 1st place in 3 events, not just 2.

With her reasons in mind, Ellie didn’t get swept away by their words. However... it seemed that the ones who set this trap of anger were falling into it themselves.

"Look at her. Even after all this, she pretends not to care. Her shamelessness is truly remarkable. I wonder if she inherited this trait from her mentor."

"Don’t be too harsh. Her mentor is a reputable person. Would he really teach his disciple to be so shameless?"

"A reputable mentor? Then he must be just as shameless, knowing he’s merely lucky. Pretending to create some legend, but in the end, he’s just fortunate. For someone to be lucky and then act like they’re strong takes a lot of shamelessness. No wonder his disciple imitates him like this."

The more they talked, the more satisfied they felt. Seeing Ellie not respond at all only fueled their anger, making their insults more enjoyable and harsher.

However, it wasn’t long before all the students were called to the next test. Each of them walked past Ellie with a sense of satisfaction. Insulting someone superior sometimes made them feel a bit higher themselves.

"Hmph." After seeing the loud-mouthed students leave, Ellie, who had been silent, let out a dry laugh.

Who were they calling incapable and just lucky? Who did they accuse of being shameless? Fine...she would show them what true shamelessness looked like.

"Are all students ready? The next round is sorting herbs according to instructions. This competition will determine the top three. Use your time wisely. When the judges finish saying, start finding the herbs listed and raise your hand immediately. The first person to raise their hand will get 10 points, the 2nd will get 6 points, and the 3rd will get 2 points. Only the top 3 will receive points. This competition will have 10 rounds. After 10 rounds, we’ll total the points. If there’s a tie, there will be a special tie-breaker round. Do you understand?"

The students looked at each other, ready for the competition...Well...no matter how well they did in the first round, it didn’t matter since there were no points awarded. The real points came from here!

"The first herb is...Red Fishtail Herb. Raise your hand when you find it."

The judge announced the start, and the students quickly began searching through the pile of herbs in front of them. Their speed wasn’t bad, but Ellie simply reached into the spot where her spores had already taken root and...

"I’ve found it." At her voice, all the other students stopped and looked at her immediately. The judges stared in shock at Ellie who had taken only 25 seconds. It should have taken at least 2-3 minutes, considering the herbs were in a higher pile than the first round. However, she used much less time. What did this mean?

Of course, in the first pile, Ellie had taken time because she was just letting her spores attach to the herbs. This time, her spores were already embedded in the herbs; they had just added more herbs to the pile. While the others had been busy badmouthing her and her professor, Ellie had been rooting her spores throughout all the herbs!

"Uh, the Red Fishtail Herb is correct. First-year student from Ares Institute scores 10 points," the judge announced. The other students ground their teeth in frustration, though some who didn’t recognize the herb tried to imitate Ellie by looking for similar-looking herbs. This led to many students being eliminated in this round.

In the first round, the 2nd place and 6 points went to a student from the 4th institute, while the student from Hestia Institute scored 2 points.

"It’s okay, it’s okay. Maybe it was just luck."

"That’s right. Next round, she won’t be so lucky. It’s probably because her herb was on top," they encouraged each other. They had planned to take the 1st place from that girl and not let her score any points. Who would have thought that not only would Ellie destroy their plans, but she would also score the most points?

"The next herb is Clear Skite. If any student is confident, they can raise their hand," the judge ignored the noisy chatter. He quickly moved on to the next item and glanced at the first-year student who had surprised everyone.

The audience’s eyes were also on the girl, wanting to know how she could analyze and find the herbs so quickly. This scrutiny made everyone more confident that Ellie couldn’t possibly cheat, and of course...she had no intention of cheating.

"Clear Skite is a low-level herb, but it’s quite delicate. After being cut and piled up like this, its color and appearance change. Many students fail because of this Clear Skite."

"That’s right. If you don’t observe carefully, you’ll be misled. The Clear Skite in books looks different from the Clear Skite piled up here. Analyzing skills are essential. It’s a fitting herb for testing the competitors."

"Alright, let’s see which student has the best skills," the spectators discussed the difficulty of the competition. The first herb might have been a common herb that was easy to identify, but Clear Skite was different.

They didn’t think anyone could find the Clear Skite in just 25 seconds like before, even if the person was Professor Medik’s student.

However, as they were talking, Ellie raised her hand. She was ready for inspection.

"I’ve found it." It had only been 19 seconds since the judge gave the task, and Ellie had already found it.

"C-Correct. First-year student from Ares Institute scores 10 points!" The judge’s confirmation after inspecting the Clear Skite that should be hard to find left the audience in stunned silence. The 2nd place took over half an hour, and others even longer. Yet the 1st place in this round was secured in just 19 seconds! Those 19 seconds were a slap in the face to all the other competitors!!

"Next is the Crimson Wood Root Herb."

"Crimson Wood Root Herb? This round is too difficult. That’s a level 2 potion ingredient. If students don’t have enough knowledge, they won’t be able to find the correct herb. Even if it’s..."

"I’ve found it."

"Ah!! She found it again? How is that possible? No! It must be a coincidence. The next herb surely won’t be..."

"I have the herb."

"!!!"

"Judge, I’ve found it."

...............

The silence from the audience was so profound that even their breathing couldn’t be heard. This was an unprecedented phenomenon. Never before had students competed without the audience talking or commenting. Previously, Professor Medik had created a phenomenon, becoming a legend through his abilities that were constantly discussed. But now...his disciple had created an even greater legend.

The excitement of encountering a genius turned into fear. No one there wanted to call Ellie a prodigy or say she deserved to be a legend.

Not only was this girl still in her first year, but...her perfect record in setting new time records might remain unmatched for 100 years! No! Maybe even 1,000 or 10,000 years!!

It wasn’t just the timing that was outstanding. Scoring the highest points from the first to the final round and earning 100 points alone was remarkable. Be it rare herbs, high-level herbs, or transformed herbs, this girl identified them all! In the eyes of the audience... they now saw only a deity of herbalism standing before them.

"The first-year student from Ares Institute wins the first prize. Congratulations..."

The head judge had never felt so nervous before. Usually, announcing the results was filled with excitement from both the competitors and the audience. However, this time, the results announcement had caused one student to faint from the pressure during the preliminary round. In the competition round, more than half of the students didn’t score a single point, with the first-place winner leading by more than 50 points over the 2nd place. Who would still be interested in this competition then?

It would be surprising if anyone still believed they could beat this girl in herb sorting! Maybe...even if the professors of these students competed, their chances of winning might still be 0!

"Thank you, but I have something I’d like to say, if I may." Ellie accepted her prize. The freckle-faced girl smiled innocently, as if she was oblivious to the situation around her.

"G-Go ahead." He was surprised by the request but not opposed to it. Usually, winners would thank their professors or share some advice with younger students. So, he saw no reason to stop her.

However, Ellie once again defied everyone’s expectations. Instead of addressing her professor or the audience, she turned to the competitors who had been thoroughly defeated and smiled.

"I happened to hear someone say that an apothecary shouldn’t be cowardly. It seems many here think that I withdrew from the previous potion concocting competition out of cowardice. They even accused me of being shameless, relying on luck to gain my reputation, like my professor..."

"I wanted to slowly explain everything to everyone, but...I believe my performance in the competition speaks for itself.... Cowardly? Afraid to concoct potions? Afraid to face the consequences? Huh! And shameless? Only relying on luck to pass? ... How amusing."

Ellie glanced at the students who had dared to speak nonsense about her one last time before walking away with her prize, leaving them standing there in stunned silence and pain.

Indeed, Ellie’s words didn’t provide any explanation, but every action and word of hers spoke volumes. If she was truly cowardly, could a coward achieve such results? And saying she was afraid to concoct potions—was that true? She could perfectly concoct a level 1-star potion. What had the critics accomplished? Calling her shameless and only relying on luck—did luck alone get her 100 points while the others couldn’t even score 50?

"Someone actually dared to say that? Claiming that Professor Medik’s student relied on luck? Haha, so what now? Did luck get her 1st place in every round? Haha."

"Who’s really shameless? How could they speak such harsh words about someone else? If not for Student Ellie’s focus, she might not have performed as well."

"Calling her cowardly? I don’t think so. She said she hasn’t learned everything yet. Professor Medik has only taught her for a year. Should she know everything already? If so, why study for 4 years!? Wasn’t the person who spoke a fourth-year student? And they’re boasting to a first-year?!!"

"She’s truly a student from the number 1 institute. She doesn’t waste words but uses her actions! In the future, I’ll also send the young ones in my family to apply to the top institute first!!"