Lucien checked the repayment progress of the Emerald Tablet Fragment.
The sales volume and revenue from his Potions and Alchemical products were soaring. It was easy to imagine that once he launched a popular product like the magical mobile phone, the repayment progress would increase dramatically.
He stuffed the Order of Merlin back into his pocket and looked once more at the Ring of All Things, whose surface shimmered with flowing light.
"I wonder whether achievement rewards in fields like Potions, Alchemy, and Charms also possess special magical effects like this ring."
Now that he thought about it, collecting the entire set sounded rather interesting.
...
The Alchemy classroom.
Lucien knocked on the door. The preliminary selection within Hogwarts was being held here to choose two student representatives to attend the Triwizard Tournament at Beauxbatons, which would focus on Alchemy.
"Enter."
A soft voice called out, sounding somewhat lazy.
Lucien pushed open the door, and all eyes in the classroom immediately turned toward him.
"Everyone's here. The competition begins. Within three hours, balance the elemental instrument, refine a Water and Fire Repellent Robe, and improve the Emotion-Sensing Colour-Changing Badge."
Lucien instinctively looked toward the source of the voice.
Behind the podium was a luxurious sofa that looked completely out of place in the classroom, and a lady was reclining lazily upon it.
She wore a simple grey robe, and a mass of thick black curls cascaded loosely around her shoulders. Immediately after announcing the start of the competition, she put on a pure black eye mask. Hidden behind her hair and the mask, her face was completely obscured.
"Alright, compete amongst yourselves. Be careful. I'm going to take a nap."
After saying that, the lady fell silent.
Lucien blinked. This was the first time he had encountered a Professor with such a teaching style.
The lady currently resting on the sofa was Hogwarts' Alchemy Professor, Angela Shafiq.
She came from the Shafiq family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and was rarely seen around the school, only appearing during important occasions.
"Grafton..."
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucien noticed someone waving at him and calling softly.
It was a seventh-year Ravenclaw student, Ellie Yaxley.
Lucien walked over to the Alchemy bench beside her and nodded in greeting.
"You haven't taken Alchemy classes yet, so this must seem strange," Ellie said. "But this is just Professor Shafiq's style. She values students' ability to learn independently. You'll get used to it."
Independent learning?
Lucien felt it was more like complete neglect.
Ellie lowered her voice and pointed at the equipment laid out on the Alchemy bench.
"Just complete the tasks according to the Professor's instructions. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
She had a very good impression of this younger student. He was handsome and exceptionally knowledgeable, so she was happy to offer some help.
Lucien nodded.
"Understood. Thank you, Senior."
Ellie stopped talking and returned her attention to the competition.
In truth, anyone proficient in Alchemy had already gained some understanding of Lucien's abilities through the magical items he had created. Therefore, none of the contestants were surprised by his appearance, nor did anyone question his qualifications.
The competition was soon in full swing.
Lucien first turned his attention to the elemental instrument.
It was a device shaped like a balance scale. At the top were four rhomboid crystals containing the four basic elements of water, fire, earth, and wind, connected by pipes made of white quartz. The four elements ultimately converged on both sides of the balance.
At present, the proportions of the four elements within the elemental instrument were in complete disarray. Balancing the elemental instrument tested a student's control over the four basic elements, one of the fundamental skills of Alchemy.
Drawing his wand, Lucien extended slender threads of Magic from its tip. As they touched the elemental crystals, the wave-like patterns on his fingers appeared simultaneously.
At once, they resonated with the Water Element inside the crystals. The sensation of control was far clearer and more precise than with the other three elements.
In just two or three breaths, the Water Element had been completely adjusted.
As Lucien continued adjusting the remaining elements, he also manipulated the Water Element to interact with them, allowing him to achieve balance even more quickly.
This was certainly not a standard Alchemical technique. It was only possible for someone with exceptionally strong control over a particular element.
The boost provided to Alchemy by the Elemental Magic Pattern!
If he could collect the Magic Patterns of all four basic elements, it would likely result in a qualitative leap.
Having balanced the elemental instrument in a very short time and without expending much effort, Lucien skipped taking a break and moved directly on to the next task.
...
"Professor, I'm finished."
Hearing this, Professor Shafiq removed her eye mask. Her pale grey eyes, still carrying traces of drowsiness, did not look at Lucien immediately. Instead, they darted straight toward the clock in the classroom.
"...I only just fell asleep. Oh, only half an hour has passed since the competition started. You've already finished all three tasks?"
Lucien nodded.
There was no need to discuss the elemental instrument. As for refining and improving magical items, the process had become little more than muscle memory.
With the enhancement from the Emerald Tablet Fragment, his talent for Alchemy had already reached SS+. Furthermore, he had devoted the past six months almost entirely to Alchemy. Every day had been spent either designing or crafting Alchemical items.
Today's assessment was merely an appetiser, a completely relaxing exercise.
He waved his wand, causing the three completed items to float in front of Professor Shafiq for inspection.
Although she found it hard to believe, Shafiq still roused herself, pulling a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses from her pocket and placing them on her nose.
"Hmm, the elemental balance is perfect..."
"The Water and Fire Repellent Robe has also reached the maximum performance possible with the materials provided..."
"The Emotion-Sensing Colour-Changing Badge... oh? How did you think of improving it this way?"
Hearing this, Lucien prepared to explain, but then he heard Shafiq continue:
"Wait, no need to explain. Young people have active minds. Old people like me should rest more..."
Professor Shafiq narrowed her eyes, and her pale grey gaze, hidden behind the thick lenses, carefully examined Lucien.
"You're that child who received the award the other day. Impressive. Very impressive."
Suddenly, Professor Shafiq sprang up from the sofa and walked directly toward the classroom door. Just as she reached the entrance, she seemed to remember something and stopped.
She tapped her wand, and the sofa rapidly shrank before flying into her pocket.
"Lucien, right? You've passed the preliminary selection. You can watch the rest for me and choose the second representative. Ah, I'm going to catch up on some sleep. No, wait, I have Alchemy experiments to attend to. Good luck, Lucien..."
Professor Shafiq vanished almost as quickly as the wind itself, her voice gradually fading into the distance.
So he'd gone from contestant to judge?
Professor Shafiq really was casual...
Wait, she hadn't even explained the judging criteria. Did that mean he had to decide them himself? Was he being used as free labour?
Standing bewildered at the front of the classroom, Lucien slowly turned his head to look at the other contestants.
He realised that the senior students were all staring back at him with equally speechless expressions and enormous question marks written across their faces.
???
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