William Harris's passionate opening was like a stone thrown into the water's surface, initially stirring up a wave of excitement, with smiles of anticipation on the audience's faces.
In most people's imaginations, the following scenes should be as intense as the Quidditch World Cup or Magic League;
Or they should be like Vid Gray creating a Poppet during a live competition broadcast — presenting a remarkably straightforward mystical creation process, quick and direct, where a pile of waste suddenly turns into marvelous alchemy products, sparking a strong desire for alchemy, culminating in full-crowd applause.
However, the reality was that the atmosphere in the arena quickly settled down, and within a few minutes, it became dull and tedious.
None of the contestants immediately started swinging their magic wands or igniting their furnaces; more than half of them sat down motionlessly, clearly caught up in a difficult thinking process.
A few contestants quickly came up with ideas, but they immediately buried themselves in parchment strewn across their tables, with quills rapidly jotting down inspiration and thoughts, followed by incredibly meticulous measurement and calculation using magic rulers.
A small number started drafting, sketching out highly complex, nested geometric figures within limited space, then continually writing and adjusting ancient magical runes, a process so slow it was maddening, and any slight mistake would mean large-scale erasing and recalculation.
These complex figures, seen by knowledgeable alchemists, might be wonderful, profound, and full of inventive ideas, as the audience could see several judges moving among the contestants, sometimes showing expressions of approval or nodding satisfactorily.
Bluebird filming footage purposely flew over the heads of those contestants, but the audience, staring at the Flow Mirror screen filled with intersecting points, lines, and circles, were as confused as if they were looking at a cryptic book.
A very few contestants first went to the materials cabinet; it was evident they were trying to figure out which materials the organizers had provided before starting their designs.
However, those actions resembled indecisive shoppers in a supermarket and lacked any enjoyment.
The visual feast of the opening ceremony had passed, leaving an extremely tedious and cumbersome process, comparable to a paper exam lasting several hours, with the audience as proctors sitting nearby, most beginning to fall asleep after barely enduring for ten minutes.
William Harris did try to liven up the atmosphere, but as he mocked a couple of the contestants' performances and attempted to explain some contestant's magic array text drawings, he was suddenly glared at by several contestants immersed in their thoughts.
Krupp also weakly whispered, "The competition has started, let's not disturb their work and quietly wait for the moment of the creation."
So Harris could only close his mouth.
He watched the elderly Krupp reclining against the chairback, seemingly on the verge of falling asleep, and then glanced at the focused contestants, deeply regretting taking this job.
— Who could have thought? What was supposed to be a great opportunity to present before wizards globally after this competition may just end with him being dubbed "the world's most boring commentator."
The atmosphere in the arena cooled quickly, and for the spectacle-loving audience, it undoubtedly was a tedious time.
They couldn't see the imagined, material-filled, radiant magical spectacle; only feeling the dullness, rigor, and repetition of alchemy.
Harry squirmed in his seat, unable to resist yawning, and murmured softly, "Merlin's beard... Are they just going to draw grids all day?"
Although Michael watched a bit more earnestly, he still couldn't comprehend those complex patterns, nodding in agreement, "Indeed... It's nothing like I imagined... Hermione, can you understand it?"
Hermione, continuously jotting something down, looked up and shook her head, saying, "Most of it is beyond my comprehension, but just by recording it, I can gradually understand it later. These contestants are rare, outstanding alchemists, and there are definitely many things in their design approach worth learning."
Fred and George were also squirming in their chairs.
One said, "George... I'm going moldy."
The other replied, "I'm slightly better off, Fred... I'm still trying to stay awake..."
George propped his eyelids up with his fingers.
Even Moody grumbled, "Indeed... Tedious enough to put someone to sleep."
"So this is Alchemy," Harry sighed, "I thought it would be quite interesting..."
Just then, Michael suddenly said, "It's not always like this... I've seen Vid's usual alchemy process, starting from scratch as well..."
This statement immediately drew everyone's attention, even Lupin and Moody turned their heads curiously, though Moody's magic eye continued scanning other areas.
Michael attempted to organize his words, trying to describe that spectacle:
"In short, when he begins working, all the materials seemingly 'come alive,' simultaneously starting to dance, like they know where to go and what to become."
"It's as if there's an invisible… field around him, where everything changes according to his wishes — the air vibrates, light bends, magic becomes countless tiny notes forming a symphony."
"And the result is... though you clearly can't understand it, you just know that something extraordinary is happening."
Everyone fell silent, picturing such a scene in their minds, imagining a figure so deft surrounded by countless streams of magic power swirling and dancing, suddenly becoming fascinated.
"I have to ask Vid later... when he's doing alchemy, can we go and watch?" Harry murmured.
"Me too." Hermione nodded, looking at her notes, letting out a long sigh.
For some reason, she instinctively felt — even if Vid generously shared his alchemy approach with them, Hermione herself would still learn and master this traditional, foundational method.
Fred gave Michael a thumbs-up: "As expected of Ravenclaw, fully expressing our thoughts."
George nodded: "Not like us two, even though we've watched Vid doing alchemy, could only say — it was totally cool!"
"So I always thought…alchemy was like Vid's," Michael looked disappointedly at the arena, sighing, "But actually, genuine alchemy is probably like this, isn't it?"