"Vid?"
A familiar voice rang out from behind, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere in the corridor.
Vid turned his head and saw Professor Morry walking over from behind, a gentle smile on his face.
His gaze first fell on Vid, then naturally shifted to Kubit.
"Oh, Alderich?" Professor Morry's tone carried surprise and familiarity: "I didn't expect to meet you here... Is the work at the Security Department so busy that you need to personally supervise the arena?"
He naturally walked between the two, blocking Kubit's line of sight towards Vid.
Kubit put away the stiff smile on his face, nodded slightly, and said, "Long time no see, Terence. I'm just here for a routine inspection, to ensure nothing goes wrong with such an important international event."
He paused and then said, "I just happened to meet your student and couldn't resist starting a conversation. After all..."
His gaze seemed to pierce through Professor Morry and land on Vid.
"... Nowadays, who wouldn't want to meet the young Mr. Vid Gray?"
"Haha, indeed... That's the trouble with being famous, Vid."
Professor Morry proudly and affectionately patted Vid's arm, then said, "We should return to the judges' table... Give my regards to Ezra."
"Of course, I'll certainly convey your greetings to Mr. Housman."
Kubit bowed slightly.
Professor Morry smiled at Kubit, then walked with Vid towards the judges' table.
After passing through the stone corridor, the bright lights of the arena and the buzzing conversations of the audience flooded in.
It was then that Professor Morry leaned his head over and whispered to Vid, "Keep your distance from that guy in the future... Alderich Kubit, that man's mind is more tangled than a spider's web."
Vid nodded in response, keeping Professor Morry's words in mind.
The two said no more, one after the other, returning to the judges' table, while on the arena ahead, most of the contestants were already prepared for the competition—
On what was originally a flat ground, operation tables, one for each contestant, were neatly arranged, comprising most of the devices and tools needed for alchemy, and the furnaces were already lit, with golden-red flames roaring, and the temperature still rising.
On the material shelves surrounding the operation tables, various magic materials were piled high, including some very rare ones, with at least thirty pieces of each type.
All these materials were provided for free by the organizers to prevent any alchemists from being unable to display their skills due to differences in alchemy materials.
Even though most alchemists weren't short on money, seeing those precious materials randomly piled on the shelves like mouse tails still made quite a few people display envious and yearning expressions.
Some contestants were organizing their operation tables, placing various tools within easy reach;
Some had already donned heavy leather aprons and protective gloves, looking like blacksmiths;
Some were meditating with closed eyes, some were busy adjusting the flames, some were tenderly caressing the materials in front of them like a lover, and others were suddenly casting a refreshing spell on themselves, immediately shivering as if doused with cold water.
In the air, the strings of magic power were gradually tightening, waiting for the signal to ignite the flames of wisdom on the arena, colliding into brilliant sparks.
"Hoo—"
Suddenly, red flames soared around the arena, as a dozen wizards simultaneously raised their magic wands, shooting red sparks into the sky.
"Bang!"
With an explosive sound, a huge "7" appeared in the sky.
The spectators still milling about quickly took their seats, and Vid saw Harry and the others clutching newly purchased snacks, rushing towards the box seats.
"Bang!"
Orange sparks exploded, forming a conspicuous "6".
"Oh, luckily we're not late." Fontana hastily sat beside Professor Morry, catching his breath: "Blame that Stern, kept pulling me to talk."
Silas Hawthorne leaned over and asked, "The 'cowardly Stern'?"
"Yes, he was my student." Fontana said: "I must say, he's much braver now... Back then, if he saw me from a kilometer away, he'd run."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Yellow "5", green "4", blue "3" blossomed in sequence, and the conversations in the audience gradually quieted, with everyone taking their seats.
Vid saw from a distance that Mr. Kubit had walked through the magic floating platform into a box seat higher up on the rock face.
There seemed to be a few people inside, but from Vid's point of view, they were already indistinguishable.
The rainbow-colored fireworks were still exploding in the sky—
"Bang! Bang!"
After the last two explosive bursts, the sustained fireworks formed a rainbow bridge in the sky, as the host, William Harris, once again energetically appeared on stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back!" Harris shouted: "I'm William Harris, immensely honored to join Mr. Krupp in commentating on this pinnacle battle of wisdom and magic power!"
Committee chairman Bastian von Krupp sat behind the adjacent long table, wearing glasses, and when the camera turned to him, he raised his hand with a wave, without any expression.
Harris continued: "Now—let me announce the event for this competition..."
He took out a sealed envelope, tore it open in front of everyone, then took out a parchment and opened it, before exaggeratedly widening his eyes.
"This is... This is unbelievable!"
His gaze turned to the visibly tense contestants, holding the parchment, he said: "This edition's theme is—adaptive items for complex environments!"
A buzz spread through the audience, and after Harris finished reading, holding the parchment for quite a while without speaking, just as everyone fell silent, expecting further rules, the host suddenly turned back, pitifully asking:
"What does this mean, Mr. Krupp?"
He widened his eyes like a child, revealing an especially bewildered look, prompting another round of gentle laughter from the audience.
Krupp also smiled, then pointed his magic wand at his throat, casting an amplifying charm, and slowly said:
"It means... the contestants need to use the materials we provide to design and create an alchemy creation that can handle at least one type of harsh environment on site."
"What types of harsh environments... are included?" Harris hopefully asked: "Honestly, I feel my current workplace environment is rather harsh..."
Krupp said, "There are many choices—extreme cold or high temperatures, strong corrosion, poisonous gases, deep sea... and of course, a vacuum environment."
"That sure sounds tough. If it were me, I'd probably just stack defensive spells desperately, right?" Harris asked: "But I suppose that doesn't meet the 'adaptive' requirement?"
"Of course." Krupp said in a clear old voice: "What we want is not a simple iron box; it must be able to adapt to changes in external environments, perceive, judge, respond in time, and even have some decision-making ability to provide flexible and safe protection for the user..."
"That sounds really difficult! Luckily, I don't have to compete!" Harris sighed, sympathetically glanced at the contestants, and then asked, "So how do we determine the winner?"
"The judging criteria will be extremely strict—the completion level of the work, the breadth of adaptability, response speed, sustainability, functionality, and creativity, among others, are the keys to victory."
After saying such a long sentence in one breath, Krupp paused to rest for a while, then continued: "Of course, the specific criteria are for our judges to consider... I am sure they will give a fair judgment..."
"Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Krupp!"
Harris nodded at Krupp, then quickly turned around, facing the audience and cameras, and accelerated his speech:
"Alright, audience members, the rules are clear, the challenge is set, and a storm of innovation is about to sweep through!"
"Contestants, what are you waiting for?! Start your crafting—go create miracles!"