Chapter 146: The Crux of the Matter

He had finally realized why this magic formation had felt "off" from the very first moment he laid eyes on it. It was a strange sensation; drawing upon his intuition from the countless formations he had studied, he had always felt a sense of friction and lack of fluidity in this five-star low-level array. Now that he saw everyone around him—including himself—failing to complete it, that feeling in his mind grew even more intense.

Although he had a rough grasp of where the crux of the problem lay, he still needed to search for the specific error in the formation, one bit at a time, as he drew.

He extended his finger and began to trace the formation onto the alchemy stone table once more. This attempt was even slower than the first, as he needed to carefully perceive exactly where the error occurred within every single stroke.

"No, not here."
"Not this point of radiance either."
"This stroke shouldn't be wrong, either..."

Rowland searched for the source of the problem, stroke by painstaking stroke.

Up in the stands, Maller and the others were delighted to see Rowland begin the formation again. However, after watching for a while, they noticed that his drawing speed was abnormally slow, like an old ox pulling a cart. Compared to the lightning-fast speed of the alchemists around him, they could not help but grow anxious, unable to understand why Rowland was acting this way.

On the other side, Tressy and Karina sat in the stands observing the scene below. Tressy’s injuries had improved significantly under the effect of potent healing potions, and his mood had calmed. He had even apologized to Karina for his previous behavior.

Though she accepted his apology on the surface, Karina harbored lingering resentment. When she and Rowland were together, he had cared for her deeply for years, and they had never once had a heated argument. Yet, since being with Tressy, she had discovered that he possessed a foul temper and a narrow mind, unable to tolerate others outshining him. His decision to humiliate her in front of so many people today was something she found difficult to accept.

At this moment, Tressy noticed how slowly Rowland was drawing and felt a flicker of realization. He, too, was a potion alchemist, though his water and fire affinities were not optimal, and his talent was mediocre. After years of study, he had never reached the five-star level, disqualifying him from participating in this competition.

However, he was quite knowledgeable about the principles of drawing magic arrays. He knew that the slower one drew, the easier it was to make mistakes, especially during the transitions between strokes. Because there was a critical time window between the preceding and succeeding strokes—a very narrow window—slowing down too much made it easy to cross that threshold, drastically increasing the probability of failure.

Yet, seeing that Rowland could draw so slowly, he couldn't help but feel a grudging sense of admiration. Nevertheless, he kept muttering curses: "Hmph, Rowland, by the looks of it, you won't be able to finish that array either. Just fail and get out; don't stay there and embarrass yourself!"

Beside him, Karina felt a wave of annoyance as she listened to his constant vitriol.

On the rostrum, the special envoys from the kingdoms and principalities of the Light Alliance, the six vice-presidents of the Alchemist Guild, Archbishop Arando, and Imperial Chancellor Simpson were all watching the scene below with great interest. They were deeply fascinated by alchemy, which was why they had been sent to attend the conference.

The competition among the nearly thirty percent of alchemists specializing in apparatus and puppets was proceeding according to standard practice. However, they were curious to see that among the seventy percent of potion alchemists, not a single one had succeeded so far. Their gazes converged upon that section.

The three grandmasters at the front of the rostrum were watching their respective protégés intently. Thomas, after scanning his disciple Anthony, shifted his gaze to the other side. There stood a young man with short black hair. His surprisingly slow speed caused the grandmaster’s gaze to pause for a moment, followed by an imperceptible nod. Amidst so many alchemists, no one knew why the legendary president had singled out the unremarkable Rowland.

"My disciple is almost there!" the excited voice of Cassinio, the president of the Dark Alliance Alchemist Guild, rang out.

Helen pursed her lips and smiled. "My disciple seems to be not far from success either."

"Then let us see which of our three prize pupils completes the magic array first," Thomas said in a low, measured voice.

On the field, Simone and Monroe had already failed for the fourth time. More than half of the time allotted for the first round had passed, and beads of sweat stood out on their foreheads. They did not know why they kept failing despite their diligent efforts, but they didn't dwell on it, assuming it was their own fault and immediately starting again after every failure to race against the clock.

Rowland continued to draw, slowly and methodically.
Stroke 253, no problem!
Stroke 254, also no problem!
Stroke 255... nothing wrong there either!

Stroke 256, the final stroke—it seemed... However, just as he thought this stroke was flawless, the "awkward" feeling in his mind suddenly surged at the very moment of completion!

As expected, the moment the stroke was placed, the array flashed twice just like the first time and then collapsed.

"It’s the final stroke! The problem is in the final stroke!" A surge of wild joy welled up in Rowland’s heart. He had finally found the source of the issue. He began to contemplate the trajectory of the final stroke.

After a long while, his eyes suddenly brightened like lamps. "Yes, that’s it! The trajectory of this final stroke reaching the center of the array disrupts the balance of the entire formation, which is why the drawing fails. The trajectory should be... that’s it! Yes, that’s exactly right!"

Once he understood, his thoughts felt perfectly clear. He immediately extended his finger and began to draw again. This time, his speed was significantly faster than the previous two attempts, and his face wore an expression of incomparable confidence.

In the stands, seeing Rowland fail again despite his slow and cautious approach, Maller and the others grew anxious. They wondered if someone with Rowland’s high level of alchemy would fail to pass even the first round. Especially after he had displayed his unique ability to draw arrays with both hands the previous night, their confidence in him had been high, and they had not expected such a result.

Tressy, seeing Rowland fail again, felt a flash of pleasure. He turned to Karina and chuckled, "How about that? Does watching this kid fail make you feel better? Hmph, after he let Maller and the others badmouth you, he deserves this failure!"

Hearing this, Karina felt conflicted. Maller had previously exposed her past, detailing how she had wronged Rowland—none of it was false. But in front of everyone, especially Tressy, she had been forced to claim it was Rowland’s revenge against her. Yet, after the events of the last two days, she didn't know why, but seeing Rowland fail gave her a faint, lingering sense of worry that he wouldn't pass the first round.

As time passed, a sudden outburst of gasps erupted from the audience in the stands. It turned out that on the alchemy stone table of one of the potion alchemists, the formation had finally begun to glow!