Chapter 147: Results of the Elimination Round

On the podium, Helen, President of the Aragon Empire’s Alchemy Guild, pursed her lips and chuckled. She winked at the presidents of the other two guilds and teased, "Well, what do you two say? I told you my student, Yolanda, would be the first to complete the alchemy array!"

Cassinio, President of the Dark Alliance’s Alchemy Guild, shook his head with a bitter expression and remained silent. During the trial, his student, Gavin, had been the last of the three to complete the array. In fact, he had nearly lost his third-place standing to a young man with short black hair; the two had finished almost neck-and-neck, with Gavin only slightly ahead.

Thomas did not look at his own star pupil, Anthony. Instead, his gaze fell upon Lawlin, the fourth person to complete the array among the potion alchemists. His deep voice resonated slowly: "Do not forget, the first three to complete the arrays are all students of the three of us who set the questions."

His words not only startled Helen—who had been overjoyed by Yolanda’s success—but also caused President Cassinio’s expression to shift. They understood exactly what Thomas meant. While it was impossible for them to have leaked the questions to their students, they had certainly shared past contest problems and imparted invaluable experience and insights during their daily tutelage.

In other words, Anthony, Yolanda, and Gavin held a distinct advantage; their experience with the Alchemy Tournament was the greatest among all those present, so it was no surprise they were the first to finish. However, the fourth person was different. His speed had been nearly equal to the top three, trailing Gavin by only a hair’s breadth.

This was intriguing. One could only imagine how the results might have shifted had Anthony, Yolanda, and Gavin not been the students of the presiding masters.

At this thought, Helen and Cassinio both turned their eyes toward the black-haired youth. "Thomas, do you recognize him?"

Thomas was silent for a moment before slowly uttering a few words: "Porter Academy—Lawlin!"

Lawlin, meanwhile, was quite busy. He was "sharing" his insights on completing the array with his mentors, Simone and Monroe—or, rather, he was essentially doing the work for them.

"Simone, the final stroke is wrong. The trajectory should be like this. Yes, exactly! The diagram provided earlier was incorrect."

"Mentor Monroe, do not follow the original diagram. You must change the final stroke to this… no, wait, the direction is this way."

"Hey, Simone, don't rush. Try again. Remember, the final stroke is the key!"

"Mentor, your final stroke still has a slight deviation. Let me demonstrate it for you one more time. Watch closely."

"Yes, take your time. There is still plenty of time left."

Since the assessment lasted an hour and Lawlin had finished in just over thirty minutes, the two had several more opportunities to refine their work.

Guided by Lawlin, Simone and Monroe finally managed to complete their alchemy arrays one after the other. Seeing the arrays light up before them, they were overwhelmed with excitement. They had never imagined they could pass the first stage of the Alchemy Tournament. They looked at Lawlin with profound gratitude; they knew that without him, they would have continued following the flawed diagram until the time ran out.

Similar to Lawlin, Anthony was explaining the secrets of this stage to Princess Nancy and the others, while Gavin and Yolanda were doing the same for their respective groups.

The surrounding proctors turned a blind eye to this behavior. As long as it didn't cross the line, they weren't going to be overly strict when hundreds were testing simultaneously. After all, this was merely the first elimination round and would not affect the final rankings. Furthermore, as the number of contestants dwindled in later stages, cheating would become far more difficult.

Driven by these four, nearly thirty or forty people around them succeeded in completing their arrays. As these individuals were guided, many other nearby alchemists also benefited, creating a "ripple effect" that helped over a hundred people pass.

Of course, besides these four, there were other experts among the potion alchemists. Though slower, many managed to complete the arrays through their own skill about ten minutes after the lead group finished. Their success, in turn, helped those around them. By the time the first round ended, nearly three hundred potion alchemists had successfully completed their arrays.

"Clang!" As the gong sounded to mark the end of the assessment, dozens of proctors entered the field to record the names of those who had succeeded.

Those who passed were overjoyed, while those who hadn't were filled with despair. To the amusement of the proctors, some alchemists, unable to complete the pattern on the magic paper, had simply drawn a similar-looking array in an attempt to slip through. Naturally, the shrewd proctors did not let them get away with it.

The records were quickly finalized. The first elimination round had pruned the original seven hundred potion alchemists down by over four hundred, leaving the onlookers sighing at the high attrition rate.

The successful contestants knew, however, that the number of people who had truly passed through their own merit was far lower than the official count; the success of the remaining three hundred was largely due to "cheating."

Who would have guessed that the provided alchemy array was incorrect?

In their daily practices of brewing potions and drawing arrays, they followed textbook instructions strictly. Few ever questioned the records or their mentors. When such an unorthodox challenge appeared in an official tournament, most people didn't dare to doubt the question, assuming instead that their own technique was flawed. Only those with flexible minds, who refused to be constrained by books and dared to challenge authority, had passed through their own strength.

With a final command from the proctors, the first assessment concluded. The participants left the field, some jubilant and others dejected. Lawlin sighed to himself; if this was the challenge on the first day, he knew the second round tomorrow would be anything but easy.

"Heh, as expected of our fourth-place man! To finish fourth—that's impressive!"

"Haha..."

As Lawlin and his group reached the edge of the field, they were surrounded by Mahler and the others, who chattered excitedly about the assessment. Then, Victoria and Lawlin walked away together, laughing and talking.

However, they were unaware that behind them, Anthony—also surrounded by a group—watched Lawlin and Victoria walking side-by-side. Deep within his eyes flashed a surge of intense jealousy and a trace of grim resolve.