Chapter 121: Coward

Chapter 121

Coward

"Oh my God! Is it really possible? That student concocted a potion that scored 10 points, a perfect potion that even many 1-star level apothecaries can’t achieve?

 If that’s true, shouldn’t she already be considered a 2-star level apothecary?"

"A 1-star level apothecary before even graduating! What heights will her future reach?"

"Could the quality-testing apparatus be broken? How else could it show a potion at perfect quality? Maybe it’s just a 9-star potion."

The people continued to murmur among themselves, none willing to believe what they had witnessed. They had been in the potion-concocting field for decades and had never seen such talent. No! In their minds, not even the Emperor of Potion-Concocting could achieve such perfection at this young age.

Their thoughts were based on vast experience, unlike soldiers who only knew how to fight as in the recent emergency camp. The astonishment at this ability was evident from the 1-star level apothecaries who were trying to win Ellie’s favor. These individuals expected Ellie to become a new star in the field.

If not for the strict rules set by 4-star level Apothecary Celey, prohibiting them from overwhelming Ellie with attention, the situation might have already escalated to a major event like right now.

The judges were not idle either. After the first testing apparatus indicated that this first-year girl had concocted a perfect potion, they brought all the equipment to recheck the quality. The results were identical each time. Such consistent results forced even the skeptics to accept the reality.

"A first-year student from Ares Institute has concocted a level 1-star potion with a score of 10 points." With the declaration of the head judge, no one could argue further. They had to accept it with a mixture of awe and fear.

"Is she a disciple of Professor Medik? I’ve heard it said that for a student to surpass their mentor is the true measure of successful teaching. I never believed it before, but today I see it with my own eyes. No matter how skilled Professor Medik is, he has taught his disciple to be even more skilled."

"Do we still need to discuss the competition between Professor Medik and some shameless professors? They challenged Professor Medik before the competition, prepared their students to defeat an unsuspecting Professor Medik, only to be embarrassed in the end. Hah! So what if they scored 8 points? In the end, it’s still just 8 points, while Professor Medik’s disciple scored 10! If there were a higher score, she might have achieved it."

"In the future, if anyone mentions Professor Medik’s successor, please don’t think of the younger professor who can just be on the par with the trailblazing Professor Medik. With the knowledge Professor Medik left behind, it’s no surprise that new apothecaries could match his achievements."

"True, many efficient potion-concocting techniques come from Professor Medik’s research. If using those techniques only yields the same scores, it means there’s no additional talent beyond that, right?"

"The only one who can truly be Professor Medik’s successor is his own disciple! Haha."

Many people discussed this topic. Initially, the faces of Hestia Institute’s members were beaming with pride, as wide as flying saucers. Seeing their student achieve the highest score of 9 points, while the first-year concocted a level 1-star potion with 8 points, they were confident of their victory. After all, even if Professor Medik’s student also scored 8 points, it meant that their students were equally skilled.

Who would have thought that the young girl would break the rules and concoct a potion that scored an unprecedented 10 points, setting a new record just like Professor Medik did when he was the first to achieve 9 points!

Were these professor-disciple pairs crazy? Didn’t they think about giving others a chance to take pride in their accomplishments!?

"It’s alright, don’t worry. This might just be a fluke. The first round still requires concocting 6 more types of level 1-star potions, making a total of 7 types before finalizing the results. Then, they’ll move on to the level 2-star potion on the final. Perhaps in the next rounds, that girl might score poorly. Remember, each student has different levels of understanding about potions."

Professor Gannon lightly patted Lio’s shoulder. It was unclear whether he was trying to encourage the young professor beside him or himself.

However, the outcomes of these expectations turned into shock, anxiety, and ultimately, fear.

"Level 1-star potion, Wound Healing Potion, 10 points!"

"Level 1-star potion, Detoxifying Potion, 10 points!"

"Level 1-star potion, Focus Restorative Potion, 10 points!"

"Level 1-star potion, Deodorant Potion, 10 points!"

"Level 1-star potion, Blood Rejuvenation Potion, 10 points!"

"Level 1-star potion, Muscle Relaxant Potion, 10 points!"

Every competition, every round of score evaluation, seemed like these scores were meant to slap people’s faces. Regardless of the potion, out of the 7 types, only one student scored exactly the same and it was the highest possible marks in all of them.

That was a total of 70 points! A score so high that it seemed untouchable. Meanwhile, the first-year student from Hestia Institute only managed to score 54 points, which was still relatively high for a first-year student. It was enough to call her a genius, but she knew better than anyone that her foundational potion-concocting skills had been taught to her since childhood. This meant she didn’t start at the same level as everyone else. Scoring between 7-8 points was normal for her.

The student who initially surprised everyone in the first round felt immense pressure after that. The quality of his potions became inconsistent. After scoring 9 points in the first round, he couldn’t achieve that again in any subsequent rounds, though his score wasn’t bad at all. He consistently scored 8 points, totaling 57 points. This was more than the previous year’s winner.

However, compared to Ellie’s 70 points, all other achievements seemed laughable.

"Is that girl...even human? How can her success rate be so high?" Initially, Gannon still had some hope. Despite knowing deep down that a score of 10 points was a monumental achievement, he prayed the girl would make a mistake and her score would drop. However, he never imagined she would not only avoid mistakes but achieve the highest scores in every category. He felt genuinely terrified.

Previously, everyone spoke of Medik as the true Emperor of Potion-Concocting. The legend that the Apothecary Emperor must possess fire elemental powers was just a tale. He had always felt immensely dissatisfied with that narrative.

Every day, he felt that Medik wasn’t all that great. He believed he could concoct potions just as well. Why should he be surpassed by the next generation? Why should the honor and power of the apothecary rest on one inexperienced kid? But today, he had nothing left to say.

While he was teaching his students tirelessly to break Medik’s legend, it turned out that Medik, who was always busy, was the one who broke his own legend...This was essentially declaring that Medik truly was one with the legend. He didn’t even want to imagine how much more famous Medik would become after today.

"Professor...will we never surpass him?" Lio swallowed hard, his arrogance completely shattered. All that remained was fear of the other party. If he had to face Professor Medik now, Lio wouldn’t dare show his face.

Remembering the bored expression on Medik’s face earlier, when he was still boasting like a dog, Lio felt immense shame. He wished he could bury his head in the ground!

".............." Gannon said nothing. He didn’t know how to respond to his student because even his own beliefs had been shattered, so it was impossible for him to restore someone else’s faith.

Below, the atmosphere was icy. No student wanted to continue competing. They all knew that even if they competed, they would still lose. However, the competition wasn’t over yet, and they had no choice but to continue.

"Students who will compete for the top three spots, please step forward. The first student with the highest total score of 70 points, a first-year student from Ares Institute. The fourth-year student from Hestia Institute with 57 points. And the fourth-year student from Gaia Institute with 56 points, please stay in the arena. The rest of the students, please continue to improve and exit the arena."

The judge announced, and many students began to leave. Ellie was now 1 of the top 3 after the first round of competition. However, just as the second round was about to begin, she raised her hand, causing everyone to wonder.

"Professor, the next round is for concocting level 2-star potions, right?"

"Yes, that’s correct. Do you have any questions?"

"If it’s a level 2-star potion, I haven’t learned how to concoct those yet. So, I’ll have to withdraw from this round."

"Hmm? You...mean you’ll withdraw from the final round?" The judge was shocked. They had expected more surprises from Professor Medik’s disciple and never imagined she would raise her hand to withdraw.

"Yes, I request to withdraw," Ellie confirmed firmly. Seeing this, the judges couldn’t make a decision on their own and looked to Professor Medik for his opinion.

"P-Professor Medik, if she withdraws now, she can only reach as high as 3rd place. Do you think this withdrawal is appropriate?" The supervising judge asked Professor Medik, with everyone’s eyes fixed on him.

If it were anyone else, they would have taught their student some basics of concocting level 2-star potions, even just a little. Testing their skills in the competition would still give them more chances.

It’s worth noting that concocting level 2-star potions was something many apothecaries struggle with, let alone students who haven’t graduated. They weren’t even certified 1-star level apothecary yet, so their chances of success were equally slim. Last year, only one student managed to concoct a level 2-star potion successfully, while the other 2 had to be judged based on their first-round scores because no one else succeeded.

Therefore, if Ellie didn’t withdraw and continued in the competition, there was a chance she could have placed 2nd. No, wait! If no one succeeded in creating a level 2 potion in the next round, that would mean she would actually claim 1st place with her 70 points, wouldn’t it? So why should she concede and settle for 3rd place!?

However, the thoughts of this disciple and professor duo were far from ordinary. When the judges heard the girl’s statement, they thought it was just a joke. But when they turned to ask Professor Medik and received his answer, they were extremely alarmed by the pair.

"She only knows how to make a few types of level 2-star potions. Withdrawing is the right decision," Medik stated, confirming her withdrawal. The audience wanted to protest and urge her to continue. Even if she couldn’t make a level 2-star potion, as long as she stayed in the competition, she could still win 1st place though her cauldron exploded.

It was as if Ellie’s perfect performance in concocting level 1 potions had convinced everyone that she was the most skilled apothecary. The 1st prize shouldn’t go to anyone else but her.

Nonetheless, the disciple and professor duo had made their decision. The judges had no authority to prevent the withdrawal. As a result, the final round had only two students competing against each other.

Ellie took 3rd place amidst much dissatisfaction from many people. The discontent grew even more when they saw that one of the two remaining students caused their cauldron to explode, and the other burnt their potion to a crisp. Consequently, the student from the 2nd-ranked institute won with just 57 points, the Gaia Institute student came in 2nd with 56 points, but the 3rd-place student had a whopping 70 points.

This laughable outcome...This year brought the greatest embarrassment to the competitors!