Chapter 712: Cheating
Chapter 712: Cheating
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The second round of the Magic School Potion Championship had quietly arrived with the lifting of the night's veil.
In the early morning, Albert awoke from his slumber, stretching lazily before getting dressed and heading downstairs for breakfast. He happened to run into Professor Slughorn, who was yawning at the staircase. The elderly professor clearly wasn't an early riser.
"Tell Isabelle what you'd like for breakfast, and make sure to eat plenty," Professor Slughorn said as he sat down next to Albert, offering a string of morning admonishments. "You won't have time to eat before the second round is over. Most of the time will be spent traveling or searching for magical ingredients."
In fact, most of the contestants had been given similar reminders by their team leaders.
In the upcoming second round, the participants would likely go a long time without food. If they let themselves get too hungry, they wouldn't be able to perform at their best.
Albert had been wanting to complain about why the organizers couldn't provide some water and food for the contestants.
He probably wasn't the only one with this gripe.
However, there weren't many contestants with much of an appetite, as most were feeling tense—a normal reaction for those competing in such an event. Not everyone had experienced high-stakes situations like Albert had.
Yes, Albert was genuinely relaxed.
Perhaps he had become a little numb to excitement after experiencing too many thrilling events since enrolling at Hogwarts.
Or, to put it another way: he'd seen it all before.
Just as they were halfway through breakfast, someone from the organizing committee arrived, bringing a set of clothes for the contestants to wear during the upcoming competition.
The outfits came in various colors, each adorned with the respective school badge.
To be honest, they were quite hideous.
Moreover, Albert strongly disliked the idea of wearing clothes that had been used by others.
Apparently, he wasn't alone in this opinion, as the other contestants shared the same aversion.
"Why must we change into these ugly clothes?"
"It's for the fairness of the competition, to prevent cheating..."
Albert had to hold back a laugh at the first two sentences. Fortunately, he managed to turn it into a dry cough, averting an unnecessary awkward moment.
He really couldn't be blamed for this reaction, as the notion of 'fairness' was often a joke.
"...The clothes have tracking charms on them, so we can reach you at the first sign of danger and provide assistance," the wizard continued. "Don't worry, these clothes have been freshly tailored and cleaned by house-elves."
Many of the contestants, who were mostly adult wizards with their own opinions, were skeptical of this claim.
"Are you sure about that?" Albert asked, fixing the wizard with a stare.
"Of course," the wizard replied, sounding slightly uncomfortable.
"He's not lying," Albert said, glancing at Isabelle.
"Freshly tailored and washed," Isabelle confirmed with a nod.
"What are you lot up to?" The wizard asked irritably. For a moment, he felt as though he'd been completely seen through.
"We'll see if you're lying," Albert said, taking his set of clothes and returning to his breakfast, no longer paying attention to the wizard.
With Albert setting the example, the others whispered among themselves before choosing to believe the organizers, curious about what Albert had done.
The wizard seemed agitated.
The principals in charge of the respective teams frowned. Such matters should have been communicated in advance, and measurements taken to ensure a proper fit for the contestants. That would have been far more convincing.
Fortunately, the organizers hadn't lost their minds, as the clothes were indeed new. Otherwise, if they had been worn by others, the situation could have escalated quickly, turning the entire Potion Championship into a laughingstock.
After everyone changed into their new outfits, they followed the crowded team to the west side of the village, where the entrance to the magical garden was undoubtedly located.
The whole village seemed to exist primarily to conceal the entrance to the magical garden, and any contestant who wasn't foolish could guess as much.
If they hadn't been informed that the magical garden was a forest, they would have assumed that this village was the magical garden upon arriving here.
In fact, this village closely resembled people's expectations of a magical garden, surrounded by tall walls and filled with precious plants.
No matter how one looked at it, it resembled a garden, and the deception was quite convincing.
The contestants were led to a typical greenhouse, and after passing through two doors, they found themselves facing a forest.
Was this the magical garden?
The curious contestants looked around, noticing behind them the ruins of a stone-built house that appeared to be several hundred years old.
They had just passed through a magical door, similar to the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station.
"Welcome to the Magical Garden."
An elderly wizard stepped forward and cleared his throat before announcing the rules for the second round: "You will have ten hours to venture into the Magical Garden to collect ingredients. Within the specified time, you must return with the ingredients you've found and brew a potion using them."
"You are only allowed to bring your wand and the potion kit provided to you. No other external items are permitted, and cheating will not be tolerated."
And finally, please remember:
Attacking and stealing ingredients from fellow contestants is prohibited.
Do not damage or steal from the forest and its precious herbs.
If you encounter danger, you may shoot red sparks into the sky, and patrolling teams will rush to your aid. However, doing so means forfeiting your right to continue the competition.
Failing to return and brew a potion within the ten-hour time limit will result in disqualification."
After the old wizard finished speaking, each contestant received a bag. Inside were compartments for ingredients, a pair of dragon-hide gloves, a silver knife, an iron shovel, and a pocket watch that pointed to the entrance of the Magic Garden.
"The order of entry into the forest will be based on the scores from the first round. One person will enter every five minutes. Alright, Mr. Albert Anderson, you may go first. Next is Mr. Guy Bernard, please get ready."
Without further ado, Albert slung the bag over his shoulder, picked up his wand, and strode towards the Magic Garden in the distance.
This Magic Garden looked nothing like the eerie Forbidden Forest surrounding Hogwarts. As far as the eye could see, it exuded a fantastical aura, clearly having been enchanted by wizards.
Makes sense. If this place hadn't been enchanted, how could it possibly have all these exotic flowers, plants, and rare fruits?
Albert strolled forward, in no rush. He was carefully recalling potion recipes from memory. His original plan was to make a beauty potion, but some of its ingredients were hard to find.
Whether it was fairy wings, morning dew, or unicorn tail hair, they were all difficult to collect. As for African tree snake skin, it was practically impossible to find. Moreover, he doubted that he could even find roses in the Magic Garden, and even if he did, roses didn't bloom in November.
Damn it! Albert realized how foolish he had been for not considering the challenges of making a beauty potion.
Fortunately, he had prepared more than one backup plan.
Compared to the beauty potion, a Shrinking Potion was a much more feasible option.
Daisies were a common yellow or white wildflower in Europe, known for their vigorous vitality.
Okay.
In his line of sight, Albert spotted a small patch of daisies.
Albert took out his small shovel and began to dig for daisy roots.
As for the wrinkled figs, although originally from Abyssinia (Ethiopia), this plant was highly adaptable and could thrive elsewhere.
If he was lucky, he might just find a wrinkled fig tree in the Magic Garden.
The reason it was called "lucky" was that even if you found a wrinkled fig tree, it had to have figs on it.
The remaining ingredients were even simpler. Caterpillars, although uncommon in winter, could still be found due to the relatively high temperature here.
As for mice, there was no question that a mountain like this would have mice. The tricky part was obtaining their spleens.
Leech juice was also not a problem, as leeches were as common as mice, caterpillars, and daisies.
The only issue was that the Shrinking Potion might not score very highly.
If this had been before the Magic Potion Championship, Albert might have been concerned about this. But after last night's prophecy, he no longer felt conflicted.
Because there was a third round.
That's right, a third round.
So, the score from this round wasn't as crucial anymore.
The rules had changed.
Albert suspected that this was Chairman Bernard's doing, as the man seemed determined to pull out all the stops to ensure his grandson won the Golden Cauldron.
For the third round of the competition, contestants could choose their own potion recipe, and the Magic Garden would provide the necessary ingredients. The final score would be based on the difficulty and completion of the brewed potion.
Most importantly, the winner of the third round wouldn't automatically become the champion of the Magic Potion Championship. Instead, the total scores from all three rounds would determine the ultimate champion.
No wonder Headmaster Hectork disliked Chairman Bernard. He wouldn't like that guy either if he were in Hectork's shoes.
Guy Bernard, who was aware of the rule change, had obviously prepared for this Magic Potion Championship in advance. The new rules greatly favored him. If it weren't for Albert, Guy Bernard would have started with a significant lead over the other contestants and then continuously built on that advantage to eventually claim the championship.
But unfortunately for him, Albert's prophecy had ruined his plans.
"Come to think of it, why didn't Mr. Damocles remind me of this?" Albert muttered to himself. "Did he not know, or did he think that even with the rule change, it wouldn't affect him? Or perhaps, he doesn't want to win by cheating?"
Taking advantage of a quick glance around, Albert easily spotted the person keeping an eye on him from above.
Just because he had used a Disillusionment Charm didn't mean Albert couldn't detect him.
Perhaps the other party was an expert in herbs or potions, but his skills in other areas were clearly lacking.
"Should I disqualify Guy Bernard first?"
Albert narrowed his eyes as he gazed into the forest: and there it was, an Araliolite.
(End of Chapter)
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