Chapter 718: The Culprit is Me?
Chapter 718: The Culprit is Me?
"To be honest, I've never seen such unity among the contestants of the Magic School Potions Championship," Selena remarked, looking up from behind the bar counter at the group of young witches and wizards gathered together. She poured a glass of mead for her old friend, Professor Slughorn, as she spoke contemplatively.
Albert had become the undisputed center of attention, the only one capable of bringing together the diverse group of contestants with his linguistic prowess, effortlessly communicating with students from all schools.
"I'm starting to understand why Dumbledore invited Mr. Anderson to participate," Professor Slughorn said, a hint of schadenfreude lacing his words. Some things could be done discreetly, but they shouldn't be spoken of, much less brought to light.
It was an open secret among the schools that cheating had always been a part of the Potions Championship. It could be said that cheating was a tradition of the tournament, but it was something that was never discussed openly. It was meant to be kept hidden, a silent understanding among the participants.
However, Albert had just blown the lid off this scandal, exposing the dark underbelly of the Championship to the contestants, igniting their fury.
If no one had stood up, the other contestants might have chosen to endure the injustice silently, bottling up their frustration and resentment. After all, those who dared to challenge authority were always a minority.
But Albert's actions had caught them off guard, even taking Headmaster Bernard by surprise.
With someone voicing their discontent, the others naturally followed suit, especially when they learned that the champion had already been predetermined by Headmaster Bernard for his grandson.
This revelation only added fuel to their anger.
Being outstanding individuals of the same age, each of them had a healthy dose of pride.
None of them wanted to feel like they were being played for a fool, especially not by the organizers of the tournament.
Since they had already decided on a champion, what was the point of competing? They might as well just go home.
The students who qualified for the Magic School Potions Championship all had some connections, and true geniuses were actually quite rare. Moreover, potion-making required not only talent but also ample practice and experience.
With a common enemy, the contestants united more firmly than expected.
They could put aside their differences and become friends.
No one was naive anymore.
As contestants of the same generation, they would eventually enter the field of potions, and their peers could become valuable connections in the future.
After all, they were scattered across the world, with no reason to clash with each other.
As the contestants drank and vented their frustrations about the tournament organizers and the judging panel, Headmaster Bernard and his grandson became the targets of their collective disdain.
Two students from Beauxbatons even started sharing gossip about their fellow contestants.
It was a good thing that Guy Bernard had quietly left the Magic Garden with Headmaster Bernard after the second round, or he might have been infuriated to the point of exploding on the spot.
As for the black youth, Vagadu, who had attacked someone during the second round, he had been forgiven and welcomed back into the fold. He had immediately apologized to Albert and Valeria after the match, his attitude sincere and remorseful.
Albert had asked him why he had attacked the patrol member, and the young man explained that he didn't want to be eliminated. He thought that as long as he erased the person's memory, there wouldn't be a problem. He just never expected to be caught in the act.
Albert didn't hold a grudge against him. In a way, he felt that he might even owe him a debt of gratitude. After all, Vagadu had attacked him, and yet Albert had still emerged victorious. There was no point in holding on to resentment.
However, Valeria still harbored ill feelings towards him for his role in her elimination, and she had not forgiven him.
But Vagadu didn't seem to mind. He hadn't expected her forgiveness anyway, but he felt it was important to at least show a sincere change in attitude and make his stance clear.
He refused to take the blame for attacking Guy Bernard and forcing the Araliolite leaf into his mouth.
He hadn't done it, and he wouldn't accept that accusation.
The identity of Guy Bernard's attacker remained a mystery.
The pool of suspects was small, limited to the seven other contestants or the eight patrol members.
All the contestants' wands had been thoroughly inspected, and they suspected that perhaps one of the patrol members, frustrated with Headmaster Bernard's actions, had taken matters into their own hands.
Finally, at Albert's suggestion, everyone raised their glasses to toast the unknown hero.
Isabel already had a guess as to who was responsible.
The idea that it was a patrol member was pure nonsense; it was rare for an adult to act so rashly and irrationally.
No matter how she looked at it, Isabel felt that this incident bore Albert's signature style.
It was secretive, efficiently executed, leaving no traces behind, and no one knew who did it.
More importantly, the Vagadu School of Magic contestant hadn't lied.
Everyone believed that aside from the Vagadu contestant, it would be challenging to find another participant proficient in wandless magic.
That was the loophole.
Undoubtedly, Albert was the most suspicious, although Isabel wasn't sure if he could perform wandless spells. But given Albert's capabilities, achieving this wasn't difficult; no one knew where his limits lay.
Only Albert, who liked to disguise the truth as a lie, could tell the truth with a straight face and deceive everyone.
"How does it feel to be the center of attention?" Isabel asked, smiling as she closed the door and looked at Albert, who was embracing her.
"I don't like crowds, nor do I enjoy being the center of attention. But getting them all on the same page is better than me being alone."
Albert didn't deny it, and Isabel guessing that he was behind the incident didn't surprise him.
She knew him well, and when she heard that he had been ambushed by the Vagadu contestant, she had probably started suspecting him then.
"You're such a troublemaker."
"There's nothing wrong with being a troublemaker."
Albert wasn't motivated by personal interest or a sense of justice in confronting Bernard and his grandson; he wasn't that bored.
Ultimately, it boiled down to a matter of interests.
Albert was determined to win the Magic Potions Championship, and Bernard and his grandson were standing in his way.
So, he kicked away the stone blocking his path.
However, after dealing with Bernard, Albert discovered a new task on his system panel—'Uncover the Dark Underbelly of the Magic Potions Championship'—with extremely lucrative rewards. Naturally, Albert wouldn't let this opportunity pass, and he ended up exposing the tournament's scandal.
The other contestants were naturally furious.
As the saying goes, geniuses have a healthy dose of arrogance.
Now that someone had taken the lead, the others followed suit without hesitation, especially since they had been wronged by the culprit. In such a situation, anyone who could hold back their anger wouldn't be considered young anymore.
The so-called judging panel lost its awe-inspiring aura once it was stripped of its authority.
"All that's left is the third round of the competition the day after tomorrow. Have you known about the specifics of the third round all along?" Isabel felt that this was highly possible.
"Yes, it involves brewing a potion with ingredients provided by the organizers."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Isabel said.
"This round focuses more on innovation."
"So that's why that guy was directly disqualified?"
"His advantage was too significant. He probably started preparing for this during the summer break."
Although Albert was confident in his abilities, he considered the possibility of the judges deducting points unfairly, so he decided to eliminate this strongest competitor.
"What potion do you plan to brew?"
"The Baffling Concoction," Albert replied without hesitation.
"That's risky."
Isabel was well aware of what the Baffling Concoction entailed and the challenges involved in brewing it. The process was no less difficult than brewing the Felix Felicis, and one mistake could turn the precious potion into a batch of poison.
"I won't fail," Albert said confidently. He intended to use Hectork's improved version of the Baffling Concoction.
As he had said, the third round focused more on potion innovation than the brewing process itself.
Albert had contributed significantly to the improved version of the Baffling Concoction.
The modified potion would have a significantly reduced danger level, and he believed that the combination of high difficulty and innovation would be enough to silence all the judges.
Of course, this was also the carrot he dangled in front of the donkey.
(End of Chapter)
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