Chapter 51 Tough Contest

Chapter 51 Tough Contest

"Thanks to the intensive practice of the past few days, I had much better control now over the magic cauldron.

Building on my previous success, I added the ingredients at different intervals, controlling my magic as precisely as I could.

Thanks to Royce's private guidance, my potion-making went smoothly.

Chloe was surprised and said excitedly, "Vanessa has improved so much! She wasn't this skilled just a few days ago, was she? Maybe Vanessa can actually win."

Luke shook his head, his gaze falling on Zach nearby. "You're looking at it too simply. Vanessa's opponent is Zach, who was recognized as a genius at Aethergate College of Magic last year. It won't be that easy for her to beat him."

Hearing this, Chloe looked over at Zach. His movements were clearly more practiced.

I noticed it too. If this were just a simple contest of transformation potions, I would definitely lose.

Should I try combining the transformation potion with the purification potion?

I hesitated. During practice, I had tried combining them, but every attempt failed.

Should I try again?

From the corner of my eye, I saw Zach's transformation potion was already combined and in its final cooling stage. He had already pulled ahead.

I gritted my teeth.

I'll go for it.

Rather than walk toward certain defeat, I'd rather take a chance.

Just then, I finished combining the transformation potion in my cauldron. So I immediately added the other ingredients for the purification potion.

The whole room erupted in commotion.

"Is she crazy?! This is a competition! She's not trying to innovate now, is she?"

"That's way too arrogant. Does she really think she's some kind of potion-making genius?"

I ignored the voices and focused completely on the potions.

But no miracle happened.

The cauldron in front of me began to shake violently.

"Bang—!"

The explosion announced my failure.

Just as I was about to admit defeat, Zach's cauldron exploded too.

The room fell dead silent. No one had expected this outcome.

I looked at Zach, stunned. My failure was expected, but why had he failed?

Zach stared at his cauldron with furrowed brows, still holding ingredients he hadn't had time to add. Those weren't needed for a transformation potion.

After seeing me take a risk, had he also decided to challenge himself?

My heart stirred.

Then I spoke decisively, "I lost this competition. My cauldron exploded first. Without the impact from my explosion, you might have succeeded." The top genius from last year was indeed impressive. I accepted my defeat wholeheartedly.

"No," Zach said, shaking his head. "My cauldron exploded too. That makes us tied."

"My explosion should have affected you," I explained. "I'm the one who lost."

But Zach held his ground. "If we only look at the transformation potion, we both succeeded. But I'm older than you and started school a year earlier. I already had an advantage. So this time, we'll call it a tie."

Royce spoke up then. "This competition is a tie."

Darius was the first to react. He walked to my side, looking like he wanted to hug me, but he restrained himself and just patted my shoulder. "Really impressive."

I winked at him and, right in front of everyone, hugged him. "It's because of your company and encouragement that I managed to tie."

These past few days, whenever I was exhausted and nearly gave up, Darius would appear by my side—sometimes with fresh flowers, sometimes with delicious desserts.

I let go of Darius and walked up to Zach, extending my hand. "Zach, thank you." I knew that if he hadn't proposed a tie, I would have been the only loser.

Zach looked at me, his eyes still cool and distant, but he stared at my hand for a moment, then reached out and shook it. "Next time, I will definitely succeed."

I smiled slightly. "What a coincidence. I'm thinking the same thing."

Only then did the others in the lab react, and the whole room erupted in commotion. They had all thought I would lose, never expecting me to tie with Zach.

Chloe cheered and rushed over to hug me. "Oh my god! Vanessa, you're so amazing! You really came through! I knew you could do it!"

I hugged her back. "It's just a tie, not a real win."

"But in our hearts, you've already won," she said.

Luke and Darius came over as well. After some laughter, we walked out of the crowded lab.

I looked around and asked, somewhat confused, "Where's Rena? She and Chloe are almost inseparable. We're all close, and Rena said she'd come watch the competition. She wouldn't just disappear."

Chloe's eyes widened. "Oh, right. Rena told me she had something to do and needed to go to the music room first. She said she'd be right back. But the competition's over and she still isn't here."

An uneasy feeling rose in my chest. "Rena is always punctual. She doesn't break promises."

Thinking about how Aethergate College of Magic was full of undercurrents, I lowered my voice. "I suspect Rena might be in trouble. Let's go to the music room and find her right now."

Chloe's expression turned serious. She nodded without hesitation. "Okay."

The four of us ran all the way to the music room. From far away, we could hear instruments playing from within.

But—

"What's going on with Rena today?" Chloe muttered. "This music sounds all over the place." She sometimes accompanied Rena to practice and knew Rena's skill well.

My mood grew even heavier.

I pushed open the door. The moment I saw inside the music room, we all froze in shock."