Velvet looked at the competitors for a bit. One of them seemed to fail on a step, the liquid inside the beaker exploding.

He was going too slow, and mixing it in spiral motion. That’s what made it explode. He tried to use both methods for mixing… This situation almost made her remember when Siberina teached her the spell to ‘solve’ Iren’s murder.

She wasn’t allowed to use magic now, but that experience taught her how to compare information. The way the competitors were mixing, boiling and tasting, worked in a similar way to the classification of Iren’s stab wounds.

She compared all the players equally now, not giving privileges to the three players that her temporary companions preferred.

“The number three moves very confidently… but there’s a bit of anxiety. She keeps looking at the public, probably trying to pinpoint her teacher. The Six is very fluid, but also mechanical, as if he was following instructions…”

“The Four and the Eight.” The cloaked figure pressed.

“Also fit with what you said. So you weren’t lying about their skills.”

“That's nothing surprising. Who do you think will win?”

“Not the Three, as much as it pains me.” She nibbled her lip. “The Eight seems like the best bet…”

“Huh, really?”

“Yes, but the bet was only if the Three won, so there’s no need to change numbers!”

“Well, I think the Three is going to win, and the Eight will be second.”

“Well, I hope you are wrong!”

The cloaked figure hummed. “Wanna bet?”

That made Velvet flinch, turning to stare at them. “Are you perhaps a gambler whose name starts with A or S?”

“Guess.”

Stop trying to make me guess things… “I already had my turn guessing. Now it’s yours.”

The cloaked person looked at her for a few seconds. "You're a girl, probably close to eighteen. And have no backing."

"Huh. That’s too specific. How can you see over the concealment spell?"

"I did not. It's experience, obtained with age." The figure waved his hand, downplaying their skills.

"Okay, my turn. 30, male, receding hairline. Jobless."

"I'm twenty-seven. And my hair is fine."

He heard Velvet snicker.

"You said that on purpose, didn't you?"

"And it worked. So I had two things right! You’re indeed someone with a lot of free time!"

The figure made a ‘tsk’ noise, but didn’t seem very bothered. "You got me there, I'll give you that."

“And with barely any experience, see? Aren’t I awesome?” She tried to sound the most smug she could, having finally mocked the stranger.

“Don’t be so-”

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“I’m not done, I’m not done! Let me explain my conclusion!” Velvet wasn’t going to end it there, no, no, she wanted to rub it in his face. “You see, since I tend to deal with people more skilled than me, my skills advance soooo fast. Perhaps, instead of playing with novice mages, you should target the ones at your level.”

He laughed. “Miss, you are very vindictive, has anyone told you that?”

“No, never. Everyone says I have exemplary behavior and mannerisms.”

“No we don't.” Hyde said in her mind.

“I’m sure of that.” He nodded. “So, going back to the competition, are you giving up on getting a free alchemy set from our teacher there?”

“I don’t give up on anything until the bell has rang. But once something is lost, I just move on easily.”

‘Don’t think too hard about it’ was Velvet’s life motto. She wasn’t interested in overthinking things, and preferred moving forward instead of getting hung up on something.

“Not even if it’s something worth fighting for?”

“Oh, then maybe yes. I just wouldn’t think too hard about it.” She did find the Chained man something worth chasing, after all.

“Huh. The competition is in the final moments, you shouldn’t miss it.”

“I didn’t miss anything, I have a perfect memory, after all.”

“So you are of the Knowledge Paradigm, not the Permanence.”

Ah, shit. “Ehe.”

“Do you even know the difference between those?”

“Nope. Look, look, they are almost done. Let’s see if the Eight wins after all your bragging.”

The final step seemed to be filtering the mixture, separating the liquid from the things that didn’t fully mix. The participants seemed very equal on that step, Velvet guessed, comparing their movements.

That meant the winner would be chosen based on the previous choices and the final result, which seemed to be an agility potion.

“Huh, why make a potion for increased speed when there’s charms for that?” She asked.

“Guess.” Velvet almost shook him by the throat at that. “Alright, alright, I’ll answer that one. But start using your brain a little more.” He paused. “How are charms made?”

“That’s not an answer, it’s another question… Ah, fine. You draw sigils on paper and put magic on them.”

“How do sigils look?”

Velvet raised a finger, and started tracing the sigil on the air, without using magic. It was then when she realized. “Ah. Not all Paradigms can memorize the sigils.”

It was kinda obvious, now that she thought, which made her almost embarrassed. There were a lot of sigils, and memorizing them was hard.

“Most mages pick the one or two that they find most useful, or take a grimoire with them, but it’s a big waste of time. Alchemy is easier for non-information mages.”

“Why do information mages need to learn alchemy, then? Do not say guess.”

“Figure it out yourself.”

Velvet didn’t try to figure anything this time, just to see. She already had used some basic alchemy for her paper figurines, so she knew the answer already.

“Keep your secrets then.”

The alchemists were at the finish line. Just a few moves more and…

“Achoo!” Number Eight sneezed, ruining her potion.

That made Number Six jump, which, even when it didn’t ruin the potion as much, clearly caused some damages.

“Ah.” Velvet said, too stunned to speak.

The time was over, and the results were announced.

“Number Three won, with Number Four second.”

“So, your apprentice really ended up winning.” The figure that was speaking with her companion at first said, some tingle of surprise in their voice.

The professor sighed, even when they seemed very proud. “She’s going to become so insufferable…” Clearing their throat, they added. “But, a bet is a bet, even after being won by a sneeze.” They took something from their robes, giving it to the winner.

“Wow, aren’t I lucky?” The figure turned to look at Velvet’s and her companion's reactions.

Velvet started laughing at that. She even clapped. “Oh man, aren’t you loved by fate? Hahahaha!”

“There’s a casino just a few streets ahead, you should visit it right now!” He added, laughing too.

“... Aren’t you two having too much fun after losing?” It barely felt like a victory, being laughed at so much!

“Do you know why?” Velvet started.

“No, but I want in on the joke.”

“Oh, that can be arranged, you just have to…”

“Guess.” Both of them said, laughing again.