After the encounter with Gilbert, Oscar locked himself in the room. He absorbed Ein with great efficiency, but it was not enough. Let alone a Grade Nine, his progress was not comparable to Emily's Grade Six.

The ataerstone only helped him train faster to an extent. There was also the three-month gap where he did not focus on advancing, which put him behind. Thankfully, the extra elixirs and the Rainbow Didus egg supplemented that blank period.

Eventually, Oscar noticed that he had to go. Today was the day of the Alchemist Contest. He promised to watch with Emily and participate in the Free Duels.

After taking a cool shower to cool his head, Oscar exited his dorm and was met with shock.

Vast amounts of people were pouring from the Outer Hall like a turbulent river. Oscar and Emily were struggling to get through.

"Everyone's come out to watch this." Emily grumbled. She made her way to the dorm entrances earlier, waiting for Oscar.

"Alchemists are quite popular, and we rarely see them performing it live. Also, one of the participants is Aurora Bellwood." The Pavilion announced the participants yesterday, and many people were excited about the event.

Aurora Bellwood. Celestina mentioned her to be a fierce admirer and pursuer of Gilbert. They were quite intimate and close, from Celestina's accounts.

"Such a person is attached to you, yet you would openly go after another girl?" Oscar muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing. Let's keep moving."

"Wait, he also has Isabella too…." While Oscar was fuming about Gilbert's philandering, they finally arrived in the Azure City.

Large crowds populated every part of the streets. Minor, Outer, and Inner Hall students came to watch and cheer.

"We should have expected this." Oscar sighed.

"It looks like they'll show it on those large spheres." Emily pointed to the spheres of water that hovered in the central places of the city. It used an observation spell to reflect the events on the water's surface.

"Let's go over here." Oscar found a nice corner where they could watch the show without being overrun by people.

The water spheres started rippling all over its surface. The crowds settled down as an image appeared in the waters.

It showed a large, pristine, wooden room. The image closed in closer to show two people.

One was a tall, lanky man with a broad chin but a skinny frame; he had ruffled grey hair and glasses. His grey eyes stared in admiration at the person across from him.

That person's appearance elicited loud and piercing cheers from the spectators. She was an extremely beautiful girl with a straight back like a spear. Her azure blue eyes were soul-catching, and her pink hair was like the blooming of spring.

"Our goddess, Aurora!" Some crazed fans yelled out loud.

"She truly is beautiful. I heard she's also an Elite Exalt." Emily stared admiringly. Aurora's beauty wasn't the type that induced jealousy but admiration.

Even Oscar felt she was attractive, but he was used to devastating beauty, thanks to Celestina, Isabella, and Emily.

The scene in the water spheres began to move as the two opponents greeted each other.

"Thank you for accepting my selfish request, Mr. Orion." Aurora spoke. Her voice was soft and endearing.

"It's not a big deal, Ms. Bellwood. How can I refuse your request? I am receiving good compensation for this as well." Orion replied.

He was a third-year student in the Inner Hall who practiced alchemy all his time in the Pavilion. There was a look of pride on his face as a two-star alchemist.

"Then. Let's start." Aurora clapped her hands together.

Taking the signal, an elder of the Palace of Whirlpools stepped forward and laid down two sets of ingredients and a cauldron on each contestant's table.

"This contest will have our two alchemists concoct the Grade Two Ein Burst Elixir. The materials and cauldrons are all prepared for each of you."

Ein Burst was the upgraded version of the Ein Amassing Elixir.

Oscar heard it was what the Elite Exalts in the Inner Hall received. The effects on a Middle Apprentice Exalt would be tremendous if he took it. However, it would also be a waste as his immature core would not be able to handle it and lose some Ein.

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Thus, it was better used for Elite Exalts.

"Begin!"

The cheers for Aurora burst out with the commencement of the contest.

Aurora's delicate hands burst forth flames that started to heat the cauldron. Her actions were swift as she quickly tossed in a couple of ingredients and closed the lid.

Her opponent, Orion, perfectly mirrored the same moves, exhibiting his expertise as a tenured alchemist. The two stared intently at the cauldron, not wanting to blink for a second.

The crowd went silent as the tension grew. An hour passed as Aurora and Orion occasionally shifted the flames to be weaker or higher.

"This is a very crucial part of alchemy." Someone said.

"The flames must be at the correct temperatures at all times for the ingredients to start mixing. If not, the elixir may become weaker in effect or just ruined."

"This is nothing to our goddess!"

In the silent room, Aurora and Orion finally started to move. They quickly killed the flames and opened the cauldron, releasing a large amount of smoke that faded away fast.

They tossed in the rest of the ingredients without wasting a single moment. The cauldrons began to shake violently. Orion and Aurora had beads of sweat dripping down their chin.

Aurora's pink Ein appeared like a blossoming flower and manifested into a flower anima. It was a beautiful pink cherry blossom that hovered around Aurora before flying into the cauldron.

SLAM

Aurora closed the lid, and her Ein began to flow and channel into the cauldron.

On the other side, Orion's grey Ein manifested his cauldron anima. It absorbed the contents boiling in the cauldron and the rest of the ingredients before shutting its lid.

The cauldron anima then flew into the physical cauldron. Orion shut the lid and also funneled his Ein into it.

The two were now in the same stage, constantly pouring their Ein into the cauldrons with careful control like in the previous fires.

"You can use your Anima like that?" Someone exclaimed.

Oscar and Emily also looked on in great interest. Their Animas were not useful for alchemy or forging, so it was a sight to see how Animas were involved in such processes.

"She's concocting the elixir with her flower anima in the mix. I can only assume it adds something or helps the process become smoother. As for Orion, his cauldron could grant him greater control over what's happening inside." Oscar made a guess based on the shape and type of Animas the two wielded.

"I don't think they'll reveal how exactly their Animas work." Emily chuckled.

"True. But I am curious how their Animas would fare in battle. Aren't you?" Oscar asked.

"Yup."

Another two hours passed, yet Aurora and Orion still fed their Ein into the concoction. Their bodies were now drenched in sweat. The crowd became more enamored with Aurora's untidy, tired, but persistent look.

Seeing her work so hard made them cheer for her more.

The cauldrons were now boiling. The boiling grew louder and louder until it was like the tea kettle left unattended on the fire.

Aurora grunted as she pulled out the lid and poured out the liquid into a large bowl; her Anima floated away to her side. Steam came forth from the hot liquid touching the cold surface of the bowl.

It was now the final step. Aurora focused her Ein to swirl the contents in the bowl as fast as possible. As she did, it got smaller and lower.

Orion was also doing this final step at the same time.

Finally, the swirling contents in the bowls began to shine as they turned into the color of the shining moon.

Aurora and Orion gave one last blast of Ein to compress it further.

"Huh?" Oscar's eyes perked up. "That's…."

BOOM

A flash of light covered the room, blinding the crowd for a short moment. When it cleared, Aurora stood proudly next to her bowl of bright-moon liquid, the Ein Burst elixir.

Orion let out a breath of relief, but his eyes were also full of pride at his work.

"Truly, the daughter of the High Magus. I'm envious of your talent. To be able to concoct a grade two elixir already."

"You're not bad yourself. Your Anima was fated to be with an alchemist like you." Aurora smiled.

"I will judge your elixirs. Set them forth on my table." The elder alchemist coughed and beckoned them forward.

"As you are aware, elixirs are known for the degree of their potency. The one with the higher potency shall be the winner."

Every elixir's quality was determined by its grade and potency. The Ein Amassing Elixirs distributed to the students had a potency of 50. The Heal Elixir that Oscar bought in Tufall City had a potency of 65.

The higher the potency, the more expensive it was. Despite the vast resources of the Pavilion, even they could not afford 100 potency elixirs for all their students.

The elder took out a vial and filled it with Orion's elixir.

"First, we shall test Orion Holls's elixir." The elder placed the vial into a potency measuring tool with a slot for the vial. Once the vial was placed in the slot, a large needle stuck out into it.

A meter on the measuring tool began to move up until it stopped at 35.

"Potency of 35. That is a good elixir to have created when you've recently become a two-star alchemist. Well done, lad." The elder gave an approving look to Orion, who bowed graciously with a smile.

"Now for Aurora Bellwood's elixir."

The crowd held in their words, waiting for the elder's verdict.

As the measuring tool tested the vial and its meter rose slowly, more people became agitated.

"Come on. What is it?"

"Definitely higher."

Then before everyone's eyes, the meter stopped at the spot that said 37.

"Potency 37! That is incredible for someone so young. Aurora Bellwood is the winner!" The elder was surprised and pleased.

The city crowds loudly cheered, praising Aurora's talent and beauty.

Orion shrugged his shoulders and shook his head with a sigh. He tried to play it off, but the defeat sunk deeply into him. Although she was the daughter of the High Magus, the branch leader of the Alchemist Guild in the Empire, he felt his experience would give him the advantage.

"Good match."

"Good match." Aurora replied, but she did not shake his hand, only smiling and being reserved.

"Thank you, everyone, for watching and supporting me." She thanked the crowd, who responded with shrills and cheers, and left the room with a smile.

The crowd quickly dispersed as the show ended. They were talking in length about the contest and Aurora as they moved.

Oscar stared intently at the blank water spheres in deep thought.

"There's no doubt. That was 'Ein Awaken'."

At the last moment, Aurora and Orion were compressing the liquid for the final step. He noticed Aurora's eyes focused harder than ever as the movement of her Ein shifted into a completely different gear.

It was minuscule that people might not notice, but it was clear as day for Oscar, who trained extensively in fine Ein control. That level of concentration was something he had experienced multiple times.

"Using 'Ein Awaken', she could control the compression and diffuse the elixir more accurately. That was what helped her get over Orion."

"Oscar! Let's go to the Free Duels now." Emily cut off his thoughts.

"Sure. That's what we came here for." Oscar put away the thoughts of Aurora. It was time for battle.