Just as Isabella had expected, the mysterious Saman never showed himself, not even by the time the Alchemist Grandmaster Tournament ended the following morning. Of course, neither did that "cunning human."
The finals of the Alchemist Grandmaster Tournament had been full of twists and turns. As expected, the presidents of the Alchemist Alliances of the three great empires had proved superior. Angjilie's enhancement potions were exceptionally impressive, with astonishing purity and efficacy; Wilson was worthy of being called the strongest poison master, even having developed an extremely potent new venom; while Aldas was well-rounded and steady. For a time, the three had been evenly matched.
In the final contest, Angjilie of the Shadow Empire surpassed himself, concocting an Ironwall Potion with formidable effects and minimal side effects.
According to Chief Arbiter Panu, this potion was already extremely close to the Black Potion's "True Ironwall Potion." In other words, Angjilie had displayed a level incredibly close to the threshold of a grandmaster—a quasi-grandmaster level. Of course, that had merely been an extraordinary performance, and his state was not stable, so he could not yet be called a quasi-grandmaster.
With that single potion, Angjilie finally defeated his two fierce rivals and claimed the championship of the Grandmaster Tournament.
With the Alchemist Grandmaster Tournament over, the public's attention shifted to the final and most exciting event of the competition: the Artificer Grandmaster Tournament.
Alchemist grandmasters tended to keep a low profile, and many had earned a notorious reputation through researching poisons. Comparatively speaking, artificer grandmasters were more familiar to—and more beloved by—the public.
After successfully crafting a satisfactory work, a grandmaster artificer would usually name it and engrave the creator's name upon it. A fine piece of equipment could be passed down through the ages, whereas a potion concocted by an alchemist—even a