Written Exam for the Exchange Competition
A spacious and bright classroom in Beauxbatons was temporarily set up as a written exam room.
Lucien sat by the window, a quill pen gliding rapidly across the parchment scroll.
The competition for Alchemy Exchange Tournament the three schools was divided into two main parts: a written test and a practical test, each of which contained two components.
The first part of the written exam is currently underway, which mainly tests the fundamentals of Alchemy —the properties of magical materials and the interpretation of ancient runes.
Tomorrow's second part will delve into more in-depth alchemical principles and designs.
As for the main event, the practical component, contestants are required to complete two alchemical items within a specified time: one item is assigned by the professor, who will score the alchemical creation based on its completion and quality.
The other category is free creation, where contestants simply need to submit their completed works within a time limit. Judges will score the works based on multiple dimensions, including completion, difficulty, and practicality. In addition to alchemy professors from the three universities, the judges also include specially invited renowned Alchemy.
The questions on the exam weren't particularly difficult for Lucien; they primarily tested the breadth of his knowledge and the accuracy of his memory.
The number of questions is quite large, covering everything from the processing temperature of African Tree Snake to common variations of the Runes "Ansuz" in energy guiding arrays.
Lucien answered the questions methodically with almost no pauses, and finished the entire paper in less than an hour.
After quickly checking everything, he lowered his eyelids, seemingly to rest, but in reality, he was working out several optimization schemes for the magic version of the phone.
With the assistance and acceleration of elemental magic runes, the main structure was already complete, with only some fine-tuning remaining.
The alchemy professors from all three schools were proctoring the exam. When Professor Shafiq saw Lucien's appearance, he strolled over to him and glanced at the answer sheets.
Shafiq nodded, feeling confident. If he could bring back a championship from the exchange tournament, he might be able to ask Headmaster Dumbledore for a ten-day or two-week leave. After all, it's tiring to maintain a good image in a foreign country for the sake of Hogwarts.
When the two-and-a-half-hour exam was over, the parchment scrolls in front of all the candidates floated up automatically, magically multiplied into three copies in the air, and flew to the hands of the three proctors on the podium.
The atmosphere in the examination room immediately relaxed, with rustling sounds of people packing their things and hushed conversations filling the air.
Riemann immediately moved closer to Lucien.
"Lucien, that last question, the one about the material, 'Explain the role of Unicorn Tail Hair in the calming amulet and why it can't be replaced with mane hair'... Did you answer the part about 'stabilizing the core magic flow and preventing dream corruption'? I feel like I didn't answer it completely."
"I've answered." Lucien nodded. "The key point is the 'pure protection' property contained in the tail hair, which resonates with the Moonstone Powder in the amulet, amplifying the calming effect. While the sideburns are of the same origin, they are more of a 'physical protection' property; replacing them would drastically reduce the effect or even induce drowsiness..."
Riemann: "So, regarding the question, 'At which temperature should African Tree Snake be soaked to best retain its magical toughness?' The four options are quite similar; I chose 'a constant temperature of 50 degrees Celsius,' but I feel like I've seen 'slowly increasing the temperature to 60 degrees' before..."
Lucien recalled the exam paper and answered, "It's a constant temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. Snake skin is sensitive to sudden heat; slowly raising the temperature to 60 degrees Celsius is the method for processing rhinoceros horn powder. It's easy to get confused."
"Phew, that's good." Riemann breathed a sigh of relief, a smile of relief spreading across her face.
"Almost there! Looks like these basic questions shouldn't be a problem."
Just then, a clear and melodious voice came from behind them:
"So, if a Amulet needs to balance 'protection against malicious prying' and 'maintaining the wearer's mental clarity,' besides Algiz, which Runes would be more suitable? Sowilo or Kenaz?"
Riemann turned around at the sound and saw the Beauxbatons girl who was radiating a faint silver light. She figured that the girl didn't seem to be talking to her, since her bright blue eyes were fixed on Lucien.
Lucien answered naturally:
"Sowilo is more suitable. It symbolizes the power of the sun, victory, and health, leaning towards light and positive protection, and can uplift the spirit. While Kenaz is also associated with knowledge and light, it focuses more on 'fire,' 'transformation,' and active creation. It's not the most direct way to protect, and sometimes its overly active energy can interfere with the constant clarity of thought."
Phoebe nodded thoughtfully, a slight smile playing on her lips, "A very clear explanation. It seems the 'basic' part of this written test was indeed just a warm-up for you."
She had clearly noticed that Lucien had finished the test well in advance.
The two of them engaged in a question-and-answer session, which surprisingly felt as natural as a casual afternoon chat.
Riemann glanced at Lucien from left to right, then at the strikingly beautiful Phoebe beside him, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips. He then coughed lightly, lowering his voice to a level that was still loud enough for those nearby to hear, and asked:
"Hey Lucien, speaking of which, what are your plans for Valentine's Day in a little over two weeks?"
Lucien looked up at Riemann and asked, "How do you plan to get through this? Of course, I'll plan how you'll get through it."
Although the loan for the advanced earth element magic rune, the improved Fountain of Fair Fortune, has been paid off, there's still a fire element one left.
The system's requirement to "use magical means to enhance the Valentine's Day atmosphere" was even more vague and abstract than improving the magic fountain.
Once we get back to Hogwarts, we could recreate a Fountain of Fair Fortune; perhaps that would give those who want to confess their feelings a little more confidence?
Whether you're a boy or a girl, looking better might increase your chances of successfully confessing your love on Valentine's Day, I guess.
Before Lucien could even formulate a reply, Riemann waved to himself and turned to leave.
"Hey, you guys keep chatting! I haven't gathered all the materials for my free crafting project yet. I need to write home right away and have them send them over by the fastest owl..."
The final stage of the Alchemy Triwizard Tournament is for contestants to create an alchemical item within a time limit, while providing the materials themselves.
The act of collecting materials is also seen as a test of Alchemy's abilities.
Everyone brings their own supplies when they come to the competition, but new ideas often require new materials, or there is inevitable loss during the experiment, so it is common to replenish them on the spot.
As Riemann walked away quickly, he didn't forget to turn back and add, raising his voice with a hint of boastfulness:
"Oh, by the way! If you have any questions about your Valentine's Day date, feel free to ask me! I have tons of experience in this area!"
Before he finished speaking, his figure had already nimbly turned a corner around a pillar decorated with ice crystal roses and disappeared into the palace complex of Beauxbatons.
Lucien watched his disappearing figure, somewhat speechless.
However, Riemann's words reminded him that perhaps... he could first conduct a small-scale "market survey" within Hogwarts?
How about asking upperclassmen (those with dating experience) for advice and finding out what everyone's general expectations are for Valentine's Day activities?
Or, to be more direct, design an anonymous survey and send it to all students in the school?
Only after Riemann's figure had completely disappeared did Phoebe, who had been standing quietly to the side, blink and turn her curious blue eyes toward Lucien.
"Lucien, you already have plans for Valentine's Day?"
In her opinion, it was perfectly normal for a talented guy like Lucien to have a girlfriend, especially since he was so good-looking.
Even from Phoebe's rather discerning aesthetic perspective, Lucien's appearance and demeanor were exceptionally outstanding.
Lucien nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Yes, I'm this year's 'Festival Planner'."