The man sighed in resignation whilst stroking his thick beard. “If that is what you wish to do, then there’s nothing I can do. For now, it will be better for you to return and keep that design. We must find another apprentice wizard to present in the contest to take your place.”
Max’s eyes widened upon his words. “Am I… d-disqualified from participating in the competition?”
“There’s no helping it. Since you have no intention of presenting that design, there is no other choice but to have another candidate to present in the contest.”
“If I start making a new magic spell n-now…!”
The man’s bushy eyebrows furrowed. “You shall not be greedy. The honor of Gnome Hall is at stake in this competition. A magic spell prepared haphazardly in such a short amount of time won’t make the cut. It’s either you present that magic formula that creates golems or renounce your participation.”
Max bit her lips. As she recalled the countless nights that she didn’t sleep to prepare for the contest, she couldn’t utter a word to describe the disappointment she felt. She blamed herself, her eyes lighting up with anger and disappointment as she pondered on why she didn’t reflect deeply on whether the magic she made would be against the doctrine. However, as Landon said, she shouldn’t be stubborn and insist.
Max’s head lowered weakly. “I’ll give up… on the competition.”
An apprentice wizard named Armin Dolph was the one who participated in the competition in her place. He was a 25-year-old young, good-looking, and tall man from the Umli tribe. Although he was quiet, Armin was intelligent, which earned him a good reputation among the trainees. He looked in confusion at Max as Landon told him he would take her place, but soon snatched the opportunity presented to him with his characteristic calm expression. Max could only sigh bitterly. There was no one else to blame but herself for her lack of judgement.
“Just what in the world happened? Was there something you did that caused Landon to reject your formula?” Annette asked as she came up to Max.
She could only mumble roughly with an awkward expression on her face. “There was a fatal flaw… about my magic formula. After consulting with Professor Landon, I decided to give up on the competition.”
“Your skill in designing magic is the best among all the apprentices. Just where in the world did it go wrong? Let me see it, I’m sure it’s a mistake that can be remedied.”
“N-no!”
Annette’s eyes widened at Max’s defensive response, who tried to disguise her composure by her lack of sleep and swept her frizzy hair aside.
“I have already thoroughly reviewed it with Professor Landon. I wish not to… talk about it anymore.”
Annete’s cheeks twitched, then turned around and walked away with a swish: she appeared to be hurt by her words, but Max couldn’t even afford to calm her own mood.
Max then left the common laboratory to attend her next class immersed in her thoughts. Her mind was in chaos, she wondered what she could do from that moment on since she needed to gain excellent academic records to graduate early. The best way to achieve that was to prove her skills in the Urd magic battle competition, which happened every two years. The presentation contest had already disappeared into thin air and entering the battle competition when she was vulnerable to magic attacks would be out of the question for her. She bit her lips anxiously, she had to somehow find away.
“Max, what happened? Is it true that you won’t be participating in the contest?”
As she entered the first-floor hall in Urd, Sidina, who was just descending the stairs, ran over to her and asked. Max awkwardly laid the same excuse she said to Annette. The girl appeared unconvinced, but she didn’t prod further upon seeing her heartbroken face. However, the other trainee wizards were more prodding. As Max entered the classroom for her lectures, dozens of students asked her how she was eliminated from the competition over and over again like parrots. She was exhausted from all the fuss that the people were making.
