090 HOW TO SOLVE THE WRONG FLAME?
"Don't worry, Madam Key has a solution", another whispered.
There was a conspiracy going on in the competition that would unfairly affect Leo's chances of winning.
Just as Madam Key finished her potion, she created a small crack in the cauldron rendering it useless for further brewing. The crack was not noticeable and if Leo were to use the cauldron, he would fail.
"See how you can better my potion making with that imperfection in the cauldron," the teacher told herself hoping Leo would fail if he tried to use the broken cauldron.
As Leo walked towards the cauldron to brew his potion, he detected the flaw in the cauldron immediately.
"Item: Cauldron Quality: cracked"
"Cracked!!! It wasn't cracked before," Leo told himself furiously, glaring at the teacher as she left.
Leo knew what was happening. The teacher was setting a trap for him by spoiling the tool of brewing.
"This fucking cauldron is broken by that bitch, I'm going to need a new fucking cauldron," Leo said suddenly to the judges.
The teachers whispered among themselves worriedly, aware that Leo had noticed their trickery.
"How did he find out about the minor crack without even inspecting the cauldron?" someone whispered.
"What now? We can't seem to beat him without cheating," another murmured.
One of them proposed, "Give him a different cauldron, but one with a weaker flame. Let's see him match our potion with that."
A substitute cauldron was brought to Leo, but he immediately noticed the inferior quality. The conspiracy against him continues.
"Idiots," Leo smirked.
The sly teacher raised her voice, "Let's make this the last challenge. If you lose, you'll leave our Association and never return."
Leo smirked. "And if I win?"
"What do you want if you win?"
"I want a registered pharmacy license from the Pharmaceutical Association of Sodom if I win," Leo declared, causing a ripple of gasps among the crowd.
Suddenly, an imposing figure stepped forward—Willy Moose, president of the Pharmaceutical Association.
"I'm Willy Moose, president of this Association," he announced. "Are you not here to represent a rival group to disgrace us? Why do you want a license from us?"
Leo realized their suspicion and shook his head.
"I'm no cheap spy. I'm a self-taught genius. The truth is, some bitch insulted me at an…orgy, said I wasn't qualified as a pharmacist. I want a license to shut her up and earn her fuck," he explained.
The crowd rose in both laughter and shock at his humor.
The president's eyebrows shot up. "You want a license…to win a fuck?"
"Exactly, only a good fuck is worth going through these stupid challenges," Leo replied with conviction as the crowd murmured.
"I didn't realize how far a youth will go to in order to earn a fuck", Willy commented.
The president considered, then nodded. "If you defeat Madam Key—our best trainer—then you deserve a license from our association."
The teachers muttered in disbelief.
"But he came to humiliate us," the teachers complained.
"The licenses are intended for the major families not for a nobody", another added.
The licenses from the Pharmaceutical Association were usually a monopoly of the major pharmacies in Sodom City. Commoners usually had no chance of obtaining such a license without the backing of a major pharmacy.
The president raised his hand to stop them. "If he wins, his success is a humiliation on you who lost to him, not a shame on our Association. He would be one of our new members."
"That is unprecedented", another complained.
"I have decided. It's about time this Association gained new blood. The dominance of the major pharmacies is slowing progress in our association. If this stagnation continues, we will face more challengers like this gentleman who could humiliate us", President Willy said.
Leo gave President Willy a thumbs up for his speech. President Willy knew the problems plaguing his association- the dominance of the major families, the monopolies that offered no new impetus to the industry.
A new cauldron was brought to Leo.
The cauldron was clearly inferior to the one Madam Key used, though not because of its material—the quality was identical to the previous one.
The issue lay in the spell engraved within it, which was set to produce a weaker flame.
"Nice try," Leo muttered, activating his control panel.
He took a seat beside the cauldron, focused on reprogramming its magic immediately. He must change the spell on the cauldron to the spell with the correct flame.
"What's taking so long?" the teacher sneered.
"Shut up," Leo shot back. "You think changing the cauldron to a weaker flame will stop me? You don't understand what one must go through to get a good fuck."
The gathered teachers exchanged glances, surprised and dismayed that he'd caught on to their trick.
"What did you do?" President Willy asked the teachers who kept mum about it. "We replace the cauldron with one with the proper flame."
"That will not be necessary, there scheming will not work on me", Leo replied to the president.
The teachers were shocked by Leo's confidence and could only watch as Leo's hands flew over the cauldron in strange castings.
"He can't really change the cauldron's spell here, can he?" one whispered.
"Usually, only an artificer could rework something like that on a cauldron," another murmured.
"Even then a modification to a cauldron usually takes weeks or months at the earliest."
The president observed Leo with keen interest. "Maybe he's exactly what he claims to be—a genius."
With the reprogramming complete, Leo cast a spell to test the flame, confirming it was now stable.
Without further delay, he began the brewing process. With every step, he demonstrated the same level of skill and precision as the teacher, even under the disadvantage they had set up for him.
Soon, Leo's potion was ready. He held it out, smirking. "Here's your fucking potion."
The teacher reluctantly passed it to the president, who inspected it carefully.
"This is an advanced Tier 2 Svad potion," the president declared, visibly impressed. "To create this under the conditions they imposed on you—there's no doubt you've earned a license from us."
Leo nodded. "Thank you."
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