Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 220: The Youngest Participant

The stone slab was icy cold the moment it touched his hand, and in less than two seconds, Sheen felt his vision distort.

He instantly guessed that this must be Apparition.

Please take your seat.

A familiar voice came from behind him, and Sheen gradually made out his surroundings amidst a slight dizziness.

The area is open and magnificent, surrounded by deep, star-like stone walls.

At the very front is a shattered mirror that has been split into twenty-four pieces, the largest of which is almost five meters high.

The house-elf bowed deeply at Sheen's feet. Sheen looked in the direction it pointed, where twenty-four chairs stood. Each chair seemed to occupy its own separate space. Sheen noticed that the chairs appeared to be much smaller than usual, and a thought began to form in his mind.

When he went inside, his guess was confirmed.

This place has been subjected to a traceless extension spell.

So it wasn't just the chairs that took up the space; it was a cozy little house almost the size of an alchemy office. The central dining table was laden with all sorts of exquisite dishes; the fireplace was burning fiercely, but neither scorching nor stifling; and right next to the seats was an alchemy workbench, complete with a dozen or so different carving knives.

Hmm... there's even a bed here.

Is this a plan to go to sleep halfway through the conversation?
The wizard was too capricious.

"Please rest after the conference begins."

Seeing that Sheen was staring at the bed, the house-elf beside him spoke in an extremely subtle and ingratiating tone.

Do wizards really do this...?

Sheen felt that he still knew too little about wizards.

However, after the conference began?

Seemingly sensing Sheen's confusion,

"When the conference begins, the multifaceted mirrors will arrange the order and project your status; the person before the seventh seat, 'Miracle,' is resting, the person before that is eating, and the person before that and another person are... It begins—"

After letting out a soft cry, the house-elf fell silent, trembling.

Behind it.

The huge mirror was rippled, and soon many figures appeared on it.

Sheen saw Dumbledore, the headmaster with a long, white beard; Professor McGonagall, with an expressionless face; Professor Terra, with a cold expression; and a strong witch who was almost as tall as Hagrid, looking both elegant and powerful...

On the largest mirror at the very top, an old wizard appeared, looking frail but with bright, piercing eyes.

Sheen stared at the mirror, slightly bewildered. Communicating by projecting images onto a mirror… this seemed like an advanced version of a two-way mirror.

It's probably a two-way mirror that can connect to many wizards... no wonder it's called the Multifaceted Mirror.

"Master Nicolas Flamel—"

A voice rang out, and Sheen, unaware of who was in charge, only saw Master Lemaître nod. A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in the hall, catching Sheen off guard, and she quickly joined in the clapping.

Suddenly, Sheen realized that what was happening before him was a very interesting phenomenon. If Master Lemaître was facing a mirror like them, then his perspective would be nodding to everyone in the mirror; at the same time, since he himself was also in the mirror, everyone could see him nodding to them.

"Albus Percival Woolfrick Bryan Dumbledore, a partner of Nicolas Flamel, who discovered twelve uses of dragon's blood and won a gold medal."

Headmaster Dumbledore smiled kindly and clapped his hands.

Sheen heard the applause from the audience grow even louder.

"The youngest participant in the history of the International Alchemy Congress, admitted with the pledging of Flora Olivia Terra, Albus Dumbledore, and Orim Maxim—Sheen Green—" The host's voice sounded slightly off.

An extremely youthful face appeared in the center, its calm and deep light green eyes gazing at everyone. It didn't even make a move until it disappeared into the central mirror.

The scene was silent, then a murmur broke out.

"Terra, it's been so many years. She's got a disciple now? But that arrogance is a bit too much like Terra's..."

"So this is why Terra sent me a letter for the first time in ten years? How disappointing. I was hoping she wouldn't find a disciple until she died..."

"Let's trust Terra for now, but an eleven-year-old wizard... it's not bad that he can even pick up scraps from others."

It was only then that Sheen gradually came to his senses, and for the first time in a long time, he felt annoyed.

He never expected to be so far ahead of everyone; he hadn't even heard the professor's name called...

Imagine, Master Nick is nodding, and Dumbledore is clapping...

The introductions were over quickly. According to the house-elves, this step was to prevent the haughty alchemists from forgetting everyone else's names during the subsequent conversation.

The wizards rose from their seats, and the house-elves snapped their fingers, causing the wizards to vanish once more.

"Let's go, my 'proud' disciple."

Professor Terra walked over with a smile, and under the watchful eyes of all the wizards, she took Sheen's hand, making no attempt to hide her high regard for her student.

"Terra, you wrote to me just because of this farce? You and I both know that honor is important, but in this alchemical conference, it is the least important thing."

An elderly witch with tanned skin and a tall figure sighed helplessly. Behind her stood another witch with tanned skin.

“It’s understandable that you value honor when you’re young, but to forcibly fight for an honor that has no meaning… please pay more attention to your posthumous reputation… We old folks understand you, but we don’t have much time left.”

Another white-haired wizard spoke up to offer words of comfort.

Truth has no time to care.

Professor Terra said calmly.

When she wrote to her longtime friends, they all wore expressions that said, "Damn, this guy hasn't changed at all. I knew it."

"That's all."

The white-haired wizard snapped his fingers and disappeared with his disciples.

"Looking forward to communicating with you, little one."

The brown-skinned witch seemed to sense something, glanced at Sheen with curiosity, and then disappeared as well.

"Join the association, receive the legacy, and show your future—this is the order of the conference. My disciples, do you remember?"

Professor Terra began.

She watched as Sheen fell into thought, then snapped her fingers as well, and the grand hall in front of Sheen vanished.

To be precise, they Apparated to another place.

It was pitch black all around, and ahead stood a massive tree, carved into the stone wall. The trunk and the cavities beneath it glowed, and ancient, magical script was inscribed upon them:

"The four worlds have changed, and the fifth element has appeared."

(End of this chapter)