Following this outcry, every gaze pivoted toward the young boy striking his left wrist with the sickle-shaped blade. Blood began to well from a cut the thickness of a finger, spilling directly onto the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid.
Cantankerous Hanry looked ready to leap from his seat at this sight, but an arm reached out and forced him back down. The Head of the Botanical Division stopped the middle-aged man sitting to his right.
"Senior Master, the candidates taking part in this trial must rely solely on their own skill!"
Hues of intense hatred flared in Hanry's eyes. The Division Head saw this and immediately pulled his hand back from the man's arm.
"Look at the idiot! He's going to kill himself over a trial he already has enough points to pass!"
"Can he even recover after wasting so much blood energy?"
Though Master Louise stayed silent, the noble kids spoke instead of him. To them, Mel's actions were the peak of stupidity; they mocked something they were totally unable to understand.
In the middle of this growing chaos, the ninth bud of the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid burst into bloom. In that exact second, every voice went quiet; nothing was left except the plant bearing pristine white and crimson blossoms, mirroring each other.
"He did it! Someone from the common ranks actually made the ninth flower bloom!"
The boy with uneven bangs roared at the top of his lungs; a youth coming from the commoners was cementing his claim on the greatest victory of the past two decades.
"The plant's blossoms turned crimson; it's lost all of its medicinal properties. We'll have to throw it in the trash once the trial ends!"
The Young Master started spewing arrogant dismissals about the discolored plant, acting like he hadn't seen the victory at all. Louise was unmatched when it came to changing the subject.
Tearing his eyes away from the plant, Mel looked at the three men; he was met with looks of shock in the center, envy on the left, and deep respect on the right.
"My old friend, let it be as you wish this time. Since we've started down this path, let's see it to the very end!"
With just a few minutes left in the trial, Mel grabbed the sickle-shaped blade with his blood-soaked left hand again, this time striking his right wrist.
As blood surged onto the plant, the last two minutes began. Except for the robust youth, everyone had given up on changing their results, yet Mel had one final goal.
For another minute, he fed the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid with his blood; everyone's eyes were locked on him. The ones standing on the commoners' side stood up from their seats, gathering in a half-circle behind Mel.
"He's trying to make the tenth bud bloom!"
"Yeah! If he pulls this off, he'll tie the century-old record!"
The proctors standing on the right side walked up to Mel's desk to watch what was happening up close; hearing their whispers, the surrounding youths felt their excitement hit a fever pitch.
"Come on, my friend, you can do this!"
"Hold on just a little longer, you've got this!"
Without realizing it, Mel had won the full backing of the commoner youths. Their eyes showed clearly that they saw him as their leader.
"Hanry, the century-old record belongs to you; what do you say? Is the boy going to match your legend?"
The Division Head turned to his right and spoke, waiting with curiosity for the middle-aged man's answer.
The man kept his eyes locked on Mel; when the sand left in the top part of the huge hourglass on the wall was barely a handful, he finally spoke.
"He already has!"
The three words echoed through the long, narrow building. They weren't very loud; the only reason everyone heard them was the total silence in the room.
Right after that, the cheers of the boys surrounding Mel broke out; the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchid was basically glowing with its ten crimson blossoms.
As the noise raged on, Mel passed out and fell backward. The one who caught him was the boy with uneven bangs.
Seeing this, Cantankerous Hanry bolted from his seat and reached Mel's side in a flash. He quickly rubbed two thick mixtures that appeared in his hands onto the bleeding cuts on the boy's wrists. In the blink of an eye, he also shoved a green, hazelnut-sized pill into the boy's mouth; the Division Head, who had stopped him before, just watched this time.
The noble kids watched everything with eyes full of envy, but the one who looked the maddest was Maria Gloove. Even though she had used a vital essence to make the ninth bud bloom and matched the highest level of the past two decades, some random peasant had shown up to rival a century-old legend.
The sound she made when she slammed her fingertips hard against the desk was drowned out by the grinding of her teeth. If the first trial was like a bucket of ice water dumped on the noble kids, for the young girl, it felt like she had been hit right across the face.
Before five minutes passed, Mel woke up; while that happened, Cantankerous Hanry and the other kids went back to their spots. Only two proctors stayed standing next to the boy who had made ten buds bloom.
"Congratulations, young man; what's your name?"
As the old man spoke to Mel, who had just opened his eyes, he was super friendly. It was hard to believe this was the exact same man who had set up an unfair advantage for the nobles.
"Mel... Mel Malcom, sir!"
The robust boy's face was white as a ghost, but he gave his answer without losing his posture.
"Mel, leader of the first trial; for making ten buds bloom, I'm giving you this plant as a reward, and I order ten points added to your score!"
"The second trial starts tomorrow at this exact time; you're dismissed!"
After his order, the Division Head stood up with steady movements; he was walking slowly toward the exit when a voice stopped him.
"Sir, can I ask you a question?"
The speaker was Mel, and his target was the Division Head, who was walking right past his desk.
"You insolent brat! Who the hell do you think you are to have the nerve to talk to the Division Head?"
Looking like a bomb ready to blow, Louise Gloove yelled harshly; he looked ready to take it further, but the old man raised his hand and told him to shut up.
"Ask, kid; since you matched a century-old record, I'll let this slide!"
"Sir, Master Louise said the plants belonging to my friends are going to be thrown in the trash because of their crimson blossoms; is that true?"
Hearing the question, Louise's eyes went wide open! A brat who hadn't even passed the trials was using the Division Head to check his words.
"Yes, sadly, the blossoms will die within a single day, and the Ten-Budded Phantom Orchids will be totally useless!"
It was really sad news, but hearing it, a massive smile broke out across Mel's face.
"In that case, can my friends keep these plants for themselves?"
"You've crossed the line!"
Taking a step or two toward Mel, Master Louise yelled. This time, he walked right past the Division Head and got close to the desk.
Luckily, there was one thing he didn't plan for; Cantankerous Hanry popped up between him and Mel in a second.
"Where do you think you're going, my young colleague?"
The air got thick; the two guys with the most power in the Botanical Division, right behind the Head, were staring each other down face-to-face.
"They can keep them; they can look at them as a reminder of the sacrifices they made. Surely they've earned at least that much, right, Louise?"
With his back to the old man, the Young Master took a deep breath; ignoring Hanry, who was grinning at him from inches away, he spoke.
"You're right, sir; they can keep them as a souvenir of the lifespans they wasted!"
Louise Gloove hissed a few more times before backing down. After that, he followed behind the Division Head and left the building.
Within ten minutes, the noble kids left first, followed by the proctors. Only Cantankerous Hanry, Mel, and the commoner youths were left in the room.