Vid was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said, "Of course. Are you also an alchemist?"
"It's too early to call myself an alchemist now. I'm just studying with my teacher, without any independent accomplishments."
Natalia smiled and said, "I bought every one of your alchemy products, especially the poppets. In our alchemy class, the first lesson, the professor had us start by observing the alchemy on the poppets..."
"But it's a pity," another blonde student from Ilvermorny, Ryan, walked over and said, "Gray, you seem to have never published any papers in magazines?"
He smiled and said, "I have an uncle working in the editorial department of 'Alchemy Frontier.' If you need to publish a paper, I can help."
His tone was friendly, but his eyes carried a subtle skepticism—
The more someone understands alchemy, the harder it is to believe that the inventions that have popped up in the past couple of years are the work of a teenager.
They would rather believe certain rumors, like Vid Gray is actually Morry's illegitimate son, and that Alchemist Morry pinned his inventions on Gray, helping the boy steal fame that shouldn't belong to him, and so on.
Naturally, Ryan wasn't foolish enough to voice these doubts; he only subtly reminded his peers—if Vid Gray is so capable, why hasn't he published a single paper yet?
But Natalia immediately curled her lips and said, "Gray could easily write a paper based on any of his works and publish it in any magazine. Why would he need your help?"
Ryan: "..."
He helplessly made peace, "I just thought having an acquaintance would make things more convenient, right?"
"Thank you for your kindness," Vid said, "for now, I don't need to publish any papers."
"Understandable, preparing for the competition is already quite time-consuming."
Natalia nodded in agreement and then said, "I've always been curious, your method for injecting thought into the poppets seems to differ somewhat from the method used to create Wizard's Chess?"
"Indeed, when creating the poppets, I integrated some theories from Transfiguration, allowing inorganic matter to trend toward transforming into a living body, enhancing their logic and learning growth capabilities..."
Vid didn't mind discussing alchemy with her. What he talked about could be deduced by a mature alchemist. But mastering these theories doesn't mean they can create the same poppets.
More importantly, talking about these profound and obscure matters makes him fit the "Ravenclaw Bookworm" image more in others' eyes.
Hearing this, Natalia's eyes lit up immediately, as if a door to the palace of knowledge was pushed open a crack, allowing her to see the dazzling light behind it, finally solving the puzzles she had been pondering over for so long.
"Yes, I always thought these poppets were smart enough to have souls. Your approach is almost equivalent to creating alchemical life forms..."
"Not to that extent, poppets are just slightly smarter versions of Wizard's Chess," Vid said modestly.
The poppets sold on the market indeed have a limited intelligence, probably akin to a smart AI assistant, completely different from the poppets Vid kept by his side.
He explained, "Their consciousness base is too rudimentary, still relying mainly on composite layer manufacturing techniques and spell overlay. In terms of magic conduction, I borrowed a formula once proposed by Mr. Nicolas Flamel..."
"Ah, I read that paper too," Natalia said happily, "Mr. Flamel once mentioned discussing matter transformation and energy conservation with a Muggle scientist friend, which is why he proposed the concept of magic efficiency..."
The more they talked, the more they clicked, but to those who don't understand alchemy, this theoretical knowledge was akin to hypnosis.
They had been talking for less than three minutes when Ryan's eyes began to wander.
Although he couldn't understand, judging by Natalia's expression, he confirmed that Vid had true capability, so he casually found an excuse to escape from beside the two of them.
Most of the other contestants also turned their gaze uninterestedly, but three students from Salem Academy came over, listened for a while, and then joined the conversation.
"Gray, it seems your works also integrate some Muggle technology concepts?" Abby asked in a low voice.
"Yes," Vid admitted openly, "I learned a lot from them."
"I can see that. I think you can also see our school places a great emphasis on the integration of magic and technology."
Abby said, "At Salem, aside from Muggle Studies, we've also opened several courses related to Muggles, including Muggle Mechanical Engineering, Weapons Development, War History, and so on."
"Salem's helicopters are indeed impressive," Vid asked, "did you modify those yourselves?"
"Yes, recently completed the modifications," Abby said proudly, "we removed parts of the traditional aircraft structure, modified the engine, propeller, and fuel tank. Of course, the cabin also uses The Undetectable Extension Charm."
The founders of their school once suffered a lot of persecution from Muggles, but Salem Academy did not cut itself off completely from Muggle society because of it. On the contrary, they might be the magic school that most understands Muggles.
Due to hostility and fear, Salem's research on Muggles is the most in-depth. They can humbly learn from the other side and also put aside the barriers in their hearts to actively integrate the beneficial parts of Muggle technology.
While Vid was discussing alchemy with a few people, Harry stormed out angrily from the nearby broom cupboard, followed by Rita Skeeter, who quickly clasped her crocodile skin handbag, ran her fingers through her hair, and then walked out in high heels.
"What happened?"
Cedric, who was originally talking with Fleur, noticed Harry's off expression and approached with concern to ask.
"I now understand why everyone hates that woman, Skeeter," Harry said through gritted teeth in a low voice, "She isn't interviewing but just trying every possible way to make things up."
Cedric's father works at the Ministry of Magic, so naturally, he had long heard of Rita Skeeter's style. Understanding this, he sympathetically patted Harry on the shoulder and said:
"Every wizard in the United Kingdom knows Skeeter loves to fabricate stories. The more you care, the more excited she gets. The best way is not to let her steal any of your attention."
"Understood, I'll stay far away from her in the future."
Harry nodded, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling inside him, to forget about the words that Skeeter's quill wrote—
"[Those startlingly green eyes filled with tears]" and just the thought of it made him shiver, not to mention she disrespectfully mentioned his parents...
Suddenly, the classroom door was pushed open, and Barty Crouch, Olivander, and the headmasters all entered from outside.