At the same time, someone walked up beside her.
Anastasia glanced up at a young man, not much older than herself. He was passably handsome, but she didn't like the look on his face.
She looked away, uninterested.
Coincidentally, the young man was also hesitating between the same two herbs.
And now, only one portion of each remained.
Anastasia finally made her move, reaching for the herb on the right—
Before she could touch it, another hand shot out, snatching the herb from under her nose.
It was, of course, the young man beside her.
Anastasia looked up.
He lifted his chin with a smug, disdainful look. "This one's mine!"
Anastasia gave him a look reserved for utter fools, ignored him, and reached further to the right, picking up the other herb.
The young man's brow furrowed, a flicker of doubt crossing his face.
But his confidence quickly returned. Convinced he couldn't be wrong, he sneered, "Is the Institute letting just anyone in these days? You'd actually choose Heartbreak Vine for this formula? Have you even studied medicine?"
She tuned out the idiot's voice and walked over to submit her basket.
"Professor, I'm done."
Others soon began submitting their baskets as well.
Before long, all the baskets had been collected.
Several judges walked up, inspecting the herbs in each basket, recording the contents, and assigning scores.
The judges moved past one basket, shaking their heads. They moved to the next, and shook their heads again.

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