The heavy doors of the alchemy hall swung open, sending a hush through the gathered students. The air smelled faintly of old parchment, sulfur, and nervous anticipation. At the front of the hall, Professor Varian stood with his arms crossed, his piercing gaze sweeping over the class. Behind him, rows of identical glass vials gleamed under the flickering light of enchanted lanterns.

  He tapped the desk once, and silence fell.

  "You will each be required to ingest the contents of one of these vials," he announced, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight.

  For a moment, the class remained still, as if collectively frozen in time. Then, a wave of murmurs surged through the room. Someone audibly gasped. A few students exchanged nervous glances, hands clenching their robes. Others whispered frantically, debating whether they had misheard.

  "What kind of test is this?" a voice called from the back, barely masking its fear.

  Professor Varian raised a hand for silence. "Each vial contains a sodium-based salt. Your task is to determine the identity of the anion before you make your selection." His lips curled into the faintest hint of a smirk. "The anions in the vials are one of the following: carbonate, sulfite, sulfide, acetate, nitrite, chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate, oxalate, phosphate, or sulfate. Choose incorrectly, and the consequences could be... unpleasant."

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  Panic spread like wildfire. A few students shot out of their seats, scanning the vials lined up before them. Others whispered among themselves, trying to recall any notes or lessons that might save them from making a deadly mistake.

  "You can't be serious!" cried one of the weaker students, their face pale. "Some of those salts could be toxic!"

  "Perhaps," Professor Varian replied smoothly. "Perhaps not. That depends on your ability to think."

  A tense silence followed. The weaker students reeled from shock, but some of the sharper minds in the class had already begun processing the information.

  A calm voice cut through the tension. "Wait. The test is survivable if we can find one of the safer salts—like sodium chloride."

  Heads turned toward Cassius, a well-known prodigy. His sharp, calculating eyes flicked between the notes in front of him and the vials. "Panic won’t help us. We need to piece together what we know."

  Another student, Valencia, nodded in agreement. "He’s right. The notes provided might hold a clue. We should go through them carefully before jumping to conclusions."

  Despite the pressure of the situation, a few students began to calm down. The ones who had originally let their fear consume them clung to this newfound hope, listening carefully.

  Professor Varian stepped back, his expression unreadable. "You have until the end of the lesson. Work together, or don’t. Either way, you must make a choice."

  The weight of the challenge settled upon them. Some students took deep breaths and started forming small groups, pooling their knowledge. Others hesitated, uncertain whether to trust their classmates or look out for themselves. Rivalries were momentarily pushed aside as necessity forced even the most stubborn individuals to cooperate.

  The hunt for the sodium chloride vial had begun.