The day of the third preliminary round of the magic tournament had arrived.
Mother’s belly had grown considerably larger, and the baby seemed about to be born any moment.
I couldn’t help but think, What if the baby is born while I’m competing in the tournament?
That’s why I need to finish quickly and stay by her side!
My turn was third.
Before the match, there was a thorough check of magical tools.
Magical tools were permitted, but anything that supplemented mana capacity was prohibited. Only tools that consumed the user’s mana could be used. That was the rule of the magic tournament.
I underwent a physical examination, had my magical tools inspected, and received confirmation that there were no issues.
The third preliminary round involved 64 contestants, and winning two matches would secure a spot in the main tournament.
Of course, the matchups were subtly arranged to prevent higher-ranking nobles from facing off against each other. Middle-ranking nobles who advanced from the second round were also paired to avoid higher-ranking nobles as much as possible in their first matches.
Looking at the matchup chart, my opponent was a boy from a lower-ranking noble family. Since he defeated a middle-ranking noble to advance to this round, it was safe to assume he had undergone rigorous training.
It was my turn, and I entered the arena.
The stands were packed with students, which was a bit surprising.
“Toma!”
Talia had come to watch. Shouldn’t she be watching the second-year matches instead?
For now, I waved at her. If I didn’t, I had no idea what she might say to me later.
There were quite a few upperclassmen mixed in the crowd. Maybe they were here scouting the first-year students as part of their club activities.
“Next match: First-Year Class A’s Toma Baldo Roxfall Marquis versus First-Year Class J’s Arendt Baronet’s son, Eckmund. Both competitors, proceed to your starting positions!”
Following the referee teacher’s instructions, we moved to positions about ten meters apart.
Eckmund seemed to be a pure magician, wearing a cloak over his uniform and holding a compact, 30-centimeter wand.
On the other hand, I was equipped with just my uniform and my self-weighted bow. It wasn’t out of disdain for the match, but going full gear with all three self-weighted items felt like overkill.
“The conditions for victory are as follows:
- Knocking your opponent out of the arena.
- Rendering them unable to fight.
- A judgment by me that they cannot continue.
- Or when the hourglass runs out, the student in the superior position.
Any attack after I declare the match over will be considered a foul. Understood?”
The arena was a circular platform with a diameter of 25 meters. Both Eckmund and I nodded our agreement.
“On my signal, begin! Both competitors, ready!”
Eckmund raised his wand toward me.
I held my self-weighted bow parallel to the ground.
“Begin!”
As soon as the signal was given, Eckmund started chanting.
“Oh great god of fire, Freyas, I offer my prayers. Fire Arrow!”
A flaming arrow shot toward me. I stepped to the left and dodged it.
“Oh great god of fire, Freyas, I offer my prayers. Fire Arrow!”
The Fire Arrow was slower than Charmy’s Light Arrow.
It seemed like slow motion, making it unlikely to hit.
After dodging the eighth Fire Arrow, Eckmund’s expression changed.
The strain from overusing mana seemed to be affecting him.
From my own experience, I knew that when mana drops below 20%, fatigue begins to set in. Below 10%, the body feels sluggish to the point of hindering movement.
Since infancy, I had been training to deplete my mana, so I had built up a kind of tolerance. But it seemed Eckmund hadn’t.
Even so, he hadn’t given up. His eyes showed determination, and I intended to meet it.
I drew back my self-weighted bow. Though it had no string, an arrow materialized when I pulled it back.
“Ugh, I… I won’t lose! Oh great god of fire, Freyas, I offer my prayers. Fire Arrow!”
A lightning arrow I released intercepted the Fire Arrow.
The Fire Arrow shattered, but the lightning arrow pierced through and struck Eckmund.
The effect of the self-weighted bow caused Eckmund to convulse, rendering him paralyzed.
I checked his life bar using my vision. Surprisingly, his life hadn’t dropped a single point.
Though his hair stood on end like a punk hairstyle, and smoke rose from his head as he collapsed, his life bar remained untouched—a curious phenomenon.
The referee teacher checked Eckmund’s condition.
“The winner: Toma Baldo Roxfall Marquis!”
Cheers erupted, and I heard Talia’s voice among them.
“Kyaaah, Tomaaa!”
Talia, don’t hit the boy next to you on the head so hard…
I won my second match in the third preliminary round as well, and I quickly returned to the mansion.
“Grandmother, Mother, Siegvalt, I’m home.”
“Welcome back, Toma.”
“How did your matches go?”
“Nii-nii!”
Carrying Siegvalt in my arms, I reported that I had secured a spot in the main tournament.
“I wasn’t worried for a moment since it’s you, Toma.”
“That’s my Toma!”
“Nii-nii!”
The main tournament would be held in two days. Sixteen competitors would participate, with the top two advancing to the finals. In other words, winning three matches would be necessary.
On the final day, the third-place playoff and the championship match would take place, deciding the runner-up, third place, and fourth place.
There would also be an exhibition match between the winners of the magic tournament and the martial arts tournament.
Side: Karl Axel Bayerlein Duke
I knew that Ha-Ten was making moves, but their objective remained unclear.
Initially, I thought their target might be the academy, but they had also tried to infiltrate the royal castle. Other possible targets included administrative offices.
This made it difficult to narrow down their focus.
Our shadow operatives were not infinite in number. While I was increasing their ranks as much as possible, it was hard to handle when the target was unclear.
For the past 30 years, Ha-Ten had been dominating us. It was frustrating, but increasing the shadow operatives wasn’t something that could be done overnight. We had to make do with our current manpower.
“About 16 or 17 years ago, we managed to push back significantly, but then we suffered a major blow.”
The struggle against Ha-Ten had burdened our shadow operatives, but this was a fight we could not retreat from.
“If only we could recruit more talented individuals…”
That was wishful thinking.
Shadow operatives required unique attributes and blessings, making recruitment extremely challenging.
Complaining wouldn’t solve anything. Though it would dilute our strength, we had no choice but to spread our resources thin to cover all potential targets.
Strengthening the shadow operatives must remain a top priority.
