Marius noticed the strange atmosphere and asked, “Lucas, is it really that difficult to repair a barrier?”
“Y-yes…”
Lucas could understand the feelings of those around him. Even he, who had prior knowledge and some resistance, was blown away. He wondered how much more surprised those who knew nothing would be. It was probably impossible to put into words.
“These are the type that dozens of first-class mages take years to set up one by one. If you can repair them in an instant, then Marius-dono simply possesses the magic power of thousands of people.”
“I see.”
Even explaining it was terrifying. The scariest part was that he did it effortlessly, without incantation. If he had chanted, one could manage with being a “mage unmatched by any, comparable to an army” who could fight an entire magic corps alone. But to do it without incantation… Lucas gave up thinking any further. Still, he did not forget to warn in a small voice, “If you do everything without incantation, it’s the height of absurdity.” He judged it better to say it if Marius had no malice and was acting out of goodwill towards Filat.
The word “too late” was temporarily removed from his mental dictionary.
For Marius, it was as if he was saying, “What are you stating the obvious for?” He hadn’t forgotten being shunned by those around him when he spammed high-level magic without incantation in a mock battle. In fact, it was precisely because he remembered that he acted that way, but there was no way others could know that.
Since his initial objective was achieved, Marius was satisfied. Seeing Mireille, whom he met last night, surprised him, so he thought he would at least throw Asteria’s calculations into disarray. The only thing that bothered him was that Barra was looking at him with a gaze of a different kind.
“It’s like a passionate fan encountering their idol?”
Since she was a princess of a kingdom, he assumed it was just his overactive imagination and decided not to worry about it.
“Now, we will proceed to the second competition. The second competition is Precision.”
After Weiss’s commentary, human-like figures were set up by the staff. Then, a white line was drawn.
“Let me explain the rules. Please shoot magic at the statue made of Uramis material. The statue has limit points. The closer you are to the limit point, the closer the statue’s color will be to white, blue, green, yellow, red, and black. The person closest to the limit point wins.”
After Weiss finished explaining, Catarina raised her hand and asked a question.
“Doesn’t it seem like those who compete later have an advantage? How do you handle that?”
“The limit points set will differ for each person, so please do not worry. In a sense, the competition of others can be misleading.”
“It requires magic adjustment ability, judgment, and intuition.”
“For a mage’s combat, intuition is surprisingly important. It is not uncommon that you won’t have time to react if you don’t make an intuitive judgment.”
The first to compete was Annette, who ranked last in the first competition.
“【Fire】.”
A weak fireball, incomparable to the one Marius unleashed in the first competition, flew out and turned the statue white upon impact.
“Oh, a high score right from the start! Annette-player, two points.”
“It’s surprising, but it’s different from sheer magic power, isn’t it?”
“Ehhh?”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be a pushover?”
The spectators murmured in surprise, but no one was more surprised than Annette herself. Asteria had sent her off saying, “It’s okay to be last in all competitions, just do your best,” and she competed with the mindset of being “a pawn in some strategy.” The other participants also recognized Annette as a mere stepping stone, so they were surprised by the unexpected development.
“Now, next is George-player.”
“Perhaps players who can’t generate much power will have an advantage.”
George scored fifteen points, Gregor eighteen points… and so on, with several players in the teens.
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but lower points are better scores.”
“Everyone’s score is surprisingly good, isn’t it?”
Felix casually said something harsh, eliciting laughter from the venue. Warren scored sixteen points, Hemrooth thirteen points, Lucas ten points, and Philip nine points.
“So, we can consider ten-point scores impressive, can’t we, Felix-san?”
“Yes. It would be easier to understand if you tried it yourself.”
The current leader was Annette in a surprising turn of events, but Philip was second, Lucas third, and the rankings were mostly as expected. The two from Boltner’s faction were also high up, indicating this was a competition suited to them.
“Next is Mireille-player.”
She scored six points, turning the statue blue, and provisionally took second place.
“Mireille is really strong…”
“I don’t want to root for her, but she’s strong, and I can’t help it.”
The crowd gasped in amazement.
“And now! Barra-player, who has suddenly become a favorite to win!”
Unlike with Mireille, the spectators erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. The young men, in particular, cheered enthusiastically. Barra, without forgetting to wave and blow kisses, stood by the white line, charming her fans.
“【Aqua】.”
A small droplet of water wobbled its way and disappeared upon hitting the statue, turning it white.
“Barra-player, a close three points! Second place!”
“Amazing. Unlike Annette-player, there’s no element of luck here.”
“Awesome!”
“Princess Barra is the strongest!”
Barra responded to the roaring cheers with a kiss and retreated, harboring thoughts of “Don’t underestimate the people of the magic superpower Ranleo” and feeling like she had been outdone by Annette.
“Ah, but if it’s Marius-sama, I don’t mind being underestimated… no, rather, I wouldn’t mind being taken in entirely!”
She stopped herself just before diving headfirst into a romantic fantasy. For her, who fervently loved amazing magic and amazing mages, learning about the exceptional existence of Marius was an unparalleled joy. On the other hand, she still considered Seraeno and Lucas to be formidable opponents and had no intention of conceding individual or national victory. Barra was perhaps the only one thinking along these lines with regard to the rampaging Marius.
“It’s because Marius-sama is so great that I want to challenge him! And be recognized!”
It was less a spirit of challenge and more a romantic sentiment, akin to a date. Barra was the only one genuinely looking forward to Marius’s turn.
“And finally! The overwhelming favorite to win! Marius-player!”
As Weiss announced his name, the venue fell silent. Someone swallowed audibly. They could not imagine the durability of the unheard-of material, Uramis. If the limit points varied individually, it was impossible to use others’ performances as a reference. It seemed he had unconsciously set himself up for a fall.
He let out an involuntary sigh, but there was nothing he could do now. Marius took a shallow breath, exhaled, and walked to the marked line.
“【Fire】.”
If the previous shot was his full-powered Fire, this one was his weakest. Still, it easily pulverised the replica, turning it completely black. The venue fell silent once more.
“Uh… Marius-player…?”
“He doesn’t seem good at fine adjustments. Everyone has their weaknesses.”
Felix’s compassionate commentary touched Marius’s heart.
“It says 130, which is quite a subtle number, but didn’t you unleash incredibly powerful magic just now?”
“Since he’s that strong, his magic recovery must also be amazing.”
For Marius, it was a mortifying moment. However, seeing things quantified gave him some insight, and he felt participating was worthwhile. No one in the venue laughed. Weiss and Felix, though pale and sweating profusely, were merely maintaining their composure with their professional spirit.
“N-no way. He repaired five barriers, and then destroyed that replica, so why isn’t he out of magic power!?”
It was the people of Ranleo who first exclaimed in disbelief. Bernhard III, who did not favor them due to their constant provocations, agreed with them for once. He had considered it possible for Marius to instantly repair the barrier. However, the fact that he did it all without incantation was the problem. Thinking back, he had apparently dealt with the recapture of Balderra Fortress with a single spell. That was all the report said, so he had assumed he’d chanted it. But if it was without incantation… a mage who could unleash a super-large-scale magic affecting tens of thousands of troops without incantation, without running out of magic power, and without showing any fatigue…
“Is he truly equal to or greater than Melinda Guilford…? Is he human…? No, an inhuman being wouldn’t honestly participate in a competition… Could he be Melinda’s reincarnation?”
This explanation would make sense, and Bernhard III would feel at ease. His instincts rejected any other possibility.
“He’s probably good at fire-based magic specifically! He’s deliberately doing that to intimidate everyone!”
Boris, the captain of the Ranleo guard, and Bernhard III sighed wearily at their own countrymen, who were spewing nonsensical accusations. Only Marius and Emma knew that part of it wasn’t entirely wrong. In fact, it was more natural to assume that he could only use fire-based magic among offensive spells. When Bernhard III stated this, everyone nodded vigorously as if they had seen a savior. Despite the huge failure, Marius’s second competition ended not with laughter, but by etching deeper fear into everyone in the venue.
“Amazing! Incredible! Astonishing! SUGOI!”
Barra suppressed the urge to jump and dance as she screamed internally. While everyone else looked on in despair, their hearts shattered by the power they witnessed, she, a magic fanatic, was in ecstasies. To her, being bad at fine adjustments was not a significant flaw. Any mage had shortcomings.
“I want to get closer! I want to learn from him! I want to be dominated!”
While dangerous thoughts as both a princess and a woman swirled, she tried to devise a way to become friendly with Marius. The fact that he was completely unfatigued after performing so brilliantly in the first competition was incredibly alluring. She desperately wanted to find a way to get acquainted with him. Ranleo had a hostile relationship with Filat due to their animosity towards Filat. She recognized, at least, that he was seen as a clown who wasn’t taken seriously, a fact she knew well. If she, a princess, adopted a friendly attitude, her intentions would be questioned, and she would likely be ignored.
“Hmm? A princess?”
Barra thought of a tactic that princesses were best suited for.
“The second competition is now over.”
Annette was first with twenty-five points, Barra second with twenty points, Mireille third with eighteen points, Philip fourth with sixteen points, Lucas fifth with fifteen points, Hemrooth sixth with fourteen points, George seventh with thirteen points… and Marius was last with one point.
Individually, Barra was first with forty points, Mireille second with thirty-six points, Philip third with thirty-two points, Lucas fourth with thirty points, Hemrooth fifth with twenty-eight points, and Marius, Warren, and Annette tied for sixth with twenty-six points.
Nationally, Ranleo was first with seventy-two points, Hordia second with sixty-two points, Filat third with fifty-six points, and Seraeno fourth with fifty-two points.
“Ranleo and Hordia have moved up, haven’t they, Felix-san?”
“Ranleo is strong as expected. Hordia’s selection of players was brilliant.”
“Filat and Seraeno have fallen back, what are your thoughts?”
“Filat seems to have stagnated as Marius-player’s unexpected weakness was revealed. Seraeno is fighting consistently and stably as always.”
“We will now take a break for lunch before the final competition this afternoon. Could you predict the future developments?”
“I think it’s become more interesting with Filat’s stall. There hasn’t been a Demonplay without a battle in history… meaning, the final competition will definitely involve a battle element.”
“When it comes to battle, wouldn’t Filat, with Marius-player, be overwhelmingly favored?”
“There are many types of battles. And considering the point difference, Marius-player simply winning first place won’t be enough to catch up.”
“Indeed. The point difference between the individual leader Barra-player and Marius-player is sixteen points… Even if Marius-player wins the final competition, Barra-player can still secure victory by finishing in the top ten.”
“There’s also a ten-point gap between first and second place nationally. So, they’ll likely make the rules such that all players currently in the top ranks have a chance to win.”
“In other words, if you stop watching now, you might regret it.”
“Well, it’s the host nation’s duty to ensure the tournament remains exciting until the very end.”
“Let’s look forward to the intense battles this afternoon.”
