Chapter 400

[Baeg Ji-seong ← The pride of Korea!]

[The monstrous newcomer Baeg Ji-seong has finally debuted after 8 years!]

[You don’t know our fastest magician, Baeg Ji-seong?]

[Unspecified commentator Nona Mae’s commentary is so funny that I might go crazy lol]

[Effective immediately, I withdraw my support for Baeg Ji-seong.]

[I didn’t know Nami was originally this kind of character, what the heck lol]

[Choi Woo-joo’s commentary looks like he’s about to pass out lol]

[Seriously, how much of a supernova is Baeg Ji-seong that he’s attracting this much attention…]

(Screenshot from the match)

He’s just an ordinary second grader who’s only 8 years old, are you kidding me? lol

I imagined something like a second grader beating a third grader, but did you all go insane together?

[Comments]

-Oh my, to think the “Nami is highly regarded” certification went to the sorcerer! How rude!

-Not a super newcomer who appeared after 8 years, but a newbie who came out of the womb 8 years ago lol

└ What’s that about lol

└ I envy Ji-seong for receiving praise from Nona Mae.

-How can a second grader win against a third grader? Ugh, my head…!

└ For real, speak some sense lol Ugh…!

-Separately, the casting was a bit fast lol

└ It’s not like Nona Mae praises for nothing ㅇㅇ. At the same age level, she’s almost the best.

[Real-time restaurant coverage]

Every time Nona Mae’s voice came out, everyone jumped and unintentionally looked at the TV.

Some elderly folks are perplexed as to why they’re doing interviews with participants in the middle of the match lol

[Comments]

-The voice grabbing was ridiculous.

-You still think Nona Mae is a participant? lol

-Who would have thought she’d be invited as a guest commentator.

-She’s getting cuter as she turns more genuine.

└ I’m not the only one who felt the gradation lol

Nona Mae’s commentary caused a huge stir from the start.

Although she tried to speak expressively by referencing the tone of the announcer, as time went on, her natural voice came out when she became less conscious of it.

The short speech from a child hits differently in another way.

Before long, caster Yoon Geon announced the last scene of the second graders’ match.

“I complete the 2-circle aqua Numbs magic circle! Ohhhh… Oh! Song Ha-neul, Song Ha-neul, Song Ha-neul! With a splendid finish, Seviron Academy takes the first victory!”

“Wow, it’s ending like this!”

“Thus, we conclude the match!”

“Wow, Ryu Ji-yeon seized the opportunity and entered, but the magic circle was cast at the last moment and was hit directly. Nona Mae, would you like to say a word?”

“It seems that Cha Do-yoon’s screen play has done something decisive. Looking back at the final moments, Song Ha-neul, Cha Do-yoon, and the opposing team’s Ryu Ji-yeon were all in a straight line. Thanks to that, Cha Do-yoon was able to obstruct Ryu Ji-yeon’s line of sight until the last moment. They won by a narrow margin, but I’d like to applaud the player who created that narrow margin.”

“Thank you for the great commentary. We’ll see you again after the interview!”

* * *

The second graders’ match ended with Seviron Academy claiming victory after a fierce match lasting about 19 minutes.

Altear’s Ryu Ji-yeon, disappointed that she couldn’t reach the magic circle, exited the training hall supported by her teachers, sobbing.

Will that child toughen up with today’s experience as fertilizer, or will her spirit be completely broken?

The casters and commentators snapped me out of my thoughts.

I took off my headset and bowed my head.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh, no. Nona Mae, you also worked very hard. It’s tough since it’s your first time, right?”

“It’s still manageable. Did I happen to say too many unnecessary things during the commentary?”

“No, no, no! You can speak as much as you want! The PD and the writers seem to want you to talk more, haha. Am I right, everyone?”

The sports PD Nam Hyun-min just smiled at the comment from caster Yoon Geon.

He flipped over the pad on the table.

[Q Twish Academy Rivalry tops the real-time ratings at 2nd, surpassing 3 major broadcasters]

It seems that there’s not much of a gap compared to the 1st place KBS.

The staff’s faces lit up with encouragement.

There wasn’t much time for a break.

Familiar names from the third grade roster started appearing one after another.

“Oh, third graders. They all must be friends of Nona Mae then?”

“Yes, we’re all in the same class.”

“Please keep providing interesting commentary for this match as well.”

“Is Nona Mae’s chair height okay? There’s nothing higher than this.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for checking.”

“We’ll start the broadcast in 5 seconds! Everyone, please get ready!”

At the PD’s cue, I checked my outfit and stood up straight.

The production team had brought in the tallest chairs possible, but my eye level still didn’t match that of the commentators and casters.

“You are watching the third-grade match of the Seoul region Academy Rivalry with Nona Mae. We’re conducting a chat event through our app. We will be giving away tumblers signed by Nona Mae through a drawing, so please enter enthusiastically.”

“They say Nona Mae’s signature is hard to get, right?”

“The signature is known for being complicated and cute, right? A cat drawing.”

“Is there a reason behind the way you made it?”

I sighed softly and laughed.

“Yeah, I should have made it simpler. I somewhat regret it.”

“Haha, the more extravagant the signature, the more touched the fans will feel. Let me introduce the roster of Altear Academy!”

As the grades change, the members slightly change every year.

Skills in martial arts can change within a year, and some may not participate due to health or condition issues.

This year, Seviron Academy’s Seo Yuna and Ji Hye participated for the second consecutive year.

“Nona Mae has singled out Seo Yuna as a key player for Seviron Academy. I’d like to hear your opinion on what aspects we should pay attention to as a classmate of Nona Mae.”

“If Seo Yuna displayed aura-focused martial arts last year, this year she has equipped a new weapon called Hwagaemado.”

“Seems like a fitting image!”

“Especially, Hwagaemado deals primarily with magic in the battle, so they must meet the rather tricky condition of having to make contact with the opponent to lead the match smoothly.”

“If they can engage, they’re strong. I wonder if Altear Academy will allow that easily; we’ll start right away!”

* * *

The Academy rivalry isn’t everything in life.

But the moment they step into the training hall, the students’ mindset becomes unified.

On this day, they deem that winning is worth risking everything.

The mana barrier that provides safety paradoxically encourages students to take on greater risks.

The moment destructive instincts are unleashed, human movements become extremely simplistic.

The reason we practice and engage in mock battles is ultimately to learn how to control that instinct.

Then, conversely, one can make educated guesses about what moves the students will execute.

Ji Hye’s aura barrier was depleted to below 10%, resulting in her elimination.

Seo Yuna, who was substituted in, returned to the training hall.

I seized this short interval to add my previously thought-out commentary.

“I feel that elementary school students often fall into a state of excitement while watching the matches.”

“A state of excitement, you say?”

“Being children, they are fearless and easily swayed by their emotions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The instincts ingrained in our genes allow us to use our bodies efficiently.”

“But it could be dangerous to face someone who uses emotions against them.”

“That’s exactly it. I can say this because I’m close with the participant Seo Yuna, but to put it objectively, it was hard to say her performance in the beginning was good, right?”

“Altear handled the situation very well.”

“This girl is smart and has many good traits, but at the same time, she has a lot of anger. She has high personal standards, which is probably why. But did you know that people’s qualities can be interpreted differently? Being angry and lacking patience means, conversely, that one has drive and passion. Saying this might sound a bit biased, but I hope you pay attention to how Seo Yuna transforms her shortcomings into strengths in this match.”

The match resumed.

With the balance breaker Yoon Si-hoo advancing to fourth grade, the competition among the third graders was neck and neck.

Captain Seo Yuna donned thin gloves and unleashed red aura.

As she blocked the front, Go Kyung-won began casting a spell.

In the elementary division, it was a classically orthodox operation due to the slow casting speed.

[Spell: Ignis Spera]

Yuna reached into the magic circle and summoned a flame in the shape of a sphere.

Soon, when the gloves hit hard against each other, she transferred the fire to her other hand.

The transmission of magic.

It’s a rapid method of copying magic cast by another student.

The flowing red hair and the blazing flame left horizontal afterimages.

In the blink of an eye, Yuna reached the Altear students and unleashed her fist.

Boom-!

She wrapped magic barrier mana around her fist, forcibly disrupting the spell.

Ignis Spera burst like a balloon, releasing a hot gust of wind.

However, her opponent wasn’t one who would go down without a fight.

They generated a significant amount of high water to extinguish the heatwave.

Yuna dove into the encroaching fog without hesitation.

She surely wasn’t unaware that it was an open trap set by Altear.

[Spell: Nubilus Strike]

As expected, a multitude of magic energy orbs showered down on her like a meteor shower.

Splash-!

A massive magic circle spun above her.

Yuna curled up like a hedgehog as she stood in place.

Every time the large and small magic orbs hit her back, her expression twisted fiercely.

[Spell: Ignis Spe-]

Krackle-

Go Kyung-won’s magic attempt to rescue her was also thwarted mid-cast.

Yuna began to run counterclockwise, trailing the cloud of magic energy orbs.

It was a suicidal act that exposed even Go Kyung-won to danger.

An excellent opportunity arose to take both of them down.

The sharp-eyed Altear students bolstered the magic circle, increasing its size and power.

But Yuna’s intentions were different.

“Pass it to me!”

Her voice echoed loudly in the training hall.

Go Kyung-won hurled the incomplete magic circle as if tossing a Frisbee.

The match descended into increasing chaos.

Choi Woo-joo, the commentator, sensed the intentions of the boys and girls and sprang to his feet.

“Could it be that Seo Yuna is trying to take over and complete the magic circle?”

Even I, watching Yuna’s growth live, felt a slight surge of excitement as I grabbed the mic.

“Attempting to break another spell under the magic field they’ve set is a challenging task for a third grader! They’ve accurately seized upon the opening.”

[Spell: Ignis Spera]

[Joint Cast: Isothermal Expansion]

Whoosh-!

For Yuna, double casting was difficult.

However, it was feasible to pre-cast Isothermal Expansion and complete just one side of the Ignis Spera.

The flame ball, initially the size of a soccer ball, expanded to the size of a gym ball.

The finishing move created by pooling all mana, both theirs and theirs.

Swirling her arms, she launched the flame ball without any running start.

Without needing to aim hard, the mana had a tendency to follow the path already carved out.

The flame ball slid along the magic lines set by Altear’s students and caused a massive explosion.

Boom-!

Though not efficient and not particularly strong, it was enough to disrupt the momentum of the children.

The remaining mana barrier was concluded by Yuna landing several cat punches on her opponent.

Seo Yuna looked around the stadium, but ultimately couldn’t find me.

So, she waved her hands as if to say “look at me” and spun around while bouncing.

“What is that ceremony, Seo Yuna? Make sure to come up with something cool next time.”

* * *

After finishing the challenging morning commentary for the elementary division, I had lunch with my academy friends whom I hadn’t seen in a week.

The clamorous atmosphere of the restaurant naturally raised our voices.

“Hey Yuna, were you really funny on TV?”

“Nona Mae, did you think it was weird too? Oh my god, what do I do? I don’t know!”

“Your hair was a mess like a witch’s anyway, didn’t it suit you?”

“Hey, you wanna die, Go Kyung-won?”

“Hey, they said not to bother even dogs while eating!”

Wham-

Yuna slapped Kyung-won hard on the back.

A few grains of rice flew out of his mouth.

“Did Nona Mae do well on commentary? How was it? What’s different from up there?”

“Well, let’s see, what was different was-”

“Let’s see your reaction. What would happen if I searched something on Naver?”

The kids were starting to ignore what I said.

Having asked a question, they cleanly disregarded my answer.

“Ooh, people say Nona Mae spoke so beautifully. But what is the philosophy of life?”

“Maybe it’s the teachings life gives?”

“Nona Mae often says such things, huh?”

“Haha, what’s with that highlight thumbnail of Seo Yuna! Let’s watch this!”

“Oh, I don’t want to! Don’t watch!”

Lightly ignoring the children’s squabbles, I sipped my yogurt drink.

‘But saying I speak beautifully…’

I had been thinking of throwing off the stiff constraints and muzzle starting from the middle school commentary.