Chapter 532

The National Exchange Tournament is no longer the exclusive domain of those just 16 years old.

For the first time in history, a duel between participants aged 14 and 10 has taken place in the quarter-finals.

[Let’s learn about the world’s strongest prodigy, Cecilia.]

After graduating from Rice University in Texas at 11, she worked as a lead researcher at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

She developed an interest in combat in space, leading her to venture into magical dueling.

After just one year of training, she dominated the U.S. junior division in magical dueling.

Originally from Brazil, she reached the quarter-finals in last year’s National Exchange Tournament.

It’s genuinely chilling that this kid has only 3 years and 7 months of magical dueling experience.

She optimizes and casts nearly all combat spells in the shortest time possible, with over 1,000 types (there are thousands of general spells).

Remarkably, she was born capable of using multi-aura, appearing as if she’s wrapped in a carbon fiber reinforced polymer.

Everyone knows the massive advantage of being able to unleash spells freely as a mage.

(vs Oliver Larsson_Cecilia’s Triple Casting.gif)

Slightly exaggerated, but it might as well be “Cecilia’s clacks carry!” lol

[Comments]

– Even the low output of aura can be covered by good equipment ㄷㄷ

– Isn’t this what we mean by being inherently strong?

– With that appearance, she would have been hunted as a witch in the Middle Ages.

└ That’s just too much, seriously lol

└ Even if you say it, it’s always like that lol

– Who said Group P was a weak group? There are two in the quarter-finals.

└ Australia was incredibly strong this year.

└ So Caleb Ryan has taken down both the U.S. and Germany.

└ Cecilia didn’t lose for nothing ㅇㅇ

[Every time I see Cecilia’s records, I can’t help but feel that Noname seems even greater.]

Our Noname has barely 2 years and 2 months of magical dueling experience, guys…

She’s even 4 years younger and has far weaker aura output compared to Cecilia.

I feel sad that she doesn’t seem to get recognition even though she’s optimized every spell to this point.

Especially considering that Noname has won way more matches with a sword than with magic.

[Comments]

– Looking at Cecilia: Wow, that’s amazing… / Looking at Noname: (Buffering Noname emoticon)

– When I watch Noname’s matches, I still feel like the world is pranking me.

└ Seriously haha

└ It doesn’t make sense realistically haha

– In fact, what if Noname was an exceptionally skilled mage in her 30s? She could be deceiving everyone with amazing illusion magic.

└ There’s a limit to claiming outrageous supernatural powers are magic lol

– Oh, if the body is weak, it can be overcome with magic! → Noname: Takes them all down with a sword (?)

– I think Noname shows her progress too gradually.

└ If she had popped up and won the National Exchange Tournament from the start, she would have been followed as a sage from that day.

└ That’s just way too suspicious lol So understandable lol

August 6, 2053, Tuesday. France, Parc des Nice Stadium.

Vroom—

A bus stopped at the back gate of the stadium.

The bus door opened, and Noname, wearing a sleep mask on her forehead, walked down sluggishly.

A waiting camera captured this moment in real time.

Immediately, cheers erupted from the stadium.

[Finally, our Republic of Korea’s Noname is entering! It’s hard to believe that at the young age of 10, she has already climbed to the quarter-finals of the National Exchange Tournament. Has she already played 5 matches in just a month? This young athlete shows no signs of diminishing skill and is rather surprising everyone with her stable game management!]

└ Jumping Noname is so cute lol

└ Please, Noname, just win this match… Argentina has taken down Nathan Chen on the opposite side.

└ The most expensive match in the world.

└ How does she fight monsters with that tiny body?

Once inside the stadium, the preparation time is quite long.

Yet, the stadium was already nearly full.

The camera began to scan the audience, revealing famous faces hidden among the crowd.

A quiz show for commentators began, wherein failure meant falling into despair.

[Wow! Freya Sky is here! She’s a legendary singer-songwriter representing Skylomix from the U.S.!]

[And we have Ulysses Murphy, former Secretary of State known for Murphy’s Curse, and former President Montana Newsom!]

[Oh, Wolfgang Giring, a key player in the German victory two years ago! My heartfelt condolences to the German fans.]

[Next to him are Kim Geun, the 16-time champion, Katsuhata Asahi, the 14-time champion, and Katsuhata… Oh, I apologize, it’s Narita Ren! The golden generation of East Asia!]

[Oh ho ho, didn’t we just briefly show former President Newsom? Upon a closer look, looks like former President Lee Jo Won is here too… yes, enjoying chicken with his granddaughter.]

└ Freya Sky ㄷㄷ

└ This might be the last day in America, so they probably came as a group.

└ I came from the future~ Today America loses, and Noname will triumph claiming to be American in a mental victory~

└ Why is Lee Jo Won even here?? lol

└ Should we remember the second place too? This quiz show is pretty harsh;

└ Hey, second place did well too! They did well too!

└ Looking at today’s lineup, even terrorists would be petrified lol

On the electronic board, the history of the two competitors was being showcased.

People witnessed just how devastating tactics can become when unlimited magical use is allowed for young geniuses.

And now, those competitors enter the training hall.

The audience erupted with cheers hotter than the sun, heating the stadium to a frenzy.

[Quarter-finals Match 122]

[Noname (Korea)] [100% / 100%]

[Cecilia N. Samphio (USA)] [100% / 100%]

***

Just before the match, I met Cecilia in the dim tunnel heading to the training hall.

She waved at me excitedly.

“Yo Boss! Finally, I get to fight you!”

“Boss? Ah, that?”

It seemed to refer to the promise made during our last bet, where she declared she’d be my subordinate for life if she lost.

“I was really worried, you know, Noname…!”

“What were you worried about?”

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make it up to meet you. I’m just glad we can meet like this, hehe!”

“Come on. Cecilia, you’re going to drop out in the quarter-finals this year just like last year.”

“Kyahaha! I’ve grasped 98% of your skills, Boss. It might be different later, but with that body of yours, it’s going to be tough to defeat me. I’m going to uncover all the weaknesses you’ve been hiding today.”

“Weakness?”

Cecilia came closer and whispered in my ear.

“You haven’t encrypted your magic circles at all, right? The older sisters and brothers here don’t know how to counter them properly.”

“…”

“But if you do that to me, it’ll be a big problem, Boss. I’ve given you fair warning.”

“Heh, looks like you have quite the competitive spirit, huh? You’ve grown a bit, or rather, a lot.”

Westerners really seem to grow unrecognizably in just one year.

She clasped her hands behind her head, wearing a cheeky grin.

She came out ready to nullify all the magic I intended to use.

Perhaps she had been planning to target me long before the National Exchange Tournament was even held.

Just to be sure, I asked.

“Unique Magic too?”

“What are you referring to? Adele? Ignis Respicio? Stellar Atraho? All of them!”

“I see. That won’t be easy.”

I forced a wry smile.

Maybe the process up to now had been too smooth.

I had managed to strike my opponents without any hindrance as I used my magic.

If I proceeded with encryption, my mana loss would be significant, cutting the number of times I could use my 4-circle magic in half.

Depending on her decoding skills, that difference could be much larger.

“Cecilia.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you looked into the cases where the isotropy of the mana suddenly breaks in spells cast by Sufian Hakim?”

“…”

“Just as I thought. Then I’m looking forward to the match.”

The power of erosion cannot be explained by modern aura theory.

I gave her shoulder a light pat and moved over to the opposing side.

The condition of the grass was somewhat messy.

It seemed to show how intense the matches held here yesterday were.

<[En garde!]>

I donned a barrier around my body and checked the state of my wand.

Cecilia also looked like she completed her battle preparations on the opposite side.

Facing each other, we pondered what spell to cast first.

There isn’t much difference between starting with a win rate of 50.1 and 49.9, but psychologically, it can provide a sense of stability.

<[Prêts?]>

WooWooWoo—

I began to preheat my aura heart, circulating the aura within my body rapidly, widening the passage for external mana to flow.

Such sensations are often misinterpreted by the human brain through the five senses.

Golden-tinted sights, the sound of wind blowing from the hill, the scent of lilac.

<[Allez!]>

Piziziziz-!

[Spell: Ignis Fusquina]

[Spell: Ignis Fusquina]

Three branches of lightning extending from the magic circle traverse the expansive training hall.

Kwahwahwahwah-!

The blue trident that collided in the center produced a heated flame with a thunderous sound.

The spell is 2-circle Field Magic, also known as “Thunder Lance” derived from Greece.

It was no coincidence that our opening spells were identical.

[Spell: Ventus Aspello]

I formed a massive magic circle directly in front of me, pushing back the remnants of the explosion and the smoke.

The well-planted grass mixed with the mana.

[Dissolution: Ventus Aspello]

Pachin-!

In an instant, the magic circle was split in half.

“Within one second…?”

Fast.

The thermally compressed air expanded in all directions, losing its power.

Amidst my hazy vision, Cecilia’s magic circle unfolded.

[Spell: Aqua Monolithus]

A massive hydraulic piston pushed my entire body away.

[Dissolution: Aqua Monolithus]

Pwaaaaah-!

The magic, which barely maintained its form, exploded and scattered water in all directions.

[Universal Spell: Gravitational Adjustment]

[Universal Spell: Subsidence]

The ground around me morphed into a swamp, causing my feet to sink deeper.

The radius was so wide that if I managed to escape without dissolution, it would greatly benefit me.

But did Cecilia not realize that?

[Spell: Glacies Acus]

Triple casting appeared a massive magic circle above me.

From the clear sky came hundreds and thousands of big and small pieces of ice raining down.

Kwahgagagagahg!

[Dissolution: Glacies Acus]

[Spell: Glacies Ion Trap]

Shattering her magic, I sent ice whips flying toward Cecilia.

If she too would have to fall into the swamp, she would initiate her own magic’s dissolution.

I didn’t think she would come along willingly…

To my surprise, Cecilia was easily caught.

As I pulled the whip tightly, her small body was drawn towards me effortlessly.

“What’s your plan?”

“Good. I expected that!”

She had a small magic circle hidden in her jumper, ticking away.

[Delayed Casting: Ignition]

Flammable mana that slithered up from the swamp.

At this rate, an irreversible explosion would occur.

Kwahhhhhhh-!

A massive explosion engulfing a quarter of the training hall, black smoke shot up to the ceiling and cast the entire stadium into darkness.