Chapter 90

“It’s more than I expected.”

I shared my thoughts while looking at the crowd of viewers.

Compared to other famous streamers who have 10,000 or 20,000 real-time viewers, it’s a small number, but the actual feeling was different.

The viewer count was 1,600, yet the participation approached an astonishing 1,000.

Since so many people couldn’t fit into my private room, I set the background to a large set provided by the capsule.

[Idol Stage ver.1.3.4]

As I stepped onto the stage, the lights hanging from the ceiling all turned simultaneously to shine on me.

I felt a hot wave of heat. Isn’t there a way to dim the lights a bit?

I fiddled with the settings, but eventually decided to get to the main point out of laziness.

What I was about to do was closer to an OX quiz than a World Cup.

It’s a simple game where you just have to choose the same answer as mine to survive.

There was a reason I insisted on picking managers this way.

Even if I set standards for aggressive phrases or spammy and malicious chats, there would still be those who skirt the line.

I couldn’t communicate the standards to each manager, and their own judgment was crucial in those moments.

In conclusion, I needed someone I could trust to just “handle it well on their own.”

Someone with a similar disposition to mine would likely make the same judgments as me. It’s a matter of probability. If not, that would be troublesome.

[‘nayun1231’ donated 3,000 won!]

– “Is there a special criterion for choosing combat magic? Like assuming a one-on-one situation or having to face multiple enemies.”

“You can choose as you see fit.”

– “It’s all just for fun, but this is way too immersive, lol!”

– “All those immersed people came to join the fun, lol!”

– “I can’t stand the manager selection.”

It’s a test to see how closely our thoughts align anyway. Overthinking it will just make it harder, right?

[Combat Magic World Cup Round of 32, 1/16]

[5th Circle Ignis Velum (Wall of Fire) vs 4th Circle Glacis Hasta (Ice Spear)]

“Looks like a duel between fire and ice right from the start.”

– “Fire vs Ice, oh boy!”

– “Nothing but Fire and Ice Dance, lol!”

– “Is the host a Fire-and-Ice type or an Ice-and-Fire type?”

– “What’s with the Ice-and-Fire?”

– “Even if you die from the heat, you still shower with warm water.”

– “I’m both, so it’s fine, lol.”

Not that I know the official terms for magic in this world.

I just roughly inferred from the structure of the magic circle and compared it with magic from my previous life.

If it were a World Cup, it would have been nice to have some explanations about the magic involved, but it seemed the creator ditched that convenience entirely.

What’s “Wall of Fire” vs “Ice Spear”? It’s so cheap.

“The left is called Ignis Velum. It appears to be a fire magic that supplies combustibles around the caster in a semi-permanent way, expanding into a solid form. The burning reaction seems to shield the magic circle from the risk of dispel. Oh, I could have played the video. Let’s take a look?”

The video quality wasn’t very good.

A muscular man ran through a field of reeds with a cameraman following him. He was likely a war correspondent.

However, at the end of the reed field, a wide river was flowing. Those at the dead end hastily checked behind them. Were they being chased by an enemy?

At that moment, the man grabbed the cameraman and threw him across to the other side of the river. He landed just past the middle, and the camera’s view rose back above the water’s surface.

[confícĭo: ignis vēlum]

Dozens of soldiers emerged from behind barricades in the reed field. But as the massive fireball unleashed by the man obliterated the reeds, they could only stamp their feet in place, unable to approach.

– “The old wizard is really cool, lol! Is this a 5th circle?”

– “Look at the water boiling!”

– “This probably is Switzerland.”

– “How do you know?”

– “Because of the Alps in the background.”

“Shall we watch the next one? Due to time constraints, I’ll explain while watching the video. The quality is much better here. 4th circle magic Glacis Hasta. In the video, it froze water all the way down to -250 degrees, shaping it sharply.”

[constĭtŭo: glácĭes hasta]

– “How do you even handle a spear at -250 degrees?”

– “I bet it’s not aimed, it’s launched, lol!”

– “This person just grabs it?”

– “????”

The woman with long blue hair grabbed a spear that had formed in mid-air between her second and third strides.

Her upper body did not bend forward, and her shoulder and arm on the side holding the spear were taut.

Her hips and shoulder served as an axis, with the palm facing upwards.

As she planted her weight firmly on her left leg during her fourth stride, her chest thrust forward, maximizing her contraction strength.

A powerful delivery. The spear left her hand, and her body momentarily floated. It hit the target perfectly.

Aside from the quick recovery motion, it was nearly flawless.

The video ended with her pouting while holding her reddened hand.

“That was impressive. I don’t really have much more to evaluate. Ignis Velum vs Glacis Hasta. What should we do?”

– “Just go with the fire one.”

– “Duh.”

– “But it’s a 5th circle vs 4th circle magic, isn’t that imbalanced? Lol.”

– “Fire types are indeed strong.”

– “Let’s go for the old man’s magic this time.”

“Hmm… I can only use one of these.”

As I deliberated, a screen displaying the same image as the one I was viewing appeared on the floor of the set where people were standing.

The side I chose would survive, while the other would see the floor collapse, causing viewers to be eliminated.

I was still considering when those who had already made up their minds pressed forward. Most were leaning towards fire magic.

“The former is a fire magic capable of both offensive and defensive capabilities. If used skillfully, it’s useful not just in one-on-one battles but also in one-to-many fights. Especially in situations like the one just shown when fleeing, it buys valuable time.”

– “Isn’t using that one basically invincible?”

– “It’s such a game-breaking spell, lol.”

– “The 5th circle magic circle is seriously complicated.”

“On the other hand, the latter may not have elemental advantages but seems heavily dependent on the caster’s ability. If you cast the magic and can’t hit anything, it’s worthless.”

– “That would be a bad situation.”

– “I’d rather shoot an ice cannon.”

– “But there’s a certain romanticism in manual spells, right?”

“Have you all made your choices? For the wide-area Wall of Fire, come to the left; for Ice Spear, the right. The Wall of Fire indeed looks more impressive on the surface. I agree.”

Hearing my assessment, those who moved from Glacis Hasta to Ignis Velum increased rapidly.

Clearly, sympathizers were emerging in the crowd.

Conversely, there were no movements towards the opposite direction, except for one person over there.

“Well then, I’ll choose quickly as well.”

Confirming that there was no one on the dividing line between the two choices, I lightly poked the option I had already solidified in my mind.

[4th Circle Glacis Hasta (Ice Spear)]

– “????”

– “???????”

– “WTF?”

[840 Viewers Eliminated.]

[218 Viewers Survived.]

A muted scream from hundreds echoed faintly beneath the stage.

To be eliminated from the first round with 840 people.

Finding an ideal manager proves to be this difficult.

The previously calm real-time chat began to surge violently.

Those who were eliminated in the first round were venting their frustrations.

– “I trusted the host and switched last minute, and this is what I get?”

– “Lol!”

– “Talk about a trap, lol!”

– “Isn’t this just malicious at this point?”

-(Message Blocked.)

Especially those who switched at the last moment seemed even more wronged, not shying away from swearing.

You’re banned.

“I believe Ignis Velum is useful magic. However, I do have some doubts about whether I would choose it if I could only use one. If you were playing a survival game and could only choose to use either a pistol or a smoke grenade, what would you pick?”

– “Of course, the pistol.”

– “Thinking that way suddenly makes sense, right?”

– “But it is a 5th circle; doesn’t it also have some killing power?”

“Essentially, Ignis Velum is no different from a self-destruct mechanism. The caster’s mana isn’t infinite, and obscuring vision works both ways. I wouldn’t want to use such an ambiguous spell.”

[‘gijipiji’ donated 1,000 won!]

– “Ugh, you can’t hit it even once, lol!”

– “Then why don’t you break it like the host with a perfect score? Lol!”

– “If you’re mad… you know?”

– “The Ice Spear seems incredibly weak for a 4th circle, I wonder why?”

“Glacis Hasta has the advantage that you can freely configure the material forming the spear. It’s not just about freezing water; if you can build a superconducting device based on niobium to minimize energy efficiency, reaching hypersonic speeds isn’t out of the question.”

It’s essentially the principle of a railgun.

And above all, doesn’t it sound ridiculous that ice mages are inferior to fire mages?

I had never lost a magic duel against Remilia Acephat.

It was knowledge stemming from reliable experience, so I urged the viewers to trust my words.