The Book Eating Magician

Chapter 28

Mana-vil Capital #3

“A scramble?”

“That’s right.”

Loren, an Average from the Blue Tower, walked ahead of them while speaking.

His explanation was quite detailed, unlike the suspicious expression he had shown at their first meeting. Theodore, who knew nothing about the Pupil Tournament, was able to understand it easily.

“The participants received an application and, at the same time, one of the token payments. Now, you are called Theodore, right? You should’ve received something from the reception desk earlier.”

“Ah…!”

Theo pulled out the item.

It was a gold medal which looked like a coin, but it was attached to a string, so it could be hung around the neck. The number 132 was engraved on it, indicating his registration number.

Loren confirmed it and nodded. “Yes, the participants demonstrate their superiority by leaving this token intact. The loser will be deprived of all the tokens he has, and the number of tokens last owned will become the official record.”

Vince said, “This method wasn’t used in the past.”

“Well, there were several things that happened.”

It was a strange story for Vince, who had left Mana-vil seven years ago. Although he had heard news periodically from his friends in the capital, Vince never heard anything about the Pupil Competition.

Loren noticed Vince’s attention and quickly opened his mouth, “The root cause is that there are too many participants.”

That’s right. As the number of participants who joined the magic contest increased, problems occurred. The rise in the number of incoming magicians meant the number of disciples brought with them also increased.

For high ranking magicians, a direct duel was burdensome, so the fight spread unconsciously to the Pupil Tournament. In addition, the goods set as prizes from the Meltor Palace fanned the flames.

“As you know, the competition was originally a round-robin tournament, but that start is too late. The Pupil Competition must be finished before the magic contest starts.”

“…So, it became a scramble.”

“There are some who say it is barbaric, but I don’t think it is a bad change. You can challenge an opponent and lose in the first round because you have no luck.”

His words weren’t wrong. This competition format had been decided at the end of a rational discussion. Compared to a round-robin, there were advantages and almost no disadvantages.

A competent participant could quickly rise in the rankings by knocking out participants with a large number of tokens, while incompetent participants would fall first. Obviously, this dog-eat-dog type of competition was recommended because it was faithful to the laws of the magic towers.

However, Vince didn’t miss the loopholes in rules of this competition format.

“What happens if a person aims for a tired opponent, or a participant gains a moderate number of tokens and then avoids having another fight? Is there a means of urging the participants?”

“Hoh, good points.” Loren slightly admired the magician from the Red Tower.

He had never seen Vince’s face before, so he had thought Vince was just someone from the countryside. Never would he have imagined that the other person would be famous in the Red Tower. However, it was too late. With a scoff of derision, he pointed to the stadium at which they had arrived.