Chapter 151: An Unexpected Opponent
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 151: An Unexpected Opponent
"How can this be?"
I still couldn't quite believe it, but at this moment, I could even hear the sounds of schadenfreude and laughter coming from the surroundings.
The relieved expressions of the other girls showed me that this was no mistake.
Meanwhile, many people in the crowd were shouting, clearly eager to see the world burn.
Those who recognized the names naturally knew that the No. 14 freshman, Yang Yuehan, was the "God's Hand" who had recently gone viral on the Academy Network. That move where she crushed a Fireball Spell with her bare hands had certainly been an eye-opener for many.
It had also resulted in quite a few senior sisters, who had tried to imitate her, ending up with their hands wrapped in bandages.
To have a freshman like her go up against the predicted number one seed in the freshman rankings—this was starting the show with a "King Bomb"!
Wasn't a clash between the strong exactly the kind of drama the audience loved to see?
In a section of the spectator stands, Bai Yu stood up along with the excited crowd. However, unlike the thrilled expressions around her, her face was incredibly grim!
How could she not know the name Tan Han?
Tan Han was a core character of the Script. If Yuehan got involved with her, she would absolutely be sucked into the Script's plot!
Bai Yu hadn't expected this to happen so abruptly. Didn't this mean all her previous efforts were for nothing?
In this moment, she felt her own powerlessness, but she was even more worried about Xiao Han’s safety.
Her opponent, Tan Han, was someone who possessed a spellbook with four-digit mana consumption. Even though Tan Han only had a three-digit Mana Source, the power of the three-digit consumption spellbooks she had mastered was terrifying.
What did Xiao Han, who only had single-digit consumption spellbooks, have to fight back with?
Even though she knew Xiao Han had protection spells, still... they wouldn't be able to block it!
The gap in the magnitude of energy consumption was right there. How could she possibly turn the tables?
But right now, Bai Yu could only fret in silence, even resorting to prayer...
This was a competition; she wasn't allowed to interfere. Moreover, with so many Transcendent Witch teachers present, she certainly wouldn't be allowed to cause trouble.
In such a desperate situation, if one wanted to break free from the Script... the only possibility was to defeat Tan Han, shatter the Script's event node, and create a loophole or a turning point in the plot...
But was that even possible?
It wasn't that Bai Yu lacked confidence in Xiao Han; she simply didn't believe in ethereal miracles. Even "miracles" were often just elements written into the Script.
While Bai Yu was worrying, two other people nearby were also extremely anxious.
"What's the deal? Xiao Tan and Xiao Han are clashing?"
"It's definitely rigged! This is targeted!"
"Alright, enough with the 'targeted' talk. Who would be bored enough to target Xiao Han?"
These two were, of course, Ying Shiqian and Senior Sister Tang Yihan from the Baking House. They had originally come to cheer for Xiao Han, never expecting to run into this situation.
"So what do we do now? Who do we support?"
"Xiao Han, obviously, you idiot! Xiao Tan already has the Shopkeeper's support."
"Oh, right. Speaking of which, where is the Shopkeeper?"
"How should I know?"
Such heated discussion naturally reignited the passion of the crowd. Clearly, most people were already impatient for the fight to start.
Many were shouting Tan Han's name. After all, as No. 1, she was naturally the first to take the stage.
With the arena numbers assigned, the next part was the heart-pounding battles!
Even though the participants were all freshmen and the combat might not be particularly aesthetic, the sheer scale of the event made it incredibly eye-catching.
Even if it was just "amateurs flailing at each other," the atmosphere was enough to make people scream with excitement.
Meanwhile, at the teachers' seating area, many teachers were whispering among themselves. They had even shielded their conversation from the students, as there were some things that couldn't be revealed to them.
"I have some impression of this Yang Yuehan. She's in the class Xi Lan is teaching, right?"
"I think so. She's been quite popular on the Academy Network lately."
"Catching a fireball with her bare hands? Hey, could you have done that back when you were a freshman?"
"Why are you asking me that? Of course not. I wonder where Xi Lan found that spellbook."
"You lot are so ill-informed."
"That Yang Yuehan was personally recruited by Xi Lan. She's an Innate Spirit Visionary."
"Huh? Just that? She looks no different from anyone else. Is she really an Innate Spirit Visionary? But what does that have to do with what we were talking about?"
"Hehe, didn't Xi Lan form a research group? It only has two members: Xi Lan and this freshman. Lately, Xi Lan's group has been churning out all sorts of experimental data and papers. They've already been archived by the Great Library under high-level permissions."
"What? Something like that happened?"
"That's why I said you're ill-informed. You don't care about these things at all; is your head just full of brute force?"
"Those results are all 'Truths' that can only be glimpsed with high-level Spirit Vision. So it's confirmed. You lot are already Transcendent Witches, yet you struggle just to create a single spellbook, while she can already perform magic modifications on spellbooks right after enrollment. Look at the gap and know your place~"
"Tch~ You just think you know everything."
"By the way, the Freshman Competition starting off this intensely... was there some behind-the-scenes manipulation?"
"Go ask Lina. She should know."
"I wouldn't do something like rigging the matches. Don't slander me." Lina, who had just been mentioned, walked over and joined the chat.
"Eh? Sister Lina, what are you doing here?"
"My business is finished, so of course I came over. Keep talking. What else were you discussing? For the record, I definitely didn't rig anything. It's just luck." Lina found an empty seat and sat down, not caring whose seat it was.
"Luck? I'd say it's Luck. Is it interference from the Script?"
At the mention of the Script, the witches all took on gossiping expressions. The matter of the Script was an open secret among Transcendent-level witches, and the same was true for other Transcendent Academies.
* * *
On the field.
The massive Ley Line Operating System in the sky projected the names and photos of the contestants above each partitioned arena. The fiery red background and the full-body portraits of the contestants clashed together, signaling the fierce battle that was about to take place.
Before the fight began, the contestants had a period of time to prepare and adjust their mindsets.
The massive arena had been divided into over twenty battlegrounds.
Even so, each individual area was quite large. The perimeters were even reinforced with temporary solidification spells to ensure they wouldn't interfere with adjacent matches or the spectator stands.
"Xiao Han... Yang Yuehan, let's go. Our battle is about to begin." Seeing me still dazed, Tan Han spoke up.
"Okay." I adjusted my witch hat and followed her toward Arena No. 1 in the very center.
I didn't know how they ordered these arenas, but why was No. 1 in the middle?
Complaints aside, I couldn't neglect the task at hand. The partitioned arenas had a certain height difference from the ground, but this stone challenge stage was actually a spell effect. It made sense; otherwise, building them out of actual stone would be too much work, and they'd be hard to repair if damaged.
I stepped onto the competition platform.
Tan Han also leaped up, standing opposite me on the other side.
Tan Han wasn't wearing the standard freshman witch four-piece set, and even the magic wand in her hand wasn't a common item.
Her wand looked very exquisite; it was a short wand like mine, looking very compact in her hand.
"I didn't expect our next conversation to be in a setting like this. Since we last met, there are many things I've wanted to understand. Won't you tell me?"
"This occasion... probably isn't very appropriate, is it?" I glanced around at the surroundings and the referee assigned to our arena.
The referee was a Transcendent Witch. That terrifying pressure from a higher level of life made me instinctively afraid to use Spirit Vision to probe her.
However, even though we were talking here, the spectators far away in the stands couldn't hear what we were saying.
The giant light screen in the sky faithfully broadcasted every move here, but without sound.
If there were sound, it would be too noisy. With so many arenas active at once, the audio would be a chaotic mess.
This was where the commentary skills of the live stream announcers came into play.
"It really isn't appropriate. In that case... let's make a wager based on the outcome of this duel. If I win, you tell me the whole story—after we're off the stage, of course."
"And if I win?" I asked.
"You can make any request you want. If you win, it will be enough to prove many things. But that's assuming you can win." Tan Han's tone was full of confidence, but she didn't mock the possibility I raised. Since she was the one proposing the bet, it had to be fair in principle.
However, in her heart, she was certain of victory.
The monopoly on spellbooks in Transcendent Academies was very strict. While minor spellbooks circulated quite a bit, high-intensity spellbooks couldn't be bought with mere money.
Starting from spellbooks with three-digit consumption, their value increased exponentially. Even many senior sisters didn't have spells of that level.
It was extremely difficult for a normal student to obtain them; usually, only the Academy would produce such spellbooks to be given out as prizes.
For example, in this Freshman Competition, the top ten students would be rewarded with spellbooks, as well as Mana Sources and other items. Those spellbooks also reached three-digit consumption.
Of course, spellbooks were only one of the highlights of the prizes. The main rewards were products from clearing Ley Line anomalies; the higher the ranking, the more valuable the items.
One had to realize that the spellbooks most senior sisters used in combat only consumed a few or a few dozen points of mana.
With the power she currently wielded, she could remain undefeated just by standing still and outputting simple spells. But she certainly wouldn't be that arrogant.
She would give her all in every battle.
She wouldn't make such a low-level mistake.
"I see..."
I didn't care much about what Tan Han said. No matter how much was promised, I had to win first.
I didn't know if I would win, but I would give it my all.
"Are you two ready?"
The teacher acting as the referee spoke up. She was currently controlling the Ley Line Operating System. Besides being a referee, she was also the director for this specific arena, adjusting the auto-follow camera angles and so on. Such multi-threaded operations weren't particularly difficult for a Transcendent Witch.
"Ready."
I held my magic wand, keeping my mental power in a state of constant readiness to ensure I could enter a combat stance the instant the match began.
The effects of the witch four-piece set, the bracers on my wrists, the protection spell buffs, and preparations for a possible opening sneak attack...
Tan Han said she was ready at the same time I did.
Everything was in place.
The referee teacher's expression became serious. This was the first match of the Freshman Competition, and it was the center-stage arena; she couldn't allow any accidents.
"Then... let the match begin!"