Chapter 197: The Complex Rules of the Exchange Tournament
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: The Complex Rules of the Exchange Tournament
Leaving Teacher Ji Niang’s office, I found myself ruminating on our conversation. Because of the contract, I couldn't tell anyone—not even Sister Bai, despite her having signed a similar contract herself.
The ability to bypass the restrictions of a contract was a power only a Transcendent Witch could master. That was how Teacher Ji Niang could ignore the original terms to share more information with me while still keeping it all under the contract's umbrella.
But Sister Bai couldn't do that.
So, I couldn't discuss this with her. I couldn't even drop hints.
Was Tan Han... not the only protagonist? If there could only be one final protagonist, what would happen to the others once that one achieved their ultimate destiny?
Would they die?
I had forgotten to ask. If they were to die or lose their status as a protagonist, then by my understanding, they were nothing more than side characters and cannon fodder wearing the skin of a "protagonist." They were lost in a quagmire that no outsider could interfere with—a clever trick to keep others away. After all, if there can only be one true protagonist, then having so many meant that all but one were fakes.
The Academy must have thought this through far more thoroughly than I had.
I think I finally understood what Teacher Ji Niang meant when she said there were too many "protagonists" and no room for side characters or cannon fodder. When the side characters and cannon fodder are all wearing the protagonist's mantle, where is the space for the actual supporting cast?
Though I hated to admit it, my current position was exactly that awkward.
But could I really just stay out of it?
I could. Of course I could. But I had already told Sister Bai to look forward to my performance. Perhaps this was what Teacher Ji Niang meant when she said that premature promises become heavy burdens. But that depended on the person. For Sister Bai... I could only say that I was happy to carry it.
Only Tan Han... was she the most pitiful one? She knew nothing, yet on another level, she had to endure everything. Perhaps her so-called "visions of fate" were merely the arrangements of fate itself. As clever as she was, she must have considered that.
Had she?
If she really had, then her mental fortitude was likely even more terrifying than I imagined.
Teacher Ji Niang’s decision to tell me all this likely had an ulterior motive. It probably involved "picking a side." I had long suspected there was something wrong with these Academy Exchange Tournaments, but I hadn't realized the problem was this massive. Didn't this mean every visiting academy brought their own "Child of Destiny" to represent them?
But stripping away the "Luck" aspect, wasn't this just the usual drama of academies backing their own geniuses?
It was just that now, everyone was betting on whose Child of Destiny would be the last one standing.
This was exactly why I hated fate. It was like a malicious Monday-morning quarterback, mocking everyone’s prior efforts as worthless in the face of the final result.
If fate ever took a physical form, I’m sure every living being would try to strangle it instantly.
As for whether I would eventually stand for Tan Han...
If I asked myself that, I could only answer that I didn't know. It was just that Tan Han was the closest to me among all the Children of Destiny I knew.
Moreover, Teacher Ji Niang had mentioned another name: "Yao Beijuan." Even someone like her could become a Child of Destiny.
But it didn't matter. There was no threshold for being a Child of Destiny, and not all of them were destined for a happy ending, were they?
If a Child of Destiny was guaranteed a smooth rise to power, even if the journey was winding, it would be nothing more than a summary in a book. There would be no need for so many people to maintain a "script."
Wouldn't it be better to let things develop naturally?
Rather than worrying about things that didn't belong to me, I was more interested in what "goodies" the Academy had sent me under the guise of a club subsidy.
I had already received all three hundred Mana Sources. As for the rest, I assumed it would be spellbooks.
I couldn't imagine what else could help us in the exchange tournament. External items couldn't be brought into the dream; only one's own strength was real.
I opened my storage equipment. The space inside was quite large, and with the Mana Sources removed, a significant area had cleared up. What remained was exactly as I expected: a spellbook, but only one.
Beside it, however, were several bottles containing potions.
"Potions?"
I pulled out the attached instruction note to read their effects.
Constitution Improvement Potion: A potion that enhances overall physical quality. It uses a gentle method to continuously improve physical strength and various attributes. No side effects.
Mental Power Nourishing Potion: This potion has a slight effect on increasing mental power, but its primary function is to nourish it. It is very effective for mental damage or the discomfort caused by a sudden surge in mental power.
It was a perfect match for the third type of mental potion. This kind of treasure for increasing mental power was indeed excellent. Could they be used together?
I looked at the three potion bottles. I’d ask the well-traveled Sister Bai later and take them under her guidance.
* * *
Soon, I arrived at the Witch Cat Cafe again. Unlike yesterday, when we sat at a table with a good view, Sister Bai had booked a private booth to wait for me.
When I had returned to the villa last night, I had found the Golden Cat Card in my mailbox, along with many other letters I didn't recognize. I kept them all safe; since they were addressed to me, I’d check them one by one when I had time.
"Sister Bai, you're here early."
I pushed the door open. The room followed a standard cat theme, but stepping inside didn't feel like entering a room; it felt like walking into a dream world inhabited only by cats. Cat elements and toys were everywhere. On one side, a massive cat tree held a giant cat head that let out a cute, illusory "Meow~" as I looked at it.
Using illusions as permanent solidification spells for booth decor?
Truly a genius design.
"Xiao Han, you're here. Have a seat."
Bai Yu was currently teasing a cute little kitten. Only when she saw me did she finally release her "evil" clutches. The kitten fled as if for its life, even giving me a wide berth.
"Yeah."
I sat down on the floor by the low table.
"The Academy has released the specific rules for this exchange tournament. Things might be a bit more complicated than we thought." Bai Yu got straight to the point. Her Ley Line System projected a 3D map.
"Oh? Really?"
I replied casually. I hadn't had the chance to check the details yet, and seeing that Sister Bai had already secured the dream map for the tournament, I stopped worrying.
"Yes. The map for this dream tournament has a very strong sense of fragmentation. It's likely the result of a compromise between the various academies. Even so, this large map is divided into over a dozen regions."
Over a dozen regions? I looked at the massive 3D map with interest. The thing that caught my eye most was the island floating in the sky.
"What's this?" I asked, pointing to the floating island.
"That is the Sky Floating Island. It's where the Angels' source of divine power and their permissions to use Divine Arts are concentrated."
"Huh? Isn't that cheating?"
"Cheating... not really. Every academy has its own power system, with its own conveniences and limitations. Just like the spellbooks and Mana Sources we witches use—those are probably the most flexible tools available."
"The source of an Angel's power is Holy Light Divine Power. That island is their fountainhead, much like our Mana Sources. Furthermore, their Divine Arts are different from spells; they are cognitions etched into the Angel race. Though it sounds mystical, it's really just borrowed power. Borrowing is simply another method of utilizing transcendent power. Divine Arts are an extra tool, just like how we use spellbooks to cast."
"The Wizard Academy has similar restrictions to the Holy Angel Academy," Bai Yu said, pointing to a spot on the map where a tall tower stood.
"This is the Wizard Academy's Wizard Tower. Wizard power is extremely eclectic. Essentially, anything that mental power can leverage can become their tool; they stop at nothing. Consequently, they rely heavily on external items like casting materials. Some even modify their own bodies for the sake of power."
"Though they call themselves humans, they are fundamentally less human than almost any other race. If you ever see the Mechanical Faction of wizards, you'll see bodies entirely replaced by machinery. The Poison Faction wizards are living breeding grounds for voodoo, even raising Wizard Worms inside their bodies as pets. They call it 'biological symbiosis.'"
"Wizard methods are very eerie, Xiao Han. You need to be careful. They are fond of curses. Do not leave behind any physical information—skin flakes, hair, bodily fluids. Those can all be used as casting materials for curses."
"The Wizard Tower is their resupply point and the manifestation of their power within reasonable limits. What's 'unfair' is the tower itself; it's a terrifying war machine. You must be careful of that too. If the tower is destroyed, the wizards' methods and power are greatly diminished. Thus, the tower's capabilities are formidable and it's very hard to destroy. It was only under pressure from the other academies that its effective range was limited."
"So wizards have been turned into stationary defenders?" I asked curiously.
"To an extent. Only a few people are needed to man the Wizard Tower. I'm certain the Wizard Academy will send in a few specialists who excel at controlling it. They might not be much in a direct fight, but they'll be experts at defending that tower."
"Right... that sounds annoying." I shrugged. If that was the case, I really wanted to find a chance to knock that tower down.
Sister Bai then explained the largest region on the map: a vast forest with a massive, conspicuous tree at its center.
It was a virtual simulation of the Afuhemi World Tree, though its appearance was just a model and it was scaled down significantly.
Needless to say, this was the territory of the Afuhemi Academy. But it wasn't just them; it was the territory for all elves. Afuhemi wasn't the only elf academy, just the most famous and the only one for the Transcendent Elf race in this world.
Adjacent to the dense forest was an area where the trees were sparser. This was the territory for the Beast Academy and other beast-kin academies, such as the Cat-people Academy, the Succubus Academy, and the Minotaur Academy.
They didn't have obvious weaknesses or fixed points to defend like the wizards or angels, but they also lacked powerful strongholds. Even the angels and wizards couldn't cover the entire map with their specialized abilities.
The remaining water areas surrounding the map belonged to the Sea Clan, covering the largest total area.
Then there was the Dragon Blood Academy's living volcano. The setting there was that an Ancient Dragon had fallen, and the volcano flowed with the power of the dragon's bloodline. Whether by design or not, it was filled with vast amounts of treasure—gold coins, antiques, and so on. Even though they were just virtual items in a dream, they were written into the rules. It was clear what the Dragon Academy had fought for during negotiations. I felt like their students should really "thank" them for that.
The rumor that dragons love treasure was certainly true.
Next was the ancient forge ruins guarded by the dwarves. Because of the unique nature of the dwarf power system, these ruins were simply meant to buy them time to develop. Theoretically, the dwarves were the safest in the early stages.
As for the vampires' Land of Eternal Darkness and the Fallen Land—where the demons, succubi, and necromancers were located—those were prepared for those specific academies.
Interestingly, the Land of Eternal Darkness contained a core Blood Pool that the vampires had to protect, as well as "ranches" to develop blood slaves.
The Fallen Land mimicked the Abyssal depths, feeling like a massive basin formed by crustal faulting. it fit my imagination of where dark creatures would live perfectly.
And then there was one more place... the largest area in the center of the map: the Central Ancient Battlefield. The map was designed so that this would be the primary combat zone. However, the actual situation would depend on the players; who was to say everyone wouldn't prefer to sneak into each other's bases?
No one could say for sure.
The Central Ancient Battlefield was a war ruin. The setting dictated that various events would occur there, such as extreme weather or natural disasters. The battlefield would also simulate Ley Line conditions. Under the interference of the Ley Lines, various anomalies would appear—scenes of slaughter from ancient battles would manifest through the power of the Ley Lines. Those inside might face disciplined, murderous phantom armies.
Furthermore, the Central Ancient Battlefield had a setting where, at intervals, "Phantoms of the Past" reshaped by the Ley Lines would charge out to destroy everything indiscriminately, turning the surrounding areas into part of the Central Ancient Battlefield.
This was primarily a restriction on the academies with fixed territories.
After all, without such restrictions and nerfs, how could the exchange tournament be balanced?
Those without restrictions, like the beast-kin, could change their camp at any time; they’d just have to deal with a less comfortable environment.
Even the angels in the sky weren't exempt. No one wanted the Holy Angel Academy to have it too easy, so the battlefield specifically spawned aerial forces designed to counter the floating island.
Such a massive undertaking was merely the product of countless thoughts within the dream.
Listening to Sister Bai, I couldn't help but marvel at this miracle.
But I had one more question.
"Sister Bai, what about our Witch Academy?"
"Do you think our Academy needs to guard a single patch of dirt like they do?"
"No. So where will we appear?" I asked.
"The Central Ancient Battlefield."
"Eh? Isn't that dangerous?"
"Precisely because it's dangerous. But it must be admitted that witches have no real shortcomings. So, we start in the Central Ancient Battlefield—at least, that's what the rules say."
"But that's our natural advantage! This is a competition; how can they balance our advantages like that? Do they have to force us into a stalemate?" I asked indignantly.
"I feel the same way, but I suppose it was a compromise by the Academy. Let's not talk about that. Let's discuss the ranking system for this tournament."
"The point of an Exchange Competition is 'exchange.' What are we exchanging? Naturally, it's the strengths and weaknesses of the academies and the combat power of the students."
"It's very pragmatic. And this... determines both the Academy Rankings and the Individual Rankings."
"First, the Academy Rankings. This is interesting but a bit complex. Each academy must perform a ritual rich in its own characteristics. This usually requires teamwork. During the ritual, a map-wide announcement and location ping will occur. Only one ritual can be active globally at any given time. A successful ritual earns one point; failure earns zero. Rankings are based on points, with ties broken by who reached that score first."
Sister Bai was essentially reading the rules verbatim now, without explaining what the "rituals" actually were.
"The Individual Rankings are even more interesting. Everyone can respawn twice, meaning you have three lives. Killing one person earns one point. That point is then multiplied by your current 'life base' to get your final score."
"For example, if you still have all three lives and kill one person, you get one point, which is then multiplied by three for a total of three points. If you've died once, your multiplier drops to two. If you've lost all your extra lives, your base is 1. It never hits 0. This means that by the end of the slaughter, most people will likely have a multiplier of 1. If someone still has a multiplier of 3 or 2, they will likely be targeted by everyone else. That's the interesting part—it exploits human nature. No one wants anyone else to have it better."
"Well... that certainly is interesting..." I sighed, leaning back.
What a complex tournament. How long would it take to decide a winner?
Surely they wouldn't cancel classes just for this?
I was exempt from classes, but what about the other students? Or were the other students... not important?
I suddenly realized something. If everyone's eyes were focused on the "Protagonists," what about the ordinary people like me?
They couldn't all lead lives as "exciting" as mine. Were their lives... being discarded?
Surely... that was just a misconception...