The Blood-Red Arena
Even within the blood-red world created by Professor Karlsen, the man with strikingly vivid red hair stood out as he slowly approached. Was it because of his position as student council president? Or was it the title of the academy's strongest? The aura radiating from him grew more intense with every step, doubling the children's tension.
"Hello there, juniors."
Aaron approached the stiffly frozen students first, offering them a smile.
"I am Aaron Dice, currently serving as the student council president of this academy."
His unexpectedly gentle tone eased their tension somewhat. While he used the same polite speech as Professor Karlsen, whose formal register had become almost habitual, Aaron's voice carried a clear sense of respect and consideration for them. Despite their young age, there wasn't the slightest hint that he looked down on or dismissed them.
"I'm Vice President Silvia Cristel."
"Baraki Nepiri. Looking forward to working with you until the tournament begins."
Following Aaron Dice, whose upright character shone through, the others introduced themselves one by one. The woman with the same lustrous golden hair as Marily Raymond was Silvia Cristel. The massive man who looked more like a warrior than a mage was Baraki Nepiri.
'The Dice Count family, the Cristel Marquis family, and the Nepiri Duke family...?'
Marily quietly nodded as she examined their backgrounds. Like the Kaien Count family that guarded the kingdom's eastern border with the Fan Empire, the Dice Count family protected the southern border with Yggdrasil. The Cristel Marquis family was one of the houses at the heart of the kingdom's military industry, which formed the backbone of the Magic Tower's operations. And then there was the Nepiri Duke family—one of the most powerful ducal houses in the kingdom, second only to the Raymond royal family and the Mendelshtone Archduke family.
Each one was a prestigious great house whose name alone was known to every citizen. It was the kind of lineup that made one wonder if the student council members had been chosen based on family status, yet in a way, it was only natural. While the Majoan had created an environment where every citizen could learn magic, the differences born from one's circumstances could not be ignored. After all, the more one invested, the greater the returns.
The private education funded by enormous capital and the visionary magic built up steadily over long periods were things that ordinary commoners or low-ranking nobles could never hope to imitate. There were cases like Arina, where a dragon had risen from a ditch thanks to innate genius, but those were extremely rare. This was precisely why, even though there were fewer nobles than commoners, the proportion of high-ranking mages from noble backgrounds was so high.
'Magic is a discipline where achievement only rises through honest, consistent accumulation.'
In the world of magic, dramatic come-from-behind victories like a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth were almost nonexistent. And paradoxically, this honesty gave even greater advantages to the great nobles who already possessed solid foundations. At the same time, it was also why the ratio of those who had mastered the unorthodox art of dark magic was relatively higher among commoners than nobles.
"Whoa?!"
While Marily was carefully observing each of them, a sudden scream erupted from behind the group. Had she tripped? The girl collapsed onto the floor with all the dramatic flair of a comic book character, planting her face straight into the ground.
"......"
Whether from the damage or the embarrassment, the girl remained motionless for quite some time. Then, as if realizing that lying there forever wouldn't solve anything, she cautiously lifted her head. She wiped a finger under her nose to check for a nosebleed.
'Thank goodness. At least it didn't come to the worst-case scenario.'
Confirming there was no blood, she let out an involuntary sigh of relief. Only then did she notice the eight pairs of eyes staring at her, shrinking her shoulders as she carefully introduced herself.
"N-nice to meet you. I'm Amy Pewter, a third-year student."
Aaron let out a small chuckle at the sight of her blushing face, finding her adorable, and explained on her behalf as if making an excuse.
"Please understand. Amy has been swamped lately preparing for her presentation at the Magic Tower thesis conference. She must be quite exhausted right now."
The surname Pewter was rather unfamiliar. It was likely either from a very minor family that even Marily had never heard of, or she was a commoner-born mage like Arina. Even so, Marily had no intention of dismissing her. On the contrary, considering her presentation at the Magic Tower thesis conference and the fact that she'd been selected as a representative for the academy tournament in her third year, she could be considered an even more noteworthy figure than student council president Aaron Dice.
'She seems to be in the same position as me.'
A hidden card meant to sweep up points in events outside of direct combat. Marily immediately recognized that the somewhat clumsy Amy Pewter was participating in this tournament in the same support role as herself.
'This should be interesting.'
Of course, her opponent's credentials were impressive, but Marily was hardly one to be outdone. After all, the very thesis conference she had participated in was one where countless mages had recognized Marily Raymond as a genius.
'So that's Princess Marily Raymond.'
That was why Amy Pewter's gaze had first landed on Marily. As someone who dreamed of becoming a researcher rather than a conventional mage, she couldn't possibly fail to recognize the most famous figure in that field.
While Marily burned with competitive spirit as she looked at her, Amy Pewter gazed at Marily with eyes full of fanatical admiration. In the midst of those contrasting stares, Jeon Raydel took a step forward and bowed his head toward the student council group.
"I am Jeon Raydel."
Since the other side had introduced themselves first, it was now their turn.
"I'm Togun Masao!"
"I'm Arina Grant. Please take good care of me!"
Following Jeon, who had started things off, Togun and Arina bowed their heads politely as they introduced themselves.
"Marily Raymond."
Unlike the two who were rigid with tension, Marily introduced herself with a relaxed smile.
"Well then, now that everyone has finished their introductions, shall we get started?"
As soon as Marily's introduction was complete, Professor Karlsen walked between them as if he'd been waiting for this moment. The two groups of four stood on either side of him. Karlsen looked back and forth between them, grinning.
He seemed to be trying to show a benevolent professor's smile, but to a third party, it was the same gloomy and unsettling smile as always.
"Since today is the first day, I was thinking of playing a simple game of 'Capture the Captain.' Would that be alright?"
"Yes, that sounds good. Let's go with that."
Was he truly indifferent to what game they played? Aaron nodded without the slightest hesitation at Professor Karlsen's suggestion. He probably hadn't meant to dismiss them, but that overly confident expression was incredibly irritating. It seemed to highlight just how vast the gap in skill between them and him truly was.
"......"
Jeon wanted to plant a seed of caution in that supremely confident face. Recalling what Professor Karlsen had said before calling them over, a fierce flame ignited in Jeon's eyes.
"Alright then, please head over there. I've specially prepared a temporary arena inside this Inner World for today."
Professor Karlsen took the lead, walking past them. The eight students followed quietly behind him without a word.
The rules of Capture the Captain could be briefly explained as follows:
The match would be a team battle with teams of three. Before the start, each team would first select one member to serve as their Captain. The student chosen as Captain would wear a bracelet-shaped magic tool, and the team whose bracelet was destroyed would be automatically eliminated. The team that destroyed the opposing Captain's bracelet would receive one bonus point. Once the time limit expired, teams would be ranked according to their total points.
'Each team's score can only be seen by themselves, and all scores will be revealed at once after the time limit ends.'
Since rankings were determined solely by how many opposing teams one had defeated, simply trying to endure until the time ran out—a so-called "hold-out" strategy—would be completely useless. Because you couldn't know how many points others had earned or how many teams had been eliminated until the time limit ended, the only way to secure a high ranking was to fight hard until the very end. However, if one overextended and got eliminated too early, they could no longer accumulate points, so reckless movement was also forbidden.
'On top of that, the person chosen as Captain is given a significant disadvantage.'
The magic tool used in Capture the Captain wasn't merely for calculating scores. Its true effect was sensory deprivation. It contained magic that blocked part of the visual nerves leading to the brain, robbing the wearer of their sight. In other words, the Captain would be unable to see anything throughout the entire match, as if wearing a blindfold. This was precisely why the game was played in teams of three. It was also why Capture the Captain was sometimes called "Protect Your Ally."
"Since there are concerns the magic tool used in the match could be misused, I won't be using it. Instead, I'll deprive you of your vision using my curse."
Most matches in the academy tournament took place in virtual worlds created by combining spatial and mental magic. It was a safety measure to prevent students from getting hurt by each other's magic. However, there was no way a dark mage like Professor Karlsen could recreate such high-level magic. That was why he had embedded large rocks throughout the Inner World to create a temporary fighting environment.
"Since there are only two teams, I'll slightly modify the rules. There will be no time limit—the first team to destroy the opponent's bracelet wins."
"Understood."
"I'll step in if it looks like anyone is about to get seriously hurt, but just in case, please be careful and try not to injure each other."
After repeatedly emphasizing safety, Professor Karlsen sent the six participating students into the arena. Marily, who had been mentally reviewing the rules of the match, glanced at Amy who was dozing off in the distance, apparently exhausted, before approaching Professor Karlsen and murmuring softly.
"You're quite sly, as always."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Professor Karlsen feigned ignorance at Marily's words. She snorted, as if telling him to drop the terrible acting, and replied.
"You never intended for us to win today's match in the first place."
Before Aaron Dice's group had arrived, he had roused their motivation and given them reasons to do their best. But separately from that, Professor Karlsen held no expectations that the children would win today. No, he was certain they would be utterly crushed. Objectively speaking, the difference in power between the two teams was simply too vast, regardless of age or experience.
Yet the reason Professor Karlsen had arranged this match between the two teams—and specifically chosen a 3-on-3 team battle as the first event, one that would make the overwhelming power gap painfully clear—was for a single purpose.
To directly show them the gap between their current team and the overwhelming favorites to win the academy tournament.
"The difference between knowing exactly what goal you need to reach and not knowing is enormous."
At Marily's direct words, Professor Karlsen didn't deny it this time and let out a small chuckle.
"That's why, even for the sake of making those children champions, please support them with everything you've got, Miss Marily. The reason I made them give their all today was also to show you our team's current strength."
"I understand."
There was no need to repeat it; she had already planned to do exactly that. Marily's blue eyes, now stripped of their usual playfulness, turned toward the arena ahead, where the participants had just finished their warm-ups and were waiting for the signal to begin the match.