Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Behind the Selection Trials
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Kenyon, the master of the Senior Magic Tower, slammed his hand on the conference table in a fit of rage.
“The Selection Trials are our festival, a time to recruit those who will become the pillars of the Magic Towers! And now you're telling me the corporations want to run them?! Are you really trying to pick a fight with us?”
Rios, the dwarf chairman of the Dongbanhoe—an association of Granada's major corporations, including Wasp—spoke in a calm tone.
“Someone has to take responsibility for Harman's death, don't they?”
“What does that have to do with anything? The two situations are completely different!”
Short and stout with a bushy beard, his protruding belly neatly covered by a suit and a fedora, Rios remained composed from start to finish, as befitting the chairman of Gear, one of Granada's leading manufacturing corporations.
“Harman was the direct subordinate of the summoner we sponsor and one of the pillars supporting the Dongbanhoe. And yet, he was killed by your daughter, Kenyon. So brutally that not even a body could be found...”
Kenyon snapped at Rios, who let his words trail off.
“It was entirely the act of my reckless daughter! You know this, don't you? You know what a hooligan she is!”
“Well... perhaps it's a ploy on your part, using your 'hooligan' daughter to chip away at the Dongbanhoe's influence. It's no secret that the Senior Magic Tower sees our corporations as a thorn in its side in its quest to dominate Granada.”
Kenyon ground his teeth.
It was a ridiculous, forced argument.
The problem, however, was that he had no choice but to be swayed by it, even knowing it was absurd.
As long as they held the city's public opinion and economy in their grasp, and now had a pretext to boot, he had no choice but to tread carefully, unless he wanted a catastrophe.
Kenyon's demeanor softened as he spoke.
“That is an excessive assumption. And I... haven't I said it several times? I will compensate you fully for the damages.”
“And that's why I'm telling you. The full compensation we desire is the Selection Trials.”
Kenyon let out a series of sighs, as if he were dying of frustration.
“Haa... Rios. Have you forgotten? A total of three Magic Towers, including ours, are participating in this year's trials. This isn't a matter of me yielding or not. Frankly, even if I handed over all authority for the trials to you, the other two towers wouldn't stand for it.”
A faint smile formed on Rios's lips.
“What if the other Magic Towers have already promised to hand over full authority for the trials to us? Would you still refuse the offer?”
Kenyon's eyes hardened.
The hairs on his arms stood on end as an ominous premonition flashed through his mind.
*'No way... Did the Dongbanhoe collude with the other Magic Towers?'*
As Kenyon stared at him wide-eyed and silent, Rios burst into a hearty laugh.
“My, you're quite sharp, just as expected of the master of the Senior Magic Tower. Yes, that's correct. We've already received a promise from the other towers to transfer full authority for the trials to us.”
“What nonsense is this? Why on earth would they have any reason to do that?”
Rios let out a booming laugh. It was a hearty laugh, typical of a dwarf.
“It's times like these that you realize how amusing pretexts can be. When we told them your daughter killed a summoner's direct subordinate, they actually sided with us. Hmm, or maybe... who knows. Perhaps they were displeased with the Senior Magic Tower's recent string of successes.”
Kenyon let out a dry laugh and rubbed his face with his hands.
The biennial Selection Trials were important because they were the only opportunity to recruit wandering mages who had talent but no background.
Yes, at least that was the official reason.
Kenyon, mindful of his dignity, repeated the curses he couldn't bring himself to say aloud.
*'Damn it all. No wonder the other tower masters weren't answering my calls... They've already agreed to throw the Senior Magic Tower to those corporate bastards as prey. Haha, Isabelle. You foolish girl. Do you have any idea what your thoughtless actions have brought about?'*
With their immense power and influence, the Magic Towers operated outside the city's laws, making them incredibly awkward opponents for the corporations.
If their opponents operated within the bounds of the law, they could use corrupt judges to apply pressure, but mages, who would flip everything upside down—law be damned—at a moment's notice, were exceptionally difficult to handle.
Trying to win them over with money wasn't easy either.
The Magic Towers, which generated profits from all sorts of artifacts, were not lacking in money themselves.
In such a situation, with both the Magic Towers and the corporations coveting the city's interests, trouble was inevitable.
*'And so, the masterstroke those cunning bastards came up with was the Selection Trials.'*
In truth, the Magic Towers weren't desperate enough for talent to recruit wandering mages.
Why would the towers, with their pure-blooded mages born from tower lineages and their legitimate mages—hand-picked direct disciples from the outside—bother accepting wandering mages of inferior quality and potential?
However, the corporations were cunning.
As a way to boost the Magic Towers' recognition and public favor, they had proposed a plan to turn the Selection Trials into entertainment.
*'I never should have accepted that proposal.'*
The core idea—to broadcast the process of selecting and recruiting wandering mages and then generate profit based on the resulting fame and popularity—was excellent in itself.
If only it hadn't concealed the corporations' malicious intent.
*'Those bastards turned the Selection Trials into a gambling table where the stakes were city interests.'*
The corporations' idea was simple.
Their proposal was that the corporation and Magic Tower that correctly guessed the most survivors, or the final winner, would seize the largest share of the city's interests.
Kenyon asked in a weak voice.
“It seems the tide has already turned. Fine. So? How many betting tickets does the Senior Magic Tower get?”
Rios held up one index finger.
“One.”
“...That's a bit much for a joke.”
Rios grinned.
“Does it sound like a joke?”
Kenyon unconsciously channeled his mana, about to slam the table, but stopped himself.
He realized that getting any angrier would only make him look pathetic.
With a sigh that seemed to shake the ground, Kenyon stormed out of the office.
Rios crossed his arms as he watched Kenyon's retreating back, which looked particularly defeated today.
*'Should have raised your daughter better. Tsk tsk, coddling an incompetent child has cost you most of Granada's magestone business. Well, it's a welcome development for our Dongbanhoe, I suppose.'*
Rios scoffed to his heart's content, watching Kenyon, who had finally given up and left like a rain-soaked dog.
***
On the hotel's holographic TV, a Medusa woman was giving an interview with a look on her face like she owned the world.
-Ms. Phylis. Congratulations on becoming the first Medusa mage to win the Selection Trials. Could you share a few words on how you feel?
-My feelings? I don't know. I'm just so happy right now, I can't think straight. Oh, but I must remember to say this. I give all the glory to the Senior Magic Tower for choosing me.
As if she had won a gold medal at the Olympics, the snakes on her head flickered their red tongues in unison, singing a song of joy.
As the camera held by a Sylph VJ, a wind spirit, panned to show Phylis's full body, the surrounding scenery filled the TV screen.
Dozens of petrified statues with missing limbs lay scattered at her feet like rotten leaves.
Unable to contain the joy welling up from deep within her, Phylis roared and stomped her foot, accidentally crushing the head of a statue beneath it.
Blood, spreading like red paint from between the stone fragments, stained the ground before her like a red carpet.
*Click.*
Jin, having turned off the holographic TV, spoke.
“As you can see, hyung, the first round of the Selection Trials is mostly a survival format. And it doesn't stop, no matter what, until only ten survivors, the Top 10, are left.”
Lee Si-woo, tapping his crossed leg, replied.
“I had a rough idea it worked that way... but for that season, was she the only survivor?”
“Yep. Phylis wiped out all the other survivors in one go. There was no one left to even form a Top 10. What could they do? It just ended there. That's why that season is widely considered boring.”
“So a wind spirit VJ follows all the participants, films them, and then it's edited and broadcast?”
“That's right. The corporate broadcasting stations release it as a paid video-on-demand program. The price per episode is pretty steep, but it's incredibly popular.”
“Makes sense. Viewers who are crazy for sensationalism wouldn't miss a bloody battle royale survival show.”
On the other hand, it was a clear indicator of how pathetic this world's ethical standards regarding life were compared to Earth's.
A movie would be one thing, but to produce a real survival program that trifled with human lives?
No matter how obsessed they were with money and entertainment, this seemed to go too far.
“So, about that... hyung. I think you're going to need a sponsor.”
“A sponsor?”
“Yeah. It's something only insiders know, but the Selection Trials are tied up with all sorts of interests. There's a system called 'betting tickets'.”
“Betting tickets? Don't tell me, you bet on who will survive, like in the Pit?”
“Exactly. But unlike the Pit, where you can only bet and watch, you can provide support in the Selection Trials.”
“Support? How so?”
“For example, you can give small items or artifacts to the person you bet on, or you can group the people you've bet on into a team to increase their survival rate. There are restrictions, but you can give your chosen participant quite a few benefits.”
“Items and teams... The gap between those who are chosen and those who aren't must be like heaven and earth.”
“Right. That's why I think you should get sponsored by Wasp. What do you think?”
Lee Si-woo tapped his knee with his index finger and said.
“Wasp is a corporation, right?”
“Yeah. From what I've researched, there's a high probability that the corporate association, the Dongbanhoe, will be running this year's trials. So if Wasp, one of the key corporations in the Dongbanhoe, bets on you, your chances of making it into the Top 10 will naturally go up.”
Why was it?
Despite it being a perfect proposal, Lee Si-woo didn't like it.
*'What a smooth proposal, as if it were waiting for me. Yes, almost as if it were all planned out in advance.'*
Lee Si-woo didn't like being a passive player. And that held true even for a proposal from Jin, whom he trusted implicitly.
Hadn't the Butler said it too?
That the path he walked was the shortcut, so he should trust himself.
Therefore, making the choice was his virtue, and the process and outcome had to be his responsibility alone.
Lee Si-woo spoke in a decisive tone.
“Jin, I'd like you to leave this matter to me.”
Jin tilted his head, surprised.
“To you? Do you have an alternative?”
“I do. A pretty good one, at that. And in my opinion, getting corporate sponsorship isn't a good long-term move. I'll be living in a Magic Tower from now on, and corporations are on the outs with the key figures in the towers.”
“Huh? No way, hyung, did you already make connections with the Magic Towers? Whoa, that's insane. Those guys are super picky.”
“I did, so I'll handle it myself.”
Jin licked his lips.
“Ah... This was the perfect chance to help you and show off. Such a shame... Now my bragging about using my family's influence to get you into the trials just looks silly.”
Seeing the 'please, won't you accept my help?' look on Jin's face, Lee Si-woo chuckled and said.
“I'll accept the thought.”
At Lee Si-woo's firm attitude, Jin pouted.
“Tch, fine. It's your fault for being so capable, what can I do? But if you ever need my help, just say the word. Don't feel awkward about it, okay?”
“Don't worry. If things get tough, I'll shamelessly ask for your help even if you don't offer.”
“Good, then I'm satisfied.”
Leaving the chuckling Jin in the hotel room, Lee Si-woo scrolled through the contacts on his smartphone.
He found Isabelle's number and made the call.
*Ring.*
Shortly after the ringing began, Isabelle answered, her voice blunt.
-Hey, are you crazy? What time do you think it is to be calling me? Tsk, do I look like a pushover to you?
“I apologize for the late hour, but this is rather urgent. Let's meet.”
-This bastard's pulling some shit in the middle of the night. Hey, do you think I'm some idiot who comes when you call and leaves when you say so? Forget it. If you have something to say, say it now and make it quick. I'm going to bed.
“If you come out right now and grant me one small favor... I'll gladly give my testimony regarding Harman's death to the Faceless Lord.”
Stunned into silence by Lee Si-woo's sudden proposal, Isabelle spoke after a brief pause.
-...Text me the address. I'll be there soon.
After hanging up and texting Isabelle the hotel's address, Lee Si-woo muttered.
“The best way to deal with something you don't want to do is to pass it on to someone else.”