Shocking Upsets in the Preliminaries
The preliminaries had whittled it down to the first 50. With entrants so rigorously selected—only a thousand in total—plenty of already famous mages had made the cut, even at this stage.
"Whoa, isn't that Serna of the Reverse Wind?"
"Look over there! Rock Fist Russo!"
"Sculptor Arana's here too!"
Serna of the Reverse Wind, fourth disciple of Organ, one of the five elders of the Meias tribe known as the Breeze Mages. Rock Fist Russo, who wrapped his body in steel-hard rock for brutal close-quarters brawls. Sculptor Arana, who animated her stunning statues as golems. All were renowned upper-level mages—promising Meias tribe talents working as fixers or freelance sorcerers.
Of course, there were plenty of other skilled mages too, but those three stood out as especially famous and powerful. Everyone figured they'd breeze through the preliminaries no problem.
Then the moment the preliminaries began...
A massive upset unfolded.
"You're Yupiter Elder’s second disciple, right? I've seen you before."
"...?"
Serna of the Reverse Wind—fourth disciple of Elder Organ—spotted a certain man before the preliminaries kicked off and approached him.
It was Yujin, the Terra brought along by Yupiter.
Terra and Meias looked similar enough on the surface that you couldn't always tell them apart, but the pitch-black hair and eyes—extremely rare among Meias—and their distinct energy signatures gave it away.
"...A Terra, of all things."
Serna took an instant dislike to Yujin. A Terra, landing a spot as disciple to Elder Yupiter, who’d only ever taken one apprentice in his life? Infuriating. Making it to the preliminaries of the Mage Tournament? Even more so.
But what grated most was hearing that Yupiter had personally begged Elder Organ to teach him magic. For some reason.
How dare he freeload off Elder Organ's magic? A damn Terra? Absurd.
Elder Organ had refused, saying he only taught his own disciples. But rumors said the guy had gone around begging every elder, even other top-tier mages on their level.
Why the hell is Elder Yupiter going so far for this loser? A Terra, no less? Doesn't even seem like he's got massive mana or standout talent.
And now he was crashing this sacred tournament, muddying the waters.
"What strings did you pull? Elder hook you up or something?"
Serna sneered, lashing out at Yujin. A mana-less hack of a Terra—what was not to hate?
"Looks like your elder pulled strings for you too. That why you're thinking that way?"
"W-what did you say?!"
Yujin shot back casually, like it was a hassle, and Serna's face flushed crimson with rage.
But he shook it off, calming himself. No, no. No need to get worked up. This guy's getting bounced anyway. Elder Yupiter's got no eye for talent. Rowi Hendrick could've contended for the win alone. Sending this clown will just embarrass him.
And he'd be the one to knock the guy out, Serna figured.
"We'll... begin now!"
Preeeeee—!
The instant the starting horn blared, Serna ignored everyone else and whipped his head toward Yujin. True to his name, he summoned not a repelling gale, but a sucking wind from the opposite direction—dragging his foe in close.
Pull the enemy in with reverse wind, paralyze them with sheer gale force, then slice through defenses with nano-particle nanoblades. That was Serna of the Reverse Wind's signature style.
Whooooosh—!
A ferocious blast. Anyone caught off-guard would've been hurled right into him. Even prepared, the sheer power left you with nothing but clinging on for dear life.
That's what Serna thought as he drew his blade and charged.
"......"
Sure enough, Yujin just stood there, frozen by the onslaught, unable to move.
Heh heh heh, how's that? Magic beyond your wildest dreams!
The moment he swung to sever Yujin's arm with his nanoblade...
Crunch!
"...?"
Something pierced him—like his body was being run through. He froze solid.
What the hell? He glanced down at himself.
"...Huh?"
Sharp crimson ice was sprouting from inside him, spearing through his gut and clothes.
"Gaaahhh! W-what the hell is this?!"
"Sloppy defenses. Shields are fine and all, but you need internal countermeasures too."
The agony of frigid ice erupting from within, shredding his flesh—it was a pain unlike any he'd known. Serna screamed, writhing.
Yujin watched with pity, then casually booted him out of the arena.
"Didn't hit you hard enough to kill. You'll be fine after treatment."
"Ughaaak! Aaaak! Sibal!"
In just 20 seconds of preliminaries, Serna—the guy everyone pegged for sure advancement—got shockingly eliminated.
#
"...What?"
"S-Serna's out? Right at the start?"
Something burst from Serna's body, he collapsed in agony, then some guy kicked him straight out of bounds.
The crowd plunged into chaos. A shoo-in for the finals, gone in a flash.
Naturally, all eyes turned to the black-haired mage who'd done it.
Who's that?
Never seen him before.
Doesn't even look Meias.
Murmurs rippled through the stands. Even Con Arche couldn't hide his shock.
"What the... He's way too strong. No way."
Yujin the Terra. Con Arche had figured he'd flop immediately.
But no—he'd instantly bounced Reverse Wind Serna, a finals lock.
And that was just the start. He crushed every big-name Meias mage around him with overwhelming dominance.
Until finally...
"The prelim round one qualifiers are Yujin, Russo, Arana, and Jayni!"
Yujin boldly claimed a spot on the list.
"Woooah! Who’s this newbie?!"
"Insane! Go for it!"
"Wait, he doesn't look Meias though..."
As cheers and questions erupted, Con Arche stared in disbelief.
No way, a Terra? Am I seeing things? No... definitely Terra...
Chaos in his head. A Terra with dominant mana and masterful spell application. You could've sold him as a next-gen elder prospect.
Win candidate material?
Strings pulled or not, that skill level demanded an interview. He rushed to the waiting room.
"That puts you in contention for the win. Obvious result, really."
"You think?"
"Yes. Winning here gives you leverage to demand those elders teach you."
"Ah, so that's why you told me to enter."
Barging into the athlete lounge, he found Yujin mid-chat with Elder Yupiter.
Yupiter's disciple, huh.
Con Arche approached. "Excuse me, Yujin?"
"??"
Yujin tilted his head at the call, then lit up with a grin upon recognizing him.
"Whoa! Con Arche! You're Con Arche, right?!"
"Ah, you know me."
His books and name were famous, but few recognized his face. He was impressed.
The backstory made it click, though.
"Duh. You're a legend among space adventurers. Only an idiot wouldn't know."
"A space adventurer, eh."
Even more shocking—Yujin was a space adventurer? Raw talent must've caught Yupiter's eye.
"...I’ve got some questions for my new book."
"Heck yeah. New release coming?"
"Yeah."
Con Arche nodded, and Yujin cocked his head curiously.
"Am I getting a feature?"
"Well... A Terra with insane mana, Yupiter's disciple, prelims qualifier in the Mage Tournament? Rare powerhouse like that belongs in the book."
"Hahaha, really."
Yujin scratched his head sheepishly. That reaction sealed it for Con Arche.
Definitely Terra. He'd have corrected me otherwise.
A Terra with god-tier magic and mana... In all his cosmic travels, this was a first.
Interview wrapped smoothly.
"Win it. I'll be cheering."
"Haha, thanks."
Polite farewell, of course. Con Arche didn't really think Yujin would take it all. Meias heavyweights were too stacked.
...Or so he'd thought.
Days of tournament play later, unbelievably, Yujin did snag the crown—just like he'd half-predicted.
"The winner is Yujin! Bursting through every favorite, the first Terra mage in cosmic history claims the tournament!!"
"...Eh?"
"Uh...?"
"W-what...?"
The crowd's reaction? Pure dumbfounded stares, mirroring Con Arche's. Just like his.