Deep in the night, five tiny lights flickered in the academy. The first light was from the principal's office – Bertund and Shelly were still busy with administrative tasks and so they burned the night doing what they did not have time for in the day.
Be: "... Hmm. Strange."
S: "What is?"
Be: "According to the cafeteria's reports, we seem to be running low on rock salt."
S: "So we are. The princess of Rugnud disappeared recently so the markets are suffering from wide-scale economic panic. It's throwing all sorts of things out of order – The trades are delayed and border checks all around Rugnud are being reinforced. At this rate, Findel might run out of resources besides rock salt like building materials. The price of jewels and crystals might quickly appreciate too."
Be: "We need to look into this matter more after this event. The tournament comes first."
S: "We should plan and prioritize a day for it though."
Be: "Should we do it right after the tournament ends?"
S: "And leave the academy unattended? Squeezing our own matters into the curriculum is too selfish."
Be: "Okay. Let me see, the next available days we have are... the third and fourth week after the tournament. We can check it out while tomb-sweeping."
S: "Schedule that."
Be: "Okay. I'll reserve it now."
And so the couple continued working the night away. The second light was the small light at an emergency station, one that was always lit and operationally ready should any emergencies occur. The last three lights came from the semi-finalists of the tournament. They stayed up late, they revised and planned their opponent's movements, and they expended sleep for victory.
Well, at least, two of them were – One of the students, Pitin, was chewing his nails rigorously in a state of panic. Arguably, that could have been precious recovery time had he followed a certain someone's example. It wasn't uncommon for the child to stay up at night and collect flowers that bloomed in the moon, however a day full of events drained Katachi of his energy. And so a peaceful night passed.
*** ***
An itch formed on his left shoulder.
(Contestant Katachi, your match begins in 30 minutes. Please assemble at the entrance to Cosmatral Tlod.)
K: (... Already? I want to sleep more…)
As he opened his eyes, Katachi was greeted by the mounted rack right before his face.
K: (That was close. I almost tried to get up normally.)
He took great care not to hit his head and folded up the table rack before an accident could occur. Katachi climbed off his bed and changed into the uniform he folded yesterday. He secured the pants onto his waist with a belt, put on a white under-shirt, and stuck his arm into the blazer's sleeve. As he did the sound of a hinge creaking was heard. His door was being opened by someone.
"Yeah, it won't take long. I'll just change my socks- ..."
Another student entered his room without knocking on his door. The student was dumbfounded at Katachi being in the room, with eyes wide open and attire half done. He looked at the door plate again before apologizing earnestly.
"... Sorry about that. I thought this was the first floor."
The student closed the door gently and left. As benign as it was, the astonishment caused Katachi to flinch severely. The anxiety of the idea that he had two more rounds to go was a powerful vice. He forcefully convinced himself that it was going to be okay.
K: (... I feel so restless.)
*** ***
Katachi took his seat on a nearby bench awaiting his match patiently.
P: "... You..."
K: (? Is someone calling me?)
Katachi glanced at the student next to him – A rustic brown bowl-cut adolescent slightly older than he was holding a wooden Vanaelis rune carving in his hands.
P: "Are you Kotsuba Katachi?" (By the gods, look at him! He's so young! He's the guy that beat Nea, Cillian and even Deku!)
K: "... Yes? Yes, I am." (What does he want from me? Is he trying to figure out my weakness?)
P: (The only feasible magic I know is the Curse of Rhetsis, but that won't work on knights who can stab and attack like Cillian does! How am I supposed to beat someone who beat Cillian in close combat?!) "I have to fight you!? But, but- but, you're the guy that beat the champion! You beat Cillian too! I can't- I can't possibly defeat a guy who's beaten both Deku and Cillian!"
Pitin, the pitiful child, shook in fright and terror at Katachi's demeanor. He seemed the sort who would break under a certain level of stress.
K: (He looks a lot more unnerved than I am. Somehow that makes me edgier.) "... Are you okay?"
P: "No. No! I am not okay. I've seen what you did in Cosmatral Tlod. The way you savagely attacked Cillian... You're going to smack my rune out of my hands and hurt me a lot, aren't you?! I... I forfeit! I give up!"
By now, the student's face paled and his teeth chattered nervously.
K: (... Is he afraid of pain or something? How did he get this far then?)
Katachi witnessed with his own eyes what was possibly the reason he had to face difficult opponents for his earlier rounds. Perhaps the child siphoned the good fortune with his presence, usurping many of the opponents that were relatively easy. He could have been paired against the novices while Katachi was the unlucky student tossed into the half filled with the veterans and seniors.
Fate was a cruel, relentless prankster whom would mock and scorn Man time and again, as though he were its very idea of entertainment. Though it could have all been in his head, a concept born of paranoia and madness...
K: (If there ever were a spell meant to control a person's fortune, I would be very upset and intrigued at the same time.)
... but Katachi had long forgone that unfounded ideal.
*** ***
Shelly's voice projected over the whole coliseum.
S: "Your attention, please. Due to the semi-finalist Pitin requesting for a forfeit, contestant Kotsuba Katachi has won the match by default. As such, we shall only have one match for the divisional best of two, Djinnje against Zirco."
D: "It's 'the amazing' Djinnje! You forgot to put 'the amazing' before my name! Hey-"
The voice of a student was projected throughout the school before the announcement was abruptly cut off. With an unexpected turn of events, Katachi was allowed to partake in the finals.
K: (That was projection magic... Wasn't it?)
Two minutes later, Bael beamed a bright smile as she walked in.
Ba: "I'm impressed. You just won the divisional best of two without lifting a finger. Literally!"
K: "It's not really... Not really my fault. He wanted to forfeit when he realized that I was his opponent."
Ba: "Why did he just give up, though? He came all the way to the semi-finals, be it by luck or skill, so he should have at least aimed for the champion's seat."
K: "I don't know. Maybe he was afraid of pain? He looked like he was in agony from remembering how I beat Cillian."
Ba: (Oh, the one time where Katachi fanatically struck Cillian.) "Yeah. The way you fought Cillian was pretty aggressive, actually."
The child was painfully unaware of just how dangerous Nistier's style appeared to others. But it should surprise none of its viability, praised enough for a book to be made detailing it in the first place.
K: "It... It is?"
Ba: "Yeah. I mean, I haven't met a magus who would attack like that. You're like a hybrid similar to Cillian or something, wielding a dagger like that."
K: "You're exaggerating."
As they chatted away a sudden roar could be heard from the other students observing the semi-finals match. From what they could make of their cries the ongoing match was intense.
K: (Sounds like they're heating up in the other divisional top match. Whoever wins will promise a tough and unrelenting match regardless, but I haven't really checked either of them out. So much for taking it easy.)
Ba: (He's just standing there, pondering ceaselessly as he always does. What is he thinking about?... Is he worried about the championship match?) "Hey, Katachi?"
K: "Ah, yes?"
Ba: "If you need me, I'll always be here. In fact, I feel great when you say that you need me, so be sure to rely on this senior more, ahahahahaha!"
It was at that moment Bael's eyes widened and she turned away immediately to hide her shame. Her face reddened uncontrollably and her lips straightened to form a curious mixture of joy and fear at the same time.
Ba: (Wait, what am I saying?! That has got to be the most embarrassing thing I could have ever said! It's as good as a confession!!)
K: (She must see seniority over me because of our age differences, but I wish she would not treat me like her own son. Still, it's a form of goodwill, and it's the thought that counts. I guess I'll thank her for the blessing.) "... Uhm... Thank you."
Ba: ('Thank you'? Is… Is that a yes? Or a sympathetic no? Which is it? Why does he talk like that?)
The two sat there while the crowd roared a second time. Immediately after, their awkward silence was interrupted by an announcement.
S: "Your attention please, remaining contestants, please stand by. The finals will begin shortly."
The recording sounded awkward. It was definitely Shelly's voice, but it was far too energetic compared to how she taught Katachi during the lecture. Still, because proper communication magic was far too expensive this was one of the better alternatives the school looked to.
K: (There's no break between the semi-finals and the next?)
Ba: (Wha- The semi-finals are over already? We've only been talking for a few minutes! That was fast! I guess that's why the crowd went wild earlier, the victor was probably aching to bring out the next match. Or maybe it was a flawless victory.) "You should prepare yourse- ? Katachi?"
Katachi's face turned serious and his head quivered slightly.
K: "... I don't want to fight this final round."
Ba: (He looks really intense... I understand his concern over facing someone who finished the semi-finals flawlessly, but why wouldn't he want to fight the last round? Is it because the semi-final match was settled this quickly?) "Why not? You came this far already, you should go all the way!"
"You still have time for senseless banter?"
A voice Katachi hoped never to hear echoed through the corridor to their ears.
Ba: "Who's the rude one who declared that? Show yourself!"
"Shut up, woman."
Zirco. He was another one of many children in Mielfeud who gave Katachi a hellish childhood. He was the brains of a trio of delinquents in town that picked on him deliberately. Compared to Juval and Dante, Zirco did not harass Katachi physically. But he deceived the adults and set up the bullying to reverse their roles – Katachi was made to look like the bad child everyone thought he was.
His actions promoted Dante's bullying and glorified the act to the other kids. To worsen the situation, he was enrolled for about a year compared to Dante and Juval so it wasn't an understatement to say that he was considered the most dangerous of the three given his seniority. Zirco likely knew a great many things about the school, about the lore that Katachi himself probably didn't.
Z: "Don't look at me, scum."
Of course, his intellect was the source, if not the equivalent of his egoism.
K: "... Zirco."
Z: "A sinner like yourself does not deserve to address me. Your feats of defeating Deku and Cillian are commendable, but I'm not some goof who screams and swears stupid promises around. Nor am I a fool who splits time between learning magic and swordplay. I am a pure magus."
That haughtiness was new, though. Zirco was usually a more reserved person who favored silence. What changed him?
K: "Chotil Nea's a pure magus too if you put it that way."
Z: "She doesn't count. She transforms into a cougar using Qin Tsung Yao's tale, and transformation magic can't be considered proper magic. To have her up on the semi-finals last year was a blunder. I should have just beat Cillian so I could defeat her too."
K: "... So you were in the tournament last year."
Z: "Of course. And now thanks to you, I can't test my new spells and strategy."
Zirco's eyes gradually filled with hatred and spite as he complained about the absence of the already-established opponents. It was in and of itself a mere shout down – Zirco had long concluded that Katachi wasn't strong enough to be a worthy opponent, as though his victory was already decided.
K: (Perhaps this was a result of his days in school? Hubris is a dangerous trait for magi. I should be careful not to become like that.)
Z: "... No matter. I'll take this chance to show everyone the monster beneath your skin."
Zirco walked towards the obelisk that was the entrance to Cosmatral Tlod and transported himself to the plane of plain sand. As he did, Shelly spoke up to remind him of something important.
Ba: (Monster beneath his skin?)
S: "Mister Zirco? The finals this year aren't held in Cosmatral Tlod."
The crowd laughed at the fool Zirco made of himself as he rebutted as hard as he could. Since the voices and sounds inside Cosmatral Tlod were broadcast to the coliseum everyone could hear the bashful dialogue clearly.
Z: "What do you mean, it's not in Cosmatral Tlod? It was the same last year!"
S: "Mister Zirco, the tradition for the final round of the Young Magus tournament is to determine the field for next year's tournament. Last year, the roll was just a coincidence that the field happened to be Cosmatral Tlod again."
K: (Projection magic... Huh. That's kind of cheap. How did she set it up to project her voice into a different plane?)
As a poor child himself he deeply understood the means the odd couple took to preserve their funds and resources for the long term. Yet the secrets to unravel remained ever bountiful.
S: "This year, the final round is to be held at Cosmatral Silo according to the raffle conducted last evening. Please exit Cosmatral Tlod now, Mister Zirco."
Zirco quietly left the plane and headed to the obelisk for Cosmatral Silo instead. The crowd was laughing at Zirco for his mistake at first but the revelation of 'Cosmatral Silo' caused many of the students to sigh, moan and lament at the news.
Ba: "Ooo-hoo-hoo! Cosmatral Silo! That's my field!"
S: "Don't look so down! Cosmatral Silo might be a bad place for cardinal element users but that means Dardicel magi are going to be weakened as well! This should be your chance to beat Deku while he's weakened!"
K: (Deku? Weakened?)
Katachi's ears perked up straight away.
K: "Bael, what's Cosmatral Silo?"
Ba: "Cosmatral Silo? It's another plane, like Tlod and Neud."
K: "What are the differences?"
Ba: "Well, Neud has a lot of soil and trees which allows other plants and animals to live there. Tlod's a sandy plain with a bunch of rocks about."
Two diversely different planes with contrasting alignments that benefited magi who handled the earth, plants and the cardinal elements. Deku's dominance was rather pronounced.
Ba: "Silo is completely metallic – If you dent the floor it becomes an obstacle people have to look out for. If it's utilized correctly, the entire battlefield can be made to one's advantage. Because it lacks nature the spells centered around cardinal elements are crippled, but fields like that which emphasize on the space available to maneuver makes an animationist like me shine."
K: (I wonder how many planes there are out there.) "You sound like you have a plan ready already."
Ba: "Of course! I can force the metal to crumble and make a lot of material to reanimate while the others are left hanging dry!"
K: (She looks like she's done it before.) "... You're really far-sighted, aren't you?"
Ba: "Oh, don't look at me like that. I've been here for six years and I've joined this tournament twice already, don't you know! Besides, the Young Magus Tournament is just a small event. What I really look forward to is the Theories and Articles Fair coming next year."
K: (She really is a lot older than the students here. She's sixteen years old, but I didn't think she came here since she was ten years old as well- Wait, that's stupid. I'm ten too and I'm here, why wouldn't she?) "I suppose I should head to Silo then."
Ba: "Good luck! Have fun! And be careful – Don't get impaled!"
The words sent shivers down his spine as though someone yanked his entire backbone out and threw it back perfectly intact within a flash.
K: (Impaled? Impaled by what?)