"All right! We've got our official participants for the upcoming Triathlon!" William was pressing his body upward, he flapped around the table and sat on it as he announced the partial qualifiers for the event that will unfold at the beginning of the third month known as the Magic Triathlon.
"Oh no, I hope I am not in there..."
Murmurings encapsulated the sheltered room of Section C. They were preparing themselves to not get chosen because even with the help of William, they are still pretty doubtful about their jargoned composition regarding magic activation and sequential casting.
William grabbed the marker that was sitting on the right side of the table and started writing names on the blank board to the front. The splashing and squeaking sound of the marker drew their attention as they preoccupy themselves with the results, waiting for it to show.
Undoubtedly, it is unsafe for him to consider those who didn't have that much progress for their equal and uneven training. Despite the hardships, they weren't able to surpass the basic context of magic activation. However, most of the candidates in the class managed to surpass that shortcoming over just two days even without the help of William. Considering the progress of those individuals, the highest chance they can obtain from winning the event has gone to a quarter instead of a nulling atom.
"Alright, done!" After writing, he threw the marker back on the sliding table and clapped his hands as he rubbed the messy specks of dust. The candidates leaned forward to see the names clearer. Upon reading the selections of the rosters, they made a hopeful expression, seeing that the members that William picked are pretty promising and they are exactly near on top of the whole section.
"What do you guys think? I have evaluated everyone's magic abilities and most of you did really well, especially those who have a natural point for it. I am pretty confident that you guys might have the chance to win this if you still do your best up to the competition. I chose here the first fifteen candidates that we will be registering for the event. But of course, this will still change because it is not yet approved and it is still a partial decision within the section. You guys will have to ask Miss Julia or Aran about the lineup. But then again, this is my recommendation for the event." William proposed as he explained the reason why he picked them.
In the first column on the board which is distributed among the category of swimming, there are four members with one leader each. All three events consist of five participants per section. The first five was:
Swimming route:
Eita Fraudo
Aldi Foshan
Rishin Helio
Riggord De Morty
Leader: Huck Revera
Eita, Aldi, Rishin, Riggord, and Huck. An all men strategy for the first event of the Triathlon. Seeing that these guys showed various skills with their body enhancement type of magic, they can easily abstain from the rough waves of the water and can present themselves evenly without getting tired. Swimming is the first practice and magic is very minimal in this first event. Any sort of speed enhancement is accepted, but the use of different unfavorable spells throughout the competition will be considered invalid and the player will be disqualified.
"You five, among all other young boys, were exceptional when it comes to body-enhancing magic. You guys have more stamina and less stiffness when it comes to training. That's why I am putting the five on you to compete in the swimming part of the event. The swimming bout is considered to be one of the most tiring practices in the whole competition. The reason why is because the pressure of the water, the waves, and the continuous flapping of your arms will get your energy and mana sapped in an instant if you have no stamina. And since you guys are bulk and strong enough to maintain your stamina and excess energy, it will be up to the five of you to win the first race. Also, your leader will be Huck." William made a remark.
"Hell yeah!" Aldi shouted.
"Yo, Huck. Teach us some other things about training, maybe we can use it!" Riggord whispered.
"Yeah, man. We can do this! I am sure we have the chance." Followed by Rishin.
"Yes, I agree. Let's have another session again on the training grounds later." Eita concur.
"All right, guys! We'll definitely crush them up!" Smacking his palm with his fist, Huck ignited a war cry within his members for the first event of the Triathlon. It was a good lineup since most of them excel on high-speed training and body weight configuration.
"Yeah!!" Everyone shouted.
"All right, that was settled. Now let's go for the next bout, which is the cycling event. But before we reveal the members, I will explain the premises of the said event. So, Cycling is the second part of the Triathlon, most of you might have known that cycling is riding a bicycle, which is of course true, but the bicycle that you guys will use in the competition is made out of dissonating materials. Which means it is twice the size and twice the weight and magic that you guys will have to infuse." The instructions and the nature of the event got all of them perplexed by manipulating the basic concept of the second bout.
"Umm, Mr. William?" A girl from the class raised her hand to ask.
"Yes?"
"You said that the bicycle that we are going to use is a non-magic type material. Does that mean that we need to pedal with our strengths?" She asked.
"Good question... But the answer to that is no. The bicycle may have a magic-dissonating cluster effect but that doesn't mean that you can't use magic. You will pedal the bike with your strength, you will increase the speed of it using magic. Your acceleration depends on both sides of the pre-requisites. The purpose of this is to practice or train your involuntary muscles while bestowing your mana or magic molecule to a certain object. By far, it is one of the most difficult to maintain and that can only be attributed to someone who has a lot of mana in their hands. And yes, I am talking about these next five participants." William moved sideways on the right and showed them the next column with the list for the next participants of the second bout.
Cycling route:
Lia Tamayo
Aine Shinji
Penny Rosalia
Emma Redelius
Leader: Nikki Shimizu
"Oh my, I am the leader?" Nikki stood up with her surprising reaction being entangled in all directions. Everyone looked at her.
"Yes, Miss Shimizu. According to my tests, you, by far have the largest amount of mana accumulation. You possessed deep great mana energy combustion and you can do many spells at once without even tiring yourself out. You have a great capacity, that is why I chose you to be the leader. Also, have you guys noticed that this team or lineup has only girls on it? Wanna know why? It is because girls, tend to have a natural aptitude for mana accumulation and they are gifted with such skills. You girls are perfect for this match. But still, even with the great concentration, you guys should also train your body composition to pedal that bicycle." William said.
The five girl members swapped their seats and go over to each other to have a little bit of a group discussion. Nikki was situated around the corner with their gleaming eyes looking at her while waiting for her to say anything.
"Nikki! You're one of the most top candidates here! And you are smart! Maybe you can also help us as well?" Emma asked, she seems so lively and bubbly like there was no problem with her participating in the event.
"Haha, she's right, I take it that this is the first that we're going to have teamwork. I may not have the right skills for the job but I will do my best!" Aine followed.
"Mm! Let's do our best together!" With that statement coming from Nikki, the second group got their chance and they are finally ready.
"All right, now let's move on to the final bout. The running event. I am sure you guys already know the pointers of these final steps. The next team that I have chosen for this lineup is pretty good at side steps remarks and agility tests. The reason why I trained all of you guys yesterday with your legs is because of this. I need to determine who has the most flexible body and nimble parts in order to compete for this final round." William moved on to the third column and there he shows the final contestants for the running route.
Running route:
Felicity Redelius
Autumn Florendo
Joseph Cilliana
Blaine Alvaro
Leader: Eunice Einfield
"Holy! Eunice is in our group, man!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Eunice is our leader! I couldn't ask for a better one! She's great!"
The members lurked around their seats, filled with excitement and happiness in their eyes. It was assumed scathed around the thought of losing, but instead, they were reciprocated with hopefulness because of the top-tier pick of William.
"Looks like I have no choice but to lead you guys..." She smirked and stood up as she bowed in front of them.
"We have Eunice, Huck, and Nikki as our leader, guys! This is freaking awesome! We might win this one! WE SHOULD DO OUR BEST!"
At last, the long-lasting silence was shattered after the revelation of the group. Each and everyone was happy that they have such classmates.
The whisperings continued to linger around the room and everyone was celebrating and supporting each other while the others are excited about the event.
"Now then, everyone please calm down..." After a short break and interval, William goes over to the front once again, waiting for everyone to lessen down the noise as they sat in a group together. The sparks in their hearts and the overwhelming excitement and motivation permeated on their clique, abstaining from all of the negative and pessimistic thoughts. In order to move forward, they need to keep themselves composed and keep on going even with the obstacle.
"I forgot to tell you something..." William speaks. Everyone was piqued.
"Like what I have said before I came here, this Triathlon is generally organized by the academy leaders. But the main instructions and rules are coming within me because I am the one who made this race. I would like to fill you guys with some information that you must know before the competition. The first one is, this race is actually an improved version of a Relay race. Does anyone here know what relay type race is?" William asked everyone with a serious expression.
The candidates looked at each other with an empty answer, even Nikki doesn't have any clue about the premises of a relay type of race is.
"Umm..." Felicity from the running route raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"If I take it, a relay race is a group or a teamwork race that needs the connection of each individual in order to progress the race." She answered.
"Precisely, correct. Thank you very much, Felicity." William commended her as she sat down. Everyone seemed to be fazed by the description and meaning.
"Just like what she said, a relay race is a group race that should be done within a range. This means you guys are not exactly racing in an individual position. This is why I grouped all of you into five. The rules of the relay race are very important and easy. In a 750 meter race, each member is positioned and stationed around a few blocks from the finish line. The first runner of the group will collect the flag from the first line and he or she will have to pass it on to the next member and the next member will run again to pass to another. Take note that the flag is very important, it is the key in order to finish the race. Once the flag reaches the final member which is the leader of the three groups we assigned, the leaders will pass the flag onto the next member of the second bout. And that will continue until the race ends. I have proposed this kind of rule in order to avoid fatigue and grave injuries for our players. Since Triathlon is not an easy track and field sport, we will have a lot of protocols to take care of the participants." He explained.
"Is sabotaging not included?" Eunice asked with a straight face.
"Huh? Of course not. Sabotaging is prohibited from all matches. We need to be fair and display sportsmanship within other players from other sections. And it will be one of the biggest events ever hosted by this academy. With over 45 players! Does that make you guys feel the wrath?" William hyped them up.
"Hell yeah!" The boys from Huck's team were on fire today.
"The location of the event will be held on the Academy's private track and field area just a few walk away from the buildings that you guys have seen. If you're wondering if that is the park, it is indeed a park but if there are events, it turns into an arena. I don't know who constructed that kind of venue but it is pretty dope for me. So I'd say everything will be fine." William followed.
"Are we going to have another session later?" Joseph asked.
"Yeah, we're going to have a break first. I want you guys to eat some lunch because we will train again in the afternoon. We don't have any problems with physical concepts but we still need to improve our stamina and magic conservation. That's all!" After that, William left the room with Miss Julia. Their rest started and everyone was pretty much excited for the course that they have taken.
"Hey, Eunice! I am so glad that I am on a team with you! You are my inspiration ever since you came in here. You have a lot of skills and you have a great body!" Some girls complimented Eunice and they all hang out.
"Huck! Let's go to the cafeteria!" Aldi called him out.
"Oh yeah! Sure! Be right there!"
"Nikki, can you teach us more about this...?" Penny asked.
"Oh, that one is pretty fun to use! Here, let me teach you!" Nikki responded.
Each group bonded together and introduced themselves. Getting gloomy vibes for the past few days was a downfall for any section including this. The Triathlon is just four days, they need to start preparing and resting.
***
William and Miss Julia are stalling, they talked to each other for a while.
"You did a pretty good job out there, I didn't know that you were the one who designed the game." Miss Julia said.
"Yeah, I am the one who designed it, but the board members decided to change a few things so I am really pissed about them."
"Hahaha! They must have hated you or something." Julia laughed as she teased William.
"Those bastards, soon, they will pay for their stalling and backslashing. But then, I need to do my job first or Aran will get mad at me." William responded.
"What's your relationship with that boy? I was wondering how did he get contact with you." Julia asked, concerned about the process they did.
"Oh, he is not really the one who talked to me. It was Veldrey..." He answered.
"Veldrey? That famous blacksmith?"
"Yeah. We set up a one-week training camp on their lodgings two months ago and I met Aran and the others. That boy... He reeks of something that I cannot understand..." William said in a serious tone.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Curious, they stopped on the near bench and sat together.
"Like, you are aware of his power, right?" William asked.
"Yeah, I find it weird at first that he was able to negate all magic attacks back then, is that a spell or something?" She asked.
"It is not a spell but rather, a bestowed attribute for him only. That knife that he uses is called the Carnwennan, a legendary dagger. At first, everyone just threw this knife away because it doesn't exhibit that much power, but then when Aran used it for the first time, it suddenly activated on its own."
"What? Activated on its own?"
"It is like, the knife considered him as the owner or the master. That is the reason why he can negate the magic. But it is also a dangerous weapon."
"Why is it a dangerous weapon?"
"It sucks out the Mana of whoever uses it..."
"What?!" She got fazed by that information.
"The process is still unknown, but this weapon can be game-changer when it comes to combats. Its versatile capabilities are pretty useful for any kind of situation, and Aran is the first every person to use its powers but there is something more..." William added.
"More?"
"His race..."
After hearing the last word, Julia was perplexed by the answer. Almost looks like she is about to hear something devastating and discreet.
Whatever it is that I am thinking, I hope it is not true...