The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 25: Participating in the New Student Tournament

'Phantom Flying Sword' or 'Sensory Link Technique'?

Seeing the young girl hesitating and unable to decide, the two waited for a long while. Then, as if suddenly receiving some kind of instruction, they both made a decision together.

"How about learning both, and seeing which one suits you better?" the two of them suggested.

"But, doesn't the rule say you can only learn one?" Sylutia lightly tapped her fingers, her gaze shifting elsewhere as she asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Normally, yes, you can only learn one. However, there are other channels and methods to obtain the qualification to learn an additional one."

"Come with us." As she spoke, that senior apprentice sister took Sylutia's hand and led her out of the reading room.

"There's a competition event being held today in the Hall of Suspended Threads, divided into different brackets. Although you are not a student of this college, as a visitor, you can participate in the simplest bracket."

"In this bracket, the highest tier a participating contestant can be is Third Tier. As long as you place within the top eight, you can obtain an additional qualification to learn a secret art," she explained while walking.

"There's an event like that? Thank you, senior apprentice sister." Sylutia nodded gratefully, though she didn't know if such a competition would be difficult.

If she didn't restrict herself to the abilities and methods of the Mage school, freely switching Aspects and professions, then even at only Second Tier now, she could defeat quite a few Third Tier opponents.But right now, she couldn't reveal her identity, so the outcome was hard to predict. After all, a difference of more than one tier in Aspect creates a very large gap, especially since those who can come to Rorik College are all elites among their peers.

After the three of them left the reading room, they met the old lady and her granddaughter in the lobby. She was surprised by the three of them rushing out in a flurry and was currently discussing future paths with Tigis.

"What happened? Why the hurry?" She could see Sylutia didn't look like she had chosen a secret art and was ready to learn.

Faced with the old lady's inquiry, the three explained the situation. Before they could even get an answer, Tigis, standing to the side, said she wanted to go see it too.

Seeing her granddaughter really wanted to go, she had no choice but to agree. So, the five of them headed to the nearby combat arena. Fortunately, it wasn't far from here, only about 800 meters away.

A little over ten minutes later, the group arrived. The combat arena was already filled with quite a few students and guests. Some were sitting in the spectator stands watching, while others had signed up to participate in the competition of their choice.

After bringing Sylutia to the registration desk, the two explained the situation, and the registrar nodded.

"So it's a little sister who hasn't enrolled yet. In that case, you can only participate in the New Student Tournament. That's the competition for current students who have been enrolled for less than two years, and apprentices who haven't entered any college yet."

"This round has 64 participants, and it's an elimination tournament. If you can survive until the final top eight, you'll get a reward. Of course, the higher your ranking, the richer the reward."

"The first round has already started. The second round is still accepting registrations and will begin in about half an hour."

Although it's a round of 64, you only need to defeat three opponents to enter the top eight showdown. There's actually a relatively large luck component. However, such competitions are originally meant to stimulate students' motivation to learn, not necessarily to rank everyone with extreme precision.

The large luck component also makes the competition more interesting. Even those with insufficient strength have a sliver of hope.

After helping Sylutia register, the five went to the nearby spectator stands to wait. It was only during the conversation that Sylutia learned the identities of the two senior students.

"My name is Dicas. I'm currently a Shadow Star First Class student. I've been at Rorik College for five years now."

The 'Shadow Star First Class' he mentioned is the rank the college assigns to Third Tier members. Starting from Shadow Star Fifth Class upon enrollment, they gradually advance based on completed contributions, mastered spells, and strength improvements. If promoted to Fourth Tier, it's 'Gold Star Fifth Class' to 'Gold Star First Class'. As for Fifth Tier, it's 'Rose Third Class' to 'Rose First Class'. Beyond that, at Sixth Tier, they become professors and powerful core members of the college.

Sylutia didn't feel much after hearing this, but the old lady beside her, upon hearing that both were 'Shadow Star First Class', had a slight change in expression. Seeing how exceptionally enthusiastic the two were towards Sylutia, she seemed to guess something.

The combat arena was now divided into four large block grids, with matches happening simultaneously. This way, even if one match ended or wasn't exciting, spectators could immediately shift their gaze to watch a match in another grid block.

Sitting in the spectator stands, Sylutia noticed that most participants in the New Student Tournament were Third Tier, with only a handful being Second Tier, and their records weren't good.

Thinking about it carefully, this was normal. If one could easily overcome tier gaps in combat, then so many people wouldn't be so obsessed and eager for promotion.

Half an hour passed quickly. After the first round champion was decided, the second round officially began.

Sylutia also arrived at the designated waiting room and received her numbered tag.

"Hedra, Number 47." After taking it, Sylutia imitated the others and tied the tag to her waist.

The matches proceeded quickly, basically deciding a winner within two minutes. Including entering and exiting the arena, it was about 4-5 minutes per match.

"Contestant Number 47, versus Contestant Number 48, please enter the arena now." Hearing the referee's voice outside, Sylutia straightened her clothes and walked into the combat arena.

Although it was already late at night, the place was brightly lit. The huge torches surrounding the arena illuminated the environment brilliantly.

Sylutia saw the few people on the distant stands cheering for her, nodded, then turned to her opponent. The other party wore a black uniform, appearing to be a freshman at Rorik College.

Neither held weapons in their hands, suggesting a pure Mage duel. After the announcer declared the start, the opponent took out a handful of strange powder and scattered it into the air. Immediately, two pale, spectral-looking vicious dogs materialized and charged fiercely towards Sylutia.

Although they looked fierce, they didn't seem very strong, the young girl thought to herself.

[Bone Spirit Vicious Dog] (Second Tier · Dead Embers). A creature summoned by a spell. Limited duration. Body is semi-incorporeal. Extremely fast.

While the strength was indeed limited, the 'extremely fast' evaluation was correct. They started fighting forty meters apart, and in the blink of an eye, the dogs were upon her. If Sylutia were the type of student with slow spell activation, she would probably have to concede on the spot.

Facing the two vicious dogs attacking like the wind, Sylutia spread her hands. Several threads materialized beside her, floating and expanding, instantly shredding and cutting the two dogs into several pieces.

The destroyed Bone Spirit Vicious Dogs turned into glowing powder in the air. Under the opposing Mage's control, they attempted to coalesce and reform, but Sylutia didn't give them the chance. Instead, she continued to expand and arrange her threads, interfering with the opponent's manipulation.

A few seconds later, the opponent, whose 'Bone Spirit Vicious Dogs' couldn't easily reform, was entangled by the attacking threads and declared his surrender.

"Number 47 wins!"

After the match ended, he loosened his tightened collar, shook his head, and walked off the stage, complaining to his companions not far away.

"I got careless. I was thinking since the opponent was a Second Tier student, I'd catch them off guard and win directly."

He was a Third Tier Mage. Theoretically, he could also summon a 'Third Tier' creature to fight, but that would take much longer, with the risk of being quickly defeated by a lower-tier opponent during the process. So, he chose the extremely fast-summoning 'Bone Spirit Vicious Dog' tactic.

"Haha, it's fine. You can participate again in a few months. This kind of New Student Tournament is held several times a year." Several companions comforted him, laughing as they walked off the stage. One of them even gave Sylutia a thumbs-up in praise.

The atmosphere is quite friendly, the young girl thought.