The annual rookie event in the Gawain Corps of the Royal Magicians, "Sixty Seconds of Blood," was a bit of a specialty for those who worked in the palace.
Not to mention the palace magicians, the Royal Knights and other court officials would hear about it and come out of nowhere to watch.
In addition, there are many more galleries this time than usual.
Many of them must have wanted to see with their own eyes how good the newcomer who broke down the wall at the entrance exam was.
The fact that she and Gawain Stark, a Maygas-grade magician, are going to be competing against each other is a tremendous draw.
Some people in the gallery were betting on the outcome.
Betting on how many seconds they could last is a tradition in Sixty Seconds of Blood. What began as a spontaneous event among observers has spread throughout the court, and many now come to watch mainly for the betting.
Oliver Hampton was one such gallery.
He said, "If you're going to buy, it's probably best to pick a second that's less than ten seconds long. I can understand the temptation to buy 'more than ten seconds' in a big hole, but don't do it, as expected. Not only has she been out for two years, the newbie who was accepted at the top of the class this year was beaten in nine seconds. The magic that broke down that wall is extraordinary, but it's too much for an unproven woman in the field.
Before the game everyone was saying the same thing in different words.
Oliver gasps when he finds an extraordinary figure in the watching crowd.
Chris Sherlock, a Maegas-grade magician known as the "Ice Wizard".
You'll be able to find out if you're the right person for the job.
And then, accompanied by the two men, His Royal Highness Mikael Ardenfeld, the first prince of the kingdom, came to visit.
(You're kidding me. ...... It's up to His Highness.)
I guess we are all thinking the same thing.
Almost everyone in the hall has already noticed His Highness Michael's presence and is watching his every move.
The atmosphere of the training ground had changed to something odd, not just a rookie annual event before the hand-to-hand meeting began.
Oliver takes a little pity on the newcomer named Noel.
He didn't need to be seen by so many people, he said.
This ceremony, which is nominally called an enlistment test, is actually intended to break the nose of a newcomer who has been treated as a genius at the academy.
Inevitably, Gawain will not let up.
I'm sure the poor rookie will be rolling around on the floor of the training ground, unceremoniously crushed to dust.
(The good-natured Third Squad seemed to be following along pretty well, but this attention will put a dent in a disastrous defeat. I hope I'm not too depressed. ......)
Oliver wasn't the only one who thought so.
Everyone in the audience thought so.
And yet--
(What is this?)
Oliver can't believe the scene in front of him.
(The movement has changed ...... like a different person.
I suppose it's magic to accelerate its own time.
The unseen offense and defense.
A clash of magic like an explosion that strikes your eardrums.
Even Oliver, a Suijama-class royal court magician, could not follow their movements with his eyes.
There were two things that I noticed.
The first was that Gawain, who had been laying waste to the newcomers with his overwhelming strength, still hadn't been as serious as he should have been until now.
And the newcomer in front of me did not step back in front of Gawain's seriousness, but crossed over as equals.
Who is that guy ......
I couldn't help but ask myself that question.
A person I would never normally speak to.
Shot through with sapphire blue eyes, I realized that I had done a terrible thing.
The next head of the famous Waldstein family.
The first rookie to endure "Sixty Seconds of Blood" and rise to the rank of Holy Gold (Adamantite) magician in just three years.
His younger superior, Luke Waldstein, however, replied to me as if nothing had happened.
A real monster I couldn't beat when I was in school. But I picked it up because it was smoldering in the countryside because it was stupid and lacking in some areas. Well, since you're going to stand next to me, you should be able to do that.
That's about it.
It's not a situation where it's that easy to say--
My mouth is dry.
The scene in front of me that I still can't accept as reality.
But there is one thing I know.
I am now seeing something extraordinary.
I forgot to breathe and watched it.
Just like everyone else there does.