Chapter 694: The Silent Witch’s Book of Mistakes
In the waiting area of the Silent Chalice Competition, directly beneath the Silent Throne.
The star ring wizard from the Storm Tower who was serving as supervising teacher frowned with displeasure upon seeing that both the Bonifacius University and Quinn Jol teams had already arrived. "What is Golden Crown Mountain doing? The competition is almost starting. Where are they?"
At that moment in the waiting area, Wizard Smith, Witch Georgina, Wizard Edgar, and the other six wizards were all exchanging glances, their eyes filled with silent confrontation.
The supervising wizard from Quinn Jol University was a sun ring wizard with a somewhat youthful middle-aged appearance. He let out a cold laugh upon hearing this. "And what standing does the team that came in last the previous round have to comment?"
The Storm Tower's supervising wizard clenched his teeth, his expression darkening.
He was not a magnanimous person, and if the person before him, Rash, had not already been a sun ring wizard, placing an absolute gap of standing between them, he would certainly have snapped back immediately.
But the gap between a sun ring wizard and a star ring wizard was absolute.
So he dared not say too much, and instead redirected his frustration toward Golden Crown Mountain's team. "But the time has already come. They truly are late. That is not appropriate, is it? So many people are waiting for them."
Wizard Rash gave a nod. "That is true enough."
He looked at the three people beside him and said quietly, "All three of you, stay sharp. Do not lower your guard. There are plenty of off-court tactics in competition, and only by considering every angle in advance can you respond with composure."
Wizard Edgar listened with a look of utmost seriousness. "Yes, Teacher Rash. Is this the wisdom of a champion? How true it is that the strong only grow stronger. Such a well-reasoned point."
"Indeed, the experience of a champion is simply correct."
The two witches beside him exchanged a glance, then covered their faces. This was hopeless. This fanboy had absolutely no control over his unbridled admiration for the previous champion.
What made it worse was that this person was the primary competitor on their team.
The two of them silently edged away from Edgar, trying to avoid being tarnished by association.
Wizard Rash, however, found himself quite receptive to Edgar's approach. Although at first he had also felt that Edgar constantly invoking his championship here and his championship there looked suspiciously like flattery.
He had been rather put off by it at first, and had even developed a mild contempt for Edgar because of it.
But after being addressed as champion this and champion that day after day, there came a stretch of a few days when Wizard Rash had not seen Edgar. Without Edgar's particular way of addressing him, he had found himself feeling just the tiniest bit hollow.
Now, having come to understand Edgar's personality in greater depth, Wizard Rash already knew that he was simply a pure and guileless ranking fanatic, and so he found Edgar's words quite gratifying.
Wizard Rash frowned, looking at the clock floating in mid-air. "Five minutes over. Can it be that Chad is actually going to be late?"
"In ten years, he somehow picked up the bad habit of tardiness."
The moon ring witch from Bonifacius University said quietly, "Let's wait a little longer. A few minutes either way makes no difference. The shop alliances sponsoring this competition are quite happy to have a little extra advertising time."
The star ring wizard from the Storm Tower said, "But being late on an occasion this important is genuinely disrespectful to all of us. The Golden Crown Mountain crowd has gone too far. Are they trying to put pressure on us, or is this them looking down on us..."
In the very next moment, a surge of magical pressure swept across the entire competition venue from above.
It began as a gentle breeze, and then immediately became a howling gale, as a powerful force of magic pressure descended from the sky and bore down over the competition venue.
The spectators in the stands also noticed this surge of magic pressure, and broke into a chorus of discussion.
One had to understand that the entire site of the Silent Chalice Competition had drawn a vast number of wizards from across the Cloud Marsh Wetlands. The magic pressure accumulated from that gathering alone was already extraordinary.
And yet someone actually dared to attack a place like this.
"Are black wizards attacking? Which faction is bold enough for this? Is it the Twin Demon Realm, the Chaos Sea, the Abyssal Demons, the Pale Pilgrimage Spirit Refuge, or the Crimson Deep Court?"
"Wait, that is a direct frontal attack aimed at the spectator stands. They are attacking with a Grand Magic!"
The Second Circle wizards of the Silent Chalice Competition Committee immediately went on alert, rising from their seats with serious expressions, but very shortly they all sat back down.
Because the incoming magic was botanical magic, and after gauging the strength of the magic pressure, they determined it was not being used as an attack, but as a means of travel.
In that case, there was nothing to worry about.
The three supervising teachers in the waiting area had genuinely thought for a moment that black wizards were attacking, but after detecting the familiar yet unfamiliar magic pressure, all three of them wore different expressions.
Two sun ring committee members of the Silent Chalice Committee exchanged words with amused smiles. "That is little Chad's magic pressure. That must be his Water Saint Tea Tree. Even in the previous competition, his Water Saint Tea Tree was already highly refined. That Grand Magic capable of converting water resources into various other forms of resources was quite the eye-opener for us."
"He lost back then because the Silent Plane simply did not have enough water. I said it at the time, if the Silent Plane of that competition had been a water-element-heavy plane, little Chad would have won. Ten years later, he seems to have developed a way to use the Water Saint Tea Tree for rapid travel."
The other sun ring committee member put on an exaggeratedly dramatic expression. "Given that young man's Grand Magic, just how much water resource would he need to convert into other resources? Although water is plentiful in many planes, it is quite scarce in quite a few others."
"If that young man's Grand Magic were used in a primarily desert-terrain plane, it might trigger a civilization-ending crisis in a medium-scale plane."
At that moment, in the waiting area, four water spheres came crashing down from the sky. The violent magic pressure was like falling meteors, slamming hard into the ground.
A deep boom rang out.
The earth shook.
A Water Saint Tea Tree appeared on the competition stage, its Grand Magic bearing down on the supervising teachers of all three academies.
The star ring wizard from the Storm Tower's expression changed drastically. He was suppressed by the magic pressure of the Water Saint Tea Tree, and found himself temporarily unable to use any magic.
The witch from Bonifacius University turned her right hand over, and a snow-capped mountain appeared in her palm.
The entire Water Saint Tea Tree was enveloped in a blizzard that would never melt.
The sun ring wizard from Quinn Jol University did not even bother using his Grand Magic, simply reciting an incantation, and blocked Wizard Chad's Grand Magic with a flash of magical power.
Wizard Chad Schultz climbed out of the crater in the ground, brushing dust from his wizard robe. "Ha ha ha, you three, after ten years apart, having compared ourselves again, I find our rankings have not changed in the slightest."
"First remains first. Last remains last."
Wizard Chad Schultz let out a sigh. "The only thing that has changed is the gap. Back then we competed against one another, and at least we were roughly on the same level, the differences between us not especially large. But now, the strong and the weak are as clearly separated as night and day."
"Ten years have passed, and it seems I have still not caught up with you." Wizard Chad Schultz looked at the sun ring wizard from Quinn Jol University, Wizard Rash, with unconcealed frustration.
Wizard Chad Schultz looked toward the moon ring witch from Bonifacius University. "Of course, Witch Anna, the gap between us has not widened all that much. You still beat me by a narrow margin simply because your Grand Magic counters mine."
"As for you..." Wizard Chad Schultz looked at the star ring wizard from the Storm Tower with undisguised contempt. "Ten years without seeing each other, and you have fallen this far behind?"
The star ring wizard immediately erupted with fury. "Chad Schultz, you only caught me off guard just now! If I had been able to use my Grand Magic in advance, no one could say how the outcome would have gone."
"But today is a competition between our students. Let's save the reminiscing for another time. You were already late, and then you made your entrance in such a... theatrical manner."
"Are you trying to draw everyone's attention to yourself? The Silent Chalice Competition does not award points for showmanship."
Wizard Chad Schultz smiled and said nothing.
At that moment, Locke, Antoine, and Witch Preston climbed out of the craters that had been blasted into the ground.
Locke coughed. The magic pressure throughout his body was surging continuously upward. Although his physical and soul vitality were in constant decline, his magic pressure had risen to its absolute limit.
Wizard Chad Schultz's attack magic had launched them all the way from the Golden Crown Mountain district to this place.
Fast, certainly.
And throughout the journey, in order to resist the attack magic and protect themselves, his magic pressure had been pushed to its peak, with such overwhelming force that quite a few of the surrounding First Circle wizards could not bring themselves to look directly at him.
At the very least, the entrance had made a strong impression.
In the spectator stands, every eye turned toward the three of Locke's group emerging from the craters.
"The way Golden Crown Mountain made their entrance this time is incredibly imposing. That is what a thousand-year institution looks like, just utterly arrogant. But they have the ability to back up that arrogance. This kind of entrance is actually quite dangerous. With the competition about to start, I wonder why they chose to arrive in a way that could have left them injured."
"Probably confidence. They have enough magical power to ensure nothing will go wrong for them."
"They are Golden Crown Mountain after all. It seems they have absolute confidence in winning the championship this time. Otherwise, why make an entrance like that."
Quite a few wizards, mistaking the emergency travel method that Locke and the others had been forced to use in order to arrive in time for a deliberately staged entrance, were speculating that Golden Crown Mountain was supremely confident in taking the championship this time. They guessed that the primary competitor, Locke Augustine, this mysterious wizard from an outer wizard territory, possessed some kind of unique technique.
Down in the spectator stands, many of Locke's acquaintances were quietly shaking their heads with wry smiles.
Witch Camilla covered her face. "What confidence? Knowing his personality, no matter how confident he was, he would not be this showy. He is not Antoine. This was obviously not intentional. Just look at Antoine's clothes, it is clear they were rushing to get here."
Witch Camilla listened to the wizards around her marveling at Golden Crown Mountain's imposing presence and rolled her eyes.
When she heard someone speculating that Locke might be a once-in-a-century genius breeder from Golden Crown Mountain, she was at a loss for words.
"That bastard Locke, the competition has not even started yet and he's already making this big a splash. I would like to see what happens when you get eliminated first once the competition actually begins. So much for a once-in-a-century breeding genius. I have dealt with him plenty of times, and I never felt he was this impressive."
Witch Camilla frowned and began to think it over carefully.
Wait, that did not quite add up...
Wizard Mac could not help but cheer for Locke, saying to his teacher beside him, "This is incredible. He is openly contemptuous of every other competitor. That is absolute confidence."
His teacher seemed to want to say something but held back.
Wizard Mac rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I really want to be in that competition."
On the other side, two Second Circle wizards from the Tower of Transmutation sat together eating popcorn, watching Locke Augustine appear in the competition waiting area.
Both Second Circle wizards reflected, "Somehow it feels like an accident and a coincidence."
"Who knows. We have watched Locke Augustine compete his way along from the beginning. It is like we bought tickets to the Grand League of the Spell Combat Competition and somehow ended up watching every one of his important matches."
One of the Tower of Transmutation wizards wore a peculiar expression. "His entrance this time was rather grand. Then again, he is no longer an unremarkable ordinary researcher at Golden Crown Mountain. Genius is merely the entry threshold at Golden Crown Mountain. He is now Golden Crown Mountain's exceptional genius."
"He is competing on behalf of Golden Crown Mountain."
"As such, he represents the highest level of First Circle ability that Golden Crown Mountain can field, which also means he represents the highest level of First Circle ability in the Cloud Marsh Wetlands. He has every right to be proud at this moment, and to receive the admiration of the many wizards present."
"This is rather different from the situation he was in when he first entered the Spell Combat Competition."
In the waiting area, Wizard Chad Schultz introduced Locke and the others to the competition's panel. "You see, over on that raised platform is the panel of reviewers."
"And on the raised platform to the left is the astral projection of Lady the Silent Witch."
"That platform has three seats, one for her original astral projection, and then the astral projections of the Green Steel Capital and Mystic Heaven."
Locke looked up in the direction Wizard Chad Schultz was pointing.
On the platform floating in mid-air to the left, at its very center, sat a witch dressed in a black gown of formal magnificence. Her face was pale and impossible to make out clearly. She was, in every way, exactly as her name described.
She was truly silent.
Although she was there to watch, no matter what had happened, even the commotion moments ago, this Fourth Circle Truth Wizard had shown no expression and made no movement. She simply sat there in her astral projection body, observing in silence.
Beside her was also an astral projection from a Fourth Circle wizard of the Green Steel Capital. But this one was not humanoid at all. It was an oak tree.
So of the three seats, one was occupied by a figure who seemed to have been silent since before time began, and one was occupied by a tree.
And then the third seat, the one where the astral projection of the Mystic Heaven wizard should have appeared, was completely empty.
Which meant that the Fourth Circle wizard from Mystic Heaven who should have come to watch the competition had not sent an astral projection.
Witch Preston said quietly, "It is a customary courtesy for Mystic Heaven to send a representative to watch the competition. The fact that no one came this time... it seems our Eastern Border Region's leading wizard territory has indeed offended Mystic Heaven."
She said quietly to Locke, "I only heard this from others, but apparently Mystic Heaven is very unhappy with the Star Domain Sea's High Magic Plan."
Antoine said, "Of course they would be unhappy."
At that moment, a sun ring wizard stood up at the panel's seating area to host the competition, amplifying his voice with magic. "Everyone, before the competition begins, we must, as is customary, introduce the history of this competition."
"The Silent Plane used in the Silent Chalice Competition is a plane that the Silent Witch explored when she had just entered the Second Circle. That plane has been destroyed in the current timeline. At the time, Lady the Silent Witch attempted every method available to her, but was ultimately unable to prevent that medium-scale plane from moving toward its destruction."
"She could only use a special magic to seal it away, and after becoming a Third Circle Throne wizard, she spent resources to forge it into this Third Circle magical instrument, the Silent Throne."
"After entering the Silent Plane, competitors will face the same problem that Lady the Silent Witch faced in her time. Lady the Silent Witch has long regretted her failure to save the Silent Plane, and so she wishes for young wizards to enter that plane, face the same problems and the same circumstances she once faced."
"And find the true answer she never found in her time. In other words, this plane is the Silent Witch's book of mistakes. She has generously shared it with young wizards."
"The Silent Witch once said that when someone solves this ultimate problem, the Silent Chalice will be permanently discontinued."
"Over the many years since, countless wizards have entered. They have produced solution after solution to one problem after another. But no one has ever truly solved the cyclical problem of why this world must inevitably face its end. One cycle after another has passed, and the mystery of the Silent Plane's inevitable destruction persists, lamenting all those who have pondered it."
"Although high-circle wizards would have a better chance of solving this problem, because of Lady the Silent Witch's own wishes, she prefers to see the problem solved by young wizards."
The sun ring wizard hosting the proceedings said, "Of course, this is only the background of the competition. The content of the competition itself has little to do with this. Unraveling the mystery of the inevitable apocalypse is a side objective of the competition."
"The true main event is our four wizards entering the Silent Plane, answering the call of the plane, and competing in the Grand Magic Modeling Competition!"
"The last wizard remaining in the Silent Plane will be crowned champion!"
"In other words, competitors will simultaneously face attacks from the plane's native inhabitants, the harbingers of the inevitable apocalypse approaching the plane, and attacks from the other competitors."
"The competition has the following prohibited methods of conduct."
"First, wizards are prohibited from using any magic against one another other than Grand Magic."
"Second, wizards are prohibited from directly attacking one another, or from directly attacking the forces under another wizard's command. This competition is solely a contest between four Grand Magic systems. The wizards themselves may not participate directly."
"Third, wizards are prohibited from directly attacking the world itself with magic, or from any direct control of the world through means other than Grand Magic. Any competitor who violates these three rules of competition will be immediately disqualified."