It was the seventh day of the Nine Schools Competition and the fourth
day of the Newcomers Division.
Today was the preliminaries of the Newcomers Division Monolith
Code event, which was widely regarded as the most important event
within the Nine Schools Competition. Yet, the audience's attention was
completely concentrated on Mirage Bat.
Since this was an event that only young ladies participated in, their
uniforms consisted of colorful spandex that was covered by flowing
miniskirts and sleeveless vests or jackets. When compared to the
fashion show (cosplay contest?) that Women's Icicle Destruction
presented, this was another feast for the eyes of a different caliber.
Rather, the young women in these uniforms were dancing through the
skies.
In terms of sheer beauty, this event was undoubtedly first among all
magic competitions.
Thus, it was perfectly natural to receive massive attention (and
scrutiny) from the male fans.
That being said — if this wasn't Tatsuya's mental reaction, he felt that
he was also the subject of many a curious gaze.
This was no lustful gaze that he was fighting against, but the collective
(prickly) hostile gazes filled with enmity.
"......You're certainly dimwitted when it comes to your own affairs."
The player that completed her preparations for the first match spoke to
Tatsuya in a teasing manner.
"While I don't deny that I'm a little slow in some regards...... You have
some idea, Satomi?"
"Of course!"
She was Satomi Subaru from First High 1st Year Class D, and, of
course, a Course 1 student. Satomi was actually her surname, as the
two of them were not close enough for Tatsuya to call her by her
actual name.
"Everyone came to see Shiba-kun."
She was a young lady that was somewhat similar to Mari. To be
precise, they were both more popular among their own gender than
with those of the opposite gender.
However, at the end of the day, they were only "somewhat" similar.
Also, if the two of them stood side by side, they would still give off
different impressions to others.
Let's assume both were dressed in swallowtail suits.
Mari would give off a "beautiful lady dressed in men's clothes" vibe.
While Subaru would definitely categorize as a "beautiful young man
from the troupers".
Regretfully, that was probably their defining difference.
It remained a mystery as to whether Subaru was conscious of this
point, but it was true that her tone and mannerisms had a masculine
tinge to them.
Even so, this was hardly a "rude" impression, but as her previous
words implied, she was an extremely perceptive young lady.
"In both Speed Shooting and the subsequent Icicle Destruction, we
seized all three of the top spots. I think anyone watching could see that
highly efficient CAD software played an integral part in that. That's
why everyone wants to know who the technician responsible is."
"......But, anyone can find out who the technician on duty is without
much research."
"That's true. Shiba-kun, the other schools are now very wary of you."
If what Subaru said was true — and there was no reason to think
otherwise — then things were rapidly progressing in the direction that
Tatsuya wanted to see the least.
Generally, people are forced to act in conditions where they are not
fully prepared. That's just "how life works".
Despite that, he was woefully unprepared for this situation.
According to the plan, "Shiba Tatsuya" was only supposed to be
revealed post graduation.
"Then...... It's my turn to take this by storm. Honestly, with this CAD
in hand, there's no reason I can be defeated in the preliminaries."
As she paced continuously towards the entrance, Subaru raised her
right arm with a "bracelet" that seemed to flash in the sunlight. Over
one shoulder, she revealed a daring smile.
Tatsuya gave her a thumbs up and watched her depart.
As she said herself, Subaru was practically guaranteed to triumph in
the preliminaries.
Using the CAD he calibrated.
While he didn't want to be in the public eye so much, he couldn't
exactly just mail it in either.
As a Course 2 student — as a Weed in the system, nobody save for
one person placed high expectations on him, but now he was out of
options.
Now, he had Mayumi and Mari who nominated him for the Nine
Schools Competition, Katsuto who supported this decision, Hattori
who backed him despite his own personal feelings and Kirihara who
was willing to be a guinea pig despite the danger. Then there were
Honoka, Shizuku, and all the other female players who were
depending on him as well as — and Miyuki, who unconditionally
believed and supported him.
Once entwined, these social links could not be so easily "dissolved",
even by him.
◊ ◊ ◊
Mirage Bat involved four people at a time in the preliminary round,
with the six victors from each round advancing to the next round.
Even though this was the event in the Nine Schools Competition with
the least amount of matches, this did not imply that this was an easier
task for the players.
Taking into consideration that there were three rounds, each lasting 15
minutes at a time, this was the longest event in the Nine Schools
Competition. Including the five minute breaks spaced between, the
event could last approximately one hour. Compared to Icicle
Destruction and Monolith Code that had no time restrictions, this was
an especially long duration.
Also, during the match itself, the players had to use sustainable magic
and continuously leap into the air. The stress placed on the players
themselves easily rivaled that of a marathon.
And to top it all off, there were two matches in one day alone.
In terms of physical stamina, this was a more punishing event than
Crowd Ball or Monolith Code.
With the players' exhaustion in mind, there was a large interval for
resting between the preliminary and elimination rounds, which could
be said to be a unique feature of this event.
The first match was set at 8 AM. With two arenas going at the same
time, the preliminaries would be finished around noon.
The elimination round would start at 7 PM. This was the only night
time event in the entire Nine Schools Competition.
Some may question why the Nine Schools Competition forced the
preliminary and elimination rounds into one day rather than splitting
them across two days. There was, of course, a method to the madness.
Mirage Bat was an event that involved swinging a bat towards the orbshaped
holograms (Strictly speaking, they were three dimensional orb
images. Modern imaging techniques technically possessed
fundamental differences with holograms). In other words, the player
had to identify the illusion floating ten meters off the ground while
still grounded, otherwise there was no way to complete the event. This
event was not suited to be conducted under the burning sun. Hence an
airship was deployed during the third match to avoid letting the sun
interfere with the event.
Mirage Bat was designed to be conducted during night time.
In order to avoid letting the players' bodies cover the projecting lights,
the 3D projector was set atop the cylindrical light towers that
surrounded the arena. From this alone, one could fully understand this
was intended to be a night event.