Once all of the students boarded the bus and took their seats, the driver started the engine and entered the road.
“We should arrive in 2 hours if there is no traffic.” Eve said to them before taking a seat right beside Leo.
“…”
The bus was dead silent with most of the students there staring at Leo through the corner of their eyes.
“Wow, they’re really staring intensely at you.” Lilith said as she hovered above him.
“I’m not surprised. I haven’t appeared in public since I consumed the Fruit of Magic Awakening.” Leo sighed.
“Especially that Crimson Witch. She’s staring daggers at you.” Lilith chuckled.
“Hm? So that redhead is the Crimson Witch? No wonder why I thought I had seen her before. She greatly resembles that Tia Barnett girl.” Leo recalled the time the Crimson Witch’s little sister challenged him to a fight.
Then he recalled that he wanted to sell her the Fire Affinity Orb that he’d found in the Labyrinth. However, now that he also has a fire affinity, he wondered if he should keep it for himself instead.
“Headmistress, I have a question.” Leo decided to ask her.
“What is it?”
He retrieved the Affinity Orb and said, “I wanted to sell this before, but now that I have a fire affinity, I’m thinking about keeping it for myself. What can I do with it?”
“Let me see it.” Eve gestured for the little marble.
Once it was in her hands, she looked at it with interest.
“A Fire Affinity Orb, huh? These can be used to craft magic artifacts and guarantee that they will have a fire effect. Or you can use it to enhance a magic artifact that already has a fire affinity. Honestly, the quality of this Affinity Orb is too weak to craft anything decent, so you are better off using it to enchant a magic artifact.” Eve said to him a moment later as she handed the Affinity Orb back to him.
“Is that so…”
Eve looked at him in silence for a moment before speaking, “If you want, I can get you a magic artifact with a fire affinity. After all, the academy still owes you a reward for getting first place in the Wilderness Training Course.”
“Really?!” Leo immediately became excited after hearing that he’ll get a free magic artifact.
“Yes. In fact, I have already started looking for one for you. Do you want a sword or something that will enhance your fire magic?”
Leo pondered for a moment before responding, “I want something that will strengthen my magic.”
“No problem. I will see what I can get my hands on.”
“Thank you, Headmistress.”
Meanwhile, several rows away from Leo’s seat was Valery and her team.
“Do you think he’s actually strong enough to participate in the Magic Tournament with us?” Kevin suddenly started a conversation with John and Valery.
And he continued, “I mean, if the Headmistress thinks he qualifies…”
“You can’t be serious. Do you seriously think he can match our magic capabilities in a month?” John scoffed, and he continued, “Listen. No matter how talented he is, magic cannot be rushed. I don’t know why the Headmistress signed him up for the Magic Tournament, but he’ll only become a laughingstock from it.”
“I don’t know… The Headmistress trained several S-Rank Adventurers, right?” Kevin said.
“Even if she’s the best instructor in the world, there’s no way for Leo to accumulate years of experience in a single month. It’s simply impossible.” Valery finally spoke.
“Either way, there’s no point talking about it now. We’ll find out the truth during the tournament.”
Two and a half hours later, the bus parked in a crowded parking lot in front of a massive stadium.
‘This is the Stellar Stadium… Instead of using it for sports, I guess they’re using it for tournaments in this world,” Leo thought to himself when he first saw the colossal dome.
Once the bus came to a full stop, the students and Eve remained in the bus until the teachers that had arrived beforehand showed up. Amongst these teachers was the Vice Principal, and he glared at Leo like a lion staring at its prey. Clearly, he was still upset about the Fruit of Magic Awakening incident.
After talking with the teachers a bit, Eve brought the participants to the stadium to check in.
“How many schools are participating in this tournament? I can see over a dozen different uniforms just from walking a few minutes.” Leo mumbled.
“Pretty much every school in the city will be participating.” Eve said to him.
“And how many schools are in this city?”
“About 50.”
“And if these 50 schools all brought 8 students to participate, there will be around 400 participants, huh? That’s a lot of people.”
“The tournament will take a few days to finish so we have plenty of time.” Eve said.
Sometime later, they entered the stadium, and Eve brought the participants to another room while the rest of the teachers and students went to their seats to wait for the tournament to begin.
Every school participating in the tournament will be given exclusive seating for the teachers and students that want to spectate the tournament, and the amount of seats given to each school are determined by their overall rank.
Being one of the top ranking schools in the city, the Four Witches Academy had around 2,000 seats, and all of them were quickly occupied. As for those that were too late to get a seat, they had to find a seat elsewhere in the stadium. Naturally, these free seats weren’t as good as the exclusive ones that were closer to the stage.
As for the stadium itself, there were 500,000 seats available.
The check-in process was quite simple, as all they needed to do was show up.
Once the participants are checked in, they must wait in another room and wait for the tournament to start.
pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ In a private room somewhere in the stadium, Lia Scarlet suddenly felt a shiver down her spine.
She quickly stood up and looked around with a puzzled face.
“That sensation just now… Leon?” She mumbled in a dazed voice.
