Abandoned in the mountains, I was adopted by a lizard ~I mastered magic and surpassed my parents, but I didn't know they were legendary ancient dragons~

Chapter 59 Talented Person Appears

Two weeks later, the day of the inter-academy martial arts tournament finally arrived.

The tournament was to be held in an arena in a town adjacent to the capital. This venue, located roughly halfway between Zelgius Royal Magic Academy and Metrocapital Magic Academy, had a sizable seating capacity, making it the annual site for the event.

Both academies allowed their students to attend the tournament. Students from Zelgius Royal Magic Academy had started moving toward the venue three days in advance. However, I had obtained permission from my teacher to take a different route.

Since we would miss three days of classes, I figured it would be more efficient to either attend another internship or train with Francois. I couldn’t find an internship that fit my schedule, so I traveled to the Inferno Continent to provide tactical training to Francois.

“See you later, Francois. I’ll come back again.”

“Bro, can’t I come with you?”

“If you come, who will protect Ashgano Cape?”

“Yeah, but… I really want to watch the match against someone you consider a ‘prodigy’!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave this relay magic tool here. Use it and you’ll feel like you’re right there. The sense of realism should be excellent.”

Francois was very eager to watch the match, so I decided to make and leave behind a full-dive virtual reality relay magic tool. This device would allow her to see from my perspective, offering a more immersive experience than ordinary spectators would have.

Actually, my opinion on the “prodigy” was more based on hearsay than personal recognition, but there was no need to correct Francois on that point.

“Is this ‘Mode 1′ your perspective, bro?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Could you move around a bit?”

Was she testing the tool’s performance? I activated body enhancement and darted around the area, flying in all directions. Then…

“Wow, this is amazing! It’s like I’m possessing you, bro, the immersion is unreal!”

Francois exclaimed, clearly impressed.

“Glad you like it.”

“Of course! I’ll keep an eye on the monsters here and look forward to the match!”

Satisfied with Francois’s reaction, I took off towards the arena, using Great Seitan’s cloud since I wasn’t flying in dragon form to conserve magic power.

◇

Upon arriving at the arena, I quickly headed to the players’ waiting room. Inside, I found Licht and the other participant, along with Ian, Jasmine, and Cecilia.

To help ease the players’ nerves and ensure they perform their best, friends were allowed into the waiting room. Naturally, Licht and the other participant had some friends with them.

“You’re late, Hadar. The first match has already started,” Ian remarked as soon as he saw me.

I realized the other participant had already left the room, leaving only his friends behind. Since I hadn’t met him before, I didn’t recognize anyone.

“Yeah, I planned to be here five minutes earlier, but Francois insisted on watching the match, so I ended up making a relay magic tool for him,” I explained to Ian.

“Five minutes early? You never planned on attending the opening ceremony, did you?” Ian retorted.

While Ian kept teasing me, Jasmine showed interest in the magic tool.

“Francois? You mean the dragon from the Inferno Continent? What kind of magic tool did you give her?” she asked.

“It’s a full-dive virtual reality relay magic tool. It allows her to immerse herself in the event as if she were there,” I replied.

“That sounds interesting. Maybe we should use one too,” Jasmine suggested.

“Alright, I’ll make some for you guys,” I agreed.

I started crafting more magic tools for everyone. However, I had to stop after making just one. Our first player had quickly defeated both the vanguard and mid-tier players from Metrocapital.

This meant the next match would be against the “prodigy.” I apologized to everyone and focused on analyzing the upcoming opponent. Depending on how long the match lasted, they would have to take turns using the single tool I managed to make.

“The first two matches were overwhelming,” Cecilia said, moving to the window to look at the arena.

“Well, our team is the only one that’s been vaccinated,” I replied. Honestly, I had expected this outcome. All members of the Zelgius Royal Magic Academy were fully vaccinated, while only the “prodigy” from the Metro Capital Magic Academy, who had received the vaccination as an S-rank adventurer, was vaccinated. Therefore, the first two matches were between those benefiting from increased magic power and those who weren’t.

Given this context, the current situation was as predicted.

But then Ian added a clarification.

“That’s part of it, but honestly, this is the usual pattern.”

“Usual pattern?” I questioned. I couldn’t understand why there would be a significant difference in the skill levels of the vanguard and mid-tier players in a typical year.

Ian continued, “Do you know the famous line from Metro Capital Magic Academy’s orientation? ‘If we can find the 1% of geniuses, the remaining 99% are unnecessary. We’ll give you your credits, so please graduate quickly.’ Given that attitude, their lineup is usually the vanguard and mid-tier players being the ‘99% others,’ with the captain being the 1% genius. In contrast, our academy’s students are generally well-rounded but average. So, typically, our strategy is to ‘take out two of their players with our vanguard and mid-tier players, then wear down the genius with our remaining players.'”

I see, so Metro Capital has a significant disparity in the skill levels of its players. That orientation line must be quite a shock to hear for the students.

“In that sense, this year, we are more like Metro Capital,” Jasmine remarked.

I wondered what she meant by that, but before I could ask, Ian continued, “Especially since Metro Capital has ‘Aphrodite from Handsome Paradise’ as their ace. Our vanguard and mid-tier players probably don’t stand a chance.”

I quickly put up a soundproof barrier around Licht before he could hear Ian’s demoralizing statement. He is, after all, part of our team, and such comments could dampen his morale.

That aside, Ian seemed to know who the “prodigy” was. Even the headmaster hadn’t mentioned any names. Could it be that Ian, being of royal blood, had access to a special information network?

“‘Aphrodite from Handsome Paradise’?” I repeated, curious for any information about our opponent.