Chapter 23: Magic Tournament

Sector C, Meias Planetary Cluster.

The third planet, 'Lucheri.'

This place was a tourist area within the Meias Planetary Cluster, hosting various events like magic tournaments and magic festivals to attract visitors.

Recently, the magic tournament was in full swing, and the area was bustling with people. Among them, a male Terran was sitting in a café, sipping tea.

"Ah, the Poru black tea of the Meias tribe is indeed the best in the universe."

He said this while diligently typing something into an electronic notepad.

A middle-aged man with unkempt long brown hair and a bushy beard.

He was none other than Kon Arche, the most renowned adventurer among the Terrans and a famous space explorer.

He had published a book titled 'Kon Arche's Adventure Journal,' which had sold hundreds of millions of copies across the galaxy.

He was a true galactic celebrity.

Even if people didn't recognize his face, everyone in the Union knew his name.

The reason he was here was simple.

He was gathering material for his new book, 'Encounters in the Universe.'

The book was about his observations of life forms, places, and objects that ordinary people living on their home planets could never encounter.

But why had he come to a place populated only by the Meias tribe?

'The Magic Tournament! It's a place where not only the Meias tribe but all beings in the universe who use magic gather.'

He was here to see other magicians, not just those from the Meias tribe.

More precisely, he hoped to witness a magician who might rival or even surpass the Meias tribe's magic prowess.

'Such a person wouldn't be someone you could easily encounter in the universe.'

If he could find such a person, he would interview them and include it in 'Encounters in the Universe.'

'My ordinary space adventure journal sold 40 billion copies both online and offline. If I write about things that people could never experience in their lifetime, it might sell twice… no, three times as much.'

He wasn't satisfied with just finding an exceptional magician who wasn't from the Meias tribe.

He planned to venture into uncharted territories, meet life forms he had never seen before, encounter planet-sized giant monsters, experience what happens near a black hole, observe the phenomena near a neutron star, and even enter the nebula formed by a supernova explosion to see its structure firsthand.

Each of these endeavors could cost him his life ten times over, but he intended to experience them all and write about them.

The reason he could do this was simple: he was Kon Arche, the world's greatest space adventurer.

He possessed a state-of-the-art personal spaceship capable of withstanding the immense gravitational forces near neutron stars and black holes.

He also had the knowledge and skills to handle any crisis that might arise in space.

His physical capabilities were extraordinary as well.

He had undergone physical enhancement with the serum of the Lubaran tribe and, though at a basic level, had learned magic from the Meias tribe, allowing him to wield magic.

Though he was a Terran by name, he was essentially a super soldier specialized for space activities.

Even so, if asked why he would risk his life for such endeavors, he would answer:

'Of course. That's what being an adventurer is all about.'

He was an adventurer to his very core.

'After this, I should head to the supernova that occurred in Sector G. I might be able to witness the interstellar material slowly beginning to coalesce.'

It takes an incredibly long time for these materials to form a protostar.

Even in a place overflowing with energy and interstellar material due to a supernova explosion, it would take a considerable amount of time to see the formation of a star.

Of course, he would also visit places where protostars had formed millions of years after a supernova explosion.

The reason he wanted to see the supernova in Sector G first was not only because it was relatively close to Sector C.

The supernova was large enough to potentially create multiple stars.

By going there, he might also witness the massive black hole formed from the remaining core after the explosion.

Experiencing both a supermassive black hole and a supermassive supernova simultaneously was an incredibly rare opportunity.

Moreover, since it was in uncharted territory and not within a galaxy managed by the Galactic Union, it was left unattended.

An abandoned supernova and a supermassive black hole.

How could any space adventurer pass up the chance to witness this firsthand?

"Hey, let's go! The preliminaries are about to start!"

"Oh, really?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Is it starting already?"

People excitedly ran towards the gigantic colosseum.

It seemed the tournament was finally beginning.

"Guess I should head over too."

Having already reserved his seat, Kon Arche leisurely finished his tea, paid the bill, and walked calmly towards the colosseum.

The colossal colosseum could accommodate a million spectators.

Regularly, magic tournaments were held there.

The winner of the tournament would receive the opportunity to learn magic directly from the top-tier magicians, the elders of the Meias tribe, along with a substantial prize.

As a result, most of the renowned magicians from across the galaxy participated in this tournament.

Due to the sheer number of participants, they first conducted a 'preliminary interview' to filter out contestants.

Those with significantly poor magical abilities, criminal records, or severely flawed personalities were eliminated during the interview process.

More than half of the applicants were disqualified without even getting a chance to compete.

'I would probably get eliminated here.'

Kon Arche was an exceptional adventurer, but he was terrible at magic.

For a Terran like him to have learned magic at all was a testament to his extraordinary talent, but that was his limit.

He had only mastered a few basic spells.

So, even if he wished to participate in the tournament, he believed he would likely be eliminated in the preliminary interview.

'It would be great if an exceptional magician from another race were a Terran, but… that's something that will never happen.'

Given that he, one of the most talented Terrans, could only achieve so much, he believed that a Terran magician would never be seen in the magic tournament.

Even after the preliminary interview, which filtered out many, tens of thousands of participants remained. They were further narrowed down to just 1,000 through practical duels with the regular army magicians of the Meias tribe.

These remaining 1,000 would finally get to participate in the official tournament preliminaries.

Only the most outstanding magicians from across the galaxy would make it through this rigorous selection process.

Most of the participants were from the Meias tribe, with a few from other races, but these were not well-received.

The winner was almost always a magician from the Meias tribe, with a 99% certainty.

There were complaints about why they accepted entries from the entire Galactic Union if the winner was almost always from the Meias tribe, but spectators were mainly interested in seeing spectacular and impressive magic battles.

Issues of racial discrimination were largely ignored, as people were more interested in the spectacle.

Moreover, since it was a tournament hosted by the Meias tribe, many felt it was their prerogative.

Given that the Meias tribe was the birthplace of magic, it was almost impossible for a magician from another race to surpass them.

Even Kon Arche, who had come to see if there were any exceptional magicians from other races, didn't really expect to find any.

'Honestly, I just came to watch the magic tournament for fun before diving into more dangerous adventures.'

Finding an exceptional magician from another race would be a bonus.

With that thought, he sat down and watched the preliminaries.

The preliminary format was simple.

Fifty participants were placed in a massive arena at once, and they had to use magic to knock each other out or force them out of the ring.

Only the last four standing would advance to the main tournament.

'As expected, most of them are from the Meias tribe this year too.'

Watching the first group of fifty participants enter the arena, Kon Arche sighed briefly in disappointment.

While there were a few from other races, they all looked weaker compared to the surrounding Meias tribe members.

"…Huh?"

In the midst of the crowd, a man caught Kon Arche's eye.

At first glance, he looked just like a member of the Meias tribe, but with black hair and black eyes.

There was also a distinct sense of familiarity.

That man was not from the Meias tribe.

'Could he be… a Terran?'

He was undoubtedly a Terran, just like Kon Arche.

'How did a Terran get here?'

Naturally, not just anyone could make it to the preliminaries.

The 1,000 magicians who made it through the preliminary interview and the practical duels with the Meias tribe's regular army magicians were of a considerably high standard, even by Meias tribe standards.

Most participants were adventurers or freelance magicians, as regular army members were not allowed to compete for fairness, but they were all on par with or superior to the regular army in skill.

Yet, among them was a Terran?

A race inherently devoid of magical talent?

Kon Arche wondered if he was mistaken, but his instincts confirmed it.

The man was indeed a fellow Terran.

'…Eugene? Eugene, huh.'

Seeing the name tag on his chest, Kon Arche decided to remember his name.

Just making it to the preliminaries was enough to warrant an interview.

However, moments after the preliminaries began, Kon Arche was soon left in shock by an unbelievable sight.