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EP.24 Unexpected Results

The first 50 participants in the preliminaries.

Given that the 1,000 participants had been meticulously selected, even among the first 50, there were quite a few well-known magicians.

"Oh, isn't that Serna of the Gale?"

"Look over there! It's Russo the Rock Fist!"

"Arana the Sculptor is here too!"

Serna of the Gale, the fourth disciple of Organ, one of the five elders of the Meias tribe known as the Magician of the Breeze.

Russo the Rock Fist, who specialized in close combat by enveloping his body in rock as hard as steel.

Arana the Sculptor, who controlled beautiful golems made from her own sculptures.

All were already renowned high-level magicians, active as troubleshooters or freelance magicians, and promising talents of the Meias tribe.

Though there were many other skilled magicians, these three were particularly famous and strong.

Everyone expected these three to undoubtedly pass the preliminaries.

However, as soon as the preliminaries began, a major upheaval occurred.

"You, you're the second disciple of Elder Jupiter, aren't you? I've seen you before."

"…?"

Serna of the Gale.

Before the preliminaries started, he noticed a man and approached him.

That man was Eugene.

A Terran brought by Jupiter.

While Terrans and Meias tribe members didn't differ much in appearance, Eugene's black hair and black eyes, which were extremely rare among the Meias tribe, stood out.

And he could be distinguished by his unique energy wavelength.

"…A Terran, huh."

Serna didn't like Eugene.

The fact that a Terran had become the disciple of Elder Jupiter, who had never taken another disciple in his lifetime, was infuriating.

It was also infuriating that he had made it to the preliminaries of the magic tournament.

Most of all, he couldn't stand that Elder Jupiter had personally requested Elder Organ to teach Eugene magic.

'How dare he ask Elder Organ to teach him magic? Especially a mere Terran?'

It was absurd.

In the end, Elder Organ had refused, stating that he only taught his own disciples. However, rumors had it that Elder Jupiter had approached not just Elder Organ but all the current elders and magicians of similar caliber, seeking their teachings for Eugene.

'Why is Elder Jupiter going to such lengths for that guy?'

Why for a mere Terran?

Eugene didn't seem to have a lot of mana or any noticeable abilities.

And now, he was tainting the sacred tournament by suddenly participating.

"What kind of connections do you have? Did the elder pull some strings for you?"

Serna sneered at Eugene with a mocking tone.

He couldn't stand the thought of a Terran, who likely had neither skill nor mana, being here.

"Did an elder pull strings for you too? Is that why you think that way?"

"What, what did you say?!"

Eugene retorted dismissively, causing Serna's face to turn crimson with anger.

But then Serna shook his head, thinking.

'No, no. There's no need to get worked up. That guy will be eliminated here anyway. Elder Jupiter must be blind. Even Lowie Hendrick could aim for victory. Sending someone like him to the tournament is just asking for embarrassment.'

And he thought he would be the one to eliminate Eugene.

"Now… let the match begin!"

Beep!

As soon as the whistle signaling the start of the preliminaries sounded, Serna immediately turned his attention to Eugene, ignoring the other participants.

True to his name, Serna of the Gale conjured a wind that pulled Eugene towards him rather than pushing him away.

Using this reverse wind to draw his opponent in, Serna would then immobilize his target with a powerful gust, rendering them unable to move freely. He would then strike with his nano blade, made of nano particles, which could penetrate defenses.

This was Serna's primary combat strategy.

Whoooosh!

An intense wind.

If one wasn't prepared, they would be swept away towards Serna by the sheer force of the gale.

Even if one were prepared, the wind was so strong that all they could do was try to withstand it.

Confident in his strategy, Serna drew his sword and charged at Eugene.

"..."

As expected, Eugene stood still, seemingly unable to move against the oncoming wind.

'Heh, how do you like that! Such incredible magical abilities that you could never even imagine!'

Just as Serna was about to slash Eugene's arm with his nano blade…

Crunch!

"…?"

A sudden sound of something piercing through flesh.

His body froze.

Looking down at his own body, he saw…

"…What?"

Sharp, blood-red ice had grown from within him, piercing through his stomach and clothes.

"Argh! What is this?!"

"Your defense is lacking. You should have protected the inside of your body, not just the outside with a shield."

As the cold ice grew from within him, piercing his flesh, Serna screamed in agony, experiencing an unprecedented level of pain.

Eugene looked at Serna with a hint of pity, then kicked him out of the arena, disqualifying him.

"I didn't do it to kill you. You'll be fine after some treatment."

"Argh! Damn it!"

In just 20 seconds, the unexpected happened: Serna, whom everyone was certain would advance to the main tournament, was eliminated.

#

"What… just happened?"

"Serna got eliminated? Right after it started?"

Something had suddenly pierced through Serna's body, and then, writhing in pain, he was kicked out of the arena by a man.

The crowd was in chaos.

A talent everyone thought would surely advance to the main tournament had been eliminated in an instant.

Simultaneously, all attention turned to the black-haired magician who had disqualified Serna.

'Who is he?'

'Who's that? Never seen him before.'

'He doesn't even look like he's from the Meias tribe.'

Murmurs filled the air.

Among them, Kon Arche was equally astonished.

"What… he's incredibly strong…"

Eugene, a Terran.

Kon Arche had honestly thought he would be eliminated immediately.

But he had just disqualified Serna of the Gale, a candidate for the main tournament, in an instant.

And it didn't stop there.

Eugene began to overwhelm and eliminate all the renowned Meias tribe magicians around him with his superior skills.

Finally, at the end of the round:

"The qualifiers for the first round are Eugene, Russo, Arana, and Janie!"

Eugene proudly made it onto the list of qualifiers.

"Wow! Who is that newcomer?"

"Amazing! I'm rooting for him!"

"But he doesn't look like he's from the Meias tribe…"

While the crowd cheered and expressed their doubts, Kon Arche watched in disbelief.

'Isn't he a Terran? Am I mistaken? No… he's definitely a Terran…'

He was confused.

Despite being a Terran, Eugene had overwhelming mana and exceptional magical skills.

He could easily be mistaken for a promising candidate for the next elder of the Meias tribe.

'At this level, he could be a contender for the championship.'

A magician of such caliber.

Thinking he needed to interview Eugene immediately, Kon Arche went to find him.

"With skills like that, you could win the tournament. Well… it's only natural."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Winning here would give you a strong case to ask the elders who refused to teach you to reconsider."

"Ah, so that's why he told me to participate."

Rushing to the waiting room, Kon Arche saw Eugene deep in conversation with Elder Jupiter.

'So he was Elder Jupiter's disciple.'

Kon Arche thought as he approached Eugene.

"Excuse me, Mr. Eugene?"

"??"

Eugene tilted his head in curiosity at Kon Arche's call.

Recognizing him immediately, Eugene broke into a bright smile.

"Oh! Kon Arche! It's really you, Kon Arche, right?!"

"Oh, you know me?"

While his books and name were well-known, not many people recognized his face.

He was quite surprised that Eugene recognized him immediately.

But after hearing Eugene's explanation, it made sense.

"Of course. You're practically a legend among space adventurers. Anyone who doesn't know you must be crazy."

"Oh, so you're a space adventurer."

It was shocking to learn that Eugene was a space adventurer.

Was he just a space adventurer with exceptional potential who became Elder Jupiter's disciple?

"…I wanted to ask you a few things for my new book."

"Oh, absolutely. Is a new book coming out?"

"Yes, indeed."

When Kon Arche nodded, Eugene tilted his head in curiosity.

"Am I going to be featured in it?"

"Well… you're a Terran with incredible mana, a disciple of Elder Jupiter, and a skilled magician who advanced to the main tournament. That's rare and impressive enough to be in a book, don't you think?"

"Haha, is that so?"

Eugene scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

From this reaction, Kon Arche was certain.

'So he is a Terran.'

If he wasn't, he would have corrected him. Now it was confirmed that Eugene was a Terran.

A Terran with incredible magical skills and mana… Kon Arche had traveled across the galaxy but had never encountered such a rare case.

After successfully completing the interview with Eugene, Kon Arche said,

"Win the tournament. I'll be rooting for you."

"Haha, thank you."

They parted ways with a polite farewell.

Of course, Kon Arche didn't actually believe Eugene would win the tournament.

Despite Eugene's incredible mana and skills, Kon Arche believed there were too many powerful contenders among the Meias tribe for him to win.

…Or so he thought.

As the tournament progressed over several days, to everyone's astonishment, Eugene ended up winning, just as Kon Arche had predicted.

"The winner is Eugene! Breaking through all the top contenders, he becomes the first Terran magician in the universe to win the tournament!!"

"…What?"

"Huh…?"

"W-What…"

The crowd's reaction mirrored Kon Arche's, with everyone wearing the same stunned expression.