Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 04 - Nine Schools Competition (II)
Modern Magic
Hell of Fire and Water (Inferno) A magic which reverses the heat energy within a set area. Areas of bitter cold and scorching heat occur concurrently in adjacent regions.
Niflheim A Wide Area Deceleration-Attribute Oscillation-System Magic. The specific heat of the material within the area, regardless of attribute (Phase) is cooled evenly. As a result, a large mass of cold air which contains a fog of liquid nitrogen, Diamond Dust (Ice Needles), and dry ice particles is formed.
Dry Blizzard A magic which collects the carbon dioxide in the air to produce particles of dry ice. The dry ice flies at high speed by converting the thermal energy produced by the freezing process into kinetic energy.
Thunder Snake Path (Slithering Thunders) Like [Dry Blizzard], stones of dry ice are produced and water vapor is condensed. This combination magic utilizes Oscillation-System and Dispersion-System Magic to melt the ice, creating a fog of carbon dioxide which has a high electrical conductivity through which a static charge is run through.
Rupture A Dissipation-System magic which evaporates all liquid within an object. In the case of living organisms, body fluids will evaporate and the body will explode. All fuel will vaporize in internal combustion engines or fuel cells. Since nearly all machines have a fluid of some kind, such as lubricants, coolants, hydraulic fluids, oils, or battery fluids, they will instantly be destroyed by [Explosion] or simply stop working.
Flight Magic A magic to move through the air via gravity control. It was once thought to be impossible, using a very short duration (a default of 0.5 seconds) of magic invoked in rapid succession, the difficulty caused by an increasing Interference Strength was cleared. It is possible to continue flying so long as the operator's Magic Power is in supply.
Vanishing Clouds, Fog Dispersal (Mist Dispersion) By interfering with the structural information, this magic decomposes substances into molecules such as ions and the basic elements. Direct interference into the structural information of an object is a form of magic of the highest difficulty.
Magic Dissolution (Gram Dispersion) This magic takes a Magic Ritual and decomposes it into a group of Psion particles without a meaningful structure. Due to the nature of a Magic Ritual acting on the information of an object accompanying a phenomenon, if the information has not been exposed, it is impossible to interfere with the magic. On the other hand, if the Magic Ritual is decomposed, the phenomenon will not occur. To analyze the magic before the magic is activated in the present age where invocation takes a fraction of a second requires the ability to [See] and analyze the magic structure. Since the user is typically required to understand the magic being used beforehand, it is thought utilization of this magic is impossible.
Magic Dismantling (Gram Demolition) A mass of compressed Psion particles are thrown directly at an object and explode. Any Activation Sequence or Magic Ritual recorded into the Psion Information Body is blown away. Though it is called magic, it is simply a cannonball of Psions that has neither structure nor a Magic Ritual to modify an event, so it is not affected by Zone Interference. Furthermore, the pressure of the cannonball also repels the effects of Cast Jamming. It has no physical effects and cannot be hindered by any obstacle.
Nine-Schools Competition
Official Name: [Nationwide Magic High School Athletics Competition]. As its name suggests, students from First to Ninth High School gather from all around the country. It is a team competition with fierce magic games.
Unique events include [Speed Shooting], [Crowd Ball], [Battle Board],[Ice Pillars Break], [Mirage Bat], [Monolith Code], six in total. ※[Monolith Code] is men's only, [Mirage Bat] is women's only.
The number of people participating in each event is three per school, and each player can participate in two events. The competition is held over a period of ten days. There is also a set of games in which only freshman play in, the [Rookie Division] (the Official Division has no grade restriction). The [Rookie Games] will be held from the fourth to the eighth day. Victory or defeat of the school is determined by the total points. First Place receives fifty points, Second Place receives thirty points, and Third Place receives twenty points. Speed Shooting, Battle Board, and Mirage Bat award ten points to Fourth Place. Accel Ball and Ice Pillars Break reward five points for each victory of any team who makes it to the third round. The primary game of the Nine-Schools Competition, Monolith Code, grants one-hundred points for First Place, sixty points for Second Place, and forty points for Third Place due to it being a team game, thus giving it the most weight (The Rookie Games are worth half the points and are added to the overall ranking).
Day - Date - Division
1 - 8/3 (Wed) - Official
[Speed Shooting] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals Tournament
[Battle Board] Men's/Women's Preliminaries
2 - 8/4 (Thu) - Official
[Crowd Ball] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals
[Ice Pillars Break] Men's/Women's Preliminaries
3 - 8/5 (Fri) - Official
[Battle Board] Men's/Women's Semi-finals ~ Finals
[Ice Pillars Break] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals League
4 - 8/6 (Sat) - Newcomer
[Speed Shooting] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals
[Battle Board] Men's/Women's Preliminaries
5 - 8/7 (Sun) - Newcomer
[Crowd Ball] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals
[Ice Pillars Break] Men's/Women's Preliminaries
6 - 8/8 (Mon) - Newcomer
[Battle Board] Men's/Women's Semi-finals ~ Finals
[Ice Pillars Break] Men's/Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals League
7 - 8/9 (Tue) - Newcomer
[Mirage Bat] Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals
[Monolith Code] Men's Preliminaries League
8 - 8/10 (Wed) - Newcomer
[Monolith Code] Men's Finals Tournament
9 - 8/11 (Thu) - Official
[Mirage Bat] Women's Preliminaries ~ Finals
[Monolith Code] Men's Preliminaries League
10 - 8/12 (Fri) - Official
[Monolith Code] Men's Finals Tournament
Speed Shooting Amongst the Players, this game is called [Quick Draw]. A clay target is shot into the designated space and destroyed by magic. One-hundred red and white targets are released and the Players compete by destroying their colored targets. In the Preliminaries, Players only compete to destroy as many targets as possible within a five minute time limit. Beginning at the Quarter-finals, the scoring system is put into place as contestants compete against each other.
Crowd Ball Amongst the Players, this game is called [Crowd]. A 6 centimeter diameter foam ball is shot into the competition area using compressed air. Players compete by using a racket or magic to force the ball to hit the opponent's court. 1 set lasts 3 minutes, and a ball is shot into the court, covered in a transparent box, every 20 seconds, leading to 9 balls being on the court simultaneously. Women have 3 sets per match while Men have 5 sets.
Battle Board Amongst Players, this game is called [Surfing]. This game originated as a method for training the naval forces. Players receive a board similar to a surfing board and must complete three laps on an artificial channel three kilometers in length by making full use of magic to propel them forward. Players compete for victory. According to the rules, use of magic to interfere with other players is forbidden. The Preliminaries consists of six races, four players each. Two Semi-finals games are held with three contestants each. A playoff will be held to determine third place, while the top Players from each Semi-finals rac
e will compete one-on-one in the Finals.
Ice Pillars Break Amongst Players, this game is called [Pillars Break] Each Player stands on a tower four meters in height, defending twelve pillars contained in a twelve meter square area while attacking twelve pillars in the opposition's field. Players compete to destroy the opponent's pillars before their own are broken. There is no need to use the body, since Players compete remotely with magic, so Players may wear whatever they wish, with the only restriction being that [It Must Not Offend Public Order or Morals]. It is said the Women's Pillars Break had become a Fashion Show in recent years.
Mirage Bat Amongst Players, this game is called [Mirage]. It is a women's only game. A holographic sphere is projected in the air, and Players must compete by using magic to rise into the air and hitting the orbs with their sticks. Though this competition has the fewest number of games of all in the Nine-Schools Competition, the play time is typically the longest. During the game, Players must continuously invoke magic to leap into the air. It is said the burden is similar to running a full marathon. The Nine-Schools Competition Mirage Bat is an event held only amongst women. With their elaborate costumes and how they fly around, they are often likened to fairies.
Monolith Code Amongst Players, this game is called [Monolith]. It is a men's only game. At the competition site, called a [Stage], magic is used to fight over the [Monolith], with each team having three players. The outcome is determined by splitting the monolith in the enemy encampment and transmitting a concealed code. Any attacks other than magic are forbidden. Breaking the monolith requires that it be struck with a special Non-Systemic Magic. Due to the nature of the event, this game is the most popular amongst the Nine-Schools Competition.
Chapter 8
It's the fourth day of the tournament.
There's a break before the finals, five days from now, and the fight between the 1st Years in the Newcomer's Battle will take place in the meanwhile.
So far the results stand with First High being at number one with 320 points, Third High being at number two with 225 points, and the positions of third place and below being a wild free-for-all between the other schools. The difference between first and second place is a massive 95 points. However, the battle is such that even that point difference could potentially be reversed if Third High is able to win the Newcomer's Battle by a large margin, which for them is not impossible. Conversely, even if First High doesn't manage to win, yet they avoid a huge difference in points, final victory would still be theirs.
The aim for every school is overall victory, but in this case, as only half the points gained from the Newcomer's Battle will be added to the overall ranking, to the competing 1st Years what they are fighting for in the Newcomer's Battle is their own glory. The spirit in these matches is in no way inferior to the finals themselves.
The order is the same as the finals.
Today's events are Speed Shooting (Qualifier, Finals) and Battle Board (Qualifier).
They differ from the finals in that the schedule for Speed Shooting includes the women's event in the morning and men's in the afternoon, with everything being finished in one stretch (the reason being that the Speed Shooting finals is carried out straight after the opening ceremony, and there's no way to finish everything by the morning.)
Not just Speed Shooting, but CAD adjustment cannot be carried out in the middle of any event, so the major work of fine tuning whilst listening to the contestants' specifications is done by the engineers in between matches.
That's why engineers are basically always around the players they're responsible for during the match. In order to ensure as much as possible that contestants from the same school in the same competition are not competing at the same time, the Convention Committee have made numerous adjustments to the timetable.
However, in events like Crowd Ball where many matches would occur in a day, overlaps can't be helped, and engineers would often be paired as a duo of main and sub.
This can occur even in the same competition, and one engineer cannot be responsible for another match occurring at the same time.
Even if that match ostensibly occurs at an unrelated time.
◇◇◇
"Honoka is in the last race huh......"
"Yes! It's in the afternoon, so it doesn't clash with the women's Speed Shooting!"
Honoka, grinning earnestly while subtly emitting an overbearing pressure, made Tatsuya relive the heat of being popular.
Tatsuya was responsible for the women's Speed Shooting, women's Icicle Destruction, and Mirage Bat.
He didn’t get himself assigned to that host of women's events because he was a womanizer, but because there was a strong backlash against him from the men's 1st Year division.
Not only that, but he was in high demand amongst some of the women's 1st Year contingent.
For example Miyuki, Honoka, Miyuki and Honoka, Miyuki and......in other words, those two had appealed rather earnestly.
But here lay a problem.
Miyuki's sheer magic power was most suited for the competition Icicle Destruction.
Both her classmates and the council knew full well her proficiency in slowing down vibrations. When all is said and done, cooling magic is pretty much second nature to her.
Miyuki's participation in Icicle Destruction was decided, as well as in Mirage Bat as the star athlete and ace of the women's team — the problem was what Honoka would participate in.
In terms of First High’s practical results, in first place was Shiba Miyuki, second was Kitayama Shizuku, third was Morisaki Shun, and fourth was Mitsui Honoka. Therefore amongst the 1st Year female students Honoka ranked right alongside both Miyuki and Shizuku in practical excellence, but in truth her skills were not particularly suited for a sporting magic competition.
Her specialization in magical illusions involving manipulating light was impressive, but Shizuku's ability in high output vibration and acceleration was more suitable for Icicle Destruction.
It was a given from the start that Tatsuya would be responsible for Miyuki. Not even the seniors were foolish enough to try and challenge that.
So in order to be looked after by Tatsuya, it's most reliable to get into the same competitions as Miyuki, but for the number one, number two and number three top players to appear in the same competition is not a very sound strategy. ......or rather, it's impossible.
Therefore it would fall to a competition which does not overlap, but unfortunately, Shizuku was also more suited for Speed Shooting. The competition had initially called for contestants to enter in their field of expertise, so you could say she had little hope of being considered from the start.
Following that train of thought, it was decided that Honoka would compete in Battle Board and Mirage Bat. (The organizers had at first floated the idea of Battle Board and Crowd Ball, but due to her own wishes and the vocal support of her friends, she was able to get into one event with Miyuki.) ......In a situation like this, with her line "the events won't clash", just what is Honoka really trying to say, Tatsuya wondered.
But even if the time was compatible, from a team perspective, changing the engineer responsible at this late stage was impossible.
And even if today was alright, on the sixth day — the third day in terms of the Newcomer's Battle — no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be an overlap between Icicle Destruction and Battle Board.
Honoka too should have been well aware of that, but......
It seemed that Miyuki was not about to come to his rescue today. Faced with Honoka on one side and his sister on the other, each with a different motive, Tatsuya sighed and came out with a bifurcated response.
"......I'd like to maintain your CAD in truth, but that's not possible, so I'll watch your race at the least."
"Really? It's a promise!"
Someone gave a small ominous laugh. Tatsuya knew more than well whose voice that was, but his consciousness chose to pretend he didn't.
From an outsider's perspective,
maybe he really was a 'womanizer'...... probably.
◇◇◇
Although the parties involved would never think of it as 'trivial', from the perspective of the main story, this was just a side episode.
When the curtains rise, one must be absolutely focused.
With the final checks complete, Tatsuya handed over the dedicated Speed Shooting CAD shaped like an elongated rifle, and confirmed its condition with Shizuku.
The CAD absorbs psions from the magician, which the Psion Information Aide transmits into the Activation Sequence. If a problem occurs in this process, no matter how well the other parts are serviced, it's pointless.
If the problem occurs with the hardware it has to be replaced with a spare device, and if the problem lies in the software it has to be reworked on the fly.
"Nn...... perfect. It feels better than my own."
As both her face and voice were rather deadpan, after initially being paired with Shizuku, Tatsuya had sometimes been confused as to whether she was serious or not; but now he was pretty much used to it.
Basically, she doesn't lie.
In the worst case, she would simply remain silent.
"Tatsuya-san, you won't consider being hired?"
However, in cases like these, he still can't get used to whether she's serious or joking.
"If you're in a position to joke like this right before the match, you'll be just fine."
"It wasn't a joke."
"......"
By the way, what she was saying had the meaning of "formally signing on a contract to perform CAD maintenance".
Shizuku had asked him "won't you be hired" more than 10 times already. Considering her personality, Tatsuya had thought it a long running gag, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"It won't be an exclusive contract so you don't have to worry."