Magic-sport Live! (3)
1374 Words
The bell rings again, signifying the formal start of another match.
No sooner do the girls on both sides ready their staves and rods and channel their magical energies through them.
In seconds, spells of various elements fly throughout the arena, landing in various places, including the durable invisible barrier that protects the audience.
Only a few spells actually fly towards the rods on the opposing sides.
Five minutes of spell slinging nets a score of 11-16, in favor of the LaPorte Spicy Wolves.
And speaking of the Wolves...
The announcer and the audience notice something peculiar regarding one of its members.
“Oh! Would you look at this, folks! This young-looking mage with an over-sized hat isn't doing anything! What kind of tricks does she have under her sleeve? We may never know, because this is actually the Wolves' debut match! Sometimes, the element of surprise will rock our socks off, promising a new chapter in magic-sport history!”
That inactivity of that girl, the contestant named Megan Sartorium, drives me yet into another reverie.
Another recall of the many moments I've shared with Belle.
I went home from a short walk, and here in the lawn; I saw Belle practicing her moves with a mock magic staff.
I sit in the lawn's stone bench, noticing her elegant yet compulsive moves as she wielded that staff.
I guess she's more than just the typical classic lass.
She's not afraid to try new things.
“Hey Belle, fancy being a magic-sport athlete someday?”
“Oh, that? To be honest... I've been strongly considering that, Walter.”
“Then why don't you train at the Royal Academy? There's a special school for aspiring athletes like you.”
As she puts away her magic staff for a short break...
“As I've told you earlier... I'm strongly considering this career... but at the same time, I simply don't know what to do with my life...”
“Don't you have any dreams or aspirations? I mean, you're the daughter of a rich man.”
“Yes, my father brought me up as the fine maiden you are courting today. I remember what he said one time... that I can take up any career I want, as long as it's an honorable one. He knew the stories of many other rich families who forced their careers onto their children; and as a result, those children openly defied their parents, leading to generational clashes that more often than not led to the breakup of those elite families.”
“I see.”
“But his encouragement of freedom of what I want to be... is a double-edged sword. Yes, there are many choice careers here in this kingdom... but at the same time... this freedom of choice always racks my brain! I... I simply don't have have anything in me I can be proud of! Aimless... directionless... that's who I am. The real Belle Shepparton... is a rich girl with no future.”
To her lamentation, I respond thus.
I picked up her training staff, let it slide through her right hand, and guided that hand into making potent spell-casting poses.
Slowly yet gracefully.
“Belle... now that you've said that you have an aimless life... I'll be your guide and get that 'less' out of 'aimless'.”
“Really?”
“Honest. Take it from me, a full-time adventurer.”
And as our hands guided the staff towards an orchid that was not yet blooming...
We focused our combined magical energies...
…and guided them towards that orchid.
In no time, the orchid bloomed in full glory.
“See? I can be your guide.”
“Thanks, Walter.”
She cried a single happy tear.
The reverie ends...
...just as Ms. Sartorium charges up for an especially ginormous spell, with an equally long invocation to go along with.
Because I was deep into that reverie, I'm only hearing the last part of the invocation.
“...just as the Old Beings knew total annihilation, so will this fragment of the destructive power they carried! CREPITUS!”
A huge mushroom cloud then manifests on the Flowers' rod, hitting it multiple times with its tremendous explosive power.
“Goodness gracious! This is the LaPorte Spicy Wolves' best-kept secret, folks! A spell forgotten for many years because of its potential to destroy anything within its radius! Except that... the rod, or anything else in this arena, for that matter, isn't actually destroyed... thank goodness.”
With that spell, the Wolves once again take the lead... a huge one, that is – at 11-42.
But with that huge advantage... comes a huge disadvantage.
“What in the world?! That girl who launched that huge... no... otherworldly... explosion spell... she just lands face-flat on the ground! She's struggling to get up, but...”
As Ms. Sartorium tries her best to rise to give her teammates a thumbs-up, her stamina levels run down to zero and is thus knocked out for the rest of the match.
“And she's down and out! How will her teammates deal with this? And now, the Iron Flowers are taking advantage of this situation... by bombarding the entire arena with spells again, trying to take the lead from the Spicy Wolves, despite the huge point gap!”
The spells come flying once more for the next fifteen minutes.
No matter how the Spicy Wolves try their hardest to fend off the shower of spells with their own rain of spells, their attempts usually end up either landing somewhere random or clashing against the Iron Flowers' own spells, neutralizing them.
For some bizarre reason, due to the confusion brought about by this... hurricane or tornado of magic...
...not even a single spell coming from the Wolves successfully lands on the Iron Flowers' rod.
Indeed, confusion reigned in Ms. Nakano's and Ms. Buckland's minds as they still worry about the incapability of their comrade, Ms. Sartorium, to return to their fold.
As for the Iron Flowers...
The barrage of spells continues.
While many of their spells either landed in random places or clashed against the Spicy Wolves' spells, they get extremely lucky, as a good number of those elemental balls hit the Wolves' rod numerous times, narrowing the lead gradually, as the timer runs down to zero.
Finally, the thirty minutes run out, and the bell rings again, signifying the end of the match.
The result...
42-42.
A draw.
Whenever this occurs, there is no overtime; as the umpires understand that the contestants are exhausted – more so in the case of Megan the explosion lady.
Both teams will instead net neither a win nor a loss; and they will have a rematch tomorrow in what is called “the final decisive match”. If another draw occurs on that match, both teams will earn both a win and a loss.
So far, that occurrence has never occurred in the entire history of magic-sport.
Since my VIP pass is effective for the entire event, I get to watch the succeeding matches and be amazed by the incredible skill, talent, and athleticism shown by professional players.
And by the way, the final decisive match that should break the tie between the Ayet Iron Flowers and the LaPorte Spicy Wolves eventually ends with the latter team winning, as Ms. Nakano and Ms. Buckland formulated a strategy in case Ms. Sartorium gets unconscious again from launching her crazy-powerful Crepitus spell. And it worked.
The tournament eventually reaches its end after five days, and the championship match occurs between the Ronac Radical Dreamers and the Vertis Black Desserts.
Since the coveted King's Trophy (a trophy made from the hardest of metals and plated in 24-carat gold), one million guintos, and guaranteed fame and fortune (mainly from sponsorships) are on the line; the two teams give their all, racking up hit after hit on each other's rods, until...
The Ronac Radical Dreamers prevail as the champions, 19-16.
The thrill of watching a magic-sport tournament live should get my blood pumping up for another quest I'll undertake.
Well, in an unexpected way.
It's because usually, I come to the adventurer's guild to pick a quest.
But this time, a quest comes to pick me.
- Writer
