The Adventurous Vagrant

Magic-sport Live! (1)

Three days later...

I'm now back in Lebenswasserheim Burghal.

In my own home sweet home.

Taking a break from the adventurer's life, I'm currently reading a novel.

It's a horror-mystery-thriller about an oppressive empire harvesting organs of ethnic and religious minorities. Eventually, a band of heroes takes on this menace, which surprisingly takes a supernatural turn.

One can call what I'm doing “novel and chill.”

Ah. A knock on the door.

And a deliveryman is in front of me once I open it.

“Hello, Mr. Walter Deschantes. You have a package coming from... Miss Perrina Befana.”

I still remember her.

After I sign the necessary forms...

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

As the deliveryman leaves, I immediately open the box, and I see...

...a wooden figurine depicting the five Koryun refugees wearing cute black bear outfits, all surrounding Perrina, who's also wearing her own cute pink bear outfit.

This truly deserves a spot in my house, as one of the souvenirs of my constant adventuring.

Oh, there's also a note enclosed with the package. Better read it.

To Walter,

First of all, I and the five Koryun refugees would like to thank you for saving us and the women of Vetev from the clutches of the five perverted deviants.

If it weren't for you, I would wallow in despair forever as a broken woman whose sole source of dignity has been taken away; and they would be mislabeled in the history books as a race of well-hung males who thirst for nothing but pleasures of the flesh.

We ultimately decided on this figurine mainly to poke fun at stereotypes. Stereotypes that lead to assumptions. And sometimes, wrong assumptions can lead to deadly outcomes.

And why the bear outfits? Well... it's a long story.

When I was young, my parents gave me a huge teddy bear for my seventh birthday. Since then, I treasure it all my life, as its fluffiness is second to none. I still keep it in my room, beside my bed; and I usually hug it if I feel bad and I want to feel better. Therefore, I decided on the cute bear designs, and the five men all agreed to them, since their families and/or relatives also had bear stuff toys back in their homeland.

By giving this complimentary gift to you, Vetev as a town will soon be known as the home to several unique handicrafts that will surely boost our kingdom's economy. Lebenswasserheim needs more honest and good-hearted entrepreneurs, after all. They help His Highness keep his land peaceful and prosperous, in an indirect way.

We hope to see each other again. Until then, happy adventuring!

Yours faithfully,

Perrina Befana

Tyrone Reylaw

Aris Lotres

Brock Ballath

Heimdall Maveep

Ragnarr Grandscream

There are also signatures beside the names.

Receiving something like this warms my heart. I'm sure Belle would like another cute artifact as an addition to her list of decorations.

But for now... this will stay in my house, as a memento.

Oh. It's almost nighttime. Time for dinner.

So what do I have in my pantry?

Hmm... some flatbread, and a jar of Faiz Jarred Sardines.

These sardines are quite expensive, at 555 guintos per jar, but the top-notch quality, as well as advanced fish preservation methods used in packing the sardines, justifies the premium price.

Alright, I'll pick them for dinner.

Once I get the sardines out of the jar, I simply lay them over the flatbread, with the tomato sauce coloring the flatbread a nice plump red.

I roll the bread and then take a bite of it.

Mmm... delish.

The way the fish are infused with nutrients besides the ones that naturally occur in fish such as fatty acids makes me feel that my blood is infused with magical photons – photons that should energize me for at least two or three quests.

Well, I'm energized, alright. But I'm feeling kinda sleepy too, so...

Good night.

The next day.

Today's gonna be an ordinary boring day, with nothing major to do in mind.

Until...

A messenger carriage approaches my house.

And soon enough, a messenger knocks on the door, and I answer to it.

“Good morning, Mr. Deschantes. You are cordially invited to the annual King's Cup as a distinguished spectator. The first game will happen at 11 ante meridiem today at the Gariarth Arena in the Poblation. And here is your VIP pass.”

Well, since I indeed have nothing to do today, why should I pass up on this offer?

Also, the King's Cup is the biggest magic-sport event in the kingdom, sponsored by His Highness himself.

So, it's a definite go.

“Thank you. I'll head there one hour before the first game.”

“Much appreciated. Well then, sir, farewell.”

As the messenger leaves and I have the VIP pass in hand...

I wonder how the sport evolved in recent years as compared to when I had a taste of it back when I was still at the Royal Academy.

As far as I can remember, magic-sport was and still is being taught at the Royal Academy as one of the physical education classes.

It is taught to all students, regardless of their magical affinity or even the choice of adventurer type they will take up in the future, as a way to stay fit and as a way of self-defense.

For those who do not lean on the magical side in terms of affinity or future adventurer type, they are given magical scrolls to be on equal footing with the magically-inclined ones.

I know His Highness even dabbles in this sport. After all, he told me about him partaking in a quest where he had to substitute for a team member.

So after a breakfast consisting of pancakes in blueberry jam and dalandalan juice, I prepare myself and then head to the Gariarth Arena in the Poblation on foot.

I'll be there early, so as to avoid inconvenience.

Finally, I'm at the arena. There are not much people here, but I'll be sure that this will be jam-packed before the opening match.

And sure enough, as the hours go by, the seats are filling up.

At 10:45 ante meridiem, the crowd is estimated at around 42,000, or 84% of this arena's maximum seating capacity.

Once 11 ante meridiem strikes, the audience is advised to stand up and sing the official anthem of the kingdom, “By Sacred Water We Stand”.

I do my share of this display of patriotism.

A minute later, the song ends.

A man wearing an eye patch, and clad in his red tuxedo, then steps up to the plate.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! This is the moment you've been waiting for! Welcome to the 38th Annual King's Cup, where the kingdom's best prove it! First off, we would like to thank His Highness, King Virgil Almarius, for sponsoring this tournament! We'll also thank in advance the magical athletes who will be competing in the Cup, as well as the energetic crowd watching this event live, right now!

“I know you're all excited for this, indicating from your constant cheers! So then... let's get on with the inaugural match! It's the Demata Jackals versus the Zaia Destructive Thunderclaps!

“Representing the Demata Jackals: Gaius Erston Outway, Carlo Chaplain, and Hamon Serrano!

“And representing the Zaia Destructive Thunderclaps: Jogs Goro Dander, Filiam Neris, and Albert Kalurops!”

Here are the rules of magic-sport, as narrated by the announcer himself.

Magic-sport is played by two teams, with three persons on each team.

A typical magic-sport match lasts 30 minutes, with some breaks to allow for the competitors to have a break of 5 minutes maximum.

The playing field consists of a rectangular perimeter, equally divided into two; and each half will be occupied by the two teams. Also in each half are a rod that rises around two stories high, and these rods are placed at the horizontal ends of the arena. Each rod belongs to their respective team's home turfs.

The competitors must successfully zap their opponents' rods to earn a point; and the team with the most points at the end of the match wins.

Offensive spells must be used to zap the rods. Healing and support spells can be used for strategic purposes, but they can't be used to zap the rods.

Participants are forbidden to use items except for magic scrolls, so as to not abuse mana restoration items that would give a team an unfair advantage.

Deliberately attacking an opponent with the intent to injure or even kill is strictly prohibited, as that will be grounds for disqualification, forfeiture of the win, or a permanent ban from the sport at the worst.

With the rules already explained, the announcer declares thus...

“Magic-sport Fight! READY... GOOOOO!”