The competition started right at the appointed time, and sitting in her chair at the elevated podium, Lia felt something new. Something exciting. It was thrilling to be one who was going to grade others instead of being the one who had to perform.
"I could get used to it… no wonder Brother Lala likes teaching…." She thought to herself, watching the first competitor come into the 'arena,' visibly nervous.
Noga quickly read up his name, age, and the year he was in, belonging to the 3rd Year students. When he raised his hand, letting the magic circle appear around his arm, multiplying over and over, and a small, orange flame flared up above his palm, Lia was greatly surprised. It was normal fire, or at least, in color; it was the same as any other fire mages' would be. The difference was that its intensity was beyond anything but normal. Lia was sure that it could easily eat through any defensive spells she could put up, and without her cold fire, she wouldn't be able to resist it.
Glancing to her left, where Noga and Coco sat, they remained calm, not letting their thoughts be shown on their faces, examining the spell intently, without blinking. Lia quickly looked back and shedding the initial surprise, watching the magic circles around the boy's arm.
"Oh…" She breathed softly, realizing what he was doing. He was erecting amplifying spells around the energy channels in his arms, making the spell come out in a boosted, greatly enhanced state. As she was examining it, she also realized the drawbacks, seeing the boy's skin getting burnt, although he was showing no signs of pain, clearly used to it. When the competitor finished his demonstration, he cupped his hand, walking out of the arena before the next one would be called in.
"Thoughts?" Coco asked, leaning forward, looking over Noga's chest, beaming at Lia.
"It was intense! A great idea and execution, but…." She answered honestly, "It wasn't really much."
"I agree." Coco nodded, "He is a great mage and would be an asset in any kingdom… but it lacks nuance."
"And he couldn't keep it up for long." Noga added, "Not because it consumes too much mana, but because he would injure himself. His body can't withstand it. We will let some others display their spells, and we will sort out the normal ones from the unique."
“Normal ones… hehe…” Lia chuckled, remembering that anybody normal here would still be a genius outside.
"Well… we are looking for the best of the best, no?" Coco winked at Lia, "Imagine if someone from the Six Houses would participate! Then our best would still look like average!"
"Really?" Lia asked back, furrowing her brows, "I don't think so. I don't think they are that much better!"
"Heh, you speak like Olivia!" Noga said, looking down at her.
"Oh…" Lia flinched, "I just don't think the Houses are that better than those who study here! They just have more… resources!"
"Yep, she does sound like Olivia." Coco nodded, glancing at Noga, "Although her voice does not carry the same nasty feeling behind it."
"You can't fathom the strength behind the Houses." Noga explained with a friendly smile, "Their mages are trained to battle Undead from a young age. Not to mention that they have thousands of years of heritage to pass down! Including things that not even the Academy has knowledge about, I am sure!"
"Ah…" Lia opened her mouth to say something but just sighed, and the two looked at her, realizing the scope of their powers. By the time she sorted out her thoughts, the next competitor had come in to showcase his slightly violet-colored flames, making the trio focus on him fully.
In the end, there were 13 people who signed up, and from that, 4 had 'normal' types of fire. They were all utilizing it in unique, powerful ways, but the fact that all the others had some unique attribute about their flames made them be told early they had no chance to win. As for the remaining 9, they were recalled over and over again to show their skills. Around 5 pm, they decided to hold a break, let everyone go eat and rest a little, and they also left for the tower to go into an empty room, discussing the competition while eating.
"What is the long face for?" Noga asked when they sat down at a table, and Coco summoned from her ring a complete feast, filling the table with a multitude of mouth-watering dishes, all made by her.
"Is it your tummy? Come, eat!" Coco sat down, grabbing a chicken leg unceremoniously.
"No…" Lia murmured, her brows still furrowed as she grabbed toast with egg, bacon, and mayonnaise on top of it. "The one with the silvery flames. Something is not right with him."
"Hm?" The two looked at each other. "I felt nothing out of the ordinary." Noga thought out loudly, trying to recall the most minor details. "His mana consumption was stable; his fire wasn't showing any weird fluctuations."
"Yeah, it was in sync with his body, and he could manipulate it greatly! I was about to say that he is one of the nine who may win it!"
"I disagree," Lia answered, grabbing another one, and gulping down the previous, realizing how hungry she was. "Something is not right about! His fire isn't authentic!"
"What do you mean?" They asked, exchanging a glance.
"I don't know. I want to call him back for another examination. Can we interfere with them?"
"Interfere?" Coco gulped, wiping her mouth, "Well… we can, but…."
"Olivia attacked the competitors multiple times to see how strong their fire is in reality…." Noga explained, clearly disapproving of the thought.
"Then I will do that!" Lia said, not considering it further, already decided, "Believe me! His fire is off! I can feel it! Something is not right; I think he is cheating!"
"Cheating?" They asked again, looking surprised and confused.
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"Um!" Lia nodded seriously.
"Cheating with something like this is harder than doing it legit…." Noga mused, pursing his lips, thinking about the possibilities.
"Fire seed is one way to do it, but…." Coco tilted her head, also thinking hard about it, "We would have noticed it. Consumable fire seeds wouldn't last that long."
"Not necessarily." Lia replied, tapping on the table, licking her lips, cleaning them with her pink tongue, "I have a great supply of seeds now, and if he came prepared, he could pop one every time we resummon him."
"Heh, if he does that, then he is just wasting resources like an idiot!" Coco laughed, "Just one seed is an astronomical amount of CP! Eating a handful to win a competition? Was he hit on the head as a newborn?"
"What is the reward for first place?" Lia asked, and the two fell silent suddenly.
"We… don't know." They replied after a brief pause, "It… remained a mystery…." Noga added, crossing his arms, "All we know is that the winner gets invited into Master Zorgan's office, and he will receive something personal."
"Huh…" Lia rocked back and forth as her instructions from him also lacked any descriptions what are the rewards of this competition.
"It must be something good." Noga continued, "Master Zorgan commands multiple types of fires and not just with fire seeds!"
"I heard," Lia grunted. "I assume he is famous?"
"Duh." Coco chuckled, watching Lia with surprise, "He is one of the best fire mages on Meriath! Top 10, for sure! Plus, he was always fair and correct with everyone! The only one who could regulate Olivia and the only one she listened to."
"Most of the time." Noga added quickly, "But not all the time."
"Well, a mystery gift from one of the top fire mages must be worth a lot, no?"
"Bet!" Coco clapped, getting excited.
"Exactly!" Lia nodded, exchanging glances with the two, "If our guy is a risk taker and likes gambling, he would bet everything on it and try to win! That gift would be worth spending all his CP, obtaining first place!"
"Hmm…" Coco hummed, leaning back, thinking about it.
"It is still just your hunch." Noga warned Lia, "But I will trust it. Let us see if you can prove it!"
"I already have an idea…" She said, forming a small smile.
…
….
……
When the competition continued, they called the young man named Kostin back to showcase his flames once more. He was not surprised and easily conjured the silvery fire around his hand, letting it twinkle in the sunlight with a calm and focused look. All three of the judges looked on closely, examining the flames, but it was 'normal.' But it did not mean he wasn't cheating. Using a fire seed had the exact effect. It transformed the fire in a way that anyone could use it. Their mana remained in complete harmony with their body, so by that, they could not differentiate if Kostin was cheating or not. It was that moment when the boy was surprised and watched with a tremble in his eyes as Lia stood up and jumped down from the podium, landing in front of him, surrounded by crimson swirls of fire.
"Let me test it." She said, casting a spell, focusing on her bracelet, using it to limit her own power, and only doing it weakly.
She didn't give him any chance to react and started to bombard him with small, golfball-sized fireballs. He responded by instinct, summoning a wall of fire to block them, shining in the same silvery color. Lia simply continued, shooting them out from her open palm, guiding them over the wall, and taking aim at Kostin again. The boy soon had to cover himself in a flaming ball to block off the hundreds of miniature 'bullets' coming for him relentlessly.
Seeing there was no change, Lia furrowed her brows and took a deep breath, stopping the attacks. Kostin thought they were finished, but as soon as he was lowering his defenses, Lia's body, which was previously surrounded by swirling flames, was transformed into watery streams.
"She is quick to change…." Noga whispered.
"She is a menace…" Coco answered with a smile.
To Kostin's horror, the attacks resumed, now made out of freezing water. When they clashed against his defenses, they began to extinguish his fire without any smoke… as they were freezing it. The fact that the silver-colored fire turned blue and remained as a frozen sculpture shocked them again. On the other hand, Lia was focusing with all her mind on controlling the water that, although it remained fluid, its temperature was close to sub-zero.
"Come on…" Lia thought, feeling that she could only keep this up for a few seconds more and not any longer. "Show me…"
"Ah!" Kostin exclaimed as the ice touched him, freezing two of his fingers instantly, making him release all his powers and consuming his mana in a panic to summon every bit of strength he had.
His flames reignited with twice the vigor, blasting away Lia's ice, melting it in a loud sizzle. Now he looked panicked and angry, but then all those emotions turned to fear… as his flames started to change color, going from silvery to a bright orange color. With a small smile, Lia stopped everything and stood there, holding her hand behind her back, looking at Kostin.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I need concentration to keep the flames in their state," Kostin answered hurriedly.
"Oh." Lia nodded, glancing back at Noga and Coco. "I see. Please. Sit. Meditate. After you regain your mana, bring forth your flames. If you can do it… quickly, you are going to be the winner."
Kostin's face twitched, trying to say something, but he had to gulp back his words. Now he was clearly sweating and getting more and more anxious. In the end, he kneeled, starting to meditate, but Lia just stood before him, watching like a hawk, her mismatched eyes focused on his holding back, hanging on his belt. She barely realized that her senses were penetrating the amateurish, weak bag with her consciousness, scanning its contents. It was a small bag, barely as big as a suitcase, but it had multiple potions and three fire seeds floating in it. When she realized what she was doing, she was brought back to her senses with a surprised expression that nobody saw. While pretending to meditate, Kostin was still trying to think how to get out of this, and Lia was standing with her back at the other two judges.
"I have to ask the Silly Fox what it was…." She thought to herself, shaking her head with excitement.
Only ten minutes later, Kostin reopened his eyes, looking to be in tears, gasping for air, a telling sign for Noga and Coco, who sighed disappointingly.
"Tell you what!" Lia chuckled, her voice clear and friendly. "We won't tell nobody what you did. But you give me the remaining seeds in your bag."
"Eh…?" He flinched, just like Noga and Coco, who looked at each other with twitching eyelids.
"Yep~ Give it to me, and you go back out and wait. Of course, you won't win, but we will keep it secret so you won't be shamed before the whole school! What do you think?"
Kostin didn't think for long, nodding, standing up, and giving Lia all three seeds, nodding and hurrying away with a white and guilty expression.
"Hehehe~" Lia giggled, pocketing them, climbing back up to her spot. "Hm?" She smiled innocently, looking at the two stumped judges. "He thought, now that Olivia is gone, you two won't test the competitors directly! I assumed, at least! That way, he could limit how much mana he used, not burning away the seed's effect in an instant!"
"We get that." Noga said, closing her mouth, "But you took bribes…."
"Bribes?" Lia raised her eyebrows, looking hurt, "It was an exchange! We keep his blunder secret," she explained, giving them one, "And he pays us for it! It wasn't a bribe because he wouldn't win!"
"Hahaha!" Coco laughed out, leaning over and ruffling Lia's hair, hugging her into her ample bosom. "I like you!"
“Haahh… okay… so be it…” Noga sighed, giving in, but it was clear he was uncomfortable with it. "Keep the seed."
"You sure?" Lia asked, visibly glad about it.
"Yep."
"And mine too!" Coco gave it back to her, "We have our Unique Flames! So this is pretty useless to us!"
"Ahaha! Thanks!" Lia grinned, repocketing them, "Others should have cheated too…." She added quietly, licking her lips, making Noga flinch and sigh again while Coco just laughed, still holding Lia close to her.