43RD GEAR - REGIONAL SPEEDMAGE TOURNAMENT OPENING
The day is finally here: the Regional Speedmage Tournament. All the big schools in the central region are allowed to participate. It is a biannual event that is something to look forward to.
The venue is a humongous arena that could fit ten football fields inside. The ground is filled with soft low grass that is possibly grown with the help of magic. The Checkpoint Towers are also international grade as they are glowing brightly with neon lights even if it is still a bright morning.
The towering arena stage is now filled with people who are excited to watch this biannual event. There are even stalls on the top of the stage that sells snacks such as hotdogs, fries, and even some Eastern cuisine such as ramen and dumplings. The place is already loud even if the tournament is yet to start, but nothing beats the loudness of my classmate’s mouth.
“Whoaaaaaaa! This is awesome!” Flu squealed as she looked around with wide eyes and pumped her fists over and over again. “This is the real Speedmage Tournament, isn’t it? Isn’t it!?”
“Of course. It would be a problem if it wasn’t.” I made a side comment.
“Yes! Of course! Of course! Woaaaahaaaaa! There are even stalls in here!” Flu jumped from stall to stall due to excitement.
I get that Flu is so hyped up for her debut Speedmage Tournament. I was excited too when my father brought me here in this arena over a decade ago. But Flu’s excitement is over the top. She seemed to be a hyperactive kid who sniffed whole sugar crystals through her nose.
Speaking of being hyped up, Flu is not the only one.
“Whooooooo! There are bacon shawarmas here!” Cruzo celebrated at the top of his lungs as he looked at the stall which sells loads and loads of bacon dishes.
“H-Hey, watch it. Don’t eat too much before the start of the match.” Ericka sermoned.
Because of Ericka’s torturing- I mean, tutoring, Cruzo was able to get a passing grade on his remedial exams. Cruzo only missed a few days of practice as a result, but those are trivial. I bet our favorite fat panda is in top condition right now, as long as he does not stuff himself with food.
“Kyaaaaa! Speedmage Tournaments are the best!” Flu shouted out loud while flailing her arms up in the skies!
“That’s right, Flu! Bacon Shawarmas on Speedmage Tournaments are the best!” Cruzo also flailed his arms like an idiot.
Prez gave a deep sigh as she held her aching forehead. “I would want to disown you guys for being too noisy, but Merry Knights would get disbanded so I have no choice.” She muttered.
“Are you pressured just because they are noisy?” I asked Prez.
“A little.”
I gently tapped her forehead with my clipboard. I also have my magical tablet tucked in, so it was kind of a heavy hit to her.
“Ouch!” Ericka cried.
“Don’t you dare start puking on me, Useless Prez.” I said coldly.
“Jeez! I won’t if you do your job properly!” Ericka pouted.
I looked at the pink idiot and the panda man who are still in their worlds; celebrating their feelings of excitement.
“Speed Battles! Speed Battles! Speed Battles!” Flu cheered with her clenched fists going up and down.
“Shawarma! Shawarma! Shawarma!” Cruzo is doing the same idiotic cheering gesture.
“Heeey, let’s go, you two. We have to look at the matchups.” I said to them.
Luckily, I got those two’s attention. But we looked like a four-man parade with Flu and Cruzo cheering with their petty antics until we reached the gigantic matchup board. There, we saw Speedmages wearing white-and-blue varsity jackets with the logo of an eagle and a shield, which is the sigil of the Eaglecrest Guild.
It was already quite a commotion here below, but everything went chaotic when the Speedmage Champion Vincent himself made an appearance and approached the board. He is accompanied by the Eaglecrest President and his trusty little brother. Paparazzi, media personnel, and die-hard fans started to flock around him.
Thankfully, President Levi used his big muscles to block off people, while Justine Shadowseek created a wind barrier bubble to prevent anyone from approaching his older brother.
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“Oh, Jonathan!” Vincent waved his hand as soon as he saw me. “And the whole Merry Knights gang!”
“We are not a gang! We are a guild!” Ericka immediately fell on Vincent’s provocation. She’s now trembling in anger.
I have no objections about Vincent calling our club a “gang”. Our guild building looks like a gang hideout anyway, so he is on point. I won’t sweat defending the Merry Knights.
“Anyway, have you seen the matchups?” Vincent asked.
“We were about to,” I answered.
We all looked at the giant matchup board and looked for the names of Speedmages participating in this tournament. The tournament is divided into several days to cater to the time and the applicants for this event, and for each day, a Speedmage will have one battle. It was a single-elimination tournament, with the players divided into two blocks.
Ericka is in Block A, and that means she will not be able to fight any other Merry Knights until she gets to the finals. Her first match was a person named “Locke” of the Eaglecrest Guild. I don’t think I saw her opponent back in the training camp, so this will be a surprise for me and Ericka.
Cruzo and Flu are in Block B. Cruzo’s first match is against Amaryllis Vosconovitc from Vosconovitc University. I have never heard of that school until a week ago, and people said that it is an elite private school with only two hundred total students.
On the other hand, Flu is matched against Kiryu Kisaragi from the Saint Paladin Academy- a sister academy of our school. I have heard that Saint Paladin also produces quality Speedmages on their side, so there is hope for a good match for Flu’s debut Speed Battle.
I also looked for Vincent’s name, which was on Block A, just near Ericka’s. The Speedmage Champion will be fighting Haruka Firangel of the Cool Escape Guild. If Vincent wins against the Bloodfire Captain, which is highly likely, he will be facing off against Ericka in the second round.
All of a sudden, Vincent looked at me, then at Flu who was just beside me.
“This matchup is good. We are on opposite blocks, so I hope to play against you in the finals.” Vincent smiled.
“R-Right! I want to fight you again!” Flu energetically pumped her fists.
“That will not happen because I will be beating you in the second round. Hmph!” Ericka flicked her long wavy blue hair. Sometimes I wonder how our useless president can gather this much self-confidence out of thin air. I know she’s just making face, but still…
“Hah! Don’t make me laugh, Useless President!” Levi Armstrong finally joined the trash talks. He flexed his masculine-tanned biceps and pointed at our president. “Be wary of Locke, Ericka Azure! She is born to be the fastest Speedmage, next to Vincent! You will be eliminated in the first round!”
“Locke?” I muttered.
“She did not join the training camp, so you wouldn’t know her,” Justine said to me. “Locke is a magical homunculus created with genes of world-class Speedmages. She is born to cast speed spells.”
“A homunculus?” I asked. “Isn’t it illegal for artificial humans to join Speedmage Tournaments?”
“She’s still a human, at least on paper. Saint Crusade Academy spent millions to train her under Eaglecrest Guild ever since she was four. This is her debut match, so here’s hoping for a good game.” Justine said.
<>
Honk! Honk! Honk!
The horns of the arena went loud, signaling the start of the Regional Speedmage Tournament! I can hear the loud cheers of the audience from the stage arena. Boys, girls, homosexuals, transgenders, kids, teenagers, adults, and old-timers cheered as they witness the opening of the event!
“It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!” Flu also mixed with the loudness of the crowd as she swung her arms in all directions. “I’m so exciteeeed! I can’t wait! I can’t wait! I can’t wait!”
“That’s the spirit, Flu! It’s all about determination and guts!” Cruzo cheered.
“Yeaaah!” Flu shouted out loud. “I will become the goddess of determination and guts!”
Man, these two are too hyper.
We the Merry Knights are seated at the lowest part of the giant stage arena where we can see the closest view of the participants. Speedmages who will be playing the battles are already equipped with their colorful Speedmage Shoes and Speedmage Suits.
The support units such as coaches and navigators just like me are just wearing our respective varsity jackets that have the logo of our respective guilds. I was thankful that Ericka provided me with a new white-and-red varsity jacket with the logo of a smiling cartoon girl wearing a knight’s armor- the new sigil of the Merry Knights.
The magical jumbotron showed the names of those who will be fighting in the first round.
[Ericka Azure vs Locke]
“I guess I will be going first.”
Prez flipped her wavy hair as she stood up from her seat. Even the manner of her standing up and walking away was elegant. Let’s just see how much self-confidence she gathered before she throws up.
I also stood up and tailed the president of Merry Knights. I am her coach and her assigned navigator after all, so all of Merry Knights’ fight is my fight.
“Good luck Prez!” Flu cheered out loud. “And good luck to you too, Coach!”
“You can do it, Prez! It’s just twelve minutes!” Cruzo also cheered, but he was not cheering for victory: he is cheering for Ericka’s endurance.
We both waved with smiles on our members and then we split our ways. Prez went down to the Triangle, and I went to the stage dedicated to the navigators. Surprisingly, I saw the Speedmage Champion- Vincent the Teleporter himself, and he is wearing telepathic headphones.
“So you will be the opponent’s navigator, huh?” I said.
“I specifically asked my Prez to be the navigator if a member of Eaglecrest is against Merry Knights. It is for the sole purpose of playing against you. Since you’re not a Speedmage, then this is the only way to beat you.” Vincent smiled.
“So you want me to beat in a battle of wits,” I asked.
“Just like when we used to play chess and a children’s card game.”
My gaze turned to the 1st Checkpoint Tower where Ericka and her opponent are already taking their ready positions. Her opponent is Locke, a short girl with short silver hair and golden emotionless eyes. She has no expressions on her face, seems like a magical robot. Her Speedmage Suit is a full-body black suit with golden and white lines.
Locke’s Speedmage Shoes are those of the Seraph M5 model, which is mostly black with golden glowing lines. That specific model is said to channel Photon energy best, so I am guessing that she has the same playstyle as Vincent the Teleporter. She might be a Speedster like him too.
“On your marks!” The referee raised his hand. “Get set… Go!”
Fweeeeeeeeet!
“Photon Accel!” Locke used her speed spell first, and she went with a jumpstart lead!