97TH GEAR – NATIONAL SPEEDMAGE TOURNAMENT OPENING

Honk! Honk! Hoooooonk!

The trumpets roared and echoed in the vast blue skies, signaling the most anticipated event of the whole empire in the year. The magical fireworks blasted, and the loud cheers of the audience dominated the whole Grand Arena.

The National Speedmage Tournament is here, and all the best of the best Speedmages of the country has gathered at the biggest stadium the world can offer. There are a lot of VIPs, such as the Emperor and the Prime Minister, as well as the cabinet members. There are also celebrities and royalties from other parts of the world.

“It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! I’m so exciteeeeeed!” Flu giggled out loud.

Just as she said, she was so excited that she is already in her Speedmage Suit right after we entered the Grand Arena. There is a tent allocated for each Speedmage in this tournament, so we feel like something of a VIP ourselves.

Prez and Cruzo accompanied us as support members of the Merry Knights Guild. Prez is handling the paperwork, while Cruzo is handling the equipment, supplies, and snacks. Cruzo is even gobbling down the chips we’re supposed to be eating during the other Speed Battles that do not involve Flu and me.

“Good luck, Flu! This is it! This is our dream come true! The glory of the Merry Knights rests on your hands!” Ericka cheered.

“You can do it, Flu! You have the power of determination, guts, and more importantly, love, by your side! Go for it, Champ! Uwooooooogh!” Cruzo roared like a gorilla as he repeatedly punched his chest.

“Thank you, Prez! Thank you, Sir Cruzo! Uwoooooooogh!” Flu screamed like a Super Saiyan.

“Stop screaming like a monkey with rabies. Let’s go check the brackets already.” I said to my star player.

“Ah! Okay, Coach!” Flu pumped her fists with a smile.

“I’ll go with you. Cruzo, you stay here.” Ericka said.

“Yes, Prez!” Cruzo said with a salute.

As we three exited the tent, we immediately crossed paths with the Cool Escape Speedmage Captains. Captain Liri Fontaine, Captain Tezza Flaschk, and Captain Haruka Firangel greeted us.

“Oh, the Merry Knights! Are you going to check the matchups too?” Captain Tezza asked with a smile.

“Yes! You are too?” Flu answered and then questioned eagerly. “Let’s go together!”

And so, the hotshots of Merry Knights and Cool Escape marched like action film badasses. We only need a slow-mo and some explosions on our back, and we would look like somebody who came out from movie posters.

We looked at the matchups at the large magical jumbotron that enumerates the names of the participants. Just the same as the Regional Speedmage Tournament, the National Speedmage Tournament also has one Speed Battle per player a day. There are only four rounds for this event, the last round being the National Championship.

“Ah! I found my name!” Flu cheered. “Look! Look!”

I saw the name Fluonessia Asahime at the topmost part of the brackets.

“Arwyn Gweiss?” I asked.

“Arwyn Gweiss is the Speedmage Champion in the Eastern Region,” Prez said as she read the records from her magical tablet. “She hailed from the Eastern Islands, same as you, Flu. She transferred her residency to the Eastern Region of the mainland to continue her studies at the Saint Ranger Academy.”

“I am not familiar with her, but having a Speed Battle against somebody who came from the Eastern Islands makes me so excited! It’s gonna be awesome!” Flu’s eyes glittered as she then again pumped her fists.

I looked at the bracket in search of a name, and I immediately saw it from the bottom. Lilith Nightshade. Her name is positioned at the exact opposite of Flu’s. It only means that we will face her at the very finals of this Speedmage Tournament.

“Hmmm…” Ericka crossed her arms and seemingly be thinking of something. “This is quite peculiar.”

“What’s up, Useless Prez?” I asked.

“The matchups are not randomized. The names are carefully placed on the brackets based on their rankings on their respective Regional Speedmage Tournaments, and they ensured that all Speedmages will fight a different opponent from a different region.” Ericka said. “And there’s also a little bit of reward-penalty on play. Those who have the lower ranks in the Regionals will be fighting Speedmage Champions all the way.”

“So, since Flu is technically the 4th Placer in our Region, then…”

“That’s right. Every Speedmage she will fight in this tournament is a champion.” Ericka nodded.

“T-That’s…”

“That’s great!” Flu interjected and pumped her fists jollily. “It means I will fight against the best of the best, right? This will be so awesome! I cannot wait! I cannot wait! I cannot wait!”

My girlfriend went haywire as she began running around while flailing her arms in random directions. I cannot believe I fell in love with a puppy, but an adorable one at that.

Maybe I should tell her to settle down as our Speed Battle will be the second one for this day.

<>

Fweeeeeet!

The first Speed Battle for the National Speedmage Tournament is over, and now it is time for Flu to shine. We both went to the viewing stage and checked our equipment. While doing some maintenance on Flu’s Speedmage Shoes, my girlfriend cannot keep her mouth shut.

“Did you see it, Jonathan? Did you see it? That awesome Speedmage went swoosh! And his opponent went kablam! And then she used that super duper awesome fire spell like bam! But then she zipzapped like pooh, whoosh!”

Flu crisscrossed her arms, seemingly recreating the match we just watched. I can somehow make of Flu’s story even if it was full of onomatopoeia. Maybe our brains are already linked to this match that I’m going airhead too.

“There you go,” I said as I finally halt wiping Flu’s Minokawa Type-S Speedmage Shoes. I have done the basic maintenance and even cleaned it, so it is sparkling right now. “Flu, try revving mana on it.”

“Right!” Flu energetically nodded and then she stood up. She channeled pink stardust on both shoes, and there were no anomalies. “Good to go, Coach! Thank you!”

Just after we finished, we saw two fair-skinned tall slender people with sharp ears. I think these people are half-elves; those humans who had elven blood and human blood running in their veins. Pure elves have been long extinct five hundred years ago, so it is impossible to see real elves these days.

The two half-elves are a man and a woman. They look like twins as they both possess emerald green eyes. The woman half-elf is wearing a pair of Speedmage Shoes, so I’m quite certain that she is Awyn Gweiss. Her Speedmage Suit looks like she was an elven ranger during medieval times with leaves and leather as her dress.

Arwyn Gweiss’ Speedmage Shoes is the Treant Ventus 5, which is a good conductor of wind-related magic. This type of Speedmage Shoes is best suited for Speedster Speedmages as it mostly prioritized speed over control. And considering that the design is spiky as it looked like it was made from a magical tree, I guess it is uncomfortable to wear.

“Greetings, my opponent. You are Fluonessia Asahime, I take?” Arwyn gave a beautiful white smile.

“Yes! Nice to meet you, Miss Arwin Gweiss!” Flu cheerfully answered.

“Oh please, drop the honorifics. We’re both from the Eastern Islands where the ocean wind first blows. I bet to take it that you are also a child of the wind.” Arwyn said.

“You are right!” Flu pumped her fists. “Wind magic was my specialty! But I changed to stardust magic due to many reasons!”

“Hey, don’t just blurt out your technique to your opponent,” I whispered.

“Hahaha! As expected from a fellow Eastern Islander, we can use the power of the wind and even modify it. I am currently using storm magic right now, but we are still considered children of the wind.”

I’m not a mage, but I am quite familiar with storm magic. If a mage is powerful enough to combine the effects of wind and lightning, storm magic would be the result. It’s just like Flu’s stardust magic where she combines wind and fire magic.

Flu and her opponent Arwyn proceeded to the 1st Checkpoint Tower and waited for the referee to approach them. They had some trivial chatter and I was quite curious about what they are talking about so I put on the telepathic headsets.

“Let’s do our best and have fun in this game!” Flu pumped her fists excitedly.

“Yeah. There shall only be one child of the wind left standing.” Arwyn said with a smile.

I looked at the half-elf navigator opponent, and we both nodded with a smile to one another. I guess this guy is a little bit introverted like me since we are already satisfied with a simple gesture to say “Have a nice game.” It’s a nice change of air to have someone silent beside me because I’m often surrounded by crazy people.

The referee raised his hand and readied the whistle. Both Speedmages went to their starting position. Interestingly, Flu and Arwyn are set to spread their arms and run like a ninja. Judging from those movements, Arwyn’s playstyle might be the same as Flu's.

I have to be wary because Arwyn Gweiss is the Eastern Regional Speedmage Champion.

“On your marks… Get set… Go!”

Fweeeeeeeeet!

Once the whistle was blown, both Speedmages used their respective Accel magic!

“Stardust Accel!” Flu boosted forward with glittery pink streaks on her trail!

“Storm Accel!” Arwyn dashed with green lightning glitters!

Since Arwyn is a Speedster, it is given that she will be able to take the lead in the race toward the 2nd Checkpoint Tower. Flu immediately noticed it, so she stepped up and did something!

“Exceed!” Flu’s overall speed increased by 20%, and she managed to overtake the half-elf!

However, Arwyn is not going to accept a Counter Speedmage outspeed her! She jumped up high in the air and then started to walk in the sky! For each step she takes, there was a green magical circle platform she steps unto!

This spell is known as Air Walk!

Since Air Walk removed the unnecessary friction of the foot touching the ground, Arwyn was able to overtake Flu once again! And she was first to touch the 2nd Checkpoint Tower!

Beep!

Point for Arwyn, at 0:1!