Chapter 26
“So, what brings you here, Hina? It feels like it’s been years, no, decades since you’ve visited.”
“H-Hoee…!”
A woman hugged Hina and rubbed her cheek against her.
She had hair as clear and blue as a flowing river. This was Rina, the Tower Master of the Water Magic Tower.
Rina was one of the few Tower Masters who was close to Hina.
“You’re still so cute, Hina~ even though it’s been decades~”
“T-That’s…”
Hina was being squeezed and rubbed by Rina.
Whenever Rina met Hina, she would always act like this, treating her as if she were the cutest thing ever.
The reason Hina had come to the Water Magic Tower was because Rai had sent her.
In truth, even when Rai asked her to do things, Hina usually didn’t comply.
Every time, she would run away, shouting, “No, no, no!”
But this time, she had no choice.
Rai had suspended her ‘Maple Leaf Story’ account.
He said he wouldn’t release it until she completed the task.
“U-Our artifact… There’s something new coming out called ‘Championship of Legends’…”
“Ah, that? I voted in favour of it. Everyone else was so heartless. How could they be so cold when Hina is this cute?”
“Ubububub- That’s not it-”
Hina tried to free herself from Rina, who was tugging at her cheeks, and continued speaking.
“We were thinking about having each Magic Tower compete using that artifact…”
“Compete?”
“Yes. Like in the old Arcane War.”
Arcane War.
That was a long-lost chapter in the ancient history of mages.
To talk about it, one would have to go back before Trinity was founded. Even further back into the distant past.
As civilization developed, magic also advanced.
Naturally, mages who had similar attributes began to interact, and they each established their own schools.
From the Fire School to the Space School, a total of 31 schools were created. They were classified according to the 31 fundamental attributes.
Each school started to interact with other schools.
Then, one arrogant mage looked down on the magic of another school, and soon a magical war erupted between them.
The winning side would boast, ‘Our magic is the best,’ while the losing schools would retort, ‘No, our magic is superior,’ and thus, each school began to compete to see whose magic was the greatest.
Of course, due to the nature of attributes, it was impossible to determine the absolute best.
But mages, driven by intense rivalry, began to compete regularly to see which school was superior.
They created rules and started to hold these inter-school wars on a regular basis.
These were called the Arcane Wars.
Every time an Arcane War occurred, the surrounding area would be devastated.
As magic advanced, it became increasingly difficult for the surrounding nations to contain the mages’ power.
Then one day, the once-separated schools came together and began to form a city called Trinity.
The surrounding nations, including the Empire, saw this as an opportunity and proposed a treaty to Trinity.
The terms of the treaty were that Trinity would receive large-scale support for the city’s operations and magical research, in exchange for not attacking the neighbouring countries or turning the continent into a wasteland with magic as they had in the past.
Mages didn’t particularly desire destruction or political power.
They simply sought to satisfy their thirst for knowledge and to become the most superior beings.
Trinity accepted the treaty, which allowed them to freely conduct their magical research.
However, from that point on, they could no longer hold the destructive Arcane Wars as they had before.
Thus, the Arcane War slowly faded into history.
Nevertheless, the spirit of rivalry from that time still lingered among some mages.
“Hmm… explaining such a boring backstory will make people lose interest, Hina.”
“Hmm?”
“Nothing. While it’s true that the rivalry between the Magic Towers still exists… do you think the other Tower Masters will participate? It’s not even a magic duel.”
“U-Um… Would Rina be willing to participate?”
“Hmm… I don’t think I can refuse if you ask, Hina…”
Rina hesitated.
If an Arcane War were to happen again, many Magic Towers would welcome it.
But they could no longer battle each other with magic as they used to.
If each Magic Tower used its full power, about half of the continent would be blown away.
Moreover, there weren’t many Magic Towers that would want to determine superiority by means other than magic.
It was like asking a martial artist to compete in a running race.
“I-It’s a strategy game, so we can see who’s smarter.”
“That’s true… but…”
Rina hesitated.
Seeing her reaction, Hina recalled what Rai had told her.
‘Since it’s not a magic duel, they might think it’s meaningless. But all you have to do is get them to participate. If that happens, just say this.’
“Well, the Fire Tower Master said that he could easily beat the Water Magic Tower…”
“…What?”
“And he said that, even back then, the Water Magic Tower was beneath them…”
Crack—
Rina’s eyes, which were always curved into a smile, twisted.
The Fire Magic Tower and the Water Magic Tower had been bitter rivals since ancient times.
No matter what it was, the Water Magic Tower could not afford to lose to the Fire Magic Tower.
“…Tell them to bring it on.”
“Hmm?”
“Tell them to bring on that COL or LOL or whatever it’s called! Even if the other Towers don’t want to participate, I’ll make sure we go head-to-head with them!”
With that, Hina managed to rope in a few more Tower Masters.
***
The interior of the Water Magic Tower had a spiral staircase that rose along the walls.
Rooms for mages lined the walls, while the centre of the space remained empty, with a large hole on the roof.
From a floating stone at the top, a clear, massive stream of water cascaded down to the first floor.
It looked like a gigantic waterfall.
Rina rode that waterfall down to the lower floors, like a water goddess.
Then she shouted in a voice that shook the entire Tower.
“Everyone, gather up!”
Her disciples hurriedly gathered at her call.
“Next month, the Arcane War will take place, everyone.”
Gathering her disciples, she suddenly dropped this bombshell.
Her words made the disciples look up in shock.
“What? Doesn’t that mean the continent will be blown away, Tower Master?”
“What about the treaty?”
“Of course, we won’t be fighting with real magic like in the past. We’ll use this instead.”
With a gesture, Rina made several artifacts descend along the waterfall.
“What are those…?”
“This is an artifact called ‘Championship of Legends,’ created by the Illusion Magic Tower. It’s a game where two teams of five deploy their strategies to destroy the opponent’s castle! There are many elements to it, but I’ll explain in detail once you’re connected. From today, after your daily work is over, we’ll be using this to select the five representatives. And of course, I’ll be participating fairly as well! Aren’t I a very fair Tower Master?”
Hohohohoho.
Rina spread her arms wide and laughed heartily.
There were many things that could be pointed out, but her disciples kept their mouths shut.
Just by looking at the waterfall that flowed from the roof to the first floor, one could tell how hierarchical the Water Magic Tower was.
“Ah… She’s doing something strange again.”
“Hey, quiet. If she hears you, you’re dead.”
“But if it’s an artifact from the Illusion Magic Tower, is it like ‘Maple Leaf Story’? Then I kind of want to try it.”
The disciples murmured as if they were used to this.
However, a few who had tried ‘Maple Leaf Story’ were filled with anticipation.
Of course, there weren’t many mages who had played ‘Maple Leaf Story.’
While it was popular among the general public, using an artifact from the Illusion Magic Tower was considered demeaning among mages.
That’s why those who did play would secretly do so in their rooms, making sure not to get caught.
“Alright, let’s do our best so we can win! Oh, and you know you mustn’t lose to the Fire Tower guys, right? If you lose, you’re dead~!”
The disciples answered half-heartedly.
Thus began the preparations for the Arcane War.
The disciples logged in every evening and repeatedly engaged in 5v5 internal battles.
At first, they did it reluctantly.
Since it was an order from the Tower Master, the disciples had no choice but to comply.
“Ah, what the heck… They’re so weak.”
“No, as a support, you’re not supposed to do anything. Just make sure the carry grows strong and protect them. Didn’t the tutorial say that?”
“Then that’s so boring.”
“Do you think anyone is doing this for fun? Just play.”
As they played more, a few who had a knack for it started grasping the overall flow.
Thanks to Rai’s detailed tutorial, they picked it up quickly.
It didn’t take long for the mages to become familiar with the game’s mechanics.
They gained an understanding of each lane and champion.
(Team) HansHere (Aatrox): Ah, ah—! What the—! No! Ah!
(Team) HorseHere (Warwick): What, what, what’s wrong?
However, just because they understood the game didn’t mean they improved at the same pace.
They still struggled with things like last-hitting minions, fighting, and maintaining vision.
(Team) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): No, the enemy jungler keeps coming! What is our jungler doing?! Hey! Horse, why aren’t you coming?!
(Team) HorseHere (Warwick): No, I was at bot lane! Stay near the tower!
(Team) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): No, this jungle difference is so…
Perhaps due to this, the laners were the first to start blaming the jungler.
The inexperienced laners had no choice but to die helplessly whenever the enemy jungler showed up, outnumbering them.
Of course, their own jungler was probably doing something, too.
But they hadn’t played enough to understand that.
They probably wouldn’t understand even if they played a lot.
(All) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): No! Ah, I died again! This is so frustrating, I really can’t do this!
(All) HansHere (Aatrox): Nice~ Haha, Charles, you’re so bad.
(All) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): Aaaaargh—!
When one side is miserable, the other side is bound to enjoy themselves.
The enemy team, who kept getting kills, began to find the game more entertaining.
Unable to stand seeing Hans doing so well, Charles began thinking of ways to win somehow.
Since their own jungler wouldn’t come, he had to survive on his own.
‘Wards?’
At first, he thought buying ward items was a waste of money.
But Charles started purchasing them and placing them in bushes.
With vision secured and the enemy jungle’s movements visible, he could prevent getting ganked.
(All) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): Hahaha! I can see everything! Nope, you can’t catch me. Nope, you missed. Haha, Hans, you’re so bad.
(All) HansHere (Aatrox): Ugh, that’s so annoying…
Even though the jungler came, they narrowly missed catching him.
With just a sliver of health, Charles clung to the tower and continued farming minions.
Hans, who was up against Charles, made up his mind.
‘I can kill him with just one auto-attack. If I hit him quickly and run away, I should be able to survive. One hit from the tower should be fine.’
Hans instinctively decided to attempt a ‘dive.’
It would’ve been a shame to miss out on a kill with just one hit left.
Hans, approaching the tower with the minions, quickly landed an auto-attack on Charles.
(All) HansHere (Aatrox): What?!
But Charles didn’t die.
Since he had consumed a potion, his health had recovered slightly.
Boom—
Hans took a hit from the tower. He could still take one more hit without dying.
After a brief hesitation, Hans used a skill on Charles.
Boom—
Charles dodged the skill with a flash.
(All) HansHere (Aatrox): Oh, crap!
His curse was filtered out due to the profanity filter.
Hans’s health was now critically low.
Just one more hit from the tower would kill him.
‘If it’s come to this, I’ll just die killing him…!’
Determined, Hans moved in for another auto-attack.
But before Hans could land his hit, Charles cast a skill first.
Boom—
Slowed down, Hans was hit by the tower and died.
(All) CharlesHere (Dr. Mundo): Hahahahahahaha!
(All) HansHere (Aatrox): Aaaaargh!
Watching Hans die, Charles burst out laughing.
(Team) HansHere (Aatrox): What is our jungler doing?!
(Team) YasHere (Amumu): …? I came earlier, didn’t I?
(Team) HansHere (Aatrox): No. Ugh…! Jungle difference!
(Team) YasHere (Amumu): What? What are you talking about? I came to help earlier. The enemy jungler just camped bot lane.
(Team) HansHere (Aatrox): Ah, damn, no! No, crap! Ah, hey! Hey, let’s play another game! Come on, hurry up! Switch teams! The balance is off!
“What? You were the one playing poorly, and now you’re talking about balance…”
“It’s the champion’s problem. I was messing around with a sword… I should’ve used a mage champion.”
“What? Why would you play a mage champion in top lane? Just play Garen.”
One month before the Arcane War through COL took place.
The mages from each Magic Tower were playing COL every day and gradually discovering its ‘fun.’
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