The sky darkened over Ashtanu, when the sun would normally be high in the sky. Those who looked up were able to see the familiar sight of a floating island, some being able to make out a grand structure built atop it. This was one of the most recognizable structures in any world, and the people immediately knew that the Sky Citadel had appeared.

Within a large stadium in the entertainment district of the city, a beautiful kitsune with bright red hair spoke on the stage. “This is your last chance to register, everyone! Whoever wants to take part, please activate your terminals, because it is time for this year’s King of Mages tournament!”

“However…” A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her face as she announced the news that had come to her only hours before. Even with the time to prepare, she still found herself nervous. “This year’s event will be taking place beneath the watchful eye of the Keeper himself!” There was a deafening silence that fell over the crowd when she said this, as if unsure how to immediately process her words.

Those within the stadium had seen the Sky Citadel appearing over the city. However, it was normal for the Keeper’s home to travel. For it to be announced that the event would be personally watched by him had another meaning altogether. “Furthermore, I have been told to let everyone know that there will be a very special prize this year! As for what that prize is…? I don’t know!” She said with a laugh, earning a few groans. “However… it is a reward that comes from the Keeper himself!”

As soon as she finished saying this, there was an uproar from the crowd. The Keeper had never publicly announced that he was witnessing an event, nor had he ever offered to reward the victor personally. Everyone immediately knew that this tournament would not be like any other.

Those who felt that they even had a vague chance at victory immediately activated their communications terminals to register for the event. There was no shame in losing this year’s tournament, but the ultimate victor would be making history.

The woman on stage could see the number of registrations on her own terminal rising at a shocking pace. Typically, a single tournament of this type would have no more than a hundred participants, but this one had instantly surpassed a thousand. Thankfully, Udona had set up procedures long ago for when the number of participants exceeded the threshold that they could handle on their own.

“Wow, look at them go!” She let out a laugh, pumping her fist into the air. “This is our largest turnout ever! And since it’s so big… the Goddess of Entertainment has bestowed me with a special privilege! Activating the Virtual Stage!”

Golden power gathered within the announcer’s fist, pulsing outwards to wrap around the entire stadium. This was a one-time use power that Udona prepared in the eventuality of any of her tournaments exceeding five hundred participants. Those who had chosen to register found their eyes closing as a black bubble appeared around their heads. Instead, they appeared standing on a massive stone platform within a virtual environment, one being displayed on the screen behind the announcer.

“Don’t worry, everyone! This is the power of our very own God-Queen! Since we have so many players this time, this year’s tournament will be conducted within a virtual world, all battles taking place simultaneously! For those of you watching, you can use your terminals to switch between different channels and watch your favorite fights!”

“Finally, because this power comes from the God-Queen herself, everyone’s cards and personal power will be fully refreshed between matches!” As the announcer finished saying that, her shoulders sagged slightly. Those paying attention were able to tell that it was not easy for her to activate the power granted by Udona. After all, she was no deity herself, only a high level Bard and a decent Priest.

Still, she pushed through the fatigue, feeling the warmth of the Goddess helping to restore her. “And with that… let the games begin!” At her declaration, the participants were immediately being split into their randomized brackets. Common citizens and celebrities alike were being paired together, and matches between popular players were unlikely to happen for the first few rounds.

I watched the event unfolding from within the Sky Citadel, Tsubaki having used her own crystal terminal to project the scene onto the wall. I had originally been planning to watch the tournament anonymously, much as I had toured through the dwarven city.

However, after thinking about it a bit more, I decided to make my appearance more public. In doing so, I could transform this from a regular annual event to something that would truly make people go wild. Thus, I had contacted Udona and told her my plan, along with the fact that I would be giving the winner a special reward. I purposely kept the reward vague, planning to tailor it to the needs of the winner.

As the tournament itself began, there was a brief explanation of the rules. First of all, players were only permitted to use Card Magic or support items that they owned which complimented Card Magic. The use of ki or other energies was only permitted if someone used a spell that enhanced those energies in some way.

Normally, the participants would be wearing a special ring that generated a field over their body. The match would end when this field was broken, or the participant ran out of mana. With this virtual tournament, however, there were no such rings. Instead, the participants were expected to fight to the death, or until one side surrendered willingly. The use of a compulsion spell to make the opponent surrender would not be counted as a victory.

Lastly, the tournament would be conducted through a matchmaking system instead of a normal bracket. Given the number of participants, there were eleven rounds in total. Once a player finished one match, they could queue up for their next match right away. After a player had won five matches, they would be given time to rest until there were a total of sixty-four people waiting to advance. At this point, any players remaining would be eligible for a reward.

After that rest, players would enter the semifinals, and have to complete five more matches. After these five rounds were completed, there would only be two participants, who would then fight for the final victory.

This tournament system encouraged people to try to finish their matches quickly, due to the fact that delaying in the first bracket could cause them to be expelled before they had all of their matches. Additionally, those who were done with their matches could choose to watch other fighters, letting them observe the competition.

Once the rules had been fully explained, chaos broke out on the virtual stage. The vast majority of the combatants had never experienced a life or death fight before, and it was obvious in the way that they handled themselves. Some acted pompous, while others trembled as they grabbed their cards.

Thanks to this, it was easy to identify the true professionals, those who calmly held their cards or wielded a magic gun. While I was flipping through the channels to find an appropriate target to watch, I found one such man. He was a kitsune male with black hair, wearing a dark purple robe. His cards hovered in an orbit around his body, and he lightly traced his finger along one before pointing at his enemy.

The enemy, a well-built ursa who had pulled out a full deck of cards, let out a gasp as black jaws emerged from the stage beneath him, snapping his body in half as they closed shut. “Who’s this guy?” I asked with interest, my eyes focusing on the victor of this fight.

“I’m not familiar with him.” Tsubaki shook her head, which meant that he had likely not made any significant impact in the world. Dana similarly expressed that she was unfamiliar with him, so I thought that he was simply a dark horse. Was that offensive to centaurs?

As I was debating the political accuracy of that statement, Lifre suddenly jumped up with a gasp. “Helium Kromwell! That’s the Black Mage!” She called out like a fan seeing their idol.

Lifre was the last person I expected to know who he was, and so I raised an eyebrow. “Explain?”

“Huh? Oh! He’s a major adventurer of Deckan, and has cleared out some of their more dangerous areas as one of the ten Chromatic Mages.”

Seeing Lifre so excited, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Helium was already waiting for his next match, so there was no harm in asking. “What are the Chromatic Mages?”

Lifre blinked at that, trying to figure out how to explain it. Thankfully, Dana stepped up. “They’re a group of ten mages in Deckan who have their decks themed around a specific color. They represent black, white, yellow, blue, red, orange, gold, green, purple, and silver. I’ve never seen them myself, but I heard that they’re a pretty powerful group in Deckan, despite having mortal bodies. Well… aside from the Gold Mage. I hear he ascended to godhood.”

I was surprised to find such an individual, and turned my eyes to focus on him again. However, what I saw next shook me to the core. The next match had already begun, but it was over just as quickly.

The Black Mage was lifted over the stage, a spike of blood stretching out of his mouth. Similar spikes had pierced their way out all across his body, instantly killing him as soon as his opponent took action. Just as the Black Mage had immediately overwhelmed his previous foe, he was similarly overwhelmed. At this point, it became clear to me why the rules were set up this way.

Stronger combatants would naturally finish their fights sooner, allowing them to battle one another without waiting for the weaker fighters to finish. If there was truly a powerful mage within the last minute applicants, they would have to display performance equal to the professionals in order to make it in time.

“I… don’t suppose that’s the Red Mage, is it?” I asked, glancing towards Lifre, who shook her head.

“No… that’s the Impaler.” Lifre gulped, looking at the woman with blood-red hair. She was clearly not a kitsune, but appeared closer to a human. “A Martial Spirit that acquired mana and moved to Deckan to become active. She’s never participated in a tournament before, but she’s still well known. Whenever she passes through a dangerous area, the monsters are all left speared on trees made of their own blood.”

Tsubaki furrowed her brow at that, clearly having heard of the name. “The Empress of Bloodhaven asked me to keep an eye out for her in the past. She’s not a criminal, but she was once a student of the Empress. Why is she participating in a tournament like this?”

I felt like I had an idea as to the answer for that, if she really was connected to Scarlet. She probably hopes I’ll help her become a deity like Scarlet. I was sure that there were a lot of participants hoping to get a shortcut to divinity by participating today. And… while it was not impossible, I was not sure if that would be the prize I gave.

Still, I decided to keep an eye on this Impaler while flipping through different matches. Most of the more powerful challengers had already completed at least one match, so things were starting to get interesting. All that was left was to watch how things played out. I was sure that the later matches would become more intense, once the truly powerful participants began matching up with people in their own skill level.