The venue buzzed with the heated discussion among audiences as they watched the broadcast. Though what stirred them most was the phrase 'You're going to be one and only Archmage this world will ever see' Allen uttered to Dol. This immediately drew their attention to Dol's data displayed on screen, as well the result of his performance yesterday, and earned a confusing expression. A person in command of four elements, with one of them being light magic itself, was certainly a rare sight in the Rising Dragon Cup, too, but the mana capacity of 3800 at age of 13 was far from enough to be labelled as 'one and only Archmage.' From a practical viewpoint, every mage, who had left their imprint in the annals of history, had ever said boast unparalleled mana capacity. The power, rapid casting, and ultimately mana capacity were the three determining factors that telltale the sign of a talented mage. "Hmm... he certainly had astonishing control over his mana, but I really am not sure..." "Wait, perhaps he means by his work from research?" "Maybe you're right on money. Mana control and attribute conversion talent definitely make sense there." Some of the seemingly knowledgeable audience among the general stand tried to make a head out of the statement this way, and perhaps confident of their interpretation, they flashed a triumphant smug. Though, that immediately came to halt when Allen followed with another remark. «It's just a matter of time before your name sells like the cautionary tales, and everyone will fear you so much that they cower in their piss at the mention of your name!» A pin drop silence descended into the venue as soon the audience heard Allen's word, and subsequently followed even more buzz. Meanwhile, in the VIP section, the delegates of foreign nations slowed down on their words, their eyes gaining a rugged expression. Allen Rovenen should be well aware that everyone from the VIP section would be closely watching him. So, what Allen said to Dol—"Your opponents will cower in their piss in future"—was almost indirectly meant for them. It could be just a bluff, an attempt to gain leverage in negotiation through this little political stunt. And the more they contemplate, and compare the details—like Dol's average mana capacity—it would make sense for it to be deliberate. Yet, they couldn't convince themselves of that. The sly foxes they're, they couldn't smell the 'stink' of acting from Allen and Dol's exchange. —Maybe... just maybe, Allen Rovenne might truly be serious in his speech. Their mind rejected the notion, but that thought, inadvertently, pushed them to pay more attention to Rudolf Austin. "Would you mind if I watch by your side, Mujikka?" Katalina inquired, walking down from the VIP section. She had spotted Mujikka looking at the display with a worrying gaze, positioning herself at the spot closest to the entrance to the field where the tournament was ongoing. And needless to say, it was a motive driven action. Mujikka was the advisor of Royal Academy's Emission Magic Research Club. Katalina was hoping to extract any possible information, especially about Rudolf Austin, from the overly serious princess of Yuglia. Then again, Mujikka expected this to be the reason as well. "...It's your choice. But, I must warn you here, if there's even the slightest of suspicious movement, I will be stopping the match from continuing, regardless of what others have to say. There will be no mercy if anyone tries to be a hindrance... not even for you." Mujikka remarked in a disinterested manner, not even bothering to look at Katalina. Katalina shook her head with a wry expression, tapping her jaw with forefinger. "You sure are a worrywart, Mujikka. The field had been constructed and inspected by the joint cooperation of each participant nation. And, even beyond that, no fool would dare setting a trap right under everyone's watchful gaze. Each candidate is effectively the crown jewel of their generation, so even the Empire isn't brave enough to turn every other ruling nation into an enemy." So Katalina said to reassure Mujikka's worry, however the latter barely paid it any attention. The incident last day was clearly a bad optics for the Empire. All the nations wanted to know more about Allen, but the only one to take such drastic measures was the Empire. It wasn't hyperbole to say the Empire had lost its trust overnight. In such a scenario, what if someone attempted to further muddy water for the Empire? There was always this possibility, after all. "...Hmm, I wonder what the Great Archmage is up to?" Katalina pointed at the monitor, which was broadcasting Dol's movement, and chuckled to herself in amusement. She was caught up in Dol's covert action, as he acted alone, emptying the vials of Mana Recovery medicine they'd obtained from Village Field. It was crystal clear from his actions that whatever he was doing, it at least had no connection to scouting their opponent or scavenging any useful items. Often, he would come to halt on his steps, mumble some incomprehensible words, make some strange signs with hands, and placed his hand on the ground, coming to a standstill before resuming the similar pattern. "...............He's knotting symbols." Mujikka replied, once again refusing to glance at Katalina. To supplement, the symbols were the handsigns that ninjas often make while performing their technique, something that was commonplace in Japan. Apparently, Dol was vehemently against the idea of chanting, so Allen suggested them as substitutes. The source of the handsigns was a certain manga based on ninjas that Allen had seen his elementary school classmates crazed about. Allen himself had never read that, more so because his parents forbid him doing it, but he would often find the boys in his class dramatically making that sign. "Worthless" was his reaction on the surface back then, but even he knew it was merely an excuse to cope out. Inside, his mind was a maelstrom of myriads of negative emotions. And one couldn't just get rid of their past. The negative emotions never swept away, taking a spot in his heart, and what came out of that gloom was a tragic visage of man learning and practising the same handsign in his 30s, under the solitary darkness of night. Truly an unfortunate tale. And that's what Allen taught to Dol. Dol certainly wasn't eager about it, but under the command of his coach, he begrudgingly complied. However, since placing landmines requires a bit of time, that hand gestures soon become a routine for him. "Symbols?... Just what is the significance of them, huh?" Katalina uttered in cluelessness, but Mujikka only returned a suggestive smirk, otherwise she remained quiet. Though the actual truth was that even she had no inkling of it. She had tried to ask Allen, too, but all she ever heard was ‘Because it's cool', and 'the landmine's impression is too plain!'. It was all too incomprehensible for her, but she interpreted it as a form of training to burden oneself with meaningless action, so when they're stuck in perilous situation, they could always drop the act and catch their opponent by surprise. "......Do you know what he's mumbling? His whispers are barely audible." "Lookout-Soldier-War-Person-All-Formation-Row-Front." Mujikka recited with an indifferent tone. "...Look-lookout what? Can you recite it again?" "Lookout-Soldier-War-Person-All-Formation-Row-Front. Lookout-Soldier-War-Person-All-Formation-Row-Front. Apparently, this is a nine word sealing spell said to exorcise the devil." Seeing as Katalina failed in understanding immediately, Mujikka narrated the easy-to-digest explanation Allen had given to her. "N-nine word? ...devil...? The Devil?! ...Wait, is that the secret legacy of Dosperior... no, surely that wouldn't be..." «Justeria: Gapra Eliminated. One Point to Yuglia.» Just as Katalina was caught in her own world, a participant from Justeria stumbled on the landmine, and with a bang, he was eliminated. "W-What just happened..." Katalina was dumbfounded at the sudden turn of situation. Though, this time, her bewilderment was shared by the audience, too.  Chapters fırst released on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽 Because it all happened when the Justeria's participant passed by the same spot Dol had touched while mumbling something just five minutes ago. However, Dol himself was in another place, as displayed on the screen, when the explosion happened. What just happened had gone beyond the fundamentals—until now, they all had believed it was impossible to maintain energy for an extended duration from a distant place. It was supposed to be an inviolable principle. Though, coming to an explanation, the landmine itself was merely a physical phenomenon triggered by magic, like digging a hole, letting water naturally accumulate into it, and leaving a wood piece into fire etc. But to the people who had yet to understand the principle behind, they only saw it as 'setting up a spell'. The audience's gaze ran to the eliminated participants, but instead of any clue, they only found a stunned look. It was as if he was even surprised at why he didn't notice the presence of the spell. Flustered by sudden events, the other two participants of Justeria hurriedly ran their gaze around, but they didn't spot anyone's presence. ".........So, when he said he would be setting out his magic, this is what he meant? ...Are you sure you should've revealed such revolutionary magic to the public? Now that the cat's out of the bag, everyone is going to intensively search for it." "It's not a problem. You can exhaust yourself in research, but no second person can imitate  Rudolf Austin's landmine." «Lookout-Soldier-War-Person-All-Formation-Row-Front!» Mujikka off-handedly brushed off Katalina's probe, and just as their conversation came to an end, they saw Dol hastily making hand symbols, and sprinted. He was being chased by the team of Kuwal Republic in an attempt to besiege him. «Kuwal Republic: Insa Eliminated. Two Points to Yuglia.» But no sooner than one of them had stepped onto the spot Dol had performed a hand sign, the ground beneath burst up, eliminating him. When the others couldn't see through the unknown attack at all, the remaining participants stopped chasing him, and came to a halt. Dol had easily broken through the siege. "...What just happened... How did it happen when he didn't even touch the ground?" Katalina remarked out in frustration, barely keeping the amiable facade from breaking out. Yet, she didn't receive even a chuckle from Mujikka. "This is his true caliber. It's not the ability to convert four elements, but the inhumane control over mana circulation. I believe he invoked the magic by touch of his feet. Oh, and that magic is an amalgamation of three attributes." "Three attributes together?! And you're saying he can activate it from his legs too, all the while making those strange gestures...?" A sigh escaped from Mujikka. "...I had asked him to stop doing it, since he may risk inducing an explosion if he wasn't careful by activating it through leg. But—I am more ordinary than everyone, and I have nothing else going for me, except my skills. This is what he said, and remained steadfast in his practice." She bit her lips, seemingly reproaching herself for inability to stop Dol from taking such intensive measures. "I know the principle behind the magic, but the expertise it demands is on par with poking through the hole of a needle. I can tell you this much—I would never be able to replicate that spell even if I have his talent for multiple attribute conversion. And he's doing it with such ease through his legs... at a mere age of 13, he's already shaping to be a terrifying kid." Mujikka Yuglia herself was hailed as a prodigal mage among her peers, that even Katalina had to admit it. And that same prodigy was evaluating the boy with such trepidation. Suffice to say, Katalina realised the gravity behind Rudolf Austin's action. "...The first, and perhaps the last..." A rare talent to convert mana into three attributes. Ample mana capacity. And, the control over finer movement of mana almost to an inhumanely level. The magic, landmine, was made possible when these three factors came together for the first time. And how many times a prodigy with these three factors had appeared in the records of history? or will appear? Needless to say, Rudolf Austin may indeed end up being the one and only mage capable of using that magic. "Since we're at it, would you mind explaining about the way to deal with it? I mean, now that it's out, and as long as Rudolf Austin is here, everyone will fear for their next steps." By showing off the unpredictable attack, it would cause everyone to constantly keep their mana guard. And that would mean risk of falling into mana depravity. Of course, having an army of thousand soldiers constantly fumble around for supposed magic at the expense of mana was certainly not a practical countermeasure at all. To put it in other words, there was no effective way to dispel the said magic. "......So that's why they aren't afraid to show their research." Just as Katalina was convinced of that, Mujikka shook her head, revealing a chuckle for the first time. "I fear this isn't what he believes in. If anything, he truly believes that a gain of such level is barely worth keeping as a secret. And he's not wrong. It barely means anything if you try to perceive the future achievements of Rudolf Austin." With that said, Mujikka set her sight on the display again. A new situation had arisen in the match. Placing himself well within the range of the camera, Allen Rovenne knelt, and stabbed his hand on the ground, his face covered by his typical mask. "O' the Pillar of Four Great Spirits, Re Genome. The land that is the axle of life. Abide by the law of wind, and grant me the strength of majestic lands. —Sandstorm!" Following the chant, pebbles and dust swirl in the air, promoting poor visibility within a few moments. And like a high tide, the whisper among the audience gradually grew louder.