Chapter 93 – Searching for Information Before the Competition Pt. 1

The reason why he had delayed the business deals by three months was because Suo Jia wanted everyone to have enough time to gather up their families’ water element treasures. This would increase the chance of a good item emerging. On the other hand, him collecting all the items on that list was more or less an impossible task. These were not items that could simply be bought with money, as only through the hands of these theif families would it be possible to collect most of the items in a short period of time.

In addition, Suo Jia was becoming addicted to looking for treasures. He would always walk around the bazaar whenever he had free time, looking around and hoping to find some other equipment useful for thieves. You have to understand, there are many treasures in this world, and only with more capital could one obtain more good things.

Unfortunately, after going there a couple of times, Suo Jia ended up spending 10 million gold only to end up with a bunch of garbage. Only now did Suo Jia understand that ancient, old and dusty looking things that did not actually rust were not necessarily good things. Truthfully speaking, not rusting did not mean it was a treasure.

There was only a month left before the annual competition. Arriving in class early in the morning, he noticed that all the girls were extremely excited. After listening to them, he realized that today was the selection date for the competition’s participants.

As for Suo Jia’s prestige and status within the class, there was no comparison, and everyone would nominate him for one of the participating positions. However, the competition had a total of 3 spots. It was precisely because of these last two spots that all the girls became excited, as anyone could take those spots.

After learning for an entire year, everyone had already grasped the Moisture, Water Sphere, as well as the Swamp Technique. Although its lethality was limited, no matter what it was still a qualified topic of learning. Compared to a normal person, they were stronger by far. With their strengths increasing, of course they would want to participate. Either way, no one was going to die, so what was there to be afraid of?

While the girls were all excited talking among themselves, the female lecturer walked in with magic books in her hands. Seeing the female instructor arrive, all of the the girls quieted down.

The female lecturer looked around and sternly said, “Everyone knows that in another month, the annual end-of-the-year grand competition will begin. That’s why we have to choose three representatives today to attend the grand competition. As for how people enroll, I’ll let everyone decide through elections. I hope that everyone is fair, and acknowledges the strongest students in the class based on their current abilities.”

After a slight pause, the female lecturer continued, “Alright, now….I want everyone to take out a pen and paper, and write down the names of three people you think should enter the competition. The three people who have the most votes will be chosen for this competition.”

Following the teacher’s instructions, all the girls quickly pulled out a pen and paper and quickly began to write. Afterwards, each group leader gathered all of the votes together. They organized them carefully before handing them to the teacher.

After reading the ballots, Suo Jia was without a doubt the first chosen competitor based on the ballots. As for the remaining two, one of them was the straightforward girl that everyone was friendly with, Xue Er, while the last one was a girl that was normally quite popular.

Suo Jia furrowed his brows. Suo Jia understood this girl to a certain extent. She had a round face, a sweet smile, and her eyes were always happily smiling. She didn’t laugh or speak, and was an easily likeable young girl. However, Suo Jia knew that this competition was not simply a form of entertainment; she was not at all suitable to enter.

Suo Jia stood up and loudly said to the lecturer, “Instructor, I think that…before the beginning of the competition, we should hold a contest in our class. The three of us chosen members will accept challenges from any other members of the class. If we lose, then I think that the victor should be the one qualified to represent our class in the competition, right?”

“This…” The lecturer could not help but hesitate slightly at Suo Jia’s words. In her opinion, it didn’t matter who entered the competition. Either way, they were going to lose, so what was the difference? That’s why she had never once considered whether or not the chosen three were the most powerful.

Seeing the teacher’s hesitation, Suo Jia stressed, “Instructor, I’ve said before…..we’ll definitely win this competition. Perhaps you think that we will surely lose, but I don’t feel the same way. That’s why I hope that you will agree to my request, and choose the strongest 3 people in the class to enter the competition. We definitely won’t give up on the dream of victory!”

All of the girls immediately began to echo Suo Jia’s words, and begged the teacher to agree with his request. Regardless of the final victory or defeat, it would only be complete if they tried their best.

Faced with the strong demands of everyone, the instructor couldn’t go against them, and simply agreed. Soon after…all of the students in the class had moved to the training area. Following Suo Jia’s words, all the classmates began to challenge the three chosen competitors.

Very quickly, under Suo Jia’s lead, three people stood on a stage, waiting for the challengers to appear. However, even after waiting for a long time, there was still no one willing to come out. Despite Suo Jia’s urges, everyone merely looked on from the sides, unwilling to come out and issue a challenge.

Seeing this scene, the lecturer proudly said to Suo Jia, “If it’s like this, then there’s no other way. Although I also think that your idea is quite good, this action has absolutely no way of continuing if nobody is willing to challenge any of you.”

Suo Jia couldn’t help but knit his brows together at the lecturer’s words, and looked for the silver-haired girl. Soon after….Suo Jia found the thin-lipped girl with the long silver hair, her whole body emitting a frigid aura. At the moment…she had her head lowered as she stood there. She hadn’t even bothered to look towards their direction.

Suo Jia took a deep breath. Although he didn’t know why, Suo Jia knew that if he didn’t take the initiative to call her out, she definitely wouldn’t come up herself. Suo Jia shouted, “Selena, what are you doing? Didn’t you say before that even if it were the final moment, you wouldn’t give up on pursuing victory? Didn’t you say that victory was something that one was supposed to defend with their life? What are you doing? Could it be that you really want to abandon your beliefs?”

“Hu!” Selena suddenly raised her head after hearing Suo Jia’s words. Her eyes shone with a bright and cold light, as she stared unblinkingly at Suo Jia. After a while, Selena finally said sharply, “You three are the people that everyone chose which means you represent everyone’s wishes. I don’t want people to misunderstand my fight as only a means of seeking fame.”

Suo Jia suddenly understood Selena’s words. This girl was too ice-cold; she was normally extremely indifferent to the other girls. Although it was unclear how strong she was, it was obvious that nobody would’ve chosen her. Moreover, although she maintained her attitude towards pursuing victory, she didn’t want everyone to misunderstand her. That’s why it wasn’t that she didn’t want to fight, but that she couldn’t.

Having understood Selena’s thoughts, Suo Jia smiled and shook his head, “Don’t worry, Selena. This battle is for the sake of our class’s honor. No matter whether you win or lose, everyone will only admire you for your efforts. Nobody will think that you’re issuing a challenge for the sake of fame.”

After hearing the conversation between Suo Jia and Selena, all the other girls immediately understood Selena’s worries. In reality, they hadn’t had such complicated thoughts; they had only felt that they lacked the skills to try challenging the chosen three. Moreover, even they would’ve previously misunderstood Selena, now that they understood her intentions, they naturally wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Under the encouragement of all the girls and Suo Jia, Selena finally walked up. She swept her gaze across Suo Jia, Xue Er, and the round-faced girl. Finally….Selena slowly raised her hand and pointed to the round-faced girl, “Since everyone insists that I take up a challenge, then I choose you as my opponent.”

       Chapter 94 – Searching for Information Before the Competition Pt. 2

Seeing the round-faced girl’s frightened state, Selena coldly smiled and said, “The reason I chose you is because you don’t have any courage at all. Once you actually enter the arena, you will be afraid. You might not know this, but battles draw blood, and can inflict damage onto people, to the point that….one can even lose his/her life!”

“Ya!” The round-faced girl cried out sharply at Selena’s words. She hurriedly covered her own mouth, as she said in a shaking voice, “You…don’t you scare me. I won’t believe you.”

“Ai…” The female lecturer sighed in response to the round-faced girl and said, “No, she’s not trying to scare you. What she said is true. Once you enter the tournament arena, drawing blood is merely a minor thing. The slightest mishap can cause one to be crippled, or even lose one’s life. Although these chances are very small, such things have actually happened quite a few times.”

“Wa!” Crying out once more in shock, the round-faced girl began to tremble as she said, “Then….then I won’t compete against you. I won’t attend this tournament at all; you can just go instead.” After saying this, the round-faced girl ran back like a rabbit into the group of girls, practically leaving a trail of smoke behind her, and was unwilling to show her face again.

Most girls are cowardly. After hearing that entering the tournament was so dangerous, all the girls began to shrink backwards. This time, Suo Jia didn’t try to make things difficult for them, and didn’t try to force them into entering the tournament. In reality, the thing that Suo Jia was looking for was not strength, but courage!

After learning for an entire year, Suo Jia already had a very deep understanding for all of the water magics. In regards to the few apprentice magics, no matter whether it was the Moisture Technique, Swamp Technique, or the Ice Sphere Technique, their killing powers were too weak. It could be said the first ranked ice magics were the only equivalent to other elements’ beginner’s magic formidability. At the current stage, water mages weren’t any different from a priest; they didn’t have any methods of attack.

Both would lose, but Suo Jia didn’t want everyone to lose so thoroughly. Losing this competition was fine, but they couldn’t lose a person. Being defeated wasn’t scary, but if one shivered with fear under an enemy’s attack, they’d completely lose face. Even worse, if one was scared to tears, then in the future, none of the water elemental mages would ever be able to face the public again.

Boldness and courage were the two standards that Suo Jia was currently looking for in his companions. Since the competition required three people to enter, Suo Jia would rather choose those with more guts. Even if they lose, they would at least show everyone the water elemental mages’ drive and braveness.

The selection immediately ended once all the girls began to shrink back from the front. Rejecting the lecturer’s order to return to the classroom, Suo Jia said sincerely, “Instructor, there’s still a month left until the tournament. I hope that you can give the three of us a week’s break so that we can focus on training. As I’ve said before, we’ll definitely win this tournament!”

Profoundly looking at Suo Jia, the lecturer firmly said, “That’s not a problem. Actually….the other elemental mages all started to train in a closed room three months ago. This being the case, granting your request for one month off is nothing.”

Suo Jia nodded, and shot a meaningful glance at Xue Er and the other girl, signalling them to stay behind. Afterwards….under the lead of the female lecturer, all the other girls left the training area.

After the last girl had finally left, Suo Jia slowly turned around. He looked at Xue Er and the thin-lipped girl and said profoundly, “Since you two want to enter the tournament, then you can’t lose face. Even if we lose, we must lose with a straight back. For the sake of giving you girls a chance of experiencing what the tournament will be like in advance, the three of us should first practice against each other.”

Faced with Suo Jia’s suggestion, the two girls nodded without any hesitation. The only difference was that Xue Er was passionate and unrestrained, cheering in high spirits. In contrast, the thin-lipped girl only nodded slightly. Her expression remained unchanged, and was as cold as it was before.

Suo Jia slightly sized up the two girls. Although they were all the same water mages, and also had the same innate talent in their class and held the greatest strength among the girls, they had completely different personalities.

The feeling that Xue Er gave off was like a rolling sea. She was passionate and bold, and dared to say anything she thought of. Her personality was extremely straightforward and down-to-earth, giving anyone she met a feeling of carefree and ease. She was like the daughter of the great seas.

On the other hand, the thin-lipped girl was different. One could never even think of seeing any ripples of change in her expression. She never smiled, and she was like a silent icy mountain. However, despite this fact, nobody doubted that underneath her icy exterior, she possessed a blazing heart!

After contemplating for a while, Suo Jia said, “We’ve all known each other for so long, and have been classmates for a year now. However, although you two know my name, I still don’t know yours. Right now….I want to get acquainted with both of you.”

Suo Jia warmly smiled and said, “My name is Suo Jia, water elemental mage apprentice. I’m 8 years old this year, and I live in Holy Light City.” After he finished, Suo Jia smiled at the two girls, waiting for them to introduce themselves.

The first to reply was Xue Er. She candidly replied, “My name is Aimi Xuete. I’m 8 years old this year. My family lives in Labuladuo Ocean City, and I’m a water elemental mage apprentice!”

As soon as Xue Er finished speaking, both her and Suo Jia turned to face the thin-lipped girl. Under their gazes, the girl’s small mouth moved slightly, then she said in a low voice, “My name is Francis Aila. I’m 8 years old this year, and my family lives in Icebound City. I’m a water elemental mage apprentice.”

(TL Note: I have no clue why she got a new name….apparently “silver-haired girl” = “thin-lipped girl” = Selena = Francis Aila. I found this extremely confusing and spent a while trying to figure it out, but my only conclusion was that the author sucks at remembering names. >.< P.S. He did the same thing for Vulcan’s Roar/Wrath and Atlantis’ Wisdom/Crown T.T)

“Eh….” Hearing Aila’s concise and cold self-introduction, Xue Er gave an exaggerated shiver. As her shoulders shook she said, “God, can’t you say that with a bit more emotion? You’re freezing me to death.”

Hearing Xue Er’s words, the thin-lipped girl’s expression seemed to change from its natural state. However, unless observed closely, one wouldn’t be able to tell. After a moment of silence, the thin-lipped girl coldly said, “Sorry, I’m used to speaking like this.”

Grudgingly rolling her eyes, Xue Er shrugged her shoulders. Suo Jia watched the two girls’ expressions and actions with a helpless look on his face. He couldn’t help but shake his head as he laughed, “Alright, both of your names are a bit long. Fortunately, both of you have the character ‘Ai’ in your names. Therefore…from today onwards, Xue Er is just Aimi. As for you, I’ll just call you Aila.” Suo Jia said to the thin-lipped girl.

“Hey!” Hearing Suo Jia’s words, the thin-lipped girl shouted loudly, “What is that? Aren’t you being a bit too lazy? Why must you call us by such random names? Calling her Aimi is fine since that’s her original name, but Aila isn’t my first name, it’s my family name, got it?”

“That! Eh…” Hearing Aila’s words, Suo Jia scratched his head and awkwardly replied, “But your name is really too long and difficult to remember. Besides, Xuete isn’t an appropriate name for a girl. At the very least, even Xue Er sounds better than Xuete!”

Helplessly rubbing her head, Xue Er frowned and said, “Forget it, it’s better if you just call me Aimi. Although it’s only my name, it sounds much better than Xue Er. Otherwise, if I’m always called Xue Er, I’ll get too used to it.”

“Hehe….” Having gotten away with his idea, Suo Jia snickered and said, “Right, isn’t that better? You’re Aimi, and she’s Aila. Now it sounds like the two of you were sisters.”

“Yea…” Nodding her head in agreement, Xue Er pouted and said, “It definitely does sound like we’re sisters. It’s too bad that one’s a first name, and one’s a last name. Although they both have the ‘Ai’ sound, the way they’re spelled is entirely different!”

Casually waving his head, Suo Jia firmly said, “I don’t care if one is a first name, and one is a last name, or if the ways they’re written are different. As long as I can call you two by something that can differentiate the both of you from each other, then it’s fine. Let’s not bother discussing something so useless anymore, and start competing!”

Suo Jia retreated and said to the two girls, “Right now, the two of you should fight against each other first. The regulations are like any other proper battle; you must use all your strength to compete!”

Hearing Suo Jia’s words, the two girls regained their energy. They pulled out their staffs, and faced each other 50 meters away, prepared to initiate their attacks as soon as Suo Jia gave the command.”

“Ready….start!” Following Suo Jia’s voice, the two girls simultaneously raised their staffs. A blue light shot outwards from both of their staffs, as they shot out Water Spheres at practically the same time towards each other.

“Peng!” With a muffled sound, the two Water Spheres collided in midair. Both fell apart upon contact. In terms of activation speed, the two were exactly even. However, in terms of the size of the Water Sphere, Xue Er’s was larger; it was nearly two times greater than Aila’s!

Suo Jia couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration at the enormous Water Sphere that Xue Er had produced. Even if the current Suo Jia tried as hard as he could to create a large Water Sphere, it would not necessarily be as large as Xue Er’s. Her talent was definitely enviable.

However, in the end, Water Spheres were just Water Spheres. No matter how they were used, they would break apart upon encountering any obstruction. Although Aila’s Water Sphere was smaller, she wasn’t at a disadvantage. At flying speed, Aila continuously shot out Water Spheres one after another to hold back Aimi’s large Water Sphere. Eventually, the two had reached an impasse.

“Che….” After expelling a few Water Spheres, Aila gritted her teeth. She knew that if she continued to expel them like this, even if she wasn’t at a disadvantage, it wasn’t like she would be able to gain any advantage either. Her body suddenly swayed as she waved her staff. A Swamp Technique shot outwards, with the target being directly under Aimi’s feet.

Due to a moment of carelessness, Aimi walked into the swamp. The moment she was thinking of pursuing Aila, she discovered that she had actually been trapped by the swamp. Although she could still move, it was extremely difficult for her to walk. At the same time, she would have trouble dodging Aila’s next spell.

Helpless, Aimi could only activate the Aqua Aegis Technique. She wanted to quickly leave the Swamp Technique’s effective area, but unfortunately for her, Aila had calmly and clearly planned this. No matter how much Aimi struggled to escape, she would immediately fall into another area of the Swamp Technique. Aimi could only helplessly remain in a difficult situation as she tried to dodge the Water Spheres. With nothing else to do, she could only grit her teeth and fling out her own Swamp Technique.

Both girls were stuck in swamps without any means of escaping, and thus stayed in their places as they continued to attack each other. Seeing this, Suo Jia couldn’t help but smile bitterly. What did this count as? A battle like this didn’t display a single trace of skill. If they entered the tournament with this kind of attitude, it would be strange if they didn’t lose.

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