[Overseas Magic Gallery]
[Guys, check out the Quarterfinal brackets for the National Exchange Tournament.jpg]
[Match 1: August 12, 01:00 | Stade de France] – Giselle Fischer vs NoName
[Match 2: August 13, 01:00 | Stade de Pont-Pidou] – Love Isabel Kim vs Katsuhata Emika
[Final: August 17, 05:00 | Stade de France]
Is this a joke? South America has one team while Asia has three?
This year’s National Exchange Tournament brackets are truly intense; what is this lol?
[Comments]
– Based solely on match level, it’s indeed epic, for sure.
– Thinking of being underrated just by looking at the brackets later is annoying.
└ But there are three participants from the United States?
– Sigh, does that mean there’s nothing better to do than watch women’s magic dueling? The forum has really gone downhill, tsk tsk.
└ What?
└ What’s this? lol
└ Did you know? In 2053, all the semifinalists of the National Exchange Tournament are women.
└ Kyaaaahhh!
– Why do they always hold the matches at dawn?
└ It’s dawn in France, yet the sun is blazing!
└ White nights, am I right? lol
[Giselle Fischer Injury Rumor]
Giselle Fischer has missed all training sessions from the Round of 8 to 4.
Foreign press speculate that Nathan Chen got into a fierce 55-minute battle and she was seriously injured.
But the Argentina team insists she will participate without issues.
Can we expect a free ticket to the finals?
[Comments]
– Sacrificing France, Italy, and the US just to hand it to NoName, lol.
– Honestly, this is too sweet!
– At this point, isn’t Giselle Fischer strong?
└ She really is! Even winning against the three by luck is near impossible.
└ Never underestimate… I thought she would be easy to deal with, but everyone struggled to counter her.
[Argentina Team Reveals Giselle Fischer’s Training Room (Warning)]
(The following content may include themes of suicide or self-harm. – Scroll down to view the content.)
[Training stops here.]
[Huff, huff… I’m sorry for messing up the room… What? Ah, I feel embarrassed, what should I say… Umm, the semifinals are just around the corner. It truly feels like a dream to have come this far, and I hope this dream continues. And, um…]
[How about expressing your hopes for the next match?]
[Hmm… I want to play without regrets for my precious friend Himena, who is watching from above. Yes, she’s like a benefactor who led me to this path when I was wandering in the slums. I owe her a debt I could never repay in my lifetime… The only way seems to be winning this tournament. Thank you all for your support; I’ll do my best.]
Look at all the blood everywhere, ㄷㄷ
This kid turned out to be the most insane among the participants this year.
[Comments]
– Ugh, I can’t bear the cruelty.
– Is it really possible for someone to bleed that much?
└ If you push yourself while staggering, yeah.
└ Out of that, not even 5% is real blood. Still, it seems like she spilled 100-300cc?
└ That’s why athletes take breaks during matches.
– This is insane.
– They say to be more cautious of the one who drools than the one who spits.
– These kids are fighting with everything they’ve got just to be selected for the national team.
└ You need that level of madness to go a 55-minute battle.
– Is she really injured? It feels like she’s gotten stronger, ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
—
I rode the national team bus to the stadium with Love Kim.
Honk honk!
In the midst of the traffic jam, the horn blares.
“Pretty. Love Unni, doesn’t that look just like the Taegeukgi?”
Outside the stadium, the red tide and blue tide are mingled together.
Black figures rushed in from all sides, suppressing the circular crowd.
“What? Hey, NoName!”
Fights broke out between Korean fans and Argentina fans.
Black-clad police officers wielding batons separated them.
As the brief chaos on the road ended, we smoothly entered the stadium.
“Na-me, go have a great duel! Let’s definitely meet in the finals!”
We then moved to the locker room and changed into bodysuits.
Just then, I heard footsteps by my ear.
The door burst open, and Saetbyeol rushed in.
“NoName Unni, did you see? Giselle Fischer’s SNS.”
“No.”
Saetbyeol played a video and thrust her phone toward me.
“She seems totally crazy! She said she’s fighting for her friend even after killing someone?”
“Huh? Who killed who?”
“Huh? Didn’t you ask if she didn’t kill her friend last time… After that, she fainted on her own.”
“I might have misspoken then.”
“…?”
“I mean, at first glance, doesn’t she look a bit naive and sweet? She still has baby fat and is cute. I can’t imagine her just randomly killing her friend.”
“So what was that reaction back then? I thought she was guilty.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I’m not a mind reader; how would I know?
“The important thing is, Giselle Fischer came to the stadium today to fight me.”
“This psycho seems so dedicated to combat…”
Saetbyeol rolled her eyes.
Directors and coaches with dark circles under their eyes arrived behind her.
“From here on out, only authorized personnel may enter, so please hurry and exit.”
“Do well in the duel! Don’t get hurt!”
I sent the deeply worried Saetbyeol back outside the locker room.
Then I quickly held a strategy meeting with the coaches.
“What is this?”
“It’s a hit map of Fischer’s external manifestations, showing that each tentacle has slightly different activity ranges and actions.”
“Tentacle? Oh, you’re talking about those that sometimes pop out? Let’s call them tentacles to avoid confusion.”
“But calling them ‘tentacles’ for a girl feels a bit…?”
“Why? They’re just cool.”
“Understood.”
The coaching staff accepted my remarks with uneasy expressions.
I mentally absorbed useful info while flipping through the materials.
Many participants found Giselle Fischer hard to deal with because of her unique bodily transformation technique.
It’s not that her body actually changes; the aura that manifests around her acts like additional limbs.
Someone who naturally has two arms will never understand what it feels like to have three.
But Giselle seems to realize this in her mind.
‘Now that I think about it, I too could freely control my wings if I used the Demon King’s Horn.’
So, it’s not surprising that Giselle can command ten tentacles at once.
“But looking at Giselle Fischer’s finishing moves, it appears she often engages in hand-to-hand combat without using tentacles. Quite unexpected, right?”
“No, I knew that.”
“Hmph… Anyway, as I emphasized before, don’t get overly concerned about the aura. She’s capable of splitting her movements, and you shouldn’t let your guard down for even a second. Alright, let’s go! Fighting!”
Receiving the support of the staff, I traversed the long hallway.
I took the elevator once and greeted the volunteers at the stadium amicably.
The further I stepped into the world outside, the playful smile on my lips faded, leaving behind only seriousness.
Thud thud thud-
As my heartbeat synchronized with the resonance of the stadium.
I closed my eyelids momentarily, feeling the surrounding sounds.
Some shout for Korea’s victory.
Some scream for Argentina’s triumph.
Some raised the excitement of the stadium to a whole new level, while others called my name.
It all seemed oddly familiar…
Right, is this the Demon King’s Castle?
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Korea’s NoName player, entering now! Good luck in the semifinals!”
When I opened my eyes, reality pulled me back.
I smiled at the match officials and said, “I’ll take care of the monsters soon.”
—
[Quarterfinal Match 125]
[Stade de France | Audience: 132,500]
[Giselle Fischer (Argentina)] [100% / 100%]
[NoName (Korea)] [100% / 100%]
While the Republic of Korea is evaluated as a magical superpower, it only has one win in 27 years of National Exchange Tournament history.
Meanwhile, Argentina has significantly broken all records on the South American continent during the turmoil.
As they meet on the narrow path where neither can take a step back, the audience cheers even more passionately.
[All players have entered. The match has been slightly delayed, but the crystal sphere has risen quickly. Small particle barriers stabilized, so now… Yes, everything is set! The winner here advances to the National Exchange Tournament finals!]
[Ahhh, I’m trembling just watching. The opponent is the monster Giselle Fischer from Argentina, who has devoured all the championship favorites. We must ignite this moment with our fervent cheers to prevent NoName from becoming the victim of an upset.]
[The match has begun!]
Unlike the previous matches where spells were cast in seconds against Cecilia, Na-me and Giselle’s opening strategies were leisurely but sure, securing their areas.
[Spell Cast: Demon King’s Horn]
Na-me likewise didn’t cast Black Aurora, conscious of a test of stamina.
Instead, circulating aura once again, golden lightning burst from the horn.
Crackle-crackle-
[Cheonghwa Sword Engraving – Skiabona]
The surplus aura flowed out, absorbing all the cold metal.
As the mana poured into the Aura Heart like crazy…
[Spell Cast: Ignis Lufino]
Giselle gripped her mana and aimed a magic circle at Na-me.
Surprised by this new spell, Na-me frowned.
Concealed as first-circle spell ignition, it was a circuit technique.
Confused, she had no choice but to deal with it conventionally.
As Na-me slashed with Skiabona, flames split into two, spreading out in concentric circles.
Whoosh-
Fire engulfed the surroundings.
This was a starkly different display from Giselle Fischer’s fighting style.
Na-me raised her aura in an instant.
[Spell Cast: Ventus Repulsio]
The flickering flames gradually turned toward Giselle’s direction.
Swish-!
Black spikes pierced through the flames in a surge.
Boom-!
The misfired attack cratered the ground.
Simultaneously, Na-me’s aura barrier crumbled as she faced the other side.
Her eyes widened as she observed.
Giselle swiftly approached with her skeletal wing generated, pushing her back.
Thud-!
Giselle was sent flying and rolled twice on the ground.
Cheering erupted from the audience, but Na-me’s expression gradually hardened.
Gently massaging her cheek, she opened her mouth.
“What an amazing trick…?”
The tentacle, which she thought she had evaded perfectly, was already aiming at the other side of her face.
“I need to figure this out.”
“Hmm.”
In an instant, Na-me activated her quadruple casting.
[Spell Cast: Fuko Current]
[Spell Cast: Self-Wave]
[Spell Cast: Arc Discharge]
The powerful depolarization exuding at 15,000 degrees Celsius released thermal electrons.
It incinerated all tentacles in Giselle’s path and barreled straight toward her.
Wroom-!
[Spell Cast: Ibera’s Shield]
Giselle crouched low and raised her shield.
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship 14th – Cutting the Land]
Na-me swung her sword to shatter the magic circle, but Giselle’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
From behind, the black tentacles flew, wrapping around Na-me’s neck.
[Casting: Black Aurora]
Na-me wrapped herself in plasma, slaughtering the regenerating tentacles.
[Casting: Residual Stress Control]
As she destroyed the remaining tentacles, Giselle promptly severed the aura to counter.
“What’s this?”
“…!”
[Casting: Glacius Calipate]
In that instant, Na-me surged forth from Giselle’s blind spot.
As she swung her sword, a crescent-shaped ice disc materialized.
Boom-!
Just as Na-me swung the massive scythe, landing a clean hit on Giselle’s torso,
Bam-!
From the ground, four tentacles erupted, piercing through Na-me’s limb barrier.
“Gotcha… NoName.”
