NOVEL NEXT Chapter 689
“Don’t think the space you can move in is too small. Even if you’re trapped in a narrow room, your heart can still surpass those walls. Open the windows of your mind and broaden your field of view.”
“Are you in such a hurry? You want to try this and that right now? If you’re holding a ton of stuff in both hands, how will you actually take something out and use it?”
“In the end, you twisted your ankle. No, you did twist it! I saw it!”
Na-me left abruptly.
Shimmer-shimmer—
Five hair ties hanging from her hair sway back and forth.
[1/4 of the way has passed. Currently, the number of passers is 0.]
“Waaaaaah, is this even possible?”
“It’s tough…”
“Phew, this isn’t easy.”
Participants at the Heavenly Demon Tournament gasp in surprise.
Four judges have met with 25 participants each.
Not a single one has caught the attention of the judges.
The judges, including Na-me, waited in place until the narrator’s command was given.
“NoName Wizard!”
“?”
The next man to be judged by Na-me.
“Are we really that lacking?”
Ruslan Kashimov, a judo gold medalist, asked Na-me.
Shake-shake—
Na-me vigorously shook her head.
“If that’s the case, I’ll do my best to show you the basics.”
[We’ll start the second assessment.]
All participants had received feedback at least once.
At the signal, Na-me jumped up in front of Kashimov.
“There wasn’t really that much difference. Just some subtle mistakes and issues with recovering aura due to impatience. I focused on pointing those things out.”
“Haha, you’re quite particular too, just like everyone else.”
As Kashimov said that, Na-me frowned in thought for a moment.
“What happens if you try a technique on your opponent while losing your balance in judo?”
“That should never happen. If your center of gravity collapses, you might end up falling or getting counterattacked.”
“Alright. Let’s start with that in mind.”
Kashimov gathered aura and soared into the air.
His incredible elastic force as an athlete.
Blue aura surrounded the man as a strong upward current arose in front of him.
He extended his right arm forward, bent his upper body low, and twisted his waist.
It was as if he was performing a split in the air.
The aura spiraled around Kashimov’s body before—
Boom—!
He slammed the firmly gripped virtual enemy to the ground.
Smoke rose thickly from the set floor, swirling at the man’s feet.
It was a signal that he had perfectly recovered his aura.
“Ummm…”
But Na-me’s expression was intriguingly subtle.
Seeing her eyebrows twitching, Kashimov clasped his hands.
“You did well, but… something feels off.”
Na-me circled the participant’s surroundings and rubbed her chin.
“Are you broadcasting this from anywhere?”
“I’m in my front yard.”
“Oh, so you live in a country house.”
“Yes.”
“If there’s something round nearby, could you throw it up just once? Don’t catch it.”
“Uh, I have a ping-pong ball. Shall I throw that?”
“Yes.”
Roll-rolling—
The vertically dropped ping-pong ball started rolling to one side.
Thump—
It must have gone out of the hologram projector’s recognition area, as it disappeared from the set.
“Does your yard have a slope?”
“Looking closely, there’s a slight incline. But how would that…?”
At that moment, Kashimov felt a chill.
What appeared on the set was just his own body.
There would be zero information given about the location, right?
“Oh, so that’s why!”
“Did I mess something up…?”
“No, your posture was really good. I was just surprised that your aura spilled out at the end as you slammed down. Please set the hologram projector back on level ground and receive your assessment again.”
Na-me moved on to the next participant.
She turned back and said, “Oh, right. I didn’t catch what feedback I gave before, but I think you’ll definitely pass!”
Starting from the second assessment, passers began to emerge rapidly.
Participant number 100, Gonzalo Arce, who coached Argentina, was the first up.
[Participant 53, Wang Jin-ah, has survived.]
“Yay! I passed!”
“There’s still quite a way to go to fill half.”
A crowd gathered in the set’s center watching the remaining assessments.
“Oh, looks like NoName Wizard is going to give out a second pass.”
“Where, where?”
“Isn’t that a bald guy with hair ties? Whoa!”
[Participant 78, Yall Johnson, has survived.]
A rough-looking man wearing a Viking helmet.
As a sign of passing the first round, NoName tied a hair tie onto his fluffy beard.
Given he was bald, it was a necessary choice.
Snort…
“Is there a problem? Huh?”
“Oh, no! It’s cute!”
“Right! That’s how it should be!”
Yall Johnson proudly displayed his adorable beard in front of the camera.
*
[The assessment for the physical struggle in the first round has concluded.]
“Are you not having a hard time, monk?”
“Yes, it’s manageable.”
“This old man hasn’t had the pleasure of judging martial arts in a long time, but it’s fun, though my health is running out, so it’s not easy.”
Yeondam and Yoshihiro chatted.
Uuughh… Hah.
I stretched my legs so much that my heels lifted off the ground.
“NoName Wizard worked hard as well. But didn’t you give feedback a bit too kindly?”
“Hmph, but I was strict in the assessment.”
Yulisis Murphy encouraged me for my efforts.
“Just as the head said, I again felt that NoName Wizard’s insight is remarkable.”
Yoshihiro also did not hold back on the praises.
I felt like I was becoming the granddaughter caught between grandpas during a holiday.
After a thorough assessment lasting three hours, a sense of achievement lingered.
[The judges should each select 2 wildcards through discussion.]
So far, there are twenty passers.
There are four spots left.
“Ahem. We need to pick four from these, but this time we’re being asked to select eight?”
“Geez, it’s hard to match 24.”
Even while complaining, we discussed seriously.
“Participant 19 was really just one paper difference.”
“Right. I thought others would pick them up.”
“Then didn’t NoName Wizard choose to pick 19?”
“I’m also short on pass tickets. I really saved them.”
“Then should we pick NoName Wizard for 19 and 73? What about participant 1? I hear they’re an acquaintance.”
“An Ji-a definitely did well. Honestly, elementary school students do the basics better. The lower the difficulty, the stricter the grading has to be. If I had to choose, I’d want to pick 73.”
“Then I’ll take 1. Is that alright, NoName Wizard?”
“Yes, of course.”
The proceedings moved swiftly.
[We will announce the wildcard candidates.]
[1, 19, 27, 29, 40, 55, 73, 99]
In addition, it was also revealed who picked whom.
“Wow, thank you Yulisis Murphy! Thank you!”
“Monk! I will believe in Buddhism from today!”
“Corekara anata ni chuuseiyo—”
“Kuaaaah, I trusted you, NoName Wizard…!”
Survivors clinging to life yelled in joy.
But it was still too early to make conclusions.
Wiiiiiing—!
At that moment, a red alarm rang out on the set.
A chilling BGM played, and the screen went dark.
[The heavens ask you your final eligibility.]
[Survival condition: Top 4 in aura heart volume.]
“Oh, what’s this…!”
“It’s so cruel until the end.”
“Are they giving hope just to drop it at the last moment?”
This was a condition set by the production team.
Perhaps that’s why.
“NoName Wizard! Even though your aura heart volume is at the bottom, you magnificently won in the National Exchange Tournament! Am I right?”
A Japanese participant, number 55, raised his voice in protest.
“Yes, I was in the bottom three, I believe.”
“I’ve heard that the Heavenly Demon Tournament emphasizes effort honed through PMAAS rather than origin or talent. So what about the aura heart volume? Personally, I think this conflicts with the spirit of the tournament.”
“What would you like to have instead, participant 55?”
“If NoName Wizard were in the same situation as me, wouldn’t they protest against this rule?”
The participants shifted uneasily.
It was a truly awkward question.
Saying “yes” would imply a stance that idolizes talent over effort.
Saying “no” would mean stepping into the organizers’ shoes and manipulating the competition.
Even if it wasn’t the participant’s intention.
Anyway, a significantly unfavorable situation was arising for me.
‘This isn’t a question that can simply be answered with yes or no.’
But since there was a flaw in participant 55’s logic, an escape route was always there.
“Aura heart volume is not a legitimate discrimination, and I also wasn’t discriminated against in the National Exchange Tournament based on my aura heart volume.”
“Isn’t that contradictory? NoName Wizard’s volume being small didn’t limit your participation.”
“Do you remember what group I was assigned to during last year’s National Exchange Tournament?”
The participant rolled his eyes, pondering.
“Um… I don’t remember that well.”
“I was placed in the death group. I faced Levi Huning Jr., Narita Hiroyuki, and David Everett. The reason this situation happened is that I was assigned to seed number 4 based on aura heart volume. Was there no discrimination in the National Exchange Tournament?”
“Right. Thinking back, there seemed to be.”
“Most importantly, the Heavenly Demon Tournament isn’t a competition to find out which is more important between talent and effort. It’s a procedure to select those who have overwhelming talent using PMAAS and those who have made overwhelming effort to surpass that talent.”
I spoke with a slight smile.
Without scolding, I aimed to ease the tense atmosphere with a relaxed tone.
“I started with extremely disadvantageous conditions compared to others. I even participated as an individual rather than as part of the national team. Of course, I fully understand what participant 55 is saying. It doesn’t make sense to rank based on aura heart volume when assessing basics. That is what you are saying.”
“Exactly.”
“Then we’ll just have to prove it.”
“Eh?”
“If you get into the top 20 out of 100, you’ll pass the first round. None of us raised aura heart volume as a criterion at any moment. And I wouldn’t even be in that position right now.”
It’s simply a competition looking at just one type of technique.
No matter how skilled the judges are, the essence is a relative evaluation.
Passing at once isn’t even a difficult matter.
“Ah…”
The participant’s expression showed realization.
“The opportunity hen has already been given. Not being able to make delicious chicken from it is a huge mistake.”
*
[Survivors are Participant 1, 19, 55, and 99.]
“Wait, I survived! Takuya! Why didn’t you protest after the results came out!”
“Eh? I didn’t think I’d pass! Seriously!”
“Haah… how depressing…”
I slumped back onto the sofa.
My body flowed like liquid.
I want to hurry home and rest.
The first-round passers cheered as they received their Korea Tickets.
And at the edge of that, Yuna Eomeoni was also present.
Clap—
The production team did a slating slap like filming a movie.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Everyone, thanks for the filming!”
“Haha, see you all in Korea!”
“Wow, we can finally see NoName Wizard in person?”
Even though I couldn’t shake hands properly due to it being a hologram.
I said goodbye one by one, looking each participant in the face.
“Na-me! You were so cool today!”
“Yuna Eomeoni! Thank you for your hard work filming. It must have been quite boring since it wasn’t virtual reality but hologram. Congratulations on advancing to the second round.”
“No, it was really fun all day. Passing the first round was just luck.”
“What are you going to do after this?”
“I need to feed Yuna. What should I do, I didn’t even make dinner.”
“Oops, then let’s eat out together.”
I wanted to see Yuna after such a long time.
As I made plans to eat out with Yuna, Grandpa Murphy suddenly chimed in.
“NoName Wizard? Why aren’t you eating with us?”
“We four shouldn’t gather until it airs. It would be a spoiler; it would be a big deal.”
The fact of which judge appears holds great significance.
“Aah… how disappointing…”
The grandpas showed expressions they couldn’t hide their glumness.