NOVEL NEXT Chapter 692
When PMAAS was first unveiled to the world…
There weren’t many wizards who welcomed it with open arms.
Koizumi Yoshihiro was among those who secretly felt uncomfortable about the assist action.
“Now when watching magic battles, it’s more about critique than cheering.”
In short, the standard for watching matches had risen.
In the past, wizards were applauded just for running quickly on the stage.
But now…
With die-hard fans of magic battles fully understanding the core skills of each sect…
If wizards responded with inappropriate tactics during matches, they would get mercilessly criticized on the internet.
“They probably don’t realize how hard it is to implement what’s done in games into real life, tsk tsk.”
Average people don’t grasp the countless processes needed to create a single “result.”
Even if they boast about outcomes, they would just chalk it all up to talent.
Despite his discomfort, the Japanese Magic Duel Organization and the sects rejoiced.
[Japan Magic Duel Monthly Audience Surpasses 600,000, Ranking 3rd in Sports… Was the ‘PMAAS’ whirlwind to this extent?]
Third in audience numbers, trailing behind baseball and soccer.
A 100,000-seat match sells out in less than a minute.
Considering the number of matches, it was all the more absurd.
“So this is why negative comments are better than indifference.”
To meet the heightened expectations of the audience, the athletes began to utilize PMAAS inversely.
The clash between the romantics and pragmatics during this process also became a major highlight.
Amidst all this, an invitation to the Heavenly Demon Tournament arrived for Koizumi.
Wouldn’t he want to go see the world’s best tactics?
He despised ranking techniques.
The very thought felt absurd to him.
The way of the Dao is originally tranquil.
To empty oneself and become one with nature.
But the world had changed.
People no longer pursued the Dao.
They desired quick achievements, instant victories.
In this process, PMAAS played a role akin to magic tools.
Thus, he quietly folded the invitation and left it on the table…
[Did you know? It took Picasso four years to paint like Raphael. But it took him his entire life to paint like a child.]
[Lord Katsuhata.]
[Doesn’t your master also wonder? To see the true face of the NoName wizard who possesses the purity of a child and the wisdom of an adult. Why don’t you consider participating, thinking of it as a bit of fun?]
Unable to resist the persuasion of Katsuhata’s leader, Lord Akitaro, he crossed the sea.
The Heavenly Demon Tournament seemed, on the surface, to be a competition to determine the winner.
But he began to realize that something deeper lay behind it starting from the middle of the first round.
[In short, did you really attempt to fall from a building to practice this tactic?]
[In the process of incorporating the flow of cherry blossoms into your tactic, how do you interpret and understand the cycle of life and death?]
[I heard that the Gine Mang Seung martial art derives from 18th-century French swordsmanship. And the 18th century in Europe was dominated by Cartesian philosophy. In the process of mastering your tactics, how did you seek to control your free will and understand your opponent’s?]
Questions requiring long reflection that were hard to answer.
Na-me smiled as if to show respect while listening to the participants’ responses.
NoName. CEO of the Janjeol Group and planner of the Heavenly Demon Tournament.
At merely 10 years of age, he rose to become one of the world’s best wizards.
“PMAAS is not just a simple virtual reality system. Rather, it focuses on wizards confronting their limits, awakening the essence of their aura, and understanding that philosophy.”
The tournament that seemed trivial on the surface.
The Heavenly Demon Tournament, which appeared to be merely a stage for showcasing techniques, was understood to have very profound intentions at that moment.
“Is he truly a genius… no, even the term genius feels lacking.”
Koizumi Yoshihiro felt a great anticipation for the journey ahead.
“NoName Wizard, this dining area is set up as rooms, so if we enter separately, there’s no chance of being discovered—”
“No way! That’s a spoiler!”
The second filming of the Heavenly Demon Tournament.
He was once again rejected for dinner.
*
[The theme of Round 2 is: New Generation from Old Skills.]
[There are countless tactics and techniques in the world, but among them, there are many incomplete techniques left for various reasons.]
[Those that were not passed down to later generations or not technically perfected.]
[Each judge will demonstrate an incomplete technique, and participants must fill in the incomplete parts in their own way.]
[In this round, participants will be evaluated on how universally and creatively they can develop the incomplete techniques by merging them with their own.]
[The time limit is 6 hours.]
As soon as the narrator finished speaking, the set buzzed.
“Didn’t the production team announce this in advance?”
Koizumi whispered from behind the set.
The Heavenly Demon Tournament is, after all, part of the entertainment.
The production team must have leaked information for the participants to prepare adequately.
“They probably just know they’re supposed to fill in the blanks of the technique.”
“Then it seems like our preparatory work will be nearly useless.”
“Still, if you prepared in various directions, you should do well in this round too, right?”
“Oh-ho.”
“Or not!”
The production team came up with some clever ideas.
The broadcast officially began.
We stood before the bewildered participants.
A total of four incomplete techniques were presented, and they would choose which team to join.
But did the PDs ever imagine that competition would arise even among the judges?
“This is a sword technique created before Lord Katsuhata’s death.”
Koizumi Yoshihiro brought forth a nearly incomprehensible incomplete sword technique from 300 years ago.
“When I crash-landed in the Arabian desert during the Middle Eastern war—”
Yulisis Murphy began sharing a tale from the Middle Eastern war and brought a technique encountered with a certain sage in the desert.
“Can we even follow this?”
“Which direction do we circulate the aura?”
“I don’t want to choose. That looks impossible.”
Participants began shaking their heads.
“NoName Wizard, please choose something easy!”
“Hmm. Well, maybe?”
“Oh…!”
Next was my turn.
I stood in the middle of the stage and assumed a stance.
[Casting: Demon King’s Horn]
Whoosh—
A pair of glimmering golden horns appeared.
Thanks to my recent training, the horns had grown longer.
“You all must have heard of the Demon King’s Horn. For those who haven’t, let me briefly explain: it generates a third magical mechanism through concentration.”
Flap—
Wings unfurled behind me.
“Although it’s impossible for a human to fly according to fluid dynamics, simply having wings allows for a range of irregular movements.”
I steadied my breath and surrounded myself with aura.
Demon martial arts, or rather half-demon combat.
I thrust my wings forward, minimizing air resistance, and dashed forward.
Bam—!
The first movement sent a scarecrow flying into the sky.
Whoosh—!
I jumped as high as I could, slamming the scarecrow back down for my second movement.
Thud—!
And when the scarecrow sprawled across the ground…
Flap—!
I spread my wings wide and landed softly.
Then I tilted my head slightly and smiled.
“For the final blow, you all will complete it with your own techniques. Hehe, easy, right?”
It was a tactic linked to the vertical emphasis of the first round hoop challenge.
I secretly felt proud to be such a friendly judge.
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
“Wings, jumps—how cool! And then a vertical drop like an eagle at the end.”
“What if you fall and hurt yourself practicing?”
“There’s a mat, a nice soft mat! I asked the PD for a mat…! Right, there it is! There’s also a diving board over there…!”
Either fierce glares or horrified gazes.
No sign of positive opinion to be found.
“Ugh, I thought I’d bring something especially fun…”
Pouting, I trudged back to the audience.
“My goodness. It’s already been three people, and if all their techniques are like this…”
“You think Yeondam Seung would show some mercy?”
“Shaolin’s techniques should be quite familiar, right?”
Finally, it was Yeondam’s turn.
He grasped the microphone and declared.
“Before I show my technique, there’s an apology I must make.”
An apology?
This wasn’t an event scheduled to happen.
The production team and we all listened intently.
“In the past, the 72 types of Shaolin ‘Seven Precepts’ were not properly realized under the PMAAS system, leading to questions of ‘Is this really Shaolin martial arts?’. As a Shaolin elder, I feel a great responsibility regarding this incident.”
The source of the conflict between me and Shaolin.
And because of this, many had negative thoughts about Yeondam participating in the Heavenly Demon Tournament.
Could those with insignificant martial arts evaluate the techniques of others?
He kept silent for a moment, bowing his head.
“The truth is… there were many incomplete techniques in the 72 precepts that were too valuable to remain undisclosed. Each technique was quite remarkable, leading to a bit of interpretation that resulted in various different martial forms.”
“What did you say?”
“Different martial arts, now?”
“The Shaolin has kept this fact secret for decades without publicly explaining it, and we deeply regret that.”
Taking a breath, I sighed in surprise.
Not just me, but Koizumi Yoshihiro and Yulisis Murphy as well.
“So the 72 techniques are all already public?”
What audacity.
In confronting the West, Shaolin had to boast by pulling one after another from their honey jar.
I couldn’t help but speak up, curiosity bubbling within me.
“Is it also true for the ‘Eighteen Arahan Techniques’?”
“That was probably the first start. The 18th technique, Cheonggang Pahkwon, is the Arahan Sin Kwon.”
“Wow.”
“I’m asking because I don’t know, but isn’t Eighteen Arahan Techniques Arahan Sin Kwon?”
“No, that’s something from created works. Arahan Sin Kwon actually belongs to the 72 precepts.”
“So Shaolin followed created works instead. Totally flipped the script.”
Then it made sense that all the 72 techniques registered in PMAAS were utterly unimpressive.
“Somehow, they ought to maintain coherence. If they created dozens in a week, the quality would naturally suffer.”
Thud—
The grandmaster and CP, Seong Myeongjeong, kneeled.
Was it because operations for future tournaments were thrown into disarray?
“This is all that’s needed…! Views of 5 million? No, if we broadcast to China, at least 10 million is guaranteed…! Hehehe!”
His words turned out to be a jubilant exclamation.
The world seemed to be filled with dopamine addicts.
*
[NoName Official]
[Heavenly Demon Tournament | Official Trailer]
[View Count 1.32 million · 2 hours ago]
[Best Comments]
-0:23 NoName in a pink blouse | 1:18 NoName in a black sleeveless top ← If the production team is going to push this with content, they really decided to go all out, lol
└ Oh, that’s sneaky to use content, haha
└ Sleeveless top nuuuuuuuuuuuu!
└ Let’s honestly just go for celebrity observation entertainment
└ Why is this content? Isn’t it just a NoName one-man show?
└ NoName is the content itself
└ I wondered why this comment was missing, lol
└ I’m unsure what kind of entertainment this is, but I’m going just to see Na-me~
└ The coordination is just shockingly cute, haha
└ Make sure NoName’s coordinator gets a bonus. I didn’t plan on watching, but this made me.