NOVEL WEB Chapter 10: The Festival of the War God
A month passed. To Sung Jin-woo, it was a blur of excruciatingly mundane classes and meticulous power suppression. To the students of Midgar Academy, it was the month they learned about the enigma known as Sung Jin-woo.
He was a ghost. He sat in the back of every class, said nothing, and interacted with no one. His test scores were perfectly average, never too high, never too low. But strange things happened around him. An inkwell would "accidentally" spill on the exam paper of a student who tried to cheat off him. A bully would "trip" on a perfectly flat surface when trying to shoulder-check him in the hallway. A sparring opponent would be suddenly "blinded by a reflection" off a window, leaving them wide open.
He was no longer just the "Unlucky Shadow." He was now whispered about as the "Jinx." A walking bad-luck charm. The students avoided him not out of malice anymore, but out of a superstitious fear. It was the most effective social shield imaginable.
Jin-woo found the peace... adequate. It allowed him to expand his senses, constantly monitoring the kingdom for any sign of Weaver activity, all while maintaining his cover. He had even managed to place a minuscule, undetectable shadow-fly on Cid, a permanent tracking bug so he wouldn't have to rely on their "chance" meetings in alleys.
The peace was, of course, about to be broken.
Banners and flags were being hoisted all over the academy grounds. An electric excitement filled the air. It was time for the annual "Festival of the War God," a grand tournament where the best student spellswords from across the kingdom competed for glory, honor, and the personal recognition of the King.
"Isn't this exciting, Cid?" a random, brown-haired student said, clapping Cid on the back. "The Festival! I hear Princess Alexia is the favorite to win this year!"
"Yeah, super exciting," Cid replied with a perfectly bland smile, his mind racing. 'The school tournament arc! A classic! The perfect stage for an underdog to rise, for rivals to clash, and for a mysterious, masked swordsman to appear out of nowhere and dominate everyone! Ohoho, my blood is boiling!'
In the main hall, the headmaster was announcing the selection process. "As always, the top-ranked students from each year will be automatically entered. For the remaining slots, we will have a random lottery! Every student has a chance to fight for glory!"
A large, magical sphere swirled with the names of every student. One by one, names were projected into the air.
"Po Tato!"
"Skell Etal!"
Cid watched, a hopeful glint in his eye. He had, of course, subtly used his powers to rig the lottery, ensuring his own name would be drawn. He needed a legitimate way to enter the tournament so he could eventually be defeated in a dramatic semi-final round, furthering his mob persona.
"Cid Kagenou!" the headmaster announced.
Cid pumped his fist with a quiet, internal "Yes!" and a perfectly surprised "Who, me?" expression on his face.
Then, the headmaster drew the final name for the first-year bracket. The magical sphere swirled, and a new name appeared.
"Sung Jin-woo!"
Jin-woo, who was standing in the back of the crowd trying to be invisible, felt a hundred pairs of eyes turn to him. A collective groan went through the student body.
"The Jinx is in?"
"Oh, come on! His opponent is just going to slip on a banana peel and lose!"
"It's a wasted slot!"
Jin-woo sighed. A deep, weary sigh. He had felt the slight ripple of mana from Cid rigging the lottery. He had also felt a second, much more potent ripple. Someone else had rigged it to put him in the tournament. He scanned the crowd. His eyes briefly met those of Princess Alexia Midgar. She gave him a look of pure, aristocratic contempt, but there was a flicker of... something else in her eyes. Calculation.
She wants to fight me, Jin-woo realized. She doesn't believe the rumors. She thinks there's something more to me and wants to expose it herself on the grandest stage. How troublesome.
Later that day, Jin-woo found Cid by the lake.
"You're in the tournament," Jin-woo stated.
"Just my luck, I suppose," Cid said with a shrug, feigning reluctance. "I'll probably lose my first match."
"Someone put my name in as well," Jin-woo said.
Cid's eyes twinkled. 'Ooh! The plot thickens! My mysterious rival has also been forced onto the stage! Is this the work of the Princess? Or a third party? How exciting!'
"You should be careful," Cid said, his voice full of mock concern. "I hear the other contestants are very strong."
The first day of the tournament arrived. The grand arena was packed. The King and Queen were in the royal box, seated next to a guest of honor—Iris Midgar, the kingdom's First Princess and the strongest spellsword in the nation, leader of the Crimson Order.
Cid's first match was, as he planned, against a moderately skilled noble. Cid "tripped" and "flailed," his sword "accidentally" knocking his opponent off balance, causing him to stumble out of the ring for an easy, if embarrassing, win. The crowd laughed at his luck. It was perfect mob behavior.
Then came Jin-woo's match. His opponent was the same burly noble he had "accidentally" defeated in sword practice. The noble was sweating before the match even began, his eyes darting around the arena floor, searching for loose pebbles or rogue banana peels.
"Begin!" the announcer roared.
The noble, paralyzed by fear of another humiliating accident, refused to charge. He stood in a defensive stance, his knees trembling.
Jin-woo just stood there, waiting.
One minute passed. Two minutes. The crowd began to jeer.
"Fight, you coward!"
"Don't just stand there!"
The noble, spurred by the crowd's mockery, finally let out a roar and charged, his eyes squeezed shut as if to ward off any unlucky reflections.
Jin-woo didn't move. He simply exhaled. A tiny, focused puff of air, infused with a microscopic amount of his power. It was completely invisible, completely silent.
The puff of air traveled across the arena and struck the noble's forward-moving knee with the force of a small pebble. It was just enough to make his leg buckle at the precise moment he was transferring all his weight onto it.
The result was spectacular. The noble tumbled head over heels, his own momentum sending him into a series of cartwheels before he landed in a heap, tangled up in his own limbs, at the edge of the ring. He was out cold.
The arena fell into a stunned silence. Then, a roar of laughter. They had just witnessed the most ridiculous, anticlimactic victory in the history of the festival.
In the royal box, the King looked confused. Iris Midgar, however, leaned forward, her sharp, analytical eyes narrowed. An accident? Once, maybe. Twice, a coincidence. But this... this was a pattern. That boy hadn't moved a muscle. There was no trickery, no magic she could detect. It was as if the world itself had simply decided his opponent should fall. That was a power far more terrifying than any sword style.
From her seat in the contestant's area, Princess Alexia clenched her fist, a fire in her eyes. "I knew it," she whispered to herself. "That's no jinx. That's... something else entirely."
The tournament progressed. Cid continued to win his matches through "luck" and "clumsiness." Jin-woo continued to win his by having his opponents suffer from sudden, catastrophic failures of motor skills. They both advanced to the semi-finals.
Their opponents? Each other.
The announcement was made. The clumsy lucky boy versus the walking jinx. The crowd groaned, anticipating the most boring and ridiculous match of all time.
But in the shadows, forces were moving.
Alpha appeared beside Jin-woo as he was leaving the arena. "My Lord Monarch," she said, using a new, formal title for him. Her tone was respectful. "We need to talk. My master... he intends to lose this match to you."
Jin-woo wasn't surprised. "To maintain his cover as a 'mob'. I know."
"Yes," Alpha said, her expression serious. "But we cannot allow that. The princess, Iris, her eyes are on you both. If Lord Shadow loses in a clumsy, unbelievable way, she will only grow more suspicious of him. A simple loss is not enough. It needs to be... a spectacle."
Jin-woo looked at her. "What are you proposing?"
"We need a third party," Alpha said, a cunning light in her eyes. "An interruption. A threat that allows you both to showcase a fraction of your power, an 'unexpected team-up,' before the match can be decided. It will satisfy the suspicions of the royals while protecting my master's ultimate cover."
Jin-woo considered it. A staged fight. It was exactly the kind of theatrical nonsense Cid would adore. And it would get the attention off of him.
"What kind of threat?" he asked.
Alpha smiled. "I believe the Cult of Diablos is always looking for an opportunity to make a scene..."
Jin-woo looked towards the arena, where Cid was already practicing his "losing" expression. This was getting more complicated, and more ridiculous, by the second.