Champion Mage Challenge

Fran was surprised, but she quickly realized why Calista had told her not to take out her sword.

It turns out that drawing the sword meant accepting Magic Duel.

She figured that simply wearing a real sword was a way of showing that she was open to Magic Duel.

If you draw your sword when others draw theirs, that means you have truly accepted it.

"I'm sorry, I just Northern Lands Society and I'm not familiar with your etiquette."

Fran placed her hand on the hilt of the sword, near the blade.

She had no reason to accept this inexplicable Magic Duel; winning or losing wouldn't necessarily benefit her.

Therefore, it's better to just be honest and refuse directly.

Harvey's face showed no disappointment; he simply nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry to bother you..."

He lowered his hand, and Fran then spoke.

"Master Harvey, may I ask what you meant by the Champion Mage Challenge you mentioned earlier?"

Harvey was only slightly surprised, after all, Fran was from the Northern Lands Society, so it was normal that she didn't know this.

Out of politeness, he patiently explained.

"The Champion Mage Challenge is a Magic Duel tournament held every four years, and it is the largest Magic Duel tournament ever held."

"The next Champion Mage Challenge will be held in six months."

"As for the ranking, it was a ranking made for all participants before the Champion Mage Challenge. Someone with my ranking is already at the level where I can join the Battle Mage Corps without going through any further assessments."

It's clear that Harvey is quite pleased with his current ranking in the Champion Mage Challenge.

"Reaching the top 100 will grant you substantial funds and rare magical resources."

"Of course, I think all mages want to be the final victor, obtain the title of ' Champion Mage,' and advance to the third rank."

"Promotion?!"

Fran almost cried out in surprise; this news was completely unexpected.

Harvey explained with a smile:

"That's right, it's promotion. Winning this Magic Duel will have enough impact to advance you from the second tier to the third tier."

Even as Fran politely said goodbye to Harvey, two words were still on her mind.

"Champion Mage, promoted."

She whispered the Panel, and a transparent Panel appeared in her mind.

A new notification appeared.

A new Profession has been discovered! Profession can be formed after meeting the requirements.

Profession Name: Champion Mage (Three Stars)

Introduction: The Alliance holds the Champion Mage Challenge of the Rodney Empire. Because it can reliably help mages advance to the third tier, the Alliance continues to hold it to this day.

Requirements: 1. Possess any second-tier mage rank.

2. Obtain the title of ' Champion Mage ' from the Champion Mage Challenge.

There were very few conditions, only two, Fran knew that this was a rare opportunity.

"Six more months." Fran's eyes were half-closed, gleaming with a sharp light.

Her Mental Power alone far surpasses that of those mages, not to mention the increased spell power and casting speed due to her various traits.

She was 99% confident of winning the Champion Mage Challenge.

Furthermore, obtaining a Tier 3 Profession is essential for Fran, as Tier 3 Profession are not easy to find.

She has the Order of Second Order Mage at hand, and even if she doesn't, she can spend some more time reaching the second tier.

This was absolutely not to be missed. Fran felt that if she missed this time, she would have to participate in the next session four years later.

Moreover, only Second Order Mage have this opportunity.

Under the Alliance's well-established system, First Order Mage can easily advance to second-tier, so the Alliance doesn't need to spend time and effort organizing a major competition to select one person for advancement every four years.

There are probably too few Third Order Mage; they simply cannot support a competition of this scale.

"However, my biggest problem right now is that I don't have a suitable identity."

Fran felt a little embarrassed, thinking that such a competition would definitely have strict checks on everyone's identity.

Otherwise, if a Spirit Realm Mage were to sneak into the tournament organized by the Alliance, the Alliance would lose face big time.

Her only legitimate identity in the Alliance right now is Fran, the disciple of Harbos, a mage of the Forge School and the Northern Lands Society.

Her identity as ' Lai ' is essentially meaningless within the Alliance.

Of course, there are ways to change Lai's status to a legitimate one within the Alliance.

The Northern Lands Society has many native-born mages, and many of them are nameless within the Alliance due to previous policies of the Alliance towards the Northern Lands Society.

If Iris is willing to vouch for her, she can easily legitimize the identity of ' Lai '.

However, the first obstacle they encounter on this path is Iris. If she sees Fran using the identity of ' Lai ' to participate in the Champion Mage Challenge, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Fran didn't even dare to imagine what drastic measures Iris would take to stop her; she might very well be imprisoned by Iris and forced to watch helplessly as the Champion Mage Challenge took place.

Moreover, after six months, she was still sixteen years old. A sixteen-year-old Third Order Mage —even Iris would probably doubt whether she was human.

She needs a new identity, one that cannot be obtained through her existing channels but must be recognized by the Alliance.

"Who should I contact?"

Fran was at a loss. She didn't know many people in the Alliance, and the requirements for doing this were too high. Without some skill, there was no way to do it.

"Hello, Lai Ray, I am Camilla Felistin. I apologize for not congratulating you on winning the Silver Alchemy Award sooner."

Camilla approached Fran with a smile. The Felistin Family seal in her hand was very familiar to Fran.

Camilla is Felistin Family Member, and she knows most of the background of Lai's identity, which is mostly aimed at winning her over.

She already had a preliminary understanding of Camilla.

Fran nodded and said softly:

"Hello, Mage Camilla."

Her tone was almost cold, but Camilla's smile remained on her face.

"Master Lai, I noticed you looked troubled earlier. Have you encountered some kind of trouble?"

"May I ask if Master Lai would be willing to accept my help?"

Her tone was so gentle that it was impossible to feel any aversion towards her.

Fran glanced to the right and continued to answer in that indifferent tone.

"Really?"

Camilla didn't answer, but the standard smile on her face said it all.

"May I ask, Camilla, have you been stationed in Number Nine Floating City for an extended period? How many years have you been here?"

Camilla found the question strange, but she answered it honestly nonetheless.

"I've been in Number Nine Floating City since birth, Mage Lai."

"I leave occasionally, but I spend most of my time on Number Nine Floating City."

Fran smiled and then asked.

"In your memory, have you ever witnessed the highest-level alarm sounding in Number Nine Floating City?"

"Um...no." Camilla answered slowly. She really didn't understand what Fran meant, so she could only answer according to the truth.

Fran smiled brightly and said.

"Thank you so much for your help. You solved a big problem for me... I will try my best to help if I need it in the future."

"?!"

Camilla admitted that she had never encountered such a difficult mage before.

After she came of age and became First Order Mage, she received training from her family.

Especially now that she has been promoted to Second Order Mage, she has to deal with many 'unique' situations, but none of them have left Camilla completely speechless like today.

Even now, she still doesn't understand what Fran is talking about.

When she encounters a mage who seems very interested in the family, she knows to treat him gently and remain enthusiastic, even if he changes his mind at the last minute.

When encountering an indifferent mage, one will choose to either pester them relentlessly or simply give up, depending on the interests of their family.

However, Fran's behavior can only be described as bizarre.

Why did asking such a trivial question suddenly turn into gratitude towards myself and a change of attitude?

Camilla's brain paused for three seconds before she could barely organize her next strategy.

The identity of ' Lai ' is valuable and should not be given up under any circumstances, so she should at least maintain a good relationship with her.

Knowing this, she spoke up.

"Ah... I'm glad I could help you... I wonder if Lai Ray would be interested in attending the Felistin Family's banquet, which is in two days."

This was Camilla's most abrupt attempt at changing the subject, but it worked surprisingly well.

"Of course, I've heard of the Felistin Family. They're a family that's very fond of helping lower-level mages... I'll be there on time."

"They just accepted it like that?" Camilla thought in disbelief.

In the past, her biggest headache was that the people she wanted to recruit would not come, which meant that the family could not use any means to recruit them.

Fran would naturally agree. Not to mention that Iris wanted her to attend more of these banquets, Fran herself actually had some ideas of her own.

She wondered if she could obtain a new identity from the Felistin Family.

Of course, she didn't have much hope.

Such a large family may have the capability to do it, but what gives them the right?

And how can she ensure that she is not hindered by the family when using this new identity to participate in the Champion Mage Challenge?

This is difficult, but Fran believes it must be done. Whether she obtains her identity from the Felistin Family or elsewhere, she needs to attend more banquets and make connections with other mages first.

The fundraising banquet ended quickly; before 10 o'clock, waiters were already arranging for people to leave. Fran only heard that it was probably a rule from the Alchemy School, but she didn't know the specific reason.

She and Calista walked out together, Fran rolled her eyes at that moment.

I asked directly.

"Mage Calista, are you aware that the highest alarm once sounded in Number Nine Floating City?"

"When did this happen?!" Calista exclaimed in surprise.

"That's not true, it's just my problem."

Fran explained with a smile, her fingers rubbing together.

"That really is the future..."