An Unsatisfying Match

"Hadn't she taken any of those Mental Power Enhancers?"

Leander stared at Fran's alert expression in disbelief.

For a Magic Duel contestant who had reached the Main Tournament to pass up drugs that could markedly improve her chances of becoming champion was rare indeed.

The organizers had lately turned a blind eye to drug use. Rumor had it that the winner of the previous Magic Duel had downed nearly three bottles before his final match.

By the end, he could barely stand, and his mind was in disarray.

But he had won the championship and advanced to Third Order, a rank everyone envied.

Many contestants remembered his success. Four years later, if the organizers hadn't suddenly produced drug regulations that had become little more than wastepaper, things would have been very different.

The final match should have been awash with performance-enhancing drugs. Before the tournament, Leander had heard that many Main Tournament contestants had even hired Alchemy School teams to prepare their doses.

He had expected a clash of casting speeds and reactions beyond those of Second Order Mages, followed by a ban once this year's challenge ended.

Instead, the ban had come at the worst possible time, forcing many contestants to take Suppressants to compete.

Leander was better off than some, but not by much.

He couldn't stop taking his Suppressants until two days before the Group Stage ended, and their effects probably wouldn't wear off until the Top Sixteen.

He would need time to recover. He certainly couldn't fight at full strength before the semifinals.

Of course, he didn't know whether he could make it that far in such poor condition.

As things stood, he was bound to lose his first Group Stage match.

He showed little outward reaction, but no one knew better than he did how