The next day.
In the preparation area for the main competition of the Mirage Bat Picking Tournament, Yunyi and Mayumi Saegusa were waiting for Tatsuya Shiba to give the CAD a final check.
This morning, Katsuto Jumonji informed them that the culprit within the organizing committee had been exposed. However, due to some special reasons, his interrogation and the accountability of the organizing committee's senior management have been postponed. It seems that they plan to settle the score after all the competitions are over.
As Tatsuya Shiba stopped typing, he picked up the CAD file that was lying to the side and handed it to Mayumi Saegusa, saying, "President, the CAD is ready. Now it's up to you."
Mayumi Saegusa nodded. "With Tatsuya-kun's help in adjusting the CAD and Yunyi-kun's technique, how could I possibly lose! Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Hearing her say that, Tatsuya Shiba just smiled, while Yunyi rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Seeing her boyfriend's expression, Mayumi Saegusa covered her mouth and chuckled. Before entering the competition venue, she tiptoed and kissed Yunyi on the cheek before jogging into the venue.
Watching the two of them interact like this, Tatsuya Shiba's face remained expressionless, but the others in the preparation area were a different story. Especially the athletes from other schools passing by, they were practically drooling with envy.
The preliminary rounds began quickly, and the contestants participating in this round kept glancing, intentionally or unintentionally, in the direction of Mayumi Saegusa. Those present had a deep understanding of the Saegusa Family's young lady, but that understanding was limited to her areas of expertise. As for the Mirage Bat event, they truly had no idea how skilled Mayumi Saegusa was.
As the first shining orb of light appeared in the sky, all the players began their Activation Sequence, leaping up with the help of magical amplification and extending their bats towards the orb.
At this moment, Mayumi Saegusa was still standing on the pillar. The CAD in her hand had already Activation Sequence, but her speed was much slower than the others.
This scene left both the players on the field and the spectators wondering. Could it be that Mayumi Saegusa was just there to make up the numbers?
However, just as the orbs of light appeared one after another and the other contestants began to fall, Mayumi Saegusa suddenly jumped up. Her movements looked very light, without using much strength. But she jumped higher than everyone else!
"It looks like they're using an excellent jumping technique, and they're trying to exploit a time difference tactic," commented Shinkuro Kichijoji of Third High School.
The person sitting next to him was about to reply, but what happened in the air left him only able to utter some incomprehensible syllables from his open mouth, and he couldn't even close it anymore.
Under the effect of the weight-reducing spell, Mayumi Saegusa descended as slowly as a feather. After identifying the next orb of light to seize, she immediately activated a spell to apply a vector effect to herself.
A slight tearing sensation came, and her body was already rushing towards the orb of light. Even using acceleration spells on the ground, few people could achieve that speed.
Moreover, what's even more shocking is that after Mayumi Saegusa destroyed two orbs of light, she still didn't fall. With the help of Loop Cast, she continuously applied vectors to herself, destroying one orb of light after another.
" Flight Magic?"
Finally, someone in the room called out the name.
"How is that possible! Isn't that the new magic that Taurus Silver just announced last month?! How could it be used in the Nine Schools Competition so quickly!"
"But this really does feel like flying!"
The debate in the stands did not hinder the game. After scoring more than forty points in a row, Mayumi Saegusa landed on the pillar for the first time.
She slowly let out a breath, allowing her body to rest briefly, before activating the spell again and leaping into the air to join the race for points.
The other opponents had no chance against Mayumi Saegusa, who used Flight Magic. All they could do was try to snatch the light orbs that spawned at a distance from Mayumi Saegusa. After all, no matter how fast they jumped from the pillar, they couldn't outrun Mayumi Saegusa, who was darting left and right in the sky!
" George, what do you think?"
Outside the stadium, watching the game, Masaki Ichijo asked a question.
"This shouldn't be the Flight Magic developed by Taurus Silver. I think it's a spell specially prepared for Mirage Bat. The abrupt change is very slight, but it still didn't escape my eyes." Shinkuro Kichijoji analyzed the magic used by Mayumi Saegusa.
"Looks like this is also the work of those two guys, right?" Masaki Ichijo said.
"Yes, I think so," said Shinkuro Kichijoji. "I heard from students at First High School that Saegusa Family's daughter has a boyfriend, and I thought it was just a rumor. But now it seems to be true. If they are a couple, it would be normal for them to share some magic formulas with each other."
"That's really true." Masaki Ichijo muttered with a hint of helplessness.
No wonder Yunyi refused without hesitation when he tried to convey the Ichijo Family's offer of friendship. His girlfriend was still at First High School; how could he possibly transfer schools at this time?
The preliminary round ended quickly, with Mayumi Saegusa only managing to rack up a little over seventy points before giving up. Although this technique consumed very little of her Psions, since she was already guaranteed to advance to the next round, why bother pursuing a high-scoring, overwhelming victory?
Of course, this was also Yunyi's advice to Mayumi Saegusa. After all, the stronger the opponents you encounter later in the game, the better it is to save some energy for the later matches—isn't that a tactic in itself?
However, this competition made the teams from the other eight high schools completely uneasy!
Everyone else is jumping around trying to score points, but you're the one flying in the sky. How are you supposed to play like that?!
But no matter how unwilling they were, it was useless. The Activation Sequence was their secret; were they going to steal it and use it themselves?
Back in the preparation area, Mayumi Saegusa wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked up at Yunyi, and waited for his praise.
Seeing the expectant look in the little devil's eyes, Yunyi smiled and pinched her cheek, "Great job, Mayumi. As long as you keep this up, the championship is definitely yours."