Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1449: Chapter 1448: Mages Aren’t Idiots Either

”Hey, did you watch the elimination match this time?”

”Yeah, I did. They’re called... Magical Girls, right? What kind of power is that, so freaky!”

”That’s too exaggerated, isn’t it? That kind of skill... well, I kind of understand why the Chief Council allowed them to join. Honestly, I’m a bit tempted to join the Magical Girl faction...”

”Hahaha, keep dreaming. The name clearly states Magical Girls, you’d probably have to change your gender first if you want to learn it.”

”Hmm? Wait, according to what you said, doesn’t that mean this faction will become the one with the most female apprentices in the White Tower? Which means my girlfriend prospects are looking up?”

”Your thinking is quite original... but I like it!”

Just like the Chiefs thought, after demonstrating their strength in the first round of eliminations, most Mages became more receptive to the Magical Girls. After all, a lot of people had doubts about this faction because they had not witnessed or experienced the power of the Magical Girls firsthand. But in the elimination match, the Magical Girls showed off their strength, and the Mages, who aren’t fools, naturally realized that the characteristics and power of these Magical Girls weren’t much weaker than their own faction. Once they determined that they weren’t much weaker, they quickly accepted the emergence of this new faction.

Of course, the most important reason is... that this is likely the first-ever all-female faction in the White Tower!

Although there are female Mages in the White Tower, the gender ratio in the White Tower is about 100:1, with female Mages being quite scarce. The reason is simple: Mages must first be promoted from apprentices, and apprentices always do the dirtiest, hardest, and most dangerous work, where a careless apprentice might die in some magical ritual.

In this situation, families with power would rather pay to find a mentor to teach their daughters magic. Once they have enough strength, they directly take the exam to become official Mages, so they don’t have to start as apprentices. Because of this, most of the female Mages in the White Tower are young ladies of nobility or daughters of merchants. Of course, it’s not that there are no common folk, but it’s extremely difficult for ordinary families to advance within the White Tower, combined with the fact that Mages oppressing apprentices is quite common, the average girl can’t withstand this hardship.

Hence, there is a significant gender imbalance in the White Tower. If an all-female Mage faction joins, it would be like the Goddess descending for the other factions’ Mages!

The discussion here was heated, and on the other side, Little Hei and her friends were equally excited.

”These Mages are too easy to deal with, Big Brother.”

Having crushed through three or four elimination matches, Little Hei was overflowing with confidence, wielding the projected ”Rule Breaker,” she could defeat Gods and Buddhas alike, no Mage could withstand her strike.

”It’s simply a walk in the park, looks like we’re winning this competition!”

”Little, Little Hei, you’re being too...”

Hearing Little Hei speak proudly, Illya hurriedly grabbed her, wanting to say more, but Little Hei waved her off.

”What’s the big deal, it’s just like this. Look at these Mages, they’re so weak they can’t even take one of my moves, what’s there to be afraid of.”

”Hehe, I’d advise you to be more careful.”

Looking at Little Hei in front of him, Fang Zheng chuckled.

”These Mages are smarter than you think. Do you really think the Mages trained in the White Tower are all dumb? Those truly capable Mages who can fight you are observing you and contemplating how to defeat you.”

Fang Zheng spoke from his own experience. When he came to the arena to climb the ladder, he relied on his Time Stop and spells alongside the Paladin’s Sword Skill to easily sweep the ladder undefeated initially. However, once he reached the top hundred, he couldn’t keep winning.

The Mages weren’t idiots. After watching so many of Fang Zheng’s matches, they naturally understood his strength. After that, Fang Zheng would frequently be targeted. Because of this, he decisively gave up on continuing to climb the ranks and went to the World of Cicada’s Song to train his mind.

This was also another reason Fang Zheng brought the young girls here. Fang Zheng noticed that these young girls were becoming arrogant after winning so many easy matches alongside him. Perhaps Fate was still okay, but Little Hei seemed like she was about to fly off.

It’s time to let them face some challenges, to understand that their strength isn’t omnipotent.

However...

”Master.”

At this moment, Akemi Homura suddenly spoke up with some difficulty.

”I... might not be able to hold up through several more matches.”

”I understand. Just surrender if you can’t win; it’s only a competition anyway. I haven’t insisted that you must win.”

Seeing Akemi Homura’s slightly apologetic face, Fang Zheng reached out and patted her head. The rules of this competition were incredibly unfriendly to Akemi Homura; her abilities are entirely from the Support Magic School, and if she doesn’t kill, she basically poses no threat. Akemi’s Time Stop ability isn’t the same as Fang Zheng’s; Akemi Homura’s Time Stop can freeze the world, but once she touches someone, that person immediately exits the Time Stop state.

In this situation, Akemi’s idea of ”Time Stop then carry the opponent off the stage” wasn’t feasible, and the nature of the competition prevented Akemi from using machine guns, grenades, or RPGs... these could easily cause fatalities.

Aside from that, Akemi just had the Dragonborn power as Fang Zheng’s enchanted she could use.

However, her unarmed combat skills...

Perhaps it’s time for Lin Yueru to teach her about what Sword Qi means...

So Fang Zheng could see that Akemi Homura might be the first among them to withdraw. Had it been Mami Tomoe or Sakurazawa Kyoko instead, perhaps they could have held out for a few more rounds, but Akemi Homura’s abilities, combined with the competition rules being so unfavorable to her...

If it were a no-holds-barred match, Akemi Homura would probably have wreaked havoc by now—freeze time, plant TNT all over the arena, and then blow everything up, leaving nothing behind.

Unfortunately, that was not possible...

Facts proved this as well.

In the following days, the girls gradually ran into trouble. Just as Fang Zheng had anticipated, Akemi Homura was the first to be defeated—she encountered a Level Four Mage from the Transmutation school. Not only was her opponent a Transmutation Mage, but also a member of the Barbarian tribe from the Frozen Wasteland, naturally strong as a bear. Coupled with Transmutation spells that enhanced his body, Akemi Homura was at a complete loss, like a mouse trying to move a turtle. After a long stalemate, Akemi Homura decisively chose to leave the match.

After all, the tournament rules prohibited killing, so Akemi Homura’s idea of using Time Stop to drop a missile was naturally quashed.

Fang Zheng didn’t say much about it, merely offering a few words of comfort to Akemi Homura, before turning his attention again to the other Magical Girls.

”Master, do you think we have a chance to win the championship?”

Nymph, standing behind Fang Zheng and watching the scene before her, curiously asked. Hearing her question, Fang Zheng thought for a moment and furrowed his brow.

”It’s hard to say. Homura was forced out due to the rules, but this restriction doesn’t apply to the others. Especially Little Hei... hmm, if no one finds a way to counter her ’Rule Breaker,’ she might indeed have a shot at the championship.”

Though traditionally the most ostentatious often get a comeuppance, Fang Zheng had seen enough to know that it’s hard to say if anyone could actually turn the tables on Little Hei. After all, ”Rule Breaker” was too overpowering—whatever magic came her way, it was cut apart effortlessly. With Little Hei’s Heroic Spirit-level speed and strength, ordinary mages didn’t stand a chance against her.

In fact, Little Hei’s battles always ended the fastest. She’d usually charge in right at the start, project ”Rule Breaker,” slice through, and then either kick her opponent out of the ring or knock them out—often within less than a minute.

Against such an opponent, common mages truly had no means to handle her.

Fang Zheng thought any of the remaining four could make it to the end, but the next elimination was quite unexpected.

Because the second to exit was... Fate!

It wasn’t due to arrogance or carelessness; Fate lost due to the opponent’s strategy. Her adversary was a Level Five Protection Class Mage, who started by casting an Elemental Immunity Shield on himself, rendering all of Fate’s thunder attacks ineffective.

Seeing her long-range attacks neutralized, Fate naturally took up Balducius and charged in for melee.

She did not expect that her opponent had anticipated this, and when Fate closed in, he opened a Teleportation Gate, teleporting Fate out of the arena.

And thus... Fate lost.

”I’m very sorry, teacher...”

Fate stood before Fang Zheng, head lowered, looking sorrowful. Fang Zheng shook his head, not blaming her.

”It’s completely normal, Fate. There is success, and there is failure. This experience will allow you to learn even more, won’t it? At the very least, in the future, when facing enemies, you can consider whether they might have other means to deal with you.”

After Fang Zheng’s comforting words, Fate’s expression improved significantly.

Fate’s elimination served as a wake-up call to the other girls. It was evident Fang Zheng didn’t demand victory from them, but they clearly intended to give it everything in pursuit of a good placing in the tournament. Subsequently, they all performed exceptionally well in the battles that followed.

Besides Little Hei’s straightforward and brutal ”Rule Breaker,” Illya’s Phantasmal Summoning and Little Sakura’s Clow Cards both caused significant headaches for the competing mages. If Fate’s attacks were somewhat predictable, Phantasmal Summoning’s randomness and the combination of over fifty Clow Cards were enough to make ordinary mages cry in distress.

As for Nanoha, though her battles mirrored Fate’s, her method was even more straightforward and aggressive.

In short... she went head-on!

Fate’s power, stemming from the Elemental Power of thunder, was easily nullified. But Nanoha’s bombardments were pure magic power condensations. Although the Main World also had similar Energy Shields, they each had limits.

Thus, Nanoha’s battles were basically, opening with a blast while her opponent had no choice but to put up a shield. Then, Nanoha would gradually intensify her bombardments until she completely shattered the rival’s defenses...

Because of this, Nanoha gained another nickname among the White Tower Mages: ”Little Tyrant.”

What could Fang Zheng say about this? Only that... it’s the inevitability of history.

Although in the subsequent matches, the girls put forth their utmost effort, they still encountered problems.

And that was... luck.

In the round of sixteen, due to bad luck, Little Hei faced off against Little Sakura, and Illya was pitted against Nanoha, resulting in two internal battles.

In the end, Little Hei defeated Little Sakura, and Nanoha beat Illya, both advancing to the quarterfinals.

Of course, Fang Zheng understood it wasn’t just luck; there were definitely maneuvers by the other Chiefs involved. However, he wasn’t concerned or perhaps saw the benefit. If the Magical Girl faction appeared too dominant from the start, it would likely provoke resentment from the other eight factions. Fang Zheng was here to find believers and alliance, not to make enemies. If that were his goal, he might as well have declined the Chief Council’s invitation at the outset.

And in the quarterfinals, Little Hei, who had been charging forward triumphantly, finally met a formidable opponent.