Conquering The Novel

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to day two of the inter-academy competition!" The announcer's voice boomed through the stadium, eliciting cheers from the excited crowd.

"Yesterday's first match was nothing short of thrilling, and it saw the Soreh Academy take a commanding lead over the other academies. Let's hope the upcoming matches will be just as exhilarating, if not better!"

He paused to let the crowd's cheers die down before continuing, "But before we roll the roulette to determine the contents of the second match, let's take a look at the current point table." The announcer gestured towards the massive screen in the center of the stadium.

[POINTS TABLE!]

#1 SOREH ACADEMY — 17 POINTS

#2 SHADOW ACADEMY — 7 POINTS

#3 MARTIAL STAR ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#4 GLACIER PEAK ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#5 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY — 3 POINTS

#6 THE ROYAL KNIGHT ACADEMY — 3 POINTS

#7 THE BLITZEIRG ACADEMY — 2 POINTS

#8 THE IRON FORTRESS ACADEMY — 1 POINT

***

The screen displayed the points table, and the announcer pointed to the Soreh Academy's significant lead, "It's evident that the other academies will have to bring their A-game if they don't want the Soreh Academy to increase their lead even further."

The audience held their breath as the announcer spoke again, "Can the reigning champions, Soreh Academy, be stopped, or will the gap continue to widen? Let's find out in the next match!"

The announcer then turned to the giant roulette on the screen, "Let the roulette spin!"

The sound of the spinning roulette echoed through the stadium, causing the audience to lean forward in anticipation.

Tick—Tick—Tick—Tick.

Finally, the roulette came to a halt, and there was a loud trinng, as the contents of Match 2 were revealed for all to see.

Triing—

Match 2: The Brain Brawl Challenge!

***

The Soreh Academy team was gathered in their meeting room, all eyes glued to the TV screen as they anxiously waited for the next match announcement. The tension was palpable as the roulette wheel spun before finally coming to a stop with a resounding tring!

"So the match 2 will be 'The Brain Brawl Challenge' huh?" Ares muttered, looking at the screen.

Erina turned to him and asked, "Do you have any students in mind that you think will be good to participate in this challenge, Ares?" The rest of the team leaned in, eager to hear his response.

As expected, everyone was eager and willing to participate in this match as it didn't require any physical combat.

"Of course, I have a few students in mind that are perfect for this match," Ares replied, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, a knock at the door interrupted their conversation. They knew it could only mean one thing - the match instructions had arrived.

Ayla got up and went to open the door, and there he was - the same guy who had brought the instructions for the first match. He was carrying a similar envelope, and Ayla took the envelope from him and closed the door on him before bringing it over to Ares.

Ares opened the envelope and took a quick glance at the instructions before passing it over to Erina. She let out a sigh and muttered, "Again?" Ares just smiled in response, as it was like deja vu all over again.

Erina nonetheless took the instructions sheet from Ares and began to read it aloud, her voice filled with excitement and anticipation.

[Attention All Students! Are you ready to put your magical knowledge and problem-solving skills to the test? The Brain Brawl Challenge is here, and we want to see what you're made of!

Gather your brightest and most skilled teammates and get ready for five rounds of challenging puzzles and mysteries related to magic and spells. Each round will test your intellectual abilities and teamwork, with points awarded for correct answers and completion of challenges.

In the first round, answer a quiz question related to magic and spells to earn 1 point. Then, put your riddle-solving skills to the test in the second round, and giving a correct answer will earn you 2 more points.

The third round is all about solving a puzzle related to magic, with giving a correct answer will earn you 3 points! In the fourth round, your teamwork and creativity will be put to the test as you work together to solve a complex magical puzzle and earn a whopping 4 points.

But that's not all - the fifth and final round is the mystery round, where you will be presented with a mysterious magical artifact. Use your intuition and problem-solving skills to figure out its purpose and earn a whopping 7 points!

The team with the highest number of points at the end of the competition will be declared the winner of the Brain Brawl Challenge. And in case of a tie, get ready for a nail-biting tiebreaker round where you'll need to use your magical skills to solve a challenging problem in a limited amount of time.

So, what are you waiting for? Gather your team, flex your magical muscles, and show us what you're made of in the Brain Brawl Challenge!

Points System for the Brain's Brawl Challenge: Quiz Round: Correct answer earns the team 1 point.

Riddle Round: Correct answer earns the team 2 points.

Puzzle Round: Correct answer earns the team 3 points.

Team Challenge: Completion of the challenge earns the team 4 points.

Mystery Round: Solving the mystery earns the team 7 points.

Note:

•Each team can have up to five participants.

•Cheating or any form of unfair play will result in immediate disqualification.

•The use of any outside materials or devices is strictly prohibited.]

With that Erina finished reading the instructions.

"...W-What the hell is wrong with this pointing system? Why are they giving away so many points in this match? Doesn't it waste the whole point of having the huge point difference in our first match?" Kevin exclaimed confused, while other students shared the same confusion.

Everyone was quiet as if pondering the reason behind this unreasonable points table, including Erina and Ayla.

However, Ares was just glancing at someone else, who seemed to be hesitating if she should speak or not.

But after a few moments, she finally decided to speak, "Actually, if you guys haven't noticed it, the total points for the Match 2 is 17 points, which is the same as our score in the first match. This means that the lower-ranked teams have a chance to catch up, but of course, only if we don't perform well."

And while the instructions don't mention a time limit, it's possible the professor will clarify that the entirety of Match 2 has a time constraint. And within that time, only the teams that complete all the challenges and make it to the final round will receive the full amount of points."

She paused, then continued, "The point system may seem unfair, but not every academy will make it to the final round. And even for those that do, the points are distributed equally among the qualifying teams, so it's still an equal playing field."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, trying to process what Diana had said.

"I...See, that makes perfect sense. The points system is only disadvantageous to us if we don't perform well, but it is also our chance to increase our lead if we perform well," Erina nodded in understanding.

"...So does that mean that the total points for every match will depend on the first-place team's total points in the previous match?" Ayla questioned as she glanced at Diana curiously.

Diana shook her head. "I don't think that would be the case. It would discourage teams from performing well in every match if they knew that the point system would remain the same. Additionally, the organizers would want to start eliminating the bottom-performing teams, wouldn't they? After all, only two teams can make it to the finals."

"Alright, Let's skip the discussion on this. We will know more about the points system in the upcoming matches, so let's focus on the match at hand," Ares interrupted their conversation.

"Wait! I have one last question!" Kevin raised his hand.

"...What is it?" Ares inquired.

"What happens if more than one team was able to complete all five rounds and will have equal points in the end?" He asked.

"The time of completion will play the role, and if the teams have the same time, which is very much unlikely, there will be a tiebreaker to determine the winner.

If you're wondering about the benefits of winning, the winning team will receive bonus points similar to the time points we earned in our previous match," Diana explained.

"Thank you for clarifying that for us, Diana. Your insight is always appreciated," Erina expressed her gratitude with a smile, while Ayla was at a loss for words.

"Don't worry about it! These matches remind me of similar games I've played before, so that's probably where the inspiration comes from!" Diana clarified, under the gaze of the others.

"That's understandable," Kevin said nodding, while Ayla was still giving Diana a skeptical look.

"Well, in any case, we should start deciding on the team that will be participating in this match," Erina suggested.

"Right, let's do that," Diana agreed.