Close Combat Mage
Close Combat Mage - Chapter 93: Searching for Information Before the Competition Pt. 1

Chapter 93 – Searching for Information Before the Competition Pt. 1

The reason why he had delayed the business deals by three months was because Suo Jia wanted everyone to have enough time to gather up their families’ water element treasures. This would increase the chance of a good item emerging. On the other hand, him collecting all the items on that list was more or less an impossible task. These were not items that could simply be bought with money, as only through the hands of these theif families would it be possible to collect most of the items in a short period of time.

In addition, Suo Jia was becoming addicted to looking for treasures. He would always walk around the bazaar whenever he had free time, looking around and hoping to find some other equipment useful for thieves. You have to understand, there are many treasures in this world, and only with more capital could one obtain more good things.

Unfortunately, after going there a couple of times, Suo Jia ended up spending 10 million gold only to end up with a bunch of garbage. Only now did Suo Jia understand that ancient, old and dusty looking things that did not actually rust were not necessarily good things. Truthfully speaking, not rusting did not mean it was a treasure.

There was only a month left before the annual competition. Arriving in class early in the morning, he noticed that all the girls were extremely excited. After listening to them, he realized that today was the selection date for the competition’s participants.

As for Suo Jia’s prestige and status within the class, there was no comparison, and everyone would nominate him for one of the participating positions. However, the competition had a total of 3 spots. It was precisely because of these last two spots that all the girls became excited, as anyone could take those spots.

After learning for an entire year, everyone had already grasped the Moisture, Water Sphere, as well as the Swamp Technique. Although its lethality was limited, no matter what it was still a qualified topic of learning. Compared to a normal person, they were stronger by far. With their strengths increasing, of course they would want to participate. Either way, no one was going to die, so what was there to be afraid of?

While the girls were all excited talking among themselves, the female lecturer walked in with magic books in her hands. Seeing the female instructor arrive, all of the the girls quieted down.

The female lecturer looked around and sternly said, “Everyone knows that in another month, the annual end-of-the-year grand competition will begin. That’s why we have to choose three representatives today to attend the grand competition. As for how people enroll, I’ll let everyone decide through elections. I hope that everyone is fair, and acknowledges the strongest students in the class based on their current abilities.”

After a slight pause, the female lecturer continued, “Alright, now….I want everyone to take out a pen and paper, and write down the names of three people you think should enter the competition. The three people who have the most votes will be chosen for this competition.”

Following the teacher’s instructions, all the girls quickly pulled out a pen and paper and quickly began to write. Afterwards, each group leader gathered all of the votes together. They organized them carefully before handing them to the teacher.

After reading the ballots, Suo Jia was without a doubt the first chosen competitor based on the ballots. As for the remaining two, one of them was the straightforward girl that everyone was friendly with, Xue Er, while the last one was a girl that was normally quite popular.

Suo Jia furrowed his brows. Suo Jia understood this girl to a certain extent. She had a round face, a sweet smile, and her eyes were always happily smiling. She didn’t laugh or speak, and was an easily likeable young girl. However, Suo Jia knew that this competition was not simply a form of entertainment; she was not at all suitable to enter.

Suo Jia stood up and loudly said to the lecturer, “Instructor, I think that…before the beginning of the competition, we should hold a contest in our class. The three of us chosen members will accept challenges from any other members of the class. If we lose, then I think that the victor should be the one qualified to represent our class in the competition, right?”

“This…” The lecturer could not help but hesitate slightly at Suo Jia’s words. In her opinion, it didn’t matter who entered the competition. Either way, they were going to lose, so what was the difference? That’s why she had never once considered whether or not the chosen three were the most powerful.

Seeing the teacher’s hesitation, Suo Jia stressed, “Instructor, I’ve said before…..we’ll definitely win this competition. Perhaps you think that we will surely lose, but I don’t feel the same way. That’s why I hope that you will agree to my request, and choose the strongest 3 people in the class to enter the competition. We definitely won’t give up on the dream of victory!”

All of the girls immediately began to echo Suo Jia’s words, and begged the teacher to agree with his request. Regardless of the final victory or defeat, it would only be complete if they tried their best.

Faced with the strong demands of everyone, the instructor couldn’t go against them, and simply agreed. Soon after…all of the students in the class had moved to the training area. Following Suo Jia’s words, all the classmates began to challenge the three chosen competitors.

Very quickly, under Suo Jia’s lead, three people stood on a stage, waiting for the challengers to appear. However, even after waiting for a long time, there was still no one willing to come out. Despite Suo Jia’s urges, everyone merely looked on from the sides, unwilling to come out and issue a challenge.

Seeing this scene, the lecturer proudly said to Suo Jia, “If it’s like this, then there’s no other way. Although I also think that your idea is quite good, this action has absolutely no way of continuing if nobody is willing to challenge any of you.”

Suo Jia couldn’t help but knit his brows together at the lecturer’s words, and looked for the silver-haired girl. Soon after….Suo Jia found the thin-lipped girl with the long silver hair, her whole body emitting a frigid aura. At the moment…she had her head lowered as she stood there. She hadn’t even bothered to look towards their direction.

Suo Jia took a deep breath. Although he didn’t know why, Suo Jia knew that if he didn’t take the initiative to call her out, she definitely wouldn’t come up herself. Suo Jia shouted, “Selena, what are you doing? Didn’t you say before that even if it were the final moment, you wouldn’t give up on pursuing victory? Didn’t you say that victory was something that one was supposed to defend with their life? What are you doing? Could it be that you really want to abandon your beliefs?”

“Hu!” Selena suddenly raised her head after hearing Suo Jia’s words. Her eyes shone with a bright and cold light, as she stared unblinkingly at Suo Jia. After a while, Selena finally said sharply, “You three are the people that everyone chose which means you represent everyone’s wishes. I don’t want people to misunderstand my fight as only a means of seeking fame.”

Suo Jia suddenly understood Selena’s words. This girl was too ice-cold; she was normally extremely indifferent to the other girls. Although it was unclear how strong she was, it was obvious that nobody would’ve chosen her. Moreover, although she maintained her attitude towards pursuing victory, she didn’t want everyone to misunderstand her. That’s why it wasn’t that she didn’t want to fight, but that she couldn’t.

Having understood Selena’s thoughts, Suo Jia smiled and shook his head, “Don’t worry, Selena. This battle is for the sake of our class’s honor. No matter whether you win or lose, everyone will only admire you for your efforts. Nobody will think that you’re issuing a challenge for the sake of fame.”

After hearing the conversation between Suo Jia and Selena, all the other girls immediately understood Selena’s worries. In reality, they hadn’t had such complicated thoughts; they had only felt that they lacked the skills to try challenging the chosen three. Moreover, even they would’ve previously misunderstood Selena, now that they understood her intentions, they naturally wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Under the encouragement of all the girls and Suo Jia, Selena finally walked up. She swept her gaze across Suo Jia, Xue Er, and the round-faced girl. Finally….Selena slowly raised her hand and pointed to the round-faced girl, “Since everyone insists that I take up a challenge, then I choose you as my opponent.”