Man of Archives

Chapter 12

The auditorium 202 greeted me with silence and near emptiness. Only a few referees were making final preparations. The incident at the opening ceremony had put me in the spotlight before all the participants and their escorts. I had to slip away by creating an exit through the wall with a transfiguration spell. Once I was through, I restored the wall to its original state with a Finite spell.

"You can take your seat," one of the referees said.

"Can I choose any desk?" I asked. "Or are we already assigned?"

"Any free table, boy," he replied, returning to his task with his wand.

I didn't need to be told twice, so I chose a good spot in the far-left corner and relaxed a bit. There was still some time left, so I could search for more interesting books or pamphlets to load onto my device.

Searching through the institute's informational space was a fascinating activity. There was an enormous number of books on various subjects, ranging from cookbooks to those on dark magic. Dark magic didn't particularly interest me at the moment, but I made a mental note that I could gain some knowledge in this area if needed. What really caught my attention was a book on Mental Magic. The difference from what I had already studied was its size—it was at least five times larger than the one I had previously analyzed.

I set it to download and waited for the Olympiad to begin. Soon, participants began entering the classroom, all of them gazing at me with incredible surprise. The most surprised of all was a black man wearing a mask, whose astonishment was almost tangible.

"Take your seats," announced the head referee, standing in front of the desks.

The students quietly took their seats. I could feel the gaze of the blond guy I had so successfully brought to the ground earlier. Besides him, Mari was also looking at me, evaluating me as if searching for a way to eliminate me. I wouldn't turn my back on her—she might become a real thorn in my side.

"So," began a tall witch with large, square glasses perched on her nose. On her head was a strange hat with a dead swan's head, although the head occasionally woke up and looked around with interest. "The first part of the first, theoretical stage of the Olympiad is about to begin. You already know the rules, so I won't repeat them. Now you will receive answer sheets along with question sheets. You must answer everything here. Understood?"

"Mm-hmm," the audience hummed in various languages. I wondered if she was speaking English, or if some artifact was being used, allowing me to understand her with ease.

"You will have four hours to answer all the questions," the woman said, waving her wand. Behind her, a large clock with three hands appeared. "When time runs out, the sheets will disappear immediately. You won't be able to hold onto them even for a few moments."

The witch paced back and forth, carefully observing us. It seemed she was eager to see how we would react to all this. There was no special reaction, so she exhaled in disappointment. Everyone here was prepared for the Olympiad. That's why they had come.

"Well then, are there any questions?"

An Asian student raised his hand.

"Yes?" she nodded.

"Can we go to the restroom?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head firmly. "Any more intelligent questions?"

No one else asked any questions, and the Asian student returned to his seat with a slight blush on his face. It seemed he hadn't expected such an answer. Honestly, no one did. But it didn't matter anymore.