Chapter 495: Arcane Maze, Grand Illusion

Among the various competitions on Earth, the best choice for a small nation to pull off an upset is undoubtedly an intellectual competition, such as Go or Chess.

In normal athletic competitions, because the development levels of different countries vary, training equipment and gear technology can create very obvious gaps—for example, shark-skin swimsuits in swimming competitions or specialized sneakers in running races.

But in intellectual competitions, these external advantages are no longer considered, and the competition is basically controlled at the level of pure intellect; after all, no one is going to increase their win rate just by using a gold chessboard.

Xia Duo feels that if the Netherese want to defeat the Elves, the only thing they can do is compete through differentiation; the advantage of humans, or rather, the one point that is not a disadvantage, is—Wisdom.

Although a long life allows Elves to encounter many people and things, learn much knowledge, and grow in wisdom, they have not created an absolute gap with the Netherese.

Otherwise, there would not be the current Snow Melting Competition.

Magic ability is actually a manifestation of Wisdom.

Furthermore, Netheril started late, but it can still develop to its current level; this is precisely a manifestation of the Netherese's wisdom. If a set of rules were designed to confine the competition to a specific domain of wisdom, perhaps they could defeat the Elves.

And this set of rules actually exists in Netheril as well, as many puzzle-based board games have been passed down from the Elves.

However, because human Mages have shorter lifespans, they do not waste a large amount of time on this, so when competing, unless one is truly brilliant, it is very difficult to defeat Elves who do not begrudge the time spent on it.

The new rules will keep the levels of both sides temporarily consistent; if the subsequent Snow Melting Competition continues to use them, perhaps the Netherese Mages will also conduct targeted training.

Of course, this is a matter for the future and does not require Xia Duo to worry about it. What he needs to do now is submit a set of rules; as for whether it is Chess or Go, he is currently considering.

However, so-called consideration is actually just a turn of a thought or two, and Xia Duo quickly makes a decision: solely from the perspective of an intellectual competition, Go is undoubtedly more suitable.

But the new item for the Snow Melting Competition cannot be set entirely as an intellectual competition; after all, it is an Arcane Competition, and magic ability must be reflected. In this regard, Chess, which involves a large amount of combat, is more suitable.

The magically modified Chess is called 【Arcane Maze】 by Xia Duo. Besides localizing the names of the pieces, the biggest change is that the pieces possess real lethality.

For example, the 【Cannon】 becomes a spell capable of attacking an opponent's piece by jumping over one of one's own; the 【Soldier】 and 【Pawn】 become a type of melee contact spell, and others are similar.

When playing, contestants move according to Chess rules, but when capturing a piece, in addition to the attacks between pieces, contestants can also cast spells to interfere or assist.

That is to say, the element of a Spell Duel is added to the capture phase, though the pieces have the first-strike advantage, making it not easy for contestants to interfere with spells.

Overall, it still leans toward intellect, but it can also be linked to magic.

As for the specific spell design and manufacturing of the pieces, Xia Duo only provided a concept; he believes the Great Arcanists can certainly design even more localized spell pieces.

After submitting this 【Arcane Maze】 competition proposal through Niya, Xia Duo stopped worrying about the follow-up, because he had previously submitted two other proposals, similar to the "big eater" type, which had no follow-up.

Coupled with the mockery from the Elves, they were basically shot down.

As for this one, Xia Duo actually has no confidence in his heart, but this is all he can do; involving too much energy in this is not worth the loss.

The day after Xia Duo submitted the proposal, Niya suddenly sent a message, a voice one: "Xia Duo, do you know? Your proposal was kept by the teacher. It will be discussed within the Seven Towers later. If it passes, the new item for the Snow Melting Competition will be confirmed as 【Arcane Maze】!"

Niya's voice was filled with irrepressible joy, and even faintly carried a trace of pride. Xia Duo did not take this matter too much to heart; he had already done what he could.

Whether the proposal is adopted or shot down, it actually does not affect him.

This matter has already passed.

Even a day later, when he received notification from Niya again that the proposal had been adopted, Xia Duo only smiled slightly. Compared to this, he was actually more interested in the new item proposed by the Elven side.

This was also mentioned in the latest message sent back by Niya; after the Netheril side confirmed the new item, the Elven side immediately announced their new item as well.

An Arcane Competition called 【Grand Illusion】, which requires contestants to cast Illusion spells to create the most magnificent or peculiar scenes they can imagine.

From the mundane (such as the beautiful image of a noblewoman) to the epic (such as a realistic recreation of a great battle) to the whimsical (a tall golden tree with countless butterflies blooming and dancing, leaving behind trails of dim, beautiful light).

As for the competition results, they are judged based on the size, intricacy, realism, and imagination of the illusions created by the contestants.

Regarding this, Xia Duo could not help but sigh: as expected of the Elves, they truly are the ones who play with art.

What the Elves consider the greatest and most noble art is Magic, but the forms of artistic expression are not just Magic itself; there are other aspects as well.

Xia Duo has projected into Elves twice, so he can be considered to have a good understanding of the essence of Elves. He feels that in this Snow Melting Competition, it will be very difficult for Netherese Mages to score in the 【Grand Illusion】 category.

Humans rely on Wisdom, Elves rely on Art; the focus chosen by both sides is intended to minimize the other's advantage. It really is quite fantastical!

……

Meanwhile, in Seventon in April, the representatives of the Seven Towers met again.

"This time, Cormanthor has come prepared. Those long-eared ones just love these flashy, insubstantial things!" a Great Arcanist said indignantly.

"If you don't like it, you can give me that vacation manor you have in the east!"

"Uh—" The Great Arcanist who spoke before immediately fell silent. That manor was built in the Elven style; whether it is practical or not is hard to say, but it is truly beautiful!

"It's one thing to bicker normally, but what time is it now? Let's not have infighting among our own people." Badijiaer of Gustav Tower straightened his face, showing an unhappy expression.

Great Arcanists may all possess powerful magic, but when it comes to specific combat, it requires some combat talent to perfectly unleash this power.

Most of the Seven Towers representatives are qualified Scholars, but not necessarily qualified Warriors.

As the recognized strongest Warrior of the Seven Towers, Badijiaer's attitude is still highly valued by others. Once he expressed his stance, the others all quieted down.

Of course, Badijiaer is a qualified Scholar and a qualified Warrior, but not necessarily a qualified diplomat or strategist. After everyone quieted down, he brought the topic back to the purpose of this meeting:

"Then how should we respond now?"