Trinity of Magic

Viola looked pleased with Zeke's change in attitude. The slowly emerging smirk on her face made it clear that she was about to start teasing him again. Before the tiny Wind Mage could get started, though, Sophia cut into the conversation. "We will have time enough to pool our knowledge later. Let's first all collect our winnings and make bets for the next fight."

Zeke also agreed with Sophia's judgment, and the two of them got up, leaving a pouting Viola behind. The girl was left with no choice but to follow after her two friends.

The three arrived at the betting station and got in line. Zeke was using this time to calculate the odds for the next battle. It was time for the fight between Rona Feuersturm and Roland Erdherr. This was probably the most anticipated fight of the first round. The drama around the betrayal of the battle royale was of great interest to the crowd. If there was something people appreciated in their entertainment, then that would be drama.

Zeke did not care much for the morality of the situation. He was not completely innocent in how the scene had played out, after all. Still, he wished for Rona's victory, if only to get revenge for Peter. The boy could not exactly be called a friend, but he still would have liked to see him in the finals. With Peter's unfair elimination, Leo and Zeke were the only commoner-born Mages left in the finals.

Zeke did not doubt that this fact would only deeper ingrain the widely held belief that nobles were superior. He had to agree that it was hard to advance as a mage without the proper backing. Still, in his opinion, the empire did itself a massive disservice by ignoring the general populace. He understood why the noble families were not exactly thrilled at the idea of having more commoners among their ranks.

The number of mages was, at the higher stages at least, not limited by talent, but resources. More commoner mages would mean more people fighting for the same pool of affinity crystals.

Zeke wondered if the nobles would come to hate him even more for his part in developing the meditation technique. He was pretty sure that they would not be pleased, at least. But it was not like the great families would be forced to share their resources all of a sudden. There should still be more than enough of their talented members to go around. The true benefit to the meditation technique, in Zeke's opinion, was not the spike in powerful mages. No, what Zeke hoped would happen with the meditation technique was a gradual change in the populace.

Zeke imagined a scene where even the lowest of peasants could advance to True Mage. This dream was not unattainable, as the stage could be reached by absorbing ambient mana alone. The only hurdle to the common folk would be access to a spell and the engraving ritual. But if the empire would not provide those tools, Zeke would be more than happy to develop them himself!

His grandiose dreams were interrupted when the line shifted and Sophia stepped up to the betting booth. Zeke realized that he had wasted enough time with pointless musings. He needed to focus now. The winner of this fight would, after all, be his next opponent, should he manage to advance. Zeke used his [Analysis] spell to bring up a prediction for the next fight.