Simulation: Starting from Under One Person

"Is there anything wrong with what I said? I think it's perfectly normal. Since it's a competition between schools, of course we have to eliminate the weaker ones, both for their safety and for the honor of the school."

"Hmm...you're not wrong about that." The audience member next to him nodded in agreement. Since it was a battle between forces, the stronger one should go first.

While the group was talking, the participants had already passed through the water track and arrived at the aerial track. The aerial track was the simplest of the three tracks. The only difficulty was throwing the ball. Without any skill, it was impossible to score on the first try.

After the first two groups of people cleared the way, the subsequent groups already knew how to navigate the track.

"Seriously, doesn't anyone run into the light orb? Besides the traps, some of them are just props..."

Watching the live stream, Fang Rui remarked, "They should have hidden the traps and props better. Since it was just a qualifier, they didn't hide them as well. Tsk..."

As students passed the preliminary rounds one by one, Dumbledore and the others grew slightly serious; there seemed to be quite a few participants in the tournament…

"How difficult is the first challenge of the tournament?" Dumbledore asked Professor McGonagall.

"It must be quite difficult." Although he lacked knowledge of Fang Rui's setup, he could guess from the water course that Fang Rui had set up that it would be quite difficult.

"It's not a problem to screen out some people."

Dumbledore nodded slightly; too many participants in the tournament was also a problem.

One of the purposes of the tournament, in particular, was to lure Voldemort into a trap.

Although success is not guaranteed, Voldemort might attack, so it's definitely not a place for ordinary students.

The professors from the other schools also frowned. The competition was a serious contest, so why were a bunch of lower-grade students crowding around?

Their gazes fell on Dumbledore, and seeing that he said nothing, the others didn't know what to say either, and silently continued watching the game.

A few hours later, all the students who had passed the preliminary rounds gathered in the castle's dining hall and drew lots to determine the order of appearance for the first event and the monsters they would face.

As for the guests from other worlds, they wandered around, and many of them arrived at the entertainment facilities where Fang Rui was, playing games and soaking in the hot springs.

What are your thoughts on the qualifiers?

On the boardwalk by the shore, Fang Rui and Ze Fa were fishing. In the quiet atmosphere, Fang Rui suddenly asked a question.

"A game between children." That was Zefa's first impression of the qualifiers.

To be honest, in Zefa's opinion, every event in the championship is pretty much like a game.

After all, the world of sailing is full of dangers, and the graduation assessment of naval training camps is all real combat.

"After all, you're a student! Don't have too high expectations. What I want to ask is, do you find the competition interesting?"

Fang Rui steered the conversation to another topic. Of course, competition between students who haven't graduated is unlikely to be fraught with danger; what he wanted to ask about was the entertainment value.

"It is quite interesting, indeed."

Zefa spoke his mind honestly, because during the competition, some students fell into traps and their reactions were truly laughable.

"As long as it's interesting." Fang Rui nodded slightly.

At the same time, certain individuals from different factions were discussing trade matters in a rest area.

Fairy Tail wants to open a shop selling goods from another world and is in discussions with the Navy and other forces. Deals on special products such as Sea Kings are easy to reach, but when it comes to certain special items, it's not so easy to make a deal.

"Can these magical items be used in another world?" Kuzan asked.

Sakazuki needed to stay at the Navy Headquarters, so he did not attend the event. He and Borsalino led the team to participate in the event, and naturally, it was his and Borsalino's responsibility to negotiate trade with other forces.

“Yes, it’s possible. We’ve tested it, but once the magic stored in the item runs out, you’ll need to contact us to replenish it,” Makarov explained.

Fairy Tail has books about making magical items, and a few people have mastered the crafting techniques.

Of course, you can also buy it from other people; Makarov has many connections.

"Magic..." Kuzan asked, "How much does it cost to replenish magic once?"

Because the currencies of the two worlds are different, but gold is common, not to mention it can be bartered.

"One hundred pounds of meat to replenish your magic, from a sea king," Makarov stated the price.

“Too expensive,” Kuzan replied.

It's important to know that these magical items need to be replenished with magic power frequently, and the navy's demand is extremely high. Replenishing 100 kilograms at a time would be quite expensive.

"Then how much do you want?" Makarov raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Thirty catties of sea king meat per serving, and fifty catties of meat from other wild beasts and sea creatures per serving," Kuzan stated his prices.

“...Okay.” Makarov hadn’t thought about it for long before he felt the price was acceptable.

"In that case, let's draft a contract."

Seeing that Makarov had no objections, Kuzan narrowed his eyes slightly, indicating that the other party still had a chance to profit.

"How do you plan to sell the special training slots at the naval recruit training camp?"

Once one matter was settled, the two moved on to discuss another.

At the same time, other forces were also discussing cooperation. Most of the cooperation was quickly agreed upon, but a few cooperations were still under discussion.

Chapter 411 Intermission

While the many guests discussed trade, the students who had passed the preliminary rounds were celebrating, and professors from various schools were inquiring about the details of the first project.

After all, cheating in the championship is within the rules, and there is no problem if it is not discovered.

The methods of intelligence gathering were also very simple: either asking people or sneaking into the Forbidden Forest to investigate.

"What are these people doing?"

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, guests from other worlds looked on with puzzled expressions as they saw a group of people slipping into the forest.

"It must be cheating! I've heard that the monsters used in the first match are kept in the Forbidden Forest."

Another person explained that he didn't have any other thoughts about the cheating incident, and there was absolutely no need to tell the organizers.

"Should we tell Dumbledore?" someone asked, as some considered cheating wrong.

"No need. You can guess Dumbledore's thinking just by the fact that there are only a few people guarding the area where the monsters are imprisoned. Cheating should be part of the rules of the game, and it is allowed."

Someone explained, indicating that there was no need for everyone to seek out Dumbledore.

"A game that allows cheating." Many people shook their heads. If cheating were allowed in their area, some people would find all sorts of ways to cheat, making it impossible to play.

Then, the group stopped talking about the matter and started discussing other things.

Where are you guys planning to go later?

"Why don't we go fishing? I've discovered that this lake has a wide variety of fish, and there are even mermaids that you can catch."

When the topic of mermaids came up, someone gave a mischievous grin.

"Mermaid!!!"

Legends of mermaids exist in many parts of the world, and some people who have never seen a mermaid are intrigued and turn their attention to a particular one.

"Really?!"

"Of course it's true." Some people who knew what the mermaids in the Black Lake looked like had tense faces and spoke with great seriousness.

"Oh oh oh!!!" Some people got excited and their expressions became animated.

Another group of people felt something was off, but fishing, especially catching mermaids, was indeed very interesting, so...

"Okay, let's go fishing!"

With that said, the group took their fishing rods and headed to the Black Lake to begin fishing.

"Speaking of which, what do mermaids eat? I use earthworms to fish."

Five minutes after the fishing began, someone suddenly spoke up.

"That's an excellent question. I don't know what mermaids like to eat either. You should ask some of the people who have caught mermaids before..."

As they spoke, the group turned their gaze to a few people, the same ones who had previously mentioned catching mermaids.

"I didn't pay attention to what he liked to eat. I was just fishing normally, using very ordinary bait, when suddenly I caught a mermaid..."

At this point, some people almost lost their composure. When they caught the humanoid monster, many were startled and nearly threw several attacks at the mermaid.

"Ordinary bait..." The person next to him heard this and had a somewhat subtle expression. It was hard to imagine that earthworms were part of a mermaid's diet.

"I don't know why, but I have a bit of a headache." Perhaps their imaginations are too vivid, but some people cover their foreheads with an indescribable expression.

"Relax, relax. After all, there's a fish in its name, so it's normal for the recipe to include earthworms."

Fearing that these people would leave and there would be no fun to watch, others quickly tried to persuade them to stay.

"If you can't comfort people, you don't have to say anything." Hearing these words, some people's expressions became even more unpleasant.

"Hahaha..." Fearing that he would scare these people away, the person did not continue.

In silence, the group continued fishing.

Perhaps because of their previous experiences of being caught, the mermaids in the lake were not so easily fooled. Within half an hour, the group had no success, but they did manage to catch some ordinary fish.

On the other side, Fang Rui and Ze Fa, who were also fishing, watched the mermaid being caught in silence.

"How many times has this happened?" Fang Rui tilted his head, somewhat speechless.

"Three times, I guess!" Zephyr's tone was uncertain.

A mermaid casually picked up the fishing hook, her movements very practiced.

Fang Rui raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the scene thoughtfully: "Why do I feel... this merman looks somewhat familiar?"

Mermaids all look very similar, and Fang Rui hadn't looked closely at any particular mermaid, so he couldn't be sure. But seeing a mermaid's skillful movements, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

"Hearing you say that, it does seem somewhat familiar." Zephyr examined it carefully for a while, also looking thoughtful.

The mermaid, caught off guard by the two men, paused for a moment, her eyes showing a hint of panic. She then quickly retrieved the fishing hook, dove into the water, and fled.

"It seems my guess was correct." Fang Rui nodded slightly; the truth was indeed as he had guessed.

"Who told you to use sea king meat as bait?" Zephyr, who had also guessed as much, looked away and muttered under his breath.

The flesh of sea monsters is highly nutritious and very tempting to carnivores.

"…………" Fang Rui was quite helpless. How could he have guessed that there would be a shameless merman who would specifically guard his bait to eat?

"Has your bait been eaten?"

Zefa reeled in the fishing line and looked at the hook, where the bait had disappeared.