Ch.9085 – Fire VS Ice

“There are more people than I expected.”

I shared my thoughts as I looked at the bustling crowd.

Compared to other famous streamers with 10,000 or 20,000 live viewers, this is just a handful, but experiencing it firsthand feels completely different.

With 1,600 viewers and nearly 1,000 participants, it’s quite impressive.

Since this many people couldn’t fit in my private room, I set up a large stage background supported by the capsule.

[Idol Stage ver.1.3.4]

As I stepped onto the stage, all the ceiling lights turned simultaneously to shine on me.

I could feel the intense heat. Is there no way to dim these lights a bit?

After fiddling with the settings for a while, I got annoyed and decided to move on to the main event.

What we’re doing now is less of a World Cup and more like an O/X quiz.

It’s a simple game where you survive by choosing the same answer as me.

There’s a reason I’m selecting managers this way.

Even when you set standards for aggressive messages, spam, or malicious chat, there are always people who walk that fine line.

I can’t constantly explain the criteria to managers, and that’s when their independent judgment becomes crucial.

The conclusion is that I need someone I can trust to “handle things properly on their own.”

Someone with similar tendencies to mine is more likely to make the same judgments as me. It’s a matter of probability. If not, that would be troublesome.

[‘nayun1231’ donated 3,000 won!]

-Do you have any specific criteria when choosing combat magic? Like considering one-on-one situations or facing multiple enemies?

“Just use your intuition to choose.”

-We’re just doing this for fun, but some people are taking it way too seriously lol

-All those tryhards went to participate lmao

-Can’t resist the manager selection process

It’s just a test to see how much your thinking aligns with mine. Overthinking will only make it harder.

[Combat Magic Circle World Cup Round of 32 1/16]

[5th Circle Ignis Velum (Curtain of Fire) vs 4th Circle Glacies Hasta (Ice Spear)]

“Starting with a battle between fire and ice.”

-Fire magic vs ice magic damn

-It’s literally a fire and ice dance lol

-Is the host an ice-cold person or a hot shower person?

-ㄴWhat’s a hot shower person?

-ㄴSomeone who showers with hot water even if they’re dying from heat

-I’m both actually lol

I don’t actually know the formal names of magic in this world.

I’m just looking at the magic circle structures and comparing them to magic from my previous life.

For a proper World Cup, it would’ve been nice to have explanations about the magic, but the creator seems to have thrown such conveniences to the dogs.

Fire Curtain vs Ice Spear? Looks cheap.

“On the left is Ignis Velum. It seems to be a magic that spreads in a spherical shape from the caster, continuously supplying combustible material. The combustion reaction obscures the magic circle, reducing the risk of dispel. Oh, I can play videos. Let’s take a look.”

The video quality wasn’t great.

A muscular man running through a reed field followed by a cameraman, presumably a war correspondent.

At the end of the reed field was a wide river. Those at the dead end quickly checked behind them. Were they being chased by enemies?

At that moment, the man grabbed the cameraman and threw him toward the opposite bank. He landed just past the halfway point, and the camera’s view managed to resurface above the water.

[confícĭo: ignis vēlum]

Dozens of soldiers emerged from the reed field, forming a barrier. However, the large fireball unleashed by the man incinerated the reed field, preventing them from approaching as they stomped their feet in frustration.

-That old mage is so badass lol. Is this really 5th Circle?

-Look at the river water boiling

-This must be Switzerland

-ㄴHow do you know?

-ㄴThe background is clearly the Alps

“Let’s look at the next one. Due to time constraints, I’ll explain while watching the video. This one has much better quality. 4th Circle magic Glacies Hasta. In the video, water is frozen to minus 250 degrees and shaped into something sharp.”

[constĭtŭo: glácĭes hasta]

-How do you hold a spear that’s minus 250 degrees?

-You don’t swing it, you shoot it lol

-But this person is just grabbing it?

-????

The blue-haired woman caught the spear that materialized in mid-air between her second and third step.

Her upper body remained unbent while the shoulder and arm holding the spear tensed up.

Her hips and shoulders became the axis, with her palm facing the sky.

On her fourth step, she firmly planted her weight on her left leg to stabilize the left side of her body, while her chest pushed forward to exert maximum contraction force.

An impactful delivery. The spear left her hand and her body momentarily lifted. A perfect hit on the target.

The recovery motion was quick, probably because the ice was very cold. Otherwise, it was an almost perfect movement.

The video ended with her clutching her reddened hand and pouting.

“That was impressive. Not much else to evaluate. Ignis Velum vs Glacies Hasta. How should we decide?”

-It’s a close call

-Close one

-But isn’t it unbalanced to compare 5th Circle vs 4th Circle magic?

-Fire type is strong though

-I’ll choose based on the old man’s coolness

“Hmm… if I could only use one of these.”

The floor of the set where people were standing displayed the same screen I was viewing.

The side I choose survives, while the floor opens beneath the other side, eliminating those viewers.

I was still contemplating while others had already made up their minds and were moving quickly. Most seemed to be leaning toward fire magic.

“The former is an area-type heat magic that combines offense and defense, useful for both one-against-many and one-on-one combat if handled skillfully. Especially like in the video, it’s perfect for buying time when being chased.”

-Isn’t that basically invincibility if you have it?

-Totally overpowered magic

-That 5th Circle magic circle is seriously complicated

“The latter doesn’t have type disadvantages, but it depends heavily on the caster’s ability. If you cast the magic but can’t hit the target, it’s useless.”

-Then you’re screwed

-Should’ve made an ice cannon instead

-But manual casting has its charm, right?

“Has everyone made their choice? If you choose the wide-range Fire Curtain, go to the left; if you choose the Ice Spear, go to the right. The Fire Curtain definitely looks cooler on the surface. I agree.”

After hearing my assessment, people started moving in droves from Glacies Hasta to Ignis Velum.

They must have agreed with my opinion.

No one was moving in the opposite direction. Oh, there’s exactly one person.

“Then I’ll make my choice quickly too.”

After confirming that no one was standing on the dividing line between the two options, I lightly tapped the choice I had already decided on.

[4th Circle Glacies Hasta (Ice Spear)]

-????

-???????

-WTF?

[840 people have been eliminated.]

[218 people have survived.]

The faint screams of hundreds echoed from below.

Eliminating 840 people right from the start.

This is how difficult it is to find an ideal manager.

The previously calm live chat suddenly rushed by in a torrent.

Those eliminated in the first round vented their frustration.

-I switched at the last minute trusting the host, what the hell is this?

-LMAOOOOO

-That’s some next-level bait and switch

-This is seriously toxic at this point

-(Message has been blocked.)

Those who switched at the last minute seemed particularly upset, not hesitating to curse.

You’re banned.

“I do think Ignis Velum is a useful magic. But I question whether I’d choose it if I could only use one. If you were in a survival game and had to choose between a gun and a smoke grenade, which would you pick?”

-Obviously the gun

-When you put it that way, it suddenly makes sense

-But it’s 5th Circle, doesn’t it have decent killing power?

“Ignis Velum is essentially a self-destruct mechanism. The caster’s mana isn’t infinite, and it obscures vision for both sides equally. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to use such a burdensome magic.”

[‘gijipiji’ donated 1,000 won!]

-Damn, I can’t even argue with that logic lol

-Then why don’t you try clearing World of Arsheria with 10/10/10 stats like the host?

-If you’re jealous… you know what to do…

-The Ice Spear looks weak even for 4th Circle, why choose it?

“With Glacies Hasta, you can freely compose the material that forms the spear. It’s not simply freezing water—if you can build a superconductor based on niobium and minimize power efficiency, it’s not unreasonable to aim for hypersonic speeds.”

That’s essentially the principle of a railgun.

And above all, it doesn’t make sense that an ice mage would be inferior to a fire mage.

I’ve never lost a magic duel to Remilia Acephite.

Based on my experience, this is reliable knowledge, so I urged viewers to trust my words.