'So this is your goal, Rorschach...'
Feuerbach frowned. He didn't have strong opinions about the competition itself, but Rorschach's move to forcibly create teams was too heavy-handed and deliberate.
The young Mage hosting the competition was now dangling a blatant lure: for any contestant, simply submitting a creation meant victory and a huge payday. But whether accomplished by throwing money around or not, many things, once set in motion, develop an unstoppable momentum.
The Tower of Secret Techniques had always deliberately cultivated a cutthroat atmosphere, insisting on selecting only the best of the best and implementing a system of invisible attrition—those who fell behind were simply ignored and left to give up on their own. Now, Rorschach was forcing these same people to compete *cooperatively*, not only with fellow apprentices but also with ordinary people.
