The next morning, before the Magic Academy had made any response, more people jumped out.
Two additional fifth-tier mage instructors from the academy stated that students should spend less time playing magic duels, claiming that it showed signs of being addictive and would severely affect learning efficiency.
At the Royal Capital First Military Academy, several instructors also spoke out, criticizing Element Card duels for taking up too much of the students' free time. They argued that as warriors, students should focus on proper training instead of playing card games—completely missing the point.
Beyond that, in several ordinary academies around the Royal Capital, various individuals also voiced their opinions, listing a series of supposed problems with Element Cards, as if the game were some great societal harm.
When Ron heard these reports, he was at the magic battle arena, reviewing the ranking match data from the past few days.
He simply relayed a brief "Got it" to Sylvie through a puppet, then withdrew his consciousness and continued listening to Nora's report.
"In the past two days, the number of players in the Silver tier across the third and fourth floors has exceeded 150," Nora said. "By mid-March, it should reach over 300."
"Because of the demotion system, about 10% of players drop back to Bronze each week, so the growth rate may slow down slightly afterward."
Ron nodded. "By mid-March, we'll open the Gold tier. As for Diamond and Star tiers, we'll wait until after the Magic Duel tournament."
By noon—
Just as the "anti–magic duel" sentiment was about to escalate further, Ron calmly took out a notice inside the magic battle arena and instructed the staff to post it on the bulletin board.
At the same time, a similar notice was posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the Royal Capital Magic Academy.
Players at the magic battle arena and students at the academy gathered to read the newly posted announcement.
The contents of the two notices were nearly identical. The general message was as follows—
"The gameplay of magic duels in Element Cards draws deeply from the principles of mutual generation and counteraction between different magic elements."
"In its current form, various magical applications are vividly presented through cards, making it highly valuable for educational and promotional purposes."
"For students of the Magic Academy, engaging in moderate entertainment through magic duels can effectively reinforce and review their studies—combining education with enjoyment."
"For others, it also serves as an effective way to understand and learn about 'magic,' helping to popularize magical knowledge."
"In light of the above, after a series of friendly discussions between the academy and the magic battle arena, the academy has unanimously decided to cooperate in related fields."
"The details of the cooperation are as follows:"
"1. The academy and the magic battle arena will jointly host the first professional competitive magic duel tournament—the Magic Duel tournament. Students and people from all walks of life are encouraged to participate and explore the world of magic together."
"2. The academy and the magic battle arena will collaborate to establish a 'Card Research Institute.' Professional mages from the academy and the broader magic community will be invited to research and develop new Element Card sets and further refine the Magic Compendium."
"The magic battle arena has stated that it will allocate 50% of Element Card sales revenue: 30% for the establishment and operation of the Card Research Institute, and 20% as prize money for the first Magic Duel tournament."
"According to current data from the magic battle arena, over 130,000 noble-edition decks and more than 410,000 common-edition decks have been sold, totaling nearly 140,000 gold coins in revenue."
"50% of that amounts to 70,000 gold coins."
"Based on projections, by the time the tournament begins, the prize pool—20% of total revenue—is expected to reach approximately 40,000 gold coins."
"Of this, 20,000 gold coins will be divided among the 16 finalists in the round-robin stage, while the remaining 20,000 gold coins will be distributed among the top 100 participants based on ranking."
"In addition, approximately 60,000 gold coins will be allocated for the establishment and operation of the Card Research Institute, with continuous funding as the magic battle arena develops."
"The institute will invite academy instructors, professors, researchers, as well as combat and research-oriented mages from outside, to participate in card development."
"Funding will be drawn from the aforementioned budget. In addition to a generous base salary, mages will also receive a share of the profits generated by the cards they create."
"Below are the detailed rules regarding the Magic Duel tournament and the Card Research Institute."
"…"
Whether it was players at the Magic Battle Arena or students and faculty at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, everyone erupted into an uproar upon reading the announcement.
What did tens of thousands of gold coins mean?
It equaled millions of silver coins.
Hundreds of millions of copper coins.
For people in the slums of the City of Chaos, just a few copper coins were enough to live comfortably for a day.
And now, such an opportunity lay right before them—like money could be picked up off the ground.
It was enough to make blood boil with excitement.
Forty thousand gold coins as prize money?
The civilian players at the magic battle arena burst into heated discussions, some even gesturing wildly with excitement.
The 20,000 gold coins for the top 16? Most people didn't even dare think about that—it was practically impossible.
But the top 100?
If they worked hard during this period, wouldn't they have a chance?
If they could squeeze into the top 100 and split 20,000 gold coins among around eighty people—
On average, each person could get over 200 gold coins.
That was a massive sum!
For commoners, this was no different from a windfall from heaven.
Even for nobles, over 200 gold coins wasn't trivial.
At the very least, for those idle minor nobles who relied on family allowances, a few hundred extra gold coins as pocket money was definitely something to be happy about.
As for the teachers at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, participating in the Magic Duel tournament against a bunch of teenagers might be a bit beneath their dignity.
But applying for a position at the Card Research Institute?
Now that was an excellent option.
Tens of thousands of gold coins in research funding—who wouldn't be tempted?
What funding did card development even require? Wasn't it just coming up with ideas?
Most of the money would go toward people, unlike magical experiments that consumed expensive materials.
The compensation here would definitely be substantial.
And the detailed information at the end of the announcement clearly stated—
Applicants didn't need to resign from their current positions. They only needed to spend their spare time each week working on card development and updates.
No interference with their main job, plus a legitimate and well-paying side income.
How could anyone even hesitate?
There was no need to choose at all!
If someone were to ask the Dean of Studies why he chose to cooperate with the magic battle arena—
On the surface, he would still repeat the official reasoning from the announcement.
But deep down, he'd probably be in tears:
"It's not that I didn't want to refuse…"
"It's just… he's offering too much money!"