After listening to all the rules of the Pentacle Trials, Miri and Anne became more and more intrigued.
“Hmm, sounds interesting,” Miri remarked. “Alright, it seems like something we can handle. I’m up for it. How about you, Anne?”
“Me? Oh, I’m not sure about this,” Anne replied, feeling a bit uncertain. “I don’t have as much of a competitive spirit as you have.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Miri urged with a grin. “Besides, given how the trials are set up, there will definitely be an element of teamwork involved. Given what we’ve been through, our teamwork is gonna be top-notch, maybe even enough to wipe the floor with many of these other contestants.”
“I suppose you’re right to an extent,” Anne said. “Very well then. I shall join you in the Pentacle Trials.”
“Yeah! That’s what I like to hear,” Miri said to Anne before turning back to Madame Laveau. “Now, if we’re gonna gain as much of an edge over the competition, we’re gonna need to know what we’re up against. Laveau, are there any notable contestants from the previous years?”
“Notable contestants?” Madame Laveau considered. “Why, there’s too many to count—”
“What about last year’s winner? Let’s start with that,” Miri said.
“There isn’t much point in telling you about last year’s winner since you’re not going to be facing off against them,” Madame Laveau explained. “Anyone who has won a Pentacle Trial for a particular year cannot participate in another trial for the next five years afterward. This is to prevent exceptionally powerful contestants from hogging all the spotlight, thus allowing the runner-ups to get a chance to shine.
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“With that said, there have been some veterans of the Pentacle Trials who are known to take on students to train them specifically for the trails themselves. If a student of a veteran wins a Pentacle Trial, it would feel as though the veteran themself has won it as well, even though they are not able to participate in it due to it being an ‘off-year’ for them.
“Aside from that, the veterans usually ask for some compensation from the students in exchange for their training, such as an upfront tutor’s fee or a cut of prize money if they do manage to win. This has led to many so-called ‘trialrunners’ dominating the Pentacle Trials—contestants who are veteran-trained and are thus more likely to win the trials than those who are not, even though they are about the same level of skill overall.”
“Wait, what?! That’s how it works?! That’s crazy!” Miri remarked. “So you're telling me a bunch of these trialrunners are gonna be running around taking down the less-experienced contestants? All because they probably paid to have a better teacher? And if you don’t have a veteran to teach you, you’re basically screwed? That doesn’t seem very fair.”
“It may seem a bit unsportsmanlike, but it’s technically not against the rules,” Madame Laveau said. “In a competition like this, there’s bound to be some contestants who’ll have more of an advantage due to being more skilled or experienced. With that said, it’s not impossible for a non veteran-trained contestant to win—just very, very rare.
“Even so, for your situation in particular, you don’t actually need to win the Pentacle Trials per se. All you need to do is to reach close enough to do so, probably up to around the fourth or fifth trial. That alone should be sufficient in bringing you the notoriety you need to dispel any unsavory rumors about you by making people see you in a new light.”
“Yeah, but that’s not how I do things,” Miri said with a wave of her finger. “If I’m gonna participate in this competition, I’m gonna be in it to win it, know what I’m saying? I’m not gonna simply half-ass it and take the easy way out. Where’s the fun in that? If I’m going into the Pentacle Trials, you can bet your ass that I’m gonna give it my all, no matter how many trialrunners gets in my way.”
Madame Laveau gazed at the redheaded mage with an intriguing smile. “Well, in that case, it will certainly make for an interesting trial to watch. Perhaps the most interesting trial I’ll get to watch in a very long time.”
