Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 1973

After a brief introduction of the contestants and judges for this year's mystical tournament, the event quickly moved to the main agenda.

"Next is the first duel of the tournament. Due to the special nature of the tournament venue, the contestants will not be appearing on-site.

"Instead, we will be watching the event in real time through a special Mystic monitor developed by Mystic."

As Myla spoke, Phineas lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. A wave of ghastly energy spread out, and a giant screen rose within the venue.

The screen was connected to the surveillance talisman on each contestant, allowing real-time multi-screen viewing of each contestant's status.

The group that first drew everyone's attention was Shannon's. They were seen wearing Seastone School of Mystic Arts' official uniforms like they had during the college tournament.

What surprised everyone was the background of their location. It looked like they were in a villa.

Myla explained, "Rules for the first duel were sent to each contestant's phone via MysticApp."

On the screen, the contestants were reading the rules from Mystic on their phones.

"The first duel of the mystical tournament is to be held at Phantom Market. Before the match, officials collected a personal item from each contestant and placed it within the market.

"Contestants must now enter Phantom Market, find and retrieve their personal items. The duel ends when Phantom Market closes.

"Failure to retrieve your item within the time will result in immediate elimination."

Shannon's group was currently gathered in the villa Hector had arranged for their temporary stay. They were all looking over the match rules on their phones and were surprised by the content of the first round.

"The tournament venue is at Phantom Market? How are we supposed to get in? I've never been there!" Mike was the first to voice the obvious concern.

Shannon shook her head. "I don't think I can use Mystic HQ access for this."

Everyone immediately asked in unison, "Why?"

Shannon pulled up a notification on her phone and scrolled to the button where a line of fine print had been added.

Elliot had noticed it as well and softly read it aloud, "For fairness, Mystic employees are prohibited from using work privileges or internal channels for the tournament. Violation will result in immediate disqualification."

They were all utterly baffled. That rule was written specifically with Shannon in mind, wasn't it?

Mike looked at Shannon with some sympathy. It seemed that even if Mystic was sponsoring the competition, they still didn't treat their employees well.

He signed and said, "Guess I'll have to save the day again."