At this moment, a match was underway in Arena No. 8.
One of the players on stage looked familiar to Ron—he was among the earlier ones to reach Gold rank and had placed in the top ten during the preliminaries.
The preliminaries only consisted of ten matches.
While that was enough to eliminate most weaker players, for top-tier competitors, the rankings weren't entirely accurate.
After all, dozens of players had perfect 10-win records—their ranking differences came down to fine details in each match.
In that regard, Betty had even performed better than Wardson and Rowell, placing second.
First place had gone to Andy.
So preliminary rankings were more of a rough indicator than a definitive measure of strength.
That meant someone like Mia, who ranked 279th, still had a decent chance of advancing if she performed well in the main round.
As for the current match—
The Gold-ranked player's strength was evident, while his opponent was only Silver-ranked.
The match was completely one-sided.
Yet despite the lack of suspense, the audience was fully immersed.
There was a reason for that.
Ron, Mia, and Eileen found seats in a corner.
At that moment, above the battlefield—
A massive crimson fireball above the Silver player's head exploded with a loud boom.
Sparks scattered outward toward the audience.
With that final fireball—representing the player's "health"—shattered, the referee immediately declared the Gold player the winner of the first round.
They moved on to Round Two.
"Ron, can you give me one of those plants?" Mia said, watching the illusion created by Mimic Grass. "It looks really fun."
"Sure," Ron nodded casually. "Do you want one with preloaded recordings, or do you want to record things yourself?"
"Of course I'll record myself," Mia said seriously. "If I record daily life and watch it later, wouldn't that be meaningful?"
"Just be careful," Ron warned. "Don't record anything too private. If you lose it… You'll be famous for all the wrong reasons."
"Hey! What are you even thinking about?!"
As they chatted, Round Two began.
First came the ban phase.
As the Gold player announced his bans, three large water-element cards appeared above the arena.
They rotated for display—then shattered into particles of light.
After several rounds of bans and selections, both players finalized their decks.
The decks were handed to the referee for shuffling.
Each match had two referees—
One shuffled, the other verified—to prevent cheating.
Then the round officially began.
Each player drew five cards.
Staff behind them immediately used Mimic Grass to project enlarged versions of those cards into the air, rotating them for the audience.
Since the projections faced away from the players, only the audience could see them clearly.
At the same time—
Three blazing fireballs appeared above each player's head, representing their health.
What would otherwise seem like a simple—even dull—card battle…
Had been transformed completely.
The visual and auditory effects elevated it into something immersive.
Every successful attack caused a fireball to explode.
Though Mimic Grass couldn't produce sound on its own, combined with Illya's sound-recording magic arrays, the explosions sounded incredibly real.
Compared to the early days—when "health" was represented by red balloons—
This was on an entirely different level.
Every draw, every play, came with distinct sound effects.
Together, they created a full sensory experience.
Even nobles accustomed to magic found it captivating.
Each explosion of a fireball triggered cheers, applause, and excitement.
Watching all this, Mia unconsciously clenched her skirt.
Ron noticed and smiled.
"What's wrong? Our Princess Mia is nervous?"
Earlier, when watching Soren's match outside, she hadn't felt much.
But now—
Being in the arena, surrounded by sound and spectacle, and knowing she'd soon be on that stage—
Her body tensed up.
"I-I'm just excited!" Mia insisted. "I can't wait to get on stage—not nervous at all!"
"You always grab your skirt when you're nervous," Eileen said bluntly.
"Eileen~ whose side are you on?!" Mia complained, blushing.
Ron chuckled.
"You'll get used to it after one match."
"At worst, you lose. Then you can become a commentator—look at that seat, best view in the house."
"Hmph!" Mia turned away. "Nice try. Commentating is just my side job. My real goal is to win with skill!"
As they joked around, Mia's tension gradually faded.
Soon, she was genuinely eager to compete.
Before long, the Gold-ranked player won Round Two as well, securing the match victory.
The arena entered a short break.
Some spectators left to check other matches via Mimic Grass displays.
Others stayed, waiting for the next match.
Some even approached the Gold player excitedly—
like fans meeting a celebrity.
Ron leaned back in his chair, taking it all in with satisfaction.
So far, the Magic Cup had exceeded his expectations in nearly every way.
A pleasant surprise.