371 Yo, Guy I Got Something to Say!

At this point, the debate had extended beyond Guy's intended time limit. He knew that he was walking on a tightrope, right now. With every activity that garners an intense following, one must stick to a strict and predefined schedule. Because deviation from that schedule can lead to unwanted consequences.

Take a football match for example (the kind where the ball is only controlled with the leg when in play). If a game starts too early without prior warning, then you risk upsetting fans who wish to tune in from the very beginning. Starting too late also angers fans, as they are forced to wait in anticipation. Ending too early can be a bummer, especially if the game was subpar such as a lacklustre performance from one team. A delayed end can also be problematic as it can cause the players themselves to fatigue and the fans to grow more antsy.

The same can be said for the debate, but the repercussions are amplified. As it is an event that is a spar of intelligence, the audience is required to exercise their own intelligence if they wish to indulge in the display. This is unlike watching sports events since it is possible to switch off the logical centre and take the outcomes at face value. Because of this, if the debate stretches beyond the time limit, not only will the participants fatigue themselves, but so will the audience. After a certain point, this will lead to indifference from the audience's side which wasn't something Guy wanted to happen.

This was why Guy ushered the participants towards the podium in a line. There was no need to have them walk over from their benches, as the audience would be psychologically urged to clap or celebrate as they approached the podium which would further fatigue the audience's waning interest. Furthermore, he was certain that a lot of the participants would have similar answers. Having the audience hear the same thing over and over again would bore them.

As a result, the introspection round for each participant moved like a breeze. Per expectation, both sides had grown more lenient in their stances, and members of the same team shared similar answers too.

"I agree that maybe our definition is far too stringent and that the need to have so many prerequisites and apparatus might hinder in letting it spread far and wide," Kevan admitted.

"I agree that maybe using mass conservation as an analogy for the definition could use more consideration," Luce admitted.

Casey, from Kevan's team, said something similar to him, "I think that Team 2 was right when they pointed out the limitations of the energy transfer method, especially because it relies on a specifically manufactured apparatus with a fluid that may not always have a standardised method of production."

Norris, too, felt that "Our understanding of transmutation is too limited to make the mass conservation judgement call. We believe more investigation is in order."

After letting everyone speak their piece, Guy walked back on stage and said, "This marks the end of the debate, the first entry into 'Unearthing the Truth!'. I know that ending the first match on a tie is disappointing, but the result was evident and as clear as the day before you, folks. Now, please file out of the room in an orderly line. We do not want any tramplings-"

A faint cough interjected Guy's closing statements. He turned in its direction and was surprised to see Norris with her hand raised, awaiting permission to speak.

"Umm, Norris? Do you have anything to add?"

Norris nodded lightly before standing up at the bench. She shared a look with her teammates, who all looked serious and resolute in their expressions.

"We admit defeat," Norris declared out loud.

This caused the audience, some of whom had stood up and nearly reached the exit, to double back and take the nearest seat. Some gasps and murmurs were passed around in the crowd.

"Is that so?" Guy asked, looking towards Luce and Krane for confirmation, who nodded in conjunction. "That's... interesting. Can I ask why?"

"After thinking over our stance, the arguments exchanged, and what we learned from this debate in general, we feel that while both definitions have their fair share of problems, ours has an issue in its base itself. Mass conservation is a huge part of why our definition even works and if, as indicated by the opposing team, there IS uncertainty in the interaction between mana and the mass conservation laws, it means that our definition isn't as robust as we thought it was. Compared to that, even though the opposing team has padded their equipment list, they have some level of rigidity in their definition," Norris elaborated.

Just as Guy was about to follow up, Kevan's hand also shot up. "Please don't tell me that you guys are admitting defeat as well?"

The audience let out a collective chuckle at that quip. Kevan shook his head and said, "We agree with the opposing team's decision. Don't get me wrong, their arguments were superb and well-structured. However, we believe the victory should go to us because of the technicality they brought up."

"Well... Okay! Ladies and gentlemen, let us applaud Team 2 for being such amazing sports and for their brutal self-reflection!" Guy declared while starting a round of applause. "Folk, this is a crucial character trait that every person of science needs to have - the ability to reflect on themselves and their work with a lens free of bias and judgement."

"On that note, let us also give a round of applause for Team 1 for their victory!"

Another symphony of claps and whoops resonated in the room. "For their victory, each member of the team will receive 1000 gold coins."

Before another round of celebration could begin, Guy raised a finger and said, "While the loser doesn't receive a monetary reward, I believe that Team 2 should be praised for displaying such a noble and mature trait. What do you guys think?!"

YEAH!

A booming chorus of affirmation erupted from the audience. Guy turned and congratulated the second team along with the cohort, and saw the blushing faces of the three members. Norris in particular had completely disappeared inside her collar in embarrassment.

"I think a monetary reward is in order, do you not agree?!"

YEAH!!

"On that note, each member of Team 2 will receive 500 gold coins!"

WOOHOO!!!

"With all that said, let us bring the event to a-"

"I have something to add!" Casey interjected.

"Please have some shame, woman! Are you trying to milk the Sect Leader's goodwill!" A teen's voice cut through the crowd.

"Shut up, Huron!" Casey snapped back at the guilty party, who retaliated with a challenging shake of his fist.

Amidst the awkward silence, Casey cleared her throat and continued, "W-What I meant to say was that- Admitting victory does not mean that our work is perfect. We have learned a lot of intriguing details by understanding Team 2's approach to the concept of the Mana Unit. To that end, we would like to propose a collaboration - new research that attempts to meld the two studies to find a definition of the Mana Unit that is more satisfactory."

Guy looked towards Team 2 and saw the trio huddling together. After a few minutes, they separated and Luce stood up behind her desk. "We agree to this proposition."

"While this is great!" Guy cut in. "I think it is better to take this discussion aside to a more private setting. Don't you guys agree?"

He then immediately looked towards the audience and said, "Please evacuate the room before someone else gets the urge to say something!" historical

Thus, the very first "Unearthing the Truth!" - the first of its kind structured debate - came to an end, and that too with a definitive winner. Guy knew that there would be many more of these to come in the future. And as the Sect grew in size, there would even be recreational tournaments running parallelly. But all of that was just his pipe dream at this juncture.

As he observed the opposing team members shaking hands in the backdrop of a satisfied crowd, Guy revealed an optimistic smile.

____

"So Kevan and Revian won't be partaking in this investigation?" Guy asked the five Sect members seated before him.

"Kevan wanted to spend some time helping Yohn catch up, now that he's able to cast spells," Casey confirmed.

Lacey then took over and finished the sentence, "Revian wanted to focus more on his ongoing experiment-"

"The one investigating the interaction of the second law of thermodynamics with mana," Guy said while recollecting the details of Revian's proposal.

"Well, it is great that you guys are so motivated to dig into this juicy piece of steak," Guy redirected. "Unfortunately, at the moment, the Sect is in somewhat of a budget crunch. Until the end of the current financial quarter, I won't be approving any new investigative work until the ones already in the pipeline are finished."

This revelation elicited a groan from each teenager present.

"Though don't be disheartened. As long as the existing pipeline is cleared, I can go ahead and approve this. So I would suggest that you go ahead and help out the ones struggling to get their work off the ground."

"We could just go and help Revian," Luce proposed.

"I don't think that's possible," Guy emphasised immediately. "Revian explicitly stated that he wants to do this by himself."

"What? Why?" Krane sputtered.

"He looked especially determined to crack this by himself. He said he wanted to pave an original path for himself like how Markus, Marie, Jean and Shuri did," Guy revealed.

"I don't know if he is being arrogant, or just plain optimistic," Krane mumbled.

"A healthy mix of the above," Guy answered with a smile. "I mean better to be all that now than later, am I right? Especially since there aren't any life-threatening repercussions to exhibiting those characteristics in this Sect."

"That's true," Norris agreed, while others nodded with her.

Seeing that, Guy couldn't help but let out a fulfilled chuckle. He had succeeded in creating the

atmosphere he set out to cultivate in the Sect.

A place where people could fail safely, and not be afraid to fail again, and again, and again.