Mahouka LN - Steeplechase Chapter (Volume 13) Discussion / Poll

[Von Himmel]

No, I think you need to sod off :^)

...jokes aside, I found the writing in this volume to be better than usual. Having a common trope characters seem to help making the characters more alive in this series (see Saegusa's sisters).. their interaction with the Shibas made me think that they're annoying, something which is probably an improvement because I mostly hold no regards with most of the characters in this series. Also the explanation of magic might seem complex like before, but the author toned down the explanation and shorten it, making it easier to read and understand.

Also from the translation, it seems that his usual method in narrating battles is much better because the pacing wasn't as bad as before, it didn't get interrupted by in-battle explanation of how the magic works just like in most of previous volumes. They're mostly borderline need-to-know basis and the detailed version of the explanation was written at the end of the fight, with Tatsuya explaining what it is.

[Echizen777]

Hey, couldn't Tatsuya easily locate Zhou with Elemental Sight? Or Zhou has something to counter it?

[bakato]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

Hey, couldn't Tatsuya easily locate Zhou with Elemental Sight? Or Zhou has something to counter it?

He hasn't even met Zhou so I doubt he could find him even with ES.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by bakato

He hasn't even met Zhou so I doubt he could find him even with ES.

But many persons know his face, they could describe him. With the Yotsuba network it might be possible to have more infos about him too.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

But many persons know his face, they could describe him. With the Yotsuba network it might be possible to have more infos about him too.

Nope. It's Zhou's ability ghost walker that lets him easily manipulate things from the shadows and to avoid people.

[bakato]

Originally Posted by IceHism

Nope. It's Zhou's ability ghost walker that lets him easily manipulate things from the shadows and to avoid people.

If you're referring to that poor sap that got turned into a popsicle by Miyuki in volume 7, that was someone else. We've never seen Zhou use ghostwalker.

[Echizen777]

Zhou indeed masters Ghost Walker. But I don't think it has the ability to mask his appearance. It redirects people's attention elsewhere. He chatted with Chiaki, almost killed Mitsugu, Masaki, Kudou and Nakura knows his face.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by bakato

If you're referring to that poor sap that got turned into a popsicle by Miyuki in volume 7, that was someone else. We've never seen Zhou use ghostwalker.

???, No, i'm talking about Zhou who can use ghost walker. and he's a master of ancient magic. I don't think it will be easy to catch him.

Originally Posted by Echizen777

Zhou indeed masters Ghost Walker. But I don't think it has the ability to mask his appearance. It redirects people's attention elsewhere. He chatted with Chiaki, almost killed Mitsugu, Masaki, Kudou and Nakura knows his face.

He doesn't mask his appearance. But he does manipulate others around him to be unable to keep their attention on him.

None of the 10mc families are that united that they share information.

I think you're overestimating the capabilities of elemental sight a bit here.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by IceHism

???, No, i'm talking about Zhou who can use ghost walker. and he's a master of ancient magic. I don't think it will be easy to catch him.



He doesn't mask his appearance. But he does manipulate others around him to be unable to keep their attention on him.

Yes but still, he was facing Chiaki, Masaki and drank with Nakura while they were talking, I find it hard to believe that they were looking elsewhere why talking to him. There is also the illustartion with Chiaki looking at him.
.

None of the 10mc families are that united that they share information.

If he manages to convince Chiaki, he could know. Or even by chatting with Masaki, his encounter with him should not be something to overlook. He gave him informations in vol 13 so that's not impossible.

I think you're overestimating the capabilities of elemental sight a bit here.

It was mentioned that nobody can escape his ES. Regardless the distance, he can find you. So, by knowing your face and with enough concentration like in volume 10 whether the target is in another country or not he can find it.

Spoiler for Quote:

Tatsuya's abilities did not include the "All Seeing Eye".
Still, he was capable of similar feats.
Just as magic isn't affected by physical distance, sensory abilities
through the information dimension are not affected by physical
proximity either. So long as the target has been locked on through the
information dimension, one could "see" the target no matter how far
away they were. For example, a powerful telescope could see the
moon's surface, and if it could home onto a lunar landing vehicle, then
one would be able to see the status of that vehicle on the moon's
surface (in reality, such a powerful telescope does not exist).
However, at this moment, it was pure coincidence that he wasn't
secretly watching what Erika and Leo were doing.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

Yes but still, he was facing Chiaki, Masaki and drank with Nakura while they were talking, I find it hard to believe that they were looking elsewhere why talking to him. There is also the illustartion with Chiaki looking at him.
.


If he manages to convince Chiaki, he could know. Or even by chatting with Masaki, his encounter with him should not be something to overlook. He gave him informations in vol 13 so that's not impossible.



It was mentioned that nobody can escape his ES. Regardless the distance, he can find you. So, by knowing your face and with enough concentration like in volume 10 whether the target is in another country or not he can find it.

Spoiler for Quote:

Tatsuya's abilities did not include the "All Seeing Eye".
Still, he was capable of similar feats.
Just as magic isn't affected by physical distance, sensory abilities
through the information dimension are not affected by physical
proximity either. So long as the target has been locked on through the
information dimension, one could "see" the target no matter how far
away they were. For example, a powerful telescope could see the
moon's surface, and if it could home onto a lunar landing vehicle, then
one would be able to see the status of that vehicle on the moon's
surface (in reality, such a powerful telescope does not exist).
However, at this moment, it was pure coincidence that he wasn't
secretly watching what Erika and Leo were doing.

But Tatsuya didn't see or know Zhou. That's the thing.
Tatsuya doesn't know that Masaki or Chiaki had met Zhou and i doubt that Masaki is extremely wary of Zhou that he would tell Tatsuya about it since the meeting really doesn't concern Tatsuya. Masaki couldn't even launch a full investigation on him with the ichijou family as he was just a random person. Nakura is pro-saegusa and thus anti-yotsuba.

Infact, Chiaki had forgotten all about Zhou. He made her forget at the hospital.

"If you feel regret."

Chiaki's eyes were glazed.

"If you feel the burden is too heavy."

Her consciousness was entirely dominated by Zhou's voice.

"Then just forget about me."

"Forget......?"

Chiaki involuntarily spoke these words; she wasn't even aware what she was saying.

"Yes, just forget about me."

"Forget...... Is it OK to forget......?"

Under Zhou's guidance, Chiaki allowed herself to forget.

"Yes, all you have to do is forget."

"Understood...... I will forget......"

Chiaki gave herself the order to forget.

It could be possible that the yotsuba information network has something on him.... and that is possibly what will be expanded on in volume 14.

[Echizen777]

Chiaki forgot then. Excluding Nakura, Masaki is still a possibility IMO. If next volume is indeed about the Thesis Competition they will definitely meet each other again. The possibility of these two to talk about GAA and the terrorists of last year is not zero. He could mention innocently that he met a certain Zhou Gongjin and Tatsuya would understand immediately, asking for more details.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

Chiaki forgot then. Excluding Nakura, Masaki is still a possibility IMO. If next volume is indeed about the Thesis Competition they will definitely meet each other again. The possibility of these two to talk about GAA and the terrorists of last year is not zero. He could mention innocently that he met a certain Zhou Gongjin and Tatsuya would understand immediately, asking for more details.

I'm pretty sure that Tatsuya will hear about Zhou from Maya or the kuroba directly. He was sent to chinatown at the end of volume 13 for a reason.

[bietchie11]

Do you know what happened to Baka-tsuki?
I can't access it.
Site maintenance?

[amtro]

Licensing trouble from what I've heard Concerning Index, Yen Press is involved. Don't worry, the chapters are backed up elsewhere, but recent translations aren't however.

[Sinarblood]

Originally Posted by bietchie11

Do you know what happened to Baka-tsuki?
I can't access it.
Site maintenance?

From their face book page

Spoiler for baka-tsuki facebook:

OK we all know the site is down, the big boss has been notified. When he answers we will know what happened. Might be the normal error, might be him doing updates, only he knows.

The server is acting up, Baka Tsuki is not closed at all....so stop the random rumors.

And as you SHOULD know if the site is down, Baka Reader and the ePub Generator will fail since they read the site in real time to show the content.

So no more questions about this. When everything is fixed I or some other admin will give the notice the site is up again.

So ultimately it is unknown why though there was random rumours flying around for a bit, but it is at the very least not closed down permanently.

[bietchie11]

Originally Posted by Sinarblood

From their face book page

Spoiler for baka-tsuki facebook:

OK we all know the site is down, the big boss has been notified. When he answers we will know what happened. Might be the normal error, might be him doing updates, only he knows.

The server is acting up, Baka Tsuki is not closed at all....so stop the random rumors.

And as you SHOULD know if the site is down, Baka Reader and the ePub Generator will fail since they read the site in real time to show the content.

So no more questions about this. When everything is fixed I or some other admin will give the notice the site is up again.

So ultimately it is unknown why though there was random rumours flying around for a bit, but it is at the very least not closed down permanently.

The site is back online.

It's all A-okay now.

[Hokoga]

chapter 4 of v13 is up on baka-tsuki

[Verisimilitude]

Poor Tatsuya. Now everyone that knows who he really is seem to want to factor him in their schemes. As if the Yotsuba weren't enough....

[bietchie11]

Originally Posted by Verisimilitude

Poor Tatsuya. Now everyone that knows who he really is seem to want to factor him in their schemes. As if the Yotsuba weren't enough....

He is a magnet.

Effective against both chicks and problems.

[CatRules]

Lately, I began to fear Ayako's potential as an OTP.................... her specialty is what Tatsuya needs