The more Kazuki learned about Mai Kujo from the mouth of Furuhas.h.i.+ Akino and Fuyuno, the more surprised he got.
Mahjong was a game that would require a lot of luck. Although the rules of j.a.panese Mahjong and the Chinese Mahjong were somewhat different, they were similar on this point. It would depend on luck, just like poker.
Regardless of how good the skill was, if one were unlucky, it would be in vain.
According to Akino, Mai Kujo had fought more than 10,000 rounds of hanchan, and her rate of throwing out a mahjong piece was zero.
The four-digit probability was 0.016.
This indicated that she played more than 10,000 rounds of hanchan, and the number of the fourth-place won was estimated to be one or two hundred times.
The figure was staggering.
The more Kazuki got to know, the more interested he was. He did not need to feel to know that this talented mahjong girl was definitely extraordinary or that she had other distinctive traits.
All of a sudden, Kazuki halted and wondered, "Don"t you think that this person is strange? She didn"t throw out a mahjong piece which would allow another to win the game in 10,000 rounds of hanchan... Does she have any superpowers?"
Even he who had just heard of it thought that Mai Kujo was strange. What about the others?
Akino and Fuyuno laughed upon hearing this.
"We used to think that senior Kujo has superpowers, but she doesn"t have them at all."
This question was raised a few years ago, and Mai Kujo was proven not to have any superpower indeed. Many people studied the videos of Mai Kujo but had not found any strange phenomenon.
After all, students" mahjong compet.i.tions were all under video surveillance, starting from the pre-district match of the national middle school and high school mahjong compet.i.tion. If any small action was made, it could not be hidden.
Of course, some people also proposed that Mai Kujo had extraordinary powers, that her eyes could pierce through, and see other players" cards. Her rate of throwing out a mahjong piece which would allow another to win the game could hence naturally be zero.
This view was shared by most people, and it even raised public opinion. Soon, Mai Kujo came out to personally confirm that she closed her eyes as she played Mahjong in an offline match. She played four rounds of hanchan and her rate of throwing out a mahjong piece which would allow another to win the game was still zero.
At this point, no one would ever question Mai Kujo anymore.
Of course, the conclusion now was that Mai Kujo had a strong intuition. This intuition would allow Mai Kujo to feel the dangerous atmosphere on the mahjong table. Hence that miraculous avoidance for others to win the game could all be explained.
In any case, this talented mahjong girl, Mai Kujo, was well known by almost the entire Circle of j.a.panese Mahjong. She had already become relatively reputable among the j.a.panese people.
Many people thought that Mai Kujo could be the second Mahjong Saint of j.a.pan after s.h.i.+ho Kitajima.
The venue of today"s match at noon was at the stadium of Ueno Gakuen"s University. It was a professional compet.i.tion set up for Mai Kujo.
The rules of the compet.i.tion had already been disclosed online. There was a total of four rounds of hanchan, each hanchan would have a score of 25000, and after each hanchan, the remaining score would be added to the next hanchan. And so on, if Mai Kujo could be 125000 points or more after four rounds of hanchan, she would then be recognized by the j.a.panese Mahjong Federation and issued a certificate. She would formally step into the ranks of the professional mahjong players.
As a professional mahjong player, Mai Kujo would be eligible to compete for the t.i.tle of the Mahjong Saint.
For an average person, even if they played the qualifying tournament, they would not have so much attention. But Mai Kujo was different, she was an idol in the Circle of j.a.panese Mahjong!
Looking at the ma.s.sive crowd at the gate of the Ueno Gakuen"s University, Kazuki was unsurprised. After all, Akino and Fuyuno had already let him know the popularity of Mai Kujo.
Upon entering the school gate, some students spontaneously volunteered to maintain order at the side, and also pointed the way for the audience.
The three of them chatted as they walked. Of course, Akino was doing most of the talking, and Fuyuno added on the side. Kazuki would respond from time to time, and also asked questions not to let the atmosphere die down.
Akino was a fan of the j.a.panese Mahjong. Her position in the Heavenly Phoenix was Special Upper. Kazuki could not understand, and could only nod in approval. Only Fuyuno was laughing by the side without saying a word.
Fuyuno was not a fan of Mai Kujo, although she used to play the j.a.panese Mahjong… As for the primary purpose, she came was to observe Mai Kujo.
Mai Kujo"s mahjong ability was shocking. Her popularity was high in the Circle of j.a.panese Mahjong, and it began to radiate to the ma.s.ses. Hence, there was an animation production company that wanted to produce an animation, "The Mahjong Girl with Superpowers," with Mai Kujo as the prototype. Fuyuno came with Akino because she wanted to become the voice actor of the main character.
Voice actor? Kazuki did not expect that Fuyuno, who always had little words, would want to be a voice actor as a future career.
Soon, the trio came to the stadium. The stadium of the Ueno Gakuen"s University was not very big. Hence, when they entered the stadium, they were surprised by the number of people inside.
Many people had already found a seat for themselves. The conversation of the people around spread to their ears, and Kazuki found out that some people do not even know how to play Mahjong, but still came, mainly for Mai Kujo...
With this popularity, Mai Kujo could totally debut as an idol.
Mai Kujo could be seen from the seats through the screen in front.
Mai Kujo was extremely beautiful. Her watery eyes were slightly curved, and the corners of her eyes were always smiling gently. She was wearing a kimono with cherry blossoms, and her hair was combed into a hime cut, like an ancient princess.
The trio did not come too early. The compet.i.tion started not long after they took their seats. Aside from the sound of commentary in the stadium, the audience held their breath and watched seriously.
Kazuki did not even fully understand the rules of Chinese Mahjong, let alone the j.a.panese Mahjong. However, he could understand a little with the soft explanation of Akino and Fuyuno beside, and also the onsite commentary.
"Oh! During the East round, Mr. Yamanaka took the lead on calling in the sixth tour. The cards discarded in the river of cards were basically all honors, making it difficult to defend. The six and nine bamboo tiles won, and it was invincible! He is indeed a professional mahjong player. The drawing of a useful tile was as though the G.o.d of Mahjong was blessing him, and it was also a dealer"s calling. The pressure on the other three players is great!"
"... Ah! Mai Kujo drew the nine bamboo tiles? She drew a useless card in a round of drawing, and there is nothing present in her hands. Those are basically all dangerous cards, and the nine bamboo tiles are relatively safe compared to the other cards. Will she discard it?!"
"Discarded the five-character?! This is even more dangerous! But unfortunately, Mr. Yamanaka won by the six and nine bamboo tiles. This release was avoided by Mai Kujo... It is indeed Mai Kujo as she won"t ever throw out a mahjong piece which will allow others to win the game."
As the match started, the audience roared in excitement along with the agitated words of the commentary.
Kazuki was confused, and he could not get the point of the audience and the commentary... Isn"t it normal that the dealer could win by the six and nine bamboo tiles, and Mai Kujo discarded the five-character?
However, he reacted that he had made the mistake of taking the perspective of the G.o.dly audience.
And this mahjong game lasted for a whole two hours.
From not understanding entirely in the beginning to starting to understand now. These two hours had also made him realize the power of Mai Kujo and why she would have so many fans.
Aside from her beauty, the sight of Mai Kujo playing Mahjong was really pleasing to the eyes as though a thrill of dancing on a blade at any time and anywhere. Many cards seemed safe, but Mai Kujo was able to keep them in her hands instead of giving them away. Many cards were hazardous, yet she could easily throw them into the river of cards, causing the audience to break into a sweat.
When the compet.i.tion was over, the total score of Mai Kujo was 153,000, ranked second. The professional mahjong players would then have another member.
As expected, none of the mahjong pieces was thrown out to allow another to win the game. Listening to the cheers of Akino and Fuyuno beside him, Kazuki sat motionlessly. It was because after this was time for the j.a.panese Mahjong Federation to issue the certificate of professional mahjong player to Mai Kujo.
When Mai Kujo, who was dressed in kimono, came to the center of the stadium, the audience in the entire stadium began to cheer the name of Mai Kujo loudly. It was like a large-scale star-chasing scene.
At this time, Kazuki gathered the reiki in his body on his eyes with ease. Apparently, after two days, that sense of stagnation had disappeared.
The dark eyes became extraordinarily bright and divine, and he felt that the reiki of his body was rapidly disappearing. Kazuki hurriedly put his eyes on Mai Kujo.
Just by looking, he discovered something strange.