Written into a corner.

[TheEldritchGod]

So, here's the scene. MC and brat in a magic school setting fight. Mc challenged brat because brat insulted MCs sister. Brat sets the rules to no magic, just bare handed fighting. MC loses.

Part of the fight was, if I win, you leave the school. However, there were no time constraints on that, so the MC says. "I have obligations. I will leave at the end of the semester in three weeks. Then never return.

The brat is a little confused., but agrees. He assumes the MC is just trying to save face. He can't imagine the MC actually leaving. He was expecting the MC to beg to stay.

Then everyone finds out he went to the headmaster and dropped out of the school. It will be his last semester.

Now, at first the brat is happy, but quickly finds out that everyone the MC helped now Hates the brat. The MC has been working with the crown advancing the science and magic studies of the country so now they are afraid of losing the most powerful elementalist they have to another country.

A lot of people was the brat to drop the bet, but the MC will honor the bet, no matter what. He agreed. He lost. The only thing the MC has that is his own is his word, so he won't back down on leaving.

He won't accept a rematch, because he can't be sure the brat won't throw the fight. He won't change the terms of the bet, because he's not a cheater.

Given this situation, under what conditions do you think the MC could be convinced to stay, because a METRIC TON of people get screwed by the mc leaving the school, including the badguy.

I'm okay with the story going south, but I was just trying to think of a way out of this and I'm drawing a blank.

Thoughts?

 

[QuercusMalus]

Schools royal charter is revoked and then a new charter is issued, causing it to reopen under a new name, new administration. MC can now come back without going back on his word as he left the school, but that school no longer exists.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Schools royal charter is revoked and then a new charter is issued, causing it to reopen under a new name, new administration. MC can now come back without going back on his word as he left the school, but that school no longer exists.

Interesting work around, but I doubt the headmaster would agree. Not to mention the MC is not a loophole sort of fellow.

At one point I was going to have the brat say, "Yes, I said leave the school. I didn't say for how long! Just walk out and walk back in! There! FIXED!"

MC: Really? Remember how you said you would be glad to never see me walking around campus ever again? Are you telling me you honestly didn't want me to leave forever? Leaving and coming back breaks the spirit of the bet, don't you think?"

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Feels like I'm the MC and @ElliePorter is the brat.

 

[Sergeandgreen]

Well, you give him the ultimatum that when he leaves, his sister has to leave too. He sounds like a guy that values his family.
Now the question is, how to give the mc the ultimatum and by whom. It could be the sister herself, it could be one of the metric shit ton of people who would loose a lot, or the bully could make a bet with his sister.

The bet with the sister could also be somewhat changed. If the sister wins against the bully, the brother can stay. And then the bully loses.

 

[RepresentingPride]

Or just have your MC leave the school and doing something else. He can travel the world or anything.
You can also have him leave for an amount of time and when he come back the school are under attack, he save the school and the "badguy" ask for his comeback.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Well, you give him the ultimatum that when he leaves, his sister has to leave too. He sounds like a guy that values his family.
Now the question is, how to give the mc the ultimatum and by whom. It could be the sister herself, it could be one of the metric shit ton of people who would loose a lot, or the bully could make a bet with his sister.

The bet with the sister could also be somewhat changed. If the sister wins against the bully, the brother can stay. And then the bully loses.

Hrmmm... the ultimatum idea has merit, but it couldn't be part of the original bet.

As for a second bet to reverse the first, that would require the MC to agree. The brat just changing his mind or saying, the bet is off, won't work. The first bet is done. The results are in. The MC lost. The brat can't change that.

 

[QuercusMalus]

Have someone he trusts/looks up to give him a smack offside the head and tell him to stop being such a prat. That his method of being 'honorable' is anything but. He isn't doing anything other than making himself a martyr so he can wallow in his self pity.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Or just have your MC leave the school and doing something else. He can travel the world or anything.
You can also have him leave for an amount of time and when he come back the school are under attack, he save the school and the "badguy" ask for his comeback.

Oh. I assume that's what will happen. I don't see a way to reverse the outcome. I just wanted to get other people's thoughts and see if I missed something obvious. I'm fine with dropping the school arc. If anything, the MC would prefer it. It's not like he has any loyalty to the school.

Have someone he trusts/looks up to give him a smack offside the head and tell him to stop being such a prat. That his method of being 'honorable' is anything but. He isn't doing anything other than making himself a martyr so he can wallow in his self pity.

An "honor is supposed to protect life, life should not be sacrificed for honor", situation, eh? Has merit.

 

[MajorKerina]

You make the rules as the writer. It's generally preferable to have an 'out' in any scenario, even if it is main character doesn't come back or someone else becomes the main character. Also if the main character is working with the crown then they can just get hired directly by the crown through some royal organization.

 

[QuercusMalus]

Third option: Headmaster refuses to accept his disenrollment and instead points out that betting and gambling are against the code of conduct that students agree to upon enrollment, so instead him and his rival are to be punished with some form of menial labor, that they must complete together.

 

[Rezcore]

If he is helping advance science of magic, have the headmaster offer him a teaching job in those fields. I mean technically the student him did leave, and the bet doesn't indicate he can't come back.

I find that there are easy to find loopholes in every comment, if you are particular about the wording. Like how Itachi said "Every Jutsu has a weak point".

 

[TheEldritchGod]

You make the rules as the writer. It's generally preferable to have an 'out' in any scenario, even if it is main character doesn't come back or someone else becomes the main character. Also if the main character is working with the crown then they can just get hired directly by the crown through some royal organization.

Nah. See, that's how readers come to distrust you. When they can see the hand of the author.

I write the story logically. I set up the situation and very rarely does luck play a part. If a shift in personality is needed to get out of a situation, then the story sucks.

I live with these limits so the reader can trust me.

The MC is arrogant.
He's great at magic, not at regular fighting. He should lose.
He shot his mouth off and has to pay the price.
The MC also has a skewed perspective, so he had no idea his bet would affect anyone but himself, but he is a man who keeps his word.

This is the situation and the MC leaving the setting to explore elsewhere is acceptable, as long as it is LOGICAL.

If he is helping advance science of magic, have the headmaster offer him a teaching job in those fields. I mean technically the student him did leave, and the bet doesn't indicate he can't come back.

I find that there are easy to find loopholes in every comment, if you are particular about the wording. Like how Itachi said "Every Jutsu has a weak point".

Ah. Returning as a teacher. That one has merit as well.

And thanks to everyone for the ideas. This isn't an argument. Just a discussion.

 

[RecursiveDescent]

If the brat admits to cheating it wouldn't be too hard for mc to come back without having to break a promise. Even if the brat didn't actually cheat he could easily come up with a way to lie and everyone else would gladly help him with it.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Third option: Headmaster refuses to accept his disenrollment and instead points out that gambling is against the code of conduct that students agree to upon enrollment, so instead him and his rival are to be punished with some form of menial labor, that they must complete together.

Ooo... now that would does sound like something the headmaster would pull.

 

[RecursiveDescent]

Ooo... now that would does sound like something the headmaster would pull.

The problem is if you can call it gambling because its not random, nor are they betting like a horse race, it's just a plain 'you do this if I win'

 

[CarburetorThompson]

You already put in a ‘you never said when I have to leave‘ twist, not sure if you already published this but if you haven’t just change that to a ‘There was no time limit set, so I will leave school in x years when I graduate‘

 

[melchi]

You could always Deus Diablos it. MC leaves with full intention of brushing the dust off and heading on then.... X happens, MC wakes up in his old dorm room.
For example: Sol Badguy puts a curse on MC that after he goes 5 miles out of town he turns into a prinny and has to go back to find someone to fix him.

 

[QuercusMalus]

The problem is if you can call it gambling because its not random, nor are they betting like a horse race, it's just a plain 'you do this if I win'

Nah, a bet just means risking something against someone else on the basis of a future outcome.
It all depends on how the schools charter of rules is worded. If it's vaguely worded, even if it is only usually enforced for severe offenses, the Headmaster can just argue that as he is aware of the bet, he has to enforce the rules in this situation.

I would expect that an Academy catering to 1). Royalty and 2). Magic Users would have a very broad, vaguely worded code of conduct to allow the Headmaster to either choose to punish (or not) based on political considerations, and adjust the level of the punishment as well.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

Time to remove the MC of the protagonist main POV status, and pass it on the "brat" instead.

I dont like losing protagonist. Many people dont like losing protagonist. This is rude and an insult to your MC, but this is not a lie.

If MC lose at training, its acceptable. But If he lose at actual important battle, he's a loser. Its simple gut low level thinking, yes. Im losing in interwsr in your MC now that he loses.

Because the brat manages to win an unlikely opponent, now The "brat" might be a good shounen protagnonist material. He win against your current MC, and therefore he should shoulder the reaponsibilities of the MC.

As the "brat" manages to beat and take the tiltle of "MC Protagonist", he can also get the chance to face the whole threat that could "METRIC TON of people get screwed by the mc leaving the school, including the badguy."

Ex-MC could just do cleanup the mess and regret phase after that, before turning him into another forgotten main character.