Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Anthony then succinctly outlined the detailed rules of the Five-Academy League.

Given that most military academy graduates join the military, all imperial military academies offer similar programs to facilitate direct recruitment of suitable talent. This standardization simplifies the selection of participants for such large-scale competitions.

In the Five-Academy League, each institution can send ten students per specialty, with no restrictions on academic year—any currently enrolled student is eligible. This totals sixty participants per school, accumulating to three hundred across the league.

The competition format varies slightly each year but generally consists of three rounds: individual matches, team matches, and the grand academy competition. For individual matches, each school selects five students to compete in random draws, with winners advancing until the top three are determined. This round serves as a warm-up and is a particular strength of First Empire Academy.

Team matches involve groups of three to five students participating in point-based events. Participants are typically placed in a specific scenario where they accumulate points through fixed tasks like collecting exotic plants or hunting insectoids. Deliberate harm between students is prohibited. The grand academy competition is similar to the team matches in its points-based ranking system but allows students from different schools to steal from and eliminate each other.

It is important to note that participants cannot compete in both individual and team matches. With only sixty participants per school and potentially even fewer students skilled in combat, some schools may choose to focus their top competitors on one of the first two rounds to maximize their chances of ranking.

"However, our school faces a disadvantage this year," Anthony said, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers with a serious expression. "As everyone knows, five outstanding students from our academy were recently selected for the military’s elite plan and will be departing soon. Consequently, they will be unable to participate in the upcoming Five-Academy League."

As he spoke, everyone in the conference room looked at the five students in question, all of whom were present—two from the Melee Department, two from the Command Department, and one from the Medical Department, including the current Chief of the Command Department and the former Chief of the Melee Department.

Tachibana Maki raised an eyebrow. "First Empire Academy isn’t short of students who can compete in the Five-Academy League, but seniors like Isabella are among our top-tier fighters. It wouldn’t make sense for them to miss the major league just because they can’t participate in the Five-Academy League."

"Exactly. Therefore, they have been granted direct exemption and advancement. In exchange, our school must reduce its participant quota by five," Anthony explained.

Cecil, Deputy Chief of the Command Department, crossed his arms, his gaze lingering on the Medical Department. "Some specialties only come into play in the final round anyway. Why not cut two more people?"

Eve met his gaze evenly. "Do you take the Five-Academy League organizers for fools?"

"The Medical Department's alchemists can be surprisingly effective in certain situations. Besides, there’s no logic in discarding medical supplies just to reduce load when not on the battlefield," Lorca also disagreed with Cecil’s view. "The Mecha Department is highly valuable in the second round’s team points competition. If cuts must be made, they should start with the Reconnaissance Department and the Weapons Department."

Cecil responded with a cold laugh. "How noble of you to sacrifice others."

The two departments defended were both led by Eve.

Tachibana Maki raised her hand in confusion. "Wait, did I say anything during this discussion? Why bring the Weapons Department into this?"

"It’s not feasible to operate that that way. The league organizers have specified that cuts must match the original specialties of the students participating in the program," Anthony said with a wry smile. "However, this means that the Melee and Command Departments, as the main combat departments, will lose four top-tier fighters."

These losses introduce significant uncertainty in the first two rounds, where participants cannot compete in multiple events. To fill these gaps, other departments must balance combat prowess and specialized skills when selecting their participants.

The chiefs in the conference room were deep in thought.

"Ultimately, the Five-Academy League is not only about the school’s honor and resource distribution for the next four years but also closely tied to each of our personal interests. Advancing to the major league with the Alliance would be highly beneficial, even for everyone present here."

Anthony sighed gently. "I'm sorry to bother everyone by calling you here today, but some rules are better explained in person. If anyone has further questions, feel free to stay and discuss them with me privately. As for putting together the competitor list, I’ll leave that to each of you. Please submit the finalized documents directly to my email by tomorrow evening."

In previous years, the Five-Academy League was held concurrently with final exams. However, this year, likely to accommodate the schedule of the major league, it has been moved to after midterms.

This leaves only a solid month before the league. With participant selection and training coordination still ahead, time is tighter than expected.

With Alice from the Command Department absent, Ludwig was appointed acting chief on her recommendation. After the meeting, members of the Command Department had to stay behind to discuss handover matters privately with Anthony, the student council president. Everyone else, with no further business, hurried back to select suitable participants.

Jessica emerged from the meeting visibly displeased, her voluminous wine-red curls tied with an exaggerated bow that fluttered with her movement. She had spoken very little during the meeting, and Eve guessed it was due to her own absence.

The little princess often seemed to disdain everything and everyone, but in reality, she had a stronger sense of collective honor than anyone—hence her history of defending Eve and sparking arguments with others.

Eve’s fingers brushed the edge of her mask, hesitating for a moment before finally lowering her hand.

Luo Lin, beside her, noticed the small gesture. "Aren’t you going back to check on the Mecha Department? Luo Lin and I can handle things in the Medical Department. There’s no need to worry too much."

Since Eve usually focused on the Mecha Department, Luo Lin and Qi Cheng had long grown accustomed to voluntarily taking on the chief's responsibilities. Both were detail-oriented and dependable, making Eve’s help unnecessary.

She thought it over briefly before nodding. "Thanks, I'll leave it to you. Once the list is drafted, please show it to me."

"That's easy enough—just putting together a list," Luo Lin tilted her head to look at her, unfolding a folding fan with two fingers to cover the lower half of her face, and said cryptically, "But rather than that, you should worry about how you'll handle participating in the competition. You can’t even handle meetings. Or are you planning to just reveal to everyone that 'Eve' and 'Lu Qing' are actually the same person?"

First Empire Academy allows students to pursue multiple majors as long as they can handle the workload. As for being the Department Chief, although there is no precedent in the academy's history of one person holding two chief positions, there is also no rule against it. In Luo Lin's view, there's no need for her to play two roles, rushing from one responsibility to another every day.

Even so, Eve felt too embarrassed to tell Luo Lin that she never actually intended to maintain two identities from the start. By the time she found out, Qin Mengde had already registered the second identity for the Medical Department.

"Haha," she forced a dry laugh, "There’s a reason for doing it this way, so don’t worry. If I ever can’t keep up the act, I’ll choose to drop the disguise and give up on one of the roles."

Luo Lin didn’t seem entirely convinced and replied noncommittally, "Is that so?"

To avoid unnecessary disputes, once the league’s decisions were finalized by the department chiefs, they were immediately announced to the entire academy. Everyone was free to apply, and each department would then select their final candidates.

Eve eventually found Jessica in the Mecha Department’s student office. The students were highly motivated—within just half a day, the application inbox was flooded with submissions.

To avoid any appearance of bias, Jessica didn’t even bring her usual assistants. She was sitting alone in front of the terminal, looking utterly miserable, with glowing blue text reflecting in her pupils.

"Tap, tap."

Eve knocked on the desk. "Working?"

"What does it look like? Can't you see?" Jessica replied weakly, rolling her eyes and adding sarcastically, "So you actually remember to come back?"

Eve chuckled lightly. "What's that supposed to mean? The Mecha Department is my home, and we all pitch in."

She pulled over a chair and, instead of starting up another terminal, began browsing through the applications on Jessica’s screen.

The Mecha Department is large, with nearly two hundred applications—more applicants than the entire Medical Department. Eve first filtered out those with unsatisfactory GPAs and training results, then eliminated another batch who were clearly trying to slack off for credits. Over a dozen pages of applications were quickly whittled down to just two.

Jessica watched in astonishment as Eve ruthlessly cut applications, barely noticing Eve had taken control of her cursor. "Aren’t you going to review their profiles carefully before cutting them? What if some of them are specialized in certain areas or their abilities aren’t fully reflected in their resumes?"

"There aren't that many diamonds in the rough. Gold shines wherever it goes—if it isn’t shining, it’s either not gold or not pure enough."

Eve said coldly without looking up. She held up two fingers right in front of Jessica’s eyes. "There are only ten spots in total. Besides you and me, only eight names remain, and we have to choose the best out of these two hundred applications. A good-looking resume doesn’t necessarily mean strong practical ability, but those who submit sloppy applications, have poor grades, or have serious skill gaps are definitely not the kind of people we want."

If heroes were truly judged regardless of background, why do corporations still prioritize pedigree and alma mater at first glance?

Moreover, based on Eve’s few months in the Mecha Department—from the initial chief selection until now—the department truly hadn’t produced any exceptional genius that stood out to her. She could only hope to pick a few capable all-rounders from this mediocre bunch.

The Mecha Department is inherently a less competitive major—it can’t compare to the Melee Department in combat, lacks the overarching strategic control of the Command Department, and falls short of the specialized skills of the Medical, Weapons, and Recon departments. Piloting mechas as support units? That’s basically just filling spots, right?

Soon, Eve reviewed the remaining resumes, eliminated a few more unqualified candidates, and was left with exactly thirty people.

She handed the cursor back to Jessica, who asked confusedly, "...Do you want me to review them again?"

"Just looking isn’t enough—we need practical tests," Eve shook her head. "Send notifications to these applicants. Arrange for them to meet me in the simulated combat room. I’ll test them in combat to determine the final selections."

"You’re sure you want to test them yourself?"

"Of course. How else will I know their actual skill level?"

"I admit I spoke too harshly to you earlier," Jessica said with newfound respect. "Besides our Mecha Department, which other department chief would personally test the applicants? You’re actually quite responsible."

Eve replied flatly, "Just send the emails quickly. I’m pressed for time."

She needed to finish screening the Mecha Department applicants early so she could head to the Medical Department for another round of evaluations.

...Luo Lin still didn’t fully understand Eve. She thought Eve would only struggle when having to compete twice in the league, but in reality, the daily trivial tasks alone were enough to make Eve want to quit.