Chapter 175: The Inter-Academy Selection Tournament Is Here!

It had been exactly three months since Silas awakened, and he was going to participate in the largest competition in New Liberty ever. The Inter-Academy Selection Tournament.

He was going to compete against people from City B to AX, which was something huge. He was going to be tested in several ways, and he knew it. But was he bothered? Was he afraid? Was he threatened?

No! It’s Silas we’re talking about here. If anything, he was anticipating when he would crush others and even face the other S-Ranks of the other cities’ academies.

The official program outline as well as the participants for the tournament were out. The program outline was a bit different from recent years, but not so different as to raise any flags. The stages were City Qualifiers, Regional Selection, and National Championship.

All the academies in City A would compete against one another, and the top three would advance to the next round, the Regional Selection. In the Regional Selection, the best three would be selected once again to compete in the National Championship.

The difference in everything was the mode of competition for the various stages, which was unknown to all participants. Only the event organizers knew about it, and to ensure fairness, none of them belonged to a major family.

In theory, this prevented powerful families from manipulating the tournament.

In City A, there were five other academies apart from Valecrest Collegiate Grounds, making the academies in City A only six in number.

The academies were: Valecrest Collegiate Grounds, Ironwood Saint Academy, New Liberty Vanguard Academy, Aethercrest Academy, Blackstone Hunter Academy, and finally Argent Heights Academy.

Each academy had its own reputation.

Valecrest was known for producing talented awakened and for its relatively relaxed approach toward combat training. Students were allowed to fight on campus as long as they didn’t seriously injure anyone or destroy school property.

That last part had become increasingly difficult since Silas arrived.

Ironwood Saint Academy was almost the complete opposite. It was an academy built around discipline.

Its students were trained like soldiers, with strict schedules, rigorous physical conditioning, and mandatory combat exercises. Its awakened program had produced countless professional Hunters over the years.

New Liberty Vanguard Academy specialized in practical combat. Its students spent more time outside the classroom than inside it, participating in controlled rift expeditions, monster extermination exercises, rescue simulations, and survival training.

Aethercrest Academy was famous for its focus on abilities and mana manipulation.

Its students spent years learning how to refine their abilities rather than simply increasing their physical strength. It had produced some of the finest ability analysts and mages in City A.

Blackstone Hunter Academy was practically a Hunter factory. If someone wanted to become a professional monster hunter, this was the place to go. Its curriculum revolved around weapon mastery, monster anatomy, teamwork, and battlefield tactics.

And then there was Argent Heights Academy.

The academy was known for producing wealthy and politically influential awakened. Its students often came from powerful families, and its alumni occupied important positions within Hunter Guilds, corporations, military organizations, and government agencies.

In terms of reputation, all six were monsters in their own right, but there was one problem. There could only be three. Three academies would advance from City A. Three would be eliminated.

That simple fact had caused the entire city to become restless. The announcement was made at exactly eight o’clock in the morning. Every major television station interrupted its usual programming. Every major streaming platform pushed the same notification.

Every academy’s communication system activated simultaneously. Every registered participant received the same message.

Across New Liberty, screens displayed a black background, then a silver emblem slowly appeared. It depicted a shield surrounded by six stars, with a sword standing vertically through the center. Underneath it were four words.

[INTER-ACADEMY SELECTION TOURNAMENT]

The emblem rotated once, then the screen changed, and a woman appeared. She was dressed in a formal navy-blue suit with the official insignia of the New Liberty Tournament Commission pinned to her chest.

Her expression was calm and professional.

"Good morning, students of New Liberty."

Her voice was transmitted across every academy, television station, public screen, and registered communication device participating in the tournament.

"Today marks the official beginning of the Inter-Academy Selection Tournament."

Across City A, students gathered around screens. Most had abandoned whatever they were doing just to see the announcement. At Valecrest, several classrooms had their holographic projectors activated.

Silas sat comfortably in his chair while Chloe sat beside him. Alpha was on his other side, sketchbook already open.

Gromda wasn’t present. She had apparently decided that attending a school announcement was beneath her dignity, and it wasn’t as if she would be allowed to participate in the first place. Not as a student, maybe a tamed beast... that would be a bit okay.

The woman continued.

"This year’s tournament will feature awakened students from every registered academy within New Liberty."

A map appeared behind her, and the entire country was displayed. City A all the way to City AX. City AF was highlighted, the capital.

"The tournament will take place across three major stages."

The words appeared behind her.

[CITY QUALIFIERS.]

[REGIONAL SELECTION.]

[NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.]

"Stage One will determine the strongest academies within each participating city."

Silas leaned forward slightly.

"The participating academies will compete against one another under conditions determined by the Tournament Commission."

The screen changed.

"Stage Two will bring the strongest academies from each city together for the Regional Selection."

The map zoomed outward. Several cities merged into larger regions.

"And Stage Three..."

The screen went black, and a single word appeared.

[FINAL.]

The woman’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Will take place in City AF."

Silas’s eyes narrowed. The National Championship, the final stage, where the strongest students in New Liberty would gather in the capital. That meant something else.

The strongest S-Ranks would be there. His fingers slowly curled around the edge of his desk, and a grin appeared on his face. Finally.

The woman continued.

"Unlike previous years, the Tournament Commission has decided to conceal the exact formats of each stage until the beginning of each event."

Murmurs immediately erupted throughout Valecrest.

"WHAT?!"

"They’re hiding the formats?"

"How are we supposed to prepare?"

"That’s insane."

Silas just smiled. That actually sounded fun. The woman raised one hand, as though she could hear their murmurs through the screens.

"Please remain calm."

The murmuring slowly died down.

"The purpose of this change is to prevent participants from training exclusively for a predetermined format."

A new message appeared.

[ADAPTABILITY WILL BE EVALUATED.]

"The ability to adapt is one of the most important qualities of an awakened."

Other messages appeared.

[STRATEGY.]

[COMBAT.]

[TEAMWORK.]

[JUDGMENT.]

The screen went completely black, as a single word appeared.

[SURVIVAL.]

The entire academy became quiet, and even Silas stopped smiling. The woman continued.

"Participants will not merely be evaluated based on how powerful their abilities are. Those who rely solely on overwhelming strength may find themselves at a disadvantage. Those who lack teamwork may find themselves eliminated. And those unable to make difficult decisions under pressure..." She paused. "...will not advance."

Silas leaned back. Now this was interesting. The woman smiled faintly.

"However, remember this."

The emblem of the tournament appeared again.

"This is still a competition. Victory remains the objective."

A countdown suddenly appeared.

[CITY A QUALIFIERS]

[STARTING IN: 00:59:59]

The students stared as the countdown began.

[59:58]

[59:57]

[59:56]

The woman spoke one final time.

"Participants of City A, report to your designated gathering locations. Your first challenge will begin in exactly one hour."

The broadcast ended. Silence reigned for approximately three seconds before the entire academy exploded. Students started talking, teachers began organizing their classes, while screens changed to display participant lists.

Names appeared, academy rankings appeared, ability classifications appeared, and the six academies were listed side by side.

Beneath each academy were the registered participants. Silas slowly looked at the screen and noticed something. His name was at the top of Valecrest’s list.

[SILAS ASHARD - S-RANK]

A few seconds later, Chloe’s name appeared under his.

[CHLOE MONTREAL - S-RANK]

The classroom went silent.

Even though everyone already knew about them, seeing their names officially registered for the tournament made everything feel different.

These weren’t rumors anymore. These weren’t television appearances or schoolyard fights. They were officially representing Valecrest. Silas stared at his name for several seconds, and his grin slowly returned.

"Well..." He stood up. "Let’s see what City A has."

Alpha looked up from his sketchbook.

"You’re excited."

"Obviously."

Chloe slipped her phone into her pocket.

"You might get disappointed."

Silas glanced at her.

"Why?"

"Because you might not find anyone strong enough."

Silas paused for a moment and laughed.

"That’s exactly what I’m hoping for."

Across City A, thousands of students were preparing. At Ironwood Saint Academy, students gathered in formation. At New Liberty Vanguard Academy, weapons were being checked. At Aethercrest Academy, mana was being refined. At Blackstone Hunter Academy, equipment was being inspected. At Argent Heights Academy, elite students were already gathering, and at Valecrest, Silas walked out of his classroom with a smile on his face.

Three months ago, he had awakened. Three months ago, he had been an ordinary student. Now he was an SSS-Rank, the first unknown SSS-Rank in modern history, and today, he would step onto a stage containing hundreds of talented awakened.

Some would fear him, some would challenge him, some would underestimate him, and somewhere among them, there would undoubtedly be monsters pretending to be students.

Silas cracked his neck.

"Let’s have some fun."

The countdown reached: 00:00:00.

Across City A, six academies received the same message. The tournament system activated.

[INTER-ACADEMY SELECTION TOURNAMENT]

[CITY A QUALIFIERS HAVE BEGUN.]

And just like that, the largest youth competition in New Liberty had officially started.