MTL NOVEL Chapter 24: [24] First Class
For the general public, Blazers are a highly anticipated group.
Professional knights aside, even student knights, as reserves, attract a lot of media attention. If they are genius knights like Stella, who also carry the bonus of their prestigious background, they become the darlings of the media and the kings of attention.
Take the annual Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, for example.
As the pinnacle competition for student knights, this large-scale tournament, where thousands of Blazers compete for the title of the strongest, is broadcast on television every year. The broadcasting rights alone can fetch over a billion yen.
Some powerful Blazers gain considerable fame and accumulate many fans even before the tournament begins.
Eiji is just a first-year student at Hagun Academy. Before enrolling, he had no fame whatsoever. Due to his master's deliberate protection, even the media was unaware that the God of War had a disciple like him.
However, four days ago, the duel between him and Kurono Shinguuji was filmed by Kagami Kusakabe and uploaded to the internet, seemingly garnering him a considerable amount of popularity.
Even before school started, he had already become famous at Hagun Academy.
After all, he once defeated the former world's third-ranked knight. In a school where most students are E-Rank or D-Rank Blazers, this was enough to make him seem like a celestial being.
"Nangou-kun, Nangou-kun!"
Kagami Kusakabe squeezed next to Eiji, pressing his arm against her "fate," skillfully using her weapon to swing his arm like a swing, while her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"I've actually been wanting to interview you. Do you have any free time soon?"
Her youthful face and considerable "fate" made her actions quite irresistible, making it hard to refuse her.
"We'll talk privately later."
Eiji thought for a moment, then, seeing her eagerness, readily agreed to her request.
"Really?"
"I actually want to chat privately with Nangou-kun too~!"
"I actually... kind of want to see Nangou-kun bleed..."
Seeing Kagami successfully cozy up to the handsome boy, the other female classmates quickly became enthusiastic, crowding around him.
"Alright, students, return to your seats... cough... the homeroom meeting is about to start!"
Just as Eiji was about to drown in a sea of affection, a weak voice came from outside the classroom.
Following the voice, the teacher appeared in front of everyone.
She was a very young female teacher with slightly wavy, light black hair, dressed in standard office attire—a white shirt and a black pencil skirt—looking quite impressive with her curves.
Although her figure and face were quite attractive, her complexion was as pale as a corpse.
Her face was pale, her eyes sunken, and her voice was weak, as if she were chronically ill, making the students worry that she might collapse halfway through the class.
This frail and sickly appearance was enough to make the young fans to stop for the moment.
After the teacher arrived, no matter how reluctant or regretful they were, everyone had to return to their seats.
Eiji glanced around the classroom, his face darkening slightly.
Except for the front row, there were no other seats available.
It seems that school is the same everywhere.
Eiji had no choice but to sit in the front row, causing the girl next to him to frequently glance his way.
"Cough... alright—☆! Congratulations to all the new students on officially enrolling☆!"
The young female teacher smiled brightly. Standing on the podium, she pulled a party popper, creating a loud bang, and colorful confetti flew everywhere.
"I am the homeroom teacher for Class 1-1, your teacher—Yuuri Oreki! Although I'm a rookie teacher and this is my first time being a homeroom teacher, I will do my best to become good friends with everyone! Please don't be too formal, just call me 'Yuuri-chan,' that would make me very happy!"
The '-chan' was a bit strange.
"Wait, isn't it weirder to call the teacher a friend?"
"I feel like this teacher is going to be exhausting..."
Unidentified complaints came from the back.
"Alright, today is the first day of school, so we won't have any classes! However, I have an announcement to make regarding the upcoming
The Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival Representative Selection Battle.
As the name suggests, it is a selection process where a fixed number of students are selected from the total of over 700 students at the school to participate in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.
"The Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival is a national-level tournament where all student knights can participate. However, since the seats are limited, each school selects a fixed number of participants in their own way."
Yuuri stood on the podium, speaking weakly but with excitement, explaining to everyone in this contradictory tone.
"Although the Director already mentioned this during the opening ceremony, I will repeat it. In the past, Hagun Academy used ability values as the selection criteria to choose participants, right? But this year, that system has been abolished and replaced with a practical selection process where all students can participate!"
Among the seven knight schools in Japan, six originally used ability values as the criteria to select participants, meaning they chose students based on who had better stats. Hagun Academy was one of them.
But this year, with the new Director Kurono Shinguuji taking office, she make changes to the school, abolishing the previous ability value selection criteria and replacing it with a practical selection process.
"The selection battle is a round-robin format, and all students can participate. Each person should have a match every three days or so, with each person participating in at least ten matches, lasting nearly a semester! After the selection battle ends, the school will select the six students with the best results to represent Hagun Academy in this year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival!"
One match every three days, with at least ten matches.
Considering it's a round-robin tournament, those who make it to the end will likely have to fight dozens of matches.
If it lasts an entire semester, by mid-July, Hagun Academy's six representatives will be finalized.
In other words, the selection process will last about three months.
"The Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival..."
Hearing Yuuri's more detailed explanation, Eiji fell into his own thoughts.
A tournament that gathers all student knights in Japan to compete for the一
Such a tournament will undoubtedly be filled with experts, with no shortage of C-Rank knights, and B-Rank knights will certainly be present. There will also be unprecedented A-Rank knights like Stella participating... For anyone aiming for the pinnacle, this is undoubtedly a great challenge.
For Eiji, this is like a massive trial. Only by overcoming this trial can he qualify to break through, shed his weakness, and reach the true pinnacle.
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹
Thanks for being awesome! ❤️