"Actually, I wanted to tell you last month."
"But I was afraid you'd get anxious and let it affect this exam, so I didn't tell you."
"Here's the thing: our academy holds a Cross-Country Race once every three years."
"Alright, before that, let me introduce this Cross-Country Race. As the name suggests, you can tell it has something to do with obstacle running."
"In the Cross-Country Race, we'll place all contestants in a massive forest spanning forty kilometers."
"All contestants must travel from the starting point to the finish line within ten days."
"During the competition, you'll have to prepare your own food and water."
"Each student will also carry three Star Pillars, and during the competition, they can seize the Star Beads on their opponents."
"After the competition ends, we'll rank everyone according to their number of Star Beads. The top ten students will receive generous rewards."
Eichi found this somewhat familiar after hearing it. The rules were pretty similar to the tiebreaker from the previous Inter-Academy Exchange Match.
But that wasn't the important part. What interested Eichi was the rewards.
He immediately asked, "Then, Director, what rewards are there?"
Director Zhi Guan wore an expression that said, I knew it.
"First, there are cash rewards. Those are a must, and they're quite substantial."
"The top thirty all receive cash rewards. Those ranked from thirtieth to eleventh receive one million each."
"From tenth through fourth, the reward is three million. The top ten receive five million each."
Eichi's eyes lit up at that. Although he still had quite a bit of money on him, money really did not last.
In just the past few months, he had spent several million on making Pokéblocks. The Pokéblocks for his Pokémon to eat had also cost one or two million.
Altogether, that