Strong Teams from Each Academy

A massive Spatial Window unfolded above the Student Council Office, drawing everyone's attention.

Displayed within it was a staircase-like roster, layered upward like a castle.

The names of team after team, each formed by a pair of academy students, appeared on the roster before everyone's eyes.

This was the Phoenix Star Martial Festival's tournament schedule.

"Th-There are so many participants...!"

Toudou Kirin could not help but marvel at the densely packed names.

Claudia's voice rang out at just the right moment.

"The actual number of participants in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival is 512, forming 256 teams. They will be divided into brackets by the Operating Committee and compete on different stages throughout the city after the opening ceremony."

During the Star Martial Festival, the stages throughout Asterisk's City District would be put into extensive use for the matches.

Including Sirius Dome, the main all-purpose venue, all eleven large and medium-sized stages in Asterisk would be used as competition grounds for the Star Martial Festival.

The tournament brackets would be designed by the Operating Committee, whose members were selected by the Integrated Enterprise Foundations backing each academy.

In order to build excitement for the Star Martial Festival as a global event, the Operating Committee would do its best to spread out the powerful contestants from each academy during the early rounds. This prevented them from facing one another too soon and being eliminated in clashes between strong opponents before they could put on spectacular matches in the later stages.

Thus, when Azer and the others found their names on the tournament schedule, they unsurprisingly discovered that their opponents were all obscure minor figures from their respective academies.

Of course, they were only minor figures from Azer and the others' perspective.

As a world-class event where the six academies competed on the same stage, nearly everyone who dared register for the Star Martial Festival had some confidence in their own strength. At the very least, they had to be ranked within their academy; otherwise, stepping onto the stage would only mean humiliating themselves before the entire world.

To ordinary students, these ranked competitors were naturally no minor figures. But to Azer and the others, they were nothing much.

Therefore, after seeing the tournament schedule, everyone looked extremely relaxed.

"Looking at these brackets, we probably won't run into each other before the official schedule."

Amagiri Ayato said so with a smile.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Yulis was not surprised in the slightest.

Contestants from the same academy would also be deliberately spread apart in the early rounds. It was not completely impossible for them to meet, but the chances were very low.

Moreover, in their team, Yulis herself was ranked fifth at Seidoukan Academy. Although Amagiri Ayato was unranked, the Operating Committee could not possibly be unaware that he was a Four-Colored Magic Swords User. Their team would certainly be regarded as a strong one, so there was no way they would face a championship contender team made up of two Ranked First competitors during the preliminaries.

Claudia continued.

"The Phoenix Star Martial Festival lasts approximately two weeks."

"The first week consists of the preliminaries, which will select the Top Thirty-Two. The brackets are exactly as you see them now. You only need to follow the tournament schedule and compete. Unless something major happens, all of you should be able to advance into the official schedule without issue."

"Once the Top Thirty-Two have been decided, the official schedule will begin in the second week. At that point, representatives from each academy will draw lots to form a new tournament schedule. The teams will compete in pairs, advancing from the Top Thirty-Two to the Top Sixteen, then from the Top Sixteen to the Top Eight, followed by the semifinals to determine the Top Four, and finally the finals to decide the champion and runner-up."

"If our academy wants to earn points, we need teams to advance beyond the Top Thirty-Two."

The points Claudia spoke of were the scores used by the six academies to calculate their respective results during each season's Star Martial Festivals.

Only when contestants entered the official schedule would their final rankings be counted as points and added to their academy's total score, which was used to determine each academy's overall results.

The higher Azer and the others placed in the Star Martial Festival, the more points Seidoukan Academy would receive.

"Whether Seidoukan Academy can break free from its recent slump in this season's Star Martial Festivals depends on your performances in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival."

Claudia said this.

"To be honest, this Phoenix Star Martial Festival holds an extremely important place in our overall strategy for this season's Star Martial Festivals. It would not be an exaggeration to say that success or failure rests on all of you. I hope you will perform well and achieve the highest rankings possible."

As mentioned earlier, among Asterisk's six academies, some excelled at particular Star Martial Festivals.

Seidoukan Academy excelled most at the team-based Gryphon Star Martial Festival, while Lefevre Black Academy excelled most at the individual-based King Dragon Star Martial Festival. These two academies had won the most victories in their respective events and could practically be said to dominate them.

Given this, it was extremely difficult for the other academies to surpass those two in these events.

Especially since it had already been confirmed that the team from Seidoukan Academy that won the previous Gryphon Star Martial Festival would be competing again this season, while Lefevre's Ranked First, who had won two consecutive King Dragon Star Martial Festivals, would likewise certainly participate in this season's event.

It was practically an open declaration to everyone that Seidoukan Academy and Lefevre Black Academy were determined to claim the championships of this season's Gryphon Star Martial Festival and King Dragon Star Martial Festival.

If the other academies wanted to win, then the Phoenix Star Martial Festival was likely their greatest opportunity.

Incidentally, among past Phoenix Star Martial Festivals, the contestants who won most often had come from Seidoukan Academy.

In other words, the Star Martial Festival Seidoukan Academy was actually best at was the Phoenix Star Martial Festival.

One reason Seidoukan Academy's performances in recent seasons of the Star Martial Festival had been so disappointing was precisely its mediocre results in the Phoenix Star Martial Festival, the event it excelled at most.

Under such circumstances, whether to wipe away its disgrace or reclaim its former glory, Seidoukan Academy needed to win as much as possible in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival. It was also a necessary condition for achieving a top overall ranking.

Incidentally, although Jielong Seventh Academy had never been particularly outstanding in any one Star Martial Festival, it had always managed to achieve respectable results. Arle Kant Research Institute, on the other hand, fluctuated greatly, with the Star Martial Festival it excelled at changing over certain periods.

As for Queenveil Girls' Academy...

Well, they had no Star Martial Festival that could be considered their strength.

"And now, these are the strongest teams from each academy among the pairs participating in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival—the ones most likely to pose a threat to all of you."

Claudia opened several more Spatial Windows, each displaying information on powerful teams from the other academies.

"Fortunately, no Ranked First competitors from the other academies are participating in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival, and there are very few ranked within the top five. Even so, these people can still pose a threat to all of you."

Claudia moved all the windows before the group.

Everyone immediately looked them over.

Azer was the first to finish reading through them, and he nodded to himself.

Compared to the original work he remembered, this list did not differ in any way.

"Among Seidoukan Academy's participating teams, the strongest should be the team formed by those ranked eleventh and twelfth: Armor Magician Doroteo Remus and Radiant Sword Elliot Forster."

"Among Jielong Seventh Academy's participating teams, the strongest should be the team formed by those ranked ninth and tenth: Phantom Reflection Creation Li Shenyun and Phantom Reflection Dissipation Li Shenhua."

"Among Queenveil Girls' Academy's participating teams, the strongest should be the team led by Water Dragon Sandra Sejour, who is ranked seventh. However, her partner is Card Witch Nina Achenval, who is ranked forty-seventh, making them less threatening than the previous two teams."

"As for Lefevre Black Academy and Arle Kant Research Institute..."

Before Claudia could finish, Azer, Amagiri Ayato, and Yulis narrowed their eyes in succession.