The Hundred-Academy Exchange Meeting was divided into two main parts: the defense rounds and the Research Results Presentation.
The defense rounds were open to all students without restriction, regardless of their year or background. All they could rely on was the knowledge they had acquired and their ability to think.
This part was further divided into three stages: the Preliminary Debate, the Second Defense, and the Final Defense. Students were screened at each stage, and only those who achieved outstanding results in both the Preliminary Debate and the Second Defense qualified to take the stage for the Final Defense.
The Preliminary Debate took the most straightforward format-all participants answered questions at their own seats, with the questions distributed in writing and a time limit imposed.
The Second Defense took things a step further: all students who passed the Preliminary Debate gathered in another, larger hall and took turns going onstage to give oral defenses before the many teachers and students in the audience.
The Final Defense was the most demanding stage of all-only a handful of students qualified to enter the conference room where the five academy heads sat. There, they faced the five Grand Mage-level heads one by one, submitting to their direct scrutiny and questioning.
In addition, the questions for both the Preliminary Debate and the Second Defense were decided in advance by the heads of the Five Academies. They would only be revealed at the appropriate time, leaving students a limited window to prepare.
The Final Defense was entirely different. One question would be randomly selected from several problems that had plagued the magical academic community for years, and students had to propose reasonable hypotheses and attempt to solve it.
As a result, the preparation time for the Final Defense was far longer than for the previous