"D-Daru Finnley advances to the next round," declared Instructor Talon stutteringly, visibly shaken.
Had he underestimated the so-called Fallen Sword Prince?
Was that his true prowess, or did he merely luck out this time, given that Jason lost his cool and didn't even fight like someone wielding a longsword should?
In any case, the momentary silence was quickly replaced with a burst of commotion.
"H-Holy shit! Who the hell said he's the Fallen Sword Prince?!"
"W-Wait, was he hiding his skill or…"
"Hmph, he just lucked out this one time! If he could always do this, then why would he be struggling in the sparring matches? Also, if he's really that great, then why did he awaken a trash sword, huh?!"
As the onlookers talked with enthusiasm, Zach stared daggers at Daru, gritting his teeth while his underlings rushed in and checked on Jason.
Daru, on the other hand, merely stepped out of the duelling area to wait for further announcements from his instructor, seemingly pondering deeply about something.
Instructor Talon remained out of it for another second before managing to recollect himself.
He knew the personalities of his students by now, and Talon was sure he couldn't allow anyone from his class to stay behind, or a fight might break out.
False Witness and his goon squad certainly weren't going to take this lying down
He had to dismiss them for today and allow them to calm down over the weekend.
Otherwise, this might turn into a situation that could only be "resolved" in the Myriad Sword Realm.
Talon left for a few minutes, talking to the instructors of the other classes.
Everyone naturally agreed to dismiss everyone for today.
No one was allowed to stay behind and continue training, since they had an important meeting to attend, anyway.
Daru wasn't too disappointed, as he felt he was close to reaching enlightenment about the sword skill he was trying to learn in the Myriad Sword Realm.
He shall return to his suite for tonight and ponder more.
After announcing the dismissal, Talon left a reminder, telling everyone that if someone dared take even one of their lives in the Myriad Sword Realm, they were to report immediately.
This was naturally a hint for Zach and his goons not to take things too far, or the academy will step in.
That matters in Neo-Earth should be resolved in Neo-Earth.
At least while they were still students, as the instructor was all too aware that killings would be more common in the world of veterans, and that if one was important enough, one would easily get away with it.
The instructors waited for everyone to leave before personally locking the gates of the sixth training field, heading together to the meeting they had to attend.
***
…Around an hour and a half later…
More than a hundred instructors gathered at a huge meeting hall, along with the higher-ups of Cluster 4's Southern Bladeborn Academy, representatives from the Seven Sword Guilds, and agents of the Neo-Earth World Government.
There was food, drinks, servers, and the seats were comfortable enough for the instructors to take a nap in if they truly needed it.
However, everyone was fully prepared not to sleep today, as all twenty-eight bladeborn academies had to be in sync just for tonight and tomorrow morning.
After all, that time of the year has come again.
Every second weekend after a new batch of bladeborns had entered the Myriad Sword Realm, there would be a duel event between the highest level novice of each race, and based on the observed trend, their enemy this year should be either a Veshari or a Vyrrkan.
The race that was not their opponent between the two would face the Aetherborns.
They would much prefer to fight the former than the latter, especially at such an early stage.
The reason everyone was so on edge was that the consequences of losing were too dire.
If their chosen representative lost, then all novice bladeborns of this batch would lose one life.
As for the rewards for winning, they varied every time, but they always benefited the entire race for a select period of time.
The winning race representative would also naturally obtain a separate reward for themselves.
"Everyone, let's begin the meeting," declared a bald, bespectacled old man with a full beard.
"Alright, alright, Principal Jebroham, let's hear about your talented students, shall we?" boldly remarked a grape-haired young man in his early twenties, sitting in one of the representative seats of the Seven Sword Guilds.
The way the bastard spoke was outright rude, and his timing was inappropriate.
Yet, Principal Jebroham only nodded, seemingly expecting such a thing to happen sooner or later.
There was also none among the instructors and the academy leader's aides who dared reprimand the young man.
And so, the somewhat boring reporting began from the instructor of Class 1.
They had nothing to do except ensure that the representative wouldn't come from their academy, anyway, or if it did, then they must report the matter to the Neo-Earth World Government's agent and give the representative a few advantages within a one-minute window.
There were already people assigned to watch the most talented students of all the academies.
As for Cluster 4's Southern Bladeborn Academy, only Snowflower and the lone SS-ranker, Skylar of the renowned Ashwind Family, were the only ones capable of being chosen, especially the former, as her sword's passive allowed her to level up quickly.
Of course, while every top student of every academy had reported their current levels and the matter was confirmed using oath scrolls, Neo-Earth didn't dare let its guard down.
The consequences for doing so were simply far too disastrous.
Currently, the almost-certain representative was an SSS-Ranker, hailing from the Northern Bladeborn Academy of Cluster 3, who reported that he had already managed to level up to twenty-one.
Their chances this year were promising, even if their opponent was a Vyrrkan.
The world government only had to ensure that whoever the representative would be, they would be given a few advantages on time.
The communications must be fast, clear, and reliable.
There could be no mishaps, or an entire generation would be put at a massive disadvantage against their counterparts in the other races.