Chapter 43: The selection rights change hands! Hagun's hidden trump card?
As Arthur countered, the awkward atmosphere in the Chairwoman's office grew thicker.
Shinguuji Kurono and Stella were both standard combat-oriented individuals, and they hadn't deeply considered the flaws in the selection tournament system before.
Now that the major bug in the selection mechanism was mercilessly exposed by Arthur, Shinguuji Kurono, already annoyed by the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, buried her face in her hands and slumped back into her office chair.
"What if I add a round-robin system?"
"It won't work!" Arthur's tone was decisive, "Not only can the students' recovery speed not sustain it, but it will also consume a massive amount of Academy resources."
Arthur once again mercilessly shattered her illusion, and the new Chairwoman's face turned ashen, as she closed her eyes in complete resignation.
She wearily waved her hand: "Then what brilliant ideas does Arthur pendragon have? Surely you didn't say all this just to amuse me, did you?"
Arthur looked composed, raised two fingers, and said in a deep voice.
"First, postpone the start of the selection tournament by one week."
"Second, give me the planning authority for the representative selection battles."
"Give it to you!?"
For a moment, Shinguuji Kurono felt her temples throbbing.
She had originally thought the addition of a Rank A Knight was a blessing for Hagun Academy, but now it seemed neither of these two were easy to deal with!
"Arthur pendragon, Hagun Academy has never had a precedent of delegating selection authority to students, let alone new students."
Arthur withdrew his fingers, his gaze calmly sweeping over the Hagun Academy's past competition certificates displayed on the left.
[Top 4] [Top 4] [Top 4] [Third Place] [Third Place]
"My goal is to step onto the stage of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, confront other academies one by one, and ultimately achieve victory."
"If the Chairwoman is content with Hagun Academy's current situation, then just pretend I never spoke."
Shinguuji Kurono narrowed her phoenix eyes, crushed her cigarette fiercely into the ashtray, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement.
Hagun Academy's performance had already hit rock bottom; it couldn't get any worse than this!
It might as well take this opportunity to gamble on the variables brought by these two Rank A Knights!
Immediately, Shinguuji Kurono efficiently arranged Arthur and Stella's dormitories and sent someone to guide them to collect their daily necessities.
She, on the other hand, sat back down in front of her computer, her fingertip lightly tapping the mouse, and a new entrance examination report unfolded.
...
Name: Stella Vermillion
Age: 15
Nationality: Vermillion Kingdom
Attack Power: A
Defense Power: A
Magical Power: A
Magic Control: B
Physical Ability: B+
Luck: A
Inherent Armament: Hiryū Zai Ken
...
Shinguuji Kurono compared the two reports, a childish cunning glinting in her eyes.
Her gaze fell on the Inherent Armament section of Arthur's report—
As expected, it was blank.
The admissions team only dared to provisionally assign the codename [Elemental Dragon], not daring to overstep their bounds and name it arbitrarily.
Shinguuji Kurono lightly tapped four characters on the keyboard, and the frustration from Arthur's repeated rebuttals earlier was swept away, her mood instantly becoming pleasant.
"Arrogant brat, let this Chairwoman vent a little of an adult's resentment too."
...
Meanwhile.
On the way to collect daily necessities, the proud Stella couldn't hold back and invited Arthur to a mock battle.
Unexpectedly, Arthur flatly refused, without the slightest hesitation.
"I am a pure combatant; I never fight people using a fantasy form. If you don't have the corresponding resolve, don't challenge me."
With those words, Arthur left on his own, leaving Stella standing stunned, speechless for a moment.
As the acknowledged strongest in the Vermillion Kingdom, her power was far more than what the word 'talent' could encompass; the effort she put in was enough to make ordinary people fall far behind.
Even so, Stella had never thought of continuously refining her skills in pure actual combat.
Blazers fight in fantasy form, where attacks only reduce stamina, at most leading to exhaustion or unconsciousness.
Actual combat, however, is a struggle where every strike draws blood; a slight mistake can mean the difference between life and death.
Stella gazed at Arthur's receding back; that figure, perhaps, carried something heavier than the efforts she knew of.
However, if she could hear Arthur's thoughts at that moment, she would probably be so angry that she would immediately draw her sword.
"Mock battle? Heh, I'm not a Blazer, where would my Noble Phantasm get a fantasy form."
...
Under the guidance of the staff, Arthur successfully received two sets of Hagun male uniforms and a mobile terminal distributed by the Academy.
Upon entering the dormitory, Arthur first carefully put away the magical mystic code from Chaldea, then changed into Hagun Academy's uniform.
Both uniforms were black and white, which didn't make the nostalgic Arthur feel awkward at all.
Creak—!
The dormitory door opened again, and a tall, black-haired young man in a tracksuit walked in.
"Uh, excuse me, are you...?"
Arthur smiled and raised his hand: "Nice to meet you, I'm Arthur pendragon, a first-year student. Please take care of me."
"Fou~"
Arthur added: "Oh, this is Fou, my companion."
Seeing Arthur's friendly attitude and no strange looks, the black-haired young man quickly raised his hand in response.
"Hello, my name is Kurogane Ikki, also a first-year. Please take care of me."
"I never thought someone would be sharing a dorm with me."
Arthur heard this, looked at Kurogane Ikki, who was filled with endless emotion, and asked with a puzzled tone.
"Why do you say that? Does Hagun Academy have unique rules even for dormitory allocation?"
Kurogane Ikki nodded solemnly: "Of course."
"Hagun Academy operates on a ranking system and arranges students of similar strength to live together to encourage mutual improvement."
Arthur showed a thoughtful expression, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Similar strength? Then what is Kurogane's Blazer rank?"
Hearing this, Kurogane Ikki's expression suddenly became embarrassed.
But he now believed Arthur was in a similar situation to him, and since his own circumstances were already known throughout the school, there was no need to hide it.
"My Blazer rank is F, and my ability is only basic physical enhancement, so... I've been held back."
Arthur's eyes darkened slightly, and he took out his mobile terminal, quickly searching for Kurogane Ikki's name.
...
Name: Kurogane Ikki
Class: Hagun Academy First Year, Class 1
Age: 16
Blazer Rank: F
Attack Power: F
Defense Power: F
Magical Power: F
Magic Control: E
Physical Ability: A
Luck: F
Inherent Armament: Intetsu
...
According to the Academy's records, Kurogane Ikki's words were true; he was indeed only an F-rank Blazer.
However, in reality, Arthur didn't sense the slightest aura of weakness from him.
His movements were refined in every gesture, and the fighting spirit around him was steady and prolonged, all revealing the demeanor of a seasoned strong individual.
"Kurogane," Arthur began, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes, "Are you interested in a real combat sparring match with me?"