The seven fell into silence.
Liam whispered, "Sorry, Mentor..."
Seraphina wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Both my daughter and I had made this mental preparation. It's just... Besides, she's only missing; there's still hope of finding her."
Even though she knew that hope was extremely slim.
Seraphina pulled herself together and said, "We are Contractors. If we don't step forward, who else will guard this land?"
"You all heard about what happened in the Trenia Empire a while ago, right?"
Everyone nodded.
The Trenia Empire had failed to suppress the Lava Rift. The Fire Demon clan had broken through the defense line and entered the mortal world, destroying five cities. The losses were immeasurable.
Seraphina said, "We are not Trenia. We in Arcana must keep the enemies within the rifts!"
"But who can be completely selfless? People all have close and distant relationships."
"Naturally, we hope to prioritize suppressing the disaster tide at the Wailing Rift. But aren't the other academies thinking the same way?
Unfortunately, no single academy has the strength to suppress a rift alone; some can barely even resist. That's why we have to adopt this method."
"We compete based on how well each academy trains students, trains warriors. We're willing to accept the outcome of the bet."
Only then did everyone understand the full story behind the Nine-Academy Alliance Exchange Tournament.
Kylen also had to admit that people truly did have close and distant bonds.
No wonder the academy attached so much importance to the exchange tournament.
This was no ordinary competition at all.
It was a sad song soaked in blood and tears, a difficult choice for Contractors between the greater good of their country and their personal emotions.
Seraphina apologized slightly. "Sorry for bringing up such heavy topics."
"Let's introduce ourselves to each other. From now on, you'll be teammates who fight side by side."
The seven took turns stating their names: Kylen, Elara, Liam, Victor, Chloe, Isabella, and Selene.
Seraphina said, "It's our generation's failure that you young people are forced to step onto the battlefield so early."
"But I hope that one day, the threat of abyssal rifts will end at your hands."
"The Arcana Empire's annual budget for Contractor training already exceeds 10% of the total budget. You should understand what that percentage means. If it weren't for universal contracting increasing overall productivity, I'm afraid..."
The seven nodded. This meant the empire was doing everything in its power.
Seraphina shook her head. "Let's not talk about this anymore."
"Let me explain the rules of the qualifying round."
"Each of the five departments will select some students to participate.
The Practical Tactics Department and our Otherworldly Creatures Department each have 10 quotas, and the other three departments share 12 quotas in total."
"There are also open selection quotas, open to all students regardless of department, 16 quotas in total. That's 48 students altogether."
"After that, we'll use a single-elimination system with a same-class avoidance principle.
Finally, eight students will be selected to represent the academy in the Nine-Academy Alliance Individual Battle."
"S-rank students get a bye in the first round, but they must win at least two matches.
In addition, there's a special Team Battle each academy will send one team for a seven-on-seven duel.
The winner will represent the academy in the Nine-Academy Alliance Team Battle."
The rules were simple. Time was tight, so they needed to select the participants quickly.
Seraphina looked at the seven and said, "I will do my best to guide each of you, and you should also communicate more with each other. Also, let's choose a team leader."
The seven looked at each other.
In the end, their eyes focused on Kylen and Elara.
Isabella said, "You two are the only S-rank students in the team. The team leader should definitely be chosen from you two."
Liam, Victor, Chloe, and Selene all nodded in agreement.
They had all watched the videos of Kylen and Avelia's performance. The shocking scenes made the five of them feel inferior.
Elara had been admitted through special recruitment and seemed to have a prominent family background; naturally, she was also qualified.
Seraphina looked at the two. "Kylen, Elara. What do you think?"
Elara shook her head. "I... just arrived today. I don't know much about Kylen."
Kylen also said, "Mentor, you decide."
Seraphina said, "Then let's go by strength. The two of you, S-rank students, have a duel. That way, we'll know who is more suitable."
"Besides, there are quite a few benefits to being the team leader. Don't you want to fight for it?"
Seraphina's proposal immediately received unanimous approval from the other five.
"Agreed!"
"Straight to the point!"
"Agreed!
A duel is definitely needed!"
Kylen and Elara looked at each other, then finally agreed. "All right."
"Let's go to the training ground!"
Seraphina led the group to the training ground.
She briefly explained the rules: stop at the point of contact. The match ends when a contracted creature loses combat capability or is knocked out of the arena.
The training ground's arena was quite wide, 300 meters long and 150 meters wide, more than enough for low-tier Contractors to display their abilities.
The other six sat in the spectator seats, staring intently at the two.
Elara stood at a distance and said, "I heard Kylen has already reached the Ascension Realm? What a coincidence, I'm in the same realm too. This will be a fair duel."
Kylen held Avelia's hand. "Please teach me a lesson. Elara, don't worry, I'll hold back."
Elara's expression turned serious.
She hadn't witnessed Kylen's battle in person, but the shocking scene of him taking on a hundred people alone and ordering dozens of contracted creatures to take their own lives with a single command made her uneasy.
Elara guessed this must have been achieved through some medium, and based on intelligence, it was most likely Kylen's blood.
And Avelia happened to be a Vampiric Slime who could manipulate blood.
Their compatibility was too good, so good that an ordinary person would be instantly defeated just by facing them.
However, Elara was the legitimate daughter of a prominent family. She also had an S-rank talent and a high-tier sequence contracted creature; she was not afraid of Kylen.
"Let's begin!"
As soon as the words fell, Elara leaped into the air. A pure white two-headed griffin carried her upward, pulling distance to avoid being hit by Kylen's blood.
The griffin was pure white all over. What made it unique was its two heads, one radiating holy light, the other engulfed in sacred flames.
Sequence No. 63 Two-Headed Griffin, a powerful race from the Eternal Rift in the imperial capital.
Each two-headed griffin had different attributes. Once they gathered in groups of thousands, they could immediately unleash a devastating magical baptism.
After taking human form, their two heads made them look like conjoined twins, not attractive at all. So they usually didn't take the initiative to transform into humans.
Coupled with Elara's S-rank talent, Void Condensation Explosion, she could condense attribute energy into an energy ball smaller than a fingernail, then make it suddenly explode and disperse.
This terrifying power earned her the title of "humanoid bomber."
S-rank students usually possessed strategic potential that could change the tide of battle.
As soon as the duel began, the griffin's Holy Roar and Sacred Flame Baptism descended from the sky.
Kylen and Avelia's figures looked extremely tiny in the face of this violent energy.
Yet Avelia's crimson gelatinous shield condensed instantly. All the holy flames bombarded the shield but failed to break through even a little.
Elara's pupils contracted.
Holy flames were inherently effective against cold and gloomy powers; they should have had an absolute advantage against a Vampiric Slime. Why could Avelia's shield block them so easily?
Even more, the holy flames were gradually being covered and devoured by the shield.
"It's useless! Void Condensation Explosion!"
Elara activated her talent. The massive energy from the pouring holy flames was pulled and condensed by a small black hole-like force, forming an energy ball with extremely terrifying density.
As long as Elara willed it, it would explode instantly, incinerating the enemy to ashes.
How will you deal with this move?
As the legitimate daughter of a prominent family, she didn't believe that other S-rank students at Saint Laurent Academy could truly compare to her.
The heritage of her family, the gap in resources, these were gaps that ordinary people could hardly overcome.
It wasn't that she looked down on others, but with her talent and the training her family had provided since childhood, there was no reason for her to lose to someone with far fewer resources.
Kylen remained calm and composed. "I see. Your talent is quite interesting."
"Avelia, let's end this."
Is he giving up? Elara thought subconsciously.
But the next moment, a sense of crisis screamed wildly in Elara's mind.
It was the threat of death.
Kylen had only gotten serious for a split second, yet Elara's instinct screamed that she couldn't win.
How was this possible?
Kylen still stood sideways, extending his right hand. "The King's order cannot be defied, even by inanimate objects."
"Void Condensation Explosion of yours, obey the King's order and bloom!"
The Void energy ball suddenly shot toward Elara.
And the two-headed griffin beneath Elara seemed to be controlled by some force. It couldn't help but crash into the energy ball she had condensed herself.
The fear of death overwhelmed her.