The first applause came from the front rows of the assembly hall. Within moments, it spread throughout the chamber as delegation after delegation joined in, acknowledging both the ambition and the practicality of the proposal. The sound quickly grew into a sustained round of applause that echoed from one side of the hall to the other. To anyone watching from the outside, it would have looked as though the proposal had already been accepted.
One detail, however, immediately stood out.
The loudest applause did not come from the smaller nations.
Instead, it came from the world's largest powers.
The United States, China, India, the European Union, and several other major countries applauded with far greater enthusiasm than everyone else. Their delegates exchanged approving glances while continuing to clap, clearly recognizing opportunities that many of the smaller nations had not yet fully considered.
That reaction immediately unsettled a number of the smaller delegations.
Experience had taught them to become suspicious whenever every major power appeared happy at the same time. International politics rarely worked in such a straightforward manner, and if the strongest nations all supported the same proposal so enthusiastically, there was usually a reason behind it. Several ambassadors quietly leaned toward their advisers, already asking them to identify what advantage they had overlooked.
Unfortunately...
Their concerns were entirely justified.
The proposal truly did favor large nations in several important ways, even though it remained objectively fair according to the rules that had been presented. None of those advantages came from hidden clauses or dishonest wording. Instead, they arose naturally from differences in population, funding, educational infrastructure, and accumulated expertise.
For the great powers...
The proposal represented an enormous opportunity.
If they wished, they could use these competitions as a global stage to demonstrate their technological superiority. Every scientific breakthrough showcased before the world would reinforce their international prestige while reminding everyone else of the depth of their research institutions. Even if they chose not to reveal their most valuable discoveries, they could still present second-tier innovations impressive enough to secure high rankings.
At the same time...
They would gain something equally valuable.
Every participating nation would inevitably reveal a portion of its own research. Some discoveries might appear insignificant on their own, but together they would provide a remarkable overview of humanity's current technological development. Intelligence agencies would undoubtedly analyze every presentation in search of trends, weaknesses, and opportunities.
Some of the smaller nations recognized the danger almost immediately.
Many of them lacked the resources to protect promising scientists from foreign influence. If a brilliant researcher presented a revolutionary invention during the competition, wealthier countries could simply offer enormous salaries, state-of-the-art laboratories, and opportunities unavailable at home. For nations struggling to retain talented citizens even before the System arrived, the proposal introduced a completely new level of competition.
Some delegates worried about something even darker.
Not every government relied solely on attractive job offers.
History had shown that scientific talent occasionally became the target of intimidation, espionage, or outright assassination when diplomacy failed. Although no one spoke openly about such possibilities inside the assembly hall, the concern lingered in the minds of many representatives. A single extraordinary invention could potentially paint a target on its creator's back.
Curiously...
Almost none of the major powers seemed concerned about the additional five percent bonus itself.
From their perspective, the numerical reward mattered surprisingly little.
A nation capable of earning four thousand evaluation points would naturally gain a much larger benefit from five percent than a country whose total score barely reached four hundred. Population size, industrial capacity, educational investment, and economic strength all multiplied the value of every percentage point. The bonus simply amplified advantages that already existed.
Even so...
None of the delegates accused the European Union of acting unfairly.
The framework applied exactly the same rules to everyone.
Every nation, regardless of size, received the opportunity to compete under identical conditions. If a smaller country produced exceptional students or groundbreaking researchers, nothing in the proposal prevented them from outperforming much larger competitors. That possibility alone made the system difficult to criticize despite its obvious structural advantages.
Several representatives quietly reflected on Europe's confidence.
No one believed the European Union had introduced such an ambitious proposal without consulting its own experts first. Before presenting a framework that would shape humanity's future military alliance, they would undoubtedly have evaluated their own chances of success. The major powers assumed those discussions had already taken place long before today's meeting.
Their assumptions were correct.
Behind closed doors, both the European military leadership and the Ministry of Education had carefully reviewed the proposal. They had examined every category, simulated likely outcomes, and estimated Europe's long-term position under the new scoring system. Only after completing those evaluations had they given Philip permission to proceed.
The military's response had been remarkably straightforward.
"Go ahead."
That had been the unanimous recommendation.
They saw no reason to fear the proposed competitions. Europe possessed experienced armed forces, well-developed officer training, and centuries of accumulated military tradition. Even if individual countries occasionally underperformed, the Union as a whole remained confident in its ability to compete with anyone.
The Ministry of Education had been equally optimistic.
Their confidence rested upon a different foundation.
European universities had undergone an extraordinary transformation since the arrival of the System. Governments had poured unprecedented amounts of funding into education, recognizing that the younger generation would inherit a world fundamentally different from the one their parents had known. Universities now occupied a position of national importance rarely seen in previous centuries.
As a result...
The office of Minister of Education had become one of the most influential positions within several European governments.
Educational policy no longer revolved solely around economic development or academic achievement. It had become directly linked to national security, military readiness, technological advancement, and humanity's survival. Few ministries had experienced such a dramatic rise in importance over such a short period.
The European leadership also reached another interesting conclusion.
They doubted that the strongest nations would differ dramatically in the military categories.
The world's leading powers all possessed professional armies, extensive training programs, and enormous budgets. Differences certainly existed, but those differences would probably remain relatively small at the highest level of competition. The decisive factor, they believed, would emerge elsewhere.
It would emerge through the student competitions.
That was where long-term investment truly revealed itself.
A nation capable of consistently producing exceptional officers, talented university teams, skilled professionals, and adaptable young adventurers would gradually accumulate advantages that could not easily be replicated through military spending alone. Winning those categories required decades of educational planning rather than simply purchasing better equipment.
The stakes therefore extended far beyond prestige.
Alliance rankings would directly influence how responsibilities and rewards were distributed during future Guardian Trials. A nation assigned to defend a strategically vital fortress would inevitably receive greater recognition than one protecting an isolated mountain pass. Since the System evaluated actual contributions rather than political promises, every assignment carried enormous long-term consequences.
Governments understood exactly what that meant.
The difference between first place and tenth place might determine access to resources worth millions of silver coins over the coming decades. Mana veins, strategic positions, rare discoveries, and countless other rewards could all depend upon a nation's standing within the alliance. No responsible government could afford to ignore such opportunities.
That understanding explained why Philip had distributed the proposal globally three hours before today's presentation.
Every participating nation began the discussion with identical information.
No delegation could later complain that Europe had secretly manipulated the process or withheld important details. Whether a country possessed five million citizens or five hundred million, every government had received the same document at exactly the same time.
Far away from the assembly hall...
Herman had reached much the same conclusion when he first read the proposal.
His recommendation had been immediate.
"Proceed."
The reasoning behind that confidence was surprisingly simple.
Even if Europe's conventional military occasionally struggled against stronger opponents, it possessed an advantage few regions in the world could match. The ancient trade families and great houses still preserved generations of accumulated knowledge in countless specialized fields. Herman openly admitted that modern governments could not compete with those families in terms of inherited expertise.
Fortunately...
They did not need to compete against them.
When Europe truly faced difficulties that exceeded ordinary governmental capabilities, those families had repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to step forward for the continent's benefit. Convincing them to help was rarely easy, and they certainly disliked unnecessary interference from politicians. Nevertheless, when Europe confronted genuine crises, they almost never refused assistance.
That knowledge reassured Herman enormously.
Combined with Europe's educational reforms, talented youth, and growing population of individuals possessing increasingly specialized genetic traits and professions, he believed the continent would remain highly competitive under the proposed framework. Other nations would undoubtedly excel in certain categories, but Europe possessed enough depth across multiple disciplines to remain near the top for many years to come.
From the perspective of the delegates gathered inside the United Nations, the proposal achieved something remarkably rare.
It was simultaneously imperfect...
And extraordinarily fair.
No nation received guaranteed victory.
No country was excluded from competing above its apparent weight.
Every participant entered the same competitions under the same rules, allowing success to depend upon preparation, discipline, education, and talent rather than political influence alone. For perhaps the first time since the System's arrival, the representatives of the world's nations found themselves looking at a proposal that, despite its flaws, offered humanity a genuine opportunity to compete together without abandoning fairness.