The participants for the Joint Training were selected as 20 students from each school.
Any student ranked Class C or higher could apply, and the selection was distributed evenly: 5 from Class S, 5 from Class A, 5 from Class B, and 5 from Class C.
This rule applied uniformly to all five schools. As for why the highest-ranked Class S wasn't given more slots, it was due to the small number of students in Class S and the fact that not many applied in the first place.
Students who achieved Class S-level grades usually had already established themselves by the second semester of their second year and didn't feel the need to participate in the Joint Training.
Of course, Class S students who were focused on building their careers, like Eisel or Hong Bi-Yeon, would naturally apply. However, those who were more relaxed about their careers, like Flame, didn't bother applying.
'I was going to participate at first, but…'
As the airship arrived at Seven Stadium and she saw the overwhelming crowd, Flame grimaced.
The Joint Training was a relatively interesting event even in the original story's plotline. Flame had considered applying right up until the last moment but ultimately decided against it.
The reasons were many, but one of them was simply... she wanted to rest.
The Joint Training was primarily an episode focused on Eisel and the protagonists, and the strict 5-student limit for participants played a significant role in her decision.
With Eisel, Hong Bi-Yeon, Ma Yu-Seong, and Hae Won-Ryang—four protagonist-level characters—already participating, there was only one slot left.
Flame had stepped aside, hoping Baek Yu-Seol would take that spot.
'I didn't expect him to skip entirely…'
If she had known Baek Yu-Seol wouldn't come, she might have joined, but in the end, resting was the right choice.
With her current mental state in shambles, nothing she did would have gone well.
Additionally, her magical condition wasn't great. Ever since the Wings of Light had manifested, every time she tried to use magic, the wings would spread against her will and disrupt her spells.
While Baek Yu-Seol had given her a bracelet to suppress her light attribute temporarily, if she overused magic during the Joint Training, the wings might uncontrollably appear again.
'It's not like it really matters if the wings get discovered now... but it'd be annoying.'
The students disembarking from the airship froze in their tracks, their mouths hanging open. Flame wasn't much different.
"Wow… that's an insane crowd."
The sheer size of Seven Stadium was already impressive, but watching ten massive airships land simultaneously was truly a breathtaking sight.
At the center of Seven Stadium stood a towering pillar that seemed to stretch into the heavens. Surrounding the pillar were giant golden rings which spinner continuously, forming an immense magical system equipped with all kinds of magical control mechanisms.
Even Flame, with her Class 6-level magical knowledge, couldn't grasp the technology behind it. It was a technology far beyond her understanding.
In reality, even if Flame's level had been higher, she might never have been able to comprehend such a system. After all, she was primarily a magical warrior, not a researcher or engineer.
"Hey, Flame! Look over there!"
While Flame was busy admiring Seven Stadium, her friends nudged her shoulder (or at least tried to, but due to the height difference, they ended up tapping her arm) and pointed.
"It's the girls from Deichelli!"
"Oh, that Deichelli?"
Deichelli was a famous, slightly unique prestigious magic academy. It was well-known for producing outstanding female students, who often outshone their male peers. In fact, many of the most renowned magical female warriors in society were Deichelli graduates.
Although they had participated in the previous Inter School Competition, a major incident had overshadowed their performance. Rumor had it that they were determined to redeem themselves this time.
"Wow… Their uniforms are pretty."
Flame's brief observation of Deichelli's prestigious school came down to this simple conclusion.
Indeed, the female students' uniforms were exceptionally beautiful, resembling elegant dresses worn by noble daughters or charming princesses.
'I see why so many girls enroll here.'
In stark contrast to the refined female uniforms, the male students' uniforms were painfully outdated. They looked like costumes straight out of an old fairy tale about princes.
Their uniforms had odd balloon-like padding on the shoulders, thickly padded thighs, and tights that clung tightly to their calves. It was so awkwardly designed that even the spectators felt secondhand embarrassment.
"Right? We're commoners, so we'd never get to wear dresses like that in our entire lives unless we enrolled in Deichelli."
They were undeniably pretty.
"But I still think the Stella uniform is better."
Overly extravagant dresses, while beautiful to look at, weren't really Flame's style. Honestly, she didn't think they'd suit her at all.
Recalling the dresses that had perfectly matched Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel during the first-year Persona practice, Flame shook her head.
Not just anyone could pull off such dresses. While some people, like Flame, looked best in simple, practical clothing, others, like Hong Bi-Yeon - who seemed born to be a princess - could effortlessly wear and carry the splendor of a grand dress.
Unlike the students from other schools, the female students of Deichelli didn't march in organized rows or columns. Instead, they moved freely toward Seven Stadium, their steps resembling a dance.
This contrasted starkly with the neighboring prestigious school Kaiden, whose students marched with rigid precision and perfect discipline.
'Compared to that, Stella…'
Completely free-spirited.
Rows? Columns? Discipline? Steps?
None of that existed.
The Stella students entered in such disarray that it was hard to tell the participants apart from the spectators. They didn't bother following any kind of order and each walked however they pleased.
While other schools seemed to have meticulously prepared their marches to project a certain image, Stella simply let their students do as they liked.
In hindsight, forcing order onto Stella's group of free-spirited and highly individualistic students would have looked far stranger. After all, the biggest strength of Stella was its diverse and unique student body, gathered to study magic without stifling their personalities.
One of Stella's unique traits, compared to other prestigious schools, was its open acceptance of even commoners without bias.
Following Deichelli and Kaiden, the opening procession concluded with the 20 students from the Al-Rihen Magic School and the Kaon Magic School marching into the stadium.
The Kaon Magic School not only sent 20 students but also brought along a full brass band trailing behind them. The loud trumpets were so noisy that Flame found herself getting slightly annoyed.
"That looks really cool…"
Other students, however, seemed to view it differently.
"If my grades were just a little better, I would've applied. Such a shame..."
"I almost made it to Class C this time, but I messed up the practical exam."
"Flame, you still got a perfect score, right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. I guess."
"I heard your GPA is a 5?"
"Of course, it's Flame. I expected nothing less."
"… What kind of grading scale even allows a 5.0?"
Since the maximum GPA was 4.5, getting a 5.0 would practically require burying the professor in dirt and blackmailing them. In fact, even a 4.5 might be a realm only attainable after such drastic measures.
"I'm so jealous. If I were you, Flame, I'd have signed up right away."
As others commented on why she didn't participate, Flame could only offer an awkward smile.
It wasn't that she had no interest in such things. Rather, her grades were already high enough that she didn't feel the need. For students with lower grades, participating in events like this was a chance to prove themselves.
That wasn't always the case, though. Ma Yu-Seong, for example, was participating just because he was bored.
Flame glanced toward the very front, where Ma Yu-Seong was leisurely smiling. According to the original story she knew, this was the point where Ma Yu-Seong would undergo a major dark turn.
In the novel, Eisel and Ma Yu-Seong didn't possess the kind of power they had now.
Second-year Eisel in the original story was only around Class 4, while Ma Yu-Seong barely managed to reach Class 5.
During the Joint Training, a minor incident occurred. A beast that was originally supposed to be a risk level 3 suddenly rampaged, raising the difficulty to risk level 5.
At this time in the original story, Hong Bi-Yeon was gradually being written out of the plot and didn't participate in the Joint Training. As a result, there was no one to help Eisel and Ma Yu-Seong.
They were forced to overcome the crisis on their own. However, the series of accidents that followed made it increasingly difficult to handle, and when Eisel was severely injured, Ma Yu-Seong finally succumbed to his dark transformation.
But now?
'Even if the same incident happens, there's no need to worry.'
The protagonists, including Ma Yu-Seong, had already surpassed Class 6 and were approaching Class 7. Even if they stepped into society today, they would be regarded as seasoned veteran magical warriors. There was nothing capable of threatening them now.
Even in the unlikely case of a risk level 7 threat, the instructors would immediately detect and respond to the danger.
In many ways, the situation was much better than in the original story, leaving no reason for Flame to get involved.
"But doesn't Eisel seem a bit off?"
"Yeah. She looked tired earlier on the airship too."
At her friends' comments, Flame looked over at Eisel.
Indeed, unlike the other participants from different schools, whose eyes sparkled with excitement, Stella's students gave off a noticeable air of indifference, as if they were already bored.
This was especially true for the Class S students, and Eisel stood out as looking the most exhausted.
'Why does she look so drained?'
Flame couldn't help but wonder, as she had no idea what Eisel had been up to recently.
In the original story, there was no subplot about Eisel sneaking out at night to stir up trouble among the nobles of Adolevit.
"That's a bit concerning…"
Although Flame didn't know the reason, she hadn't expected Eisel's condition to be so worn down.
Fortunately, Hong Bi-Yeon looked perfectly fine in comparison. If something were to happen, Flame thought it might be safe to leave things to her.
Zing!
"Ugh."
Just as she thought about relying on Hong Bi-Yeon, a tingling sensation shot through Flame's head, making her grimace.
'What now?'
This sensation typically came when something Flame had hoped for was about to become reality. However, this time, she hadn't wished for anything at all.
"What's wrong, Flame?"
"No, it's nothing…"
Something felt strange, but Flame didn't think this feeling was ominous. If anything, it felt like the kind of sensation that arose when things were going well.
'Is this a sign that Baek Yu-Seol is resolving another incident?'
It was just her intuition, but it was an almost spot-on guess.
"If that's the case, then I can relax…"
Zing!
"…Or not. What now?"
The throbbing in her skull felt as though it might split her head apart.
Pressing her temples firmly, Flame glanced over at Eisel.
This time, the signal seemed to be emanating strongly from Eisel, which made it clear that things wouldn't go as smoothly as they had in the original story.
"Ugh… Guess I can't just sit this one out."
She didn't know what kind of trouble had come Eisel's way this time, but now that she realized her friend was in distress, she couldn't ignore it.
It wasn't because Eisel was a protagonist. It was because she was her friend.