Since the start of the massive selection battles for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, two weeks had already passed.
The grueling selection tournament lasted approximately three to four months, during which students aiming to officially qualify were scheduled for a high-stakes match every three days.
Due to the brutal round-robin format, the number of matches required to win all the way to the end was actually quite substantial.
And this was only the internal representative selection tournament for Hagun Academy.
Previously, among the prestigious Seven Academies across Japan, six had determined their representatives based purely on paper ability values—simply selecting the few students with the highest raw ability scores and automatically assigning them to compete in corresponding order, with replacements only occurring if someone was severely injured and withdrew.
Until last year, Hagun Academy had also stubbornly followed this elitist selection system.
But as soon as Kurono Shinguuji took office as the new Academy Chairwoman this year, she implemented sweeping reforms within the school.
The phrase "a new broom sweeps clean" was hardly enough to describe the upheaval she caused among the faculty.
One-third of the teachers and board members, regardless of seniority or political backing, were immediately purged and no one could stop her, no matter who tried.
Afterward, she publicly revised the method for selecting representatives for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival during a massive general assembly.
She shifted the school from a simple, comparison of ability values to a purely merit-based combat approach.
According to the system she established, to even qualify for consideration, a student needed a flawless record of at least three wins and absolutely zero losses!
In this prestigious knight academy, filled with ambitious Blazers, achieving such a flawless streak was beyond mere difficulty.
...
Today was Noah's fourth match.
His opponent was a confident third-year student named Shin Kanamori.
"The Calamity... At first, I thought it was a bit too flashy for a mere first-year to have such a terrifying title. But before I knew it, he has already flawlessly won three matches in a row," a strong-looking older boy remarked, crossing his arms as he stared intently at Noah down in the arena.
He was an executive member of the Student Council and one of the so-called "Four Strongest" of the academy—the Student Council Vice-President, Utakata Misogi.
He, too, had won all three of his matches so far.
After three long rounds of selection battles, the true abilities and practical combat levels of the various participants had largely been revealed to the scouts.
Unlike previous years, this year's batch of first-year students stood out particularly well.
Although completely overshadowed by the globally famous "Strongest Genius Knight," this crop of freshmen still far surpassed the combat standards of previous years.
Utakata's heavy sigh resonated with his companion standing beside him on the balcony.
"Well, he is certainly impressive. In comparison to him and the princess, the second-years haven't shown much notable progress at all."
Responding to him was a tall girl wearing a sporty track jacket.
Renren Tomaru.
Also one of the Four Strongest of the academy.
The two of them wore bitter expressions not just because they were here to scout the match, but also because they were officially on duty.
As members of the Student Council, they were strictly tasked with gathering information about notable students across all grades and maintaining a certain level of objectivity for the President.
Originally, their primary scouting focus had been on the Hunter, Shizuya Kirihara.
But he completely withdrew from his very first match without showing his face, and afterward underwent a drastic change in personality, becoming intensely moody and erratic, rarely even attending his necessary morning classes.
With that coward out of the running, aside from the elite Student Council members themselves, there were even fewer upperclassmen worth watching.
"In comparison to our class, there are just too many monsters among the first-years," Renren Tomaru sighed, her tone filled with genuine complaint.
At that moment, a girl sitting quietly in the row in front of them turned around and spoke with a gentle smile.
"Rather than worrying about that, let's just focus on enjoying the exciting match for now."
"Ah... whenever the Calamity has a match, the President always shows up..."
"You seem unusually concerned about him, President. Hmm, let me guess—could it be that you actually think this freshman might threaten your absolute position as the strongest in the academy?" Renren chuckled, waving her hand dismissively.
"Of course, I'm just joking! Hahaha!"
There couldn't possibly be a student stronger than the Student Council President.
Not even the Crimson Princess.
Both Utakata Misogi and Renren Tomaru looked at the girl sitting before them with deep, unwavering admiration.
She had soft, chestnut-colored hair, styled into two simple braids that gave her a slightly rustic, approachable appearance.
Paired with her large, thick glasses, she looked exactly like a timid and old-fashioned librarian.
Yet, not a single person present in the massive stadium dared to underestimate her.
Because she was Tohka Todo—the Strongest of Hagun Academy!
She didn't respond to Renren's joke, instead adjusting her glasses and focusing intently on the arena below with a highly serious expression.
...
"Both combatants are now present! The selection match begins now!" the referee announced over the speakers.
"Ready... Go!"
With the sharp signal to start the match, the third-year student, Shin Kanamori, immediately manifested his Device—a pair of matching, jagged short swords appeared in his hands.
He aggressively raised the dual blades, each about 70 centimeters long.
Opening with a swift attack, Kanamori concentrated his B-Rank magical power into his Device, and arcs of yellow lightning crackled wildly across the twin blades.
Swinging the swords in an X-pattern, he hurled a massive blast of lightning directly at Noah.
The dazzling ball of plasma moved with incredible speed, almost reaching Noah the exact moment he summoned his own Device.
Noah casually raised his gauntleted hand, rapidly forming a thick ice shield.
But the lightning was too fast.
Before the ice shield could fully solidify at a molecular level, it was struck and shattered into countless shards that scattered through the air.
Freezing ice shards violently brushed past his face, but Noah remained completely expressionless—neither physically tense nor mentally flustered.
In contrast, Kanamori couldn't help but boast arrogantly after merely breaking through a single, hasty defense.
"Haha! So you are the one they call the Calamity! Lately, even among the third-years, I keep hearing rumors about you. But today, as your senior, I will teach you just how important real experience is in battle!"
As he spoke, Kanamori pointed the tips of his two blades together, channeling his magic power to form a massive golden ball of highly compressed lightning between them.
Loud gasps echoed from the commentators' booth above the arena.
"Oh! Is Kanamori planning to use his Noble Art right away to end the match quickly?!"
Noah silently watched as his opponent gathered magic power.
He slowly raised his own hand with his fingers pinched together, his palm facing outward.
In the next moment, brilliant crackling lightning appeared in his hand, quickly accumulating in density to match his opponent's intensity.
The commentators immediately grew excited!
"Here it comes! Noah has boldly chosen to use the exact same attribute as his opponent! Truly befitting his terrifying Ability to manipulate all elements!"
'What?'
'Instead of using earth attributes for grounded defense, this guy chose to arrogantly counter my lightning with lightning?'
After his initial shock, Kanamori felt a massive surge of anger.
He was being completely underestimated by a rookie!
"Fine! Let's see whose lightning is truly stronger!" Kanamori widened his eyes, aggressively crossing his twin blades as he swung them downward with a roar.
The roaring lightning converged into a single blinding point, forming a massive wave of electricity that he launched forward like a cannon blast.