The next morning, outside the First Teleportation Center of the Grand War Academy of Astryx.
"Senior Wright…"
"Senior Wright…"
Warm greetings sounded one after another.
Link responded to each of them calmly. After a night of thinking, he had already settled down after his rebirth.
As one of the top students in the elite class of the Strategic Command Division, he was naturally popular within the academy.
" you were amazing in the last virtual battle! I'm sure you'll make a name for yourself in the multiverse this time!" A slightly round-faced junior girl waved her fist, full of excitement.
"Thank you, I'll do my best," Link replied with a small smile and a nod.
Unlike a few high-ranking figures who had been corrupted by power, most people still hoped that more talented Lords and Champions would rise up to protect the Astryx Federation against the Abyss.
"You're still as popular as ever," a clear and gentle voice said nearby.
Link turned and saw a girl in similar uniform standing there with a soft smile.
Liora Vale.
A student from Class 7 of the Strategic Command Division, known as the most beautiful girl in the department, and also his childhood friend.
In his previous life, the last thing he saw before his divine kingdom was destroyed, as he stood on the edge of death, was this spirit array master, someone with no real combat ability, rushing out from the defense line and running toward him.
She even seemed to be crying as she ran.
Link's lips lifted slightly.
"Why didn't you go in?" he asked.
"I was waiting for you," Liora said, blinking as she gently pulled on his sleeve. "Come on, the mobilization is about to start."
Link didn't resist and followed her.
From what he remembered in his previous life, Liora would fail the Lord assessment and her parents would then spend a large amount of money to buy her a high-level class selection card.
The assessment she took was the Dizen Defense Battle, at the Normal level.
The requirement was to protect six extraction machines during the mining period, with no more than two allowed to be destroyed.
It mainly tested troop control and real-time decision making, something that was not difficult, atleast for Link.
If he remembered correctly, Liora's final ranking in the academy was around 1280th.
This kind of real-time strategy trial had no fixed method. You had to adapt to the situation. If she had enough time for focused training, she might have passed, but with the assessment starting so soon, it was already too late.
Telling her now would only increase the pressure she felt and wouldn't help.
It would be better to find her a top-level Champion card later.
After thinking for a moment, Link gave up the idea of telling her anything.
After moving through the crowd, the two entered the auditorium and took their seats, waiting for the mobilization to begin.
Soon, a lively old man in formal clothes stepped onto the stage.
Eldon Graves, the dean of the Strategic Command Division, a demigod-level expert.
The entire hall fell silent instantly.
The old man nodded slightly and began speaking.
"I won't repeat the basic knowledge about the Thousand Realms. You are all elites of the academy, you've received the best training and resources, so you should also take on greater responsibility and face harder challenges."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear to everyone.
With a wave of his hand, images appeared behind him.
Some Champions used themselves as bait, rushing into waves of abyssal monsters, only to be torn apart.
A Lord fought until he ran out of food and ammunition, surrounded on all sides, but still did not step back.
Another one showed how in the early days of the Abyss invasion, when survival points were low and the barrier was about to collapse, countless Gods chose to sacrifice themselves. They destroyed their own divine kingdoms to kill abyssal demons far stronger than them, buying a small chance for the Federation to survive.
"The slots in the Thousand Realms are extremely valuable. There are less than 3,000 spots in the entire Federation this term, so every one of you must give it everything you have."
"The course you've chosen requires all of you to choose the Lord path. The situation on the Abyss battlefield is getting worse, and our home is under serious threat. Once the survival points run out and the barrier breaks, the human race as we know it will be destroyed."
He paused, then his tone sharpened.
"Now is the time for you to step forward. Tell me, do you want to be cowards, or heroes?"
"Heroes!"
"Louder!"
"We want to be heroes!"
The roar of voices echoed through the auditorium like a crashing wave.
The students, still young, had slightly flushed faces, but their eyes were firm.
"Very good. Now confirm your tasks and head to the teleportation center."
Eldon Graves looked at the passionate students and sighed quietly.
Among the countless races in the universe, some were born powerful, making the beginner trials much easier for them.
Humans of the Astryx Federation had great potential, but their starting strength was extremely weak, almost at the bottom compared to other races.
Even though these students were elites, very few of them would pass trials at Normal level or above.
Each person only had one chance.
Failure wouldn't kill them, but it would take away their chance to become anything special.
The Champion path was much easier than the Lord path at the same level, and the success rate was much higher.
But it was never that simple.
Even though they seemed similar at first, in the later stages, a Lord with equal talent could easily defeat thousands of Champions.
The Federation needed more powerful Lords to survive against both the Abyss and other races.
Ding… Ding…
A series of notification sounds rang out.
Everyone had received their task details.
"Phew… atleast mine is just a Normal-level Lord trial," Liora said, patting her chest in relief.
Then she turned to Link.
"What about you?"
"You'll see," Link said calmly.
He activated Alfred, and a message appeared before them.
⸻
Link Wright
Elite Class Rank 03
Task: Complete a Lord trial at Hard level or above
Reward: Basic Professional Selection Card (Small)
⸻
The Professional Selection Card allowed those who failed to still become a Champion. Even a basic one was very valuable.
These items were rare and only given to top-performing students.
"Oh my god… Hard level?" Liora looked at him, slightly nervous. "Are you confident?"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Link said with a relaxed smile. "You know I've always been top in simulations."
Hearing that, she leaned back a bit.
'That's true. He's always been insane in simulations. Even when I cheated and boosted my troops a bit, I still couldn't beat him.'
Thinking of that, Liora stood up, waved her fist, and said, "Then you better not mess up, or I'll laugh at you forever.."
Link smiled and nodded.
"You should make sure you're properly prepared as well."
"Mm!"
After watching her leave, Link's expression slowly became serious.
He wasn't thinking about the Hard-level trial.
With his past life experience, that wouldn't be difficult for him.
What he was thinking about was whether he should aim higher.
Brave level… or even Desperate level.
Even if he had perfect knowledge of the scenario, the success rate would still be extremely low.
And If he failed, he would lose his chance completely.
Even if he later got a high-level class card, it would never compare to becoming a Lord.
Link fell silent.
Then, in his mind, he saw it again.
The Abyssal Demon God.
The single strike that destroyed everything.
The countless predecessors who sacrificed themselves.
Link let out a long breath.
"That's enough…"
If he didn't take risks now, everything would just repeat.
And if that happened, what would be the point of his return?
He shook his head slightly.
The only regret was that his rebirth came too close to the login time, leaving him no time to prepare.