Team sparring

The academy’s annual event, where freshmen are divided into groups and pit against each other based on their training results, is underway. Though it was usually just a measure of their skill level, Director Lina’s recent announcement added unexpected weight to the event.

[For this year’s group sparring event, I will allow the most outstanding cadet among the winners to select any party within the academy to join. The chosen party will have no right to refuse.]

Initially, there were minor objections to this decision. Even if a cadet was the most outstanding among the group sparring winners, suddenly inserting them into a party could disrupt the existing balance. A new addition could be problematic, especially if the cadet was too weak, or conversely, if they were too strong and posed a burden on the party. Most parties already had well-defined roles, so introducing a new member could be a sensitive issue.

However, the protests quickly subsided. After all, it was widely assumed that the winning cadet would most likely choose Utopia, the hottest party right now.

Se-hee Shin, representing Utopia, expressed an open attitude, saying, “It would be an excellent opportunity for us to strengthen our forces by accepting an outstanding freshman cadet.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.