Chapter 270 - Weird Teacher
After the opening ceremony concluded, the students filed out of the auditorium and headed to their respective homerooms.
Roy, Stella, and Ikki had all been placed in the same class, while Alice was assigned to a different one.
The maiden-hearted was heartbroken for quite a while upon learning he couldn't be in the same class as his beloved Ikki.
There were about 250 incoming freshmen this year.
The first-year students were divided into ten classes, with approximately twenty-five students in each.
By the time Roy and his friends took their seats, almost all of their classmates had already arrived.
"Okay, students, please take your seats... cough, cough, cough... the homeroom period is about to begin."
As the students settled in, a feeble voice drifted in from the hallway.
Following the voice, the teacher finally dragged herself into the classroom.
She was a young woman with slightly curly, long black hair, dressed in standard office attire.
Wearing a white lace blouse and a tight black pencil skirt, she had a very voluptuous, eye-catching figure..
However, despite her attractive face and body, her complexion was dreadful...she looked like someone teetering on the brink of death.
Her face was ghastly pale and she had thick, heavy dark circles under her eyes. Her voice was frail, giving the impression of someone plagued by a chronic, debilitating illness.
Seeing her state, many students exchanged looks of surprise and deep concern.
They were genuinely worried she might just collapse on the podium at any second.
Because her condition seemed so precarious, even the hormone-driven boys in the class couldn't muster any impure thoughts.
As she reached the front of the room, the lingering chatter died down completely.
"Cough, cough, hack, wheeze... Phew! Dear students, congratulations on your official enrollment!"
The frail teacher forced a strained smile.
Standing at the podium, she suddenly pulled out a party popper.
With a loud pop, colorful confetti fluttered through the air.
"I am Yuri Oreki, your homeroom teacher for this year."
"This is my first time taking charge of a class, so I'm still a rookie but I will work hard to build a great relationship with all of you! I hope we can all become good friends."
"Please don't be too formal...just call me Yuri-chan! It would make me very happy!"
Yuri was clearly trying to act cute to lighten the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, paired with her half-dead appearance, it was really hard for the students to find it charming; It was mostly just concerning.
"It's nice to call a teacher a friend but this feels so weird..."
"Yeah, she looks like she's going to pass out any second."
"I just hope we can make it through the year without calling an ambulance."
A few quiet, sympathetic complaints rippled through the classroom.
...
"Okay, everyone, please listen carefully. Since today is the first day of school, there won't be any regular classes," Yuri continued in her weak tone.
"However, I do have one important announcement to make."
"It's regarding the Seven Star Sword Art Festival Selection Battles that the Chairwoman mentioned during the opening ceremony."
Roy raised his eyes. This was relevant to one of his random tasks.
The Seven Star Sword Art Festival was the premier national-level tournament in Japan. Student Mage Knights from all over the country competed to prove their strength.
Since the number of spots was strictly limited, each academy selected a fixed number of representatives using their own methods.
"The Chairwoman spoke about this at the opening ceremony, but I will repeat it," Yuri continued.
"In the past, Hagun Academy used the six ability parameters of each student as the sole selection criteria for the Festival. But this year, that is changing!"
"The Chairwoman has abolished the old system and replaced it with actual combat selection battles that all students must participate in."
Among the Seven Mage Knight Academies in Japan, except for the combat-focused Bukyoku Academy, the other six had traditionally selected contestants based purely on their paper stats.
Because this method was too one-sided and ignored actual combat sense, Hagun Academy's tournament results had been steadily declining.
If it hadn't been for Touka Todo reaching the Top 4 last year, Hagun Academy would have completely lost face.
However, a generational talent like Touka would have shined regardless of which school she attended.
Because of these repeated failures, the board of directors had fired the previous Chairman and hired Kurono Shinguuji.
True to her reputation, Kurono enacted drastic reforms, imitating Bukyoku Academy's meritocratic method by implementing actual combat selection.
"The selection battles will be conducted in a round-robin format, with participating students having a match approximately every three days," Yuri explained, gesturing weakly.
"According to the administration's estimates, everyone will have to fight at least twenty matches."
"These selection battles will continue right up until the Seven Star Sword Art Festival officially begins, likely around the end of the semester."
"Once the battles conclude, the academy will select the six students with the absolute best win-loss records to become this year's official representatives."
Hearing Yuri's detailed explanation, Roy pondered for a moment.
He had already checked the school's official website for this information earlier to verify his System's requirements.
===
Random Task 1: Selected for the Seven Star Sword Art Festival
Task Content: Participate in the selection battles of the Mage Knight Academy and secure a qualification spot for the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
Mission Reward: 300,000 Dimensional Points.
Note: During the selection battles, each victory will award an additional 10,000 Dimensional Points, capped at a maximum of 250,000 Dimensional Points.
===
Looking at the task conditions, Roy did some quick math.
If he wanted to maximize the bonus points from the selection battles, he would need to fight and win twenty five matches.
"If there are enough participants, I might naturally hit twenty-five matches. But if the schedule only calls for twenty matches..."
That meant he would miss out on the remaining 50,000 Dimensional Points from the bonus cap.
Although it felt like a slight pity, Roy didn't let it bother him too much.
Compared to the massive hauls he had been getting recently, 50,000 points was just pocket change.
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