Athanasia: My Hacker System

"A few days ago, a few of our students returned after more than two years of absence."

The Headmaster began his speech with those measured words, pausing for a deliberate moment as he stole a glance back at John. The two exchanged a silent gaze that seemed to stretch for an eternity, a silent battle of wills between the two.

A faint, knowing smile appeared on the Headmaster’s face before he turned back toward the audience to continue.

"They didn’t simply vanish. Instead, they were hand-selected and sent to a special, highly classified training program that belongs exclusively to our department.

Since then, they have undergone hellish training in environments most cannot imagine, and they have emerged significantly stronger. Today marks their official return to the ranks of the academy."

’What the heck?!!’ John was shockingly jolted by what he heard. He turned around to find Cissel sharing the exact same look of bewildered shock. They didn’t need to exchange a single word to know who the real intent behind this narrative was. They turned in unison toward the audience.

There, in the higher levels of the audience, Nikolas sat with a wide, unabashed smile. He met the burning gazes of his two students with a slight, reassuring nod. It was his doing.

He had clearly whispered in the Headmaster’s ear, providing a plausible excuse that explained their sudden growth and long absence without revealing the existence of the Source Code World. He was shielding his little cubs until they grew claws sharp enough to tear through the Paragon factions and openly face the world.

"As you are all aware," the Headmaster continued, his voice booming through the tent, "the grand competition between the top one hundred academies is scheduled to be held in a couple of months. We have already undergone a preliminary selection process to finalise our representatives. However, today, we are going to change that."

John wasn’t entirely aware of the specific competition the Headmaster was referencing, but the old man quickly moved to fill in the gaps. It appeared that each of the top one hundred academies was required to send two distinct teams: the Formal Team and the Backup Team.

To the eyes of the public, the Backup Team consisted of the most promising seedlings for the future. They were sent not necessarily to win the grand prize, not even to compete. That was the duty of the Formal Team.

The academies would send the Backup Teams to gain vital experience, get familiarised with the brutal competition rules, and observe the Backup Teams of rival academies, their future competitors on the world stage.

Despite the event revolving heavily around the Military Department, it held immense political and prestige value for the academy’s standing in the world.

"Today, we will witness a challenge match between the currently selected Backup Team and the five returnees. The winner will secure their spot as the official Backup Team in the upcoming grand competition."

The Headmaster then stepped down, leaving the stage for the teacher who had lured John and the others here to manage the specifics. Just before the instructor reached the stage, John and Cissel leaned closer to each other.

"Didn’t he say it was just the two of us competing for class positions?!" Cissel asked in a low, frantic whisper.

John could only let out a heavy sigh, his mind racing to adapt to the shifting situation. "It’s the plot of the Headmaster. He didn’t want us wasting on the Class President or Vice-President seats; those are useless bureaucratic roles. He wants us to be the academy’s secret weapon on a global stage."

"I don’t hate the sound of it, still..." Cissel looked around the vast tent, her brow furrowed. "He should have told us about this beforehand... We already sent the other three away to do the tasks you assigned."

This was the main complication. John hadn’t expected the useless sparring to turn into an important, full-team qualifying match immediately. He hoped his friends would realise the gravity of the situation and return at once.

Ricky was the most likely to appear first; he was already moving through the audience to gather intel and had undoubtedly heard the Headmaster’s thunderous announcement.

However, Luke and Elena were further away on their specific mission, and John didn’t have a way to signal them to come back. He didn’t even know where these two were.

"The rules are the same as those of the inter-academy competitions..." the teacher announced, detailing the competing system John and the others had followed during their first-year tournament.

There would be two phases: individual matches and a final team fight. A victory in an individual match scored one point for the team, while the winner of the team fight would be awarded five points.

The only twist was this: if an individual won their match but their team still lost the overall competition, the winner of the duel had the right to challenge any member of the winning team later. If they won that match, they could replace that member in the final lineup.

John didn’t particularly care about the prestige of the competition itself; he had far more important goals, like building his base and looking for suitable recruits. However, he recognised the hand he had been dealt.

The Headmaster hadn’t burned the bridge between them; by providing this cover story, the old man had ensured that their unbelievable adventure in the New World would remain a localised academy secret rather than a global headline. It was a gesture of faith, likely inspired by Nikolas’s advice.

John intended to seize the opportunity. He would win this competition convincingly to repay the kindness of that old fox.

On top of that, when John thought about the idea in general while waiting for the half-hour preparation period to be over, he saw a few good points in attending this competition.

For a starter, he wouldn’t be forced to fight at the forefront as the main competing team. Being in the Backup Team meant he would be freed from most official obligations and burdens, allowing him to focus mainly on exploring and observing students from other academies.