Chapter 153: [X] - 153: CBI’s Authority
Vespera took over from there.
Her voice was calm, but the weight behind it was different from Alessio’s practical warning about limbs and mauling.
The study had already absorbed the first layer of risk.
This was the second and it sat heavier.
"That is not even the main point," she said.
"The main point is that the academies of the CBI accept students only after eighteen."
"That is one of the primary reasons people only participate in the Proving at eighteen or above."
"There have been a few across history who tried to enter before that age."
"The CBI absolutely hates that kind of person."
"Their official materials explicitly state that registering below eighteen is not recommended, and that the person would be better served using that time to cultivate, improve their foundation, and raise their levels under proper guidance instead of forcing an early entry that serves no institutional purpose and creates unnecessary complications for everyone involved."
She paused long enough for the next part to land cleanly, her eyes still on Alex.
"Those who ignore the warning and go for it anyway are deliberately placed into one of the worst possible situations the Proving can arrange."
"Surviving becomes almost impossible by design."
"The Institution does not need to break the no-death rule to make the point."
"They simply arrange the conditions, the opposition, and the terrain so that early entrants face combinations that most adult Rank 1s would struggle to clear cleanly."
"Another reason no one wants to get on the CBI’s bad side is simple and structural."
"It holds total authority over all the major academies across the human empire."
"That means they control the institutions that shape the next generation of talent."
"They hold the power, and they hold the youths who will become the future of this empire."
"There is no practical reason to force a confrontation with that structure when the normal path already exists and leads to the same academies without the additional hostility."
"Showing off early gains nothing if the Institution decides the demonstration is unwelcome."
Alex listened without interrupting.
The picture was larger than the physical risks Alessio had described.
The Proving was not only a test of survival and kill intent combat in unknown terrain.
It was also a gate the CBI controlled, and the Institution did not appreciate people trying to force that gate early for personal ambition or household display.
The warning was not a suggestion.
It was a preference backed by the ability to enforce it, and the enforcement did not require open conflict.
It only required arranging the Proving conditions so that early entrants paid a higher price than anyone who waited.
"How powerful are they?" he asked.
Vespera answered without hesitation, the assessment delivered the same way she delivered any other measured fact about the balance of power in the empire.
"If they combine all their power, along with the military forces attached to the academies, the teachers, the professors, and everyone else who works under their structure, they can easily match the military strength of an entire kingdom on their own."
"That is not an exaggeration meant to frighten you, Alex, it is a measured assessment that every major household has already accepted and planned around."
"The CBI does not fear imposing its recommendations on anyone because it has the strength to back those recommendations if they are challenged."
"Households that have tested that strength in the past did not enjoy the results, and the records of those tests are kept deliberately clear so that later generations do not need to repeat the experiment."
Alex was surprised to hear it stated so directly.
He had known the CBI was influential.
He had not placed their combined strength at the level of a full kingdom’s military.
The idea that a single institution could stand on equal footing with an entire kingdom’s forces shifted the scale of what entering early would actually mean for anyone who ignored the age preference.
Alessio spoke from the other side of the couch, his tone confirming rather than correcting.
"That is the minimum strength they should have."
"They are responsible for nurturing the future of the whole human empire."
"They have made sure to do that duty thoroughly across generations."
"That is also the reason no one seriously opposes the way they operate."
"The cost of opposition is not worth the temporary advantage of ignoring their recommendations or testing their patience with early registrations."
"The CBI’s authority is accepted because it is functional and real."
Vespera’s hand rested lightly against Alex’s back again.
Her next question was quiet and direct, the same calm that had ended the treasury argument now applied to a much larger decision.
"Do you still think it is a good idea to participate in the Proving?"
Alex thought about it.
The physical risks Alessio had listed were real.
Limbs could be destroyed.
Bodies could be mauled.
Recovery could take months or leave permanent gaps in a foundation.
The institutional hostility Vespera had described was also real.
Entering early meant walking into a competition where the organizers themselves preferred him to fail hard enough to serve as a warning to the next person who tried the same thing.
The normal path existed.
The academies would still be there at eighteen.
The foundation work he was already forcing ahead of schedule would continue either way.
The red-lightning stone in his pocket and the Adaptation Aspect gave him tools most Rank 1s did not have, but tools did not erase the structural preference of an institution that could match a kingdom’s military strength and had no incentive to make an early entrant’s path easier.
The match in the training hall had proven he could handle older, higher level opponents under controlled conditions.
The Proving was not controlled conditions.
It was an institutionally supervised environment designed to punish people who ignored the preferred timeline.
But as he was thinking about all of this, he suddenly felt that warmth again, and it was saying him one thing without saying anything—
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End of Chapter 153: CBI’s Authority
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