Chapter 131: The Awards (2)
"Our runner up — Mickey Adeyemi of European All-Star Academy. An eighteen-year-old. Another young prodigy. This tournament has been full of surprises, and Mr. Adeyemi might have been the biggest one."
Mickey stood, grinning, and accepted his reward.
"The award: Heaven Grade All-Attribute Resistance Pill. Permanently increases resistance to all elemental damage by five percent. Not a large number on paper — but permanent resistance doesn’t stack with temporary buffs. It’s a foundational improvement that compounds with every other defensive ability or equipment Mr. Adeyemi acquires. In five years, that five percent will have saved his life more times than he can count."
Mickey sat, still grinning.
"Best Defender Award. This one goes to Rose Chevalier of European All-Star Academy."
Rose stood, looking stunned. Scattered applause from the table — Ryan clapping the loudest.
"Ms. Chevalier didn’t score a single elimination in the entire tournament. But what she did do was prevent more eliminations against her team than any other support fighter in the competition. Her barrier work in the finals — holding off a Late Core Realm sword intent user after her teammates fell — was the single most impressive defensive performance we’ve recorded in a decade."
Rose accepted a leather-bound manual from the attendant, her hands slightly trembling.
"The award: A-Rank Force Evolution Manual. A comprehensive guide to advancing force-based abilities — manipulation, amplification, projection, and a technique the manual calls ’Force Domain’ that our analysts believe Ms. Chevalier is uniquely positioned to develop. This isn’t just a reward. It’s a roadmap."
Rose sat down, clutching the manual to her chest. Her eyes were wet.
"Runner up: Liu Jiang of Chinese Vanguard Institute."
Liu Jiang stood stiffly, accepted a smaller manual, and sat without expression.
"B-Rank Barrier Mastery Manual. A refined version of standard barrier theory with advanced techniques for layering, reinforcement, and counter-break strategies. A valuable resource for any barrier user."
"Battlefield General Award. This goes to the fighter who demonstrated the best tactical awareness, team coordination, and in-combat leadership across the tournament."
The screen showed Sarah Mitchell’s face.
"Sarah Mitchell of American Apex Academy. The American Apex Academy reached the semi-finals largely on the strength of her battlefield management."
Sarah stood from the American table, accepted a crystal trophy, and blew a kiss to the crowd.
"Runner up: Liang Feng of Chinese Vanguard Institute."
Liang Feng rose, accepted a similar trophy, and sat.
"Best Individual Performance Award. Separate from Best Fighter — this measures the single most impactful performance across any single match in the tournament."
The screen showed Wei Chen again.
"Wei Chen of Chinese Vanguard Institute. His semi-final performance against American Apex Academy — where he eliminated three fighters alone in under four minutes and destroyed their crystal with a single sword slash — was the single most dominant individual match in ICL history. The award: Sky Grade Sword Heart Tempering Pill. A single dose fundamentally strengthens the connection between a swordsman’s consciousness and their blade, increasing sword intent stability and output by approximately fifteen percent. This is a pill that clans would go to war over."
Wei Chen accepted the pill vial with a slight bow.
"Runner up: Lucian Grimaud of European All-Star Academy. His finals performance — defeating Wei Chen and co-destroying the champion crystal while operating at a fraction of his normal capacity due to sustained combat — was the second most impactful individual performance in tournament history. The award: Earth Grade Mind Fortress Pill. Strengthens mental barriers and increases resistance to mind-affecting abilities, debuffs, and intent-based pressure by twenty percent. Given Mr. Grimaud’s demonstrated vulnerability to Wei Chen’s Sword Spirit debuff, this is a targeted and appropriate countermeasure. Sorry, Mr. Wei."
Lucian accepted the pill. He almost laughed. The IAR had literally given him a pill to fix the specific weakness Wei Chen had exposed.
"Sportsmanship Award.
Wei Chen’s face appeared for the third time.
"Wei Chen of Chinese Vanguard Institute. The award: a formal invitation as a guest instructor at any academy worldwide. This means Mr. Wei Chen can walk into any IAR-member academy — Chinese Vanguard, European All-Star, American Apex, Japanese Imperial, any of them — and request a teaching position. No academy can refuse. His sword arts are considered valuable enough that the IAR wants them disseminated, not hoarded."
Wei Chen accepted a sealed golden scroll.
"Runner up: Arthur Chevalier of European All-Star Academy."
Arthur stood, adjusted his cuffs, and accepted a silver envelope.
"The award: an invitation to the IAR International Strategy Summit — a closed-door meeting of top military minds, academy leaders, and government strategists held once every three years. Mr. Chevalier is the first student ever to receive this invitation. His tactical leadership throughout the tournament — particularly his adaptive strategy in the semi-finals against Elysian Lumière — caught the attention of people who normally only notice generals and politicians."
Arthur sat back down. His expression remained neutral, but Lucian noticed his fingers tighten slightly around the envelope.
"Breakout Star Award. For the fighter who entered the tournament with the lowest profile and exited with the highest impact."
Mickey’s face filled the screen.
"Mickey Adeyemi of European All-Star Academy. Before this tournament, Mr. Adeyemi was ranked first internally at his academy but virtually unknown internationally. He leaves as a household name. The award: an exclusive sponsorship contract with the Aethelgard Corporation — one of the top five mana-tech companies in the world. Full funding for equipment, research materials, and custom made development of technology tailored to his specific abilities for the next five years."
Mickey whistled low as he accepted the contract. "Not bad."
"Runner up: Iris Langford of European All-Star Academy."
Iris stood, accepted a smaller envelope, and sat quickly — clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
"A research grant from the IAR’s Technology Division. Fifty thousand academy points’ worth of components, materials, and lab access at any IAR-member research facility. Ms. Langford’s Techno Forge ability has been flagged for further study. The IAR wants to understand how an ability can interface so seamlessly with external technology if you would permit it of course."
Adrian paused and looked directly at the EASA table.
"And now. The moment you’ve all been waiting for."
The screen expanded. Two faces side by side. Lucian on the left. Mickey on the right.
"The Most Valuable Players of the sixty-seventh International Champions League finals. Awarded jointly to Lucian Grimaud and Mickey Adeyemi, both of the European All-Star Academy."
The roar that filled the Palazzo was seismic.
Lucian and Mickey stood. They walked to the stage together. Adrian shook both their hands and gestured to three attendants waiting with items.
"Three awards for our two MVPs. First: an invitation to the World Government’s International Training Facility — three months of full access. This facility is normally reserved for elite military units and national team members. It contains cultivation resources, training environments, and combat simulations that do not exist anywhere else on the planet."
Lucian accepted a titanium card engraved with the World Government seal.
"Second: an S-Rank weapon voucher. Each of you may select any single S-Rank weapon from the IAR armory — the largest collection of ranked weapons on Earth. No restrictions on type, element, or specialization. If it exists and it’s S-Rank, it’s yours."
Mickey accepted a second card, his grin widening.
"Third — and this is unprecedented — automatic qualification for the World National Team Selection Trials. Normally, academy students must compete in regional qualifiers to earn a spot at their national team trials. Mr. Grimaud and Mr. Adeyemi bypass all of that. They will walk directly into the trials alongside the best fighters from every nation on Earth."
Adrian turned to face the crowd.
"These two young men just beat the three-time defending champions. I think they’ve earned it."
The crowd roared again.
Lucian and Mickey returned to their seats. Clara grabbed Lucian’s arm the moment he sat down.
Adrian straightened his jacket.
"Now, finally — the academy awards. The moment the directors and headmasters actually care about."
Laughter.
He touched the amplifier.
The screen shifted to show the academy rankings.