Chapter 44: The Stakes of the Tournament Keep Increasing

"This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federation and the Empire. The two sides have arranged to hold a friendship match."

"After some deliberation, it has been decided that the competition will not involve active-duty soldiers, but will instead be a contest between current students."

Jasper Quinn’s gaze swept over Miles Sherman and the others. "The higher-ups have decided that the candidates for this friendship match will be selected from the joint exam between our Federal Military Academy and the First Military Academy."

"The winners of the joint exam will be chosen as the representatives to compete for the Federation."

He paused, giving them a moment to absorb the news.

Then, he added, "The top-seeded team from the First Military Academy should be receiving the same news right about now."

Jasper Quinn’s eyes sharpened. "Now, it’s not just your instructors who have high hopes for you. You will also be representing the academy. Your teachers and I believe that with your abilities, you can definitely succeed."

"In this final plunder match, victory is the only option. Failure is not permitted!"

Even Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement upon hearing this news.

What was supposed to be a simple joint exam, where everyone was just fighting for academic credits, had suddenly changed.

But now, an element called honor had been added to the mix.

Victory in this battle wouldn’t just represent the academy; it would also mean representing the Federation.

The weight of winning the joint exam had been amplified to its absolute peak. One could only imagine how the First Military Academy would react to this news.

Neither side would be willing to just hand victory over to the other.

"More details about the friendship match between the Federation and the Empire will be provided after the joint exam concludes." Jasper Quinn’s expression turned stern. "For now, your only job is to win!"

His arrival had been delayed these past few days precisely because he had been held up by this sudden news.

Now that the announcement was over, Jasper Quinn didn’t keep the five of them any longer.

Only after Zoe Pierce and the others were out of sight did he begin to ask about her situation.

After listening to the instructors’ report, Jasper Quinn nodded. "An Omega is also an indispensable member of the squad. This is very good."

He was part of the faction that advocated for Omegas to be trained, but that faction was small and lacked influence.

After leaving the conference room, the group went straight to the Psionic Training Room.

Lately, they had been discussing any important matters in the Psionic Training Room. The shielding function was a godsend; at least this way, no instructors would find out that there was something unusual about Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power.

"Based on what Director Quinn said, they’re definitely going to increase the number of monitoring drones on the team members," Nathan Lockwood said.

Miles Sherman nodded. "The footage from the joint exam will definitely be reviewed to ensure both sides are playing by the rules."

Jasper Quinn had explained the reason for all this, which meant they definitely couldn’t destroy the monitoring drones anymore.

"Monitoring drones?" Zoe Pierce asked curiously.

All four pairs of eyes immediately fell on her.

Chase Shaw glanced at Nathan Lockwood. "You destroyed it as soon as you found it, didn’t you."

Sure enough, he saw Nathan Lockwood nod.

So, the four of them in the squad knew about the monitoring drones. Only Zoe Pierce was in the dark.

Erin Xavier explained the concept of the monitoring drones. "Nathan hates being watched like that more than anyone. On our team, I saw one, and the other must have been on your side."

"After we sent that unlucky bastard on his way, the monitoring drone disappeared."

Zoe Pierce belatedly realized she had almost made another huge blunder, and her face paled slightly.

The main issue was that the methods used in Interstellar Space were simply impossible for her to anticipate. Her lack of common knowledge was a severe handicap, and she was far too vulnerable if this continued.

"Don’t worry about it. Nothing’s happened yet, right?" Erin Xavier said, shrugging in an attempt to comfort her.

Obviously, his attempt at reassurance wasn’t very effective. After all, if she were discovered, it would be too late.

Chase Shaw kicked Erin Xavier, who dodged to the side. "What’d you kick me for?"

"To shut you up." Of everyone on the team, Erin Xavier was the most tactless.

Miles Sherman’s gaze also held a hint of disapproval. Erin Xavier was the type to solve problems only after they happened, but the current issue was preventing Zoe Pierce from being discovered in the first place.

That’s right. Ever since they discovered Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power, they had all decided to help her hide it.

Perhaps it was because of the agreement they’d signed, but they were very satisfied with Zoe Pierce—from her attitude toward learning to her personality.

The fact that none of them had raised any objections was a sign of their approval.

With Zoe Pierce around, no matter how much spiritual power they used, they were able to recover it in the shortest possible time.

Meanwhile, Zoe Pierce’s soothing ability was also growing stronger by the day.

Her spiritual power, too, was improving at a phenomenal rate.

She could now skillfully use the move Nathan Lockwood had taught her and could also imitate Chase Shaw’s and Erin Xavier’s spiritual power with relative fluency.

The more they taught her, the more Zoe Pierce realized that spiritual power was not as simple as she had first imagined.

She had been able to master Nathan Lockwood’s spiritual power techniques so quickly because his spiritual power was somewhat similar to her own—its Attack Power was not strong, focusing mainly on Perception.

But when it came to Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier, it was a completely different story.

Their spiritual power required transformation, and their spiritual power and physical bodies were complementary. Since Zoe Pierce’s physical constitution was far inferior to theirs, imitating them was exponentially more difficult.

But after a few days of practice, she could now use their abilities in a basic way.

"For the time being, don’t use your spiritual power," Miles Sherman said. "Until you have enough strength to protect yourself, don’t let anyone else find out."

It would be one thing if Zoe Pierce had no attachments, but she still wanted to investigate the cause of her parents’ death and what was wrong with her brother.

She had too many ties. Once discovered, she could be easily controlled.

Zoe Pierce knew this. She licked her somewhat dry lips. "Tell me more about what I need to watch out for. I don’t want to make any more mistakes."

Nathan Lockwood said calmly, "There’s basically nothing else."

The joint exam wouldn’t involve anything life-threatening, so Nathan Lockwood felt there was no need for Zoe Pierce to take action at all. For now, she just needed to provide support from the rear.

Zoe Pierce was very familiar with that role. Her spiritual power’s soothing speed was getting faster and faster.

"That’s it for tonight’s spiritual power and physical training for now." Miles Sherman glanced at his Intelligent Brain as an incoming call alert sounded. "We’ll assemble and depart tomorrow."

Erin Xavier hopped over to his side, and upon seeing the caller ID, he pouted. "How come it’s your uncle? I thought it was Hope and that other little brat."

Miles Sherman put his Intelligent Brain away. "I’m going to take this call."

He pushed the door open and left without another word.

Erin Xavier poked Chase Shaw’s arm. "I wonder what his uncle is going to say this time."

’It’s never anything good, anyway.’

Chase Shaw’s gray eyes landed on Zoe Pierce. "You don’t need to worry about Miles. He can handle it himself."

Seeing that Zoe Pierce was also about to leave, he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Come here. I need to talk to you about something."

Erin Xavier could only watch as Chase Shaw pulled Zoe Pierce away right under his nose.

He immediately shouted, "Hey! Is it something we’re not allowed to hear?"