75 Chapter 75: Favoritism

As the student with the best overall performance (this did not take into account combat ranking, sadly, but also included academic performance, leadership skills and society activities), Alicia had been chosen to be the captain for this year's team. Consequently, she now possessed the authority to recommend one person to the list.

But right now she was using this very precious opportunity to recommend me, of all people.

Naturally, everyone was surprised.

"Are you serious?" Lin Zhan Long asked, his jaw dropping. "You're recommending Richard Huang of all people? Why?"

"Why not?" Alicia shrugged. "You've all seen what he can do. Fluke or not, he did defeat all of Crowley's Grand Arcane Academy's representatives by himself. If we can build upon his potential, there's no telling what he can achieve. Furthermore, this year's tournament has a big team-based component, so don't you think it'll be more advantageous to add a summoner?"

Summoners were usually highly sought after in team-based events, such as missions. It was just that the academy focused too much on combat rankings, so summoners had become an unpopular role. It wasn't that people looked down on summoners, but they were just disadvantaged when it came to ranking matches.

But for team-based events such as team matches or missions, summoners were more highly sought after. Unfortunately, very few students participated on missions because of the risk involved. Normally I wouldn't, but I only went for them because Ultimate Outcast Society needed the prestige points. For societies such as Holy Saints and the bigger ones, they would eschew missions and focus on improving their strength for ranking matches.

It was a pretty stupid system, if you ask me. I mean, we were graduating from high school to attend combat magic universities, and would eventually join military or mercenary organizations that mostly dealt with monsters and Emergence events. So to be honest, team-based skills and teamwork should be more practical. Unfortunately, the higher-ups focused more on individual rankings and results than team-based experience.

I guess every era had its stupid things. During my time it was academic results, where people only cared about your examination results and theoretical knowledge instead of actual technical skills and practical application. Even engineering courses or science majors had to take theoretical exams and pass them instead of practical skills. This wasn't to say theory was important – of course you need a good theoretical foundation or there would be nothing for you to apply. Even then, there was criticism back then about rote learning and overemphasis on paper results, which ignored the fact all the students were all good at different things. Some specialized in sports, some in doing things with their hands, and some at reading. Yet only those who could study benefited from the rigid system.

Similarly, the same thing was happening right now. Of course, it would be important for someone to possess individual fighting skills as a solid foundation for team combat, but in the end different mages specialized in different kinds of magic. The system only allowed for one type of magic to benefit, which was why summoning ended up neglected. Even so, those who had participated in missions could attest to how powerful summoners were in team combat.

Evidently, Lin Zhan Long had never participated in a mission, or at least one with a summoner.

"Impossible," he sneered, glaring at me hatefully. "It would be a waste to give one of the positions to trash like him."

"Vice-president Lin Zhan Long, this is not for you to decide," Alicia said calmly before Troy or my fellow Ultimate Outcast members could jump in. Even Elliot, Nicholas, Jin Hao, Aoi and the Black Roses who assisted me during our previous mission were approaching, their gazes striking a stunned Lin Zhan Long.

"I'm all for it," Troy declared.

"Me too," Elliot added.

"I can vouch for him," Nicholas agreed.

"Thank you." Alicia smiled at her fellow Black Roses for support. Harvey and the other juniors were staring at me, dumbstruck, and wondering since when I built such a rapport with the Black Roses. I mentally braced myself for a bunch of questions later.

"President Alicia, I don't care if you're the daughter of the academy director, but you have no right to do whatever you want!" Lin Zhan Long growled.

"Lin Zhan Long, how dare you. Apologize to Alicia immediately."

A stern but gentle voice floated over the grand hall. Lin Zhan Long jolted upright, and even though he grimaced reluctantly, he bowed his head.

"Sorry," he told Alicia through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry about that, Alicia." Harrison Reed also lowered his head. "Lin Zhan Long has always been rude and stubborn, but he really has the best intentions. He's probably thinking about the interschool tournament. If we don't get a good rank this year, we're in trouble."

"That's right!" Lin Zhan Long nodded fervently.

"However…" Harrison stopped and smiled at me. "I approve of your decision. I think Richard will be able to contribute greatly in the team component."

Lin Zhan Long paled and shut up.

"I've seen his matches…I can't say I'm impressed with his individual matches, and there are certainly a lot more students who are better than him in that aspect. However, as you said, there is a team-based component this year." Harrison glanced at Elliot and the others, recognition flashing in his eyes. "I've seen the mission reports where he's involved, and his performance against monsters is where I am truly impressed." He smiled at the Black Roses. "You guys were pretty lucky that he was around to help."

"Richard definitely saved us," Elliot agreed.

"That last mission too." Jin Hao was nodding. "If we can delay the enemy long enough for him to summon his soul beasts, then it'll be our victory."

"Of course…" Harrison nodded, but he then frowned thoughtfully. "…if the enemy allows you to."

"What do you mean?" Nicholas asked, noticing the change in tone. Harrison spread both his hands.

"Well, think about it. Including a summoner in the team…wouldn't it make our strategy too obvious? Our opponents would be sure to find a counter to it. The moment they come up with a way to deny Richard his summoning, and take him out…wouldn't it be to the team's disadvantage? He would become…forgive me, dead weight."

Everyone fell silent, unable to refute his logic. Certainly, Harrison had an excellent point. The strategy definitely would become too obvious and any competent opponent would certainly take me out at any cost before I can bring in my big guns.

Wow, what a formidable guy. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid, but he essentially got everyone on his side by initially agreeing with Alicia to show that he wasn't petty or narrow-minded, and then subtly tore apart her decision by pointing out a major flaw in a polite manner that left no room for resentment or complaint. He was pretty mature and reasonable and even I couldn't find any way to refute him.

However…

"…isn't that the same for anyone?" Harvey asked, his brow furrowed into a frown. Everyone turned to stare at him, and he shrugged. "I mean, no matter who's in the team, you'll have an ace. And the opponent will come up with counterstrategies against the ace. Actually, before the match they would do a lot of research on every representative and come up with counters against them. So it's not as if Vice-President Richard is the only one with that problem."

"There's a huge difference between building your team around one person, and building a team around five flexible, competent members," Harrison replied patiently.

"But why build the team around Vice-President Richard? You can still have five flexible and competent members – it's not as if the vice-president can't fend for himself. His magic recently has been pretty flexible – have you seen the stuff he summoned?"

As expected of my number one fan. Harvey knew more about me than I did about myself. I felt a little embarrassed.

"He's right," Elliot spoke up. "The previous mission was one thing, but the one before that, he basically single-handedly saved us from a pack of Lycanthropes with minimal support."

"Richard also figured out how to summon weapons to buy himself time, so even if we don't build a strategy around protecting him so that he can summon his big guys, he'll still be fine on his own." Nicholas nodded in agreement.

"That's right…I would argue that Richard is the most flexible mage out of all of us." Jin Hao also added his input.

"I personally witnessed his summoning magic during a mission, I can vouch for him."

Alicia refused to back down. Harrison continued to smile, and he conceded with a nod, but I sensed that he wasn't going to let the argument end there.

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Before he could open his mouth for another rebuttal, however, loud laughter cut him off.

"Ha ha ha ha! I've forgotten how it is like to be so young and hot-blooded!"

A familiar figure was descending the stairs, one of his hands raised in a friendly wave. Alicia blanched when she saw him.

"Brother Hai!"

All the girls were immediately swooning and gazing at Feng Hai when he appeared. Unlike the last time I saw him, Feng Hai was dressed in a white suit with a purple shirt this time, a golden tie that had been loosened around his collar. Just like how all the guys were enamored with the goddess Alicia earlier when she showed up, all the girls were falling for Feng Hai's gruff appearance. Even though he graduated long ago, he was still only a few years older than us. Less than ten years, if I wasn't mistaken. Still young enough to be the object of desire for so many girls.

I noticed that Alicia was also gazing at him, somewhat infatuated. She shook her head and snapped out of it, though.

"You're late!"

"Ah, forgive me. You know I'm not good with this sort of things." Feng Hai tugged uncomfortably at his tie and unbuttoned his jacket. "Anyway…who cares about that?" he swiveled to a stunned Harrison Reed, who was speechless at the presence of such a legend. "I overheard your conversation earlier, and I think everyone has good points." He jerked his head in my direction. "I've reviewed and watched the mission videos too, and I've to say I understand why the Black Roses want him in the team. He has some skills."

"You are right, of course." Harrison bowed his head humbly. "I do not discount that, and I agree that Richard brings us options."

"But you also have a good point. The other teams will also think of counters, and having him will make our strategy transparent."

"Then…" Harrison brightened up.

"Then the best way to settle this is by a challenge!' Feng Hai grinned broadly, "Don't you think results are the best evidence? Have a match. If Richard's team wins, then it means that they can overcome whatever counterstrategy you might have against them, or that the Black Roses are right about him being flexible and competent. If you win, then it means that building a team around him is indeed a fatal flaw. If we do it this way, no one can complain against the results, correct?"

"That's a great idea!" Harrison was beaming in delight. "Let us do as Instructor Feng Hai recommended. We should have a match…"

"Um…match?" I was looking confused. "A team match? I'm assuming it will be Ultimate Outcast Society against Holy Saints Society?"

If that was the case, I might as well just give up now. I couldn't care less about all this bullshit. To be honest, I had to admit that I was interested in the position of representative. That would be a great point in my resume, and help me out tremendously when applying for universities or a job. Prospective employers would be impressed if they learned that I had been a representative, for to achieve such a position even in a low-ranking academy like Jing Tian was a pretty major feat. After all, it pretty much meant I was chosen ahead of nearly a thousand other students for the position.

However…if it was a team-match between Ultimate Outcast and Holy Saints, then they would win 99% of the time. I was under no illusion of our capability. I wasn't a pretentious Mary Sue prick who was looking for a bunch of freshmen to take to the top. Unlike Parthdua26, I did not think of my juniors as "losers" – hell, I was pretty offended by his insult. My juniors were not losers.

But in a clash against Holy Saints, they stood no chance. Even with the training they received from my Dad in the dojo, they wouldn't be able to catch up to the more experienced and powerful members of Holy Saints, one of the four major societies. Lin Zhan Long was absolutely grinning as he rubbed his hands in glee.

"Hah! You'll rue the arrogance you showed today. I'll teach you the difference in our strengths…"

"Hmm, are you intending for your society members to be representatives as well?" Feng Hai asked, ignoring Lin Zhan Long and interrupting him. The huge guy spluttered, but he obviously didn't dare to protest against the Silver Wolf leader.

"Um…I don't think so?" I glanced to Alicia for help. Taking the hint, she stepped forward with a confident smile.

"No, Brother Hai. I only plan to recommend Richard, not the rest of the Ultimate Outcasts."

"But they should be given the chance to prove themselves, like their vice-president," Harrison pointed out candidly. He was hammering the nail in our coffin.

"Fine then." Dong Fang Yue Chu was acting brave, but I could see that he was trembling violently. "If you want a fight, we'll give you a fight!"

"…seriously?!"

Harvey, Wang Fei, Stan and I stared at him in despair, but he shrugged.

"Why? Are you guys afraid?"

"Who's afraid?" Stan growled. "Fine! I'll do it!"

"Um…we can't win. You know that, right?" Harvey was more realistic.

"I don't want to be part of this," Wang Fei grumbled.

"You guys…" Dong Fang Yue Chu groaned and shook his head. However, he knew they were right. Even so, his pride wouldn't allow him to back down. Lin Zhan Long and to a certain extent, Harrison Reed, had insulted me as well as our society. He didn't want our names rubbed in the dirt.

But the harsh reality was that we truly were nothing compared to Holy Saints. Particularly right now. I wasn't some Mary Sue protagonist who could conjure up a victory for my juniors, who were still unprepared for an event as big as this.

Seeing how troubled we were, Troy stepped forward grimly and raised his hand.

"I'll quit Black Roses and join Ultimate Outcast."

"There's no need for that!" I told him, annoyed. "I appreciate the sentiment, but please, don't do this. You'll make us feel bad."

Troy was a good friend, and I refused to take advantage of him. He joined Black Roses to get access to resources and other training goodies. I wasn't selfish enough to use our friendship to solicit his help at his expense. Even we lost, the most that would happen was that I wouldn't become a representative, and everyone would accept it as natural that Ultimate Outcast was a small society when compared to the Holy Saints. We would have a bruised ego, but that wouldn't affect us. However, Troy giving up all those resources, funding and Black Roses facilities would have a detrimental effect on his training and development. It wasn't something he could afford to give up on a whim.

"That's right. There is absolutely no need for that."

Feng Hai spoke up and everyone turned to stare at him in shock. The grizzled instructor grinned at us.

"I mean, the whole issue is whether a team built around Richard will be viable or not. And since this concerns the representatives, we're probably thinking about candidates chosen to be representatives, so why must they be from Ultimate Outcast Society? Unless you're thinking of recommending another Ultimate Outcast to the representative team."

Feng Hai was staring at Harrison as he said that. After all, like Alicia, Harrison as the other representative of Jing Tian Academy had the right to recommend one person of his choice to the team.

The handsome guy quickly shook his head.

"No, of course not. I just thought they deserve a chance."

"Perhaps, but let's make it voluntary, shall we?" Feng Hai turned to glance at the Black Roses. "After all, it's not just the Ultimate Outcast who wants to prove you wrong."

"Black Roses wish to ally with Ultimate Outcast?" Harrison asked, his brow furrowing.

"We do have a history of helping each other out," Elliot pointed out boldly, and then shrugged. "Though it's more like the Black Roses are the ones being helped out by Ultimate Outcast?"

"Just one member, though," Nicholas pointed out, scratching his head as he glanced at my juniors and Dong Fang Yue Chu. He was wondering how we're going to form a team, especially since the president of Ultimate Outcast seemed eager to fight.

I was pretty sure Dong Fang Yue Chu would do fine, so I had no objections to him joining the battle. I was more worried about Stan, though. He still tended to be reckless and impulsive.

"That's settled then." Feng Hai smiled, though for some reason I had the impression of a predatory wolf hovering above him like some kind of monstrous aura. "Let's hold this match next week. I look forward to your performances."

He was about to turn away and waltz into the dance floor when he suddenly paused and grinned at us.

"Oh, and one last thing. I'll be using this to assess who gets to represent the team."

"…eh?"

Everyone turned to stare at Feng Hai, and he shrugged with a broad grin.

"Makes sense, right? Isn't this a great chance to assess your performance and find out who can best represent Jing Tian Academy?"

"…that's true."

"Instructor is right…"

Everyone began whispering and murmuring to each other about the scheduled match and chance to represent the team and everything. I left them to their discussion, having no interest in politics and such, and caught up with Feng Hai.

"Sir…" I began. "Why…?"

I didn't even complete my question. Feng Hai already knew what I was going to ask. He was grinning mischievously as he turned toward me.

"Because you're quite the interesting fella. I'm curious to see why Alicia is investing so much attention into you. Plus…" he rubbed his chin. "You're one of the few students qualified to join my Silver Wolves…eventually."