Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 103: Playing Non-aligned

After introducing themselves, Yuka and two others sat on the opposite side of the table.

The usually lively Philip, with red ears and his head down, stayed silent, leading to a quiet moment among everyone at the table.

Yuka, turning her head, quietly asked Donny sitting next to her, "What were you guys playing just now?"

Donny honestly replied, "We weren’t playing. He called you here to form an alliance with you."

Hearing this, Ayoi looked at Shawn in surprise and asked, "Is that so?"

Shawn, feeling helpless, nodded.

He had originally wanted Ayoi and her friends to first play a few games to get to know each other before discussing the alliance.

However, Donny had inadvertently revealed their intention, forcing Shawn to clarify his request immediately and try his best to get them to agree.

"Based on past experiences in the Tournament, the first round is a screening match. Everyone will be placed in a rather crowded map for battle," Shawn explained. "So, in the first round, forming a team is crucial. Going it alone makes it easy to get eliminated."

Alex asked, "Then why don’t you team up with your classmates instead of us?"

Shawn cleared his throat and said a bit sheepishly, "It’s a bit embarrassing, but Philip and I are among the top-ranked in our respective academies. During the competition, it’s easy for us to become targets of our classmates, so we have to team up with students from other academies. Of course, it’s not just the two of us. We have a few other friends who will join us. Others are forming alliances too, so don’t worry, this approach is within the rules."

Although the Academy Tournament was a competition between five academies, the first and second rounds were more about competition among students of the same academy.

These rounds determined their final grades, and only the elite made it to the third round, where the real clash between the academies occured.

Naturally, Shawn and Philip didn’t want to be targeted and eliminated in the first round.

They didn’t approach Lory for a simple reason: Lory and Philip didn’t see each other eye-to-eye. Although they can joke around and play together, they would never cooperate unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, Lory had already discussed teaming up with Ichiro and his brothers from Confucius Academy. Now there were also seeking support from UUA. It was a race to see who can gain the upper hand first.

Having dealt with the Horn family affairs for over a month, Donny had developed strong negotiation skills. She asked directly, "What’s in it for us?"

"We can protect you!" Philip quickly replied. His face turned redder as he looked at Yuka, explaining, "Each person’s mecha has their exam number on it. We’ll also set up a secret signal or action to identify teammates. We’ll recognize you quickly."

"The power of a group is always greater than an individual," Shawn persuaded. "An alliance is also beneficial for you, isn’t it?"

He looked at Ayoi and Donny while saying this, knowing Ayoi’s high shooting accuracy could complement Philip, and Donny, trained from a young age, had strong close-combat awareness. Getting them on the team would almost guarantee its safety.

As for the other two... Shawn and Philip had heard about Alex and knew that under Fred’s suppression, he hadn’t had the chance for systematic training and his psychic power was said to be low, likely to be a liability to the team.

Yuka, despite her beauty, seemed frail and weak, and others from UUA mentioned her physical condition was delicate, struggling with even small exertions. But to win Ayoi and Donny over, they were willing to take these two along and try to protect them.

"Don’t we enter the map at random locations?" Donny pointed out. "And like you said, the first round is a screening match with over seven hundred people in a chaotic battlefield. I think it’s hard to find teammates in such a situation. It’s better to rely on oneself than to hope for others."

"You don’t have to worry about these things. We mean what we say and won’t use you as shields," Philip insisted, looking at Yuka with a show-off attitude often seen in boys in front of their crushes. "You might not know this, but I’m ranked in the top ten in the underground solo matches, nicknamed Hephaestus. Shawn, known as GPS in the underground arena, also ranks high. We’re fully capable of protecting you. I even have screenshots to prove it if you don’t believe me!"

Yuka just listened.

Philip had imagined that the others would be amazed upon hearing about his and Shawn’s hidden identities, showing admiration and then immediately agreeing to ally with them.

But reality was far different from his fantasy. Donny remained expressionless, and the beautiful girl Yuka, who made his heart race, pressed her lips tightly together, seemingly struggling to control her laughter.

Ayoi and Alex looked at Philip with strange expressions, their eyes not filled with the admiration or envy he expected, but rather a hint of... pity?

Philip doubted his perception and wondered if they hadn’t heard him clearly. Just as he was about to repeat himself, Donny crisply refused, and things got a bit weird.

Yuka cleared her throat and gently suggested, "How about this? We agree to a verbal alliance. If we see each other on the map, we won’t attack each other; if one is in danger and we can help, we’ll do so, but it’s not mandatory to act as a group or provide mutual assistance. How does that sound?"

After a moment of thought, Shawn nodded, "Okay."

Philip also agreed but quickly added, "But you must promise not to ally with Lory, as he will definitely attack us. He’s our number one enemy!"

He earnestly explained his grudge against Lory to Yuka, portraying him as a despicable villain, hoping to gain her agreement, oblivious to how childish that sounds.

Shawn, unable to watch anymore, pulled Philip by his collar and said with a smile to Yuka and others, "Let’s leave it at that. See you at the exam this afternoon." He dragged the intellectually-diminished Philip out of the lounge, with Philip reluctantly waving goodbye to Yuka.

Yuka turned to Ayoi and Alex, suggesting they should leave as well. Donny agreed with a simple "Hmm."

They left the lounge and prepared to return to their rooms. On the way, they saw many groups discussing team formations.

"Donny."

Following the voice, Yuka and her friends turned to see who was calling her.

Lory stood at the next flight of stairs, asking Donny while walking up, "Did Philip try to form an alliance with you?"

After a moment of thought, Donny replied, "I’ve verbally allied with him."

Understanding Donny’s implied refusal, Lory stopped and smiled gently, "Okay, I got it."

Donny turned back and explained to the puzzled group, "He’s Lory, from the Atlantis Academy and has connections with our family. He’s very capable."

She paused, then added, "I don’t recommend allying with people from other academies. After all, everyone is in competition, and they might betray you at any moment."

Yuka, understanding Donny’s concern, smiled in appreciation, "Thank you, we understand."

To avoid feeling sleepy during the competition, Yuka and her friends had lunch early and took a nap.

They woke up refreshed and ready for the afternoon exam.

At 2 PM, Yuka and Ayoi went to the fourth-floor examination hall, found their designated room according to their number, and lay down in the holographic pods.

Once inside the holographic pods, they arrived in a larger room. Since the competition hadn’t started and the rules were not yet announced, everyone was either chatting with classmates or doing their own thing, creating a warm mood.

Ayoi leaned in and quietly asked Yuka, "What’s your goal for this time, Yuka?"

"Just to pass," Yuka replied, resting her chin on her hand.

She had not seen Kenji for several days and wondered what he was up to. This morning, she noticed increased security by the Alliance Army around the white building. ’Are they worried about something? Will Kenji come to watch the match?’

Noticing Yuka lost in thought, Ayoi stopped talking, letting time pass slowly.

Soon, it was time to announce the rules. Kenji’s face appeared on the screen.

He spoke coldly, "I will now announce the details for the first round of the Academy Tournament. The location of the first round is a virtual map of a maritime transport ship, where all students will be randomly placed. The match will last 100 minutes."

"There are two rules. First, all students must avoid being eliminated by others within these 100 minutes. In other words, your cockpit must not reach 100% damage by the end of the exam to earn the basic score of 60 points. The second rule allows students to attack each other, earning 10 points for each successful elimination. If multiple students attack one, the system will calculate and award the points to the student who inflicted the most damage. Earning 100 points allows immediate advancement to the second round, without staying for the remaining exam time."

"I wish you all good luck in the exam." Kenji then disappeared from the screen.

A text version of the rules appeared, and students started discussing them with friends and looking for those they had agreed to team up with, formulating tactics.

It was clear that the longer one stayed in the game, the more dangerous it became.

Yuka thought about how to just pass and realized she needed to stay for the full 100 minutes while avoiding other students’ attacks.

Ayoi, feeling nervous, shook her leg and looked at the countdown on the screen.

[The competition begins.]

As everyone in the classroom blinked, they found themselves transported by the system into the competition. Meanwhile, in another large room on the fourth floor of the white building, students from the logistics specialty wore holographic glasses, immersively watching the match as if they were there.

Next to them, in the commentary room, sat the familiar figure to UUA students— Instructor Yonda. In front of him was a large screen divided into many small interfaces, each tracking a competitor’s status. Whenever a battle occurred, the system automatically brought that interface to Yonda for commentary.

To Yonda’s left, Kenji was looking at the live comments on the screen.

[Wow, Admiral Kuba is so cool!]

[Go Gaia Institute!]

[Why isn’t the commentator speaking?]

[Why do all the mechas look the same? We can’t even see the pilots’ faces through the cockpits. How can we tell who is who?]

Kenji shifted his gaze from the comments and started searching for Yuka on the screen. He had memorized her number and, with his superior dynamic vision and memory, quickly located Yuka’s position in the game.