"An S-level Alpha. The opportunity's been handed right to us." Someone in the group of seven or eight spoke up. "They must be pretty unlucky. Didn't they meet up with any squads from their own academy?"
"They have an S-Class Alpha, and so do we. What's there to be afraid of? Let's take them down."
Things were different for the First Military Academy this year. They also had a squad with an S-level Alpha, so they began weeding out the competition as soon as the joint exam started.
When Victor Vance encountered squads with useful abilities, he didn't eliminate them right away. Instead, he assessed them and selectively allowed some to remain.
The squads he let through all gathered at their pre-arranged meeting point. That was how they were able to assemble such a large team so quickly at the start.
And that was exactly what Victor Vance wanted.
