Bright Idea

Every participant stood at the central courtyard the next day.

Standing right in front of them was the grand hall where they would be competing, but they weren't allowed to venture in until the Exchange, which was now a few days away.

There were a total of 100 students participating; 25 from each Academy.

"Both Apprentice and Intermediate Stages have 10 participants each, while Expert Stages have only 5, making a total of 25 from each of the 4 Academies, a total of 100 Students." Beatrice Lampshade repeated what many students had already observed.

However, it was only protocol for her to do so.

"I will now reveal the schedule for this year's Academy Exchange." She began. "The contest will last a whole week, with each day contributing to the grand finale that will occur on the last day."

Once she was done explaining, the schedule was basically thus:

Day 1: Prelims for Apprentice Stage

Day 2: Prelims for Intermediate Stage