My Cell Prison

Chapter 518: Chapter 518: Dark Side

[Knight Selection]

In the eighteenth year since the establishment of the Holy City, the knight system was officially implemented. The [Knight Selection], an important activity for selecting qualified knights, was set to be held mid-October every year.

If one aspires to become a knight,

If one aspires to gain official qualifications to venture out of the city to investigate the outside world,

If one aspires to join the Knight Regiment in a collective fight against higher life forms that threatened humanity’s survival, they would need to pass a series of stringent evaluations.

Only true knights who meet the requirements will be allowed to join the Knight Regiment.

Those who fail to meet standards will serve no purpose in the Knight Regiment other than being a burden.

In the 78th year of the Eternal Night.

With the approval of the council and substantial financial investment from the Royal Family, a vast amount of resources from the Thirteen Knight Orders were allocated to the establishment of the [National Royal Academy of Knights].

A designated learning facility was established for novices who have passed through the Fate Space for the first time, providing them with premium education facilities, specialized training tailored to enhance the success rate of each Apprentice Knight turning into a full-fledged Knight.

The selection process for the Knight Academy is carried out at the end of the fourth academic year. The successful graduates will participate in the Knight Selection,

There will then be a series of tests to verify if the students possess the qualifications to join a Knight Regiment, alongside choosing which Knight Regiment they would be allocated to, initiating their investigation and exploration outside of the city, and pledging their hearts to the freedom of humanity.

Exceptional performers during the selection process will be granted special rewards and privileges.

The Holy City encourages this ‘merit-based’ selection mechanism and is committed to cultivating elite knights who can stand on their own.

…

However,

The Holy City does not entrust the entire knight training task to the National Royal Academy of Knights, for students who are considered ‘exceptional’ will undergo an alternative form of training.

Known alternatives for exceptional training methods include:

[Church]

Seven out of ten knights in the Holy Knights Group are holy knights trained by the Church… Of course, aside from training clergymen, the Church also trains knights with unique special traits.

[Associations]

Noble-born knights can use their family connections to be directly transferred to capability-based associations that can train knights, such as the Magic Association, Warrior Association, Natural Association, etc.

It should be noted, in the few decades before the establishment of the National Royal Knights Academy, Apprentice Knights were trained through these associations.

Newcomers will choose which association to join for training based on their special traits and preferences.

However, the structures of these associations are not comprehensive, and they function independently, resulting in many fatal incidents among new members due to competitive issues.

Furthermore, individual associations focus more on the cultivation of excellent knights, forming a somewhat severe ‘hierarchical differentiation’ within… Average newcomers could not receive any resources at all and ultimately had to give up on becoming knights.

After the establishment of the National Royal Knights Academy,

These associations still exist, and some noble individuals with connections would still choose to go down the road of association training.

However, the aforementioned [Church] combined with [Associations] only account for a maximum of 15% of the total participants in the Knight Selection.

What’s more, as time passes, the association’s training methods are gradually declining. Unless those are obstinately conservative nobles, most nobles would send their descendants to the Knight Academy.

This year, however, is a bit different.

With the return of Alex and Marlon, the subterranean area beneath the mysterious Hades Steps has been re-opened.

A group of underground personnel, who had no registered identities within the Holy City, officially came out to the public.

…

“Tomorrow we will go to the [Knight Headquarters] to register for the Knight Selection… Why don’t you spend this evening with me? Shall we go together tomorrow?