After Kain successfully won the 1-on-1 match, the 3-vs-3 match also ended in victory. Considering that none of Elysara's were at their peak condition, and she was the strongest first-year attending Lunaris Vale, the trio of Soren, Kairos, and Ranya had an. Easier time at achieving victory.
After this round of matches there were now 15 teams remaining. However, in order to even out the numbers, more precisely rank the eliminated participants in the top 30, and allow any wrongfully eliminated teams a chance to return, a day of rest was provided to Kain and the others already moving onto the next round, while matches were being conducted among those just eliminated.
However, this time only the single top team from those eliminated will have be able to continue on. And as expected the team to win that opportunity was Lunaris Vale, who was the highest ranking team among those eliminated.
As a result, there were now 16 teams. However, after the decrease in the number of teams, the rules of the competition also changed slightly.
Ultimately, the final winner of the National Tournament is determined by how many points each team is able to obtain.
Points are awarded based on the final ranking within each year level, therefore it is possible for one school to have the top ranked team among first years, yet have a team from another year ranked only in the top 16.
A maximum of 100 points each for first place among the first years, second years, and so on is awarded. With second place receiving 90, third place 80, fourth place 70, fifth place 60, sixth place 50, seventh place 40, eight place 30, and those stopping at ranks 9-16, receiving between 10 and 20 points.
Therefore, if a school obtains first place across all year levels they could theoretically obtain 400 points. However, such a feat, even despite the consistent streak of First Celestial Academy in obtaining first place overall, is still uncommon.
Typically, even First Celestial only achieves first place in 2 to 3 year levels, and second the others. However, they also typically achieve first place in the second phase of the competition in order to safely secure their top ranking.
Since the points come into play starting only from the top 16, it is at this point that the progression of each year level in the tournament may differ.
As a result, the opponents drawn for each year level also differs. If the first-year team wins for a school, they will advance, while if the second-years do not win, then they will not.
Thankfully, there are still some protection measures in place to ensure no two colleges among the top 5 have to face each other so early, and all of the opponents for each respective year for Dark Moon were not too challenging.
The first, second, third, and fourth years unsurprisingly all managed to win their matches and advance to the top 8.
Within the top 8, to get a more precise ranking the rules of the tournament has now shifted to a round-robin format, in which all teams within the top 8 will face one another, with each team having to compete in a match each day.
Due to the results of each year level being considered separately within the previous round, the top 8 for each year were slightly different. However, there was one consistency no matter the year-level—all top 5 colleges were within the top 8 for each year.
After being previously eliminated by Kain and the others, the first-years of Lunaris Vale Academy managed to reach the top 8. Lunaris Vale was also within the top 8 for the second-years.
The other two colleges within the top 8 were Starlight College, from the Southern region and Nebula Taming Academy in the Western region.
Since all colleges would have to face each other regardless, there were no longer any measures in place to prevent the top colleges from drawing one another.
However, nobody wanted to face a strong school for their first match, or even a couple of matches, if possible. Not because they were intimidated. After all, any student capable of representing their school up to this point would not easily back down from facing off against their peers.
Rather, nobody would want a particularly tough first draw in order to conceal as many of their cards as possible for as long as possible.
Since each year is now drawn independently, 4 draws must be held for each year level.
Starting with the first years, they all watched in nervous anticipation as the host suddenly called out the first team drawn.
"Supernova College!" Immediately a large cheer erupted from the audience, after all Supernova had the second highest number of supporters in the audience. Additionally, many were also just happy that a big name was drawn first.
The host reached in to draw Supernova's opponent for the next round and after looking at what was written had inscrutable expression appear on his face.
"Dark Moon College!" Many supporters of Supernova that were previously cheering had their voices catch in their throats as they were choked by a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and unhappiness.
Supernova is known for its bloodthirsty fearlessness, but that doesn't mean that they wanted the team they support to partake in such a difficult match so soon!
However, while many in the crowd were supporters of Supernova, the majority of them were either fans of another team or nobody in particular. Therefore, after a brief shocked silence, even more loud cheers were heard at the thought that the first match of the round would be such a high-end match-up.
Although, slightly disappointed Kain and the others refocused as they prepared to study the information about their next opponents, they still had the utmost confidence in beating their opponents.
At the same time, many of Supernova's first-years also took on a more serious attitude as they knew they were in for a tough battle ahead. Everyone, that is, except for a young man with red hair and eyes that looked at the two college names displayed on the screen with a cocky smirk on his face.