The Battle Queen They Blindly Kicked Out (Joanna) novel Chapter 491

Chapter 491 Professor Lane’s First Class

Finisher

The workload was manageable. And her graduate students would simply accompany her on active missions in the Divine Battlefield. Practical fieldwork. Easy graduation track.

In the Divine and Demonic Academy’s Public Relations office, Nancy read the incoming announcement, shot to her feet, and nearly knocked her chair over.

“Get this out immediately. Joanna has officially been appointed as a skills instructor for talent-type courses, and she’s taking on graduate students as an advisor. She’s been named associate professor.”

She paused.

“Wait. If she’s taking graduate students, does that mean I could apply? I’m graduating this year.”

Nancy pulled up the official posting. It was real. Applications were open.

She desperately wanted to be the only one who’d noticed. But she was the head of Public Relations. She couldn’t exactly not publish it. And she wasn’t the only sharp mind on campus.

The moment the announcement went live, the applications detonated.

Not just fourth-years approaching graduation. Alumni came flooding back too. And it wasn’t limited to Divine and Demonic Academy graduates. Students from other institutions could qualify by sitting the Academy’s graduate entrance process.

Final application count: 23 million.

For context, the Space Alliance’s annual count of newly awakened SSS-rank talent holders sat at around 500 thousand. This pool covered roughly 40 graduating cohorts across the entire universe.

Joanna hadn’t expected the response to blow up like this. She’d planned to open applications briefly, let her shortlisted picks submit, then close it off. Internal selections were off the table now. It left her equal parts amused and exasperated.

She rewrote the eligibility criteria.

One: current graduating cohort or alumni within three years of graduation.

Two: SSS-rank talent, minimum three talent slots filled, minimum ten skill slots unlocked.

Three: Mythic-level professional status.

Four: total attributes no lower than 500 thousand.

That cut out 99.9% of the applicants.

21,389 remained. And the number was still climbing, since plenty of people hadn’t seen the announcement yet.

The Academy forum, which had never seen traffic like this in its history, became unmanageable.

1:09 pm MA

Chapter 491 Professor Lane’s First Class

Finished

Every graduate retained forum access after leaving, which meant decades of alumni were suddenly very loud about their opinions.

[Why is there a three-year alumni cap? I want to pursue graduate study. Age discrimination is real.]

[A senior from the Class of 1057! 60 years old and absolutely in his prime!]

[I’m the one who should be crying. I missed the cutoff by one cohort.]

[I’m literally about to complete my graduate degree and Professor Lane opens applications now? Can I re- enroll?]

[I want to see who actually makes it.]

Joanna released a set of high-difficulty qualifying questions. After that round, the pool dropped to just over 2,000.

Ten million applied. Two thousand made the cut. And from those, she selected nine.

“Haul Blaze, George McDaniel, Dax Ironridge, Katherine Cooke, Ivan Caldwell, Rory Coope, Anabel Whitmore, Nancy Blake, and Ansel Harlow.”

The forum immediately began dissecting every name on the list.

[Haul graduated alongside Professor Lane two years ago. Served as student council president. Holy Knight class. Currently working as a planet chief under her. Sir, are you serious? Your former classmate is now your thesis advisor, and you couldn’t give up that spot for the rest of us? You don’t need the mentorship. We do.]

[George is the same. That’s a first-class fast track right there.]

[Dax Ironridge. Combat champion. Strongest physical fighter on record. Currently works as a Nightstar Group enforcer.]

[President Katherine has been following Professor Lane’s path since the beginning.]

[Rory is just a top student. No club activities, thinner record overall.]

[He has 80 clones.]

[Never mind. Respect.]

[The last three are still undergrads who haven’t even graduated yet. Anabel Whitmoreis the student council president, Summoner class, six contracted companions all at SSS-rank talent, already at Level 50. She’s a direct beneficiary of Joanna’s contract companion initiative. Second-generation professional. Princess of the Whitmore Group and a future certainty as its heir. Obviously she made the cut.]

[Nancy Blake. Professional orator. Current head of Public Relations.]

[Ansel Harlow. Student council vice president. Shadow Pastor class.]

[Where did Ivan Caldwell even come from?]

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