|ANNOUNCEMENT: ALL FIRST YEAR STUDENTS SHOULD MOVE TO THE SCHOOL HALL|
This was the first message that the students received early in the morning. Without hesitation, they all complied and moved to the hall.
Just a minute after the last students entered the hall, a presence seeped into the hall with quiet but echoing footsteps.
Blonde hair, eyes covered by a white blindfold, sharp nose and brows accompanied by a handsome face and sturdy physique.
Anthony Thornheart.
The Student Council President.
When he entered the hall, it felt like it was suddenly harder to breathe or even stand but in a split second, it was gone.
Kaiser narrowed his eyes as they rippled with quiet approval.
'I can't even match him with my current strength. Perhaps when I Awaken, I'll have a chance against him. What kind of monsters is this world breeding?!'
All around, the freshman students had varying degrees of shock at the power contained by this senior. Weng Lan seemed to be mortified, Tian Yi was stunned, Apollo was humbled while Hazel had the calmest reaction. She only glanced at him briefly before turning to look at the person behind Anthony.
Ajila Eren.
The Student Council Vice President.
Although not as imposing as the president, he was not to be dismissed as his smiling and jovial attitude made him even more dangerous.
'He's definitely a troublemaker. I can smell cunningness from him.' She thought as her nose itched in discomfort.
Unbothered by the stares of the students, Anthony quietly climbed up the stage accompanied by Eren who stood a step to his right and behind.
Tapping the microphone twice, he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Good morning, fellow students of the prestigious Pegasus Will Awakened Academy." As if he could see them through the blindfold, he turned his face and looked at them all— his expression calm and composed.
"Although I wouldn't be too enthusiastic if I were you. You aren't an Awakened yet so you're only half-students. Also, don't expect everyone you know to survive the Awakening Trial. Even though the number of people surviving it has increased, there's always a number of people who do not."
"Keep that in mind. What I hate most is complacency." Saying this, he stretched out his hand towards Eren who passed a file to him.
"Now I know most of you students are confused about why the Virtual Reality Training ended, and must be very curious for answers. I'll explain why." He said as he opened the file— skimming through the first few pages before stopping.
"Initially, the program was to give you a life simulation of how dangerous the Nirad Realm could be. It was then programmed to end the moment a group of people had successfully killed the Guardian of the Citadel."
Taking a deep breath, he continued.
"The level of the Guardian was set to be the strength of an average Third-Year Upperclassmen. That is, a Rank 3 Awakened. Surprisingly, a group of students were able to kill the beast yesterday— day 2 into the program. Although we initially decided to announce the names of the students who participated in the raid, the school has decided to keep this information privy after a request of non-disclosure from the group."
Immediately, the words evoked a chain of reactions from the students.
"Huh? They don't wanna be known?"
"Who doesn't love fame?"
"Why would they decide to let such an achievement go unnoticed?"
Beneath the murmurs, Weng Lan seemed oddly quiet with a serious expression on her face.
Tian Yi looked at her suspiciously, then asked in a hushed tone.
"Any ideas what class the group could be from?"
Weng Lan pondered for a while before speaking.
"I don't know. The possibilities are far too wide."
"I see." Tian Yi nodded, already expecting this answer.
At another corner in the crowd, Apollo eagerly eyed Sebastian, almost sure that he was involved in the raid.
'Till we meet again, Hemsworth. Then, we'll complete our match.'
...
Anthony allowed them to chat for a full minute before tapping the microphone again— silencing them.
"Now onto the second information, we've decided that the Virtual Reality would still be open for those who are interested in training. This isn't a compulsory act so do not be compelled or forced to go by anyone." He said while facing Class-C, already aware of their notorious leader.
"The school has also decided to allow you all the chance to buy Relics from the Item Store. We'll be giving you a fifty percent discount for whatever Relic you purchase.
And that will be all from me. I'll hand over the rest to my Vice President."
Saying this, he stepped back from the microphone and walked out of the hall as calmly as he came.
Smoothly, Eren stepped forward and faced the students with his signature smile.
"Very well, I'd be giving you two pieces of information that you might find useful in the future. Perhaps if you survive the Awakening Trial. Oh my, I hope I'm not causing you all to develop fear for it, right?"
Receiving no positive response, he chuckled to himself then clapped.
"Anyways, that doesn't concern me until you're one of the Awakened Students of the school.
Firstly, you should be informed that your first mid-term examination would commence only three weeks after you Awaken. Oh and let me remind you, the longest time you can spend in the Awakening Trial is a week to the outside world. In there it might be as long as a year however, it all sums up to a week here on earth.
And through this examination, we'd determine whether you are qualified to continue being a student or you're going to drop out. In fact, it is a common occurrence for students to drop out every single examination."
His smile dimmed a little.
"So I hope you are able to understand that and avoid dropping out since the only good it'll be doing the school is reducing the money they spend on trash like you."
"Oh, where are my manners? I deeply apologize for calling you all trash. It's a harsh word. Time to move on.
Secondly, a worldwide competition involving all awakened schools would be hosted by our academy in the next two months. So I expect nothing less than wins from our first year students. If you know you haven't started training, it's never too late to start.
That's all for today. Thank you for your time. Good luck."
As Eren walked out of the hall, he thought to himself with a curious smile.
'I wonder... will half of them even survive?'