23 Welcome to the Academy...

A few days later, it was time for the welcoming ceremony for the students who had succeeded in joining the sectors of their choice. The ceremony was also set to congratulate the top parties and the students that had ranked up thanks to the battles that took place in the dungeon.

Arthur Bellrock was one of those students who had improved impressively after the exam. He had ranked up from F to D and all his statistics had improved drastically. Almost everyone was shocked to learn that it was him that delivered the final hit, though many failed to believe it because he only had three witnesses.

Tremble!

Arthur let out a sigh as he tried to look for a comfortable position in his seat. Maybe it was because he was nervous, but he felt like he was seated on rocks instead of a soft seat like everyone else in the auditorium as the ceremony commenced. All eyes were on him, his anxiety was through the roof at this point.

And to make it worse, he was sandwiched between Elizabeth and Bairon. The two most popular first years right now, after the dungeon incident. The other popular one was Ryne, who had cleared a floor minutes after he had been transported.

"Gods…when is this ceremony starting?" Bairon groaned, sounding frustrated and worn out being here for too long.

"Stop whining already, we've just been here for five minutes and you're acting like it had been several hours already," Elizabeth rasped from his left with both her arms crossed against her chest while seated cross-legged like a queen.

Because of their fight against the beast, their uniforms had been damaged and the academy had made new ones with more mana reinforced in them to protect them. So as of right now, even Bairon was smartly dressed in his uniform.

After waking up in the infirmary, Miss Catherine couldn't stop bickering about the fact he had used a huge amount of mana—even after being told not to. She then treated his wounds naturally without any magic, Bairon's mana was powerful, so they had to use the old ways until his mana leaves Arthur's body.

Now, his hands were wrapped in bandages because of the burns he had incurred from wielding both fire and lightning magic at the same time. During the fight, Arthur had forgotten about the pain—the adrenaline rush was a boost that protected him the whole time. And when it disappeared, the pain in his hands was unbearable.

However, despite all of that, he enjoyed the taste of real power. Sadly, all that power was gone in one full slash—he couldn't summon any lightning even after thousands of trials back in the infirmary. The mana wasn't his in the first place, so it made sense as to why he couldn't summon lightning magic anymore. He had no affinity for lightning.

"Hey," Elizabeth bumped her elbow with his, noticing that he was lost in thoughts. She was pretty happy after making it out of the dungeon with outstanding results.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Why are you spacing out during an event like this?" asked Elizabeth, concerned about him.

"I still can't believe we passed, and defeated a Class-S berserk beast," he said. "what were the odds of us coming out alive without forfeiting?"

"Hmm…probably none, but it's all thanks to you and your dumb idea that we're alive today. Thank you."

The gratitude in her voice surprised Arthur. Out of everyone that was there that day, Elizabeth was the one person he didn't expect to say something like this to him—and she was the first to thank him.

For a second, their eyes locked as they stared at each other and said nothing. The world around them had gone silent when-

"Hey!"

A boy's voice sounded, and the two of them were brought back to reality. Both of them were confused by why they had just looked at each other like that.

The boy then took the empty red seat next to Elizabeth. His hazel eyes sparked with excitement as he turned to Elizabeth with a loving look. He was dashingly handsome and tall, with long grayish hair that went well with his light brown skin.

There were so many girls eyeing him with passionate eyes. He must've been popular with the ladies.

After a minute of pondering and forcing himself to remember what happened, Arthur recalled him as the injured boy from the dungeon. He didn't remember much about him, but the hair was enough to jog his memory.

"Adrian!" Elizabeth was shocked to see him. "I thought you failed the mage entry!"

"That's impossible…I am the protagonist of this story, and how would the protagonist get the love interest if they aren't the same school," he grinned while glancing straight into her eyes with the utmost confidence.

Elizabeth cringed at his words, and let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, dear."

"Huh…?" watched the two and turned to Bairon who was quiet the entire time.

"What is going on with those two?" he questioned.

"Adrian is head over heels for Elizabeth after she saved his life…" answered Bairon as they both observed the weird interaction between the two—it was actually funny to watch Elizabeth acting normal, and not like the strict warrior he saw in her.

"And what about the protagonist stuff he's mumbling about?"

"Adrian believes that we are all characters in a fictional world where he's the main protagonist," he explained. "He couldn't stop ranting all that to me while we were in the infirmary. To make it clear, he has a few loose screws in the head despite being exceptionally powerful"

"That makes a lot more sense," Arthur chuckled heartily.

A few moments later, the entire auditorium grew silent from the sudden arrival of the student council on the stage. It came to them as a shock so no one had even noticed they were there until they appeared.

The student council was a team consisting of some of the most powerful students in the academy. They managed anything concerning the students and helped maintain a stable environment. The students in it had magic and abilities that were on par with the professors despite being teenagers.

Stella Rivian was the president, and being Rivian alone marked her as the strongest person in this entire academy. Her vice president, Lance Crown…also Bairon's older brother, was the third strongest student in the academy. They surprisingly looked similar, the only difference being that Lance's eyes were azure in color.

'The student council, hmm…'

Arthur gazed at them for a long time and realized that he was nothing compared to them. He was already quivering from the aura the five of them produced. He wasn't yet used to this because ignoring it like the others wasn't easy.

Stella then stepped forward and the other four stood behind her, quietly. She was in the same uniform as everyone else but she wore a pair of black long stockings that covered her white thighs this time around. But that didn't stop the boys from ogling at her perfectly curved body, and smooth skin.

'I guess seeing her in a night dress was a lucky opportunity.' He smirked while staring at her begin with a speech.

"Five hundred years ago during the first year of the demon god, the first order was born to protect the world of men from the demon race and the demon lord Asmodeus. Those beings came with the main ambition to wipe out most of mankind and turn the world into their own home for darkness. And when the world was at its lowest, the world's greatest mages came together and summoned the god of gifts who blessed us with skills, giving us the upper hand during the first holy war. Through time, our ancestors saw that the human race needs more than just magic to survive—we needed to train ourselves and grow stronger. Hence, the creation of academies like this one where we prepare for the worst by shaping worthy students into powerful mages and dark knights."

"All of you here passed, making you worthy of this the knowledge this institution has to offer. So I expect only the best from all of you.."

The entire auditorium clapped for a few seconds before stopping in an orderly manner.

"…especially you, Arthur Bellrock…" She moved her eyes to Arthur. He wasn't paying any focus to her words.

And hearing his name echoing in his ears only flustered him. The anxiety he felt now increased when students started to notice him. Especially when the first-year boys were now giving him threatening stares.

"Why?" he moved his lips, facing Stella with a tense look.

She shrugged, grinned at him, and proceeded with the ceremony.

"That will be all for my part. The student council welcomes you officially to Ace Academy…I hope we don't disappoint," she made a half bow, and the student council followed by doing the same.

"Now, I would like to welcome the head of the Dark Knight sector, Professor Petra William."

The students clapped as Stella walked off the stage, and the rest of the student council followed. And at the same time, a woman climbed up to the stage. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, considering how eye-catching her face was despite having a few wrinkles. She had shoulder-length golden hair, intense brown eyes, and her physical height was above average. Also, surprisingly, she was dressed formally in a white turtle neck under a dark blue coat, and a pair of brown trousers with brown boots to finish the set.

"Who is that?" Arthur asked, wowed by the woman's appearance. She was a badass.

"That's Petra William, the best magic sword user in the kingdom. She comes second after the sword gods in swordsmanship…some even say she's as good as Beatrix the Slayer. But I guess, that's the reward of being a right hand for the Archmage for such a long time."

"The Archmage? Isn't that guy two hundred years old? She doesn't look anything like it…!"

"Professor Petra is part elf; she ages slower than most of us. Adrian is the same, but he hasn't reached the point in his life where he ages slower than us."

"I see," he continued glaring at the Professor standing in front of the silent auditorium.

"This year's exam…was a very extraordinary one. As an examiner, I got to see those who are worthy of joining my class and those who are not." Her voice was sharp and direct, not a single word of hers could be misheard because of how carefully she addressed everyone.

"The students who I find worthy to be taught by me are Elizabeth Vermilion, Bairon Crown, Ryne Ames, and Lyra Klain," she announced and continued, "Those students displayed true swordsmanship, courage, and potential. Therefore, they will be training with me. The rest of you are weak in my eyes…and so you'll be taken in by the other professors in the dark knight sector."

Arthur felt like he had been stabbed by a knife made out of pure disappointment. The woman's words had killed his mood for the rest of the day.

Why didn't she choose him? He had ranked up!

He squeezed his hand into a fist. The fact the rest of his party had been recognized except him was devastating.

But she was right. Elizabeth and Bairon were already talented. He had to become stronger to be acknowledged by the likes of Petra William.

"Anyways, I am glad we have extraordinary first-years this time around, you all did well, and no one got less than 300 points during the exam. I'm looking forward to seeing those who can get stronger and earn a place in Class A of swordsmanship and magic, the top class in the dark knight sector," she announced."I believe many of you have potential, so don't—you—dare—give—up."

With those words, she summoned her greatsword, and a red-colored energy, resembling a bright light exploded from its dark-red litherium blade once she raised it in the air and displayed it to the rest of the entire school.

In response, every student with a sword stood up and raised it with pride—including Bairon and Elizabeth.

Out of excitement, Arthur also drew his sword and raised in the air with one thought on his mind:

'Finally, I'm here Mom.'