School Ends

The attention of the room was suddenly drawn to Sol even more as he laughed.

Silence fell over the students and parents, along with the representatives from the other academies.

The principal of the school smiled warmly as Sol spoke.

"Interesting..." Sol said to himself with an almost uncontrollable giddish feeling in his throat, 'I'm starting to like this now. Who knows... maybe it will actually be fun to start over from scratch and conquer another world.'

His eyes widened, his tone impetuous, and his gaze confident.

Staring into these eyes, many in the crowd were lost in a feeling of awe.

'P-preposterous! That boy has lost his mind!' Others, who knew Sol before, thought to themselves.

It seemed the overall crowd had a mixed reaction to the boy.

At that moment, the last student from the exit exams appeared back on top of his plate. It was none other than Ulao Henen himself.

He was battered and bruised, but surprisingly healthy-looking.

'Oh? Was there an automatic healing system in the exam?' Sol mused to himself on seeing the bully's physical state.

"Students!" The principal announced at that moment as everyone faced him diligently, "Those who could not pass this exam have been transported into the infirmary..."

As the old man said this, many faces in the crowd of students began to light up.

Gasps sounded through the crowd, as smiles and light laughs began to sound.

"That means... all of you standing here have successfully passed your exam!" The principal exclaimed in excitement.

A roar of cheer and applause sounded inside the gymnasium. These words had confirmed it... they had officially jumped past a mountain--the top of which they couldn't even see only a year prior.

After this, the principal announced the next steps moving forward for the kids.

They were Intermediate Schooling Grade students, so they still had another school year before they finished their studies.

"According to your points, your prizes will be shipped to your homes. In fact, they should be there by the time you get back. Enjoy them, and make sure you train hard for the next six months, as the entrance exam for the Senior Schooling Grade will be your next hurdle!"

Determined faces and ambitious huffs and puffs covered the room. Kids clenched their fists and promised themselves to train as hard as they could.

Sol, on the other hand, began walking out of the gymnasium at that moment.

He captured the attention of everyone else as he casually neared the exit door.

Even the principal was slightly taken aback by this, "Oh? Where are we going?" He called Sol out.

"You're done, right? With your speech? If so, I'm going to go train and get stronger." He said the truth but did so while having his back turned against the principal.

Many were surprised that he would do such an action, as it was considered rude to speak behind your back like this to elders. Especially considering this elder was the principal of Vanathril!

However, in this situation, Sol was truly the elder anyway...

"I see... good luck to you then." The old man exclaimed with a smile on his face despite the blatant disrespect.

Hearing Sol's words, other students also began to leave. "He's right... let's start training immediately!"

They were inspired by his words for some reason.

"Look how motivated he is to pass the upcoming entrance exam! No wonder he got first place!"

"Yeah! We gotta be more like him!"

Students began to say, storming out of the door.

'Entrance exam huh? Che!' Sol scoffed inwardly, 'Far off... I'm training to take over the world, fools.'

And so, before the principal could even finish his speech, the students of Vanathril exited the gymnasium.

He was left laughing at the absurdity of it all. "To think... a mere kid could do that!" He exclaimed heartily.

A young teacher appeared next to him at that moment, "Well... he was the number one ranked student. No wonder his words were impactful."

The man who looked to be in his early thirties said.

"No... it was more than just his rank that drove those kids to be so influenced by his words."

"Oh? Then... what was it?" The other teacher curiously inquired.

"Hmm... I have no clue! Pahaha!" The principal broke out into another peal of laughter.

Sol's stepmother, who was sitting in the stands at the back of the stage, quickly stood up and exited the theater with loud and quick stomps.

At that moment, many parents nearby turned their heads to face Sol's father.

Noticing this awkward atmosphere, the principal also turned to face him, "So... what do you think, Reylin?" He quipped.

Sol's father stood up at that moment, also leaving the stage as his robe billowed behind him.

"Be quiet, old man." He said with a slightly scornful tone as he left.

***

Sol made his way into the spacious courtyard of Vanathril, where hundreds of other students were making their exits as well.

At that moment, he felt a hand grab onto his shoulder.

His head instantly turned past his shoulder, giving a piercing gaze to a young man behind him.

"Hey! Did you forget me? I'm Kennan... from befor--" Kennan tried to speak in the same ecstatic tone as the first he introduced himself to Sol, but instead got kicked 

straight in the stomach.

Kennan had his guard down, so as Sol's foot caved into his belly, he was propelled backward into a tumble before lying flat on his back over 15 feet away.

"Who the hell do you think you are to grab my shoulder?" Sol said in a cold tone with hands in his pockets, staring at the green-haired boy who was pushing himself up from the floor.

"M-my bad if I offended you... I just wanted to say hi is all. Hahaha!" Kennan suddenly laughed.

"Oh? Good then. I like you, boy. What's your name." Sol said at that moment with a slight smirk on his face.

"My name!?" Kennan exclaimed, excited that Sol was finally interested, "It's Kenn--" However, he was abruptly interrupted before he could finish saying it.

"Nevermind... I'm not interested anymore." Sol turned around before beginning to walk away again.

"W-what!?" Kennan was at a loss for words.

Then, Sol's shoulder was grabbed for a second time.

"Oi... Didn't I already tell you to not grab my shoulder? I let you off the first time, but-" Sol stopped talking, as the face he was expecting to see wasn't behind him.

Instead of Kennan, it was Ulao Henen. "You mother fucker... prepare to die." His eyes were bloodshot red in anger.