The lights throughout the Academy hall suddenly went out, but the lights on the stage remained lit.
*BOOM
Colorful smoke spread across the stage, revealing a silhouette.
'She's always showing off, as usual,' Van thought as he saw the silhouette.
The smoke that had shrouded the stage finally faded, revealing a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and green eyes. Behind her stood ten members of the [Academy Committee].
*CLAP
*CLAP
The sound of clapping from the Academy students echoed throughout the hall.
"That's the Head of the Academy! Valentina de Algeria Lopez."
"Head of the Academy! You are my goddess!"
Hearing the students' praise, a wide smile spread across Headmaster Valentina's face.
Valentina then snapped her fingers, and the entire hall was treated to a breathtaking show.
The ceiling of the hall turned into a night sky filled with auroras.
A gentle breeze swept across the faces of all the students.
Hundreds of birds made of multicolored flames flew through the aurora-lit night sky.
Droplets of water floated in the air and suddenly turned into snowflakes.
'As expected from a seven-element mage,' Van thought as he looked around at the beautiful scenery.
- - - - -
[STATUS]
[Name: Valentina de Algeria Lopez]
[Level: 62]
[Race: Human]
[ATTRIBUTE: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Thunder, Ice, Light]
[STRENGTH: 1,000]
[AGILITY: 3,000]
[DEFENSE: 2,000]
[MENTAL: 8,000]
[MANA: 250,000 / 250,000]
[Skill:
- Death Illusion (Active)]
[Death Illusion: Creates an illusion in which damage taken in the illusion world happens in the real world]
- - - - -
Valentina snapped her fingers again, and all the dazzling scenery vanished, returning the hall ceiling to normal.
"Welcome, students of the 996th generation. As the Head of Avalon Academy, I, Valentina de Algeria Lopez, welcome you to Avalon Academy."
...
...
Hearing Valentina's speech, which sounded more like brainwashing, Van immediately ignored it and closed his eyes.
Without Van realizing it, Valentina's gaze occasionally shifted toward him. Seeing Van sleeping, a twitch appeared in Valentina's eye.
'This kid?!' she thought, annoyed.
After a while, Valentina's "brief" brainwashing speech finally ended.
"Alright, I assume you all are eager to begin your first class. So, please proceed to your respective classrooms according to the curriculum schedule handed out by your heads. May the [Gods] and [Heroes] be with you." Valentina said, then vanished into particles of light.
'So that was just a light clone talking this whole time?' Van thought as he watched the particles slowly disappear.
Eventually, Van shrugged it off and left the Academy hall with Arthur.
"My first class is [Sword Technique]," Arthur said. "What about you, Master?"
"Same here," Van replied.
"Wow, we're lucky to be in the same class, Master," Arthur said.
'I have to admit, the Academy's administrative capabilities are impressive,' Van thought as he looked at his curriculum schedule for the entire year.
At the Academy, there are seven year groups with a thousand students each. That means there are around seven thousand students, and this insane Academy managed to organize classes for all of them in just three days.
The classes are also mixed, meaning one class could have students from year one to year seven.
Moreover, the classes aren't randomly assigned. They're based on the potential development paths of each student.
For instance, Van's combat effectiveness is assessed as follows:
1. The skill [101 Shadows].
2. The Aurelius bloodline granting him a special eye ability.
3. The Black family's swordsmanship specialization.
4. An enormous amount of [Mana] since childhood.
5. A calm psychological state in combat.
6. Etc.
As a result, the classes assigned to Van for the year mainly include [Skill Training], [Special Ability], [Sword Technique], [Physical Training], [Mana Control], [Art of War], [Master of Mentality], and others.
'No wonder the Masters here look sleep-deprived and balding,' Van thought.
(Note: "Master" is the title for teachers at the Academy.)
Van and Arthur finally arrived at the [Sword Technique] class. This wasn't a typical class with a teacher explaining in front while students sat at desks.
The [Sword Technique] class was a rectangular arena with a wooden floor, about 100 meters wide.
As Van and Arthur entered the arena, Van noticed all eyes were on him—specifically, on the golden tie of his uniform.
"Looks like I've got a VIP guest in my class. Never thought a member of the Black family would take my class," a voice heard from the center of the arena.
Van looked toward the voice and saw a middle-aged man with blonde hair and black eyes. A long vertical scar, 7–8 cm in length, ran from his forehead to his left cheek.
"My name is Aaron Clarence. You can call me Master Aaron. I'll be teaching the [Sword Technique] class," he said.
"Aaron Clarence? Isn't he the S-rank adventurer famous for slaying a dragon?"
"Can't believe he's the Master for this class."
'[Beast Slayer],' Van thought as he looked at Master Aaron.
"I'm just following the schedule that was given to me," Van answered briefly.
"Alright," Master Aaron replied, losing interest in Van. "Listen up! Right now, you're all unrefined metal. Just because you hold a sword doesn't mean you're a swordsman! A true swordsman is the sword."
"What does that mean?"
"Are we supposed to be the sword?"
"So, I have to be forged with fire and a hammer?"
Hearing the confused chatter of the first-year students, the upperclassmen wore pitying expressions.
"Poor kids."
"They're just innocent lambs about to face Aaron's madness."
"Hope they survive."
Seeing the pitiful reactions of the seniors, Arthur couldn't help but ask Van, "What do you think he means, Master?"
"No idea," Van replied.
"You're all too noisy. Even my dog knows how to behave better," Master Aaron shouted, instantly silencing the class.
"Lesson one—swing your sword. One thousand swings for first-years, two thousand for second-years, three thousand for third-years, and so on," Master Aaron said.
Hearing his command, the seniors immediately began swinging their swords. Van and Arthur followed suit.
However, the absurdity of Master Aaron's first lesson sparked protests among the first-years.
"Hey, this is unreasonable!"
"We'll run out of stamina! We still have other classes to attend!"
"Shut it! If you don't want to do it, just leave! I'll give you an E," Master Aaron said coldly.
His threat quickly silenced the protests, and the first-years were forced to comply and began swinging their swords.