When he said those words, he gave a slight pause. The entire hall was quiet, making the words seem more powerful. He noticed the reaction and broke the silence.
"And with that, I've taken too much of your time. I will now let you explore the academy that will be your home for the next few years." He said and stepped down from the podium.
Leo looked to the side where the mage students were sitting. Some of them had a neutral expression while most of them were split between a disgusted face and a pondering one. The man's words made a lot of them rethink what they were going to do at the academy while the others stubbornly stuck to what they knew.
The teachers in charge of each set of students quickly rounded up the students to take them out of the hall. Asher took some time to round up the 1000 students in the Aura Knight division. The mage teacher had a far easier time since there were only around 500 students in the Mage division.
Once the mage students left the hall, the Aura Knight students all broke into whispers with the students around them, adding to Asher's problems while rounding them up.
"Isn't that odd? Making the mages compete with the Aura Knights?" Marcus asked Leo.
Leo shook his head. "No. The empire would obviously prefer to give the resources to the nobles instead of the commoners. The system in this academy actually makes it better for us since they are helping us challenge even the nobles in the rankings." He said.
Marcus sighed. "Yes, but who are we to beat them? They are probably powerful mages," he said.
Leo shook his head with a smile. "Not really. Even the strongest among them is only a 2nd Circle Mage. In reality, if the rankings were established now, the strongest mage would probably place 5th at best. The Aura Knights are a lot more powerful than the mages here." He said.
Marcus was confused. The people around them were also listening in while Leo continued.
"The strongest mages don't come to Eldridge to learn magic. The best mages would go to the best academy - The Royal Academy. That would help them form better connections and give them access to better teachers.
On the other hand, Eldridge is better for Aura Knights because we have so many of us that we cannot hope to compete to go to the Royal Academy. That is why the talent for Aura Knights is better spread than for mages.
The only reason the mages are coming to 5th place is because of the resources they have. If we have the same resources, the Aura Knights would take at least the first 20 spots without a doubt." He said.
His explanation drew a lot of eyes toward him. All the students around him were listening to him, while Asher was also looking at him. In the distance, the old man who had stepped down from his podium had also heard the explanation and was looking at Leo with intrigue.
Out of the students looking at him were Miller and Lyra. While Miller had a look of contempt, Lyra looked at him with surprise. Neither of them thought that he would break down the strength difference between the two that accurately.
Leo quickly realized the number of eyes looking at him and shied away. He started walking out of the hall faster to get away from the eyes. Marcus chased after him.
"That was incredible. But how did you know how strong the mages were?" He asked Leo.
Leo shook his head. "Don't ask me now. I'll tell you later."
Asher quickly got the rest of the students out of the hall and was about to leave, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you know who the boy is?" The person who stopped him asked. Asher looked behind him and saw the old man who gave the speech.
"Yes, Head Master. He's one of the candidates on the first day. Apparently, he got to the 4th step with ease." He said. "He was also a 1st Circle Aura Knight just a month ago. I am surprised that he was able to become a 2nd Circle Aura Knight within this time since he didn't seem like a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight to me.
"Curious," the Head Master said. "Do you know if he's a noble or a commoner?"
"He's an orphan, Head Master," Asher responded. "He's truly a talent that we can groom. It's not just him. The entire batch of students this time seems to be the most talented batch I have ever seen. They will be crucial if Eldridge wants to succeed in the Phoenix Trials. If not this year, they will be ready by next year."
The Head Master sighed. "Last year, we had 3 2nd Circle Aura Knights on our opening day. Today, we had 14. It's promising, but also worrying. When there is an influx of talent, that means something big is going to happen." He said.
Asher nodded. "I agree, sir. The last time something like this happened was before my time, so I wouldn't be completely informed about it, but you will definitely know."
The Head Master sighed. "Yes, I would. Well, take care of the children. Train them well. Make sure they become strong." He said.
Asher nodded. He left the hall and came to be greeted by 1000 students who all had way too much energy. He sighed.
"Okay, so from here on you can explore the academy by yourself. But before you go, I will explain how dorms and tuition will work. So the card that was mailed to you is registered to you and will be the most important thing to you. When you go to any hall, that card is your identification. Without that, we won't be able to tell who you are.
Before you can access your dorm, you will have to pay the tuition to attend here. To do that, you can go to the office of finances, which is in the same building as the office of resident life. The building is very adequately staffed for the first month of the academy, so you won't have to worry about long lines. Once you pay the money to attend here, you can go to your dorm.
Now this doesn't mean you need to wait till you paid the money to attend college. If required, you can request a late payment of tuition and gain access to your dorm. You will receive a 1-month extension. You can receive your dorm once you gain the extension or pay your tuition.
This needs to be done within the first week of college. After that, if you haven't done either, then your card will lose its access to the academy, and you will no longer be considered an attending student.
If you cannot pay your tuition today, then you can pay it later, but you need to go back to your home to sleep. So I suggest that you find the office of finances. It's a very hard building to miss, so have fun." He said.
His announcement bummed everyone out. The excitement died down the minute responsibility was involved.
