59 Heroes Arrive Late!
Gray's weak students? They were ready…
Today was finally the day of the Welcoming Ceremony!
Time had seemingly warped into a training madness, becoming a blur even for them. But they who had been stressed before now showed terrifying calm.
"Now, you all. Don't disappoint me! I'll be watching in the shadows!"
"Don't worry, Teacher! We got this!"
"YES TEACHER!"
Ah? Seems like Ajax was back, the squad ready. Well, except Sera, but still. Gray only had one regret: he'd have to watch from a distance. He was still in "prison".
But just as they were showing their fighting spirit…
— Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! —
"You know, I've seen Enforcers with less conviction than your students." It was the Head Enforcer, his robe still as red as before. "Actually, I have a surprise for you, catch…"
As the man threw him something, Gray gasped. This looked just like… an ankle monitor?! With this, wouldn't he actually be allowed to go out?!
"This is an ancient artifact that allows Enforcers to—" The man had been about to explain, but Gray was already wearing it?! He knew about this? How?!
"Ah, sorry. You were saying?"
"Never mind…"
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly recalled.
"Ah, there is one more thing. It's about that comatose student of yours... she'll also have to take the test once she wakes up."
Old Lightning Mage Sera → Rank 7
New Curse Mage Sera → Rank 3
Completely changing her element had significantly reduced her overall power, but so what?! Nodding, Gray waved the man away, the latter leaving in a blood portal: talk about edgy!
Still, he was grateful. Now, he'd be able to watch his students triumph!
"Hehe, give me a second. I'm getting changed then let's head out together!"
Gray happily went inside his house, whistling all the while. But he had barely disappeared when a silhouette entered the compound. Youthful, handsome, eyes as if balls of energy….
"Ah?! Teacher Aldor? What brings you here?"
"It's like this. It's customary for teachers to accompany their students to the Welcoming Ceremony. Since Teacher Gale is… indisposed, do you guys want to join us instead?"
He awkwardly rubbed his head, yet they understood. Was he pitying them? Not at all, he was simply worried the Academy's gaze on their teacher-less group would be nerve-racking.
Seeing his concern, they all grinned impishly.
"Worried for us? Hehe, you should worry about the Academy instead!"
"No need, Teacher, we're teacher Gale's students, after all!"
"Survival Challenge? It's just more training!"
T-This?! How?! Aldor had LOTS of students, but even the geniuses in his class were a bundle of nerves. Those guys? They seemed like freaking veterans!
"Also, Teacher, who said Teacher Gale's not coming…"
"AH?! Really?! I see, hahahahahaha!
The man left as simply as he had come, all his worries eased. No, plenty of worries actually appeared in his mind, yet his heart couldn't help but beat faster in expectation.
Oh, this would be fun….
Just like that, Aldor returned to his place. There, a couple of his students couldn't help but sigh, seeing him return pensive and empty-handed.
"Teacher, they refused you?"
"Sigh. They'll probably skip the whole thing."
"Teacher, don't let it bother you too much, you tried…"
His heart really was just too big for his own good. Except it seems they had misunderstood. Aldor wasn't depressed… it was something else entirely. He slowly approached a certain board.
Aldor's Strategy Board → Foes to watch out for!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Gerald Gravitas → Gravity Magic!
The Puppeteer → Mind Control!
Zombie Zayn → Enhancement!
Rocky Climb → Earth Magic!
A. Junior → Water Canon!
....
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
There were so many names on it. Anyone who showed great potential was on there, whether they were currently strong or would soon become.
It was time for a slight revision.
He walked up to it and—
ERASE! ERASE! Erased the whole goddamn thing! Then, he quickly wrote four new names on there. "Lizzy Luska," "Ajax," "Zhang," and even "Sera Blake!"
"The others before? SCREW THEM! Either face those four with the resolve to die or stay the hell away from them, understood?" They had never seen their Teacher so heated up!
"W-What?! Who are those guys again?"
"They're Teacher's Gale's student, right?!"
"Guys, isn't the last one dead?! Or in a coma?!"
"T-Teacher, what's the big deal with them all?!"
The big deal? Even Aldor didn't know how to explain it. Their spirit? Their mindset? All the blood he had seen at their place? No, it was far simpler than that.
"They're Teacher Gale's students…"
Yes, this was it.
Chuckling, he utterly ignored his students' baffled looks, not adding a single word even as they moved out and soon arrived at the Academy Plaza.
It was filled with people: the first years participating, the others spectating, and countless visitors, too! Many could be seen with banners and confetti while they all shouted excitedly.
The Welcome Ceremony wasn't just a test, it was a goddamn spectacle! But even in that crazy atmosphere, Aldor's appearance was instantly noticed.
"Ah?! Everyone, look out, it's Teacher Aldor!"
"Hehe, the last one standing might just be in his class!"
"A new Teacher getting it? No way! Then again, it's Aldor…"
Hearing the crowd praise their Teacher, the students couldn't help but raise their heads proudly. They had the best Teacher! Also, so what if he was a newcomer?
By the side of the Plaza was a registration table, one for Teachers!
Students → They'd automatically participate
Teachers → They had to register their 10 candidates manually!
Was this process efficient? Nope! But was it suspenseful? Hell yeah! As Aldor reached the table, the entire plaza seemingly got wild.
"Remember the students he chooses!"
"The first-gen students always get the most attention!"
"Maybe not this year or even the next, but they'll rise for sure!"
Everyone held their breaths, waiting for it all. Then, as Teacher Aldor started enumerating names, their portraits appeared in the sky as magical projections.
This was madness.
Turn by turn, Teachers kept going, more and more portraits appearing. But as they left registration, they'd all stop by Aldor, the experienced Teachers usually cockier!
"Oh? So this is the new generation? Smart, but way too soft! You'll get crushed!"
"Hehe, Aldor? Work hard, Newbie! Hope your students can handle Rank 3!"
"Aldor? I'm a recent Teacher too! Good luck in there!"
Seeing this, Aldor's students radiated pride!
"Teacher, see this? Every Teacher's coming over to pay their respect! Hehe, Teacher's the best!" Yet, the praise went completely over the man's head.
No, he was looking all over for a certain man.
Where the hell was Teacher Gale?!
He HAD to be here because…
"Teachers, the registration ends in one minute! Please double-check your chosen students! Make sure there are no errors! Thank you for your attention!"
Tch— This was bad. At this rate, Teacher Gale would be disqualified!
"Where is he?! Shouldn't he be here by now?! His students said that—" That's when it happened.
"ROOOOAAARRRRRR!!!!"
An Earth-Shattering Roar?! At the entrance ceremony?! Amidst the screams of a panicked crowd, IT appeared.
A Ginormous Rampaging Bear! Yet, that's not what stood out the most at that moment. On its back, there were four individuals glowing like the freaking sun!
Zhang → Orange
Ajax → Regal Gold
Lizzy → Lively pink
Then there was Teacher Gale, glowing a deep blue, one that should have gone perfectly with the Academy Robe. SHOULD HAVE!
His robe? It was bloody red! LITERALLY drenched in blood!
Then, as if that wasn't enough, there was glowing Ectoplasm drawing words in the sky as one would with an airplane.
— Handsome Teacher Gale's Class! —
Just as registration was about to end, HE had arrived! As the weight of thousands of shell-shocked gazes landed on the poor students, they… grinned?!
Embarrassed? Why would they be?
They were akin to emperors strolling their domain.
No, rather conquerors, their fighting spirit already overflowing.
"Move aside, the Main Character has arrived! Thank you. No pushing! Don't touch the bear, or it'll touch back! Make way, make way!"
What the hell as up with him?! Dismount? NOPE! Teddy waltzed right through the crowd, mages hysterically jumping to the sides. Just like that they went right to registration!
Many expected them to turn him down and call the Enforcers, but instead…
"G-Gulp. Teacher Gale, are you here to register your students?"
"Indeed! First, Zhang, the man who will one day devour Heaven. Second, Lizzy, the girl who will uncover Heaven's secrets! Third, Ajax, the man who will kick Heaven's ass!"
What kind of introduction was that?! So fucking domineering! Still, who was he kidding? Anyone registering HAD to be first year students! But there was also something else…
"T-Teacher Gale, those three? You know you can select up to ten students, right?!" The man in charge of registration kindly reminded him, even if he didn't need to.
"Hmm... You're right. Three might be a tiny bit clutch to get first place. Fourth name, Sera Blake, the one who will curse Heaven!"
First place?! Even Aldor had no hope of achieving that, wasn't this guy a little ridiculous! But that wasn't all. There was also another issue.
"S-Sera Blake? If she isn't here, then I can't—"
"ROOAARRRR!"
Suddenly, the gigantic Rampaging Bear lowered its wide back, revealing something that had been hidden in its fur… a sleeping girl?! Gray then gave the man a thumbs up.
"T-That, Teacher Gale, she appears to be… unconscious?"
"Is there a rule against that?"
"…."
"…."
"…."
Brother, what the hell would registering an unconscious girl accomplish? This was a survival/fighting event, not some sleeping contest!
Yet, there really wasn't technicality any rule against it. As the screen in the sky changed to show four students, with one being fucking unconscious, the crowd lost it.
Amidst the shocked exclamations, jeers, and laughs, Gray happily went to stand next to Aldor, who was also about to lose it.
"Y-You… what the hell are you doing?! You almost missed the registration!"
"My dear Aldor, don't you know? The Hero always arrives late!
How did that fucking make sense?! Yet, that was the least of their worries as the Headmaster suddenly appeared in the sky with his goddamn Astral Reindeer.
The welcome ceremony was starting…
