9 Chapter 9 - Another Bet

When the three males in front of Mi Young realized that there was no way they could redeem themselves in front of the young girl, they immediately made way for her so she could walk past them. Mi Young looked at them strangely before she proceeded to walk towards the stage.

As the young girl neared the podium, her heart started thumping like crazy. She can feel sweat drenching her forehead and her back. And if you look closely, you will see that Mi Young's hands are trembling slightly.

The moment she stood in front of the crowd, Mi Young couldn't hear anything but the loud drumming of her heart. She can see the other top 10 students on the front-most chairs just below the stage. Aside from that, there are also quite a number of older students who have come to watch the freshmen assembly.

"It's okay to be nervous. Just take deep breaths." Principal Oh whispers beside Mi Young as she hands the microphone to the young girl.

Mi Young stood there at the center of the stage holding the microphone alone and without saying a word. A few minutes passed but she was still looking straight ahead, unmoving. Everyone's starting to feel awkward, even Principal Oh was getting anxious because of the silence of the other party.

"Is she okay?"

"Why isn't she saying anything?"

"I think she's doing that on purpose just to make everyone wait."

"She's staring into space, is she nuts?"

Unable to hold herself back, the MC walked towards the girl and asked if she's feeling unwell. The girl looked like she snapped out of her thoughts because she sent her a sheepish smile before apologizing. The MC asked her if she wanted to proceed with her speech and Mi Young nodded. The MC doesn't look convinced with her answer but she nodded nonetheless before standing at the back once more.

When the MC was finally gone, Mi Young clears her throat to start her speech, "Uhm? Hello everyone. I'm not really used to speaking in public and no one told me that I'm going to give a speech today so I haven't really prepared anything at all."

This caused a lot of murmurs coming from the students. Some were saying that Mi Young was being irresponsible, while others were talking about how careless the school admins were for forgetting to tell her about the important event today.

"In fact, I would have never learned about the assembly today if not for the three guys out there at the back who told me to go scram earlier because I'm too stupid and too weak to be here." Mi Young nonchalantly says as she points at the three guys who were being rude to her earlier. This caused a lot of students to look at the people she just mentioned. The three guys can feel all the disgusted stares coming from the students around them; some even had the audacity to point at them and sneer.

"Isn't that Yeo Shun? He recently got his silver star, didn't he?"

"Yeah. And now he's already boasting it up."

"He even called the top 1 student weak and stupid, how arrogant!"

"Rumor has it that he paid a teacher in order to get into this academy."

The tallest guy among the three who the others call as their 'leader' couldn't take it anymore so he ran away from the crowd with a red face and a shameful expression written all over his face. The other two who were with him followed right after.

Seeing that the three males from earlier had been dealt with, Mi Young casually continued her speech.

"So as I was saying, I don't know what to say in front of you guys since I have nothing prepared. However, I would like you all to remember that none of us are weak or strong. Each one of us is talented in our own ways; you just have to find that one thing that will motivate you until everything around you starts getting better. Cultivate. Study hard. Succeed. That's all."

Mi Young never once had given a speech in her entire life. She was so nervous to the point that she could feel the sweat sliding along her spine. She gave the crowd another tight and shy smile before she bowed and turned her head towards the MC, asking if she could go down.

As if she just snapped out of a daze, the MC nods at her before she catches herself and goes to get the microphone and start her announcements. Mi Young then went to the front chairs where she saw a vacant chair beside Jeon Shi Yun; she immediately assumed that the chair was meant for her so she sat down and waited for the assembly to end.

A couple of minutes passed, after giving an announcement about the newly elected principal, the school rules and regulations, and other important details, the MC all of sudden called the names of the top 100 freshmen students who have earned their very own badges.

You might be wondering how it is possible to still have many freshmen students when there are only 100 students who have passed the entrance exam. Unlike other mage academies, Mistwood Academy does not promote a student to the next grade if he or she fails to enhance his or her ability and rank – which is why even though there are only 100 freshmen students who passed the entrance exam this year, there are still thousands of freshmen students present in the school; most of which were students who were stuck in the same grade level for years, unable to enhance their Mage rank and ability.

Mi Young was busy looking everywhere when the MC suddenly announced her name, "Kang Mi Young, with her knowledge and strong determination, I hereby ask you to come to the stage in order to get your badge."

Jeon Shi Yun, who was sitting beside Mi Young, noticed that the girl wasn't really paying attention. So he nudged her side, which made her look at him. Immediately, there was a sudden tug that came rushing all throughout the young man's body as he locked eyes with the blue-eyed girl. He only snapped out from his thoughts when he heard her say something.

"What is it?"

"I—uh?" Shi Yun clears his throat to save himself from embarrassment, "You are requested to go up the stage to get your badge."

Mi Young's eyes seemed to widen in shock when she heard what Shi Yun said. She instantly got up from her seat and walked towards the stage with an excited gleam in her eyes.

Jeon Shi Yun watches her get pinned with his fast beating heart. He looks at the girl once more and reminisces the feeling she had made him feel earlier. Shi Yun will still have to figure out what it is.

As for Mi Young, she didn't really notice the piercing gaze the other party was giving her because she was busy admiring the badge that is getting pinned on her shirt right now.

"You have excelled through the entrance exam which caught the attention of some of the Great Mages. That is why we will grant you this badge and star as a reward for your talents." The principal announces as she pins the white badge with one stripe on Mi Young's clothes. There was also a yellow star on her badge; a sign that she is one of the top 10 students.

However, Mi Young noticed something. And so she asked, "Why is it white? The others have red, blue, purple, and green badges."

The principal smiled at her and said, "It's because you have all the elements so you can freely choose what faction you are going to join during this school year."

"Can I choose all the elements then?" Mi Young asked innocently.

The principal blinked at her, seemingly shocked by what she just heard. "Y-You only have to select one. There's no record written in any book that a Mage can control all elements."

"But the four tables lit up when I was in the cauldron."

"Yes. But that's because the four tables acknowledge your ability. However, a Mage can only choose one element to control or else her whole cultivation and mana power will go berserk." The principal explains.

"Did I hear it right? She wants to choose all factions?"

"Why is she so arrogant? It's only her first day here."

"Students these days are shameless indeed."

Another ruckus started stirring the students upon hearing Mi Young's statement. They never knew that the new student would be so daring to say it in front of the crowd and in the presence of the new principal and other high ranking teachers.

"I'm so sorry but you are only allowed to choose one element. And even if you choose all elements there is no guarantee that you can learn to control all four of them without a proper cultivation technique." The principal tries to reason out once more.

However, Mi Young is determined and so she says, "How about we bet on it Miss Oh?"

"B-Bet?" The principal looks shocked.

"Uhn." Mi Young replies with a huge smile. "If I learn how to control these elements in the next two months until the first showdown for the first quarter, you will let me choose all factions in the next semester."

All of the people in and around the stage couldn't believe what they were hearing.