Opening Ceremony (1)

I woke up at 9 the next morning feeling a bit sore and tired. My chest was still a bit red from getting kicked yesterday but apart from that I was fine. After a quick shower, I changed into my proper school uniform and went to the cafeteria. Compared to yesterday, it was completely filled with students and the noise was deafening as they talked in excitement. 

After a quick breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon for the exorbitant fee of 600 credits reduced to 300 after chatting up the service woman, I left.

Deep in thought about the incident last night, I followed the crowd of people to the auditorium, which was a large theater that could hold up to 10,000 people at once.

Even though this was an opening ceremony for the first years, all students of every year were seated to watch the events as this was the kick-off for the new school year. Even here, the separation of students was clear with white uniforms in the front and black uniforms in the back. I quickly slipped into a random seat at the very back and gazed around curiously. Although I could see the stage clearly, there was a hologram projection of the stage as well.

At 10 am on the dot, the theater dimmed and spotlights shone on the stage. I watched curiously as about 10 people I assumed were professors lined up on the stage including the two I had met yesterday; Professor Silas Grande and Professor Rebecca Lee. The professors were all dressed in unique ways with no noticeable uniform among them. Some wore formal suits while others were in casual clothing. They evenly spaced themselves out on the stage and calmly stared ahead.

The auditorium was momentarily silent, and then a woman with long golden blonde hair reminiscent of a lion's mane walked in front of them. She could be considered a beauty as she was tall and fit and her face had fine features. Dressed in a simple black shirt and brown skirt, she carried an oversized sword with a red sheath across her back. Her ruby-red eyes were sharp and she gave off a fierce aura as if she would slice up anybody who crossed her.

When she arrived by the podium and began speaking, although I saw no speakers, it sounded as if she was standing right in front of me. Magic I suppose.

"Hello class of 3034, my name is Helen Lionheart, Hero rank 155. I'm the current Dean of First High Magic Academy and will be in charge of your brats this year and plan on whipping you all into shape along with your professors. I want you to know that I only value strength and individual talent. If you don't plan on training to be the strongest or don't have the talent to do so, you can get the hell out of my school. Your tuition will be refunded and we can send you to any school of your choice. Any takers?"

She glanced around with her sharp eyes focusing especially on the students wearing black uniforms.

Seeing that nobody raised their hands, she snorted, 

"That's unfortunate. Just know that I plan on culling the weaklings that just waste the time and resources of the talented professors and students so prepare yourselves." The red eyes glanced around coldly, and I could hear some students gulp while whispering nervously.

"What a fucking loser." I simply snorted to myself while looking ahead.

"Now to inspire some of you talentless bastards, let me introduce you to the top students of the new class. The most talented students of your generation. You should aspire to be like them as they will surely do great things in the future. Lionel Lionheart Rank 1. Solomon Nova Rank 2. Evelynn Isolde Rank 3. Please come forward."

At her command, three students walked onto the stage and stood behind her.

As she continued speaking, I looked over the three students, immediately recognizing them from their book descriptions. The boy standing at the very front was Solomon Nova, the current heir to the Nova clan who were known for their magical prowess. He was a lean boy of about 17 with tan skin and short blond hair that had a multitude of colored strands throughout, each color representing an element he knew how to use. He was dressed in a white uniform which was a white long-sleeve blazer, slacks lined with black, a white dress shirt, and a red tie. He had a completely bored expression as he glanced around and yawned loudly. 

Standing next to him was Evelynn Isolde, from the Isolde clan. She was a tall, beautiful girl with ice-blue eyes and long ice-blue hair that trailed past her knees. She wore the female version of the white uniform, the same white blazer paired with a skirt. Her eyes coldly scanned the crowd and her arrogance was palpable in the way she carried herself.

The final student was Lionel Lionheart, heir to the Rank 1 family and the person who had originally killed this body. He was a tall boy, taller than both Evelynn and Solomon by half a head. His golden hair was cut short and his ruby red eyes looked about confidently. His body was quite muscled, so much so that his school uniform couldn't hide it. The similarities between him and Helen were striking and they could pass for siblings.

Lionheart. Nova. Isolde. Their families were ranked 1st, 2nd, and 6th respectively. 

As expected, the top three students were from the 10 families I couldn't help but smile. Stupidly talented bastards. I couldn't even dare to analyze them for fear that it would be noticed, especially by Solomon Nova. Regardless, I would catch up to them given time. I had that much confidence in myself and my gifts.

"Now starting with our Rank 3 student Miss Evelynn Isolde, each of the top-ranking students will come and say a few words. They have also agreed to share their gifts with you all to motivate you and give you a fair chance to defeat them." Helen Lionheart continued and vacated the podium.

Evelynn Isolde confidently stepped forward and flipped her hair as she stood before the podium.

"As you all know, I am Evelynn Isolde from the Isolde clan. Although I am currently ranked third, I plan on moving forward in rankings this year to become the strongest student. Let it be known that I don't like weaklings and don't like people trying to hang on to the strong. As for my gifts, they are the standard gifts of Isolde Clan members. If you don't know what they are look them up. That's all."

"Thank you, Miss Evelynn Isolde. Next up, Rank 2 Solomon Nova." Helen Lionheart said after the polite round of applause.

Solomon Nova yawned loudly before casually strolling up to the podium. He looked across the crowd before giving a lazy smile.

"What up class of 3034! It's your boy Solomon Nova. I have no plans on sharing my gifts and I don't have much to say so let's just have a good school year. See you all in class and hopefully, we won't have meetings this early again. Peace out." After flippantly holding up a peace sign and ignoring the glare Helen Lionheart shot at him, he walked back to his position beside Evelynn Isolde.

"…Thank you, Mister Solomon Nova. I see that you're as flippant and disrespectful to authority as ever."

"Sorry Dean Lionheart, even my clan head can't cure me of this personality." Solomon gave her a small smile before yawning again and looking away with a bored expression. 

"Moving on, Next up, top of the ranks. Lionel Lionheart" Helen Lionheart announced.

Lionel Lionheart walked forward, his steps slow and steady as he made his way to the podium. He stopped and looked around calmly before opening his mouth to speak.

"Hello everyone. I'm Lionel Lionheart, the current heir to the Lionheart Clan. Although that's the case and my family member is the dean, I assure you all that I made it to rank 1 with my own strength, with no preferential treatment, and I plan on showing you all that. I apologize to the rest of the students in my year but I plan on remaining Rank 1 throughout my time here at First Magic High Academy. I am confident in my gifts and strength and can say without any falsehood that I am the strongest in my generation. I challenge anyone to challenge me at the training grounds or in the arena. Any place and at any time. I will defeat you and continue being number one. As for my gifts, I don't mind sharing them at all. It makes no difference to me whether you all know it or not. My weapon of choice is a sword like all members of my clan and my gifts are Blessed by Swords and Lions Golden Aura just like my father. If you want any further details feel free to ask me and I'll reveal them to you. Thank you all for listening and I look forward to the school year. "

As soon as his words finished, the auditorium erupted in a cacophony of noise as some people cheered at his confidence while others swore angrily and vowed to beat him.

I looked around in amusement as everything went the way described in the book. Now that the individual student speeches were done, it was time for the big shot to come out.

As expected, Dean Helen Lionheart Began to announce, "Today we have a very special guest who so generously offered his time to come speak and motivate our first-year students. Please join me in welcoming Basil Lionheart, Hero Rank 1, and the head of the Lionheart clan."

As the surrounding students began clapping excitedly, I focused my gaze directly on the stage 

Step.

Step. 

Step.

The entire auditorium was quiet and could hear the slow measured steps of somebody walking. Then he appeared. Blonde hair in a messy shortcut, vividly bright red eyes, and a youthful-looking face. He was around Lionel's Lionheart's height and had a much leaner, almost skinny build. He was dressed simply in black slacks and a white shirt folded up to his elbows, causing him to look like a regular young man. No matter how I looked at him, he didn't look like the Rank 1 hero not to mention the supposed strongest individual in the world as well as the leader of the most powerful clan.

Basil Lionheart got to the podium and paused. His gaze lightly swept across the entire auditorium before his eyes narrowed marginally and a sense of pressure descended, pushing down on my body and making it difficult to breathe.

"Kghh!"

"Aaghhhh!"

I could hear the students around me groaning in pain as they struggled to hold their heads up and I restrained myself from glaring at the man casually looking around with an amused smile. As his eyes swept by my section, I immediately ducked down and pretended to be in pain.

Suddenly the pressure stopped, and I heard a smooth voice speaking.

"Sorry about that, I sometimes have a hard time controlling my aura. I forget how fragile you are. There's no way we can have a conversation like this."

As I heard his words, I couldn't help but grit my teeth.

This fucking bastard.

Word for word, he had acted and said the exact same thing that the stupid Author had done and said to me. As I stared at him, I couldn't help but think that this bastard, the Rank 1 hero, Basil Lionheart was connected to that bastard of an Author.

Pissed off, I turned my mana vision on and glanced at the stage.

Undisturbed at the gasps of relief surrounding him. Basil Lionheart continued, "My name is Basil Lionheart. Rank 1 hero. I came to give you guys some tips and tricks to becoming a great hero."