Arrival

With only a two day notice before the academy will begin, Yasuo had a lot of things he needed to prepare.

Not only did Yasuo have to prepare mentally for the sudden change, but he also needed to prepare other things.

Hana Lee made sure all the administrative procedures were completed and even prepared Yasuo's school uniform for him within only one day.

But there were some personal matters Hana Lee couldn't help Yasuo with.

Yasuo immediately went home and was now in his room, packing a suitcase of everything he wanted to take to the academy, but he soon found out that he didn't have that much stuff to pack.

While packing his cloths, he reminisced about the things he would miss while at the academy, which was going to last exactly one year.

Despite having only a few things to pack, it was taking Yasuo a long time. He was subconsciously postponing the one thing that made him feel sad about joining the academy.

Being hesitant about this, Yasuo postponed it until only one hour before he had to leave. At this time Yasuo had no choice anymore even though he wasn't mentally prepared.

Walking out of his room, Yasuo stood in front of Yoona's door and knocked.

When Yoona opened the door, Yasuo couldn't stop himself from crying. Emotions that he buried deep inside started coming up. Feeling so grateful towards Yoona for taking care of him when his parents couldn't and playing the role of his guardian and older sister.

Yoona didn't knowing why Yasuo was crying, but immediately embraced him and comforted him, telling Yasuo that everything was going to be alright.

When Yasuo had calmed down, he told Yoona everything. Telling her for the first time that he awakened, that he was entering portals and that he had to leave to go the national awakeners academy in an hour.

At this point Yoona had understood why Yasuo was sad.

"Yasuo you don't have to be sad, going to the national awakeners academy is a good thing. I know that I will not be able to see you for a year, but you will always be with me in my heart. So cheer up and go to the academy with joy and determination to get stronger, then we might be able to go into portals together." Said Yoona with a gentle and comforting tone, reassuring Yasuo.

Now looking resolved, Yasuo answered Yoona confidently. "I will strive to be the strongest in the academy and become someone you can be proud about!"

"Yes, that is how I know you." Yoona said, smiling at Yasuo before saying goodbye to him.

After having resolved any conflicting emotions Yasuo now looked forward to going to the academy, with getting stronger as his only purpose.

Waiting outside of the building, an all-black car with tinted windows arrived.

"Yasuo Mun, I will take you to the academy." Said a muscular man who looked like a bodyguard, in a professional tone.

After stepping inside the car the driver didn't speak another word, not even answering questions that Yasuo had.

Having driven for over an hour without any words exchanged, Yasuo fell asleep as he hadn't managed to sleep much last night out of excitement.

After three more hours they had finally arrived. "We have arrived Yasuo Mun."

Waking up from his nap, Yasuo looked out the car window. As far as Yasuo could see, it was just barren land. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a grandiose complex of intricate looking buildings could be seen.

Yasuo was amazed at the sight of the buildings. 'So this is where I will be spending the next year.'

After Yasuo stepped out of the car, it left immediately. Not having been given any instructions whatsoever, Yasuo walks towards the gate in front of him.

"Name please." Said a man who looked like a butler in a polite tone.

"Oh yes, my name is Yasuo Mun" Said Yasuo as he was surprised someone was finally talking to him.

The butler looked through a list of names, searching for Yasuo's name. When he eventually spotted his name, his expression seemed to change.

"Ugh, just walk into that building on your left. You have number 1000." Said the butler in a displeased manner.

Yasuo found the change in attitude strange, but just shrugged it off as he replied "Yes, thank you." And started walking towards the building the butler pointed at.

Yasuo was surprised when he entered the building. He entered a massive auditorium where a lot of seats were arranged before a big podium spanning the whole width of the room.

When Yasuo looked at the chairs, he quickly noticed that they were numbered. Remembering that the butler said he had number 1000, Yasuo began looking for his seat.

The seats were arranged in a numerical order, so it was not difficult to find his seat. Yasuo quickly found out that his number would be in the back row, so he went there looking for his exact number. Walking through the row Yasuo arrives at the last seat, which was number 1000.

'You got to be kidding me. I am in the furthest seat possible from the podium, in the backrow all the way in the corner... That's just my luck I guess.'

Yasuo didn't really mind that he was seated all the way in the back, but as he looked around he found it weird that he was sat there. Only fifty or so other students had arrived so far, so he couldn't understand why he had to sit all the way in the back when he arrived so early.

As the time went by, more and more students entered the auditorium and sat down according to their given numbers. When around two hundred students had arrived, Yasuo noticed something that he found strange.

'I haven't seen anyone sit down in the lower part of the seating yet, why is that?'

After around an hour exactly five hundred students had arrived, filling up half of the seats. But only the upper half of the seats were filled, the seats 501 till 1000.

'What is going on?'

Yasuo was confused as to why only the back seats were filled with people and why he had to wait for so long even though a driver of the academy had picked him up.

But Yasuo soon figured out the reason as more students began entering. These students arrived later than the previous students and were guided to their seats, the seats near to the podium, by a butler.

'Ugh, they must be rich and privileged students looking at the treatment that they are getting.'

It took another hour before the front half of the seating was filled. Now having waited two hours, the auditorium was finally filled.

With everyone seated, someone walked up the podium and to the lectern. It was a big but dignified looking man, which silenced the crowd,with his presence alone.

Standing in front of the Lectern the man waited a few second, looking through the crowd of student before he started his speech.

"Welcome students of the national awakeners academy, I am the president of this academy, Jeon Park."

The opening of the speech left a big impact on the students. It was the most simple opening possible, but the president exuded authority and seriousness.

"You thousand students have come from all over the country as the best awakeners your age to learn, train and become stronger in this academy for the coming year. Becoming stronger as an awakener and a hunter is the primary goal of the academy as every day the attack of the monsters is getting fiercer."

Hearing the seriousness in the president's words, saying that the academy will prioritize becoming stronger, made Yasuo happy as that was his only goal in this academy.

"As becoming stronger is the primary goal of this academy, that is also the only thing I expect from you. Having completed the mandatory speech, I will begin explaining the important things."

As the president said his last sentence, his vibe completely changed. His tone remained the same, but his expression became even more serious and it even hinted at a sort of disdain.

"I will say upfront that all thousand students won't be treated equally. Some students will receive privileges that will make their stay at the academy better and will give them benefits over other students."

Yasuo was shocked at what the president just said. 'The national awakener academy doesn't treat their students equally… Does that mean that the rich will get privileges just like everywhere else?' Thinking about this made Yasuo mad and frustrated. With his fist clenched he continued listening to the president's speech.

"As I have said before, the academy prioritizes strength above anything else. I don't care who you are, as long as you are strong you will be able to get privileges. Not only will these privileges give you more comfort inside the academy, but these privileges will also provide you with better resources to get stronger.

As the president said this, Yasuo's demeaner changed completely. His previous anger transformed into joy as he found out that he would be treated based on his strength, which he was confident in. Now with privileges for getting stronger on the line, Yasuo became serious and listened attentively at what else the president has to say.

"Some of these privileges include a bigger room, better training facilities, access to more areas of the library and having better combat instructors. You can basically get privileges for everything besides the lectures you get, which will all be the same regardless of strength as we want everyone to get the opportunity to get stronger.

Hearing the president say this made the previously silent auditorium fill with chatter amongst students, discussing what they just heard. While the students were still rowdy, the president continued talking which made the students quiet down immediately.

"Even at this moment there is a difference in treatment. For example, in the front seat here sits Yeo Kwang, the son of one of the richest people of the country and guild master of one of the most famous guilds while all the way in the back sits Yasuo Mun, a person no one has probably heard of as he only registered two days ago and is unaffiliated with any guild."

Students from the front rows could be heard laughing while a tense atmosphere formed in the back rows.

"QUIET!" The president yelled out unexpectedly, silencing the whole room immediately.

"Are you guys dumb or what? Didn't I just explain that strength is the only thing that matters? I don't care if your father is rich or even the president of the country. If you are strong you will get better treatment, but if not, don't expect any better treatment just because you come from an influential family."

This, in turn, made the students laugh, but now not the front rows but the students seated in the back.

"Today an evaluation will be held to test your strength and a student ranking will be made, which will determine the privileges you will receive in the academy. So for your own sake I hope you are in peak condition to show your strength and that you won't hide anything, as this is not the time for that."

Having said that, the president's speech concluded and he started walking off the podium.

'Was it just my imagination or did the president just look me in the eyes when he said his closing sentence?' Yasuo thought, but he quickly brushed it of thinking that he probably saw it wrong.