Chapter 73: Unity

The next day, there was a plethora of angry parents at the school. They were furious that their kids were held in the Maze for so long. The most vocal of them were the parents of the 'victims'. Their children were held hostage until midnight. And the worst part of it all was that the Maze retained its form.

Even today, when they came to protest, they had to walk through it to get to the Academy. They wanted the old regime back but were firmly denied by the headmaster, who for reasons unknown to them, had been chained to his desk.

"The new schedule stays. If you have a problem, take it up with the council." He told them.

They tried to argue, bargain, or even scream at him. Some of them even tried to threaten him, but he couldn't care less. He just stood there and told them change was inevitable.

One of the fathers had enough and even grabbed him by the collar. He then fell to the ground, and his heart stopped beating. The parents were frightened, but they found they couldn't even move.

"You do know I am an Archmage right? Just because I am nice to the kids, and a pacifist, doesn't mean I can't kill you. And believe me, no one will blink if I do." He said not a hint of malice or aggression in his voice. He even apologized for scaring them.

The man woke up and got up to his feet. Then all the parents willingly left the Academy. The institution was home to the strongest, and the worst Empire. Every year, the Third Year had an accident that forced people to realize that.

"I wish the kid didn't make it so showy at least," Alaric complained inside his office. He knew what was happening, and really couldn't be bothered about it. In the whole Academy, he only respected the opinions of six teachers, two of them being Fia and Elizabeth. None of the chum that was the twenty-two was on that list.

If the boy had asked him, he would have directly disbanded their classes even. He had many friends, but only a few who were close to him like family, and The Colonel was among them.

"Nepotism is what this great nation is built on God damn it, why did he have to go out of his way to do things the hard way." The old man protested.

Despite his protests, he was actually happy the boy did things his way. Sure he still had help, but at least he was willing to put in the work.

Usually, the headmaster only took notice of students after their Tenth Year, but the kid, even without his family, was worth paying attention to.

Inside the classrooms it was chaos. Everyone was chatting about their experience. Ciaran's classroom was one of the very few which was filled with happy children. Sure their hunt for credits was going poorly, but the Trials were teaching them a lot.

No one was blind to the suffering of the rest of the school, and they could conjure a guess who was to thank for their favorable treatment.

Some still didn't like him, but they had to admit that it was better to have the menace as an ally rather than an enemy. The rest, however, were more than thankful. Every child of the Academy had their emotional maturity boosted, and they were more than capable of understanding the privileges of following a capable leader.

Since Ciaran was done playing Mafia Boss, however, the whole class followed Eddy as their leader. The boy was surprisingly capable of organizing the masses, and he even had a secretary – Millie. They were in charge of keeping the whole class civil and friendly and as a bonus got to live out the fantasy of being in charge of people.

They were smart people kids and knew not to overstep with the four monsters that kept to themselves, but other than that, they managed the day-to-day tasks of everyone. The class decided to work together to have a better chance of passing to the Fourth Year.

Elizabeth didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She wanted her kids to be more friendly to each other, and for all of them to graduate while under her tutelage.

'All it took was for them to be corrupted by the little Devil.' She sighed to herself. She supported her students, but deep down wished things could be less complicated.

"Alright kids, let's discuss what you need to pass the semester, and how you can get to the finish line." She gathered their attention.

"First of all, this year, all of you will need only two hundred and fifty credits, rather than the usual five hundred. The drop in requirements is because of the new training the Academy has implemented." She said and all of them subconsciously looked at the Maze.

"You will get no credits for clearing the Maze, so make sure you have a decent plan for securing your credits."

"As for the end-of-the-semester exam, I don't know. Even we learn about it, on exam day. I am sure it will be hard, so please focus on one thing, and do your best. Do not stretch yourself thin, there is no reason to try and learn everything. You are students, not machines. And, just a reminder of the one thing students always forget, have fun. I know it will be stressful, but I beg of you don't become workaholics just so you can pass some stupid exam. Enjoy your childhood." She said as she stared at all of them.

If there was one thing she hated about the education system in the Academy, it was that it pushed children too hard. It inspired competition and a hunger for success. It raised very competent individuals, but rarely did they remember how to be happy.

All the graduates knew was to chase power and success. She hadn't taught in the higher classes, but on occasion, she had followed the carrier path of all her students, and her heart broke each time.

They lived to work. They used eighteen hours of the day for work, and the rest went into sleeping and eating. Even the ones who dropped out of this rat race were no better. They employed the same lifestyle, just with a lower title and less pay than the ones who succeeded.

The biggest reason she had resolved herself to start teaching the older kids was so she could beat this toxicity out of the curriculum. And she would start, with her very own class.

"About that. I thought about it, and I have a plan. It will get us all the credits we need. And I mean for all of us, the entire class." Ciaran said and drew all their attention to himself.

"There is a forest full of Rank Zeros. We can just take commissions from the Academy. One animal is ten credits, and one plant is five. We can hunt them, study them, or whatever, as a group."

"If each of us has just twenty-five successful hunts, that would be enough. If we help each other, we will finish with the credit hunting in a month at the latest." The boy suggested and the kids were a little skeptical.

If it was so easy why were there so many people eliminated each year, and why was no one else even attempting it?

"No! Ciaran there is a real risk of death if you try that. There is a reason you only get the option after the Forth Year." Elizabeth protested.

"The option to hunt alone, I am proposing a group hunt. We will not mess with packs, and there will be no danger. You just have to give us permission to attempt it. If it doesn't work out we will try something else."

Once again, the old woman was reminded that the kid was insane. The animals inside the forest went as high as Rank five, but the outskirts only had Rank Zeros. No sane beast wanted to stay in the death trap that was the Academy, but the weak ones had little to no choice.

The kids theoretically could hunt them, but the reason that was an unusual practice was that teachers were not allowed in the forest. So if an accident would happen, it was expected of the students to deal with it on their own.

She looked at her class. They looked back at her with longing and desire in their eyes. They had accepted his proposal, and now they wanted her to do the same.

"How about I sweeten the deal a little. We hunt until seven, and after that, we go explore the city, the less dangerous parts at least. You want us to find time to play right, well this way we can make time for it." And Devil once again whispered his sweet lies in her ear.

She knew he was playing her. She knew he had some kind of scheme, but what choice did she have? He promised her the one thing she wanted, and all she had to do, was become a little flexible with her principles.