"First. There will be a training camp for all of you. This will be joint training for all grades for six months to see who will join the competition. The training will be held on the other side, so I can't give you another hint because the instructors will be in charge of everything related to your training. Any questions?"
The students looked at each other and shook their heads.
The teacher then continued. "The second thing is the requirements. Normally, you don't need to do this during your first year, but the competition changes everything. The school allows you to join one of the temples."
"The temples? Are you sure, Teacher? Is this a special exception?" A student asked.
"Then a small quiz. Give me all the names of the temples."
"Vanguard Temple, Magic Temple, and Assassin Temple."
"Yes. Vanguard Temple is basically the home of weapons. You can buy weapons from swords to guns along with a respective skill for a certain price. The Vanguard Temple will give you an identity according to the job you want. I won't explain the benefit of becoming one of them, so have their staff explain it to you. There are four jobs you can get there: Knight, Fighter, Magic Warrior, and Ranger. Have them explained this as well." He paused and looked at the students. "Who wants to tell us about the Magic Temple?"
One of the students raised his hand. "Magic Temple is similar to that of Vanguard Temple, but for those who use magic. They have four famous jobs: Magician, Healer, Enchanter, and Summoner."
"Good and short enough." The teacher then turned to another student and pointed at him. "You…Tell us about the Assassin Temple."
"Assassin Temple is different from the other two. Their jobs are more specialized, with three big occupations: Scout, Assassin, and Illusionist. As the name implies, Scout is focused on looking around the area. The assassin is to kill the enemy while the group distracts the monster while Illusionist is similar to a Magician, but they are—"
"Alright. You stop right now. I don't want to hear the full explanation. The temples can explain it better." The teacher stopped his ambitious answer and moved on from the topic. "Anyway, your occupation will also be in consideration for picking the team. After all, it's not like we can choose six magicians to participate."
"Is there a time limit for this, Teacher?"
"Yes. The school allows you a day off tomorrow. You must go to the temple and get yourself a job. With the influx of people and the test, I believe you need a whole day to get your license. As for Saturday…There will be another briefing from the principal himself, so make sure to attend. The time and place will be informed at a later date. The training will start next Monday. Any questions?"
This time, it was Theo who raised his hand. "Teacher. What benefit can we get from participating?"
Theo had so many thoughts about this competition because the announcement was so coincidental. Yesterday, he met Alea. She told him about all this and said to keep it a secret. To think the teacher would announce it the next day, it couldn't help but raise his suspicion.
"You will gain many benefits if you can participate in this competition. First of all, you will get a certain degree of fame which will help you if you want to get a job in a big family or something. Of course, this competition is one of the most-watched competitions, so if you perform well enough, people might fall in love and bring you as their in-law, so yeah, getting huge support for your career and so much more.
"And there is no way we will allow someone to compete with those geniuses from all over the world without backing you up. The school will provide you with training and skills to make sure you are ready to beat those geniuses."
Theo widened his eyes as he thought, 'The terms are good. Should I seriously aim for this? If I become a participant, the government will surely protect me until the competition ends. As long as I perform well enough, the Lange Family can't touch me easily. And I don't think Alea will do something detrimental even if she knows my identity. Besides, I should have saved up enough money to leave the country if things turn worse.'
Theo contemplated whether to risk his identity was worth the effort or not.
He convinced himself with two more things. 'I should be able to set up a few connections when participating in that tournament. Going international means I can get closer to my goal to become the strongest while searching for my brother.'
Ultimately, he decided to hide his identity for as long as possible during the training as it wouldn't matter too much in the near future.
The teacher then continued. "And one thing you need to know, you won't be able to return home during the training. The only way to go back home is to give up. The food and shelter will be provided, but don't expect good quality because it's a kind of military rations. Of course, there is no special treatment even if you pay us millions of Zils. Any questions?"
"Do you know about the training menu? I mean, what kind of training will we face?"
"The training will depend on your jobs. They have specialists that will help you complete your training. So, there won't be a warrior having a magician's training set. Clear?"
"Yes. Thank you for the answer, Teacher." The student nodded politely.
"If you don't have a question, today will be your last class. This opportunity is for all of you, but you can meet me after school if you can't participate. I will be in charge of your study for one month, so don't expect me to give you mercy. That's all." The teacher then turned around and left the classroom.
As soon as he closed the door, the class turned into an uproar, talking about the training camp. The same thing occurred in all grades, but the third year's excitement was slightly less, considering that Alea already took one of the spots. As for her plan about inviting Sihan and her friend…It was still a secret because she wanted to prove to the others that they were qualified to participate in the tournament.