After the one-month break given by the academy was over, the students returned to the First Dawn Academy right away.
Even though it looked like everything was fine and alright, a lot of things took place behind the scenes.
After the attack on the students during the test was announced with the death tolls made public, the First Dawn Academy was pressured by the noble families to make a lot of concessions and compensations, especially to the families that lost their younger generation.
The compensation granted to families of the deceased was in the form of gold, magic crystals, some secret techniques, although nothing too absurd, and a free slot in the next year's admission. Unlike most slots though, whoever got in with these would be exempt from being expelled by the academy until their third year, even if they didn't do well in the promotional exams.
Compensation was also granted to injured students but it wasn't as impressive as those granted to families of the deceased as theirs was only limited to gold coins and magic crystals. Magic herbs and potions were also provided, but the quantity and quality depended on the degree of injury and its relation to the attack.
As for the concessions the academy made under pressure, security was improved on the academy's grounds and outside tests were temporarily banned until the academy could assure that the events of that day would not take place again.
There were a few other concessions they also made, like increasing the monthly allotment of resources to students and offering them some monetary compensation. All in all, the First Dawn Academy had gone to great lengths just to appease the noble families over the incident that had occurred. The losses they had suffered made people begin to pity the mysterious organization if they ever got caught.
"Asher, over here."
Just after he had got through the main gate of the academy, Asher turned to see Noah waving at him from a few metres away. Beside Noah was a retainer from his family who had escorted him over as well as their family's carriage.
Asher smiled and ordered the carriage to move toward Noah. While that happened, he recalled how previously Noah would occasionally stutter before him and acted meek and inferior, but now, things were different. Although Noah was still respectful and humble, he was a lot more confident than he was before.
"Young master, that's..." The retainer beside Noah was in shock.
"Oh, that's my friend. Asher." Noah replied, purposely not mentioning Asher's surname.
However, how could a trained retainer of a viscount family not be knowledgeable of the direct descendants of higher-ranked families?
The window in Asher's side of the carriage was down so he was visible to the public. Apart from that, the sigil by the side of the carriage as well as the signature horses already revealed his identity.
Realizing that his young master was already in touch with a figure from a duke family, and one of the top five at that, the retainer was shocked.
One should know that in his family, Noah wasn't the only child of his parents and even his uncles had children of their own. Of his two brothers, one studied in the kingdom's prestigious school of business while the other was a year ahead of him but had failed along the way two years ago, and got demoted to the Second Dawn Academy.
Recently, their family had been coming across a few difficulties that were affecting them badly. This in turn led to some of the family elders looking to pass a vote of no confidence against his father.
Originally, no one had much faith in Noah getting past the second year of the academy, but when he did so, they were shocked and he automatically became the family's star. It was for this reason that none of the other influential and older members in the family pushed for the vote of no confidence against his father. One could say that Noah was now carrying his father's dreams and ambitions on his shoulder and if he were to fall one day, his direct family would fall along with him.
However, this retainer was very loyal to the family and owed his life to Noah's father, so there was no way he wanted to see such happen. Hence, when he saw that Noah was familiar with Asher, the child of a duke and not a regular one at that, he was shocked and began thinking of ways to use this to their advantage.
The retainer whispered.
"Young master, that's the son of Duke Arnhaunt, am I correct? If you could let the family -"
"That's enough. He's my friend and not someone I plan to take advantage of. I don't plan on having him fix my family's mess and I don't plan on using his influence to do so. Friends aren't meant to be taken advantage of." Noah replied with a low voice.
A few seconds later, Asher's carriage arrived right beside Noah's and he had it parked there. He then alighted and walked into the academy with Noah.
Unbeknownst to the latter, Asher had heard everything and could only smile.
. . .
"Welcome back students." Dean Alfos addressed the gathering from the podium.
"As you all know, we had an unexpected incident that occurred during the test which ended up with its cancellation as well as the loss of lives of a couple of your classmates, with some of you injured."
The dean paused as he glanced at the students. A second later, he continued, but this time with renewed vigor.
"However, things like this happen in the world of mages. Innocents die, mages are killed, and the powerless and normal folks end up massacred. Humans die. Why? Why is it? It's because this is the kind of world we live in; a world where the weak die and the strong strive."
Everyone, both students and the staff on standby, were shocked by the contents of the dean's speech, but no one spoke up. This was because, in the end, the dean spoke the truth; the truth that they had subtly ignored despite being aware of it.
"Years ago, our Great Dawn kingdom was once amongst the strongest in the region, but now what? We've deteriorated to the point that we get unceasingly harassed by our neighbour, the Kingdom of Terra, and looked down upon by others. Why? Because we lack the strength to look down on them. Some of you had survived the past event, while others died. Why? Because not only did they lack strength but they also lacked luck. These are the two factors required to survive in the horrible reality that we live in.
"Previously, you enjoyed the comfort of your homes. The great food, good drinks, soft mattresses, and more. But starting from now on, we will introduce you to the harsh reality of this world. And we'll start this with the tournament already briefed to you all.
"The strong take and lives while the weak lose and die. This is the law of the world we live in. You are to understand this concept with the forthcoming tournament. Three hundred and sixty students. That's all that we need." Dean Alfos said.
"The top three hundred and sixty students at the end of the tournament would not only continue the second half of the third session but would proceed onto the fourth and final session. That's right; unlike in previous years, there won't be a promotion exam for the remaining third-year students. All three hundred and sixty students would be accepted into the fourth year without fail. "
An uproar broke out amongst the students as they were going through what they had just heard. This was without a doubt good news of sorts, as instead of eighty students being dropped, only two out of the current three hundred and sixty-two students would be dropped.
Of course, some might lose their spot to students from the Second Dawn Academy, but if such happened, they would have no voice to argue. After all, losing to someone from a lower-ranked academy meant that you were undeserving of your spot in the first place, so it was understandable.
"You have one task; win your matches and make it into the top three hundred and sixty. Success or failure depends on your efforts within this one week. The following week, which is seven days from now, the tournament would commence."