Amidst the blinding light enveloping the entire hall, Stare struggled to discern what was happening, but all he could perceive was blinding whiteness.
[The Issuing Of Student Fief Status Is Beginning]
He suddenly heard the voice of Paraclete in his head but before he could even respond, his eyesight had returned. For some reason, the first place he was drawn to look at was the podium at the front of the hall.
To his surprise, the podium was no longer unoccupied. A man and a woman sharing similar facial features stood there. They appeared to be in their late twenties or early thirties.
The man was topless and only had shorts on, revealing his perfectly chiseled abs and nice physique. The red on his hair looked like it was dyed by an amateur as traces of his original black hair could still be seen, in his mouth was the stick of a lollipop which he chewed occasionally.
In contrast, the lady beside him was dressed elegantly in a blue cocktail dress, her jet-black hair looked a lot more natural, she shared the same amber eyes as the man beside her and on her face was a friendly and welcoming smile.
Stare sensed an oppressive aura emanating from both of them and could tell they were still holding back a significant portion of their power, indicating their strength.
He looked around him and saw the eyes of the other students also glued to the podium, except in their cases their gazes were one of awe. Heck, even the Elites who seemed incapable of being awed by anything were looking up to the duo on the podium in awe.
Just as Stare grew curious about their identities, the shirtless man with red-dyed hair suddenly burst into flames. Despite the intensifying flames, neither the man nor his shorts showed any sign of being affected, with the only casualty being the lollipop stick in his mouth, which quickly burned away.
The flames burned for several seconds before suddenly extinguishing, leaving behind thick smoke emanating from his body. Unfazed, the man swiftly retrieved another lollipop stick from his shorts and resumed chewing.
"For those who are unaware of who we are, I am Imma the destroyer, the youngest and strongest Tier IV Prime and Hero to ever exist, with titles like 'Hero most likely to make an entrance and exit with a blast' and 'most hottest hero' added to my name…" The man said proudly, a grin on his face.
"And beside me is my Supporting Hero, Emma; she has the fief of light," he added abruptly. The lady, Emma, didn't seem to mind his manner of introduction; she smiled and nodded toward the crowd of students in response.
"Now, although I know most of you would like to dwell on my awesomeness, let's get to the main business… Emma, push the door button thing."
The beautiful lady, Emma, immediately tapped the screen of her watch, and suddenly two doors appeared at both sides of the hall – one on the right and the other on the left, each bearing the tags 'Main Hero' and 'Supporting Hero,' respectively.
Imma saw this and nodded his head approvingly.
"Now you little ones must have already put two and two together to realize the immaculate me and my assistant over there would be the ones taking you on the course of Fief Awakening."
"You must have also been informed of the Fief Status Issuing. Yes, although I'm aware everyone wishes to be a Main Character and a people charmer like me, unfortunately not everyone has the talent, hence the Academy had to enact something as hot as the Fief Status Issuing."
Now, for those fortunate enough to be selected by me, you'll have the opportunity to train under me, and I'll teach you the best ways to harness your fief as aspiring Main Heroes. But for the others who unfortunately don't get picked by me, well…at least you can still turn out a hero and Emma is a nice teacher too, not just as good as me."
The more Stare listened to this man's yapping, the more he felt irritated and disgusted. He was surprised that people could look up to someone like this in awe. Teachers with similar excessive superiority complexes weren't uncommon in his previous cycles, so he wasn't shocked to encounter one now. However, his current situation prevented him from challenging such individuals. He wasn't blindly following the Oracle's Path as before and was still trying to avoid unnecessary attention. Moreover, with his current meager strength, not even reaching Tier I, there was little he could do.
Imma slowly walked down the podium as the students immediately cleared a path for him.
"Now, most of you might be curious about what kind of fief I might be interested in. Fortunately or unfortunately, I won't be following old and conventional methods for assigning Fief Status. As a major pioneer for the new generation of heroes, I'll be making selections based entirely on my heroic intuition."
"In other words, if I sense that heroic aura in you, whether or not you have a notable fief, you will be chosen."
The moment Imma said this, Stare noticed a wide smile appear on Bobby's face. He knew that even if Bobby didn't voice it, he was nervous, especially after awakening the kind of fief he did. But now, things had changed, and Stare was certain that if anyone in the hall possessed that heroic aura, it was certainly Bobby.
"Alright, let's begin," Imma declared with a wide grin.
Unsurprisingly, the first group chosen were the Elites. Their destinies as Main Heroes had already been predetermined, so it came as no surprise that Imma selected them without any examination.
But after that, the main selection was set to commence. Stare had expected Imma to ask questions or assign tasks, but to his surprise, all Imma did was approach a student, gaze into their eyes, and either approve with a nod or move on without any reaction.
The same process repeated itself, and in no time, most of the students had received their Fief Status.
Those who had received a reaction from Imma formed a group, setting themselves apart from those who hadn't received any reaction and those still awaiting their status.
Under the intense and nervous scrutiny of those without status, Imma continued with his selections until he reached a handsome but gloomy white-haired boy with green eyes.
Stare looked at the person and couldn't help but curse under his breath. 'This guy...was he intentionally avoiding me?' he wondered.
The moment Imma reached the white-haired boy, he didn't even make eye contact, hastily nodding and moving on to the next person.
Stare observed this peculiar behavior and couldn't help but ponder. Although it might have seemed normal to others, with his keen observation skills, he could tell something was odd with the reaction. It was as though Imma was deliberately avoiding eye contact, as if he were afraid of something or someone.