It was the day of the students' entrance ceremony, which made Jin unable to sleep due to excitement. His eyes were red from staying awake, and he felt weak, as though he were a walking corpse.
Jin muttered as he donned his academy uniform, ready to head to the ceremony hall: "Fuck, I'm so sleepy."
The opening ceremony was supposed to last for three continuous days.
On the first day, the ten thousand students would be divided into two groups. The first group, placed at the front of the hall, consisted of royal families and well-known powerful families, while the second group, made up of commoners or wealthy families of lower social status, was seated at the back of the hall.
Of course, Jin was in the second group, but he didn't mind or care; in fact, he saw it as a good opportunity to avoid mingling with the 'dirty rich,' as he called them.
On the second day, the sacred oath would be performed, where all students would pledge using their powers to defend humanity against chaotic creatures.
The oath was extremely important, as breaking it would lead to the violator being considered a blight to be eradicated. This procedure would be enforced under the supervision of the three major factions themselves.
On the third day, power and status would be showcased as all students would use this day to demonstrate their abilities in hopes of impressing one of the three Saint factions or at least one of the famous combat factions.
Everyone aspired to join one of the three sects – Gold, White, and Black – because of their legendary power. They were the strongest on the continent and had the most Saints among all factions.
Meanwhile, Jin was heading towards the hall, which was extremely crowded.
The vast hall had numbered seats corresponding to the numbers on the students' necklaces, so everyone had to find their assigned seats.
Jin's number was 9801, so he was seated at the back of the hall.
Jin sighed in frustration, saying, "Oh God, it's hard to see anything from here."
Many students entered one by one. Jin noticed that some students were surrounded by many others, though he couldn't see their faces due to the crowd; he could hear the buzz clearly from their direction – they were either celebrities or royal families.
Jin sat in his seat, exhausted and feeling very sleepy as he yawned, "It's going to be a long day, damn it."
A skinny and frail-looking boy sat next to Jin, looking scared.
"Hello, may I sit here?" the student asked Jin shyly.
Jin looked at him and replied sarcastically, "Why the hell are you asking for permission to sit? Just sit in your numbered seat."
The boy laughed shyly and sat next to Jin, "Haha, yes, thank you."
Jin looked at him and muttered, "Why does this kid seem so shy, huh?"
The boy looked nervous as he fidgeted with his fingers, seemingly wanting to start a conversation with Jin.
Jin sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "I'm Jin, by the way…"
The boy looked at him in surprise and then replied, relieved, "Nice to meet you, I'm Henry."
"Where are you from, Jin?"
"I'm from Anvil," Jin answered.
Henry smiled and seemed to relax more due to the conversation, "Great, I'm from Kainel."
Jin smiled, "Oh, you're from Kainel? That's great. We get a lot of fertilizers and soil from you."
Henry replied, embarrassed, "Yes, I suppose you're right."
Jin adjusted his position to look forward, "Nice to meet you, Henry."
"But let's focus now, as it seems the ceremony is about to start."
The hall was already full, and on the stage at the front, Saruman began to enter.
Behind him were nine teachers dressed in elaborate attire similar to the students' uniforms and three other individuals dressed in combat attire.
Jin couldn't fully understand why, but seeing these three made everyone cheer and shout loudly.
"These people seem extremely famous," Jin smiled nervously.
Everyone shouted, "They're here, they're really here!"
"Long live the Saints!"
"Oh my God, am I dreaming!"
At that moment, Jin realized that these three were the strongest on the continent, the Saints of the three sects!
"How annoying," Jin yawned as he listened to their enthusiastic applause.
Then Saruman spoke loudly so that everyone in the hall could hear, "Silence."
Everyone fell silent at that moment out of respect, for Saruman was no ordinary person; He was the head of this prestigious academy, and even if he wasn't as powerful as the three Saints, he held a prestigious and important position among everyone."
"I welcome you all to the great Lucaria Academy. You are all here as the chosen ones, and you are the future hope of Marta."
"You will all gain knowledge, power, status, and prestige here, but the most important thing you will gain is honor!"
"Honor in becoming a vigilant and enlightened individual to eradicate the blight of chaos."
"You will undergo harsh training and see hell here, but we have no need for the weak. We Lucarians do not allow the weak among us!"
Saruman's tone was stern and powerful, then he added, "Today we will assess you, tomorrow you will swear allegiance to us, and on the third day, we will see what you are capable of."
"Show us what you have and bring glory to Lucaria. I am Saruman, and I respect you all from the bottom of my heart."
At that moment, everyone cheered, clapping and whistling.
"Long live Lucaria!"
"Long live Marta!"
"Long live the saints!"
Saruman smiled and then descended from the stage to sit in his designated chair in front of the stage, with the nine teachers and three saints sitting behind him.
Then a woman in her thirties, the academy's deputy, stepped forward and said:
"I am pleased to see you all. My name is Anya, and I am the Deputy of the Academy."
"Each of you will now come forward to introduce yourself and state your age in order before the esteemed ones," she pointed to Saruman and the other teachers and saints.
"After that, remain silent and return to your seats."
Anya then sat down with the other teachers, and the students began to ascend the stage.
The first student, from the most famous and powerful family on the continent, stepped forward. He had black hair, a strong and majestic physique, and stern black eyes.
"I am Jonathan from the Malekith family, and I am sixteen years old," he said, then returned to his seat.
Everyone looked at Jonathan with respect, eager to befriend him.
Meeting someone from one of the most famous families was a top priority for many students.
Next, the second student stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention, even Jonathan's eyes remained fixed on her.
The three saints watched her with intense interest. Jin didn't understand why everyone was so captivated by her, but it was clear she was an important person.
She was a girl with long white hair and green eyes, strikingly beautiful and captivating. Her gaze was both firm and cold.
"I am Yumi from Artavilia, and I am fifteen years old," she said calmly and nonchalantly before returning to her seat, seemingly unaffected by the attention she received.
The third student followed. He was enormous for his age, appearing incredibly strong with a cheerful look in his eyes.
He had dark skin, brown hair, and black eyes. Despite his strong appearance, he seemed very friendly.
Jin had seen him before, always surrounded by people and warmly welcomed by many. He appeared to be the most popular and loved person in the hall.
He stood before everyone and said, "I am Alucard from Shanzo, and I am seventeen years old," then returned to his seat with a smile.
The introductions continued, and Jin began to feel extreme boredom and drowsiness.
Worse still, he had no interest in listening to this drivel, but he couldn't leave the hall as it was mandatory for everyone to stay.
After nearly four hours, everyone was given a break, but they were not allowed to leave.
Many maids and waiters came to serve some food, consisting of a meat sandwich and a cup of water.
The introductions resumed for another five hours until Jin's turn finally came.
Jin, who was unbearably bored and had almost fallen asleep several times, walked toward the stage...
No one paid attention to him or his movement; everyone continued talking, ignoring his ascent, which was normal since no one cared about names after number 100.
However, there was one person in the crowd who watched Jin with a clear smile and interest, which intrigued the three saints and the nine teachers.
No one knew who this person was or why Saruman seemed interested in him. Jin stepped onto the stage like a lifeless body and looked at them.
He said, "Oh, I'm Jin Arthur from Yusta, and I think I'm 14 years old."
"Or maybe 15, I'm not really sure," he added, looking tired and yawning.
At that moment, one of the three saints, Francis, the leader of the Golden Faction, smiled.
For the first time after several hours of student introductions, one of the saints spoke. "You are the son of Arthur."
Suddenly, silence fell over the entire place... Since the beginning of the event, none of the saints had spoken to anyone.
Jin replied, "Yes."
Francis asked, his eyes serious, "I will be honest with you. Do you have any intention of joining the Golden Faction in the future?"
Everyone was astonished, and Saruman's expression changed to a brighter smile.
The other two saints, one of whom looked at Jin with great interest while the other appeared indifferent but was staring at Jin.
Although no one could hear what Saint Francis was discussing with him, it made everyone angry at Jin.
"Who is this insignificant commoner?"
"Why is the Golden Saint speaking to him?"
"What are they talking about? Did anyone hear?"
But Jin was extremely tired. He was so sleepy that all he cared about was getting some rest.
He wasn't interested and wasn't fully aware of what Saint Francis had said, so he simply replied, "I don't think I will join any faction."
Jin was so exhausted that he yawned and looked away from the saints' gazes.
"Look at that filthy commoner, he's ignoring the saints!"
"That damned arrogant fool!"
"Kill him, kill that fucking fool!"
Everyone was outraged and shouting angrily at Jin's reaction.
Francis smiled and muttered to himself, "You really look like Arthur..."
"You may return to your seat," he told Jin.
Jin moved through the crowd to return to his seat while everyone cursed him and gave him murderous looks.
He then sat next to Henry, who looked at him in shock, unable to speak due to the shock.
Jin noticed and said, "What? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing," Henry replied, still stunned.
After hours, evening arrived, and everyone had finished their introductions, marking the end of the first day of the event.
Jin, who resembled a corpse, moved to return to his room to get the sleep he had wanted all this time. As he was heading back, he was followed by three other people...
"Hey, you filthy commoner," one of them shouted at Jin.
Jin turned his head to find three members of the noble families in front of him. "Oh, hello. Hmm, what's your name again…" Jin scratched his head as he had already forgotten their names.
Mark cracked his knuckles angrily, saying, "I'll make sure you remember it well tonight."
The other two laughed as they surrounded Jin...