After Ian left the stage, the remaining students went up. Eventually, Amanda also got tested. She was one of the last students to do so. Her scores were quite impressive but they were still overshadowed by those like Ian and Leonardo.
[Name] Amanda Crimsonlight
[Rank] Silver
[Power] 363
[Elemental Proficiency] Light, Healing
The only thing that made Amanda stand out was her dual proficiency and healing elemental proficiency. There were only two other students who also had the healing element as their proficiency. It was one of the rarest elements to be proficient in and to learn.
Healers were highly sought after. They could easily find work anywhere. Even in the royal capital, healers were in demand.
Besides Frida, there were only ten other known healers in the capital. Three of them were gold rank and the rest were crystal rank. However, it's said that there is another healer in the capital who is platinum rank but no one has seen them.
Once the last student got their results, all that was left was for the remaining student to choose their class. By now, Ian and the others had already chosen their classes and what they wanted to learn.
Ian wanted to become an archeologist, so he chose history-related classes with some nature survival and physical fitness classes. There was only one other class he signed up for relating to energy control. It was a class meant for new copper ranks to help them understand their power. Ian hoped this would help him understand his situation and learn to control his power.
Kevin and Emmett chose two different paths. Kevin wanted to learn more about science and runes leading to his classes revolving around that. However, he didn't want to fall behind in his training so he sprinkled some physical education into his schedule.
Emmett on the other hand didn't want to learn something so complex. He was happy with his life in the village, not wanting to leave it. He chose classes about agriculture and botany, hoping it would help him become a grand farmer for the village. He also took some cooking classes, wanting to help Zoey in her future endeavors with the restaurant.
Zoey was predictable with her selections. She primarily chose cooking classes. However, she also signed up for elemental control classes, believing she needed to have better control of her fire powers before trying to use them while cooking.
Ellie was the most drastic of them all when choosing her classes. She wanted to follow in Erik's footsteps and become a great warrior. She signed up for combat training classes, physical fitness classes, and swordsmanship classes. However, she didn't want to seem like a meathead so she also signed up for normal mathematics and literature classes.
Amanda was one of the last students to sign up for classes. Her choices were understandable with them revolving around government, history, economics, and other classes that would help run a nation in the future.
Once every student selected their classes, they all returned to their rooms or continued with their day. It would take a few days for their schedules to be made and handed out. Not only that, they all have a little less than a week before classes officially start.
In that time, the students spent their time as they chose. Some left the academy grounds and explored the city. Others explore the amenities offered by the academy.
Ian spent his time getting to know the academy grounds with Kevin. Ellie and Amanda spent a lot of time together, roaming around the academy or the city. Emmet and Zoey didn't do too much exploring, opting to just spend time together.
Those few days went by fairly slowly for everyone. But finally, the day of the opening ceremony came. All of the new students filled the auditorium, waiting for it to start.
In the auditorium, there were plenty of seats for all of the students. At the very front of the auditorium, on the stage, multiple instructors were sitting. They all looked unique.
After a few minutes, an instructor walked onto the stage. She was an older-looking woman with dark grey hair that had a few streaks of white styled in a bun. She was dressed in professional grey clothes with matching colored glasses on her stern-looking face. She was very attractive for someone who appeared to be in their late 40s to early 50s.
She came before the podium, adjusting her glasses as she looked down at all of the students. With a light cough, she said, "New students of Zen Academy, I would like to thank you all for being so patient. My name is Lilly Stalwart. You may call me Ms. Stalwart. I'm sorry to inform you all but our headmaster is running a little late, so please bear with us."
The students look around at each other. No one seemed bothered to wait, so they all continued talking amongst themselves.
While the students kept talking, Ms. Stalwart began to flip through a binder. It was filled with the names of the students alongside a picture of them. She went through the names while scanning the students to see if anyone was missing.
After a few minutes, she finished checking the binder. She quickly checked her watch before suddenly turning to the side entrance. There stood a tall, burly man dressed in a clean brown suit. He had black hair with a well-kept black beard.
Next to him, there was a large floating book. On top of the book, there was a sleeping black cat. However, this is not an ordinary cat. It has golden accents to its fur. It also appeared to have golden sparkles around it, with a bit of a black mist coming off of its tail.
The man quickly adjusted his tie before walking onto the stage. As he walked up to the podium, the book floated behind him.
Ms. Stalwart gave the man an annoyed look. She stepped off to the side, sitting with the other instructors.
The burly man came before the podium. He adjusted the microphone a bit and pulled his collar. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Is this thing on?" tapping the microphone a few times. "Testing, testing, one… two… three…"
The microphone was fine.
The students looked perplexed as this occurred. Some of them even whispered to each other. Most of them had worried looks on their faces.
The burly man took a sip from a cup of water before clearing his throat again. He once again opened his mouth, ready to speak. But before he did, he turned around to the other instructors to ask them a question.
Afterwards, he turned his attention to the students again. He took a deep breath, ready once more to speak. However, as soon as he tried to say the first word, he began to choke on his saliva.
Now, all of the students looked concerned. The instructors, however, look unfazed. Only Ms. Stalwart seemed to be getting annoyed.
The burly man could feel Ms. Stalwart's angry gaze on him. He quickly recomposed himself, mixing his tie again and taking another sip of his water.
Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Good morning. Welcome to Zen Academy's opening ceremony. My name is Isaac Orthis. I am the Headmaster of Zen Academy. The cat next to me is called Mr. Whiskers. We would like to formally welcome you all to the next chapter of your glorious lives."
Isaac took another sip of his water before continuing, "Here at Zen Academy, we strive to guide the new generation down the path they wish to travel. We believe each and every one of you has something incredible to offer to not only this nation but to the world. As such, we help students create unique schedules based on what they want to learn. There are no standard classes here. Everything is designed to help students achieve their dreams and goals in life."
"Our Academy is self-sufficient and has no connections to outside funding or government. That being said, in here, you are all equals. Your social status means nothing on academy grounds. This is to make sure everyone has an even playing field. The only thing that'll get you anywhere in here is your own intelligence and skill," Isaac emphasized that last part.
Some of the students looked concerned, hearing this. Most of them turned to look at Amanda, Leonardo, and the other noble kids.
Isaac cleared his throat once again and said, "I am aware we have a member of the royal family here. Even so, their status means nothing here. The royal family and other noble families have no influence on the academy. However, to ensure the safety of them and every other student here, the academy is surrounded by a protective barrier. As well, there are hundreds of guards across the academy grounds to ensure everyone's safety. So please, put your worries at ease."
Isaac turned to Mr. Whiskers and tapped his shoulder. The cat jumped on his shoulder, sitting tall as it looked down at all the students. Isaac grabbed the floating book and held it in front of himself. He opened it to reveal a bright golden light bursting out of it.
The students stared in awe. Isaac gave them a big smile before continuing, "So, with all that said, let me once again welcome you all. To. Zen. Academy!" after speaking, Isaac opened up his arms as a bunch of different lights flew out of the book, showering the students in sparkles.
The light show was a sight to behold. The different lights flew around, forming different shapes and words. Some lights even turned into animals that flew around. Every student was mesmerized by the light show.
After a few minutes, all of the lights converged into one and became a massive dragon of light. It roared to the sky before flying up and exploding like a firework. The remaining sparkles floated down slowly, disappearing as they did so.
Once the light show ended, Isaac closed his book and pushed it off to the side. Mr. Whiskers jumped back on the book, laying down on it again.
With the show now over, Isaac spoke out with a huge smile, saying, "I wish you all the best of luck. Now go, into your new beginnings."
All of the instructors stood up and bowed before starting to walk off the stage. Isaac stepped to the side, allowing Ms. Stalwart to take over the mic. "That concludes this ceremony. Please make your way to the back exit and follow the signs leading to the main office building. There, you will be able to get your schedules. Starting next week, classes will begin." After speaking, Ms. Stalwart and Isaac walked off the stage as well.
Once they were gone, all of the students started to exit the auditorium, heading to the main office building. There, the students found five tables set up. The tables were separated by groups of the first letter of their last name.
Ian, Emmett, Ellie, Zoey, and Amanda got in line at the first table. Meanwhile, Kevin had to line up at a different table.
It took around an hour for everyone to get their schedules. Once all the students got them, they were all free to do as they pleased for the next few days before classes officially began.
Once Ian and the others left the main office, they all talked to each other and went over their schedules. They all had classes that overlapped with one other person. Only Ian had two classes that he didn't share with anyone. Emmett and Zoey had the most classes together.
Now knew what their schedules were going to be like, they all started talking to each other, excited to get started.