Chapter 3: Entrance Ceremony (1)
Eden Academy.
An educational institution established in the Praus Empire.
This academy was created for one sole purpose.
To someday fight against the common enemy of humanity that will appear, the ‘Demon King.’
“Seeing it in person, it’s even more magnificent.”
Sion was overwhelmed by its grandeur.
It didn’t even compare to the Hogwarts Castle he had visited in the past.
A guard approached and greeted him with a kind smile.
“The escort knights cannot enter.”
“I am the sword that protects my lord. I have a duty to ensure his safety.”
“Eden Academy is surrounded by a powerful barrier. Therefore, it would ultimately protect your lord if you stay here and guard the barrier without necessarily entering.”
“Understood, my lord. Do you mind if you go alone?”
Gawain brought him as a bodyguard.
His retainer was fulfilling the loyalty unfulfilled in his past life.
So Sion allowed him to materialize and guard by his side.
“I’m late. We need to hurry.”
“Yes. Then I will wait here. Please, take care of yourself.”
“Y-You can wait over there in the barracks.”
The guard pointed somewhere with a troubled expression.
After confirming that Sion safely passed through the main gate, Gawain approached that direction.
As befitting Eden Academy, where the offspring of prominent nobles attend, many knights were already taking off their helmets and resting.
“This is so boring. How long do we have to keep doing this?”
“Are you complaining from the first day?”
“My body is itching, so why not have a sparring match together?”
“Well, that’s not a bad suggestion.”
The knights were chatting with bored expressions.
Gawain quietly sat in a secluded corner.
He noticed the beer on the table.
“They even prepared beer.”
Gawain licked his lips.
“Enjoying a drink during duty. It seems the knights of this generation have lost their minds.”
But his gaze kept wandering.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never had a sip of beer in this era.”
“….”
Gawain quietly picked up the beer glass and took a sip.
“Drinking on duty, disgraceful for a knight.”
At that moment, a female knight leaning against the barracks wall with her arms crossed spoke to Gawain.
“….”
Gawain felt embarrassed. Her words were not wrong.
“A knight unable to control his desires…”
But the beer he had just tasted was delicious, so he had no regrets.
“Hey, noble knight of the Academy. Shouldn’t you give up?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the emblem on your shoulder. That’s the symbol of Rockefeller.”
“I suspected, and it’s confirmed… Rockefeller has also enrolled in Eden.”
All the knights’ attention immediately focused on Gawain.
Gawain felt proud.
“It was worth asking too much of my lord.”
For a knight, the emblem of this lineage was more precious than any medal. Without it, they were nothing more than commoners.
“If you’re affiliated with the Academy, you might not know. Listen carefully. Rockefeller is not an ordinary family. It’s a family that gathers all the evils of this world.”
“Evils…?”
“If you were to portray a villain, it would undoubtedly be in the likeness of Rockefeller. Everyone knows this. Be cautious.”
The female knight approached Gawain with a stern face.
Gawain simply remained silent without even looking at her.
“Whether my words are true or not, you’ll know when we clash swords.”
Shing!
The female knight drew her sword and aimed it at Gawain.
“I’m Hevnia, of the First Temple Knights of the Solomon Sect. If you feel my insult is unjust, draw your sword.”
Gawain quietly closed his eyes.
– “My lord, someone requests a sparring match with me. Please grant permission.”
– “….Be gentle.”
“…As expected, my intuition wasn’t wrong. It seems the knight should give up.”
“I just asked my lord for a moment.”
Gawain stood up from his seat.
“It’s a good opportunity to assess the level of knights in this era.”
Honestly, it felt a bit enjoyable.
“I am Gawain, Knight of the Sun, of the Rockefeller Marquis. I accept the challenge.”
**
“What is he doing now?”
Sion scratched his head.
On the first day of school, getting into an argument with someone else’s knight.
As expected of someone from 500 years ago, he seemed to lack a bit of social skills.
“Welcome to Eden. Now, let’s begin the entrance ceremony.”
The principal of Eden, Gabriel, was surprisingly young for a principal.
In his early thirties. With a nice face, the surrounding female students were giggling.
He was using amplification magic from the highest point of a place resembling a colosseum to convey his words.
“But before the entrance ceremony, you must take the entrance exam.”
There were a lot of students.
There seemed to be thousands, roughly estimated.
Of course, not all these students could enter Eden.
“And the entrance exam has already begun.”
Murmurs arose among the students.
The entrance exam had started even though nothing had happened yet?
“I’ll give you ten minutes from now. Those who haven’t noticed can leave.”
“Wait a moment!”
“Ask your question.”
“It’s, it’s too confusing. How can we pass such an exam without even knowing what it entails?”
“Well…”
Gabriel’s eyes glanced at someone standing up leisurely.
It was Sion.
“It seems some have already caught on.”
“This is quite the sensation.”
Sion knew the secret of this test.
But even if he didn’t know, the situation wouldn’t be any different.
After all, the dazzling glass bead right in front of him looked so tempting to shatter.
“Bourn Spear.”
A sinister spear emerged from behind Sion and shattered the glass bead into pieces.
Then he felt a sensation as if waking up from a dream.
Looking around, he realized that all the students who had been confused just a moment ago were now asleep.
It wasn’t that Sion had put them to sleep by breaking the glass bead.
They had been under a strong illusion since they entered the exam venue.
“I’m glad I brought the bracelet that drastically lowers magic resistance.”
If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been affected by the illusion at all.
“Congratulations on being the first to pass. Would you like to take a seat and wait a bit?”
“Yes.”
Sion quietly took his seat.
Not long after,
“Wow!”
“H-How did this happen…”
“So that’s it. A welcoming ceremony.”
One by one, students began to wake up from their slumber.
They had successfully passed the entrance exam.
Ten minutes passed.
The number was roughly 60.
They were the successful applicants to Eden Academy.
“For those who couldn’t break free from the illusion on their own until the end, you may leave.”
“Wasn’t this exam too difficult?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
The students who didn’t pass the exam had to leave with disappointment.
How much time had passed?
The bustling colosseum had quieted down.
What was once filled with thousands of people was now empty except for the 60.
“All the new students this time seem to be of high quality. As the principal of Eden, I’m very pleased.”
Gabriel smiled softly and spread his hands.
“Now, let’s proceed to confirm each of your levels one by one. When your name is called, step forward and demonstrate your most confident skill.”
“Clemen Etley.”
“Hmph.”
The arrogant smile appeared as the blue-haired man pushed up his glasses and stepped forward.
“Oh… It’s the protagonist.”
To think I’ll see the protagonist right away.
Sion’s eyes sparkled.
Clemen was one of the three who would later join the hero party.
“Earth Field.”
Rock formations appeared on the previously empty colosseum terrain.
“Stone Wall.”
Boom!
Those rocks instantly turned into a massive wall, creating a high barrier.
“Wow.”
The students exclaimed. Earth magic, one of the four major elemental talents considered the best for wizards.
“Excellent earth magic. We look forward to your future. Now, next…”
Sion could see each of the main characters one by one.
“Grace of the battlefield, come to me.”
Prince Ludric.
A useful card with party buffs.
“Enter, Lady Dorothy!”
Magician Dorothy.
An authority in fire magic, specializing in area attacks.
“Lily nows how to use healing magic.”
“Oh, there’s a student from the sect?”
“Yes…”
“Sect…? What’s that?”
Some didn’t know.
It was strange. Sion had cleared this game several times, but there were no sect-affiliated students among the freshmen.
“Well, whatever.”
Sion wasn’t particularly interested.
After all, there was only one person he was interested in.
“Next is Lady Aria.”
Immediately, the hero Aria.
“Who’s that?”
“I’ve never seen them before.”
It was someone Sion had long awaited.
“What are you going to show us?”
“I… don’t have any remarkable talents.”
“Haha, that can’t be true. You can’t break free from that illusion if you don’t.”
With long pink hair tied into two strands,
and pure blue eyes without a single flaw, Aria lifted her sword with a tense expression.
“Light.”
A sharp golden aura surged from her sword.
Strong currents swirled around, forming a sandstorm-like phenomenon. Only when Aria lowered her sword did the tension in the arena calm down.
Everyone looked at Aria in awe.
“…Impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah.”
Sion wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
It was because he was salivating at the thought of turning that sacred Aria into an undead in the future.
“Indeed, the strongest. I can’t wait to see the strongest undead created from the strongest body.”
Sion’s lips curled up ever so slightly.
“Next is Sion Rockefeller.”
Finally, it was Sion’s turn.
“S-Sion Rockefeller?”
“Rockefeller is also here at Eden?”
“Scary…”
With an expressionless face, Sion walked steadily.
He was scattering dark energy that even a child could recognize around him.
A rumbling sound.
Some even started crying.
“What are you, some kind of demon king?!”
“…”
Even Prince Ludric shouted and blocked Sion’s path.
“Hmm. Is this how a -50 affinity applies?”
It seemed inevitable due to the system’s influence.
But it was okay.
Surely, everyone’s thoughts would change once they saw his magnificent ‘undead.’
“Everyone, please quiet down. Eden does not discriminate based on status. Moreover, all the bad rumors about Rockefeller are baseless.”
Gabriel spoke kindly with a gentle smile.
“What ability will you show us?”
Sion had been waiting for this moment.
‘Exciting.’
There was no need to hide his power.
After all, wouldn’t it be a waste after reaching max level with so much effort?
If that’s the case, there was only one thing Sion had to do here.
Show something incredibly cool.
“Undead Summon—”
Sion glanced at the hero Aria.
She was staring at Sion with a stern face.
‘It’ll be troublesome if she falls for me already.’
With a slightly shy heart, he shouted,
“Dark Knight.”
