Headmistress Lenolia's words were unyieldingly determined.
It inspired a wave of cheers and applause, which drew a small smile out of her. The students were clearly surprised by how much importance she seemed to attribute to the Magic Contest. While it certainly was important even for the staff and the Headmistress due to the fact that the performance of the students reflected on the magicademy, it was normally the students who were most pumped up for the event.
Even as the student cheered and clapped, Cæ directed a knowing gaze at the Headmistress. He understood the reason behind her enthusiasm, of course. It wasn't just to hype up the students or to dispel the recent uncertainty that had been cast over her branch.
It was also to prove that it was worth it to gather the untapped talent of the Colohen Slums. The attack had caused some damage to the slums program and had reinforced some prejudiced views that the people of the slums were dangerous savages.
If she didn't prove her assertions with results, then her desire for the slums to become a part of the magicademic industry of the country was doomed. Nobody would go out of their way to scout talents of the slums if it didn't improve the outcomes produced by the magicademies of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
"We will aim for absolute victory," Headmistress Lenolia spoke with a determined tone. "All of you will show the world what you are capable of, what this great institution of ours is capable of. Rest assured that as Headmistress, all of you have my absolute support."
A small yet energetic smile emerged on her face.
"Show them who's number one."
The students stood up for a standing ovation and cheered as the atmosphere grew electric.
If the students were excited before, then they were in a frenzy right now.
It took them several minutes to settle down as Headmistress Lenolia wisely didn't crack down on the moment, allowing their jubilation to create an infectious atmosphere of boiling anticipation and drive, before finally raising her hand, gesturing for all of them to finally sit down.
"Our magicademy will do everything in our power to aid you," she stated simply. "The Student Council, with the relevant help from our professors, will organize internal competitions and other events that will determine the members of our main team, and will subsequently organize training camps for the various competitions that each member will be participating in."
The Magic Contest was comprised of one team per magicademy with the chosen members. Naturally, even though this was an event that many students were excited about, they knew that most of them would not make it into the main team.
Regardless, it was one of the most exciting sports there was, such that even spectating was extremely exciting.
The team needed to be chosen carefully and correctly.
The student council would need to perfectly identify the most flawless candidates for any given particular avenue of magicompetition. And naturally, each of the students would need to be trained as much as possible to the very limit to ensure that they were highly prepared for the event.
"However, while our magicademy will certainly do everything to help you, ultimately, all of you will determine whether you win or lose," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a knowing tone. "It is the quality of our student body that will determine whether or not we can win. And in regards to that…"
A small smile emerged on her face. "…I have good news."
The students stirred in silence as the air grew more serious.
"As all of you are undoubtedly aware, our magicademy is the first magicademy in the history of the Democratic Republic of Elendir to have scouted talent from the outer city of Colohen City, or any other city for that matter," she remarked. "This has allowed us to tap into the many talents buried in the slums, and…"
Her smile widened.
"The results have been more than optimistic."
Before the students could even wonder what that meant specifically, she raised her hand to the side.
"Please welcome one such student from the outer district for the honors student address from the freshmen representative, Vloria Milnir!"
A wave of surprise washed over the students as a young woman, no more than eighteen years of age, walked onto the stage with a carefully measured gait.
Her long, luscious brown hair descended to her waist in curls while her complexion was a smooth bronze. Her light green eyes were sharpened to slits with an intense severity, her expression was hardened with detached chillness.
Her clothes were custom-tailored and crisp, almost flawless, courtesy of the Elendir Institute of Magic, no doubt.
She arrived before the Headmistress, who shook her hand.
"Congratulations," Headmistress Lenolia smiled warmly at the young lady. "You have earned this opportunity."
Her expression softened before the Headmistress.
A hint of respect lingered in her eyes.
As well as something more than respect.
"Thank you, Headmistress."
Her voice was measured and modulated.
Her eyes regained their sharp intensity as she directed a sweeping gaze across the stunned student body.
They gazed at her with a surprised expression.
The fact that she was named the honors student address meant that her magic aptitude exceeded that of any other freshman student, meaning she was undoubtedly extremely talented in magic.
Several students in the senior section threw a peering glance at the stoic Cæ, who simply sat in his seat with folded arms as he gazed at her with a calm intensity.
For two years in a row, the freshmen representative of the Elendir Institute of Magic was a student from the slums.
It could help, but make them wonder.
Did the slums truly have even superior talent than the inner city?
That didn't make sense, but even if that wasn't the case, it certainly was the case that the people of the slums had the same potential for magic as those of the inner city. And this was despite the fact that they didn't have the aptitude-enhancing magic that the rich kids in the audience had.
Of course, the population of the rich was extremely small, giving them a smaller pool of talent.
"My name is Vloria."
Her tone had an edge to it.
It was combative.
Her sharp, light green eyes swept across the student body.
What she said next was even more stunning.
"I'm here to win."
Her tone grew even more intense.
"I will overcome all of you and all of the others from the other magicade-whatever."
Her expression grew fierce before closing her eyes.
"Thank you for listening to me."
The students remained frozen where they were a they stared at her with a bewildered expression.
The air was silent.
Not a single person could believe that that was the extent of her speech.
"…"
A small smile emerged on Cæ's face uncharacteristically at her message.
It was very similar to the gist of Cæ's own speech, although he had certainly given a longer speech.
He understood where she was coming from.
She had just been given a miracle of an opportunity that almost guaranteed her greatness as long as she worked hard and dedicated herself to magic.
Cæ could imagine how this could light a ferocious inferno of a fire within someone from the slums who often had virtually no hope of pulling themselves out of poverty and destitution otherwise.
Although that wasn't strictly true, Cæ had managed to finally leave the slums after many years of hard work, it was still something that was herculean. And many a time, there were circumstances, familial and environmental, that held them back, making it even harder to leave the slums.
The opportunity to master magic in the Elendir Institute of Magic and obtain its protection was a golden opportunity to get their hands on power and wealth, needed to break themselves and their family from the slums.
Just from studying the intensity of the drive in her eyes, he could tell that she was more driven than almost anybody else in the magicademy. Coupled with elite talent, she was undoubtedly bound to grow at a stunning rate and would easily bag the number one spot among apprentice students.
Headmistress Lenolia emerged from the side almost immediately after the speech ended, her perfunctory smile hiding whatever her reaction to the speech was. She shook Vloria's hand as a reluctant round of applause emerged from the students, before the latter departed from the stage and took her seat among the student body, earning scowls from the students around her.
She didn't so much as bat an eye.
Her eyes remained fiercely intense as she folded her arms.
"She is one of the few words and great willpower," Headmistress Lenolia smiled as she put a positive spin on the scantily worded speech. "Indeed, mages should let their magic communicate for them rather than their words. And I'm certain that she, as well as the other ninety-five students that we have scouted from the outer districts of Colohen City, will prove with their results that they too are worthy of the opportunity of studying in our esteemed university."
A wave of whispers washed across the students of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
"I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that this institute was founded on the principles of meritocracy." Headmistress Lenolia's tone grew stronger and pointed. "We admit students exclusively based on merit and not any other variable of any kind. Your outcomes in this magicademy will be determined exclusively by your actions and absolutely nothing else. Remember that, and good luck to all of you."
She stepped back as a thundering applause of appreciation emerged from the students as the opening ceremony, brief as it was, came to an end.
Soon enough, the students began dispersing from the general hall in a long crowd. Many were still charged with excitement and anticipation that tingled in the air electrically due to the announcements regarding the Magic Contest. Many had been moved by Vloria Milnir's simple, but strangely profound speech.
The student herself had become the new center of attention among senior and apprentice students alike. Many regarded her with admiration, while many glared at her with contempt and derision.
The former was largely thanks to the positive image of Cæ that had changed the perception of what students from the slums would be like. Instead of uncouth savages, they pictured people like Cæ, who had a stoice and calm intensity about him, inspiring admiration and infatuation from some of the boys and girls, respectively.
As for the contempt and derision, he had been dealing with that from the very start. The mean words, he could easily ignore, but violence, and magical violence, was something that had almost gotten him killed.
"…who does she think she is?"
"…that fucking bitch."
"…acting like she's hot stuff."
Even as he departed from the student body, he could see cliques of girls directing ugly and hateful glares at her with much greater visceral intensity than they had against him. He wasn't even sure what that was all about, considering that the girls with affluent backgrounds had warmed up to him in the past year, for the most part.
"Huff…" He heaved a sigh, shaking his head.
He could have chosen to offer her advice and tips on how to deal with hatred from more than half the students as a fellow person from the slums.
However, it was none of his business, ultimately. He was also going to be far too busy from this day forth for virtually the rest of the year, so he didn't want to waste any time on any unnecessary matters.
"It's time to focus on taking the next step."