"I REPEAT, ALL THE FIRST YEARS ARE TO MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE AUDITORIUM IMMEDIATELY!! THE ORIENTATION WILL BEGIN IN THE NEXT TWENTY MINUTES!!"
The sound of the broadcast filled Merlin with a sense of ease, because he had run out of ideas on how to hold his sister from losing her screw. And even the ones he had always failed. This way, whatever disaster had been brewing was quelled—at least for now.
Nora scoffed, looking up at the speakers hanging from the stone walls of the auditorium, as the announcement continued on and on.
"Ya see, Merlin, King Arthur arrived and suddenly they've got we measly peasants time. Horseshit, me tell ya."
Now she was using him as a means for a pun. Merlin could only sigh.
The large doors of the auditorium opened and the students lounging about did not leave a minute hanging. They instantly rushed in like ants swarming into their nest.
"Let's go in," said Merlin as he pushed Nora from behind. Thankfully, she didn't hesitate, although not without shooting the president's grandson one last cursory glance, perhaps as a means of telling him that he was not as significant as he thought he was, and even if he was, she didn't care.
Merlin was not his sister, so he instead waved the dazed boy goodbye and went in without making the situation any more awkward than it already was. Be that as it may, he could have sworn that he had seen a solemn expression on the boy's face. It was almost like he did not like the fact that there was a misunderstanding.
Sure, he had claimed to have approached them to clear it up, but Merlin had thought that celebrities really didn't care about what the average person thought of them.
He had probably just seen wrong.
Finding good seats this time didn't take as much effort as it had on the exam day. After all, the auditorium was large enough to contain four hundred people; they were a lot less than that now, so there were even spaces to spare. In fact, Merlin had picked the best seats possible. It had taken him standing for a minute or so, flashing his eyes about, and Nora sneering at him, but he had come around to finding Chima after all. He knew there was no way the boy wouldn't be granted admission if even him could get in. And he was right.
"You're not with your bag today," Merlin joked, Chima seated to his left and Nora to his right.
Chima chuckled. "Didn't go back to Nigeria," he said. "Waited the whole time."
Merlin blinked himself into a frown. "Then you should have said something! We could have hung out!"
Chima scratched the side of his head. "We don't exactly have each other's contacts now, do we?"
Oh…
Merlin retreated into himself. He had forgotten that on that day he had been out of it after the exam and had not exchanged contacts with the boy. He clicked his tongue in mild annoyance. How could he have forgotten to do something so important.
"Don't mind my brother," Nora chimed in. "Half of his brain goes poof sometimes."
Chima laughed.
"No one asked for your opinion," Merlin shot Nora a glare and she replied with raising two fingers towards his eyes as a threat. She would never dip them into his eyes, but Merlin turned away just in the case that she went off the rails. He never knew with her sometimes. "Anyways," Merlin turned back to Chima. "Let's stop that from ever happening again right now. I'll have your number."
"Sure," Chima replied. Then after a second… "I told you getting in was possible, Deficient Mage or not."
Merlin smiled. "I doubt I got in just because of that, you know?" he said.
"Doesn't matter," said Chima. "Everyone has something going on for them, don't undermine yours. And besides, our party might have failed without you. I'm grateful."
"Haha…" Merlin chuckled stiltedly. "It's fine." He'd never been good at receiving thanks. He hardly ever received any in fact. It was not like he'd ever been particularly useful to anyone before. "Let me have your contact info." He quickly tried to change the topic. But just as he was about to pull out his phone, a call to rise came from the speakers, and Chima's attention shifted. He put a pause on that.
Merlin rose to his feet, along with everyone else, as nine people stepped onto the stage, and took their position in the chairs before the banners of varying emblems hanging behind them. Only then were the students permitted to sit back down.
Ms. Jung was one of those who had walked in, but unlike the rest, she didn't have her seat, and immediately approached the podium. She was once again dressed in a classy suit of grey and black heels, and her long hair was tied into a ponytail. She thumped the gooseneck mic on the podium.
"Hello, first years!" she started, culling the noise. "First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay. There were some unforeseen circumstances."
Merlin glanced at Nora then, but she was appallingly calm at that statement. He narrowed his eyes. He could only hope that she wasn't plotting something, and pray that she would not harass the president's grandson later on, considering all the antics she usually pulled when she was angry.
"The last time you were all seated in this auditorium, I introduced myself as Ms. Jung to you. Well, that has changed now. You are now students of Prestige Academy, so you may call me Professor Jung."
There were cheers and whistles at that.
Professor Jung continued, "Now, as you all may know, Prestige Academy is the second ranked best Mage Academy in the world. Of course, we at the Academy are not satisfied with that. We are, and will always be, aiming for first. And that is what you first years should have at the back of your mind…" The air around her suddenly changed. "Rubbish will not be tolerated. If you have read your leaflets, then you must know that points are assigned here in Prestige Academy, both for your academics and Cohorts. Staff have the right to deduct points whenever. If you think you can turn Prestige Academy into a playground, then I assure you, it will only take you a semester here." She smiled again. "Thank you for listening attentively."
Everyone had listened with bated breaths, but now they could all breathe in.
"She's scary," Chima said. Merlin turned to him and chuckled. "I hope she's not the instructor of my Cohort."
Me too, Chima. Me too.
Cohorts were basically Houses, brought about to foster teamwork and the spirit of rivalry. There were eight of them, each consisting of twenty students, and dorm roommates were all from the same Cohort, as a means to dial down any competitive hostility outside of the lecture rooms, it seemed.
Like Professor Jung had said, points were assigned to Cohorts based on how the students within the Cohorts acted. But that was not all. After all, most of the points that Cohorts earned would come from practical tests. Merlin hoped that he would be able to contribute and help his Cohort to winning first prize at the end of the year. There were sweet rewards for doing that.
In the first year, the reward for a Cohort winning first prize was a sponsored trip by the Academy itself. And during the trip, the students would have the opportunity to meet with Guild Mages and Hero Mages alike. Perhaps even venture into real Dungeons if the Mages felt that they were up to it.
As for the Cohort that finished as first in the second year, the students in it were directly contacted by representatives from the top four Guilds, as well as the Consortium Guild and the Hero Guild. In other words, they would be set for life.
But the Cohort rankings were not all rosy. After all, if a student with low academic points finished in a Cohort that ranked anywhere from fourth to eighth, they would have their admission revoked.
The Cohort ranking was like a crutch for students who were below average in their studies. Merlin sighed.
"With that all said and done, I will now move on to introducing your Professors and which Cohorts they instruct," Professor Jung continued. "Starting with my humble self. I am the instructor of Cohort Spearhead," she gestured at the banner to the far end of the chairs with the emblem of a spearhead. "It will be a pleasure working with my students."
"There goes spearhead," Chima mumbled under his breath and Merlin could not help but laugh softly.
Professor Jung gestured at the next seat beside hers. "That there is Professor Dmitri Volkov. And he is the instructor of Cohort Dragon Eye."
Dmitri Volkov, who was seated before the banner with the emblem of a red dragon eye, rose to his feet. He was spindly, and had slicked back salt and pepper hair. He, too, also wore glasses, but his was round. But what made every student murmur was the fact that he had a kind of cold and apathetic feel to himself.
"There goes dragon eye," Chima added. Merlin laughed.
Professor Jung introduced the rest of the instructors, before finally coming to the man who was seated at the centre of their gathering. A visibly aged though able man with a moustache and goatee, a smile that was every bit amiable, and a black suit.
"And this is your Headmaster. Dr. Im Ilseong."
The headmaster waved without standing up. The students cheered.
"I read that he's an S-Class Mage," a student mumbled from behind Merlin.
"Me too," someone else agreed.
"You know what I read?" another joined in. This one was farther back, perhaps behind the ones behind Merlin. He still heard them alright, though. "I read that he was the one who led the subjugation of the first Dungeons that appeared during the Cataclysm."
Oh…
"Eh?!" they all exclaimed. "He doesn't seem like it, though."
"I think I'm going to be very obedient," one said. "They are all scary. Especially that Dmitri."
"Hey! Call his name with respect. It's Professor Dmitri. Get it? Professor Dmitri!"
Merlin could not have said it better. The fact that the instructors were all scary, that was.
"Now that the introductions are done. Does anyone have any questions about what they do not understand?" Professor Jung asked.
A few hands went up. She heeded them and answered whatever was asked. They were mostly just things that had already been touched upon in the Academy's leaflet, though. The questioners were just not quite sure what they'd meant.
Merlin glimpsed four-eyes among them. He was seated to the very front of the auditorium. However, his involvement had been more like a way of finding a means to ramble than actually not understanding something.
Diligence at its finest.
Well, Merlin had made use of the brief questions and answers to enlighten himself better. For that, he was grateful.
"If that is all, then the Headmaster will have a word with you all before the orientation draws to a close." Professor Jung shifted aside. "Headmaster, if you will?"
Headmaster Im Ilseong took his time rising to his feet, and everyone held their breaths as he walked up to the podium. It was then, just as the Headmaster leaned forward towards the mic, that Merlin felt his whole world spin.
"I have a question…" Nora's hand was up. "For the headmaster."