The entrance ceremony had barely anything to do with the likes of me that sat in the stands, and more to do with those that stood in the arena.
It was a showcase space to introduce the best, and make sure that everyone that wanted to invest in them would take their pick. Honestly, it was an auction.
These are the best students, support them and you might get your money's worth when they graduate. What is the worth they bring? Simple, they'll shoot up the ranks the moment they are done, and you who supported them would become one of their connections.
So many good things could come from that, that's the way they think, it works sometimes. But more often than not, it doesn't work.
At the end of the day, all the rich men, nobles and more are simply gamblers doing whatever they can to ensure they don't fall.
I looked at the stage as the fuges departed, they didn't say anything, like they had just come for a pageant and were done now. I wasn't sure if it was the academy that refused them the chance to speak, or if it was their proud asses that made them not speak. I'm leaning toward the second.
After that, Legion announced the end of the entrance ceremony. It seemed I had woken up here at a really late point, after everything was done, but that was for the best. I couldn't imagine sitting here for longer, I could still smell the dude behind me, yuck.
Slowly the crowd started dispersing, the noise increased. I sat there watching as the people slowly left. This was real, that was the conclusion I had come to. I am really in the game, I have a mission to save the heroines.
It was all too overwhelming and yet it made my heart beat in excitement. I got up from the chair and walked toward the exit behind the small crowd of people left.
When I made it out, my eyes rested on the magnificent academy. It was the size of a small town, filled with numerous buildings, towers and more, the engine house for the great minds of Vermillion.
But I recall, from this great size came many issues. It had enough space for plotting, evil activities and more. I'm sure I'll see a lot of them as the days go by.
I took a deep breath and started walking, silently following the students that were ahead. They would all be headed to the dorms now, and that meant I could find my dorm.
As I walked, I took the time to actually take in the beauty of the academy, the well-paved paths with trimmed bushes beside them. The fancy-looking buildings made of marble and stone, each one evoked a different emotion in me.
I walked for a bit until I got to the place where the dorm buildings sat, Alpha, Beta and Omega. These three buildings were the most obvious show of discrimination that this academy did.
"Tsk." I clicked my tongue as I looked at it. The best would get to go to Alpha Hall, the prestigious hall, that was basically where all the stuck-up and pretentious students who claimed they studied their way there when in reality mummy and daddy paid them into that class.
Now don't get me wrong, there are prodigies there, more prodigies than you'll ever see in the other dorms, but they are also stuck-up. In that dorm, five of the seven heroines are registered. As for the remaining two, they aren't in the academy as of now.
I turned my head to the Beta Hall, and headed that way. I became curious, who could I really be to make it into the second most prestigious hall? It wasn't the first, but I needed some good level of intellect to do that.
Now the old me, sure, I was a genius, but I am not sure about what the new me even has to offer. I walked into the building and quietly searched for room twelve, and after a few minutes of searching, I found it.
I slotted the key into the door, and with a twist I was in. I walked inside and I was stunned by what I saw. I should have seen it coming. From what I recall in the story, first years have to bunk together. I never and still don't understand the reason for such a stupid set up.
I want my freaking privacy, I don't want to have to sleep with some random for a full year.
There was a bunk bed standing at the corner, I stared at it, my heart filled with disdain for it. I took a breath and walked toward it, there was a bag on the lower bunk, made of leather and quite big.
It could be the bag of my roommate, or it could be mine, so I unlocked it and took a look inside. The first thing I saw on top of it was a letter and some folders. I picked the letter and opened it. It was an acceptance letter to me, Leo, and a scholarship plan.
"So that's how I got in, a scholarship, just like on earth." I muttered. I realized that my surname was blurred, I tried to focus, but it refused to show.
[Choose a surname]
I looked at the message on the screen and was utterly confused. I had to choose a surname? What the actual hell was going on?
Something within me kept telling me that there was a surname there, I had a family name, but no matter what, I couldn't make it out, and now the system asked that I choose a second surname?
Something was definitely fishy, about me, about this whole set up and about the character which I had taken.
But regardless, I had to move along, so I had to choose a surname. In my past life, Tallon had been my surname, it reminded me of the fact that I once had a family, no matter how it looked currently.
It held a special place in my heart, it gave me hope for one day having my own family, so it was the perfect surname, the one meant for me.
"My surname will be Tallon, Leo Tallon." I muttered.
[Tallon registered]
Right before my eyes, the blurry name vanished and it was replaced by Tallon.