Opening Ceremony

"We'll welcome the principal to give the opening speech." 

Nathan raised his head. His teacher was the vice principal, so he wondered what the principal looked like. 

And the one who actually came to the stage was none other than the old janitor who gave him the direction earlier.

"Ah!"

"Ah?!" 

A lot of freshmen were stunned as they had seen them. Their reactions varied. Some were afraid as though they had messed up. Some were admiring him as if they never thought that someone as famous as him would disguise himself as a lowly janitor. 

The principal's eyes were as gentle as what they saw, but the moment he opened his mouth, all his words contradicted those eyes. 

"Summoners. This is a divine ability that we awaken to save this world. No one knows how our body can suddenly awaken Ena. Some people said it's because of the bloodline, but it can't explain everything.

"If your parents are both summoners, their children will have more potential to awaken as summoners. However, not all children are like that. In the end, all of us, summoners, are the chosen ones." 

The principal's speech had raised their ego. They believed their talents were much better than most of them, which made them think that they were elite among the chosen ones.

"We are special." The principal smiled, confirming their thoughts. However, all that was destroyed the moment the principal raised his voice. "WRONG! In my eyes, you are as useless as normal people. Why?

"It's simple. Because all of you are too weak. In this world, strength reigns supreme. The alien race that attacks us? They can destroy us at any time if we don't have power. The people besides you? They can easily surpass you if they gain more strength. 

"If you don't like what I say today, force me to take back my words. If you don't have the strength, it's impossible.

"If you want to change your fate, being a summoner is not enough. There is always a sky above the sky. There are limited resources in this world. Even in history, humans fought each other numerous times to get access to those limited resources.

"Throughout history, humans and conflicts have always gone side by side. You couldn't change the true nature of humans. At the same time, it was through those difficult times that we were able to create strong men. 

"We created weapons and advanced our technologies. When the alien races came, we grew even stronger with this summoning ability. 

"This academy is no different. If you think you're going to experience a peaceful education, you can pack your luggage and go back to your home.

"All the freshmen must have seen your rooms. You don't like it? Use your strength to get a better room. Monthly, the school will provide you with 30 proto-class cores. Not enough? Get it with other means.

"As a summoner of Frexia Academy, you only need to know three things: the people behind you are those you need to protect, the people besides you are your peers as well as your rival, and those in front of you are the challenges you need to overcome.

"If you want something, challenge that person to a duel between two summoners. This is the tradition of our Frexia Academy, the Summoners War. Grow stronger and defeat your peers so that you can challenge those aliens out there, crushing them in this war." 

Nathan's expression turned grim. He muttered inwardly, 'He has given up trying to change the students even though we have common enemies. No matter what, those nobles might use their family strength to add further conflict.

'Hence, he uses it to force the students to grow stronger. If they're too weak to challenge them, they have to kill a bunch of aliens to get stronger. Even those students from noble families will get more cores to grow stronger, meaning that their families would probably need to kill a bunch of aliens to do that.

'What a ridiculous method. However, I can agree on one thing. Conflicts do hasten humanity's progress. Even back on Earth, the world wars or even the cold war, while causing numerous deaths, increase their progress by leaps and bounds. Despite having that gentle smile, he has given up on humanity.'

The principal stated, "The freshmen are immune to any challenges from their upperclassmen for six months. Do your best to survive."

The new students couldn't help but suck a cold breath. They finally understood that in front of these upperclassmen, they were nothing but prey they could devour in six months. 

Still, some of the students weren't afraid of them. They believed they could surpass those seniors with their strength or influence. 

But what was more ridiculous was that the freshmen were thinking about devouring people around them. 

Yes, Nathan could feel gazes from his classmates. The principal only banned the upperclassmen from attacking, he didn't say anything about the freshmen fighting among themselves. 

"We'll welcome the vice principal to say a word or two."

Unlike the principal, Vivian's speech was rather short. She only said, "There are multiple ways of becoming stronger or getting resources. Don't limit yourself, be creative, and become bold enough to do it.

"We'll give you a badge symbolizing the Frexia Academy after this. It has three major functions. It allows you to access the teleportation portals for free. If you show the badge to any Axia Inn branches all around the world, you will be able to stay for free. Of course, only for the normal rooms. If you want the best rooms, you have to fight for them.

"Last but not least, the badge will also become your identity for the Universal Bank. You can store and withdraw your money from all over the world. An elder dwarf is responsible for making the badges. It'll be bound to you by blood, which can only be activated by you alone. Once you're dead, the badge will lose its effect. That's why, do your best to survive, students."