Looking down at the sheer expanse of the archipelago, Silver began to feel the excitement. Top 10? That would just be the beginning. He would never forgive himself unless he wholeheartedly went for that number 1 spot. As Silver wondered who was keeping the rank one seat warm for him, he heard the old man speak once more.
"Before I get into the ranking system, let me begin by telling you how things will work in the Academy." Silas began.
"Once you all go down, each of you will be given a soul-bound spirit tablet that serves many purposes. The first and most important purpose is the ability to record the number of contribution points in your possession." He paused for a second to let the students take this information in.
"Some of you may be wondering what these contribution points are and how you can get them. I will leave that to the other professors to explain in further detail, but the main point is that it is a type of currency that lets you achieve many things, such as buying magic books.
"This tablet will also record your current rank in the Academy. You will all be given an initial rank based on how well you did in the trials. However, each of you will be able to issue a challenge to anyone below rank 1000. This means that your current rank is only temporary and privy to change at any given time.
"Although, with that being said, those below rank 1000 get a week after each challenge as a grace period. Therefore you cant challenge anyone who hasn't had at least seven days since their last duel." Silas paused again to look at the curious gazes of the crowd.
"I feel like I've been talking a lot, so before I continue, does anyone have any questions they'd like to ask?" He addressed the crowd, but in reality, only Silver was capable of moving, so the question was directed at him.
To Silas' surprise, the scarlet-haired youth didn't utter a word but slightly nodded his head as if telling him to continue.
"Hmm, I guess not then. When your rank exceeds 1000, the grace period changes to 1 month. As you can see below, there will also be additional benefits such as acquiring your own personal island." The old man gestured to the edge of the plateau.
"The top 100 ranked students have the closest islands surrounding the main island and only need to accept one challenge every two months. As this is a magic academy, we do not need our students getting injured through needless battles, so all duels are carried out virtually.
"Some of you may have concerns over this but fear not, as all of your equipment will have the same efficacy in the virtual world. You will find that this method is beneficial, because after the duel, it would be as though you had never even battled," Silas added as he saw a look of relief appear on some students.
Who wouldn't be happy after hearing they could battle as much as they like without damaging their equipment or themselves?
Silver wasn't overly excited about this information. He had experienced many life-or-death battles and hoped this would give him an edge over the other students.
"As for the top 10 students. They are given the highest honors and prestige; each is a personal disciple of an Academy professor. And as I mentioned, the ten islands surrounding the main one belong to them. These islands have unexplored forests that inhabit both danger and opportunity. Additionally, the mana there is ten times purer than on the other islands, so you can imagine how beneficial that is.
"Lastly, the number 1 ranked student has the opportunity to enter the tower of legends. Anyone holding that rank can try their luck there and see how far they can go. Believe me when I say it is an opportunity you really don't want to miss," Silas concluded as he looked toward Silver.
"Although I feel like I may have missed some things, I hope you can all forgive me as I am getting forgetful in my old age. I would like to welcome you to the Academy once more and hope to see you all again. Goodbye for now" The old man finished his speech and then simply disappeared as though he was never there, to begin with.
Within moments, the mass of students realized they could finally move again and started to look around in panic and confusion.
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"Wait, was that Silas Hawk? As in the Silas Hawk?" Zac broke the silence as he asked no one in particular. The Hawk family had very close relations with the royal family, and it was no secret that Silas had been a close confidant of the king. Many believed that the two families had been related.
"Damn, I thought that he had died years ago as no one seemed to hear any news of him," Isabella replied, despite her discomfort from the surrounding gazes.
"Silas Hawk... I once heard someone say the insignia of the Academy was to honor the Hawk family," Zac replied.
"Isn't the Academy logo an eagle, though?" Silver questioned as he remembered the emblem on the gold tablet the student guarding the portal was holding.
"Well, I'm guessing they used an eagle instead as they are larger and seem more majestic." Zac shrugged.
"More importantly, did you guys feel like you couldn't move and had no control over your bodies?" Isabella interrupted as she posed the question that was on many minds.
"Indeed. It was like I had a horrible nightmare, only to wake and find that half the day had gone by. Then, as though I had sleep paralysis, I couldn't move a muscle until that creepy old man directed us to the platform's edge. Even then, it felt more like sleepwalking as I had no control over my body whatsoever." Zac shook his head as he remembered how helpless he had been.
"Hmm, how odd. I couldn't have said it better myself," Isabella agreed while looking toward Silver for confirmation.
"Yeah, it was the same for me," He said, giving the two a slight smile.
Similar conversations were being held across the platform as many students discussed the strange man and the events they had witnessed.
At this point, a scrawny-looking student next to the trio posed a critical question that no one else had voiced yet.
"Wait a minute. How exactly are we supposed to go down there?" He asked while pointing at the island far below.
Everyone started to look around for anything that could help them with their descent. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no way down from this floating platform high up in the sky.
Silver began sweating as he realized just how high up they were. How could anyone survive falling from this height? Were they really expected to jump down? Could this be another test?
He looked at the baby dragon who had been by his side all along and cursed him for not growing wings despite all the magic cores he had eaten. Some other participants were lucky enough to have flying mounts, but unfortunately for him and his companions, they did not.