95 Opening Ceremony
Auditorium, Abalax World Academy.
The auditorium was large and wide. The stage was enormous, and there were seats organised in five levels in rows and columns in front of it. The number of seats in the auditorium, as well as the seating layout, changes depending on the events. With the help of the academy’s staff members, the auditorium could be customized easily.
Each level had 2,000 seats, with the incline increasing as one moved backwards. There were also magnification barriers and television screens placed at certain intervals to allow students in the rear and upper levels to see what was going on on stage. At each level, the seats were distributed in batches of 200. Each level featured ten such batches, implying that each level contained ten classes.
The top of the hierarchy, Class A-1, was quite close to the stage and was ahead of all other classes. Lith was seated at one end, next to a pink-haired teen whose eyes were darker than his hair and was a couple of inches taller than Lith. He had a solemn expression on his face, and his gaze was fixed on the stage, which had no curtains drawn at the time.
Lith was familiar with him. He was Ralph Asmodeus, whom Lith had to defeat in the final round in order to become this year’s entrance topper. He belonged to the demons’ lust family. A black-haired, black-eyed teen sat next him, whom Lith recognised. Lith defeated him as well making Ralph and him to fight for second place. He lost to Ralph and took third place in the examination.
The teen was none other than Dennis Dracula. Dennis was taking a look around the auditorium to see what it has to offer and how it looked. The auditorium was brightly illuminated, and was customized to have a yellow theme for this event. The walls and ceiling were covered in drawings, while the stage was hidden behind a red curtain.
The brightly illuminated hall was dimmed after a few moments, with the exception of the stage. The red curtains were drawn, and a host dressed in purple robes with a black mantle moved towards the stage’s centre podium. He said in a pleasant and cheery tone with a smilepᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ
“Greetings, students. Congratulations for clearing the entrance exam and becoming a student of the academy. You may already know about the academy through the various blogs and forums online, but let us once again go through them to clear any misunderstandings or confusion.
As you know, you will graduate as soon as you reach rank 6 and…”
The host presented a short overview of the academy, which the students had already learned about through blogs and forums, as the host stated. Nonetheless, they paid attention and listened to the presenter to clear up any misunderstandings or worries they may have had.
“…that’s pretty much it. Now let us have a short speech from our Vice Principal.”
A black-haired man with brown eyes approached the platform, dressed in a black and grey business suit, but instead of a blazer, he wore a black mantle on top. He held the microphone up to his mouth and spoke in a dignified and intimidating tone.
“Students, in your stay in the academy until you reach rank 6, you are not allowed to break any code of conduct. Violation to such codes would result in serious punishment. The rules and regulations of the academy would be handed over to you after this ceremony along with your uniforms, study material, miscellaneous items and dorm room access cards. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴoᴠᴇʟ
Each year there will be two major events and various other minor events related to different clubs and classes present. Merits would be alloted accordingly. The participation in major events is mandatory and failure to do so would be reflected on the graduation certificate. Many resources would be provided and the academy wants you to work hard, experience many things and raise your rank as soon as possible.
The students clapped after the Vice Principal’s short speech was over. The host came back on stage and said in a cheerful tone
“Now let us welcome on stage this year’s top 3 of the entrance examination. At the 3rd place we have, Dennis Dracula. Dennis, please come on stage. At the 2nd place we have Ralph Asmodeus. Ralph please come on stage.
And finally, at the first place we have Lith Evure, this year’s strongest thirteen year old with the highest potential! Lith, please come on stage.”
A black haired teen, a pink haired teen and a silver haired teen walked towards the stage from their seats. All three were wearing a sash. All three sash had ‘Entrance Topper’ written on it and nothing else. They arrived at the center of the stage and Dennis and Ralph stood beside Lith making him stand in between them. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Another instructor came to the stage and put on a cyan armband on the three students. Lith had the number one written on his cyan armband in a black colour. Ralph had two written on it and Dennis had three written on it. After their armband was on, the host said with a smile
“Everyone, as you can see, these are the top 3 students. Being a topper has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Though the advantages are far more. The only disadvantage they will have is, their position is at a risk. That’s correct, they may lose this position. And the one who will make them lose it, are you guys!
They will have to excell in academics, competitions, events and in many more ways. Participating and winning would earn you all merit points. Every event or just a simple exam would provide you with merit points. If at the end of every week, someone has merit points more than any of the three topper, the positions would be swapped.
Once again, Welcome to Abalax World Academy!
Teachers, please take your respective students to their classrooms and start with the classes.
All the best everyone for your future endeavours!”
After the speech, the audience began to applaud. When they heard this part, everyone was stunned and shocked. This hasn’t been reported in any forums or blogs, and it appears to be a new development in the school. Thus, they were all adamant about swapping places with the current toppers and making a name for themselves.
The opening ceremony was brief but instructive. It was done to greet the students and provide a general overview of the academy. There was nothing in it that was excessively spectacular or would waste the students’ attention. These students were all elites who despised wasting their time on frivolous activities. The academy was aware of it and hence took appropriate action.
…..
Classroom A-1.
The classroom seats were angled and arranged in a semicircle. There was a little raised platform in front of the seats with a table and a board on the wall behind it. The classroom was well-ventilated and well-lit. The students arrived and sat in seats assigned to them based on their rank. The academy had assigned them seats in advance. Lith sat on the front row with Ralph and Dennis, extremely near to where the teacher would subsequently teach.
Arya and Sel were sitting on a chair behind the desk. After ensuring everyone is settled, Arya said to them with a smile
“It is basic knowledge to do introductions first and get to know each other, but, this is class A-1, we don’t need these pointless things. You can introduce yourselves later to each other on a chat group on your phone or something. Anyway, time for your first test.
This test would give you merit points and make you my personal student. This test would be conducted in every class, but here, there’s a twist. We are generally asked to take 10 students as personal students but I will be taking only three. Come, show your worth to me. The rankings will also decide the number of merit points that you’ll get.”
The students’ reactions were mixed. Because they were students of class A-1, they didn’t know whether to feel proud or miserable. This class was at the top of the rankings and due to that, the toughest competitors in the whole academy were their own classmates. The children were well aware that each person present was a monster in their own right. As a result, they had no idea how they would fare in this class.
Sel, put on her circular gold rim glasses like that of Emilia and nudged it a bit. She got up and said
“The test would be very simple. All you have to do, is answer a simple question.”
The students were all taken aback by how simple the test appeared to be. But they quickly gathered themselves and prepared for whatever was about to be thrown at them. They weren’t complete idiots. They realised that one question may have multiple solutions, and that the individual who provided the most insightful response would be rewarded with a better ranking and merit points. These things were unnecessary to say, and they were intelligent enough to figure it out on their own.
Sel studied the students’ determined expressions as they focused at her. She responded with a nod. This was supposed to be how the top batch acted. They didn’t ask her any questions or express any doubts about why there was just one question or that it would be unfair to others because they were all elites who already knew why. Sel approved of such a behaviour of thinking before speaking. She then nudged her glasses once again and said
“Here’s the question…”