"They will be the last line of defense in the upcoming battle. They will fight, not only for humans, but for the sake of the life itself."
"They were gifted to us by the oh so merciful goddess, given power unlike any other, stronger than our enemies, stronger than all of evil."
"We praise them. For their work, their bravery, their sacrifice, their achievements. They've done so much for us, and will do so much more in the future."
"But we can't repay kindness with praise. Especially one of that level. No no no. We have to do something bigger. Something that effects them just as much as they affect us."
"We help them too. We guide them on how to be what they are in the future... Heroes."
"Boys and girls, welcome to our institution, where we train you, to become future heroes of this world. Those that will protect others, and fight for them."
"Welcome, to the Hero Academy!"
Built by the Emperor himself. His Greatness, Lord Ashhur of the Linelial family.
The Hero Academy.
It only took four months to build after the ascension. Six compounds of four square leguas each, and nine square leguas of school buildings. The school on its own looked like another city. A lot of money was poured into it.
And that money was not wasted. Since its construction almost 15 years ago, the school has produced hundreds of S class and above individuals. Though not all of them became SS class, which is the hero class, a vast majority of them came out stronger than your average adventurer.
A record high number of over 600 SS class individuals has been set by just one school over the course of 15 years. And now, there's about to be more. Most likely the last generation before the war begins.
The parade had happened outside the school. Some people were using magic devices to amplify their voices to the crowd while standing on huge horse drawn platforms. These were the words that they told the public as they cheered for the achievements made by them.
Among the houses that were at the side of the road which the parade went through, there was a man who shyly peeked outside his window looking towards them with a sad face. Then he had someone rushing down the stairs behind him and quickly closed the curtains.
A girl with light green hair, similar to the man's, happily went to the kitchen and grabbed a fruit. Then she stuffed it into her mouth and ran around the house grabbing stuff, including a bag and a magic staff.
"Okay dad. I'm ready to go." Her enthusiasm made him even more upset.
"Okay... I'll go get the horse ready."
"There's no need. I heard that the city's portal will be connected to the school for the whole week from today. I could take that."
"Oh... Right."
"Later."
Then she ran out. But not without giving her dad one more hug.
Her name is Haizea. One of the new students of the Hero Academy. She's among the generation that was dubbed as 'The Lucky Ones'. Though she didn't know why they called her generation of academy students that, it sounded great in her mind.
Her mood was, jolly, to say the least, as she skipped along the street, greeting literally everyone on the road, both street vendors and random pedestrians, even calling out their names. And they all equally greeted her back with the same happy mood and striking small conversations.
Then she finally caught up to the parade and danced along with the background music playing. Then she stopped and jumped really high, striking the ground with the tip of her staff. All the confetti and flowers on the ground around the parade suddenly rose back up into the sky from the wind magic she used which waved her beautiful blue robe in it, making the majority of people notice her.
The whole parade became even more lively from her magic and her words after.
"Lets have a great day everyone!" She shouted while running off towards the city gates.
"Hero academy please."
"Of course. Right this way, Haizea." A guard at the gate told her. "I see you're as free spirited as ever."
" I sure am, uncle Mark. Oops. I meant, Sir Mark."
He broke into laughter. "I'll give you a pass this time. Be safe out there. Don't go making your father worried."
"I already promised to send letters to him every week. And you know I never break my promises."
"Of course. Well, off you go."
Half of the usual gate was glowing brightly, signifying that a portal had opened. As she was about to walk in, her heart began to beat faster in anticipation for what awaits.
'Alright. Here we go.'
Then she closed her eyes, waiting for the effect of the teleportation magic to end. Then she hesitantly opened them only to be surprised by the way the school looked. Exactly how it was described in the book she read the previous night. Except it even looked larger in her eyes.
The entrance is what captivated her at first. The road was decorated with cherry blossoms, which she had never seen before. Thanks to her wind magic, she could even smell the aroma coming from them, which she described as a sweet, floral fragrance.
She wasn't the only one who was enrolling on that day. This is what she remembered when another boy around her age bumped into her, dropping his sword.
"Sorry. That was my mistake."
It wasn't just his body that looked frail. Even his voice sounded weak. And the stuttering wasn't helping.
"Are you okay? You didn't just hit me, you hit my staff, which isn't exactly the softest thing in the world."
"Yes. I am. Sorry for disturbing youUU!" He was startled when he noticed her looking intentively at him.
"You know you really remind me of someone. Have we met?"
"No ma'am. Excuse me." He ran off.
"Ma'am? Hey, wait!" That was the moment she realized that she would be meeting a lot of weird people there for the next few years.
"New students' verification." That was a sign written in front of a table next to the gate. "Looks like I've found my next stop."
Now that she got closer, she could see an odd ball of magic on the table which she hadn't seen before.
"Hello. Welcome to the Hero Academy." The ball talked. "Scanning complete. You are free to enter. Enjoy your time with us as you learn to become the hero of all mankind. Don't worry. Your safety and comfort here with us is guaranteed."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"Pardon. I couldn't quite catch that."
"Oh, it was nothing." She walked away. 'Should I be concerned that there's someone who isn't quite doing their job right?' She thought, referring to the ball of wind magic. 'Well, they must have their reasons. Off to the next stop.'
She walked through the beautiful gate, decorated with pink and red flowers on the top which made it really colorful.
After following the signs, she was directed to a small compound, small compared to the others, where all the new students were. She was shocked to find how many others there were. At least a hundred, all standing in five different lines, waiting to finish their enrollment. At the end of each line, there were people seated in front of tables,
"I hope it doesn't take too long." Her hopes were satisfied.
"Hello and welcome to the Hero Academy. My name is Lisa and I'll be taking some of your private information, if you don't mind, of course. But I would like to note that enrollment will be difficult without them."
'Phrasing.' "Sure. What do you need?"
"Great. We'll start with your name."
"Haizea Von Daleman."
"Right. Please give me a minute." Her eyes closed. Then she slowly rubbed her hands on a magic crystal on the table.
"Okay. I'll explain what we have captured. If you feel like we've touched any sensitive topics, you are free to sound it out."
"Understood."
"Thank you. I'll start. Your name is Haizea Von Daleman, the daughter of a knight who was recently given his own land and recognized as a noble. You're 16 years old, you specialize in wind magic, but you still have a large number of other basic skills such as magic sense, barrier summoning, familiar summoning, demon summoning, spirit summoning, a little bit of earth magic, the seductive power of a succubus...
'What the... I didn't know I could use all of those.'
"Lady Haizea?"
"Yeah?"
"Uhh... I think I'll write down the other skills, if you don't mind."
"Please do."
"Thank you. Moving on to your class. You are... S class rank E. That is very impressive for a 16 year old. I get the feeling you'll do well here."
"S class. She's S class? Wow. That's so cool." The other students who heard Lisa were gossiping. "Could she be the strongest amongst us all? She'll definitely become a hero. There's no way someone else is stronger than her."
"Could I become friends with her? She already looks popular. I heard she's a noble. That's a shame. I don't think we could become friends if she is a noble."
"This is uncomfortable. Now I'm definitely snitching on the person who was supposed to be at the entrance."
"We'll keep you informed on what to do next in just a few. Please wait together with the rest over there."
"Umm... Okay."
"Next please."
All eyes were on her now. She did not like it. So she began to look around for a place that's more secure when she felt the air getting heavy.
This was thanks to her great aptitude of wind magic. She could feel other people's emotions through the air. Whether stress, joy, sadness, anxiety. All of them.
And at that moment, she could feel someone's anxiousness. From behind her. It was Lisa. She could feel the sweat on her face and hands. The reason, must've been because of the person she was talking too.
"Oh... Wow."
It was a girl her age. Almost 6 feet tall with short red hair. Her clothes were tight and the only revealing part was the left arm and her upper chest, close to the neck. Everything else was covered in a tight outfit.
"She's hot."
She was ripped. Her abs were visible through the clothes. Same case with her other muscles. Her heels were just the perfect height. Everything was the perfect shade of dark red.
Her face was expressionless. There were small bags under her eyes which were just barely visible. She stood with her hands inside her pockets. It was kind of menacing.
"But why is Lisa so scared of her?"
It didn't take her long to answer her own question, thanks to her magic sense skill. The girl she was looking at was not normal. She was strong. Very very strong.
The amount of aura coming from her was incredible. Undoubtedly, she was much stronger than her. She was of the hero class.
But no one else knew about it.
"Lisa. She knows. It must be why she's so shocked. I have to talk to her. No matter what."
"Excuse me. Miss Haizea."
"Hmm?"
Someone else called her. A boy.
"My name is Lirea Von Seuchass of the Seuchass family. It's a pleasure to meet you." His voice and the way he talked arrogantly was making her angry.
"R...Right. You as well. What do you want to talk about."
"I was thinking, since we're both nobles, shouldn't we, you know, be..."
She got distracted by the girl. She was walking away.
"Sorry. I have to go. There's someone I need to talk to. Later." Then she ran away."
"But..." His friends laughed at him for being ignored. He felt embarrassed.
"Excuse me." Haizea stopped the girl. Now that she got closer, she realized how familiar the girl looked. And how much more taller she was.
"I was wondering, if we've ever met before." 'Why did I start like that?'
The girl's face remained expressionless. Expressionless, yet still somehow soft. And Haizea was feeling that softness.
"I doubt that." She responded and began to walk away. But Haizea walked in front of her and held out her hand for a shake.
"My name is Haizea. It's nice to meet you."
For a few seconds, the girl with red hair didn't respond. So she felt like she must've disturbed her.
"Sorry. About, getting in your way."
The girl grabbed her hand.
"I'm Nyla. Nyla Von... Just Nyla. Its nice to meet you too."
"Nyla..."