"What," Egro put on a shocked expression, turned his head toward Lin, and asked:
"Yulan is also an Awakened? Why didn’t I know about this?"
Lin had nothing to say — he had simply forgotten to inform Egro that Yulan had also beco an Awakened. So, he smirked and tried to dodge the question:
"By the way, her birthday is on the sa day as yours."
"I knew that."
"..."
"Lin, you didn’t even tell Egro that I beca an Awakened? Or that we had an entire adventure together in the Magic World?" Yulan looked at Lin with displeasure and asked.
Egro was surprised again and asked:
"So, you weren’t alone in the Magic World, but with Yulan?!"
Lin didn’t want to argue, so he admitted:
"Yeah. After I sohow survived in the Magic World, I t Yulan, who pretended to be dead and used ... In short, I decided to take her with , and it turned out her birthday was on the sa day as yours. When that day ca, she received her own Title."
He crossed his arms and snorted.
"And yes, I forgot to ntion it. I didn’t think it was that important, so I never brought it up."
Egro nodded, and Yulan sat down next to Lin and began telling what happened to her after returning from the Magic World to Earth:
"Those animal hides... I slled terrible... But I still managed to get ho and et my family. They were so worried about , they thought I had died, but when they saw ... their eyes lit up so brightly, it was as if the sun itself was reflected in them..."
"Those seven days, I spent wonderfully compared to the Magic World: delicious food, a great bath, nice clothes, and much more. I also told them I beca an Awakened... You should’ve seen their faces. Anyway, now I’m here." Yulan finished her story.
Egro nodded and asked:
"And what’s your Title?"
The girl smiled awkwardly and looked at Lin, who showed no reaction, and so she answered:
"I’m an Elental Awakened, and the na of my Title is: "The Maiden Who Loves Lightning".
Egro smiled.
"Nice Title."
"And you? What Title did you get?"
"U-uh, well," Egro looked at Lin and saw no reaction, so he sighed and continued:
"I’m an Abstract Awakened, and the na of the Title is: "Harbinger of Chaos"..."
Yulan widened her eyes in surprise and sat still in shock for a while before finally saying:
"Harbinger of Chaos"... What a strange Title. But, clearly, you’ve got a promising future — if you don’t die in so Dead World..."
Egro nodded.
While they were talking, the headmaster of the Awakened Academy finally ca out and began to speak:
"Dear new students. Welco to one of the five Awakened Academics. My na is Varen Matrix, and I am the headmaster of this academy!"
At the sound of his voice, the entire room went quiet. The once loud conversations faded, and everyone began quietly listening to Varen’s speech:
"Each of you cos from different layers of society: so from ordinary families, so from the middle class, and so from wealthy families with solid histories. But what unites you is that you have all received Titles. Each of you has so sort of Title: Physical, Elental, or..." Varen looked at Egro and Aran and continued: "Abstract."
"What I want to say is that inequality is not welcod at this academy. Everyone here is equal and should treat each other with understanding. If any neglect or disdain is noticed from higher classes toward the lower ones... the penalties will be significant. The sa applies in reverse."
After his words, dozens of people lowered their heads, while others scoffed slightly.
Varen continued:
"Next, I’ll explain the academy system, and afterward, you can ask questions if sothing interests you or if anything was unclear."
"Throughout the year, you will remain within the academy’s walls. You will not be allowed to et with family, but depending on your departnt, you may sotis go into the Magic World for lessons — though this is rare. Each of you will be given the sa room in the dormitory. Boys and girls are separated."
After these words, Varen noticed how so boys’ eyes lost their fire, as if they had just lost sothing very important.
"All of this will be strictly monitored, so both boys and girls should know: on the academy’s grounds, anything involving what you already understand is strictly forbidden. If anything like "that" is noticed, even if you have a Title, we will be forced to expel you, and you will be sent back to your parents."
Several people trembled at his words.
Then, Varen continued explaining the academy’s core rules and educational structure. It didn’t differ much from what Egro had explained, except it included more detail and warnings.
Once he finished explaining, the period for student questions began. Imdiately, several people raised their hands. Varen chose one, and he asked:
"Headmaster Varen, why is the education only one year long?"
Varen thought for a mont and replied:
"There are many reasons, but to answer briefly: each year, countless new Awakened appear in the world, and since our academy operates solely on the funding of the Five Families, we have to limit training to a year. Your education is completely free; everything is paid for by the Five Families. And we don’t have that much information about the Dead Worlds, even though they’ve existed for over a century..."
"As you can imagine, mortality among Awakened — especially those unprepared — is nearly 100%. So within this year, you decide what you want to study. No one will teach you things you don’t need." Varen finished slowly.
He selected another student and listened to their question:
"Does the academy guarantee that after graduation, I’ll be able to find a job — preferably a safe one?.."
Varen calmly responded:
"Yes and no, at the sa ti. Studying at this academy is not the sa as studying at a top university for regular people. If you complete your year here and don’t want to work in a Dead World or with the Awakened, you can choose a regular job. But for that, you’ll need full — higher education, which you can only get by studying at a university."
"So you’ll have to study again if you want to work a normal job. For those interested, I can confirm that our Awakened Academy provides a special recomndation letter, which gives you about an 80% chance of being accepted into almost any university in the world."
So students’ eyes lit up at these words. They didn’t particularly want to work in dangerous Dead Worlds or with Gates — they were more interested in a normal life without a Title, with a stable and peaceful job.
Other students began actively asking questions, and Varen calmly answered them. When almost all questions were settled, he asked:
"Are there any more questions anyone wants to ask?"
"I have one."
A boy’s voice was heard. Varen looked in the direction it ca from and saw his nephew raising his hand, looking at him with a neutral expression — but with clear killing intent in his eyes.
"And what question do you want to ask?"
Lin looked at Varen’s face and asked:
"I have two questions. First: are there any rewards for actively completing tasks in the academy? I an — rewards like Soul Shards and Distorted Items."
"And second: will the academy explain the transitions between each rank in detail?"
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