Blue looked around himself and found around three hundred people who appeared along him. Those young adults all had a dignified expression and strong resolve perpetually burning within their eyes.
"Whew! The righteousness is overflowing here."
He joked inwardly as he maintained his usual expression. Even if he didn't do anything particular he had the natural charm to come off as someone radiant among the crowds. Given his looks among the humans it was a matter of course.
There were six teachers, who all seemed to be in their late twenties, present in the training ground. One of them spoke up with a loud voice,
"Attention! You younglings who harbor righteousness in your heart, prepare yourself. For the world is filled with scum who takes pleasure on trampling on the weak, for there are those who are in such a high place that you can't bring justice to them without forfeiting your life, for there are those who are suffering at this very moment while we are in our ignorance, for the Endless Void favors the wicked more than those of us harboring the heart of righteousness."
There seemed to be a bit of tear welling up on the edge of his eyes that already turned red mid speech. His expression bore extreme unwillingness and frustration for the void.
Another teacher followed after him,
"Be aware! The path of a player is unkind to us who are considered fools who cling onto a 'vanity' called righteousness. Us fools who overreach and bring ourselves to ruin by trying to bring an 'illusion' called justice to those born in such a higher status than us that we are nothing but trash in their eyes. Us fools who try our hardest to live by the 'daydream' called our sacred oath of devotion. Us fools who can't see the 'truth' of this Endless Void."
She was literally spilling tears at the last part of the sentence as her emotion reached the peak and she couldn't help but turn her face away from the young adults as she weeped silently.
Most of the young adults were also crying out of the injustice they suffered throughout their life which gave them their heart filled with a sense of righteousness. To mend the world from the hands of the wicked.
Some more strong willed thus held back from crying but their reddened eyes and slight trembles of the body gave away the intense struggle within.
Blue wore a solemn expression as he kept his head lowered to show others that he was grieving about many injustice he saw and suffered throughout his life as his breathing quickened a bit.
At that moment, another teacher spoke up after taking a deep breath to calm the emotions bubbling within,
"Be Steady! The temptations which crawl at you will cripple your righteous heart. The rapacity which gnaws at you will sell your righteous heart. The exhaustion which seeps in you will freeze your righteous heart. The irritation which bursts in you will ashen your righteous heart. The hunger which rumbles within you will eat your righteous heart. The unfairness which throws at you will crush your righteous heart. The conceit which wells in you will rot your righteous heart. Steady yourself for the Endless Void will make you witness things which you never wished to witness for the rest of your life."
He was breathing rapidly after his speech as his voice had already turned hoarse from shouting at the top of his lungs.
Blue really thought if all six of them would give a speech for them and when would this end. Fortunately, the remaining three didn't continue as they were either busy crying their hearts out or keeping their boiling emotions from erupting in front of them.
About a minute later, they had calmed themselves and thus began the announcement of entrance test results which was the main part of their gathering.
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The guy who gave the first speech spoke up again,
"I should inform all young Paladins here that among us there is someone who has got the variant of the class we are so proud of. He also performed the most excellent among the group he was in. Out of the eighteen goblins he had been able to eliminate thirteen of them. He also showed the most patience and obedience when he arrived at the first room during the entrance test. Student Blue, step forward to receive your reward."
He complied and stepped forward with a dignified expression on his face. He went to that guy and politely received the white cylinder and returned back to his position after giving a courtesy bow to the teachers.
All the teachers nodded their heads appreciatively with a satisfied expression. They thought what a fine young Paladin he was. The other "true" Paladins all looked at him with an admiring and an equally competitive gaze.
After that the teacher kept calling the best performers in their groups and after that the second best then the third best as that was the end of it. Paladins were known for performing within the top three in any group. It wasn't considered a very rare class for nothing.
When all the students got a white cylinder on their hands the first teacher told them to open it and check the content before coming forward in the same order as earlier when they received it.
Blue opened the cylinder cap and a scroll slipped out from it that dropped on his hand. He spread the paper and read the contents within it.
"Student Ranking: 9th
Student Quarters Placing: Cloud House 9
Academy Points: 100"
After reading the information he was inwardly satisfied. The ninth was actually perfect as it was in the top ten which already showed his high potential but because of being in the near end of it much attention wouldn't be garnered for any curious investigation on him. There would always be some who naturally did so just to get the details of someone who could be a top ten but that's just a small inconvenience.
He went forward and stood in attention before the first teacher. The teacher told him to announce his results which he complied unhesitatingly. It gained another bout of gasp, administration and intense competitive spirit from the other Paladins. The teacher then said to him,
"Very good performance but you must remain steady. Don't let conceit well within yourself and keep improving day by day so you can also perform excellently at the first monthly evaluation. Now face your peers and hold the scroll in front of them."
"Yes, sir."
He replied affirmatively as he obediently turned around and held the scroll in front of them which showed the letters written in gold in void words.
Indeed from the entrance test to the entrance result part, all the people from the academy's side spoke in void words which they would call runes in writing letters and runic language while speaking words.
He or other young adults were all talking in their respective world's language but they communicated among themselves seamlessly while the teachers or the drone understood them completely. The new students themselves were still unaware of this fact as the four elements test back in the containment facility had added a temporary foreign aether effect on the soul to help understand the most basic of the basics in runic language, communication through speech and writing.
If the academy could then they would have just made the effect permanent but unfortunately any forceful effect on the soul through four elements aether was something only those abominations could do. Any forceful method on the soul would always lead to damage on it as it was extremely fragile thus causing the person to become a cripple or dead.
The academy thus invested much and took an approach that would remove the time consuming process of trying to seamlessly convey the language among people from a multitude of worlds in the Outer Area. A temporary effect for runic language communication before they taught the official language used in this empire within six months.
Indeed, before the midterm test. The teachers would probably reveal this matter shortly which he concluded after gaining information through the Primordial Auditor. He had over 90% certainty that the official language of the empire would be in the midterm test and consists a significant part of it.
He had already figured out the syllabus before the lessons even started. If other teachers could read his mind then they would have flipped and captured him to open up his brain to see just what goes inside it to gain the most vital intelligence from the most obscure clues. If they learned that he had an abyss spawn soul then he would have been eradicated on the spot with both the body and soul dissipated no matter how prodigious he was.
As he held the scroll the first teacher told him,
"Now tear it apart in one swift motion."
This time Blue showed a genuine confusion on his face along with all the young Paladins.