“Well done, the four of you,” Professor Rinehart said with a smile. “Well, what do you think of the Initiation Ceremony, Ms. Nicole?”

The beautiful lady with long pink hair gave Ethan a side-long glance before giving her reply.

“It was more fun than I expected,” Nicole replied. “I’ve always known that the Initiation Ceremony would be challenging, but I never expected something like this.”

The Professors of Dark Magic looked at the beautiful girl with amused expressions on their faces.

‘What a big fat lie.’

‘Challenging? You bulldozed your way through without even breaking a sweat.’

‘I knew we should have used Adamantium Golems for this quest. If only Professor Rinehart didn’t reject my proposal, no one would have managed to clear this year’s Ceremony.’

‘What a scary little girl. Eques Manor got a good seed this year.’

Professor Rinehart then shifted his attention to Ethan, Chloe, and Alice, who only managed to defeat the Boss Monster by working together.

The three of them were drinking potions that were concocted by the Healer of the Academy, allowing them to recover from their injuries, as well as replenish some of their mana.

“How about you, Ethan?” Professor Rinehart. “How was your fight with the Boss Monster?”

“I thought I was going to die,” Ethan answered in a heartbeat. “Professor, Um, is it possible to change academies? I don’t really like doing things that can potentially kill me.”

“Hahaha! Good joke, Mr. Ethan,” Professor Rinehart said as he patted the young man’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You will adapt to being here soon.”

Ethan subconsciously shuddered after hearing Professor Rinehart’s words. For some reason, he had a feeling that the Headmaster had no intention of letting him leave the Academy.

“How about you, Ms, Chloe?” Professor Rinehart glanced at the young lady who had an anxious expression on her face. “Did you enjoy the Initiation Ceremony?”

“Not really,” Chloe replied.

“I’m glad you liked it!” Professor Rinehart chuckled. “By the way, I’ve heard that Mr. Gremory is your cousin. Is it on the mother's side of the family?”

“Yes. My grandmother, and his grandmother are sisters.”

“Family relationships are important. Please look after Mr. Gremory here in the Academy.”

“I will!”

Ethan could feel his liver itch when Chloe gave him an expectant gaze. Truth be told, he wanted to leave Brynhildr Academy as soon as possible, and go to the Academy that his Grandma wanted him to go to.

He would rather socialize with beautiful noble ladies than stay in Brynhildr Academy, where everyone could kill him with a single spell. Including his cousin that could shoot Fire Bolts from the tip of her wand.

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The Headmaster of the Academy looked at the silver-haired beauty and held her gaze for a time before speaking his thoughts out loud.

“Ms. Alice, regardless of what your father’s position is in the Magic Bureau, know that you will not be given any special treatment here,” Professor Rinehart stated. “I’m sure that you don’t want that either, right?”

Alice nodded her head in acknowledgement to Professor Rinehart’s words. The reason why she wanted to study in Brynhildr Academy was to prove to her father that she could stand on her own.

“I would like it if the Headmaster treated me as an ordinary student here,” Alice replied. “Whatever my achievements will be in the future, I want everyone to know that I achieved them with my own two hands.”

“Well said, Ms. Alice. I look forward to your growth here in the Academy.”

“Thank you, Headmaster.”

After talking to the four survivors of the Initiation Ceremony, Professor Rinehart waved his wand and made several artifacts materialize in the air.

“All of you may choose one of these treasures that the Professors of the Academy have prepared for this year’s Initiation Ceremony,” Professor Rinehart announced. “You can go first, Ms. Nicole.”

The beautiful lady with long pink hair eyed the artifacts in the air for a while before pointing at the silver shield with intricate designs on its surface.

“I want that shield, Headmaster.”

“A very excellent choice. That shield is called the Shield of Aeneas. It is a shield that is very resistant to physical and magical attacks. It was crafted by a Grandmaster Blacksmith, who is also an Honorary Magistratus. I’m sure that he will be happy after knowing that someone as skilled as Ms. Nicole chose his creation.”

The silver shield flew towards Nicole and transformed into a bracelet. With this, she would be able to summon the shield anytime, and anywhere with just a thought.

After giving the shield to Nicole, Professor Rinehart shifted his attention to the three students, who were also eyeing the floating artifacts in the room.

“Now then, who among you three wants to go first?” Professor Rinehart played with his beard.

“Me!” Chloe raised her hand.

“Okay, Ms. Chloe,” Professor Rinehart winked. “You go first.”

“I want that golden goblet over there that is spewing fire.”

“Ah… the Goblet of Fire. Very good choice. Since you specialize in Fire Magic, this artifact will aid you greatly. Congratulations, you are now its new owner.”

The Goblet of Fire flew towards the young lady with light-brown hair and transformed into a golden necklace.

Chloe held the necklace and eyed the small golden goblet that would glow faintly with a red color from time to time. She could feel the power of its flames resonating with her body, so she immediately summoned her wand and conjured a Fire Bolt.

Back then, the size of her Fire Bolt was only that of a tennis ball. Now, it was the size of a volleyball, which made Chloe incredibly happy.

“It’s your turn, Ethan,” Professor Rinehart said. “You may choose any of these magical artifacts. You can only choose one, so choose wisely.”

The young man carefully checked the artifacts one by one until his eyes landed on a blue ring with a runic symbol on its surface. He had never seen a ring like this in his life, and for some reason, he felt as if it was calling out to him.

“Headmaster, what is this?” Ethan asked as he pointed at the blue ring in front of him.

“That is a storage ring, Ethan,” Professor Rinehart replied in amusement. “You can store things inside it. You can even say that it is one of the basic pieces of equipment for Wizards and Witches. However, although many Wizards and Witches have storage rings, this one is a bit special.”

“Special?” Nicole eyed the blue ring with curiosity. “What makes it special, Professor?”

“Good question,” Processor Rinehart played with his beard as he looked at the floating ring. “This Ring is one of the creations of the founder of this Academy, Fortis Dud. It has a storage space the size of the training ground of this Academy.”

“T-That big?!” Chloe’s eyes widened in shock. “My storage ring only has space the size of a cardboard box!”

The Headmaster of Brynhildr Academy waved his wand and made the ring fly towards him.

“Truth be told, I don’t know all of this ring’s abilities,” Professor Rinehart stated. “Not many can use this ring because Sir Fortis added a special condition to it. Only those that the Ring recognizes as its Master will be able to wear it.

“According to the records, this ring has seven abilities. As for what the other six are, only those who gain its acknowledgement will be able to unlock its mysteries.”

Professor Rinehart then tried to put the ring on his ring finger, but before he could do so, it flew away from him, and landed on Ethan’s palm.

“See?” Professor Rinehart shook his head helplessly. “Not everyone can wear it. Even I couldn’t do it.”

Ethan gulped as he looked at the ring on the palm of his hand. As an artifact that was personally made by one of the Founders of Brynhildr Academy, it would certainly not be an ordinary thing.

“Go on, my boy,” Professor Rinehart said. “Try to wear it. Maybe, just maybe, you will Inherit the Legacy of one of the Founders of this Academy.”

Ethan nodded and did as he was told. He picked up the ring on his palm, and slid it onto his ring finger.

The ring didn’t offer any resistance, and before Ethan knew it, he was wearing the ring.

A few seconds later, he felt something warm on his finger, and that feeling washed over his entire body, making him groan in comfort.

“Wow!” Chloe grabbed hold of Ethan’s hand and pulled it close to her face. “A perfect fit. You are amazing, Ethan!”

“But, I didn’t do anything, you know?” Ethan didn’t know if the new heat that was spreading through his hand was the effect of the ring, or just Chloe’s body heat, which made him feel tingly inside.

Nicole, who had been paying close attention to Ethan since earlier, narrowed her eyes.

‘Interesting…,’ Nicole thought. ‘It seems that what he did earlier wasn’t a fluke.’

Professor Ophelia, who was standing behind Alice, couldn't believe what she was seeing. All the Professors of the Academy had been given the chance to wear the Blue Ring, but none of them had been able to succeed.

Right now, Ethan was technically the candidate that she had chosen to be one of the Pillars of the First Years.

Deep in her heart, Professor Ophelia didn’t know if she should rejoice about the incident that happened at the train station or not.

However, one thing was for sure. Now that the Blue Ring had recognized Ethan as its Master, the boy’s unexpected achievement would definitely spread to all of the Professors of Brynhildr Academy.