William Aonsworth had placed first in the entrance exam ranking, which came as no surprise to anyone. A few seats away from William sat someone Clay has seen many times in the past.

Lucas Kael, a handsome young man with light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that drew the attention of several blushing girls. Lucas was the son of one of the heads of the Alliance, Fedric Kael, and his talent was rated as , almost rivaling that of William's. In fact, long before William gained fame, Lucas was one of the top geniuses of their generation, scoring third place in the entrance exam rankings.

Sitting in the middle of the rows, just around five to six seats away from Clay, was a female figure, Rosette Everleen. From what Clay heard from the rumors circulating around, not much was known about her except for her fourth place ranking in the entrance exam and talent rated at . She had an odd, dark-platinum hair color that looked to be dyed, and her dark-blue eyes coupled with her dazzling face and figure gave off a weird feeling, gaining quite a lot of stares from teenage boys, especially at the 'big' chest area.

Clay silently coughed, reminding himself not to be charmed by her outer appearance. He appreciated what was in front of him and learned his life lesson not to trust people just because they're beautiful.

"It seems like I got 1st, 3rd, and 6th place in my class... Even though it should've been random," Clay thought to himself.

Students were selected randomly to the twenty different classes at the start of the academy, with fifty students in each class. Clay's class had three of the top 10 students, which was quite unexpected, but not impossible that it never happened before.

After around 20 minutes or so, the Avalon First Hall was filled with students. Clay checked his watch, and it was almost 8 am. "It should start any minute now," he thought. And with perfect timing, the hall became dark while the front stage was lighted up by bright lights, like a concert.

A middle-aged man around his mid-forties walked on the stage. He had black hair and dark-blue eyes, as well as a suit on him. He cleared his throat and started speaking. "Hello new 1st years," he said, his voice resounding across the hall, thanks to amplifying his voice with Mana.

"My name is Alexander Everleen, some may know me as the Headmaster of Avalon Academy, the greatest academy for humanity, or one of the Ten Strongest Humans." Alexander spoke and shamelessly added pride to his speech.

"The Avalon Academy was made for the purpose of grooming students to become humanity's sword and shield! This year, we have quite a lot of talented fellows with potential. Hmm? Oh, hey Rosy!" He spoke but then he smiled and greeted a girl at the front row. Rosette, or Rosy, became embarrassed by her father, and her face became slightly red from all the attention she gathered. But she ignored it all and just stared straight at her father's eyes.

The Headmaster found his daughter's piercing eyes cute; he smiled for a moment before he continued his speech. "cough, back to the topic. We hope everyone does their best in the academy, and we don't like slackers. They will get kicked out of the academy immediately." He looked around the audience and seeing nothing happening, he spoke. "...I don't have anything more to say. So, bye and good luck, lads!" He started clapping, followed by the startled teachers and students.

Clap Clap

Headmaster Alexander made his way into the backstage area as the stage lights went off, and the hall was illuminated once again. A woman with black hair walked toward their row, looking like a teacher compared to the mid-teen students.

The teacher stood in the middle of the row, commanding the class's attention. "My name is Amanda Arm, and I will be your professor this year. Follow me in a single file line, starting from the right, to the classroom."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

***

Clay walked behind a tall boy, admiring the academy's size and facilities. It was not a typical academy, but the top place where humanity's future powerhouses were groomed. The Avalon Academy was divided into three years, and it had training grounds, gyms, large swimming pools, and the most important facility of all: free high-quality food. These specialities were vital for students to become heroes, and graduating from the academy was an instant success, with organizations, guilds, and even the Alliance wanting them, as graduates were the elites of their generation.

A loud clap at the front interrupted Clay's thoughts. "We are here," announced a mature female voice. To the left of Amanda was a wooden door. However, Clay doubted that it was made of ordinary wood, given the academy's high security and safety standards. Nothing could be cheap, especially doors that led directly to classrooms.

Amanda opened the door, and the entire class filed in, each choosing their own seats in the classroom. The room was neatly arranged, with single seats in rows of ten. Clay took a seat at the far back of the right wall, lucky to have been one of the first to enter, as there were still a number of empty seats available.

The desks were made of wood, and the texture felt unique, expensive, and well-crafted. Clay ran his hand across the desk's surface, confirming that it was not ordinary.

"This is my seat!" a brown-haired boy shouted, drawing everyone's attention in the classroom.

Two students were arguing over a seat in the mid-front, and the blonde-haired boy shouted back, "No, I came in first!"

"But I chose this seat, you bastard!" retorted the brown-haired boy.

"You—" The blonde-haired boy glared at the boy and raised his clenched fist, hitting the desk with the power of an rank.

bang

Surprisingly, the desk stood without any hint of damage. The blonde-haired boy was shocked that the desk didn't break, but when he regained his composure, he realized his mistake, and his face turned pale.

Ordinary desks were usually split or destroyed by an output of rank and above, but this was no ordinary desk. Amanda, who witnessed the incident, looked at the blonde-haired boy with a stern gaze. "What's your name, blondie?"

"...Johnny Dudé, rank 49," Johnny meekly answered. "But it was—" He was about to blame the brown-haired boy, but Amanda interrupted him.

"Johnny, since this is your first day and you have an high rank, I will spare you reprimanding. Find your own seat," Amanda waved her hand and spoke. Displaying the privilege of having an high rank, afterall strength is all it matters.

"Thank you, madam!" Johnny deeply bowed and thanked her before trying to find an empty seat.

Amanda shook her head, remembering the saying, "Kids are still kids," from one of her old friends. She then turned her attention to the brown-haired boy. "And you?"

"My name is Alexander Ford, rank 65," he confidently responded.

Amanda nodded, "You may sit down."

"Thank you," Alexander bowed and took his seat.

"Attention!" Amanda exclaimed as she clapped her hands to gather her students' attention, even though most of them were already looking at her.

"I want to emphasize this once again, welcome to Avalon Academy. While you should be proud of being accepted, please remember to never falter or slack off." Amanda's voice rang out, capturing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Just so you are all aware, we have high standards here, and we won't hesitate to remove anyone who doesn't meet them. In fact, every year, a quarter of the students are sent home due to their lack of performance."

Gasps could be heard from some of the students who were unaware of this information beforehand. Some were scared of being kicked out like Clay, while others were calm and confident in their abilities.

Clay thought to himself, 'My parents paid a hefty sum for me to partake in the entrance exam... I must try my best not to disappoint them.' He tightly clenched his fists under the table, determined to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everything in the world is not free and the academy needs money to operate itself even with the money from the sponsors, and it requires the people to pay to participate their exam. If they succeed, good for them, but if they failed they are not even refunded for the money.

Amanda continued talking as if she didn't notice her students' reactions or chose to ignore them altogether.

"Let's start with attendance." She clicked on her white watch, and a holographic screen displaying a list of names and their personal information appeared.

"Rank 1, William Aonsworth."

"Present," William spoke in a dull tone.

"Rank 4, Rosette Everleen."

"Here," Rosette raised her hand and replied.

"Rank 3, Lucas Kael."

"Present," Lucas spoke.

"Rank 9, Kyle Touch."

"Here."

Amanda continued calling out names until she finally arrived at the close to the end of the list.

"Rank 787, Clay Crest."

"Here."

"Rank—"

"Rank 983, Fred Rahm."

"Present."

"It appears that everyone is here, excellent." Amanda nodded in approval, double-tapping on her watch to make the screen disappear.