Currently Rio along with Artemis was sitting in the office of principal of Zenith academy. The atmosphere was tense as the principal just kept staring at Rio without saying anything.
"So you're alive," the principal finally broke the silence, his voice carrying a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
"I am," Rio replied calmly, his eyes meeting the principal's gaze directly.
"Can you tell me how?" The principal's eyes scanned Rio. He was taken aback when he found no anomalies in Rio. Except for his decreased rank, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him or out of the ordinary.
"Luck, I suppose," Rio answered with a casual shrug, showing little interest in elaborating further.
The principal shifted in his seat, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. "So, what is the purpose of your visit here?"
"I wish to continue my studies," Rio replied, his tone unwavering.
"Here, at the academy?"
"If you would grant me permission,then yes." Rio responded, still maintaining his calm demeanor.
"And you have no objections?" The principal's gaze shifted to Artemis, seeking her perspective.
"As long as history doesn't repeat itself, I don't," Artemis replied firmly, her voice carrying a hint of warning.
The principal nodded thoughtfully, his fingers stopped as he pondered something. After a moment, he spoke again, "Is that your only purpose for today? Your abrupt appearance has stirred quite a commotion."
"I didn't see my invitation saying I can't bring my son with me." Artemis said, looking at the principal. "And you already knew he was back."
Principal acknowledged her answer with a nod. He did send invitations to their house, as it was a courtesy to invite all noble houses. Even if he ignored that, he had to send an invitation for Agnus as he owned one of the top guilds. He was also well aware of Rio's survival, having known about it since the day he was brought back. However, he didn't expect Artemis to bring him into the limelight in such a manner.
Artemis, as if reading her thoughts continued saying - "It was inevitable for him to reintroduce himself sooner or later. Doing it now when the whole world was watching, only solved the issue more efficiently."
"The Zenith academy doesn't accept students directly in second years, nor does it accept one to skip years. But since you were already a student of ours, and looking at your results, you can start your studies when second year classes begin next month."
"I'd like to enter the Arcane Tower before then," Rio declared, his words surprising both Artemis and the principal.
Artemis, though taken aback, kept her silence, trusting him.
"I can't grant that request. The rules of the association and the predecessors have been clear, that the key to the entrance of the tower can only be given after one passes the exams of every year and clears the trial grounds."
"And I didn't finish my exams." Rio said, and the principal nodded his head.
"Each year only 100 students can enter the tower, and since you were missing, your place was given to someone else. So I cannot allow you entry." The principal said.
"In that case, I want to repeat my year, instead of continuing directly in the second year." Rio proposed.
"You would like to waste a year of your time learning things you already know." Principal asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
"I have no other choice. The only reason the children of noble and elite backgrounds attend any of the top 5 academies is to access the tower. If I can't enter it then the purpose of studying here diminishes." Rio said.
"If someone who didn't attend the academy said this, I might let it slide, as they don't know the difference between the level of learning we have. But you should be fully aware of the disparity in education between us and other institutions." The principal replied.
"I am. And that's precisely why I came here today to attend again. Even after everything that happened, I want to keep studying here. But if you don't allow me the single reward you have then won't that be a loss for me." Rio said.
"But _ "
Principal was saying something when Artemis produced 2 letters from her ring and passed them towards the principal. Principal curiously looked at them as Artemis continued her words.
"Sunshine academy has sent an invitation for my children to join. They even agreed to Rio's request to start afresh. And I'm sure other academies would also agree, if they figured that's the only requirement to secure a genius in their ranks. I don't see why you have a problem with that?"
The principal looked at the admission letter which clearly stated that Rio could start from first year's class. But the principal still had his reservations and was hesitant. Allowing someone who's as talented as him, and also knows everything about their entire schedule would be unfair to every other student. So he said his thoughts -
"Rio has finished his studies, even his exams, he knows everything. Putting him in the same room as the freshers would be unfair to them."
"Life isn't fair - That's what you said to the world 2 years ago after that incident. I'm sure you can say that to some students of yours." Artemis interrupted, quoting his words to him. "Plus he was ranked one back then, and at best he'll be ranked one this time too, no difference there."
"I'm not so sure about that." Rio said, glancing at his mother "Didn't you see, someone even broke my record this time, so I might not even take first rank among them. It's the golden generation after all - some of those students might bring surprises, who knows?"
Principal fixed his eyes on Rio, but his expression didn't falter even for a second. He thought for a second, but he had already made his decision.
Now he knew why Rio made his entrance today only and that too, here at this function. If now the news broke out that the zenith academy refused his readmission, after he wanted to forget everything and rejoin the academy– It would only tarnish their name. In normal cases it wouldn't hurt or he wouldn't even care, but his case was different.
What happened 2 years ago, was already a stain on their name, if now another scandal broke out it wouldn't be good. Furthermore, Rio's departure might set off a chain reaction, influencing other students, particularly those he had helped during the incident.
The influence of Blake family, along with his own, couldn't be missed. The scene of Lisa was simply an example of his effect in his class. There were many students he saved back then so some of them might even follow him. Even those Royal siblings and some other rankers might leave if he left the academy now. Which could even potentially lead to Zenith losing its position as the number one academy.
So he had no choice but to agree. He wanted to smile at himself, for how he was being fooled by a kid. But as he said, there was no other option.
"Welcome back to Zenith academy." He said.
His words brought a subtle smile to Rio's face, as finally everything was back on track. The plot begins.
And living here now, he can finally continue his plans which were stopped because of that incident.
—----
****** After the emergence, there have been many emerging towers and dungeons around the world. Dungeons could be solved after defeating the boss monster or solving the puzzle they possess or just finishing a narrative. After which they become safe to live and harvest profits from -Towers were different.
Unlike dungeons, towers have no goals or clearing conditions. While dungeons are small parts of other worlds, towers encompass entire realms on their various floors. Hell towers where each floor consists of an entire layer of hell.
Towers are bigger, better and more dangerous than dungeons. They can never be finished, solved or emptied. No matter how many times you clear them or kill all the monsters, as long as one doesn't clear the final floor, the monsters can keep respawning over a certain duration.The notion of "finishing" a tower was an immense challenge, given the sheer scale and complexity of each floor.
In dungeons, the number of challenges is limited, where one can learn from other's sacrifice and help, and clearing them is easy. But towers, now that's a different stuff. An entire world, which is ever changing, ever growing - now finishing that would be a challenge.
As not all dungeons are bad, not all towers are filled with monsters too. One such tower which has many profits is Arcane tower. A tower which can help augment one's growth and increase their potential. One which can give enormous benefits with the least amount of risks involved - is Arcane Ascendant tower.
This tower is the pride and prestige of world association. They control this tower, and this is why they are famous and powerful.
What set the Arcane Ascendant Tower apart was its unique feature: death within the tower was not permanent. While other towers spelled true death for those who perished within their confines, the Arcane Tower would simply return the individual to the outside world. This aspect made it particularly attractive, as it allowed for learning, exploration and training without the ultimate risk.
The academies under the world association got famous because they announced the simple requirement of entry in this tower - which is that only students of the top 5 academies can enter it. This tower consists of 5 floors. And each floor is only accessible to students after they have passed their selective years at academy and got into the ranks of top 20 in their academy.
These are the requirements set for centuries. Every year, a batch of 100 students could enter a floor, vying for opportunities and rewards. This stringent selection process ensured that only the most exceptional individuals had access.
_
This is why the principal couldn't allow Rio to enter the tower, as it's not in his hands. To give him entry would mean changing the permissions engraved on the floor keys made by the previous heads of world association or creating a separate key for Rio to enter while refusing entry to one of the students from the next batch of 100.
No other academy would leave their slot for Rio, meaning zenith academy would have to send 19 students of first year and Rio, if they allow him. Which might be fair to Rio, but it'll be unfair to the guy who got 20th rank in first year. This is why even this option was scrapped.
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A/N - also I haven't thought up a name and appearance for the principal, that's why I didn't mention them yet. If u got some suggestions, do tell me.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺