The opening ceremony of the Birth Rite followed a formal procedure.
All the students gathered in one place, performed a type of inspection ceremony, and then the vice-chancellor representing Sioram delivered a speech.
After that, representatives of each grade came forward to take an oath, followed by a more ceremonial announcement of the opening.
It was a simple process, but there were hardly any signs of boredom from the spectators. On the contrary, many were eagerly scanning the center with sparkling eyes.
"Hey, look at the front, is that Hong Yeonhwa? From the Geobhwa family, right?"
"The news said she was really intimidating, but she seems different now... Oh, that scarf is pretty. Where’s it from?"
"The student next to her is Baek Arin, wow—seeing them standing side by side is a sight to behold."
"I just saw them playing tag, they were ridiculously fast. It looked like if they collided, it’d be like getting hit by a dump truck."
"Do you think they’d just fly off if they fought the monster that eats dump trucks?"
When ordinary people undergo an awakening, they become superhumans who can control mana. However, only a small portion of the entire population experiences this awakening. The vast majority remain ordinary people who cannot handle mana.
Because of this, to ordinary people, superhumans feel like beings from a completely different world.
To be more specific, they are like idols.
They can crush metal with their bare hands, leap over buildings with a single step, and perform extraordinary feats that defy common sense.
Thanks to the continuous image-making efforts by the association, superhumans, heroes, and hunters have become figures of worship and admiration.
"I never thought I’d see a Sioram student in person..."
"Everyone's hair is so colorful."
"Natural dyes. Did they say that superhumans also improve their skin and bones? I’m so jealous..."
Moreover, what they were witnessing were not just ordinary superhumans, but the students of Sioram.
They were the future leaders of the world, brought in through a rigorous selection process from across the globe.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.
Since it was usually difficult to get news from Sioram due to their security, both ordinary people and professionals alike were eagerly watching the central stage, their eyes wide open.
"The student at the front, that’s..."
"Haha, they stand out, right? Even if you don’t want to look, you can’t help but stare."
"A special admissions student."
The gazes of those moving about with such intensity ultimately all rested in one place.
The students were arranged in rows, divided by grade, surrounding the round stage. Among them, the first-year students, symbolized by green decorations representing spring, stood at the front.
And there, at the forefront, was Lee Ha-Yul.
"Wow..."
And as if drawn by gravity, those who turned their gaze toward Lee Ha-Yul were left with their mouths agape.
Whether through a large hologram floating in the air, or through transmitted video, everyone who saw the changed Lee Ha-Yul couldn’t help but be stunned into silence.
Lee Ha-Yul’s official appearance had been at the tournament’s final round. Even then, his appearance had drawn attention, but the present sight was on an entirely different level.
His hair, white as if imbued with a faint glow, framed his face. His eyes were gently closed, adding to his mysterious allure, and even with his eyes shut, his features were flawless.
A sky-blue cloak, reminiscent of something a celestial being would wear, draped across his back, and his left arm, visible through the sleeves, showed an unsettling, inhuman quality that left a sense of pity.
"Wow, he’s not just fiction, he’s real."
"Does he walk around with his eyes closed all the time? Fascinating. Can he do that with some sort of perception ability?"
"Look at how petite he is. He seems like the perfect size to hold in your arms."
"His hair is so white... I’ve never seen such a shade before."
"...Is he really a guy?"
A brief moment passed, and those who had snapped out of their trance whispered about Lee Ha-Yul, their faces still full of wonder.
Indeed, the image of Lee Ha-Yul imprinted on their retinas was nothing short of mystical and beautiful. Even standing silently, with his eyes and mouth closed, he looked like a living piece of art.
In fact, the quiet and restrained aura he exuded only amplified the sense of mystery around him.
"Definitely, it’s true," Hong Yeonhwa thought similarly. As her attention shifted away from the idle chatter around her, she saw Lee Ha-Yul, motionless like a doll.
His appearance seemed not of this world. Despite waking up early this morning and seeing his sleeping face in her arms, it still hadn’t become any less surreal.
"Ha-Yul, is something wrong?"
But that aura of mystery slowly peeled away the more she spent time with him. To be precise, she had come to understand the true essence beneath that exterior.
To Hong Yeonhwa, Lee Ha-Yul wasn’t the mystical figure of a divine being, but rather a lovable child, full of affection.
And so, she was able to sense that something was off with him now.
At her soft whisper, Lee Ha-Yul turned his head slightly. His eyes, which had been tightly shut, fluttered open, revealing his dreamy gray irises.
Though no words were exchanged, and his pendant didn’t chime, Hong Yeonhwa could read the unspoken question in his eyes—what was wrong?
For a brief moment, a small stir went through the audience, but Hong Yeonhwa paid it no mind, tilting her head slightly.
"I noticed something was off, so I wondered if anything’s wrong. Is something uncomfortable?"
With the more specific question, Lee Ha-Yul’s eyes narrowed, his expression showing signs of trouble.
‘It seems he’s not in pain,’ Hong Yeonhwa thought as she nodded inwardly.
If he were hiding pain, he would have avoided her gaze. This reaction was more like he was unsure of how to respond.
Hong Yeonhwa, who prided herself on being a top-tier instructor, patiently waited for his answer.
"The head of Taesan... has arrived."
"Huh?"
A thin voice soon echoed in her mind. It was a voice that required precise mana manipulation to communicate.
Hong Yeonhwa had hoped for the voice to be whispered directly into her ear, but as the message reached her mind, she blinked in confusion.
‘I didn’t hear anything about Jiyeon Unnie coming?’
The heads of the three great families were always busy.
Right now, the head of Changhae was running around trying to stop the dungeon chain outbreak in the territory.
Hong Yeonhwa’s parents, the Geobhwa family, had been locked in the magic field since last year, and as soon as they came out, they flew off somewhere again.
The head of Taesan was just as busy, yet they found time to come to the Birth Rite?
‘That person doesn’t seem like someone who’s particularly fond of their daughter...’
In Hong Yeonhwa’s memories, the head of Taesan, Lee Jia, wasn’t a particularly affectionate person. In fact, she was so emotionally detached and brusque that Hong Yeonhwa had even wondered if she might be the true Seeker of Changhae.
‘Well, I don’t know that person that well anyway.’
In truth, she might have a deep love for her daughter, but Hong Yeonhwa shrugged as she thought that.
A moment later, the voice came again.
"And Grandpa... I mean, Yewon’s grandfather has also arrived?"
"What? Grandpa?"
Hong Yeonhwa let out a stunned sound.
After that, the opening ceremony continued without incident.
The vice-chancellor delivered his speech, and the representatives of the students solemnly swore to contribute to world peace and survival.
"- Therefore, based on the abilities we will develop, we pledge to carry out the duties entrusted to us and contribute to world peace and survival."
Clap clap clap clap clap!
As soon as the representatives finished their oath, applause echoed through the auditorium.
The spectators in the audience, as well as the students standing at attention, clapped in unison.
Fortunately, since I had manifested my prosthetic arm, I wasn’t awkwardly standing on stage as one of the representatives.
Though the sound was a little different, it was subtle enough that it went unnoticed.
The applause continued for a while. During this time, the vice-chancellor remained silent, waiting for the applause to die down before speaking again.
"This marks the end of the long opening ceremony. We will now proceed with the final steps."
It was the vice-chancellor herself who announced the next procedure. As I stood on stage, I took a deep breath.
‘That was quick.’
Though it had been a long ceremony, the time hadn’t actually been that long. They cut out unnecessary formalities and made sure the necessary parts were handled properly.
"Students and staff, please raise one hand towards the sky and channel your mana."
The final step of the opening ceremony. At the vice-chancellor’s words, the students raised their hands towards the sky.
The student representatives on stage did the same. Hong Yeonhwa and Baek Arin, standing on either side, raised their hands, and I too raised my right arm—the one that still belonged to me.
At the same time, I roused the mana slumbering in my core. The mana surged through my body.
After scanning the surroundings, the vice-chancellor took out a staff from the air.
"Then, let us begin."
It was a grand black wooden staff. The vice-chancellor nodded and tapped it lightly against the ground.
Woooooo...
A gentle vibration traveled from the top of my head to my toes. Some students shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation.
But it was brief.
Woooooo...!
Suddenly, a tremendous vibration shook, and the mana inside my body was pulled out through my fingertips. I could resist such minor interference easily, but since I didn’t want to ruin the ceremony, I obediently allowed my mana to be absorbed.
Faaaaarrr...!
At the same time, the mana poured out from my fingertips like a faucet, soaring into the sky.
"Oooh..."
Hong Yeonhwa, unfamiliar with the phenomenon, fidgeted with her hands. Bright red mana poured from her hands, and the pillar of mana was thick and vivid.
This was the case for all the students. The color and intensity of the mana pillars differed depending on the nature, quality, and quantity of their mana.
‘Mine...’
It was white. And much thicker and more vivid than the other students'. The surrounding chaos of colors was almost drowned out by the overwhelming whiteness.
Even from the audience and across Sioram, people could be seen admiring the different colored pillars.
This was one of the signature performances of the Birth Rite, one of the highlights people looked forward to when they arrived on the first day.
‘So, this is how they replenish mana every year.’
The hundreds of mana pillars that had shot up eventually met the sky and spread out in all directions.
They collided with the barrier that Ariel had painstakingly created to protect Sioram.
Though the barrier was an excellent one that would have caused no issue simply by being left alone, it seemed that this was also how they replenished their mana every year.
I’d learned about this function by diligently reading the translated books in the mansion’s library. Although it wasn’t quite within my grasp yet, I’d gained some understanding from observing.
Wooooo...
As time passed, the once soaring mana pillars gradually began to disappear. They spread outward from the periphery, and eventually, the mana pillars of the student representatives also started to lose their shape.
‘...?'
"Ha-Yul, how much longer are you going to keep this up...?"
But mine wasn’t stopping. Hong Yeonhwa and Baek Arin, standing beside me, blinked in surprise.
It wasn’t just them. Numerous eyes were now directed toward me—from the other student representatives, from the students standing below the stage, and from the many spectators in the audience...
[Well, it’s true... right?]
I too, baffled, opened my mouth. Glancing at the vice-chancellor, she stared calmly at the pillar of white mana.
‘She did tell me beforehand that I could take more mana than usual for this procedure, but... is this too much?’
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. The vice-chancellor had given me permission to draw more mana for this particular procedure.
‘But this is a bit too much...’
The amount was more than I’d imagined. I’ve always had an unusually large mana capacity. I’d never slacked off in training, so my mana had steadily increased over time.
And now, that mana was starting to run low.
I panicked and quickly pulled in all the scattered mana around me, observing the path of the mana shooting into the sky.
‘Where is all of this going?’
The mana of the other students was being absorbed by the protective barrier of Sioram.
But my mana wasn’t being absorbed by the barrier. I was confused and followed the path of my mana.
‘That place...?’
I tilted my head. The place where my mana was being absorbed was somewhere unexpected.
There, standing at the center of Sioram, near the large auditorium... was the ivory tower.
The Tower of Growth.
Inside the Tower of Growth, within one of its chambers.
A sky, unblemished by a single cloud, stretched above, and below it lay vast meadows.
Boom! A pure white mana pillar descended straight into the center.
The thickness of the pillar was greater than even the tallest skyscrapers. The space around the pillar warped as pressure was exerted from outside.
External interference. Normally, one would laugh it off and shake it away.
However, mana given with the owner's permission soon took on a docile, puppy-like nature and shifted according to external guidance.
Pure white, untainted by any color, a purity full of potential for change.
And with that potential, it could transform into anything.
Boom...!
From within the pillar of pure white mana, something stirred.