The Protagonist Already Knows

Chapter 11: Opening Ceremony

Finding my seat amid the crowd of students sitting outside on the field, I finally arrived in the third row, which gave me a relatively good view of the stage ahead.

The students were organized in ranking order, with the top students at the front, perhaps to encourage the lower-ranked students to climb the ranks and become more powerful.

Keeping my eyes peeled, I looked around, instantly finding a few main cast members, named characters, and even future villains.

Seeing them all excitedly chatting about their futures, I couldn’t help but feel a bit odd.

For example, looking at the 6-feet-tall Leon Aura, with short white hair and radiant golden eyes, I couldn’t help but picture Aureate’s successor leading an army into bloody battle with his berserk axe, the size of a car, while massacring Dregs.

It felt weird watching him now, sitting down in his #1 chair with his head tilted up arrogantly while talking to his posse of nobles like a normal spoiled teenager.

It didn’t help that when I looked right, I saw a girl with long, layered, fiery-red hair and crimson-red pupils in the #6 chair, instantly sending images of volcanic eruptions and bombs through my head.

Haerin Eres, the descendant of the very hero who had sealed away Anubis...the lady who had accidentally erupted a volcano, was gossiping with a group of girls like preschoolers!?

Their adult figures, which my 17-year-old self had eagerly read about prior to just last week, overlapped with the figures I was seeing now.

As more and more students took their places, no named characters near to me, I cautiously glanced up at the #2 chair, not because I wanted to...but because everyone else was.

"Is that her....the daughter of the Rank 1?"

"Do you think her father, Alaric, will come on parents’ day!? I need his autograph; he’s the reason I became a hero!"

"Her dad is the head of The Grove, right!?"

As the girl with unkempt, ungroomed, snowy-white hair took her seat, Leon’s posse immediatly scurried away.

Lily Sie.

Her light-blue eyes hidden behind a pair of white circular glasses, she gazed emotionlessly at her right arm, which was covered in a single metal sleeve that completely obscured the skin on her arm.

Having the chance, I marked her soul...and immediatly, my fists inadvertently clenched while an overwhelming sense of anger overtook me.

Unmarking her soul, I muttered, a portion of her anger still influencing me.

"...just had to confirm...she’s still mad over that experiment failing."

At that moment, as teachers began gesturing for students to sit down, I finally saw her.

A girl with short light-brown hair cut into a bob cut, the bangs just long enough that they slightly draped over her amber-brown eyes.

The heir to the richest family on the planet stood with her arms crossed before the chair labeled "#4."

Ignoring the teachers, Carissa Chae shook her head continuously and angrily muttered.

"It’s mine! It should be mine! He’s not even here yet! He’s late!"

Leon smiled and looked at Carissa, while Lily remained unfazed as she stared at her wrist, and the newly arrived #3 Han Li, who had just gotten off a train from the other side of the continent, just awkwardly glanced down.

However, before any teachers could calm Carissa down, a loud voice suddenly sounded from the stage.

"Carissa...dear, unfortunately, as I mentioned to you multiple times, the rankings have changed. Please take your seat."

There, on the stage, a slightly elderly lady, around her 50s, stood alone, looking directly at Carissa, who was the only student left standing.

Carissa’s cheeks immediatly flushed a crimson-red as she looked around, noticing everyone staring at her, before sitting down in the #5 chair.

Trying to hide her face, she looked down and chewed on the drawstrings of her hoodie, like a rabbit comedically eating a carrot, as she always did to relieve her stress.

"...ah."

I awkwardly shifted my gaze away, even though no one had caught me.

Dressed in a night-black robe with her grey hair spilling out of a golden witch hat, the school’s headmaster smiled and nodded before looking up at the thousands of first-years sitting before her.

Ignoring the fact that the #4 seat was empty, she began.

"First and foremost, I would like to congratulate all of you on being accepted to the premier Hero Academy. Welcome to the Sunken Pearl!"

"You may address me as Headmaster Cynthia, and... hopefully, I will continue to be your headmaster for all four years of your education, here!"

"All of you have braved the dangers of a gate, facing off against trials of utmost danger within, and, whether it be through pure skill or luck, you left alive."

"However, I hope you all know your journey is just beginning. In the future, I have no doubt that all of you will encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles that will force you to grow and learn."

Pausing for a moment, perhaps for dramatic effect, Headmaster Cynthia seemed to focus on the back rows of the audience.

"Be prepared to not only surpass but also defend your rank against your fellow students, whether that be through studying arduously for exams or coming up with innovative solutions during practical exams."

"Tomorrow, all of you will report to your selected advisors and meet your classmates, so please get a good night’s sleep.

*CLAP~CLAP*

*CLAP~CLAP*

As Headmaster Cynthia tilted her head slightly and smiled, a roar of applause sounded from the crowd of first-years, signaling the end of the short entrance ceremony.

While students eagerly stood up and crowded around on the lit-up field under the night sky, I immediatly wove through the crowd, being among the first to leave, and headed back to my dorm.

Perhaps it was just mental exhaustion or the stress of my having to try to imitate "Ash" perfectly during interactions, but I was in no mood to socialize.

Yet, as I turned right on the stone path and approached the dorm building that more or less resembled a modern skyscraper, it seemed that I wasn’t alone.

*STEP~STEP*

*STEP~STEP*