Chapter 49: Freshman Welcoming Ceremony

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Freshman Welcoming Ceremony

When the first golden rays of dawn filtered through the tall arched windows of the East Wing, the last milky-white stone in Aegon’s palm crumbled into fine dust.

?Exhaling a long stream of warm white breath, Aegon slowly opened his dark eyes.

?Because his Soul Power had naturally replenished itself at midnight while he rested, he had been able to summon ATUM twice more before daybreak, generating thirty additional Low-Grade Mana Crystals out of thin air.

?He absorbed every single one of them.

?[ Name: Aegon Noiré ]

[ Strength: 38 ]

[ Vitality: 40 ]

[ Speed: 41 ]

[ Mana: 95 ]

[ Soul Power: 22 (Nascent) ]

?[ Soul Power Fully Restored. Due to the expansion of your Mana Core, your Nascent Soul Power limit has increased: 22 / 22 ]

?With 95 points of Mana coursing smoothly through his core, he felt unstoppable.

?Even without drawing on the fifty High-Grade Mana Crystals still untouched in his leather pouch, he now had magical energy that rivaled a Second-Year student.

?Standing up from the bed, Aegon brushed the white crystal powder off his palms and changed into the newly delivered S-Class freshman uniform resting on the mannequin by his wardrobe.

?It was a tailored black coat lined with dark crimson silk, featuring a golden crowned griffin embroidered on the high collar.

?After strapping the Flame Sword beneath his cloak and wrapping his signature red scarf loosely around his neck, he unlocked the bedroom door and stepped out into the main hall.

?Aria was already waiting for him near the sunlit veranda, dressed in a matching white-and-gold S-Class uniform that accentuated her silver-blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes.

?"Right on time. Wait, did your mana aura grow denser overnight? You didn’t actually try to swallow one of those volatile High-Grade crystals raw, did you?"

?Aegon shrugged. "I have my own methods for refining mana. Come on. If we want to eat at the Sky-Garden Dining Hall before the Freshman Awakening Ceremony begins, we should head down the hill now."

?Twenty minutes later, after enjoying a lavish breakfast of roasted wind-serpent fillets and spirit-herb soup completely free of charge thanks to their Golden Griffin Badges, the two of them descended the wide white-stone steps leading toward the Central Awakening Plaza.

?Just as they reached the Grand Pegasus Bridge connecting the dining terrace to the ceremony grounds, an elderly female attendant wearing the robes of the Scholar Tower hurried over and bowed respectfully to Aria.

?"Lady Everlight, Elder Vaelen asked me to deliver the ceremonial speech scroll for the top examinees to review before the bell rings. Might I have a brief word with you by the pavilion?"

?Aria glanced at Aegon and offered an apologetic smile. "Give me two minutes, Aegon. Wait for me at the other end of the bridge."

?Aegon nodded once and continued walking alone across the wide marble bridge.

?The morning mist around the bridge had barely cleared when five tall figures wearing the deep blue coats of Third-Year Combat Department students stepped out from behind the marble pillars, spreading out in a line that completely blocked the exit of the bridge.

?All five of them were fourteen or fifteen years old, with three silver stars pinned to their shoulders.

?At the center of the group stood a tall, hawk-nosed youth with cold grey eyes and a heavy runesword hanging at his hip, bearing the exact same facial features as Bramwell Morlan.

?Around the edges of the bridge, dozens of passing freshmen and second-year students immediately stopped in their tracks, whispering nervously among themselves.

?"Isn’t that Senior Cassian Morlan from the Third-Year Elite Class? I heard he’s already a peak Circle 3 sorcerer!"

?"That boy in the black S-Class uniform is Aegon Noiré, the freshman who crippled Cassian’s younger brother and fourteen other capital heirs in the forest yesterday!"

?"Because the Supreme Dean forbade the noble families from retaliating outside, the older brothers inside the Academy have come to settle the score themselves!"

?Cassian Morlan stared down at the ten-year-old boy approaching him.

?Yesterday evening, his father, Viscount Morlan, had been publicly humiliated by the Supreme Dean’s voice-seal, while his younger brother Bramwell was still lying in the city infirmary with three caved-in ribs.

?Even worse, Duke Von Draken’s faction had sent word into the Third-Year dormitories last night that whoever taught this arrogant country bumpkin a lesson before the ceremony would be rewarded with a rare B-Rank martial scroll.

?"Stop right there, bastard!" Cassian said coldly, resting a gloved hand on the pommel of his runesword as his four third-year companions released their mana auras to press down on the bridge.

?Aegon came to a calm halt five paces away, his dark eyes sweeping lazily over the five older youths. "You are blocking the road."

?Cassian sneered. "In the Imperial Academy, lowerclassmen salute when they pass their seniors on the Pegasus Bridge. I don’t care if you got lucky in the entrance trial and put on that black S-Class coat, Aegon Noiré. Inside these walls, a first-year is still at the very bottom of the food chain."

?"You are Bramwell’s brother..." Aegon stated flatly, not even bothering to make it a question.

?A vein throbbed visibly on Cassian’s forehead. "You broke my brother’s ribs and shattered the knees of fourteen boys from our allied houses yesterday. The Supreme Dean only protected your points during the entrance exam, brat. Now that you are an enrolled student, challenging a disrespectful junior to an instructional pointer on the bridge is completely within Academy tradition."

?Cassian held out an open palm, a cruel grin twisting his lips.

?"If you want to make it to the Freshman Awakening Ceremony with both legs intact, get on your knees, apologize to House Morlan in front of everyone on this bridge, and hand over the fifty High-Grade Mana Crystals you won yesterday as medical compensation. Otherwise, the five of us will show you how Third-Years educate unruly newcomers."

?The surrounding freshmen held their breath. Challenging five Third-Year elites at once was suicide for any new student.

?Beneath his cloak, Aegon’s fingers clenched.

?He was frustrated, but he wouldn’t lower his head. Never.

?Just as things were about to escalate into a brawl...

?"What’s going on here?"