Chapter 27: Ceremony

Once again, the three Academies gathered in the stadium of Bright Sail. The audience was packed, and since the competitors had been introduced during the first round, this time the announcer simply introduced each of the schools as they entered the arena.

Many of the spectators noticed that Fire Kite was missing three students. Green Book was missing one. Mary Candless had survived the incident, but had special permission to skip the ceremony. What she’d gone through was traumatic, and it was best to let her rest and lie low for a while. All six members of Bright Sail Academy were present, and they alone were still whole. It was a strange feeling. On the one hand, he was grateful he hadn’t lost any teammates, but on the other, he regretted anyone had. The Academy Wars were dangerous, sure; they were meant to be. But students rarely died, and never in incidents like this. The schools had taken every precaution to ensure no actual casualties within the dungeon, and yet, they’d lost people because of some crazed cult.

Sen was still angry about it.

He focused on the announcer instead to get his mind off things.

Normally, the students would have a portion of their memories recorded for display during the final ceremony, but they hadn’t been asked to share those this year. It was a small mercy, allowing the students not to relive painful, traumatic memories. However, Sen suspected the real truth was that the academies didn’t want the hit to their reputations it would cause if people found out a cult had gotten involved in the second and third rounds. They were keeping this quiet. At least for now.

“Many of you witnessed the explosive whirlwind of a first round!” the announcer said, referencing the powerful tornado technique Sen had used in the arena. “For the first time in history, one school ended the first round with all three spheres in their possession. Bright Sail placed first and second!”

The crowd erupted in cheers. They must have really enjoyed it if they were still this excited about it looking back.

“The second round was just as explosive as the first! And you’ll never believe what went down!”

Normally, memories of the students would play now, overlapping with the announcer’s recounting of events. At least from what Sen had been told. But now, the announcer described some of the fights instead. He got so into it and was so excited that it somehow still worked. The audience went wild hearing about Milim riding a giant wolf. Alari had cleared an entire room of the dungeon with a single swipe of Flamesaber, apparently. The members of Green Book had taken down a large boar and carved it afterwards. They’d left it neat and ready to be collected after the dungeon was cleared. They were donating it to a local orphanage.

The audience loved that.

Of course, he skipped what had happened to Lakin and the other members of Fire Kite. But Sen could see it on the faces of their friends. Fire Kite was hurting. They’d been there. They knew what really happened, and even if the announcer didn’t say it, they were surely imagining the horrific scene over and over.

Sen felt a pang. He wished he’d been able to do more for them. If they’d cleared their portion of the dungeon faster than maybe…no. He couldn’t get caught up in that kind of thinking. He couldn’t change the past. Sen could only do more in the future.

“In the third round, things got interesting. The final boss of the dungeon was much stronger than usual. But these three academies together have taught some of the most well-renowned magical scholars and mages in the country. So, of course, this promising generation of students was able to overcome. Among them, two students rose above. Sen Locke landed the final blow on this powerful creature. He was assisted by none other than Green Book’s very own, Anonymous Student!”

The crowd went wild. Several women shouted at Ano. “We love you, Anonymous!” Ano lifted a hand and his pillow floated in front of his face to hide it. He seemed more annoyed than embarrassed by the attention.

Someone chanted Sen’s name, and it was a weird feeling to hear an entire audience pick up the chant. “Sen! Sen! Sen!”

[Look over there.]

He followed the direction of Tutor’s mental pull. Mori, Ilm, and Samara sat near the front row of a section to his right. He realized in an instant who had started the chant. Sen smiled and waved. Samara put two fingers in her mouth and whistled her support. Ilm jumped and waved both her arms. Mori was wiping tears from his eyes.

He’d missed them.

Beside him, Milim nudged him. “You deserve this,” she mouthed. Her face stiffened; she’d seen something on his other side.

Sen turned and locked eyes with Snake, who glared at him. But Snake looked away and at the announcer after a moment.

“Normally, the team leader gets recognized here. He won’t like that,” Susanna whispered to him.

Great, I was just thinking I needed to give Snake more reasons to hate me.

[We could attack him right now, in front of all these people. He’d hate that too.]

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Sen sighed.

The ceremony continued, and the announcer shared a carefully moderated version of the rest of the dungeon’s events. Dean Withershade and the Dean of Fire Kite both gave brief speeches about the value of magic in society and the importance of raising future mages, respectively. Green Book’s High Professor Laurette declined to speak, but the announcer passed on a message to the crowd from her stating she was very proud of each and every student that had taken part in this year’s Academy War. After that, it finally came time to announce the winner.

A group of people brought out what was obviously a large trophy with a covering on it. The announcer walked beside them. He gripped the blanket and looked around. “Now it’s finally time! The points have been tallied, and the merits of each school discussed. We’ll start with third place! The team with the fewest number of points still had some serious contributions to the success of the third round, but ultimately, the competition was steep this year. In third place, the wonderful, mysterious, magical members of…Green Book!”

The crowd cheered, and to Sen’s surprise, Ano gripped a fist. He seemed…happy to get third place. That was odd, but then again, it was Ano. The man was a little odd all around.

“Now, the other two schools, they were close. I mean, really close. The faculty of all three academies fought for hours on this, but ultimately, the debate came down to an undeniable truth that all three had to acknowledge as being the deciding factor. Influence. Which school’s members influenced the battles that took place within the dungeon the most? Once that question was posed, all faculty members of all schools settled on one academy. The winner of this year’s Academy War is…Bright Sail Academy!”

The audience erupted into a roar of cheers. Nearly every member rose to their feet and shouted, clapped, and screamed support. Sen grinned, exchanging a look with his teammates. As he turned to look at Milim, members of the other schools caught his eye. Alari offered him a congratulatory nod; it was simple, but a lot from her. Ano grinned brightly and shot him a thumbs-up. Sen returned Alari’s nod and smiled at Ano.

The covering over the trophy was removed, and Sen activated enhanced eyesight. There, he read the names etched on it. He was fourth on the list. Sen Locke, first-year of Bright Sail Academy. And though he’d accomplished so much in his life already, there was something uniquely satisfying about fighting alongside his fellow students, about competing against people his age and winning.