565 Chapter 565: Opening Address

He then turned to the bald man who was climbing the podium. I watched from a distance, intrigued. To the far end, I could see Director Henry Porter in the VIP box along with the people from the board, and his granddaughter, Lilith. I was sure Lilith would participate in the match later – she was too high profile and too powerful to not take part.

"If you would please, Dean Xiao."

The professor politely offered his microphone to Dean Xiao, but the bald man raised a hand and shook his head.

"I won't be needing that."

Instead, he proceeded to the top of the podium and cleared his throat. Then he spoke up, his voice resounding across the entire stadium, despite not having any mechanical aid. Even though he wasn't using a spell or any device, every student in the stadium could hear him clearly, even the summoning students in the backroom.

Amazing.

"Before I deliver the opening address, there is something I would like to say," Dean Xiao began, his voice stern. He cast his gaze across the entire stadium, where all the students had fallen into respectful silence. "If all you care about is gaining recognition and status…if the whole reason why you chose to become a mage is for fame and fortune, then I will be frank and inform you that you've come to the wrong place."

"The mages who graduate from Vermillion University all have a responsibility. I'm sure you heard this from a comic somewhere, but great power comes with great responsibility. Magic has the potential to reshape the world, and as its bearers, all of you have some responsibility in ensuring that it is not misused."

Dean Xiao's voice was clear and strong.

Yup, I completely agreed with him. I could see some discomfort in the spectators, especially with the long-range sensors installed in my lenses allowing me to zoom in and focus on their faces from a distance. Looked like Dean Xiao's words struck a nerve.

And he was far from done.

"If you only covet wealth and status, then we can just give you the graduation certificate and you can leave. There is no point in teaching you. You are free to live whatever luxurious lives you desire with the certificate."

I could see Henry Porter smiling in amusement at that, and he nodded in approval. Lilith, on the other hand, remained stoic. She probably bought into these values because of her grandfather. As for my fellow summoning students, they seemed to be watching everything in awe.

"Our Vermillion University does not lack wealth or prestige. What we truly want are for students with sincere intentions…those who seek to better mankind and protect the vulnerable. Heroes who will ensure that humanity will endure for eternity!"

Henry Porter clapped, and the staff followed. Several students hesitated, but as more and more students applauded, they joined in, and soon the entire stadium rang with applause and cheers. Dean Xiao smiled and waited for the cheers to die down before he raised a hand.

"Today is the day for all of you to show off your abilities!" he declared. Then he turned around and gestured toward the backroom. "Allow us to welcome our seven stars!"

At his words, the seven of us exited the backroom and walked toward the stage. I wasn't comfortable with being in the limelight so I hung at the back, but I could see Hai Da Pang waving arrogantly at the audience, while a few others behaved confidently. Zheng Ying Shou was the only one who strode forward in a disciplined manner, not at all affected by his comrades or the attention lavished upon us by the other students.

"And anyone who defeats them will be rewarded greatly!"

At that, all the students roared enthusiastically, many rising from their seats to issue their challenge. I cringed, wondering where their confidence and excitement came from. Then again, they were all coming at us in groups, so maybe they did have a good reason to believe they had a good chance of defeating summoners who could summon beforehand.

This was Vermillion University, after all. I glanced up at Lilith Porter, noting her presence. She was a powerful mage, and if the majority of the students were close to her caliber, then this was going to be a tough battle. We couldn't afford to underestimate the other students.

"Heh…" Lilith was watching me from above, unaware that I could hear her from down here. She turned to Henry Porter. "I see that you've succeeded in recruiting Richard, Grandpa."

"He's such a promising student. Of course I would go all out to recruit him." Henry Porter chuckled. Lilith frowned, but she smiled and shrugged.

"He'll bring prestige to Vermillion University. I'm sure of it."

"Oho…you think so too?"

"Based on what I've seen…yes."

"I agree." Henry Porter was nodding. Then he grinned and nudged her. "If you have a chance, you should get close to him."

Lilith scowled at that. "No. He's not my type, unfortunately."

"Ho…?" Her grandfather raised an eyebrow curiously. "Then what is your type?"

"Hot-blooded males with muscles," Lilith replied with a mischievous smile. She jerked her head in my direction. "Richard is too diminutive and soft for my tastes."

"Oh…so you like muscleheads. That's…a surprise."

"What's wrong with that?!"

"No, nothing wrong at all. Nothing wrong at all." Henry Porter was smiling brightly. He then turned away, and his scholarly features twisted into a concerned expression. His voice dropping into a whisper filled with despair, he had to suppress the urge to hold his head with both hands. "So my beloved granddaughter is more interested in muscular jocks than intellectual scholars…how did Glen raise her?!"

Speaking of Uncle Glen, he was missing. Then again, he didn't work for the university. He was a mercenary just like my father. The Divine Tiger, or…? Sorry, seemed like nobody caught the Divine Wolf reference.

Anyway, I wasn't really interested in watching the grandfather-granddaughter comedy between the two, so I focused on the current events. While I lingered at the back, I heard another person mention my name.

"Theodore?"

Theodore Hammond waved from above, having caught my eye. He was currently sitting with another girl, who I presumed was his girlfriend.

"You know him?" his girlfriend asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. A junior from my high school. We both attended Jing Tian Academy together. You don't recognize him? He was in the same team as me when we took part as representatives in the national tournament last year."

"Oh…now that you've mentioned it…but summoning isn't his main element, is it? Don't tell me, he's already a mid-tier mage?"

"…huh?" Theodore gaped at her. "How did you even arrive at that conclusion? Of course summoning magic is Richard's main element. Why did you think it wasn't?"

"Huh? Isn't it fire and lighting?"

"…are you mixing him up with Bu Fan?"

"…oh, sorry. You're right. He's not a versatile mage."

What was with this and all the weird references to Versatile Mage? First it was Battle Frenzy and now it was Versatile Mage? Oh, and I still hadn't counted Assassin's Pride or Vampire Sphere yet…

A professor in a white laboratory coat stepped out in front of us summoning students, a cigarette in his mouth. Looking more exasperated than interested, he heaved a sigh as he looked at us.

"So who's going to go first?" he asked gruffly.

"Me!" Hai Da Pang jabbed a thumb at himself enthusiastically. None of all the other classmates objected, so he strode arrogantly to the beast cage that now surrounded the arena in the stadium. He then raised a fist and shook it at the other students. "Seems like you want to make use of our summoned beasts to enhance your reputations and ranks, huh? Maybe get a reward? Hah! Too bad! I'm going to wreck you all before any of that happens! Don't even dream of obtaining the reward!"

Did he just forget the speech that Dean Xiao had just delivered?

Shaking my head, I hung back and took a seat while watching Hai Da Pang stand in the middle of the beast cage, awaiting his opponents. There were a couple of guys arguing with each other at the entrance of the cage, which was causing the delay.

"I was here first!"

"Who says?! You were behind me!"

…what were they? Children?

"Look, I was here first. If you don't believe me, we'll get a teacher to resolve this."

"Fine…"

"Ugh!" Hai Da Pang interrupted the both of them impatiently. Scratching his head, he looked at his would-be opponents with a bored expression. "Just come at me together! Don't waste my time! It makes no difference if there are two of you or ten of you! I can take you all on by myself!"

"Oi, watch your words!" the guy who claimed to be there first jabbed his finger angrily. "I'll destroy your Soul Beast in an instant!"

…was this guy for real?

"If your soul beast is so much as able to touch me, the Lord of Wind Magic, then I will kowtow to you and acknowledge you as my older brother!"

"Eh…no thanks." Hai Da Pang shook his head and shrugged. "I don't want trash like you for a younger brother."

"A mere summoner, yet he's so arrogant!" the second guy growled.

"Yeah!" a third guy chimed in. "We don't even know what kind of soul beast he can summon!"

All of them gathered, united in their fury. The de facto leader stepped forward, a smirk on his face.

"Since you asked us to attack you together, then you had better not regret it! We will accept your request! Everyone, let's teach this fucker a lesson!"

"Yeah!"

The group of mages stomped forward. Hai Da Pang chuckled arrogantly, his chubby face set in a sneer. Even though he was my classmate, I was actually hoping that he would lose and get his pudgy face beaten in. What a prick.

"Then I'll let you guys see what kind of soul beast I have," he declared and raised his hand to complete his casting. A huge magic circle materialized behind him, white and violet in color.

A gigantic gate appeared in the air and cracked. For some reason, I was reminded of an Emergence event, where the layer between dimensions cracked and became unreal. Lights poured out of the cracks, blinding everyone.

"What is it?"

"I can't see anything…"

"Sh! It's coming out now, right?"

With a clicking sound, the Crystal Armor Scorpion materialized, over five meters in height and nine meters in length. Its pincers clacked incessantly and its deadly sting curled over its head, dripping with acidic venom.

"A…a Crystal Armor Scorpion?!" the first guy yelled in fear. Hai Da Pang merely chuckled.

"Did you guys really come unprepared? You didn't even bother to find out what we can summon, yet you think you can stroll in and challenge us…"

He then grinned evilly.

"You can still surrender now, you know?"

The group of students who challenged him didn't waver and glared at him instead, defiant to the last. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you don't want to, then don't blame me when you lose a limb or two!"