His speech was beyond atypical.
It was entirely divergent.
He didn't bother with stuffy formality or any formal introduction beyond his name, and he immediately spoke ominously about the abyss of magic before stoking the flames of ambition in the students of the magicademy.
"…take my words to heart as you plunge into the depths of the abyss of magic to pursue your dreams, veritable children of magic."
His tone was climactic as he stepped back from the speaker's stand, and a thundering applause emerged from the students at his thrilling message to the students of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
Compared to a boring and formal speech that would leave people welcoming the students for over five minutes, this speech barely lasted one minute and hammered in a message that Cæ would perhaps never forget in his entire life.
"And now…" he continued. "I would like to invite upon the Honors' student of the Colohen Branch of the Elendir Institute of Magic for Honors' Student Address, Mr. Cæ."
A less enthusiastic applause erupted as one segment of the the student body of the apprentice program was clearly over-enthusiastic while the other half simply refused to clap. Cæ got up, cheered on by his three new friends, as he headed over with a composed gait and a stoic expression, making his way his way up the stairs and upon the podium.
Soon enough, he found himself to face with Archmage Castor Kingsworth.
He could feel in the depths of his bones that the archmage was tremendously powerful. This was a man whose very presence in the nation improved Elendir's deterrence to foreign nations.
"Congratulations on securing rank two on the magic aptitude test, Cæ," The archmage's tone was gentle. "You have great potential. I look forward to seeing how far you go."
"Thank you for your kind words, Archmage Kingsworth." Cæ bowed his head with respect. "I shall strive to live up to your expectations."
"I look forward to it." The man smiled before turning and departing from the stage.
Rui's gaze lingered on his only for a moment before turning towards the student body and taking his place at the speaker's stand.
"All of us…" He began. "All of us came to this magicademy with one and only one purpose."
His gaze sharpened.
"Mastering magic."
His words stirred many of those in the audience. It was an irrefutably true statement that not even the most arrogant of affluent students could refute.
"Magic is all that matters now that you have entered this magicademy," Cæ continued with a firm tone. "And yet, I see many wasting time and energy on nonsensical matters. They harbor contempt for people who managed to get into this esteemed institute without their advantages and privileges and look down on them because of their background."
Many of the affluent students in the student body furrowed their eyebrows with indignance.
The air tingled with tension as the professors grew a little concerned at the direction he was taking his speech.
"If you truly believe that you are superior…" he continued. "Then prove it with your magic. Prove it with your results. Prove it with your accomplishments. Prove it with your achievements."
His eyes remained as impassive as ever. "Anything else is simply the mark of a loser. Remember that the next time you approach me. After all…"
His tone sharpened. "You wouldn't want to announce to everybody that you're simply a loser who cannot win, right?"
Many of the wealthy students stiffened at his words.
Silian Sylvester gritted his teeth with anger while Delilah Ravolion glared at him with hatred.
"Well then…" his gaze swept across them. "I look forward to seeing whether anybody can defeat me by the end of the first semester. Of course…"
His eyes narrowed with determination.
"I don't intend to lose."
And with that, he simply stepped back.
For a moment, there was a stark silence amid the crowd of students and staff before a thundering applause ensued from half of the students in the crowd. The other half refused to clap at his speech, simply glaring at him with an indignant expression.
He couldn't be bothered.
They had always hated him from the moment he stepped foot on campus, with several of them even going as far as committing attempted murder against him just for existing.
If they were going to hate him, then he would rather channel that emotion into their academics rather than direct it towards him and make it his problem. That was essentially the sole purpose of his speech: to provoke them into not bothering him instead of studying and training hard.
He had stressed the loser part because he knew that the wealthy students cared a lot about social esteem and how they were perceived. Had he uttered these words in a conversation, it would have been dismissed, and they would easily be able to bat it away with some arrogant nonsense about them being elites.
But a speech to the apprentice student body allowed him to control perception far better than anything they could do on campus with their own capabilities.
It was the best way to use his speech, as far as he was concerned.
He impassively got down from atop the stage before returning back to his seat as though nothing had even happened, ignoring the pronounced gazes that converged upon him.
Not for long.
"Thank you, Mr. Cæ, for that… motivating speech," An elderly woman at the speaker's stand spoke with a more friendly tone than the previous two speakers.
She donned raiments and cloaks with glowing runes across the entirety of the fabric, indicating the magical nature of her clothes. Her purple hair draped only to her shoulders, neatly combed.
Headmistress Lenolia Von Kurtole is the actual head manager of the entire branch and the second highest authority. She was more involved with the academic affairs of the branch, working towards ensuring the most optimal outcome in so far as the quality of graduates.
While Archmage Castor was officially the highest authority of the magicademy, he did not intervene in the daily affairs of the magicademy.
He was far too important to be wasting his time overseeing fledglings take the first steps in their journey of magic.
"Here, at the Elendir Institute of Magic, we ostensibly aim and achieve excellence. With the highly qualified and experienced staff of professors and assistant professors, the finest of growth and training resources, and more importantly, the finest of students, we stand at the very pinnacle of…" she continued with a dignified yet powerful tone.
Her speech, compared to that of Cæ's and the archmage, was more grounded and formal. She covered a range of topics from the institute itself to what the future held for them, the values that the Elendir Institute of Magic held dear, and other generally positive, albeit generic, sentiments.
It cooled down the previously electric atmosphere within the magicademy to a more warm and welcoming atmosphere that one would expect from the opening ceremony of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
"…And so, I welcome you to the Elendir Institute of Magic and wish you all the best in your pursuit of the future!" she ended her speech on a powerful, uplifting note.
A thundering round of applause erupted from the student body at the conclusion of her speech as she departed from the stage. The staff and students began getting up, heading over to their scheduled classes.
No one wanted to be late on the very first day, after all.
And yet, it appeared that Cæ very well would be late.
"Headmistress Lenolia has summoned you to her office," A staff assistant informed him with a formal tone. "Please follow me immediately."
The staff employee's words drew a lot of attention as students, affluent and commoners alike, grew curious at those words.
Naturally, there were two different spins on it.
"Hah, he's going to be scolded by the Headmistress for his impudence!"
"Huh? Are you stupid, he's obviously going to be praised for his courage and ambition!"
Cæ simply stood there, taken aback, while the staff assistant urged him once more. "Please come immediately."
"Mr. Cæ…" Kelton, Natana, and Sorenon looked uncomfortable and anxious for him.
He heaved a sigh at their angst. "Don't worry, I will be back soon."
It was an odd feeling to placate the concerns of the kids, but he felt the need to do it anyway before adhering to the summon and following the assistant even as he felt the gazes of all the students converge upon him.
It wasn't too long before they finally ended up arriving at a large pair of ostentatious doors guarded by mages.
"Please." The assistant gestured to them.
Cæ heaved a sigh as he pushed them open.
CLACK
Immediately, he was exposed to a rather extravagantly spacious office with an extensive row of shelves with more books than he could hope to count. At the very other end of the office was a large table with several documents, books, and other items neatly organized across the entire table.
Headmistress Lenolia set down her pen and put away some files as she gazed at Cæ with a welcoming smile. "Please, come in and have a seat."
"…Thank you, Headmistress Lenolia."
It wasn't too long before he was perched upon the luxurious leather-bound chair while the doors to the office shut behind him. For a moment, there was a silence in the air that pricked at the skin as she seemed content, simply getting a better impression of him.
Cæ, on the other hand, simply loosened up a little.
Whatever she called him for couldn't possibly be of great significance.
Right?
"You are indeed as divergent from our median student as I had expected."
Her tone was more informal than he had expected.
"A student who has lived most of his life in the slums," she remarked. "That is a first for the Elendir Institute of Magic since its very inception. You have undoubtedly been subject to many hurdles, tribulations, and barriers to get to where you are today, sitting opposite me. It is a level of perseverance that is deeply valued in mages. Even as I sit opposite you…"
A knowing smile emerged on her face. "I can sense a ferociously intense determination."
Cæ simply stirred at her words with an impassive expression.
"You have my respect, Mr. Cæ," she straightforwardly informed him with a small smile. "And my hopes."
Cæ raised an eyebrow. "Hopes, you say, Headmistress?"
"Yes, my hopes," Headmistress Lenolia remarked with a pointed tone.
He tilted his head lightly. "…You mean for my future prospects as a mage, right?"
Her smile grew a little sly. "There certainly is that as well. However, that isn't what I was referring to in this case."
Cæ's eyes furrowed as he instinctively felt that she was about to touch up on a topic that he wanted nothing to do with. Unfortunately, he couldn't cut her and tell her that he wasn't interested in whatever she had to inform him about.
"For you are powerful political capital for us of the Equitist Faction."
Cæ's eyes sharpened at her words.
The Equitist Faction, as the name suggested, was a movement of reform that aimed for socioeconomic reform by lobbying for legislation that promoted some measure of equity within the nation.
A movement that, in particular, sought to uplift the poorest of the poor within the slums up from poverty to greater economic prosperity.
While its tenets and values were popular among commoners, support for this faction dwindled greatly the further up the economy and political class one looked, rendering it to a mere minority among power blocs, interest groups, and the donor class of the nation.
Cæ only knew of it for one reason.
'It was a movement that Lilia used to be a part of.'
His memory of her put him in a pensive mood as he heaved a sigh, shifting his attention back to the Headmistress with a much fiercer gaze.
"…Just what do you want from me, Headmistress Lenolia?"