Chapter 39: Unexpected Call Up
( The next day )
The next morning, both Rocky and Erin woke up with red eyes.
One look at each other's face and they understood that they had both suffered the same horrible fate of listening to Buhara's snoring all night long.
" Buha…Buha….buharararararara"
That orc literally snored his own name at night, making it extremely difficult for Rocky and Erin to sleep who were not accustomed to such sounds.
Not wishing to be a nuisance, they tolerated it all night long, however, the effects of sleep deprivation were visible on their faces the next morning.
"I wish I still had a refreshment potion. That would've helped" Rocky said, looking into Erin's eyes, as the latter reached into his belongings and brought out a vial of cheap grade refreshment potion.
" Here, I've bought this to prepare for examination nights, but I guess we can share one on this beautiful morning" Erin said as Rocky opened the vial and drank half, before passing it to Erin who drank the other half.
Although not as potent as the potion the system gave Rocky, it still helped him get over the fatigue and drowsiness, as he felt ready to tackle the day ahead.
***********
( The grand orientation hall, UFNOYT )
Early in the morning, all the newly enrolled students gathered in the grand orientation hall, for the mandatory student orientation.
It was only today and the last day of University, which was graduation that all students mandatorily gathered under one hall, as one could witness the full strength of the batch.
Rocky sat alongside Buhara and Erin, with Rocky sitting furthest to the right, then Buhara sitting on three chairs at once, with Erin sitting to the furthest left, as for two rows behind Buhara, no other student dared to sit, leaving the space empty as to not block their own vision.
Overall, the entire hall was jam-packed and there was an atmosphere of visible excitement and ambition.
Towards the very end, near the stage, some teachers stood in front of the first row, who would be the instructors teaching the students the various subjects and on the stage stood the principal of the university, the infamous ghost whisperer, Liam Hartley.
Currently he stood on the stage wearing his monocle in peace, however, he was only waiting for everyone to settle down before starting his speech.
About 90% of the students had arrived before time and already settled down, however there were a few who were still entering, while a few were clamoring around Sophia, who just like yesterday was the center of attention.
She was sitting a few rows below Rocky, and Rocky had his eyes trained directly at her.
He observed her every move, every action, however, as of now, she only appeared to be a very amiable and gentle lady.
"Alright, it's 9 am, Close the doors" said the principal as his voice boomed throughout the hall and all the entry doors to the grand hall, closed automatically.
He paused for a moment, as everyone took their seats, and although there were over 5000 students in the hall, within seconds there was pin-drop silence as the principal's reputation preceded him.
" I am Liam Hartley, the founder and principal of this prestigious academy that has produced some of the finest climbers that the tower has ever seen.
I founded this university because my younger brother was chosen as a climber, but because of inadequate training before challenging the floors, he lost his life.
I won't go into the details, I'm sure it's a story you all must have heard, but that day, I vowed to create a proper institute to train as many as climbers as I could, as nicely as I could, so that what happened to my brother would not happen to anyone else" The principal said in stone cold voice, as even on a sensitive topic like losing his brother, his voice did not show any emotional fluctuations.
"In this university, there is only one thing that I do not tolerate and that is lack of effort.
Every week, I personally read the progress report of all you 5000+ newly enrolled students and those amongst you who do not work as hard as I expect you to, face the wrath of my ghosts in your nightmares" Liam said, as he candidly admitted to torture like practises.
" My motto is simple. I will beat you into the best version of yourself, even if you don't wish to become one yourself" He said, as Rocky had goosebumps run all over his spine when he heard the conviction with which the principal spoke such tricky words.
" The teachers here are top class, the best instructors, paid the highest salaries all across the tower, and they are all here for one reason and one reason only, which is to shape you all into the best version of yourself.
Regardless of what path you choose for yourself. The end goal is excellence.
Which is why we only admit excellent students and only graduate excellent students as well" He said with pride as a soft smile broke out on his face.
" Now. Before I carry on, I must say that amongst us today, are two distinct individuals who might think themselves to be a little more 'special' compared to the rest of us…..
These two individuals have made history by being the first two individuals to ever join the university on full scholarship, so let us welcome to the stage amongst thunderous applause.
The champion of Poseidon Sophia
And
The champion of Gemini Rocky" Liam said, as the entire university broke into thunderous applause.
Rocky, who had no idea why he was exposed like this, stayed rooted to his seat in complete silence, while Sophia stood up with an evident frown on her face.
Apparently, she did not expect this turn of events either.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///
Chapter 40: The mad principal
Sophia did not like being called out like this by the principal, this was totally out of her expectations.
Initially she wanted to pretend not knowing who the Champion of Gemini was as unlike her Rocky had not come forward, however, now because of the principal she could no longer use that excuse.
' The champion of Gemini? Since when did Gemini choose champions?'
' I've never heard of a Champion of Gemini, this has to be the first one ever!'
' The Gemini brothers are the strongest! I can't believe we are in the same batch as their Champion!'
' Two champions in one batch? Isn't this too much?'
' But who is the Champion of Gemini? What race does he belong to? Who is Rocky?'
' Don't the Gemini brothers have a feud with the Olympians? This should be fun'
Chatter broke out amongst the crowd, as the shocking revelation of the Champion of Gemini also being in their midst made the conversations amongst students turn spicy.
Buhara and Erin stared at Rocky with eyes wide open, as while the crowd did not know anyone named Rocky, they did, however, never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that their roommate would turn out to be the champion of one of the strongest tower gods.
'Take a deep breath Rocky, calm down' Rocky said to himself as he calmly stood up and started walking towards the stage with the indifference of a superior being.
Not once did he pause to take a look at the crowd around him.
Not once did he pay attention to the chatter of those he passed by.
With an indifferent gaze that seemed befitting of a champion, he strode towards the stage with confidence.
Internally, Rocky was a mess.
Having experienced the fanaticism of Earthlings already, Rocky wanted to stay anonymous in the university for as long as possible.
He knew it was impossible to stay anonymous forever, however, he did not think he would be exposed like this before the semester ever began.
Nonetheless, he did not let his doubts reflect on his face as he climbed the stage and stood before the principal, who gazed straight into Rocky's eyes with indifference.
"Come stand here" he said as he gestured for Rocky and Sophia to stand in front of him, facing the crowd.
As the two stepped before the principal as instructed, they formally made eye- contact for the first time ever, as both stared into each other's eyes with gazes full of pride.
*CHEEERS*
The crowd went nuts, when Rocky stared into Sophia's eyes, as some began chanting the name 'Poseidon' while the others chanted 'Gemini'.
Unlike the first time when Rocky looked into Sophia's eyes, this time he did not find them to be beautiful as he looked into them with nothing but animosity and indifference.
If she was a collaborator in kidnapping his sister, Rocky would personally make her pay, if she was not, Rocky would still never prefer to be on friendly terms with her.
Sophia too, did not show any signs of kindness towards Rocky, as she knew that being fake here would ruin her future chances of entrapping Rocky, as she too gazed back into his eyes with the same intensity without backing down.
*Whistles*
Apart from the religious supporters, some began to whistle and ship the two as a couple as the orientation took a completely different turn that nobody had expected.
"Exciting isn't it?" Principal Liam said with an amiable smile as he stepped between the two champions and put his arms behind both their backs.
" To be around champions of gods! To be around warrior's that may define our era?
I'm sure many of you might be thinking...
Let's make friends with Rocky or Sophia, become part of their inner circle and glory would surely follow us for the rest of our lives!
I don't blame you, I can see these thoughts plastered on many of your faces and I understand it's natural.
Afterall…. Who doesn't like fame
Who doesn't like supporting envoys of gods? " Liam said as he once again held the attention of the crowd on the palm of his fingers.
" I'm sure Professor Derek here must be ecstatic about these two entrants, seeing how he personally sponsored their tuition. Providing them with full scholarships!
I don't blame him for it either, afterall he's the teacher of religious history in this institute, an important core subject for all to study.
Champions are a great part of his fascination.
However, let me tell you one thing about gods….." Principal Liam said, as his expression changed from that of an amiable smiling principal to one of a madman as he took his hand and chopped both Sophia and Rocky on the neck to knock them unconscious.
" I don't give a fuck about the gods!"
*THUD*
*THUD*
Both Rocky and Sophia fell face first onto the stage unconscious, as chaos gripped the entire hall.
' What the fuck? Did he just attack a student?'
' How dare he lay a hand on Miss Sophia, this is not fair!'
' I will write about this on the tower media! This is simply unacceptable!'
The crowd went bonkers, as some laughed while others could not believe what they just witnessed.
Such brazzen disrespect of the deities?
Only a madman could do this.
"SILENCEEEE!" Liam shouted, as the light in the room dimmed by several units and the entire hall turned near pitch dark.
Ghosts began popping out as the temperature of the hall dropped drastically, to below the freezing point of water.
" Like you just saw, I don't care about your origins, your affiliations nor your religion.
Within this university, everyone is just a student for me and that is exactly how all of you shall behave.
The champions need to be treated the same way as all of you talented children and I forbid associating with them for personal gains.
Become overly friendly with them and my ghosts will torment you in your dreams.
The gods maybe all mighty in the tower, but within these campus grounds the only god you must fear is me.
DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND?" Liam asked, as he left the entire hall of freshmen trembling in fear.
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