Chapter 45: Wode Tournament
What followed was a long speech from the headmaster on the platform.
It included both praise and criticism—his tone toward the new students was a mix of encouragement and stern warning.
Then he began introducing the three teachers on the stage. These three were specially assigned to this year’s batch of new students and were all formidable figures.
At Wode Academy, new students were assigned to classes. The class assignment wasn’t based on ranking but rather done randomly according to the entrance exam participants. This upheld Wode Academy’s principle of equality for all.
“Ha~”
Listening to the speech above, Erika felt particularly bored. She covered her mouth with one hand and yawned, revealing two little tiger teeth.
“Erika finds it boring too?”
At that moment, Isana looked at her with a cheerful expression, “Same here. The old grandpa headmaster is exactly like my dad described—such a chatterbox. Once he starts lecturing, he won’t stop.”
“Isn’t that old guy supposed to be really famous? Is this your first time seeing him, Isana?”
“Uh-huh.”
Nodding, Isana continued, “Sword Saint Caesar is indeed famous, but my family doesn’t actually live in the Imperial Capital. We lived in the southern county on its outskirts.
So I’ve never seen the old grandpa before. This is my first time in the capital too.”
“You moved here?”
“Yup.”
Isana thought for a moment and added, “My dad suddenly said he needed to investigate something, so we moved to the capital. To make it official, he had me and my sister transfer here too—forcing me to enroll at Wode Academy.
But I know that’s just an excuse. He doesn’t really care about me.”
“But you seem to know a lot...”
“Of course! I did my homework beforehand. I learned all the rules here.”
Isana proudly nodded her little head, then asked Erika, “This is your first time in the capital too, right? Why did you come?”
“F-For fun, I guess...”
She said it casually. Even though Isana knew she was a dragon, Erika didn’t want to mention anything about the Dragon Core Crystal.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“What?”
“You!”
Isana poked Erika’s forehead in mock annoyance. “You can’t even look me in the eye when you lie. If that’s not lying, what is it?”
“I...”
Erika was stunned. Was she really that easy to read?
Besides, wasn’t coming here to fuse the Dragon Core Crystal technically “for fun”?
Before she could respond, Isana sighed, “Whatever, I don’t care why you came to the capital.
But I’m glad you did. You’re my important subject. Meeting you here is just wonderful.”
“I told you, the oil painting model thing... put that off.”
Suddenly, Isana clung to Erika’s arm again. “I don’t care. As long as you’re in Wode Academy, you’ll never escape my grasp. Your body is mine. Hehe.”
Seeing Isana flash that eager smile again, Erika shivered.
She... was serious!
This girl—clinging to her arm like a couple in public and saying “your body is mine”?
Wasn’t she embarrassed at all?!
She’s a girl too! Didn’t she feel any shame?!
“When I’m speaking, I hope you little ones stay quiet.
I’m speaking out of respect for you, and I hope you can respect me as well. Staying quiet is a basic courtesy.”
The headmaster’s gaze swept toward Erika and Isana. He had clearly noticed their little interaction.
The two wisely fell silent and stood obediently.
“That’s all I have to say about the new student rules. Now, I’ll announce one more thing.”
The headmaster’s voice grew loud again. “This is about the annual Wode Tournament.
I’m sure you’ve heard of it—it’s a major tournament held every year in the Imperial Capital, meant to showcase the vitality of youth.
This time, it just so happens the tournament is scheduled three months from now, on Harvest Day. You new students might not have high hopes, but anyone who wants to sign up is welcome to do so.
The rules remain the same as in previous years. The rewards, however, have increased. Besides a generous Gold Coin prize, the winner will also receive an opportunity to offer a blessing at the Sacred Mountain!
This is a rare chance. I look forward to seeing some of you new students rise to the top!”
“Waaah—!”
The announcement stirred up another uproar.
“Did you hear that? A blessing at the Sacred Mountain! That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“Yeah! Rumor has it that it's the closest place to the Gods. Just seeing it with my own eyes would make my life complete.”
“I’m signing up!”
“Tch, dream on. You really think you stand a chance?
Sure, the Wode Tournament is open to all students, but we freshmen don’t stand a chance. Those high-ranked upperclassmen won’t give us any opportunity.”
Watching the excited students around her, Erika was once again bewildered.
Sacred Mountain?
What kind of place is that? Does it have Artifacts?
“The Sacred Mountain is where people go to pray to the Gods. It’s said to be very spiritual and generally closed to the public.”
Seeing Erika’s blank face, Isana helpfully explained.
Erika blinked.
Heh—praying to the Gods?
She didn’t believe in deities or religious stuff. She wasn’t going to get involved in that nonsense. What a waste of time.
Besides, technically speaking, she was a follower of a god herself!
Even if it was some self-proclaimed evil god...
Forget it. She decided not to think about it. No way was she going to bother with praying.
And Meladin had told her before—if she got near an Artifact, he would alert her. So there was no need to actively search for miracles and waste brainpower.
Beside her, Isana also didn’t seem too interested in the Wode Tournament. Her gaze once again drifted to Erika with a look of longing on her face.
When Erika noticed, she shivered again.
Just how obsessed was this girl with her body? Total pervert!
Please let this new student ceremony end soon… Being around Isana always felt like one wrong move and she’d get violated!
The headmaster finished up with a few brief closing remarks, and the ceremony finally concluded.
That old man really was a chatterbox. It was already noon—he had talked the entire morning.
Yes, he literally just talked nonstop for a whole morning!
Many new students had numb legs by then—including Erika.
It was as painful as military training back in school!
Noon was break time. Wode Academy had a cafeteria.
Now came the moment Erika had been looking forward to—she quickly begged Isana to take her to the cafeteria. Her little tummy had been empty for too long.