SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 4: Arrival

Chapter 4: Arrival

They arrived at the academy quite a bit earlier than they were meant to, mainly because they had prepared way ahead of time and had nothing left to do at the orphanage, so they had decided to just start heading over.

There was nothing really bad about coming early, now was there?

They arrived in a twenty four seater shuttle bus. The expenses, he imagined, must have been steep. It wasn’t easy paying for a bus that huge to transport all of them all the way to the academy; that required a massive amount of money, like one silver piece if they were being honest.

"Okay kids, please get in line," the head of the orphanage announced, counting each child as they stepped down from the bus.

The scenery along the way hadn’t been much of an interesting view for Atlas, so for most of the travel, he had been outright bored.

He just wanted to get everything over with and head back to the orphanage; at least that way, something remained real and consistent in this timeline.

"How long till we go home..." he murmured to himself, his expression bored and indifferent, as though none of what was happening today concerned him.

One of the caretakers turned over to him, catching his bored look before turning away. "You should do well today, Atlas. You’re growing quite old, and the orphanage won’t be around forever," she murmured within his hearing.

’You know I can hear you, right?’ He spared her a short glance before looking away.

’Huff, but the lady is right. I do not have my whole life to remain at the orphanage. Sooner or later, I’ll outgrow it and have to move out, or inevitably the orphanage will shut down and then I’ll have to survive on my own. In any case, I should take this more seriously. This may be my only shot at getting out of the orphanage while still having a good chance at life.’

His expression brightened slightly after the thought, a newfound emotion lighting up in his soul.

"Twenty-three, and twenty-four. That’s all of you. Great, we didn’t forget anyone." The director sighed inwardly, straightening her posture.

"Alright, kids. We’re at the academy, and at the very least, you must put on your best behavior. On no account should you misbehave with anyone. Whether they mock you or not, just ignore them and go about your way, or even come to me if you feel too bad and can’t control your emotions."

Atlas stared at her as she said those words. She clearly knew they would be mocked for coming from an orphanage.

The world was a cruel place indeed; no one knew what might happen once they went in there, so it was best to inform them ahead of time.

’I suppose she’s right, but I hope it’s not me who gets involved, because I will be sure to retaliate...’

Just a few minutes after their arrival, a woman dressed in corporate attire approached them, her gaze lingering on the kids before turning to the head of the orphanage.

"You’re all from the orphanage?" she asked, her face devoid of emotion. Her posture was strict and impossible to read as she stood perfectly straight.

"Yes, we’re here for the awakening ceremony. We were told to come here as early as possible," the director responded with a calm posture, a smooth smile, and a soft expression on her face.

The corporate woman nodded once, staring at all twenty-four of them before turning around. "Follow me. I’ll lead you to the place."

Everyone turned to each other before they followed. Atlas remained standing on the spot for a moment, different scenarios forming in his head.

’This is going to be a problem,’ he came to a conclusion.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the hand and dragged him forward. "Come on, don’t just stand there or they’ll forget you," Emma said, dragging him ahead to catch up with the group.

They followed the strict corporate woman for a short mile before arriving at a grand, spiraling gate that featured two symbols on its iron rail pipes: one was of a lion, and the other was of a bear.

The lion was depicted standing on its two hind feet, its paw raised in the air as if it were attacking something. Its mouth was wide open, exposing sharp fangs to the light, and its tail curled upward, making it look extremely vicious.

The bear, however, was calmer and more relaxed. It was on all fours, walking as though it wasn’t being attacked by the lion or scared of it at all. Its long nose protruded, and strangely, resting on it was a human hand.

Most likely, these symbols represented something historical, but Atlas didn’t care at the moment. He just wanted to finish quickly and head back to the orphanage for a nice nap.

The gate swung open with a heavy push. At first it seemed automatic, but as the gates opened wider, a groggy-looking old man came into view on the other side, his body looking worn out and his clothes casual.

"Good day, miss. Nice to see you," he greeted, bowing slightly to the corporate woman.

She simply walked right past him, her head faced forward without turning for a glance. She nodded and continued onward without another thought, and everyone else followed behind her.

As Atlas passed the old man, he offered a small greeting of his own. "Good day, sir."

To anyone else, including Emma who stood right beside him, it might have sounded stupid. But Atlas knew exactly how hard it was to work because he had done it before he died, and he knew a little bit of respect could go a long way.

The old man responded with an enthusiastic smile. "Thank you. Do well in there, lad. May the blessings of the gods be with you."

Atlas nodded and kept moving, while Emma stared at him in shock. She hadn’t known about this side of him until now.

In fact, most of the time Atlas just spent his days playing the mysterious loner at the orphanage, to the point that hardly anyone knew anything about him. He was that one dude who didn’t fit into the group and didn’t even try, only rarely showing his face.

Behind the gates stood a massive fortress, a vast expanse of land covered in green grass and concrete walkways.

In the middle was a large water fountain, designed in the likeness of a stone statue of a man. The air in the academy smelled moisturized and oddly sweet, with the flowers planted along the corners of the walkway serving as a perfect addition to the beauty of the grounds.

On the far end of the walkway stood a tall building draped in sunlight. The building was clearly constructed from white cement blocks and was painted half blue and half white, featuring a prominent dragon symbol at the top center. It strongly resembled a mini castle from medieval times.

Atlas had at least expected to see students, or at least people walking around, but there were none. The whole place was empty, save for the occasional sight of gardeners and guards quietly going about their work.

’Where are all the students?’

Soon they arrived at the building, marking the end of their short trek. The lady pushed the heavy door open and welcomed them inside, waiting by the doorway and counting them once more as they stepped past her.

After everyone had successfully gone in, she shut the door firmly behind her and stepped forward.

"This will be the center for your awakening ceremony. This place was specifically prepared for you people, so there will be no other individuals using this hall until you are all done. All you have to do is get settled in and wait until your name gets called up to the stage for your turn," she explained, pointing to the designated areas as she spoke.

Atlas watched her quietly, his mind racing. ’We’re the only ones here? What happened to the others? The nobles? The commoners who wanted a chance at the academy?’

"So please, find a chair, sit, and wait for us to gather the names of those who will be partaking in the ceremony today," she concluded, gesturing for the head of the orphanage to follow her to another part of the building for a private conversation.

’This doesn’t make any sense.’ Atlas stood still, his hands placed perfectly in his pockets.

He turned to face the vast interior of the building. It looked exactly like a cinema setup; the slope curved downward toward a central podium, and the chairs were arranged in a sweeping circular format, all rotating around the central point.

Ignoring the whispering of the others, Atlas found a seat for himself, and Emma quickly joined him as he sat down.

Now all they had to do was wait until the staff gathered everything they needed to begin the ceremony. But why wasn’t anyone else here — not even the academy’s principal?

’I guess this is kind of good, though. No one gets to mock us now anyways,’ he thought, nodding to himself as he relaxed back against the chair.

A full hour passed, and the staff had finally concluded their preparations, setting up the necessary items for the awakening ceremony.

The main lights were switched on, and at the center podium, a glowing disc began to hum, changing colors over specific time periods.

The head of the orphanage and the corporate lady stepped back onto the stage, seemingly concluding their long discussion as the corporate lady stepped directly up to the podium.

She cleared her throat and tapped on the microphone twice to make sure it was working properly before she started speaking.

"Sorry for the delay. The awakening ceremony may now begin."