SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 7: Plainly Blunt

Chapter 7: Plainly Blunt

In a span of two hours, they arrived at the academy. It was situated deep within the high mountains of the Northern Spire, constructed on a secluded plateau far away from the city — a place where the only noise came from wild animals and the high-pitched chatter of the students echoing through the courtyards.

Glaring at the academy from above, Atlas felt an emotion he rarely experienced wash over him. For the first time in a long time, he stared at the massive construction in utter disbelief and astonishing awe.

It was not just because of its aesthetic beauty, or the fact that its spires scraped across the sky, but because it was extremely large — spanning across hectares of land. It was an almost irresistible sight, and Atlas felt incredibly small compared to the magnificence of the structure.

It was absolutely mesmerizing.

Emma, on the other hand, was fully engrossed in commenting on its magnificent beauty, her eyes wide with excitement.

The airboat touched down on a flat landing pad situated in a secure area behind the grand structure of the academy. The machinery slowly powered down, the momentum of its massive blades slowing by the minute.

Atlas felt... strange. Arriving in a place that had felt like a distant fairy tale only hours ago, now holding a ticket out of the slums in his own hands as an awakened Beastmaster, was overwhelming.

’I won’t mess this up,’ he swore in his mind, stepping down from the airboat. ’I will survive and graduate from this academy no matter what, even if I have to fight my way through.’

"Come on. I’ll get you registered at the registrar’s office, and then you can head to your classes immediately," the corporate lady explained as she descended, her shoes clicking on the surface of the pad as she adjusted her attire.

"You’re way behind schedule. A considerable amount of the semester has already gone by because the negotiations for your contract took too long, so you’re practically behind everyone in terms of knowledge."

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were all accounted for, she began marching forward with hasty steps. The four children followed closely, trying to match her brisk pace.

From the back, the academy wasn’t quite as glorious as it had appeared from the sky. It was still beautiful, but a bit bland compared to the front facade, which was filled with intricate designs and towering sculptures.

’Well, not so bad. Maybe it’s just because I have a rather dull taste in architecture,’ Atlas thought, nodding to himself as they headed inside.

Emma cast a sideways glance at him, confused by his sudden, solemn nodding.

Advancing from the rear of the building proved to be a bit of a labyrinth. The corporate lady was clearly struggling with navigation, mainly because the back corridors branched out to almost every corner of the vast campus.

Eventually, they arrived at the registrar’s office. It was a spacious room adorned with framed portraits of former registrars staring down from the walls.

The floor was entirely covered in a deep blue carpet bearing a yellow design of a roaring tiger. The walls were painted a warm yellow with subtle blue accents, and a large desk of highly polished, sturdy dark wood dominated the center of the room.

"Bad day, huh?" the registrar murmured to the corporate lady as the kids quietly settled into the available chairs.

Across the room, several other students sat waiting, clutching payment receipts and student forms.

They all focused their attention on the newcomers, staring at their awkward, out of place formal clothing, though none of them spoke.

"You have no idea," the corporate lady murmured back, letting out a frustrated sigh. "But all is good. At least it didn’t end in complete failure, otherwise I would have been seriously pissed."

’You know we can hear you, right?’ Atlas thought, shooting a brief glare at her back.

After a moment of idle chitchat about the awakening ceremony, the corporate lady finally cut to the chase.

"So, back to business. These kids are from the orphanage. They were the only ones who awakened, so we’re here to fulfill our end of the contract. We need to take them in, train them, and give them a shot at a future," she explained, handing over their files.

The registrar nodded, her sharp eyes scanning the documents before lingering on the four kids. The other waiting students began whispering softly among themselves.

"Did she say orphanage?" one whispered.

"No wonder they look so awkward..." another sneered softly.

"So please, evaluate them and register them into the system," the corporate lady concluded. "Then assign them each a class so they can start attending lectures right away. They don’t have any time to waste."

’She keeps saying that as if something major is about to happen soon,’ Atlas noted mentally.

The registrar finally laid her eyes on them, her gaze resting on each child for far longer than necessary.

"Alright, I’ll get it done right now. You can leave the rest to me. The Dean has been awaiting your return, so you should head to his office right away to debrief him."

The corporate lady nodded. "Thank you. Treat them well." She turned on her heel and walked out the door, leaving them behind without a second glance.

As the door clicked shut, the registrar turned her full attention to them, ignoring the other waiting students for the moment. "Come on, I need to register you all accordingly. Come stand in front of the desk."

She gestured for them to line up in order of their awakening results.

King stepped forward first on the right, followed by Emma, then Atlas, and finally Matt on the far left.

"Okay..." the registrar murmured, looking over the papers. "You’re King, she’s Emma, you’re Atlas, and you’re Matt. Am I right?"

They all nodded in unison.

"Good. Let’s speed this up. First, I’ll assign you to your academic classes so you don’t miss any more lectures, and I’ll finalize your official registration later in the week since it takes some time. Just make sure to come back before Friday," she informed them, her voice polite but businesslike.

She looked at the top paper. "Alright... according to the list, you’re the one with the highest rank." She pointed at Emma.

Emma shivered slightly, then nodded. "Yes, ma’am."

"Can you manifest your powers yet?" the registrar asked.

For kids who had just awakened and came from a lower-class background without prior tutoring, it was a difficult question.

"I don’t know... I haven’t tried yet," Emma admitted, her eyes darting nervously.

"That’s fine," the registrar replied smoothly.

"Usually, we test your capability and elemental output before assigning you, but since we’re rushing, I’ll place you based on your class and your initial awakening strength. Since you are an Elementalist Mage at the Awakened rank, you will be assigned to Class 5C in the Mage Department."

’Class 5C? That’s incredibly high for a beginner...’ Atlas thought, masking his surprise.

The registrar reached into a drawer and pulled out a sleek identification card.

"Here. This is an auxiliary student card. It will get you safely into the Mage department and grant you access to the facilities. Remember, if you don’t finalize your registration this week, you won’t officially be a student, so don’t forget to come back."

"Thank you, I won’t forget," Emma said, eagerly accepting the card as the tension finally left her shoulders.

"Moving on. King, a dormant rank with a Warrior class, and a Swordsman aspect. Hmmm." The registrar tapped her chin. "You’ll be placed in Class 5D. Since you awakened a direct close-combat class, you’ll dominate in physical trials. Here is your card for the Warrior Department."

King took the card, bowing his head slightly.

"For you, Matt, class 5E. You awakened a Healer class, a holy priest aspect, along with a dormant rank. Not terrible, but you have a long way to go to catch up. Here is your card for the Healer Department."

Finally, the registrar’s gaze landed on Atlas at the not so far end of the line.

"And Atlas. A Beastmaster with a Beast Summoner aspect, and a dormant rank." She paused, her expression turning slightly pitying.

"Which means, currently, you aren’t much different from an average human. Without a bonded beast to back you up, a dormant Beastmaster is virtually defenseless, like a walking civilian with a title. Frankly, if we had a class lower than E, I would have put you there. But since we don’t, you’ll be in Class 5E, Beastmaster Department."

She slid the card across the desk.

Atlas felt a sharp sting in his chest as he picked up the piece of plastic. She wasn’t entirely wrong, but hearing it laid out so bluntly still hurt. He clamped his jaw shut and nodded, refusing to let his frustration show.

"Alright, you can all find your respective departments using the map directories on the back of those cards," the registrar concluded, giving them a brief nod.

"Head to your classes. This term is going to be incredibly tough for you all."

With their cards in hand, the four of them turned and walked out of the office, ready to take their first steps into a completely unknown world.