The 7 days were up, the time allotted to each section to distribute the roles of the fortress commander and the three division leaders, as well as to assign every member to each of the three sections.

Unsurprisingly, it was the start of the 7th month at the academy on this very day; technically, this competition should have started on the very first day of the 6th month. However, it was a month late due to the principal's absence. While his avatar was indeed here, the principal commanded the vice principal, Selwyn Brown, to delay the actual competition for his arrival.

He wanted to see the whole thing with his own eyes in real time; it was understandable in a way, after all, the valkyrie was here as one of the students at the academy this time. This is something that occurs approximately every 1,000 years. The records about it were each different; even the royal family doesn't know the actual timeline, perhaps only the Suncrest king does, since he is the only person who knows the summoning ritual and performs the summoning. Nothing more is known.

There were 3 flying platforms set up high in the sky surrounding the ground of the fortress game, since at a time, 2 sections will be fighting against each other, and the remaining 2 sections each will have one platform to watch the competition from. On the remaining platform, all the professors, high-ranking personnel of the academy, the vice principal, and the principal will be watching from it.

They will also be evaluating every student individually and both sections as a team. But first, it needed to be decided which section would face which section in the first round.

All four sections of the students, meaning a total of 1200, were present in the large field, while it is to be noted that some students do die in the beast forest or get too critically injured, so that they cannot continue to walk on the Seeker's Path because of being crippled, or get expelled.

So, some seats become vacant. To fill those seats, the academy essentially attracts students who were unable to gain admission because their rankings were just a bit above 300, meaning they missed the chance to attend the academy by a hair's breadth.

They also need to be coming from common backgrounds, so that even if they are brought to the academy, barely anyone would care or notice them. Those individuals are silently brought in to fill 1200 quotas, until the first evaluation of the academy. No more students would be brought in after that.

So, a few faces did pop up in each of the sections over the months. All the professors and other notable individuals of the academy were already on the designated platform for them. The principal had also appeared in his main body just a while ago and took his main seat. Everyone welcomed him back from his mission with open arms.

Axel could, for a moment, feel the heavy gaze of the principal look towards him, but then it vanished in the next moment. Initially, the principal was supposed to return much later, possibly 3-4 months later, so he was surprised to see him back now. As for how he knew that Alric was back? Since the vice-principal himself subtly hinted that the principal would be present at the competition, everyone is expected to do their best.

Forger Gareth descended calmly from the flying platform. He was grinning at the students, Axel smiled unknowingly, it was nice to see the familiar face who was also the examiner back in the masked competition. It seems he is also the main evaluator for this competition, likely.

Gareth clapped with his hand, and every single student stopped chattering and turned their attention towards him. His voice boomed thunderously to every single student.

"Congratulations to all of you for coming this far, just 7 months ago, what were you? Nothing but a normal human, maybe a human with some special qualities, but with tremendous passion and desire, the desire to become something more, something more powerful. A human who can stand for themselves when needed."

He paused for a moment to let his words sink in,

"You are all future leaders of the human society gathered here, the future warriors, the protectors of humanity, the sword and spear that would protect the weak. Don't forget that. And for that very reason, this competition, the fortress game, is so important."

He paused again, as if deliberating, considering whether to reveal the truth or not. Eventually, he stated, but with a tone that almost sounded helpless,

"Do you know the real reason why the evaluation is actually conducted like this? Why the fortress?"

It almost seemed like a question instead of a statement; the students all furrowed their eyebrows and looked at each other in confusion as the tension continued to mount. Axel sighed. He knew what Gareth was thinking and what he was about to say.

"Because if war by the other races is ever declared upon humanity, it would be like an army cornered into a stone fortress, surrounded by water on all sides, just like the creatures on the water, humanity would also be devoured, the moment it fell into the ocean. Their overwhelming power would decimate humanity; it would not be a battle, it would be a one-sided slaughter." Gareth revealed each word, piercing the false facade of arrogance in all students.

Listening to that statement, all the students felt their hearts grow cold. The promise of a bright future that they were guaranteed upon entering the academy was nothing but a beautifully crafted lie; humanity was perhaps nothing but a house of cards, at the mercy of the powerful races.

The descendants of royals, nobles, and merchants, as well as members of prestigious organizations and families, all felt their sense of superiority vanish. How they were born entitled, their future filled with Luxury, power, and riches, seemed unimportant or even distant.

The truth they were avoiding was put right in front of their faces and shoved right through their ears in a way that they could no longer avoid it. The fragile and broken state of humanity, the soft flame of light, that could be extinguished at any moment. They could no longer lie to themselves.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.