"Well someone’s popular," Ellie said with a smirk as she leaned ahead slightly and looked up at Osho as they walked. Osho regarded her with an eye roll.
"Doubtful she even knows who I am. Besides, she seemed a lot more hyped when she interviewed you. Unlike myself, you actually exist in the eyes of the masses." He pointed out plainly, causing Ellie to snicker.
"Come on. We’re focusing on you. You were on the news." She teased.
"A News Agency with no actual presence." Osho corrected.
"A News Agency nonetheless." She said and Osho resisted an eye roll. She was persistent, that’s for sure.
"Anyway, what’s up with that?" He vaguely gestured to the side where their principal, warm as ever, seemed to be having a staring contest with a man who looked a small bit younger and many times more unyielding.
Right now, their school, as well as others, was passing through a large tunnel which would eventually lead them to the seats that had been arranged for the participating schools. It was bug enough for multiple schools’ students to pass through at once, and right now, the school that was next to them all wore bright red uniforms that were obnoxious if nothing else.
On that note, everyone from Bright Spark Academy was wearing their uniform. The school had its own attire, but was quite liberal with this. This is why students most of the time came to the school in more casual clothes as their principal believed that as long as they did what they needed to do, that is, study, and didn’t wear anything explicit or obnoxious, then what they wore to school didn’t matter too much.
That said, they did still have uniforms. Uniforms which had been deemed important to wear today, though, were a bit different than normal, considering the circumstances.
Their school had two uniforms. One for summer, and one for winter. They were in summer right now, so the uniforms were designed to be light and breathable. As for their design, the boys wore a set of light black trousers with white accents, and a black short-sleeved button-up shirt with whit buttons and a collar which was white underneath. The girls had something similar, but instead of trousers, they had knee-length skirts that had white accents as well as a pair of white safety shorts. Black seemed like an odd choice for uniforms designed to be light and breathable, but this was a place where Mana existed and plant fibers used to make uniforms were far more unique than before. So it worked.
Anyway, the reason why the aforementioned uniforms looked different was that they’d been modified to suit the needs of this practical examination. Light enchantments and modifications had been made to make them more durable, while small but tangible changes had been made to ensure the uniforms were better suited for combat and survival.
An example of this would be that the belts each student wore had been modified to act as a sort of utility belt which helped them carry items better. Their shoes had been changed into something that would be a bit more comfortable yet durable, considering that they would be in there for a while. The uniforms were also given small enchantments to make them harder for them to get dirty. The most notable change, though, would be the armor pieces that covered certain vital parts of their bodies. These were worn under their uniforms though, and could only be seen from the small parts that peeked above their collars and sleeves.
In short, they’d been primed and ready for this exam.
Anyway, back to Osho’s question. Ellie tilted her head in the direction of their principal and the other man before saying.
"Well, you should know that the other guy is the principal of the Vermillion Academy. As for why it looks like the two of them want to start throwing hands, well, I’m not too sure on the details, but to sum it up, the two of them are rivals. Principal Timothy believes in treating his students with care and understanding, and allowing them to find their own paths. In comparison, the other Principal, Principal Vermont, believes that the younger generation should be nurtured strictly in ways that will benefit humanity only. Then again, our principal believes that as well, but compared to the Vermillion Academy, we have a lot more freedom in choosing what we want to do compared to them. It’s why despite the fact that someone like you has immense combat potential, no one is complaining about you picking the course you want to study." She explained and Osho nodded slightly.
He knew about the Vermillion Academy. It was hard not to, after all, they were currently considered he best school their Citadel had to offer. Moreover, it went further than that, as the school was actually an extension of a Beast Tamer college called the Vermillion College, which was a top-level institution, and the reason so many people favored this school was due to one of their programmes that granted students guaranteed entry into the college if they did well enough.
He was also aware of their general ideology which, like Ellie said, was far stricter than what their Bright Spark Academy believed in. Their school would evaluate a student’s abilities and give advice while trying to nudge them in the right direction, but in the end, the student is the one who knows what they want to do, so they respect that choice.
In comparison, the moment anyone from the Vermillion Academy shows decent talent in a certain area, they would essentially be thrust into everything related to that area. The paths and possible ends to those paths being their priority, often without their choice mastering.
Osho was sure that if he went into that school and they discovered his talent for fighting, his written exam would be centered around combat.
Basically, the school believed that instead of focusing on individual wants, the students should focus on what humanity needed as a whole, and that their desires hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things, a notion Osho strongly disagreed with, but hey, it was their school, not his.
Eventually, they reached the end of the tunnel, and as soon as they did, they were met with a wave of cheers.
Osho blinked as quite a lot of people seemed to have already arrived at the place, and were currently cheering for the students as they were led to their respective seating areas.
"Hey, we’re on TV guys," Kurt said with a grin as the Mana screens focused on the emerging students.
"Heh, how about we do something during the exam that will make us the focal point of those screens and not just everyone in general?" Sam said while rubbing her hands together and Osho tilted his head.
"Torturing a bunch of students would be one way to do that." Everyone’s smiles froze as they looked at Osho with incredulous gazes.
"... What could have possibly prompted such a thought process?" Sam said while covering her face and Osho just shrugged.
"You said how about we do something that would make us the focal point. You never specified what we should do to achieve that result, I just presented an option that would lead to that result." Osho explained far too logically which made them groan.
"You’re so weird, dude," Kurt said and Osho just shrugged, not denying nor confirming that assessment.
Their school was ushered onto a set of grandstands that had the same black with white accents design as their uniforms, their designated seating area.
The other schools were getting settled in, and Osho decided to use this time to inspect the place where they would be taking their exam.
He had to admit, he was impressed. They managed to create a simulated forest that fit most of the criteria of the wilderness, with the part they missed being that one wasn’t at risk of dying before they knew what happened...
Anyway, the place was done with quite the attention to detail. There were rolling hills, small streams, caves, and a collection of other traits one would only typically find in the wilderness. It was well thought of and would suit the needs of this exam just fine, he reckoned.
He, well Gale, could also see a few beasts here and there. It was difficult to see that far with his eyesight. Most of them were hidden, but a few were still visible.
’Osho. Why do humans like simulated environments?’ Gale asked as he made a nest of Osho’s head. Osho found the question a bit amusing, but also viable. After all, Gale had spent almost the same amount of time in simulated environments than he had in normal ones.
’Because they are convenient, and more often than not, it’s hard to find a natural environment to suit your needs, so a simulated one would be the best option. Take your training, for example, there aren’t a lot of places readily available that can offer such... ’services’. So instead of going through the stress of finding said environment, you just make it yourself.’ He explained and he felt gale bring his wing to his beak as he pondered.
’So like... you can’t go to the environment, so you bring the environment to you?’ He, as he tended to do, gave a rudimentary summary of what Osho explained, but a correct one nonetheless.
’That’s right.’ Osho said with a smile and sensed Gale’s glee at understanding the explanation properly.
Gradually, the seats for the schools and spectators filled up more and more, and Osho chatted with his group while the organizers made tiny adjustments here and there.
As soon as it was 7:40, things kicked off.