This time, a few students could not control themselves anymore. They began talking among themselves, with most of them having angry expressions on their faces.
"No more Academies? That's absurd!"
"Hey! You're calling the King's decision absurd!?"
"I still don't get it... The Vampires have attacked five cities, and now no Academies? Where are we supposed to go?!"
"Isn't the Academy supposed to be a place where we can be safe? I mean, if the teachers remain here, they will be able to protect us!"
The students continued talking among themselves, and some were even quarrelling among themselves.
This time, unlike other meetings, the teachers weren't even able to calm the students down.
The majority of the students talking were first-year students, while second-year students mostly remained silent or talked among themselves quietly. Though, one thing every single student in the hall had in common was a confused expression.
"SILENCE!" Orion roared.
The noise instantly ceased as all of them looked at him.
He glanced at all of them, closed his eyes for a second, and opened them again before letting out a sigh.
After calming himself, he began speaking again.
"The Academies will be no more for now. Instead, each student will be assigned to a City, and that student will join the army in that city."
If the news about the Academies closing was shocking, then what Orion just said was literally a bombshell.
The Academies were closing.
The students weren't going home.
Instead, they would be assigned to a City each, and will join the army in that city.
"It just doesn't make sense..." a boy muttered, his eyes widening as if he had just heard the most shocking thing ever.
This time around, the students weren't even able to quarrel among themselves.
They were just silent, trying to process all that Orion just said.
"What about our families!?" a boy shouted.
"Yeah! So if I end up getting assigned to a different city entirely that I don't even know, you're telling me that I won't see my family again!?"
Questions kept coming from different angles, and they were all centered around the students not being able to see their families again.
"I understand your concerns, but your families will be informed beforehand," Orion said. "Not only that, but if you end up being assigned to a City different from the one your family lives in, then you will be able to see your family a day before leaving for the City you were assigned to."
The last part of what Orion said was able to calm the students a bit, but it still didn't remove the worry and uncertainty.
After all, another issue was that if they were going to join an army, then this meant that...
They were going to fight Vampires.
It wasn't like they didn't have battle experience, but they had only fought Beasts.
Vampires were a different case.
They were more intelligent than Beasts and had more Skills.
It certainly wouldn't be the same as fighting Beasts.
Meanwhile, Alex smiled as if amused by what was going on.
'That bastard Rowan... I'll show him...' he thought as his eyes glowed a bit.
"Another thing is that, you won't be fighting Vampires immediately after you join an army," Orion said, almost as if he knew what most of them were thinking.
"After joining an army, you will be trained by certain individuals in the army first before engaging in battle."
'I'm still wondering what the King is thinking,' Orion thought. 'Why did he make such a decision that the students should join an army?'
Honestly, he understood why the King made this decision, but he still didn't want to believe that it was the right decision.
'Was there no other way?' Orion thought.
Orion clapped his hands, gaining the attention of the students.
"Okay. I know you all have a lot of questions, but they might be answered by those who will train you in the army."
"You all should gather in your different classrooms in the next two hours. Then, you will be able to see the City you have been assigned to."
With that, Orion exited the hall, leaving the students who were still throwing questions at him.
"What the actual fuck just happened?" Hector muttered.
"I... I-" Lina stuttered, still comprehending the news.
"Don't worry," Arin said. "I also don't understand what is going on, but I'm sure everything will be fine."
Hector and Lina nodded.
"I hope so," Lina said.
All the students began leaving the hall, still talking about all that Orion said.
It was definitely shocking and confusing.
A lot of things just happened at the same time.
Arin left Hector and Lina.
He began walking towards the building reserved for teachers.
After a few minutes, he arrived in front of Riya's office and knocked lightly.
He opened the door and entered before closing it.
He calmly walked towards the chair and sat down before staring at Riya.
Her eyes were fixated on him as she crossed her legs, exposing a bit of her smooth thighs.
"What do you plan on doing?" she asked.
Arin sighed as he leaned back on the chair. "I'm going all out with my goal. This time, I'm doing it full-time. No more part-time."
"I see..." Riya muttered, a slight smile on her face.
"So, I'm guessing you don't plan on joining any army... Since 'we're' going full-time," she added.
Arin nodded, slightly amused by Riya's use of 'we'.
"Yes," he replied. "Joining an army will make it part-time again, and apart from that, I can already see that it'll make things incredibly difficult for me, especially if I end up being assigned to a different city from Alex."
Riya smiled, showing her white teeth.
She leaned closer, her eyes locked on Arin's eyes.
"Well, luckily, Orion mentioned something about Alex to the teachers," she said, her smile widening.
Arin raised a brow, intrigued.
Riya placed her hands on the table, leaning closer to Arin.
"I believe it'll give us an idea..."