"Luke?"
Unexpectedly to Ronav, the second chosen was a guy he already knew well. His childhood best friend, Lucas.
"You got chosen too?"
"Yeah, after you were chosen yesterday, everyone got encouraged and tried to take the test as soon as they could. It took me a whole hour to give the test, and by the time I was free from the lecture, you had already gone home. It was crazy after that. I received more confessions yesterday than in my whole life. Being chosen drove my stock up, it seems. "
I didn't even get a single confession yesterday after being chosen, much less in my entire life. Is this just the difference in power between us?
"Did you accept any of them?"
"No way, the life of a champion is a lonely and solitary one. I can't allow these normal girls to follow me on such a journey."
This guy, even though he is saying such a cool line, the reality is-
"You just want to mess around in the academy right?"
" T-That's not true, I just think champions should not have normal partners, a normal person just can't keep up with a champion you know, and anyway, I believe a real man shouldn't be tied down by just one girl. Men should be like Master Laxius, with tons of girls all over them."
Laxius the dragon master, one of the four grand Champions. There are indeed a lot of rumors about his extreme love life; some say he has more than 100 lovers.
" He is my role model, and I wish to be just like him. To be the strongest and most popular like him."
"He isn't the strongest tho, that would probably be Azarion. And for the most popular that would probably be Nalyth."
Azarion and Nalyth were considered to be the strongest hunters, with outlandish feats and tales about their might. Tho Azarion was in a different league.
" I don't trust the wild claims about Azarion, if that guy was as strong as they say, why would he refuse to become a grand Champion. Also, his tales are way too outlandish to be true. Killing beasts that even the grand champions would struggle with in one blow, stopping a whole herd of monsters, and they say no one has ever seen him struggle. It's too freaky."
'He has a point, there is a widespread conspiracy theory that Azarion is just a government propaganda to motivate other champions.'
Azarion was a mysterious champion about whom no one really had any information. Only a few had ever seen him, and no one really knew him; his powers were a mystery, except that he was really strong. No one even knew what his soul beast was. He had just mysteriously appeared one day 20 years ago and was considered the strongest from that point on.
"Well, that level is still quite far away for us. We have just been chosen, we haven't even received our soul beasts."
"What beast do you think you'll get?"
" I'm hoping for a Giant or a Nightwolf, or maybe something more rare like a Phoenix."
"I'd love to get Dragon like Laxius. Tho a Vampire would be nice too."
"Both of them are incredibly rare, at least pick something more common."
"Then a minautor probably."
While wasting time on such pointless chatter, we finally arrived at the train station.
"Master Ronav and master Lucas, right? Please follow us. We have your tickets with us."
We were instantly greeted by private security who escorted us to our seats in the train. Our attendant was an incredibly pretty beauty who was dressed in a black suit.
"I can't believe we are getting first-class seats for free."
"Just shows you how much the government values champions."
The train started to move as we talked and enjoyed the luxuries we got with first class.
" I can't believe they are giving us so many drinks for free."
"The snacks here are incredibly tasty."
'Maybe being a champion isn't so bad after all.'
"Sir, we have prepared your dinner. Should we serve it now?"
"Thank you, that would be great."
There were more than 10 varieties of dishes present at the dinner, all of which tasted incredible.
For certain high-folks, this would be a normal ride, but for such young boys like Ronav and Luke, who were from normal families from a small town, this was a mind-blowing amount of luxury, and they certainly weren't hesitating to enjoy it.
"That was the biggest meal I've ever eaten in my life."
"Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten so much."
My whole body feels like it's made of stone, I can barely move anymore.
" I'm gonna go sleep, I didn't sleep well last night from the excitement."
"Yeah, me too. I was up till late talking to my family."
"Alright, later."
After such a hectic day, my body and mind are both exhausted. I can't wait for the physical enhancement that comes with a soul beast.
Thinking such thoughts, Ronav fell asleep quite quickly.
____
"Wake up, Ronav. We have reached our destination."
"Ugh, already? But it's so early."
"Wake up quickly or you are gonna miss your stop."
Ronav looked outside his window and saw the huge Hakal city. Its huge walls, which had protected humanity in its darkest times, and the huge buildings humanity had built when rebuilding the world.
No matter how many times he looked at this view, he was always fascinated by it.
"What's the time for teleportation to the academy?"
"It's at 1 pm, it's currently 7 am, so we would have 4 hours for sightseeing."
The teleportation network was this world's main way of transportation. Using it, you could travel from one teleportation site to another. However, it was extremely expensive to set up, so it was only present in major cities.
Tho in the outerlands, such teleportation sites were way more common due to their usefulness in moving troops when an urgent situation happens.
"I doubt they will let us move freely. We are important assets to them, but since we don't have our soul beasts right now, we are only as strong as a normal human."
"What, that sucks. What are we gonna do for 4 hours then?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna sleep some more. I want to go to the academy fresh and energetic."
"What, but that's boring. What would I do then?"
It seems that the attendant had heard their conversation from outside as she told them their plans.
"We have booked a room in a hotel for you. You can spend your time there."
"What are we even going for 4 hours stuck in a room?"
" Worry not, we have provided various forms of entertainment in your room, such as video games, movies, speakers for songs, and other such things."
"Ahh, I love being a champion. This is what life is all about. "
We were led to a luxury hotel which was close to the teleportation center. Our rooms were even more luxurious than the train. I slept for the next few hours while Luke played games. Before we knew it, 1 pm and the time to go to the academy arrived.
___
We were standing in front of the teleportation screen, surrounded by 100's of chosen like us.
"Alright everyone, make sure to go slowly, there's no need to rush."
All the chosen started to enter the screen one by one, and soon it was Ronav's turn.
It was the first time Ronav had used a teleportation device. Most people hadn't either after all, it was seen as something only the elites could use due to its expensive tickets.
Just as he entered the screen, he felt as if his entire body was being torn into thousands of pieces; however, he didn't feel any pain upon his body's division. It sort of felt refreshing.
Just as it felt that he had been divided into a million pieces, the process started to reverse. One million pieces became a hundred thousand, which then became a thousand, and finally became one again.
"All right kids, we're here. This is the school where you will spend your next year learning and training."
In front of Ronav's eyes, he saw a huge and luxurious school settled on top of a valley. It had around 20 different buildings and dozens of outdoor grounds.
"Welcome to the Grand Champion's Academy."