Insect Tamer's Ascension Chapter 514. the 5 prospective members and their expendable situation

"Congratulations for getting in the Top 5 ranking of the Arena Record."

Theo was in a familiar room with many books and a desk to the side.

There was an old man with a big white beard and army-cut-like trimmed hair.

He was looking at the five individuals seated at the table.

"You might all be in the Top 5 ranking, but fear not, we have not given any rank to anyone till the arena battles are finally over," the headmaster spoke again.

"From this point on, all 5 of you are the prospective Kingdom Games team that will represent our academy." He spoke while looking at everyone with that same warm smile of his.

Theo didn’t look at the individuals seated all around him, but he could feel gazes on him. All of them were seated within his spatial sense.

’I can feel all their anxiety, those leg movements, those thumb movements behind the scenes.’ Theo felt like his ability was getting better and better. All those small movements, as long as they were in his spatial senses, he could see them all.

"But alongside the Arena Records, there is another important thing they will judge you with. And that is team hunting," the old man spoke again and asked for tea from the same uniformed man.

"So I want you 5 to train as a team for hunts we will conduct as an academy. If we see that you’re not a fit among the hunting team, we will remove the weakest link and add another student that was just below you in the rank. We have seen results from this method too."

Theo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was the headmaster trying to scare the students?

His eyes locked with Theo’s for a moment, and Theo nodded.

"Aside from the team hunt, there will be a game about non-lethal beast capture. You will practice that with a professor that is the best when it comes to capturing a beast alive."

"Then there is Escort and Extraction. You will be told what you need to do in that too. You will be made to compete with other academy teams close to us for practice and the students that were just below you in the Arena Records. So if we see that you don’t fit the team, and another student from the lower rank shows potential, they will be taken into the team instead. Always be mindful of that."

’So there is no safety,’ Theo thought. He wanted to make the headmaster know that this type of behavior was not appropriate and they would all be on their highest nerves always in a setting like this.

But such was life, everything could not go as planned or thought about.

"Any questions?" the headmaster asked.

There was silence in the room until a hand was raised.

"Yes."

"Headmaster, so if I understood correctly, we will be judged for all the parameters and if we lack in even one of them, then there is a chance that we get replaced by one of the lower-ranked students?" a girl asked with her hand still raised and a posture fully upright.

Her hair was bright red-colored, which made Theo want to know whether it was dyed or real.

Theo directly knew she was around 14 years old as she looked the oldest and was definitely a 4th year if not stuck in a case like him.

"You are correct, so until you are only half a month away from being in the kingdom tournament, there is no guarantee that you will play in the games."

Theo looked at her expression and tried to know what she was thinking, but her poker face was too strong.

’Definitely a higher noble,’ Theo thought. He still didn’t have her name.

"All the best, may you all be the team we are looking for. Just after this meeting, you will be guided toward your professors for the training and rules you will need to know."

The headmaster nodded toward them and then waited for them to leave only for one more student to pull his hand up.

Theo smiled involuntarily.

’The kid from my class I was interested in, so he is this good huh,’ he thought.

"Yes, yes, Rhevard Cindren. What would you like to know?"

"Headmaster, what will happen to our normal classes moving forward?" Rhevard asked with a deep voice and his big hand up in the air.

There was an aura of wildness around him that Theo could almost sniff, but at the same time, Theo could also feel calmness from him.

"For the next week and until the Arena Records are over, you will all be in normal classes, but moving forward, all your professors will be told to give you 3 hours of class each day so that you can be free for the next full day. Your exams will only be voluntary until you are in the games," the headmaster spoke, and his smile became bigger.

"What I am trying to say is, if you stay in the Kingdom Games until the end, you get the privilege to pass on to the next year or graduate under special conditions. That record will do you as good as having really great marks." He spoke and looked at everyone to see what their reactions were.

And he was right to do so, even Theo was surprised to know that.

Another hand rose up, and it belonged to a boy seated on Theo’s left side.

He looked no older than 13 and had a face that was too calm for that age. All the ones seated around him were like that, calmer than normal.

The boy’s posture was straight, but unlike the red-haired girl’s disciplined one, this one looked casual as if he leaned more toward the aloof kind.

"Yes, Osric Calder?"

Theo’s eyebrows moved up by a little.

’Another big family huh,’ he thought and looked at the boy once.

"Headmaster, if our marks and classes become secondary for this period, then does that mean the Arena Records are also secondary now?" Osric asked in a smooth voice.

There was no nervousness in the way he spoke, only curiosity.

"A good question." The headmaster nodded and folded his fingers together above the table.

"From this day on, your arena rank will only get you respect in the academy and you will get to know who is the strongest or smartest among you. But it will not save your seat in the team." He spoke with a warm smile that sounded anything but warm in meaning.

"If the 5th rank works best in the team, then the 1st rank will have to adjust to him. If the 1st rank creates problems for everyone, then he will be the one to leave." He spoke slowly and looked at each one of them one by one.

Theo could feel a shift in the room. Some anxiety increased, some breaths slowed down, and one leg movement stopped altogether.

’Good,’ Theo thought inwardly, ’At least he is not making this about pride only.’

But the headmaster was not done.

"I don’t want heroes." He spoke while looking at Theo for a split second longer than the others. "I want a team that can bring back victory and all its members alive if possible."

Theo didn’t know if that glance was intentional or not, but he accepted it in his heart.

He already knew there could be casualities in the kingdom games but to be told this by the headmster himself was another thing.

One more hand rose. This time, it was from the last student Theo had not looked at properly till now.

There was a girl with dark brown hair seated at the far right side. Her eyes were sharp but looked lazy at the same time.

"Yes, Saevra Ardis?"

Theo looked at her and then inwardly clicked his tongue.

’Another one... these houses all sound familiar,’ he thought.

"How many of us five are guaranteed a place in the final academy team?" she asked while not changing her expression.

Theo wanted to frown; that was one of the most explained questions out there. Was she serious or just too slow?

"All five of you are the prospective main team," the headmaster answered right away. "That means all five of you are being prepared as the central force of the academy."

"But..." He paused and his smile became a little too wide.

"If one of you proves to be a burden, then the lower-ranked students will be tested around your weakness and one of them may replace you. That is all you need to know for now."

The silence came back again. This time, it felt heavier as the headmaster dropped more stressful answers.

Theo could tell one thing right away. Nobody liked to hear that they may be called a burden.

And he himself didn’t like it too.

If all of them had to keep looking at each other as possible replacements or weak links, then the teamwork would become a lot more difficult.

’So the academy wants competition and fear both at the same time...’ Theo thought while looking at the old man.

There was no way the headmaster didn’t know the atmosphere he was creating.

But when Theo looked at his eyes again, he only saw amusement.

’Of course he knows.’

"Then that will be all for now." The headmaster clapped his hands once and got up from the chair.

"Outside, the student body head will guide you to the first professor in charge of your team preparation. She will tell you the basic rules and start your practice from today itself."