The Magician of Sound

After that discussion, there was no more schedule for the rest of the semester other than studying. Even Kai didn't do anything big other than hiding inside the room while thinking about his next plan.

A month passed and the graduation came. Even though Tasha had more achievement, as one would expect, the student council president, Laura, still gave the graduation speech.

Kai and the others attended the graduation, including their parents. As much as he hated to say it, he wanted Tasha to stay because he couldn't help but worry about her well-being.

After promising that she would contact him from time to time, he decided to let her go. Of course, Tasha kept hugging her like there was no tomorrow, showing how Kai didn't want to part with her.

Ayaka and Michelle got annoyed and dragged her before the Carter Family had the time alone for graduation. They took a picture with their parents as well.

But they soon got swarmed by students who idolized Kai, wanting to take a picture with him and Tasha together.

Kai ended up giving them time to do that and satisfied their desire. After that, Sofia got a call, informing her to return to the EU Base to prepare everything for Kai's transfer.

She was satisfied since the last time she was in this base, she could meet Kai's parents, introducing herself to them.

Fortunately, Kai's parents were easygoing, so they just accepted the idea, thinking that the more the merrier. As long as Kai chose them without any pressure, it meant that Kai had known the girl and trusted her enough, so there shouldn't be a problem.

Both parents even volunteered to drive them to the airport the next day. Of course, they ended up having a small party with all the girls in Kai's house. It was a small party, but it felt very warm.

They bid their goodbye in the airport without a fuss since Sofia knew that Kai would go there in a month, so it was just a temporary farewell.

Finally, two weeks later, it was the start of the new terms. Because of what happened in the base, most of the current first-year students idolized Kai Carter as an S Rank Magician, the youngest Lieutenant General, and one of the most powerful magicians in the base.

To that end, Kai was asked to deliver a speech to which he agreed.

During the welcome ceremony, Kai took the stage with a smile. He looked at the two thousand first-year students who got accepted today.

"I welcome you to this academy. I don't know if you already know me or not, but let me introduce myself. I'm Kai Carter. Currently, I'm the captain of Lion Group, though, one of our members has graduated recently.

"Anyway, I am not good with words myself, so I will only say three things. First, you don't need to look at your talent because the one who can measure your talent is yourself. There is no machine in this world that can accurately tell your exact talent, so keep working hard.

"Set a goal for yourself. You have worked hard, but it's not enough? Search for another way. I did it in the past after all. The machine told me that I was only a D Rank Magician. After changing my way of thinking, I finally reached this step and considered an unorthodox S Rank Sound Magician.

"Second, do research because one does not simply get to aim big without any proper research and goal. This is the most important step to avoid getting killed along the way. This is what I believe… As long as you are still alive, the chance remains, so keep working hard and smart.

"Third, keep listening to your instructor. They are the best ones you can get." Kai smiled and finished his speech with one last message. "I will be leaving this base for three months after this, so do your best in the meantime, okay? I am looking forward to your improvement during the time I'm away. And once again, welcome to Sacred Magic School."

The students stood up and applauded as hard as they could. His speech wasn't something great, but it truly came from his experience. It also meant that these three were the best advice they could get from him.

The principal then came to the stage with a smile. He was a middle-aged man with short spiky black hair. He never saw him to be honest, so he didn't care and only played along for the next thing.

"I can assure you that our teachers are good enough to give the best advice for you. After all, every single of our teachers has at least a few years of service in the military, so I hope you can do your best to improve in this school.

"And I would like to announce something that you all may like. It is about a group battle that Kai Carter will personally host. In this battle, he will be fighting four top groups at once. I hope that this battle can inspire you to become stronger. Don't forget to get achievements for what you have done as you may have the chance to become an officer when you are still a student. Not only will it smoothen your career path, but it can give the base a sense of security.

"We will hold the battle tomorrow in our auditorium at 9 AM, so don't be late, alright?" The principal smiled and left the stage together with Kai.

After that speech, there was a series of important messages that needed to be addressed, but Kai had left the building.

Instead of going home, he decided to stay for a while, watching the students from the roof.

"Ah, to think I would be able to meet Senior Kai Carter today, I feel blessed."

"Indeed. He is an honest person, showing his concern without flowering his words."

"Right? Even though he is the youngest Lieutenant General, he stays humble. There is no trace of him looking down on us."

"Indeed. Now I am wondering whether I still can look up to an idol. I feel like my heart has been swayed by the military superstar."

"Haha. Why don't you become another star in the military?"

"Eh? Should I?"

"You should. I'm just afraid there might be another trend of group bands in the military."

"But that sounds nice too."

"I don't care. I only want to look up to one person. He is Senior Kai Carter."

"Haha, look at you. You are lovestruck."

The majority of the students were talking the same thing, so it was truly him that brought such an enthusiast to the school. He just hoped that they didn't die on the battlefield since it would be such a sad thing.

"To think that fate turned this way…" Kai sighed and looked at the sky. "I was just a slightly weird person who wanted to have a normal school life and get enough achievement to retire early. But who would've ever thought that I could become a Lieutenant General this fast?

"The credit obviously goes to my teacher since she has helped me with so many things." He smiled and disappeared from the roof, heading to his home.

However, little did he know that most people couldn't get a wink of sleep because of the excitement the battle gave to them. They already heard the rumor about the battle on how Kai and the others needed to handle one group each to win the battle.

And yes, they imagined how Kai would actually beat the group he encountered.

The one who got the most pressure was obviously the leader of the Golden Group, Samuel.

He ended up staying up through the night, watching the moon while picturing how the battle would progress. He recalled what Kai said before leaving the student council room.

Kai's face was still vivid in his memory.

"First of all, I don't want to give you a bad image. I don't mean to be rude or look down on you, but I think it's better if you can show your fighting prowess first, so the first-year students can understand your strength as well as your team play. This will benefit them in the long run.

"Second, I will fight back when the time has come, so please keep up with me, alright? I know that you all are thinking I'm arrogant, but instead of thinking about such a useless thing, I want to focus on what we can give to the new students.

"Whatever the reason… Whether it's rivalry or anything, human lives matter the most. Hence, I will make sure that this is going to be useful for them.

"Thirdly, our agreement is to each person handling one of the groups here alone. But it's to kill them, right? It doesn't mean anything about helping each other out as long as we don't kill their targets. This is also what I want to show them. No matter how hard the situation you are going through, you need to help each other out instead of thinking about your personal gain.

"I know that this is a bit too much to ask, but I hope that you can cooperate with me." Kai bowed to them without hesitation. There was no anger or shame in that expression of his as if the entire thing was his genuine feeling about the fight.

Even the four groups couldn't say anything when he acted this way and ended up agreeing.

"Golden Group agrees to this suggestion. However, we will still aim at your neck seriously."

"I'm looking forward to it." Kai nodded.

"Tempest Group also agrees."

"Grace Group will help you in this plan."

"My Slayer Group too."

"Thank you." Kai smiled.

Thinking about this memory really pissed him off. It wasn't because he hated Kai. He was disappointed in himself as he couldn't come up with an idea like this.

He let out a long sigh. "Still, it doesn't mean I'm going to pull my punch."