Most of those attending the assembly had already seen the Dean at least once, and knew much about him. It was only the newest cadets who were getting a chance to see him for the first time.
At this point, it need not be explained. The cadets naturally understood that this dean of theirs was the Sage who kept his Dominion active nonstop. To suddenly learn of a new Sage was overwhelming, but the scene before them also quickly brought them to reality.
None of them knew the details of the golden armour, or the metallic tubes sticking into the back of his armour, or the endless stream of aether entering his body. However, everyone could venture a few guesses of their own. The easiest one to assume was that this Sage was injured quite seriously, and was dependent on the armour for survival.
Whether he could live, or even survive without it was entirely unknown. Still, a Sage was a Sage.
"Now that you all know me, it’s time to move on with the actual assembly itself. After all, I am not the main focus of this assembly. No, it’s you, the cadets, who are the main focus. To the newest cadets, who have only just begun your journeys, who have only taken your first steps into a life in the army, I have a few words of wisdom to offer.
"Life is hard, but do you know what is so much harder? It’s the feeling of helplessness, the feeling of being unable to make change, to improve circumstances. Some of you may have already felt it, and some of you are fortunate enough to have avoided it till now. But whenever you find yourself out of breath, out of energy, out of will power, remember this! This world does not spare anyone any pain. The only real choice you have is whether you will taste the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret!"
His words seemed to have a physical weight as they pressed down on the chests of all the cadets, not just the new ones. The third year cadets and above especially understood the truth of those words - including all the cadets who had been to Lumina.
Missions always sounded the simplest when they were received. It was when they were actually being carried out that the true difficulties of the missions revealed themselves. Hardly ever did the missions go according to plan, and making sure that they could control the outcome was a desperate struggle at the best of times.
Even those cadets with little to no experience at all understood the basics of the situation. Their basic education did its best to impress upon them the importance of a strong military, and the struggles involved.
"From what I can see, this semester we have a great batch of cadets, just like last semester. Keep striving forward, keep surpassing those who came before you, keep improving. The future will be built by your hands - may they be worthy!"
Vilhelm could not help but note how different the assembly speech this time was. Maybe it was because last time, the ordeal of the Eldrim ruins was still recent. Or maybe... it was something else.
He could see it on those standing on the stage. Just like last time, Vilhelm could not see through the Sage, but the others were simple enough, considering they were not hiding anything. They were looking forward to something!
"It has always been the goal of the Kolar Military Academy to nurture and prepare each generation of officers, ensuring they are equipped with all the necessary skills, knowledge and tools that can help them carry out their duties. On those fronts, we have always provided you with the best, since our expectations are the highest. This year will be no different. The top 10 cadets on the exemplar list for each year, step onto the stage."
The new cadets weren’t included in this since they didn’t officially have a chance to begin entering the list. While some cadets did have a few merits on the Exemplar’s list already, they did not count.
The cadets from the other years, however, all stepped forward. Soon, forty cadets were all lined up on stage, standing according to their year, and then by their number on the list. Their seamless actions almost made it seem like they had been informed beforehand about this matter.
"For your exemplary behaviour, and your achievements, I award you all these medals," said the Golden Sage as he lifted his hand. One of the professors standing on stage opened up a brief case revealing exactly forty medals, all identical.
The medals started to fly, and were pinned to all the cadets’ uniforms. It was rare to get medals that were more than just ribbons, especially for things that didn’t include actual service or missions. However, that was it.
Although some medals evoked feelings of awe and shock, these medals lacked the same weight and history. Most of their prestige was derived from the fact that they were personally handed out by a Sage.
"All of you, channel your aether into your medals," the Golden Sage commanded, and waited. Without hesitation, all the cadets did as they were told. Nero watched with interest as he wondered what the purpose was when he noticed that some of their cadets’ expressions changed as they were taken by surprise.
There was no way of asking them what had happened, but there was no need to ask. The Golden Sage moved two of his fingers, clearly sending some kind of signal. A moment later, one of the professors standing on stage attacked all the cadets, sending one fire ball towards each.
It happened too quickly, and it happened without warning, so that a majority of the cadets were taken by surprise. Yet before they could dodge or defend, a thin, faint blue light shone out of the medals on their chest, forming a shield in front of them, blocking the attacks.
None of the fireballs made it past the shields, stunning not only the cadets on stage, but also the cadets standing down below.
"Congratulations. You are all, officially, the first generation of cadets to get your hands on the latest tech, built together by Kolar and Nova. These medals are Spell Model Anchors, or Anchors for short, meaning they have been embedded with Spell Models, and work similar to your cards.
"The difference is, their durability is significantly greater than cards. Moreover, Anchors can be linked to their user, meaning no one else can use them. Furthermore, Anchors can act on their own based on the Spell Models embedded into them.
"All of you probably noticed that the medals automatically drew aether from your bodies to activate. That’s because when you previously channeled aether into them, you bonded with them, allowing them access to your internal aether. Moreover, you also allowed the Spell Model to focus on you, designating you as the target that these Anchors are designed to protect."
The Golden Sage paused, allowing all the cadets to marvel in awe of the ability of these Anchors. Although they didn’t know how strong the effect of the Anchors were, or if they would continue to act once the shield was broken through, the very fact that they could provide automatic protection made them invaluable.
Moreover, based on their understanding of what the Golden Sage had said, these Anchors could come in different shapes and sizes, with different effects based on the Spell Models inside.
"That is not all," the Golden Sage continued as he signaled to another professor on stage who arrived with a tray holding numerous card cases, presenting them to the forty cadets.
"These card cases, while lacking for now, will become standard issue in the army in the future. No longer will you have to fit your cards underneath your clothes, strapped onto your body, to use them. As long as you have a suitable Card Case Anchor, you’ll gain the ability to directly use any and all cards within the case, without wasting any time!"
This time, even Nero was impressed as his gaze fixed on those silverish cases being handed out on stage. He couldn’t help but recall the weapons he had used back inside the Vault which gave him passive strength and endurance. While these Anchors did not follow the exact same pattern of operation, they could do something similar and just as impressive, if not even more impressive.
He couldn’t help but think of how this was going to change combat. No longer would anyone be restricted to the six cards they could fit on their body. Of course, that would also make it harder for anyone not used to having so many options. But that was something that could be overcome with practice and careful deliberation of which cards to put in.
Nero could not help but start wondering what other types of Anchors the army had created so far. If they could make them in the shapes of weapons...