The 185th chapter “concentrate on the task at hand” (part 2)
On the opening day of his Hogwart’s branch, Du Wei did not pull everyone into class like the other houses; instead, he stood outside his classroom building in his wizardry robe to address the trainees.
“Quiet down, quiet down.” He cried these words out as he looked down at the curious eyes poking his way.
Although his age is younger than everyone present, Du Wei felt no pressure in this situation. Let’s face it. His body may be young, but his mind is already drawing close to that of a middle aged man.
Seeing the innocent and curious faces below, Du Wei is very satisfied: “Before you walk through these doors, I, as the principle of this branch, have something to say to you people! My words won’t be gentle. If any of you are not satisfied, you can leave after my speech!”
Du Wei intentionally used a slow tone to say this and it left everyone perplexed at what he meant.
“I know that most of you down below are from the military.” When Du Wei finished this sentence, those youngsters from the military consciously straightened their bodies, “And I know the majority of you have no knowledge in the arts of magic. Humph….. I even know all of you are from poor families. If not, then you are some bastard son without any inheritance right, am I correct?”
What followed is complete silence from the audience.
“If you continued on with your route in life, then you would have lived a life without hope! None you hear me! If things continue to play out like it was supposed to in your life, you might have only become a common soldier, a worker, or an apprentice…. For those without succession right, you of noble blood will not see any of your family’s wealth. Instead, you will live out your life in the capital as a simple business owner filled with the stench of money!”
“But now, the establishment of the magic academy will change your life! In a single night, your talent was discovered and now here you are! Those that had once looked down upon you are seeing you with envious eyes! That’s right; you will become a magician in the future and rise through the world! A being that is awed by the populace and feared for their might, am I right? You are thinking it will be easy to achieve this goal and live a life of glory and wealth, am I right?”
The audience remained silent even after his speech. However, Du Wei is already certain the trainees from the military camp are thinking this from the traces of embarrassment on their face.
“But you are all wrong!” Du Wei suddenly yelled with everything he had: “I can tell you now, all of you are wrong!!”
Subsequently, Du Wei’s smile became very cold, “I am telling you, don’t expect me to help you realize such a dream! I will personally shatter your illusion and smash apart your ludicrous expectations! Also, I will also shatter your pitiful self-esteem, you get it!! From here, you will be subjected to rigorous training. Your body will bleed, and there will be danger that can harm you!”
The audiences went dark and some of the students below even revealed traces of hesitation in their eyes.
“However!” Du Wei raised his voice: “However, as long as you can make it out of my place…. Make it out with passing grade. Then I promise you this, you will be different from the other students in this academy!!”
“I can be very blunt; I will not raise you into those arrogant pricks that you so commonly see in the union! What I can teach you is the real thing! How to fight, how to effectively use magic, and how to overcome your enemies! Unlike the other branches out there that can only teach you how to slave away in your labs, I’ll give you the real thing! In the future, you will stand in the front lines! You will bleed for your country! You will fight for your home! And above all else, you stand proud above all others!”
Stopping his words to let it sink in, Du Wei looked down at the audience with a piercing gaze: “Now then, I’ll give you a minute of time. If you are disappointed, you can go back. I’m not going to hold you accountable. This is the freedom of choice I’m giving you.”
Sure enough, in a minute or two, some among the crowd quietly walked away. These people are all noble children’s chosen from the royal household’s camp. In their minds, they only wanted to get rich by becoming a magician.
What’s left are the youngsters from the military side and two addition boys wearing rag tag clothes. Prior to this meeting, Du Wei already memorized everyone’s profile, so he immediately recognized who they were.
Bebe and Tokar is a pair of brothers. Originating from a noble household loyal to the royal family, the two are the love child of the baron and a maid inside the house. Simply put, they don’t even have the status of a bastard.
“Very good.” Du Wei looked at the remaining 32 participants with satisfaction: “Someday in the future, you will rejoice over today’s decision. My place doesn’t need those that only know how to climb the ladder. What I need are those that genuinely want to learn. Only people like you, and only you, can learn what I need to teach! I will show you everything without reservation and give you the most practical skills in life! I’m certain in the near future; the people that left today will regret their decision! By the time you are able to hunt down an ice demon wolf; those people will still be studying inside their labs!”
Letting his words sink in, Du Wei slowly made eye contact with each individual from above: “When those guys are still flashing their titles in front of the nobility, you will be capable of beating down seven-eight of them!! GOT IT!!”
Subsequently, Du Wei then pulled out his wand from under his robe. Walking over to the main doorway to his building, Du Wei used magic and wrote down two sets of words on the door!
“Those that seek success and wealth are to take another road! Those that cowar in fear of death, leave!”
Glittering on the surface of the doorway, the students below revealed a blood lusting excitement on their eyes that can only be found in the younger generation.
The meaning may vary among person to person, but there is one common feature: all of them is showing respect towards Du Wei.
“Now!” Du Wei suddenly exclaimed: “I know most of you here are from the military. Tell me, which of you here is the boss?!”
“…. It’s me, your dukeship.” The tallest among the crowd stepped forward: “I am the captain, my lord.”
He involuntarily did a salute in accordance with military protocols. Clenching one of his fists, this 18 year old youngster pounded it against his chest.
“You will lead. Everyone line up and run around the grass field ten times! Once all of you have finished, then we will begin our class!”
“Run–running drill?? This young captain became stunned along with everyone.
Running drill?? The cadets from the military are very familiar with this exercise, but who in the world would expect a magician to perform drills?
“Is there a problem?” Du Wei’s expression showed no room for negotiation.
“We need a rational explanation.” The one to speak up is the brothers standing furthest behind the crowd.
Du Wei took one look at the two little guys: “Explain? Fine then, this is the first time and the last! Since you haven’t walked through my doors yet, I can make this an exception. However, once you are a part of my branch, you are to never question my decision or any of the teachers here!”
“….. Understood!” The two brothers seemed to succumb to Du Wei’s intense gaze because their heads were hung low when they responded.
“Among you here, I’m certain most of you must have seen those old fashioned magicians, right?” Du Wei laughs coldly: “In addition to being powerful, mysterious and eccentric, what other feature did you notice? What, no one can answer? Well then, I’ll tell you! Their body is frail!!! Their body is so frail that it is bordering on the line of uselessness!!! I don’t want to see my students gasp for breath after only chanting a few spells in battle! Now go!!”
After he finished his words, Du Wei would not give a single glance back at the people behind him and simply walked into the building.
The captain in the back is already shouting out commands and the 30 cadets quickly got into formation. Seeing this, the two brothers hesitated for a moment before finally making up their minds to join in.
“We could have had 40 trainees.” When Du Wei walked into the building, Master Alley was already standing at the stairway waiting for him: “You intentionally scared off 8 students.” Alley points at the general direction of where the 8 students were.
Du Wei nodded: “What you said is not wrong, but I have always believed quality matters over quantity. Those left is the people that I truly need.”
Master Alley’s smile seemed a little odd as he tiptoed his feet to have a better look at the jogging students in the distance: “Du Wei, I really don’t understand. Are you going to make them learn magic and martial arts?”
“Of course not.” Du Wei shook his head: “What I just said is true, the magicians today are all frail to the bones. Their bodies are already weak to begin with, but because of all the drugs and magic crystals they come in contact with, it’s no different from being poisoned by their own possessions…… Even if a mage is equipped with the most power of abilities, it becomes zero if they can’t use it! I’ve even heard that many Mages nowadays are so weak that they have to be carried out of their homes and that they can’t even wield their wand…… This is not a lie, but a fact.”
At this point, Du Wei suddenly realized he was standing in front of a standard “traditional” magician. Quickly closing his mouth, he looked with at Master Alley with a disturbed expression.
Old Alley did not show a shred of resentment, instead, he only lets out a sigh: “What you say is not wrong. The majority of our peers have been pampered for far too long. Many may not be physically disabled yet, but their minds are already abolished.”
With that, master Alley came to the door and carefully look over the words written by Du Wei.
“Those that seek success and wealth are to take another road! Those that cowar in fear of death, leave! Hahmmm, very good!”