The sky above the stadium darkened as black clouds rumbled around, creating deafening noise everywhere. The sky itself ruptured and out came the people meant to sit on the Head Seats of the Conclave.

Everyone was looking at them, and so they finally showed themselves to the world.

The first to step out of the rupture was a woman many were familiar with. They recognized her through the blindfold she wore over her eyes as the woman slowly descended towards the head seats.

Morgon, the vice headmistress and second strongest person of the Starlink Academy.

The next to step outside were two towering women clad in silver tight armour that covered even their faces. The pressure they exuded was even more than Morgon, but those who knew Morgon were sure that she was still stronger than them.

Judging by the nine-patterned crimson clover crest engraved on their armour and swords, one easily recognized them as the Supreme Sentinels of the Council of Nine.

They represented the epitome of guardianship as they forsook everything in their lives to protect the Council of Nine. Their loyalty towards the Nine was unmatched.

They came to stand silently beside Morgon as she curtly smiled at them. Seeing that smile, many people in the audience and even VIPs were taken aback.

Not because Morgon never smiled, but simply because that simple gesture seemed to carry the weight of elegance. Every single movement of hers was filled with something otherworldly that made people fall for her even deeper.

It was different than the charm many used, but it was also worse because of her sheer strength.

The next to step out were two women that made the world around them go silent. The clouds stopped in their place, wind currents halted, and even people forgot to breathe.

It was as if their slightest movement would be disrespectful towards these almost divine entities that stood at the pinnacle of the human race.

Even the world seemed to fear offending them. It wasn't obvious to everyone, but anyone attuned to the Essence and the world could feel it bowing towards the two beings.

The first one was a woman with flowing crimson hair that reached her thighs. She wore a beautiful ancient Chinese dress which showcased her slender figure clearly.

To many people's surprise, her figure was completely humanoid with no alien features. Sadly, they couldn't see her face due to the mask she adorned. The mask bore the symbol of yellow flames, which was enough to let people know of her identity.

The Attendant of Heavenly Flames, the Headmistress of Starlink Academy and one of the strongest women in the whole Western Continent.

Agni!

It was a simple name, but few dared to take her lightly. There was a reason she was given the title of Attendant of Heavenly Flames. She was the epitome of the concept of fire itself.

Heat, fire, light—everything was in her control.

The last woman was the most eye-catching for the audience. Although it was incredibly rare to see Agni in public, it wasn't out of the picture.

But this woman was different.

She was one of the Nine that ruled over the Western Continent, the strongest amongst the strongest. It was the first time they were seeing her.

Contrary to what one might expect, the woman wore a simple black dress with a comfortable fur coat fluttering from her shoulders.

A simple wooden mask adorned her face with a long crack running from one end to another, as if it had been electrocuted.

That alone was enough for many people to guess her identity, as there was only a single person who wore that mask in the entire world.

The Queen of the Darkest Thunder, the Ruler of Waves, with the alias Thunder that was known throughout the world.

The Council of Nine kept their identities secret due to many unknown purposes, so people weren't really surprised with them wearing masks.

But Leon knew the truth behind it.

It wasn't because they were cowards or wanted to hide away from the world. No, it was because some members of the Nine were Demi-Gods.

Now, the majority of the world didn't know about the existence of Demi-Gods among the people, but Leon knew about them. Therefore, he also knew how their faces held uniqueness that could harm the mundane people if seen directly.

In fact, this was true for their whole bodies, so they always used illusions and masks to cover their true appearance. That was the reason why they didn't have any alien features.

It wasn't their true appearance, but the one they held before they ascended, let alone transcended to become Demi-Gods.

Leon witnessed everything with a solemn look on his face. He expected himself to feel fear by being in the presence of a Demi-God, but all he felt was boredom.

'I've gone nuts after dying so many times. She can kill every single person here in an instant except maybe a few like Amber and the Headmistress. But even then, she would emerge victorious. Fear her a little.'

Still, he couldn't bring himself to feel scared at all. It was as if his entire being rejected the idea of being scared of someone powerful.

'Idiot. Well! Whatever. It's not like I'm gonna antagonize her.'

Just then, he felt a strange sensation crawling through his flesh and bones, making him cringe. He slightly raised his head and his gaze caught those swirling orbs of silver behind the wooden mask.

They were looking right at him.

'Silver orbs… why does that sound familiar. Where have I heard it? Wait! That's not the point!'

Leon hurriedly looked down to avoid her gaze, as it would be quite disrespectful and he didn't want to offend someone of her level.

'But why was she looking at me? Is it because of the earlier drama? But that should be the least bit of her concerns. More than that, this is a happy news.'

He smiled and thought, 'With someone like her here, those bitches wouldn't dare to do everything in the open. Or perhaps they can. They're lunatic enough, but still, if things do go south, we still have her in our line-up most likely.'

As he thought about his plans, the opening ceremony began, which was certainly boring as Amber had said, but not many shared that notion.

After the head seats were filled, Morgon took the initiative to start the Conclave where she gave a speech and also introductions to everyone.

It was followed by a speech from the Headmistress herself and a few words from Thunder.

Everyone was on fire upon hearing their speeches and Leon felt that they could even go to war for them. It was a weird feeling, but he knew it was true.

It also meant most of the people were too invested in this boring opening, which gave Leon plenty of time to think more about his plans.

After the speeches, Morgon called out some of the most important members of the Conclave and they also gave their speeches, which once again made Leon yawn in boredom.

It was followed by a ceremony performed by artists that showcased the deep ancient culture of the Western Continent.

'Come to think of it, I took North America as the Northern Continent, then it means Asia was the Western Continent. Yeah, that much is clear from the many clues I've seen till now.'

Leon thought as he watched the performance.

'It is a mix of many cultures like Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and many more. Interesting. I didn't add this in the game so the world developed it so much better.'

He was quite happy with it.

Just as the performance ended, Morgon took the stage again as she smiled at everyone and said, her voice echoing in the stadium without any need for a mic.

"Before we proceed with the battles which will show us the bright future stars of humanity, there is something important I would like to inform everyone here. I'm glad to be the person to announce it as it is indeed a very happy news for the whole of humanity."

Her words jolted awake Leon. He straightened up as the boring parts were finally over.

'Is this about that?'

Everyone was confused and curious about the happy news, so they all paid more attention to Morgon.

"I'm feeling very proud to announce that one of our students has achieved something that many renowned people in the past two centuries couldn't. He developed something which will change the course of humanity's progress in the Primordial Expanse and allow us to take a step forward in defeating the Corruption."

She smiled at everyone and said,

"But for that, I would like to call Professor Amber Frost and student Leon Walker on the main stage."

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