Chapter 30 The First House Event
The first house event was ‘ Pressure Ascension ‘ , it was one of the most anticipated events all year round and one of the more exciting ones as well.Conducted on the third peak of the seven peaks in the academy , it was a place surrounded by breathing natural beauty.
The event consisted of a specially created Gravity mountain that had an increased gravitational force acting on its surface with every step that one climbed.
It was a fun event to test the endurance and willpower of contestants , and was the part of one of the many criteria to pass the academy at the end of year 5.
The decision to include it in the house events was to give it a sense of fun and reduce its fear as one of the components needed to graduate.
At the end of the fifth year , every student had to cross the 50th step threshold to be eligible to be passed. Naturally the report card showed the number of steps one climbed the higher the better , however 50 was the minimum standard set by the school.
In the illustrious history of the academy , a total of 1246 students had to repeat final year due to this very stage , which gives a perspective on just how monstrous the achievement of Percy Draco climbing 55 as a first year student is.
Everyone notable in the school was present around the foot of the mountain as the housemaster’s of all houses were watching on from their high viewpoint , alongside other teachers and staff members.
The headmaster of the academy and the vice headmaster were the ones who stood at the very top of the mountain at the 100th step , as they looked down over the entire competition.
They looked unaffected by the humongous gravity that affected one at 100th step as they could move and stroll leisurely while chatting to each other , like it was nothing much.
The crowd had seperated into their respective houses already as the seniors were giving advice the juniors on how to perform..
There were about 3000 newbies in each house and although the points for the first , second , and third place were the maximum . The overall result of the event depended on the performance on each and every single contestants result.
This made it so that everyone tried their best as every effort helped the house win and not just a single individuals. Hence everyone rejoiced in victory while everyone was collectively responsible in defeat.
Which is why even though Ronan was the star of the red house , the other newbies were not at all ignored as they too were tutored by the seniors on how to approach the event.
Apparently the pressure increased by 0.2G For every step that one climbed . Hence there was a gradual increase in difficulty the higher one climbed.
But this design of the test made it a test of endurance more than a test of strength as technically one could climb to 3.4G if they could climb to 3.2G , if they had the willpower to do it.
Naturally everyone had limits , but it depended purely on how far one was willing to push himself to climb as high as they could.
Everyone was to climb in batches of 400 . As 100 from each house tried to climb the mountain together. Once a student climbed a particular step they would be given 30 seconds to move onto the next one , or else they would be eliminated.
This system made it so that everyone approached the mountain with a different strategy and where the experience of the seniors came into play , as the seniors told the juniors exactly how to approach the climb to maximize their step count.
Some suggested to take it slow in the initial steps then make full use of the counter later on , while some said that it was better to be slow in the initial steps and just push to the limits at the later one.
Some just adviced to be patient throughout the climb as it was a test to see how far one went and not how fast one went , while some adviced to just push as far as their bodies could handle.
In reality none of the strategies were particularly right or particularly wrong , as different things worked for different people.
The strategy that Percy Draco used was to take maximum time on every single step and only ascend at the 28th or 29th second , naturally since he set an unprecedented record the previous year , it was the most popular strategy being used by all houses this year.
However Ronan was not interested in such strategies , he was a brute in his basic nature as he was a brawler who would use brawns over brains for as far as he could.
It was not that Ronan Draco was dumb by any sense . He was the sharpest one of the most intelligent minds out there , but he firmly believed that his brain was his most valuable asset. To use it for unnecessary things was a waste of this precious resource , hence unless he absolutely needed to , he would choose not to make use of futile things like strategy.
Since the goal was to climb , Ronan Draco would climb like a madman!
As the start of the event approached , the houses broke into their respective house chants , as an electric Atmosphere could be seen around the mountain .
” We are the reds , we are the fire
We can’t be beat , the trophy we desire
We can’t be beat , not here today
We can’t be beat , we win anyday “.
” GO GO GO REDS , GO BHAKTI GO ! “.
The red house broke into its ceremonial chants as the red Housemaster and vice- housemaster joined the chants from the teachers arena.
This showed the passion that they had for their house and their children as they sang along with the group with enthusiasm and gust!
Naturally seeing their Housemaster join in , the reds were emboldened as their chants grew louder and louder till they silenced every other house .
This brought even more energy to the group as they drowned the mountain in their collective voices!
A rush could be felt moving through Ronan’s veins as he looked at the red robe he wore with pride! , he was a red , he was unstoppable! he was going to bring glory to his house today !
While this display of strength boosted the reds morale , it also made them public enemy number one on the day as the moment the chant died down the other houses passed sny remarks to the reds to knock them a peg down . The housemaster’s being no different.
The blue Housemaster said ” Ohhhh…. Don’t get too cocky there red Housemaster , you won a total of one bid this auction , he may bring you few points , but the blue house won 21 , collectively they will outshine your boy “.
The yellow Housemaster said ” Indeed , the reds look bleak in the newbie performance , my my , this is going to be a tough day for ur lot “.
The greenhouse master said ” It’s a test of willpower , we don’t know if the little Draco even has what it takes to be like his brother , the reds may not even bag first place “.
The red Housemaster listened to all these sny remarks as he just smiled and said ” Yappa yap yap , looks like I’ve hit a nerve with you three …. don’t worry , we will win the first position as well as the first overall. Your fears are indeed true “.
The faces of the other three housemaster’s instantly soured , the red house master had struck a nerve here , but they could only grit their teeth and watch-on in silence , as the event started.
As the instructions came for the houses to send their first 100 participants , the respective house captains started to sort the groups.
It was the first time that Ronan saw the fifth year captain of red house , His name ‘ Yami Dancho ‘ , A level 51 top of the class youth who was serving as the head of Bhakti house for this year.
The man exuded confidence and calmness as he had a kind and caring smile that would calm any uneasy nerves.
Yami said ” Alright the 99 of you will go along with the Draco who we spent a whopping 122 points on , where is that lad ? “.
Everyone parted sides to reveal a calmly standing Ronan Draco , as he strode towards Yami .
Yami observed Ronan carefully , then smiled as he said ” Alright kiddo , the house has high hopes on you , this is the first event and in the very first event we crush the morale of every other house out there.
Use ur level 27 strength and outclass every single one of the other newbies out there , but i dont want you to stop there.
Percy Draco climbed till step number 55 …. The greens have gloated on that achievement for one year. It’s time for us reds to bury that achievement 6 feet under , hence the target you have on ur hands is 61!
61 Ronan Draco , don’t dissapoint the reds , we count on you for this one!
Now go , show the other three the power of the red team , WE ALL HAVE YOUR BACK! “.
Ronan listened to everything that Yami had to say and normally Ronan was not a listening guy. But when he strode forward towards Yami he probed yami ever soo slightly as Yami probed him , As Ronan tried a very slight feint while walking normally.
If Yami was a normal guy he would not have picked it up , but not only did he pick it up but he showed a very slight hand movement to Ronan which said ‘ Try me ‘ too .
It was then that Ronan discovered that not only was Yami higher levelled than him , but also had some skill to boast.
Hence he could accept this guy lecturing him as he said ” Aye Aye captain. I will bring the reds glory ! “.
/// Sorry i had to post this chapter unedited , i messed up the schedule with my editor , apologies ///