Professor Shiki left the classroom, leaving us alone. He asked us not to kill each other.
"This silence is embarrassing," I said in a disinterested tone.
"It's your fault. You went too hard, Areyos. I still remember the first time you put that kind of pressure on me. I was only five years old and couldn't sleep for three days," Yoko whispered to me, frowning strongly.
"Mm, I contributed to it, but I'm not completely responsible," I replied, eyes closed.
"What do you mean, not completely?" she asked, confusion clear on her face.
"Well, between the mystery surrounding Erina Shelter, the pressure I put on Corvus, and the six sub-elements of earth, weak-minded people will quickly think they're not on the same level as the Metaryons. They'll believe it's already lost before the combat class even starts," I explained.
"But based on their reactions, we can roughly tell who the strongest ones are. Those who look relaxed probably have a certain level of confidence. It suggests they're aware of their own strength despite the information and situations they've just faced," Kaiser added.
His reasoning made sense. There were indeed students shaken by the events, but some who had been bored at the beginning now found the situation interesting. No doubt, this year was going to be interesting.
"We shouldn't assume we already have the advantage," Yoko said.
"I agree. Until we've seen what they're worth on the field, we should stay cautious," Kaiser added.
Right as he finished speaking, the new professor entered the room.
"I don't think we'll have any problems with this teacher," Yoko said, her voice trembling. Surprise was written all over her face. I quickly understood why. The professor who had just entered was taller than Mr. Shiki and much more muscular. He gave off a charismatic aura and walked with his chin held high until he reached the middle of the board.
"Hello everyone. I am the professor of martial arts and physical education. My name is Zemus."
"Hello, Professor Zemus," the class replied.
"Many of you are already familiar with the world of martial arts. So today, we'll simply explore the characteristics of each race," he said while fiddling with the magic console in the center of the platform that controlled all the magical gadgets in the room.
"Some of you are convinced that power depends on race, but that's not always true. You're about to realize that."
As soon as he finished speaking, a magic circle surrounded by runes appeared on the ceiling, covering it completely. In an instant, we were transported outside to the academy's vast training ground.
"Perfect. We'll start by recording everyone's energy system. Then we'll focus on the characteristics of each race," he said, directing our attention with his hand toward a white sphere floating above a golden pedestal.
"This magical device can detect power, energy systems and their natures, as well as a person's race. The results will appear on this giant screen made of pure mana. You'll go one by one."
"I heard this teacher is very strict. If that's true, the weak-minded students are going to have a real psychological nightmare," I analyzed out loud.
"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Yoko asked, looking confused.
"By analyzing our characteristics in front of everyone, we'll all become aware of each person's level. The weakest-minded ones will feel crushed by the strength of the stronger students. They'll develop an anticipatory fear of more powerful opponents, which will affect their performance."
"So you're saying Professor Zemus's plan is to create a certain fear in the weak-minded students to force them to face it during this class?" Kaiser asked.
"Exactly. The mentally weak but strong-willed ones will find motivation to improve, while the weak-minded will get discouraged."
"So as long as you're mentally strong, you don't have to worry, right?" Yoko asked.
"Hm, not exactly. Thinking that way is also a trap. While the weakest will see this as discouraging, the strongest will see it as a guarantee of easy victory and lower their guard. So the weak-minded must be able to take advantage of opponents underestimating them to surprise them, and the strongest must be careful not to drop their guard even against weaker opponents."
"Ahh, I understand better now," Yoko exclaimed.
"Damn, Rey, you're smarter than before. I hadn't seen it that way at all," Kaiser said, patting my head with a proud little smile.
The students went one by one to be analyzed until only a few remained.
"Miss Yoko Belserion, your turn," the professor called.
"Okay, here I come," she answered.
She placed her hand above the crystal sphere. As expected, her stats were impressive.
| Energy System: Ki and Chi
Race: Metaryon
Active Bendings: earth, fire, metal
Power Ranking: Student Yoko Belserion is ranked 11th in the class |
The class was surprised. Once again, it was a Metaryon causing the shock. Right after Yoko came Troy's turn.
| Energy System: Ki and Chi
Race: Metaryon
Active Bendings: fire and earth
Power Ranking: Student Troy Rocklander is ranked 16th in the class |
"Not bad for a scumbag," I said, keeping an indifferent look on his stats.
"Miss Arwyna Phytis, your turn."
| Energy System: Mana and Chi
Race: Elf
Active Bendings: plant, water, and light
Power Ranking: Student Arwyna Phytis is ranked 8th in the class |
"Light bending? That isn't part of the five chi elements, right?" Yoko asked, looking at me.
"It's simply because it's not Chi, it's Mana. Chi is limited to the five elements. Mana can go further and take non-elemental forms," I answered.
"Mana still gives some pretty significant advantages," Kaiser added.
"Mr. Corvus Sherwind, your turn."
| Energy System: Chi
Race: Aegyl
Active Bendings: Air and lightning
Power Ranking: Student Corvus Sherwind is ranked 5th in the class |
Corvus's stats were impressive enough to give the whole class goosebumps. After being analyzed, he walked back and gave me a provocative look.
"Seriously, he's one of the strongest in the room. He's no joke. He's a monster," Yoko exclaimed.
"Don't worry, you've got two monsters with you. We're the strongest in the class. It'll come down to me and Areyos," Kaiser said confidently, trying to reassure her.
"We'll see..." I said thoughtfully, looking at Erina Shelter.
"When Areyos starts thinking with such a serious face, we really have reason to worry," Yoko replied. But soon, a call caught our attention and that of the entire class.
"Miss Erina Shelter, it's your turn please."
"'Please'? Why does she get polite formulas?" Yoko said, pouting jealously.
"Haha, are you jealous?" I teased, patting her head.
"Not at all!" she replied quickly, turning her head away while keeping the same pout.
As we all waited for Erina to go get analyzed, eyes fixed on her, the murmurs gradually disappeared into silence. We realized something: Erina hadn't moved.
"I refuse," she said, looking the professor straight in the eyes.
Her words destroyed the suspense hanging over the training ground. The class's gaze quickly turned to the professor, waiting for his reaction. Erina stared directly into his eyes. This lasted a few seconds—seconds of tension during which hearts were racing and beads of sweat ran down the faces of the weaker students.
Professor Zemus's Point of View
-----------------------------------------
Director Gold had warned me that this year's class would be very special, and here I am, getting pressured by a high school girl. Though... it's not just any girl. It's Erina Shelter. Her family holds one of the three treasures of Baringer. No one has any other information about them, not even the army. I heard that Erina once cleared an A-rank dungeon by herself when she was only nine years old. There are also rumors that during her high school years, some teachers she didn't like ended up committing suicide, resigning, or worse—disappearing without a trace. But there's no proof that she or her family was behind it...
"What should I do?..." I thought. After seconds that felt like an eternity under her piercing gaze, I finally gave in.
"As you wish. But this is the only refusal I'll accept. Do we have an agreement, Miss Erina Shelter?" I conceded.
"As long as you don't dig into my private life, that's fine with me," she answered with a satisfied, charming smile.
Areyos's Point of View
-----------------------------
"What!? Is he serious!?" Troy shouted.
"Who does she think she is!?" another Aegyl yelled.
Clearly, the whole class was complaining. I stared at Erina, who didn't seem bothered by the noise.
"I knew this girl was incredible, but scaring the teacher like that is on another level," Yoko exclaimed.
"Got to admit, she's even more intriguing than I imagined," Kaiser added.
"In just two words, she created a feeling of insecurity in the entire class. Even the professor, who looked indifferent at first, clearly understood it was the best decision for him," I added.
"Silence!!!" the professor shouted. It was loud and imposing enough to shut everyone up. "We don't have all day. Three of you still need to be evaluated. Mr. Kaiser Mendoris, your turn please."
"I'm coming!" he replied. "See, Yoko? He said 'please' hehe," he teased.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, still pouting.
| Energy System: Ki, Chi, ??????
Race: Metaryon
Active Bendings: Earth, metal, fire, lava, lightning
Power Level: Student Kaiser is ranked 2nd in the class |
The class was shocked. Even Erina looked surprised. She glanced at me, but I pretended not to notice.
"Well, I expected nothing less from the son of General Barrios," the professor said enthusiastically. The girls went wild and some even fainted from emotion. It was as if he suddenly seemed more handsome now that they knew his stats. But the most intriguing thing for everyone was the question marks in his energy system. This surprised even Kaiser himself.
"Excellent, Kaiser. If you're on our team, we're good," I said, patting his shoulder with a big smile.
"I knew it would come down to you and me anyway," he said with a proud smile, eyes closed.
"You're a monster, Kaiser. You know that?" Yoko said, laughing.
"What are those question marks on his energy system?" Arwyna asked the professor.
"I have no idea. Maybe Mr. Kaiser can enlighten us?" the professor said, looking at him.
"Frankly, I know as much as you do, Professor," Kaiser answered, staring curiously at his stats on the giant mana screen.
"How can you not know?" I asked.
"How do you expect me to know?? Have you ever seen energy systems different from Ki, Chi, and Mana?" he replied, exasperated.
The silence disappeared, replaced by confused murmurs from the students. If they already found Erina mysterious, Kaiser's stats were a second hammer blow to their confidence in surviving this already very special year.
Erina Shelter's Point of View
--------------------------------
After Areyos's demonstration in class earlier, I was quite intrigued to see how much pressure he could put on others. It reminded me of my brother Kayn. But that kind of pressure can only be mastered by experienced killers or beings with an extraordinary murderous intent. I wondered where he had learned it and what kind of life or training he had gone through. Suddenly, an event pulled me out of my thoughts. Kaiser had just finished his analysis and then...
"| Energy System: Ki, Chi, ?????? |"
"Three energy systems?" I thought, intrigued.
"The three known energy systems are Ki, Mana, and Chi. If those question marks represented Mana, the system would have mentioned it like it did with the elf earlier... Maybe he belongs to that group of shadow mercenaries capable of using 'that energy system'," I thought, remembering the silhouettes of mercenaries I had met during missions with my older brother.
"....No, impossible. Those aren't Metaryons as far as I know... they're humans. Hmm, Kaiser Mendoris, you're just as intriguing as Areyos..." I thought, smiling as I glanced at him.
"If Kaiser is number two, then you must be number one. That's why you look so confident... right, Areyos?" I murmured.
"Areyos Mendoris, your turn," the professor called.
"I'm coming," Areyos answered as he walked toward the sphere.
I was impatient to see the full extent of his abilities.
Areyos's Point of View
----------------------------
I placed my hand above the sphere, and a big surprise awaited those watching.
| Energy System: Chi, Ki, and ??????
Race: Human? + ?????
Active Bendings: Water, ice, earth, fire, healing, and lightning
Power Level: Student Areyos Mendoris is ranked 3rd in the class |
"3rd?? How is that possible?" Yoko exclaimed.
"And what are those question marks? There are even more than with Kaiser," some students said.
"The question marks are already strange, but the weirdest part is that 'Metaryon' isn't mentioned anywhere in his race even though he uses Ki like a normal Metaryon," Kaiser said, surprised.
"And that's not all. What does that '+' mean??" Yoko asked Kaiser, more and more confused.
"A hybrid...?" the professor wondered out loud.
"Huh? A hybrid? Explain, Professor," Corvus asked.
"Well, I think Mr. Areyos here is a hybrid."
This surprised everyone. "A hybrid? Wow," they whispered behind me, trying to hide their astonishment.
"But Professor, if I'm a hybrid, what races am I from? And why is there a question mark at the end of 'Human'?"
"I have no idea. As for the question mark after 'Human?', it simply means the system is uncertain whether you are truly human."
"Uncertain?" I wondered.
"Okay, but then why is the second race covered in question marks?" I asked the professor, confused.
"What!? You really don't know what races you're from?" the professor asked, surprised by my question.
"Even I'm confused, and we grew up together," Kaiser added.
"I always thought that if I could master water and ice in addition to the other elements Metaryons use, it was because I was both human and Metaryon. But now I don't see Metaryon anywhere. I'm having trouble understanding. The system is questioning my humanity, and my second race isn't even Metaryon," I added, looking confused and thoughtful.
"But wait, he's not even the strongest!?" an elf exclaimed.
It was true. All those question marks had made us forget something: I was only the 3rd strongest in the class, right behind Kaiser. I could feel Erina's perplexed gaze on me.
Erina Shelter's Point of View
-----------------------------------
As expected, Areyos's stats left me speechless because of all the mysteries surrounding them. To be able to master all those elements, Areyos must be human, since their bodies can assimilate any energy system and any elemental natures. That would explain the variety of elements he can control.
But something still intrigued me. Although a human can change the nature of their Chi, they cannot have multiple active natures at the same time within the same Chi. They go through a process called "transition" to change Chi's nature, which temporarily paralyzes their control. It takes experts at best 3 minutes and can take up to a month for the worst. So it's impossible for water, earth, and fire—which are not sub-elements but true elements—to be present at the same time in the same Chi. I already found Areyos strange, but now he's a complete mine of mysteries.
Areyos's Point of View
-------------------------------
My stats confused everyone, including me. The professor tried to check the database for any theoretical or researched natures that could explain my characteristics, and he seemed to have found something.
"It's very unlikely and purely theoretical. I don't think that's it," he murmured while looking at a mysterious file on a small floating mana screen 30 centimeters from his face.
"Anyway, I imagine this class is more special than I thought. Let's finish the first part, shall we? We've already taken too much time. Mr. Klaus Varray, your turn."
"Erina Shelter is the strongest in the end. That doesn't really surprise me," I said, looking at her.
"We'll have to be careful with her anyway," Yoko added.
"Calm down, we haven't seen her in combat yet," Kaiser replied.
Suddenly, we heard a loud crashing sound. Silence immediately fell over the training ground. Then we realized the noise was the analysis sphere exploding into a thousand pieces, releasing a shockwave that knocked down the weaker students and forced the stronger ones to cover their faces with their forearms to protect themselves from the debris and dust.
"Oops. It wasn't very solid," said Klaus Varray. The person the professor had called was slightly slimmer than me, with long, deep black hair cascading down to his shoulders. His piercing violet eyes seemed to cut through the darkness, adding to his mysterious look. He wore elegant black clothes topped with a black coat that floated behind him with every movement. He had a calm voice and a serious, intimidating presence.
"You... you were wrong, Areyos..." Yoko said, scared, her voice trembling.
"Clearly yes... so it's him..." I answered, eyes still fixed on Klaus.
"The number 1 in the room," Kaiser finished...
To be continued...