"Hey, I saw you—you were really good with a sword!!"
Noah woke up abruptly at those words. When he looked to his right, he saw the owner of the voice smiling at him. He blinked a few times, then rested his arms on the desk and went back to sleep.
"Ah... haha, sorry. We can talk after I wake up."
The person quickly left, too embarrassed to stay any longer.
He had spent the whole night settling into the dorm, and now some idiot was shouting right next to his ear... hahh.
Sitting in the back row by the window, Noah scanned the classroom. His blood-red eyes drifted from one student to another.
But the truth was simple: none of these powers interested him.
He was in Class S, yet the abilities here were mediocre at best. Petrification... it would shatter instantly. Only two people caught his attention.
One was Mira, who was both invisible and powerful. The other was Elisa, who possessed a B-rank super body.
With invisibility, fighting Light might at least be somewhat effective. No matter how sharp his perception or reflexes were, hitting something unseen wasn't easy. As for the girl with the B-rank body, she could at least increase survival chances. Noah's current physical strength was barely at a D+ level.
As these thoughts drifted through his mind, the classroom door slowly opened. Someone different from the arena instructor walked in.
A tight purple latex outfit, curves that the outfit could barely contain—her chest and hips stood out immediately.
Some of the male students tried their best not to stare, while others didn't even bother hiding it.
Ignoring the gazes, the teacher walked to the desk, scanned the class, and smiled.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Witch, your class instructor."
The room stirred with excitement. Witch was a well-known A-rank hero. Being taught by her showed just how valuable Class S truly was.
"Today, I'll start with the basics of power theory. In future lessons, we'll classify your abilities and train you to control them."
"First, there are three types of powers: physical, elemental, and mental."
"Physical abilities include speed, strength, flight, extra limbs, enhanced vision, and reflexes. They usually manifest at birth and are the most common type."
Some students reacted strangely, while others smirked.
"Elemental powers involve controlling elements such as fire, water, earth, air, and many others. They are rarer, but significantly stronger. Like me—I can control wind, fire, water, and earth."
Sarah crossed her arms and closed her eyes, acting like some kind of famous prodigy on stage. But to everyone else, she just looked like a weird girl posing for no reason.
"Mental powers include telekinesis, illusions, perception manipulation, energy blasts, and barriers."
Students began raising their hands, but Witch took a deep breath.
"And finally… unclassified powers."
The room fell silent.
"These powers are too dangerous to fit into a single category. They can belong to two—or even all three."
"Blood manipulation."
A chill ran through the class.
"It can be seen as elemental, but also mental—and even qualifies as physical in some aspects. It once belonged to an S-rank criminal known as Vampire. Even now, the name alone is enough to inspire fear."
"Controlling others' blood, turning into blood to move, healing by absorbing blood, and strengthening physically with every drop…"
She paused briefly.
"Or teleportation."
"It appears to be tied to spatial elements, but is also classified as a mental ability."
"The most well-known—and most powerful—user of this ability is the Z-rank criminal known as Void. It's believed he can teleport across the world. Normally, teleportation has limits—distance, energy cost, or preparation time. But he ignores all of that."
She stepped forward.
"And let me tell you… these categories are mostly meaningless."
The students stared at her in shock.
"Power either corrupts you or strengthens you. But what truly matters isn't what power you have—it's how you use it."
"For example, the Z-rank hero Light. Yes, he has other abilities, but what made him the strongest is his super body. He has the most powerful physical strength in the world. Even Void can't harm him and is forced to run."
"So even a common ability can reach the highest level if used correctly."
"Remember this: control your power. Don't let it control you. It may sound cliché—but it's true."
When the lesson ended, the classroom filled with applause.
Even Noah was impressed.
But his power… didn't belong to any category.
Taking others' powers meant belonging to all categories. Taking none meant belonging to none.
But could someone with such an ability truly live a normal life?
A story came to his mind.
A farmer finds a ring. When he puts it on, he becomes invisible. Then he kills the king and marries the queen.
So the question is: was the farmer always evil, or did the ring make him that way?
If he didn't have that power… would he still have done it?
Or was he already corrupt to begin with?
That was the same question Noah asked himself.
If I didn't have this power… would killing heroes still feel fun?
Because right now… it was.
Killing them felt like gaining a new toy.
And if he didn't like it… he could just erase it.
Then—
BOOM!!!!
The school shook.
Everyone jumped to their feet. Witch told them to stay calm.
As staff rushed toward the entrance, Noah already knew what was happening.
The Human Cult.
A group of normal people without powers who banded together to kill the superpowered.
Noah had encountered them before.
In fact… he had killed most of them.
This wasn't a small group. There were hundreds of thousands of members.
And the irony?
They opposed superpowers, yet cooperated with superpowered criminals.
Even more ironic was the government's response.
In reality, all those people he killed were cult members—but the government labeled it as civilian massacre and used it for propaganda.
But Noah didn't care.
The teacher calmed everyone down, saying it was nothing important and that no one should leave the school.
"MY NAME'S GYOB— Ah! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you!"
Noah flinched as a giant suddenly appeared beside him, shouting.
"Can I get your number?"
Noah stared at him blankly.
His brain froze for a few seconds.
Then—
"Sorry, I'm not gay."
The guy froze.
"Wait… you're a guy?"
Veins bulged on Noah's forehead.
He was this close.
This close to ripping his head off.
"Pfftt— hahaha! Just kidding, man. You're too serious—I was trying to loosen you up."
Then he added with a grin:
"Still, you should cut those bangs."
Noah took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.
This guy… was way too loud.
"Why are you talking to me?"
When he looked at him again, he noticed something.
The giant from before now looked completely normal.
"I have a petrification ability. I grow when I use it," he said. "I was actually going to invite you to our group."
He pointed his thumb at a few students gathered behind him.
Noah glanced at them briefly.
"Fine."
But he didn't move.
"You coming?"
Noah sighed and stood up.
As he approached, some of them smiled.
"Noah Valier. Nice to meet you."
A green-haired guy stepped forward.
"I'm Silas. You can call me Hair too," he said with a grin.
No one laughed.
No one even knew if it was a joke.
He awkwardly continued.
"This sharp-eyed guy who looks like a hidden mastermind villain—Kairo."
"The invisible beauty—Mira."
"Bryan… a walking muscle."
"Nyra… telekinetic."
After introductions, they started chatting.
Noah leaned against the wall, observing.
He already regretted coming.
But being social had its advantages.
Gather information… then hunt targets.
Suddenly, a sentence caught his attention.
"The Villains' Union has declared war on the academy."
Noah narrowed his eyes.
"My dad works for the government," the boy said. "They even took over a news station, but the broadcast was stopped."
Normally, people would worry.
But this was coming from Silas.
So no one took it seriously.
Bryan flexed dramatically.
"I'll crush anyone who comes!"
Nyra smirked.
"You'd be the first to run."
Everyone laughed.
But not Noah.
He was thinking.
About how to hunt his targets…
And how to avoid Light.
The answer was simple.
Do what the government does.
Blame someone else.
Author:Zeravon