Yukon folded his arms as he watched the first few students step up to the Power Meter. Their punches landed with loud thuds, numbers flashing on the screen overhead.
[214 IFU]
[346 IFU]
[502 IFU]
Some students cheered when the numbers cleared the minimum. Others slumped in defeat when their scores didn't reach the threshold.
Yukon, meanwhile, stayed silent. His eyes narrowed at the machine, but his mind was elsewhere.
Should I just pass it? he thought, flexing his hand. One clean hit at, say… three-fifty, and I blend in with the crowd. No questions asked.
But then his gaze flicked across the hall, catching Vince's smug expression as he whispered to his little entourage. Then Hannah, still standing like royalty with her friends, half-bored, half-curious.
Yukon smirked. Or… I could show them exactly why they should be afraid of me.
The urge to go all out clawed at his chest, Predator's Aura pulsing just beneath his skin. He wanted to see their faces when the numbers lit up and to taste the silence when arrogance turned to shock.
But there was risk too. If I blow past their expectations now, I'll paint a giant target on my back. The guild scouts, the faculty, even the other hunters....they'll all be watching me.
The next group stepped forward, Vince among them.
[245 IFU]
[360 IFU]
[470 IFU]
"Four seventy! That's the principal's son for you," someone shouted. Claps rippled through the crowd as Vince whooped, his little entourage rushing to slap his back.
He shot Yukon a glare and a smug smirk. Did you see that?
Yukon leaned toward Micah, voice low. "I'm gonna wipe that dumb grin clean off his face."
Micah, who had barely scraped 217 IFU, only nodded. Something about Yukon's tone made him believe it.
"Next group," Mr. Douglas ordered.
This time Hannah stepped up, silver hair shimmering beneath the hall lights. The murmurs began before she even threw her punch.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
[925 IFU]
The entire hall gasped in unison. Even Vince's smirk faltered.
"She broke nine hundred?!"
"That's D-rank strength already!"
Mr. Douglas clapped slowly, eyes bright behind his glasses. "A D-rank at your age… excellent. You're only one step away from the academy's Top 10."
Yukon leaned into Micah, whispering with a grin, "Seems like the governor's got some strong sperm."
Micah stifled a laugh, but his eyes never left Yukon. This guy's insane.
"Next group," Douglas called.
Yukon stepped forward.
"My time has finally come," he said under his breath, rolling his shoulders. "I'll give them a real showstopper."
Micah just shook his head. He'd never seen anyone so casually confident.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
[233 IFU]
[412 IFU]
[317 IFU]
Then it was Yukon's turn.
He stretched his neck until it cracked, flexed his knuckles, and exhaled slowly. For a heartbeat, the entire hall seemed to hold its breath with him.
Then BOOM.
The pad rattled like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. Dust shook loose from the machine's frame.
The number blinked on the screen.
[1211 IFU]
For a moment, nobody spoke. The silence was heavy and electric.
Micah's jaw dropped. "No… way."
The crowd erupted in gasps and shouts.
"Over a thousand?!"
"That's D-rank level!"
"Impossible....he's a first year!"
Even Vince's smug grin evaporated, his minions' claps dying in their hands as they turned to stare at Yukon with wide, uneasy eyes.
Hannah tilted her head, her icy expression finally cracking with intrigue. She wasn't smiling this time, she was measuring him.
Mr. Douglas pushed his glasses up, eyes narrowing at the meter as though it might be broken. Then he exhaled slowly. "...One thousand, two hundred and eleven. That places you firmly in D-rank territory."
The murmurs swelled again, louder than before.
Yukon glanced at Vince, then at Hannah, then back at the stunned room. His grin spread slow, sharp, wolfish.
Now that's how you make an entrance.
"Hmm, seems like we've got some talented freshmen this year," Mr. Douglas said, his voice carrying across the hall. "Hannah and Yukon, you've both been incredible so far. Promising talent, indeed. As for those who failed this first phase, don't lose hope. This isn't the end of the road. Remember, even now you're stronger than normal humans, and that already makes you exceptional. Train harder, and who knows? You might qualify in the next intake."
But his words did little to soften the sting. The disappointed faces of the ones who failed said it all, his encouragement couldn't light their mood.
"Congratulations, man," Micah said, clapping Yukon's shoulder. "I knew you were strong, but not that strong."
Yukon smirked. "The test isn't over yet… but thanks, man."
That's when he realized it, every eye in the room was on him. He'd become the center of gravity.
The girls gazed at him with open admiration, whispers and giggles spreading like wildfire. Yukon soaked it in; fame and power meant opportunities, and he planned to enjoy every single one.
The boys, though, were a different story. Their stares burned with envy and resentment. And none more so than his new rival, Vince, whose clenched jaw and trembling fists betrayed just how much that 1211 haunted him.
Out of the fifty students who had stepped up to the power meters, only twenty-four managed to pass.
The result didn't surprise Mr. Douglas in the slightest. The trials weren't meant to flatter, they were designed to cut. To weed out the weak. Every year, the same brutal pattern repeated itself: dozens entered, only a handful advanced. And even then, of those who qualified for the Hunter's course, maybe two or three would ever endure long enough to earn the title of professional Hunter.
He let the silence hang, the disappointment of the failures and the nervous pride of the survivors thick in the air. Then he straightened his shoulders.
"Well then," Mr. Douglas announced, his tone crisp. "On to the next test."