The battle class was vast, containing all F-class students. Every class had its own separate battle hall.
The teacher in charge of the F class was a female A-class Sentinel. She had brown skin, purple hair, and piercing purple eyes.
"Why am I the one in charge of the F class?" she sighed to herself, clearly unhappy with her assignment.
She looked over the F-class students, each sparring in pairs. As her gaze swept across the room, she noticed a few individuals showing real combat ability, dominating their opponents.
"They aren't that bad," she thought, "but can they compete with the monsters from A, B, and C classes when it comes to chaos energy?" She sighed deeply again.
Her gaze eventually landed on Daichi. To her, he seemed to be the strongest, yet he was goofing around with a bunch of weak idiots. Anger filled her face. Someone who should have been at the top of the academy was ranked at the very bottom.
Daichi and Kurogami both wore white karate uniforms with white belts; this was the wear of the battle class. They were sparring, or rather, playing. It looked like a scene from a 2D cartoon.
"Punch, punch, lower kick, upper kick!" Kurogami said as he threw slow, playful attacks."Block, block, high kick, block!" Daichi replied, matching him just as unseriously.
Their movements were clumsy and almost comedic. They were the true clowns of the class. Ren stood nearby, clapping and cheering for them like a proud fan.
The instructor's fury boiled. "These fools," she thought, glaring at Kurogami's careless sparring.
Her mind flashed back to the past. She remembered storming into the bald instructor's office to complain about Kurogami's low performance."I demand he be removed from my class!" she had barked. "An F-class student being demoted is proof he isn't qualified to be in Sentinel Academy!"
But the bald instructor always told her to bear with it for now."He's more than qualified," he would say. "You're lucky to have him."
"Then why can't I see the video of his real test? Why are you protecting him?" she had shouted.
The bald instructor, remembering Kurogami's request to hide his true score, simply said, "Don't worry. It'll be clear to you in time. This can't be forced."
Frustrated, she stomped out of his office."You're so lucky to have him in your class, but you don't even know it," the bald instructor murmured under his breath.
Still, the woman couldn't understand why he said she was lucky; she was classified as the youngest and one of the strongest instructors.
Over the past two days, she had even tried to stop Daichi from leaving her class to talk to Kurogami. She knew Daichi's reputation, the bastard of the Nightbane clan. Even if he was illegitimate, anyone carrying the blood of one of the Six Clans was always strong and well-trained.
"Daichi, why are you wasting time with weaklings and ruining your score?" she demanded."Well, because I can," Daichi said with a smile, not caring whether she understood.
He turned his back and began walking away."I think we're done here," he said casually, leaving to catch up with Kurogami.
"A fresh apple in the midst of rotten ones is bound to rot," she muttered, glaring at him.
Daichi paused at the door and smiled."A fresh apple in the right environment will grow into a huge tree," he replied before leaving the room.
Her purple eyes brightened as she pondered his words. He's no fool, she thought. There must be a reason he's with them. Of course, she didn't know the truth, that their bond came simply from their shared love of anime and their belief that they were destined for greatness.
"Grow, you say… I'll see that for myself," she murmured, her gaze shifting toward one of her students.
In the class, she glanced at Ryo was the tallest in the class, with a bulky, tank-like build, fast, skilled, and dangerous in close combat. He ranked first in the F class.
Name: Ryo Takeda
Physique: 6.5 feet tall, powerfully built, black hair, light gray eyes, slightly tanned skin.
Age: 21
Current Cultivation: Unknown
Talent: A-Class Talent
Ryo was an orphan. He'd fought his way into Sentinel Academy with nothing but grit and his two friends, the only ones he called family.
As Instructor Arin and Ryo locked eyes across the class, he could already tell what she intended. His mind went back to yesterday, when she'd stopped him after class for a discussion.
Arin sat behind her desk, a glowing tablet in her hand, while Ryo stood straight in front of her, posture firm as a blade.
"Your records are impressive," she said finally.
Ryo didn't answer. He only listened.
"Not just in my class," she went on, scrolling through the tablet, "but across all of them. Really impressive. If you keep this up, you could rival the Six Clan heirs." She smiled faintly, then looked up at him.
Ryo's eyes narrowed slightly. Is my effort that noticeable… or does she want something? He thought.
"You flatter me, Instructor Arin," he said with a polite nod.
"No, I'm being honest," she replied with a small, almost embarrassed laugh. "You're exceptional. I'm giving you full marks in combat training."
Ryo tilted his head. "So that's what this is about. What's the catch?"
Her lips curved into a knowing smile. "Smart boy."
When she told him her request, Ryo's eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect her to go that far.
After combat training, students usually spent their free hour eating or mingling between classes. But not Ryo and his two friends. They never joined anyone. Instead, they went to the rooftop, where the breeze was strong and the academy spread beneath them like a living city.
All three were orphans from the same place, the slums of the Outer District, and had climbed their way into Sentinel Academy together.
Ryo's female friend, Kaia, who had no other name or cared to give herself one, had a slim, athletic build and dark-blue hair that fell over her pale skin and sharp blue eyes. A black dragon tattoo wound around her right side and leg, ending near a snake-and-sword design at her neck.
She wore a sleeveless black crop top, patched baggy jeans, and sneakers that matched her rough, street-born attitude. Kaia wasn't the gentle type; rash, fiery, and unfiltered, but her intelligence made her unpredictable.
Name: Kaia
Age: 19
Talent: A-Rank
Cultivation: Unknown
Ryo's other friend, Shin Raiken, was tall and lean, 6'1", with wild red hair and eyes that glowed a lighter red. His sharp, shark-like teeth flashed whenever he smiled. He wore a sleeveless crimson jacket that reached his knees, tight black pants, and heavy boots.
He was hopeless at academics, barely scoring a single mark on the written test, but when it came to combat, no one in Class F could match his raw instincts.
Name: Shin Raiken
Age: 20
Talent: B-Rank
Cultivation: Unknown
The three of them sat together, legs dangling over the ledge, watching the rest of the academy below.
"So… what did she want?" Shin asked, biting into an apple.
Ryo sighed. "She wants me to help her with something… something she shouldn't even be involved in."
Kaia snorted. "Typical noble mess. They always drag someone else into their games."
Ryo gave a faint smile. "Maybe. But I'm not sure this one's just politics."
Shin leaned back, grinning. "Then whatever it is, sounds like fun."
Ryo looked at both of them. Despite their differences, they were his family, the only ones who'd stood by him from the start; he explained it all to them.
"Long story short, she wants you to go all out with Kurogami when she sets the stage. Win or lose, you'll still get full marks in combat class, right?" Kaia said. Her tone was calm, but her sharp blue eyes betrayed her curiosity.
"She definitely didn't notice your effort," Shin said, stretching his arms lazily. "She just picked you because you're the perfect candidate for her little plan. Still, it's not a bad deal, win or lose, you get the marks. The only thing on the line is your reputation if you lose to a D-rank talent."
"Yeah, I know," Ryo replied quietly.
"Wow," Kaia said with a teasing grin, "Shin's actually using his brain today. I'm impressed."
"Do you want to die?" Shin snapped, glaring at her.
Kaia only smirked, turning her attention back to Ryo. "Well, it's your choice, Ryo. I don't see her as the type to break her word, but still, be careful," she said, sighing as her gaze drifted toward the bright sky above.
"Thanks," Ryo said softly.
He leaned back against the railing. "Do you remember the day we promised each other we'd make it into Sentinel Academy? We really did it," Ryo said with a small smile.
"Yeah. Good times," Shin said, grinning.
They'd done everything to get here, odd jobs, dangerous work, even fighting in underground rings, just to afford the academy's application fees. But they'd made it. That memory alone made all three of them smile.
"The clouds are clear today," Kaia thought, her face softening for a moment, until her expression hardened again. Whenever she thought about Kurogami, unease crept up her spine. Her instincts told her he wasn't weak.
After the morning drills with the bald instructor, she had secretly gone to his office to confirm her suspicions.
She stood straight as a soldier in front of him, wearing her jogging clothes, a tight black shirt and fitted pants that showed the snake-and-sword tattoo curling up her neck. Her tongue and nose piercing glinted faintly under the light.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir," Kaia said politely. "I came to make an inquiry, for the safety of my friend."
The bald instructor adjusted his glasses and looked up from his desk. "Let me guess," he said flatly. "Kurogami."
She froze. How did he know?
"Yes," she admitted. There was no point in lying to a man like him, he his a true veteran A class sentinel.
"What for? Battles are prohibited until the ranking board is established," he said.
Kaia quickly explained everything, the setup, the test, the deal.
"I see…" the bald instructor leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "This sounds exactly like something Instructor Arin would pull."
"So, you want to know how strong he is," he said.
"Yes, sir."
He was silent for a moment. Then a faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. I promised to hide his results… not his power, he thought.
Kurogami hiding his strength wouldn't help anyone. If the students in Class F saw what someone like him could do, they'd push themselves harder. Even the weaker ones would find hope in that.
The instructor finally spoke. "What makes you think I'd have a clue about his strength?"
"You're the one who tested him, sir," Kaia replied firmly.
The instructor smiled at that. "I won't tell you his strength directly," he said, his voice calm but serious. "But tell your friend this if he wants even a one percent chance of winning, he better go all out."
Kaia's eyes widened. "One percent…?"
The words hit her like thunder.
The next day, the signal came. Instructor Arin's smirk said it all everything was set. Ryo nodded, understanding what was about to happen.
Kaia walked up to him just before the stage opened. She didn't tell him about her inquiry, but her voice was low and serious.
"Ryo," she said, "if you're going to do this, go all out. Don't hold anything back."
Ryo was silent for a moment. Her tone alone told him everything he needed to know. Kurogami isn't just strong… he's something else.
He tightened his fists. "Sure," he said finally, his face firm, his eyes glowing faintly white.
He was locked in, completely.