"...and so," the instructor finally spoke, voice low and coarse like it had been dragged over gravel, "if you think power alone makes you strong, you'll break before you reach Tier 6."
The entire class stilled.
"I've seen dozens of prodigies like you lightning, flames, shadows, winds. They burn bright, then fizzle out. Let's see who lasts." He turned slowly, resting his chalk against the board.
"I'm Mickyle. I don't care where you're from, what house you belong to, or what blood's in your veins. Here, your results talk. The rest of you stay quiet."
He stepped aside, gesturing to the room. "You've got five minutes. Introduce yourselves before your first field exam."
The murmuring began again, more hesitant this time. Slowly, students stood.
"Lira Vael," a girl with crimson eyes and short silver hair said. "Wind type, Tier 8. My family's nobles from East Solven. I'm here to crush the old standards."
She gave Kian a look, half-competitive, half-curious.
"Oren Myvak," said the next a tall, broad-shouldered guy with blunt features and glowing tattoos under his skin. "Body enhancement type. Tier 8. I don't like wasting words."
A few others followed a flame conjurer, a spatial jumper, even a boy with a rare sensory ability. Most of them avoided direct glances at Kian… until it was his turn.
Kian stood, calm and composed. "Kian Balthor. Lightning, spatial, and chaos affinity. Tier 8."
Whispers rippled through the class.
"He's the one from the south arc arena…"
"No way he's Tier 8 already."
"What kind of veins even let someone have three affinities?"
But Kian ignored the noise and sat back down. Nia went next.
"Nia Flaning," she said firmly. "Support and energy manipulation. Tier 8. And I'm here to prove I'm not just support."
Several heads turned again, some whispering about how close she sat to Kian.
Mickyle made no reaction. He only nodded once and turned back to the board. "Good. You'll be partnered in rotating duels starting tomorrow. I suggest you get used to fighting with and against each other."
Elsewhere… Beneath the Surface
Far from the marble towers and sunlight, shadows flickered in a quiet chamber lined with metal and wire.
"He's there," a voice hissed.
A dark-robed figure studied a projected image of Kian from the academy's live feed. "Still alive… and already disrupting the balance."
Another figure leaned forward, features barely visible behind a distortion mask. "What of the girl? Nia."
"She's important to him," the first figure replied. "We'll use that. But we start slow. We've placed our agent in the academy under a false identity."
A flickering holo displayed a student's profile. Clean record. New registration.
"They'll watch. Learn. Get close. And when the time comes... pull the thread that unravels the whole thing."
Lightning flickered faintly in the villain's gloved hand. "Let's see how long the myth holds up before it shatters."