A flash of light.
Sion hit the forest floor in a crouch, knees bending to absorb the impact. All around him, trees stretched into the sky, thick with fog and shadow. The air was damp, silent—unnaturally so.
He was in.
He stood slowly, eyes scanning. He knew better than to make noise.
Brown hair ruffled lightly by the forest air, he was a handsome boy—not in the perfect, polished way of nobles, but in the striking, effortless way that turned heads. His brown eyes were a shade too deep, almost sculpted, as if someone had taken their time crafting them.
Focused. Sharp.
His simple clothes clung lightly to his lean frame—a village boy's wear, practical and worn. At his side hung a small brown bag, nothing fancy, but he kept a hand near it. It held more than it looked like it should.
And when his lips parted slightly as he breathed in, the faint glint of sharp canines showed—subtle, but unmistakable.
So... I would have to gain a thousand points in seven days for the passing grades. Ten thousand for flying grades.... It is on!
He smirked to himself.
Got to find a pillar point.
He moved, led by instincts.
Staying around a pillar point grants a point per minute elapsed...
A couple minutes later.
His eyes caught sight of a structure that didn't belong in the forest. A black obsidian pillar, golden motes floated around it. The motes illuminated a five meter radius around the pillar.
A smile blossomed on Sion's face as he ran towards the pillar.
There are people hiding nearby.
He came to an abrupt stop a distance away.
Up.
His instincts screamed.
A wind blade hurled down towards him.
"Tch." Claws burst from his right hand fingers. A swipe upwards. The two attacks collided. A sharp clang. The wind blade, extinguished. Sion stumbled a couple steps back, but he was fine.
He adjusted his balance, then looked down at the badge on his chest, marked with a skull.
The badge is what allows for point collection... so, the more the faster... one more is twice the speed, to be exact, the dean had ensured we remember...
Sion eyes swept through the trees, looking for his adversary.
Plus, badges can transfer points... an extra badge looted gains two hundred points
A hiss.
The trees to his left rustled.
Sion pivoted just in time to avoid a whip of shadow curling toward his leg. It sliced a shallow groove in the earth instead, hissing like steam.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue again, crouching low. His ears twitched—figuratively, for now—and he heard the second attacker before he saw him.
Two of them.
The wind wielder leapt from the treetops, a boy with silver hair and a smug face. Behind him, stepping out of a shadow that shouldn't exist in daylight, came a taller student—eyes dark, fingers dripping tendrils of black mist.
"Just hand over the badge," the shadow user said. "We don't want to hurt you."
Liar.
Sion's smile was dry.
"I do," the wind user added, stepping beside his partner.
They moved fast. One darted in from above, the other from the side, shadows slithering to bind him.
Wrong choice.
Sion didn't retreat. He surged forward instead, claws swiping upward with a low growl. The wind user's eyes widened just before the swipe caught his side, ripping his coat and knocking him back into a tree.
The shadow tried to latch on. Sion turned into it, letting it graze his side while slamming a clawed elbow into the shadow user's throat.
Thud.
The taller boy dropped to his knees, choking.
"Subdued." Sion whispered, then took a step back, still alert. They weren't unconscious, just outclassed.
A slow clap echoed through the trees.
"Impressive."
From behind a tree stepped a boy with blond hair that shimmered like gold. His face was too perfect, the kind that would be painted in portraits and praised in ballads. His red and black uniform was unwrinkled—untouched by battle.
Kale.
He didn't walk alone. Behind him came two girls—one a soft-looking, elegant figure with flowing black hair and eyes that curved like crescent moons. Her expression was innocent, but the tilt of her lips was sharp, calculating.
Next to her stood a towering girl, muscles like braided steel, a massive axe slung casually over her shoulder. She gave Sion a once-over and cracked her knuckles.
Kale raised a hand. "Peace, Gorrana," he said to the axe girl.
Then to Sion, "Forgive my teammates. They got a bit too enthusiastic."
Sion said nothing. His eyes flicked to the two fallen students.
"You didn't stop them," he said.
Kale shrugged. "You handled it. Besides, if you want to survive here, you'll need more than complaints."
Sion's eyes narrowed. "I'm not here to survive. I'm here to learn to be a superhero."
A beat.
The elegant girl chuckled softly. Gorrana scoffed.
Kale tilted his head. "A superhero? In Death Academy?"
Sion's jaw clenched. "I am starting to see I may have had the wrong impression of the school." His mind flashed back to earlier events.
Kale's eyes sparkled with something unreadable. "The name was not a giveaway?"
"You don't judge a book by its title. Especially one with such fame and legend."
Kale chuckled lightly. "True... I remember you now. You were the boy earlier whose dream was inputted as Superhero."
"I remember him now. Cause quite a scene too." The elegant girl added.
Kale nodded, then to Sion.
"You know how rare that is, right? How foolish?" His voice held no malice—just a faint curiosity, maybe even pity. "There's no money in it. No glory. And no future."
"I don't need any of that If I get to safe lives." Sion said without hesitation.
Just before kale could retort.
A scream.
Unlike most, that Sion had been constantly hearing since the test started, this was not filled with despair of lost hope rather it was filled with fear.
Primal fear.
His were instincts could clearly pick it up.
Without a second thought, he sprinted towards the sound.
They were near a ruined tower. Four girls, cornered by a silver-haired boy whose presence hummed with unstable energy.
"Not bad," the boy said, twirling the badges in his hands. "These points'll do. But honestly? You lot are wasting space. Someone's gonna kill you sooner or later. I'm just saving time."
One of the girls tried to run. He kicked her in the ribs. Hard.
"And hey—there are worse people than me out here. At least I'm not into the rape game."
One girl sobbed. Another trembled. A third clutched her friend's hand, too scared to speak.
That was when Sion arrived.
The boy looked up. "Oh, if it isn't the 'I'm gonna be a superhero' kid."
"Yeah, that's me. And you are?"
"Your killer, if you don't vanish now."
Sion stepped forward. "As someone who saves lives, I can't do that."
"Idiot." The boy sneered, charging with a fist coated in sparking white energy.
Sion lunged.
Just as they were about to collide, Sion ducked a little. The boy's punch missed. Sion's right fist wind up for a uppercut. Realizing the danger, the boy released the energy surrounding his body.
Boom!
A small white explosion.
The boy came flying backwards. He came to a stop as he hit the tower's wall.
He looked up to see Sion a few feet from the explosion area. Sion had been fast enough to hit him and still escape the blast radius. He knew for a fact he was not a match, so.
"I surrender." He said as he threw the girls' badges back at them.
Sion walked closer till he was just half a meter away. "Hmm, you are quite smart."
"Yep, as a Superhero, you can't hurt someone who has surrendered already."
But Sion didn't move.
His eyes were still locked on the boy. Focused.
The boy noticed, panicked. "Wait—hey, you said you wanted to be a superhero, right? Heroes don't kill. Especially not someone who surrendered!"
His thoughts spiraled, projecting his personality on Sion.
Sion blinked.
"I am a superhero. Why would I take a life?"
He questioned.
"Yes.."
Before the boy could continue, Sion interrupted.
His tone changed—childlike, curious.
"Oh, I know… you would take one… if…"
His voice returned, Cold. To complete the sentence.
"...If it saves more lives."
His right hand slashed out.
Thud.
The boy's head hit the ground.