A murmur spread through the students.John noticed it.He looked at Reyan carefully."Interesting."Reyan raised his guard again.John didn't attack.Instead, he walked around him slowly."Your pain tolerance is unusually high."Reyan remained silent."Your recovery is also faster than normal. That impact should have affected your shoulder for longer."He stopped in front of Reyan."And your endurance..."John's eyes moved over him."...is abnormal."Reyan didn't answer.John's voice became slightly more serious."You've been relying on your body for a long time, haven't you?"Reyan thought about it."Yes."John nodded."I thought so."He pointed toward Reyan's feet."Your body is strong. Your reactions aren't bad either. But your technique is terrible."A few students tried not to smile.Jordan failed.He covered his mouth.Dev quietly elbowed him.John ignored them."Do you know why you couldn't touch me?"Reyan looked at him."You're more experienced.""That's part of it."John tap

The Ability Class was held in a smaller building on the eastern side of the Academy.Unlike the Weapon & Combat hall, there were no racks of weapons or large training circles. The room was divided into several separate testing areas, each surrounded by transparent barriers. Some had metal targets hanging from the ceiling. Others contained machines covered in sensors and glowing lines.Dev stood near the entrance with his hands in his pockets, looking around."So this is where they tell us why we're special," Jordan said.Dev glanced at him. "They'll probably tell you why you're a problem.""That's basically the same thing.""It really isn't."Reyan wasn't with them today. His schedule had placed him in another class, leaving Dev and Jordan to attend Ability Class together.A few more students entered, and soon the room was filled.A woman in her late thirties walked to the front. She had short brown hair and wore a simple Academy uniform with a tablet in one hand."I'm Instructor Elen

The announcement came during the morning assembly, just when Jordan had started wondering whether he could skip the rest of the day without anyone noticing.He was sitting between Dev and Reyan in the main hall of House Vanguard, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. The three had arrived early enough to get seats near the front, which Jordan now considered a terrible decision. Students who arrived late were still entering through the doors, and he had already seen several people heading toward the back rows with food in their hands."Next time, we're sitting at the back," Jordan whispered. "I don't care if we have to stand."Dev glanced at him. "You said that yesterday, and then you spent ten minutes arguing about which seat had the best view.""Because the best view is important.""You're attending an assembly, not watching a movie."Jordan opened his mouth to answer, but the lights above the stage dimmed, and the conversations around them slowly died.An Academy officer

The first thing Jordan noticed about the village was that nobody seemed happy to see them.He had expected people to come out of their houses, thank the Academy for sending help, and perhaps offer them something to eat. Instead, most villagers watched the students from their doorways with worried faces. A few whispered among themselves, while others returned to their work without saying anything.A little boy stood beside an old woman near the village well. He stared at the weapons carried by the students until the woman pulled him closer and told him to stop looking.Jordan watched them for a moment before turning to Dev. "I thought people would be excited to see us.""They probably are," Dev replied. "They're just waiting to find out whether we're actually useful.""That's a lovely way to welcome someone."Reyan walked ahead of them, studying the village. The buildings were simple, most made from wood and stone, with metal sheets covering their roofs. Some had small gardens surround

For several minutes, the area around the northern fence became a mess of shouting, broken wood, fire, and moving bodies. The students were not fighting in neat pairs as they had during their Academy lessons. They stumbled, missed attacks, lost their weapons, and sometimes had to retreat because they had no idea what a creature would do next.One Arcane ignored a student who had injured it and charged toward a wounded soldier instead. Another pretended to retreat before turning around and attacking the person following it. Their behavior was difficult to predict, and their armor made them harder to kill than Reyan had expected.He burned another Arcane after it tried to bite through his shoulder. The creature's jaws closed against his arm, and he used the brief opening to send fire into its mouth. It released him and staggered away, allowing Reyan to finish it with a second attack.By the time the last Arcane fell, Reyan's clothes were torn, his forearm was bleeding, and the air around