Newfound PowerThe scenery below them suddenly changed back, reverting from the scorched, broken world to the normal one. The stars returned to their rightful place. The air felt lighter.Peter flew Jaxen back down to his apartment, descending right through the hole they had made earlier."You do understand that you'll be fixing this hole with your own money, right?" Jaxen said, staring at the cracked ceiling above his bedroom."Yeah, yeah. Bill did hand us some extra bonuses after all. I'll send in a repairman. He should be here early in the morning." Peter replied, waving his hand like he was dismissing Jaxen."For real?""Nah." Peter chuckled.His hands glowed green as he muttered a spell. The ceiling suddenly fixed itself, the cracks sealing as if they had never existed."Wait." Jaxen's eyes narrowed. "Why are you this strong? At this point, it's like you have a spell for everything."Peter laughed

Maxwell's ReckoningThe morning of the final exams dawned cold and gray. Maxwell stood at the edge of the training grounds, his breath misting in the chill air. Around him, dozens of cadets stretched, warmed up, and whispered nervously to each other.He was older than most of them. By a lot."Hey, grandpa," a voice called from behind. "You sure you're not lost? The retirement home is that way."Maxwell didn't turn around. He'd heard the same joke a hundred times. Instead, he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders."You'll be eating those words in about an hour," he said calmly.The cadet behind him laughed. "We'll see, old man."Maxwell let the comment slide. He had learned to pick his battles. The first few months at the academy had been rough—fights, reprimands, instructors telling him to control his temper. But he had learned. He had grown.Today, he would prove it.---The written exam

The Retest The training facility hummed with the sound of steel striking steel. Jaxen moved through his forms, his prosthetic foot gliding across the polished floor with practiced ease. Weeks of constant training had paid off—he no longer thought about the prosthetic. It was simply part of him now. In his hands, he held a pair of training swords. They were weighted to match real blades, their edges dulled for safety. But Jaxen didn't need sharp edges. He needed to adapt. Peter sat on a bench near the wall, watching with quiet interest. "You're getting better with those," he called out. "The swords, I mean. You were useless with them last week." "Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jaxen replied, not breaking his rhythm. "I'm serious. You're actually looking like you know what you're doing." Jaxen stopped mid-swing, lowering the training swords. "It's different from daggers. The reach is longer.

The Puppet Master's LairThe dungeon gate flickered with an eerie green light, its surface rippling like disturbed water. Sophia stood at the front of the raid team, her purple sword gleaming in the dim glow. Behind her, Jack tightened his grip on his axes, his expression focused. Peter lounged against a nearby rock, looking utterly bored."A B-rank dungeon," Sophia said, her voice steady. "Zombies. The scouts reported a controlling entity at the center. We take out the controller, the zombies fall."Peter yawned. "Sounds simple enough.""Nothing is ever simple," Jack muttered.Sophia ignored them. "Formation. Jack, you're on the left flank. Peter, you're support. I'll take point."Peter raised an eyebrow. "Support? I'm an A-rank mage. I should be leading.""You're also lazy," Sophia said flatly. "Support. That's final."Peter shrugged. "Fine. But when you need saving, don't come crying to me.""I won't

Two business days had passed before Bill and Jaxen were finally back in Horizon City from their business trip. The tour had taken them a total of eight days, with five of those dedicated to business meetings.Jaxen had just been officially recognized as an official S-rank hunter. For that reason, multiple paperwork and meetings were in place.On average, the major countries have less than twenty S-rank hunters each. For that reason, S-ranks were considered prestigious assets, and the number of S-ranks a country possessed reflected its strength.Because of that, S-ranks are usually diverted into the country's biggest guilds, especially in the capital cities of a specific country.Although Horizon City was one of the major cities in the country, it wasn't the capital city or state. And Liberty Guild was a very new guild without much influence.For these reasons, Bill found himself in many meetings and legal disputes with the count