Rise Of The SSS-Tier Flame Hero

The grand auditorium of Hunter Academy filled with forced applause as the headmaster called a young man dressed in a fitted black academy uniform trimmed with silver lines to step onto the podium to receive his award.

Holograms displayed the rankings of the top students, flashing brightly for all to see, and right at the very top of the class was this same young man's name. Cain Wright.

Cain walked onto the podium.

He should've been proud to have made it to that position, but all he felt was emptiness as whispers crawled through the crowd.

"How did he even get that spot?" one of the students said. "His potential is garbage."

"No matter how well he does in training, it won't matter if his Awakening is trash."

"There's no if." Another snorted. "With his potential, he's definitely going to awaken with a low-tier ability. His fate is sealed."

Cain, on hearing the whispers and murmur, kept his face expressionless.

He had heard it all before.

His potential, the genetic cap that determined how powerful one could become after awakening, had been tested when he was six years old.

The process was simple. A device scanned a child's core energy, measuring how much power their body could handle, and the results were categorized into ranks, from Elite to High-tier, Mid-tier, Low-tier, Inferior, and Dud.

Duds were basically civilians who had no energy, no power, and weren't even allowed into Hunter academies.

Cain's rank was Inferior, a level just above Dud.

Low-tier potential was already considered terrible, as there was barely any chance of awakening anything above a D-tier with it. But Inferior was even worse because most people with that potential never awakened at all.

Yet here he was, the best in academics, tactics, dungeon simulations, and strategy. But none of that mattered because his potential was Inferior.

Across the stage, in the crowd, stood Adrian Wright and two of his lackeys, Theo and Josh, staring at him with barely concealed rage.

Adrian clenched his fists.

"It should have been me."

Adrian was the one everyone had expected to be on the podium receiving the award. He was the best combatant in the academy, breaking every record left behind by past graduates.

His potential was Elite, and his awakening was the most anticipated because of it.

He ranked first in physical ability and swordsmanship, and no one could match him in direct combat, not even Cain. Yet despite all of that, Cain, the pathetic weakling with the lowest potential rating, was the one standing in the spotlight instead of him.

It made his stomach stiffen.

A bastard with no talent had no right to stand beside him, let alone take what was rightfully his. Yet none of it mattered because Cain had beaten him in every other category. And because grades, strategic ability, and leadership were also factored into the Best Graduating Student award, Cain had won instead of him.

That was what made this unbearable for Adrian and everyone else.

Theo clicked his teeth.

"In what world does someone with Inferior potential outrank someone with Elite potential?"

Josh responded.

"In a fantasy world. I thought the academy was supposed to teach us the reality of the world, yet they were pulling something crappy like this."

"It doesn't make sense." Theo shook his head and glared. "That bastard shouldn't have ever been allowed into the academy in the first place. Isn't that right, Theo?"

Adrian barely heard them or reacted to what his lackeys were saying. As much as he disliked what was happening, he rested assured knowing that tomorrow, Cain's illusion of superiority would crumble, and he would permanently put him in his place after the Awakening Ceremony.

But today...

Adrian balled his fist.

He was going to do what he always did.

The ceremony came to an end, and the students poured out of the auditorium, their voices buzzing with excitement. The Awakening Ceremony was taking place the next day, and everyone was eagerly anticipating it.

The Awakening Ceremony was the defining moment of every Hunter's life. It was the day young aspirants, after years of training at the academy, would finally step onto the awakening platform and unlock their abilities, the supernatural gifts that determined their futures.

Each ability was ranked from F-Tier to S-Tier, with the rarest awakenings propelling individuals to heights of power capable of shaping nations. And every single one of these students hoped to awaken a high-ranking ability. Including Cain.

Cain, instead of leaving, slipped into a restroom to catch his breath. The attention he had received earlier had taken a toll on him, and he just needed a moment to himself.

His nerves were on edge as he felt both frustration and anticipation at the same time.

Tomorrow was the Awakening Ceremony, the day he could finally prove to the world that he was something special.

And it was making him tremble.

If he somehow failed tomorrow, he would no doubt become an embarrassment to the school, especially since making him the best student had also made him the face of the academy.

A part of him wondered if they'd done it on purpose to embarrass him.

One's potential was everything, and the entire academy had made that apparent through the way they treated the students.

So why had he been awarded despite the teacher's subtly making it clear on a day-to-day basis that he couldn't amount to anything with just good grades?

Like everyone else, he was confused by the reason.

Cain shook his head.

'It doesn't matter now.'

All that mattered now was surpassing everyone's expectations and proving them wrong.

The restroom door swung open, and Cain heard footsteps behind him. He glanced at the mirror to see who it was, and the moment he saw them, he let out a heavy sigh.

It was his stepbrother, Adrian, and his two lackeys.

Adrian showing up with Theo and Josh was nothing new. If anything, it was expected after Cain had allegedly stolen his title. And Adrian wasn't the type to let that slide.

Adrian walked toward him and leaned against the sink beside him, arms crossed, his ever-present smirk tugging at his lips. Theo and Josh stood by the door, watching.

Adrian mused.

"You looked awfully confident on the podium today, Cain. Didn't you think about how your poor brother would feel?"

Cain wiped his face dry, not bothering to look at him as he spoke:

"Why the hell would I be thinking about your feelings? And you're not my brother. You've made that pretty clear since we were kids."

"Bastard!" Josh scowled. "You should be honored that he referred to you as a brother."

Cain turned sharply toward them.

"Listen, if you're here to talk crap, just go on ahead instead of wasting both our time with this cliché dialogue."

Adrian chuckled, shaking his head.

"Oh, this isn't the usual crap talk. This is something special."

Cain rolled his eyes.

'Special, my foot.'

Adrian casually cracked his knuckles, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

"I'm just here to remind you that tomorrow, you stop mattering. Tomorrow, the whole 'top student' nonsense will mean nothing, because you'll awaken something pathetic, and for the rest of your life, you'll be known as the weakling who thought he was special."

Cain met his gaze, calm and unimpressed.

"You know, for someone who thinks so little of me, you're awfully concerned about my future."

Adrian furrowed his brow.

Cain continued.

"Why? Does losing piss you off that much?" Cain said, staring directly at him. "Then maybe you should've done better instead of taking out your feelings of incompetence on someone else."

"You..." Theo stepped toward Cain aggressively, but Adrian stopped him.

He stared at Cain for a moment, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Cain felt unsettled by the smile, and before he could anything Adrian fist shot forward faster than he could react, smashing into his gut and stealing the breath from his lungs.

Cain doubled over, gasping, but Adrian didn't let up. He yanked him upward, drove a knee into his ribs, then threw a hook into his jaw that sent him crashing to the ground.

Cain gritted his teeth and forced himself up on shaky arms, but a foot slammed down onto his back, grinding him into the floor.

"You don't get it, do you? You were never my rival. You're just a placeholder until I take back what was mine."

"I never said I was your rival, " Cain forced out, but Adrian kicked Cain once more.

"Shut up! You think you're some sort of smartass, don't you? I know why you're doing this. You think tomorrow, despite your trash potential, you'll go ahead and awaken something amazing, making Father proud. But you're just living in a delusion."

Cain grunted.

"Oh, now he's mad," Josh teased.

"Why? Did I strike a nerve? It's the truth, Cain. It doesn't matter what you do. Father will never see you as anything but trash, and you know why..."

Cain tried to push himself up again, his nose flaring, but Adrian wasn't letting up. He was too strong.

Adrian leaned toward his ear.

"It's because you were born from a whore, you piece of shit."

Cain growled and summoned enough strength to rise, but Adrian grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head upward before slamming his face back onto the tiled floor.

"Aargh!"

Pain exploded across Cain's face, and he lost consciousness immediately.

Adrian pulled him up by the hair once more, blood spilling from Cain's now broken nose as his vision blurred. Then he leaned closer.

"Burn this feeling into your soul, Cain. The helplessness. The humiliation. The pathetic feeling. Because tomorrow, when you awaken a worthless rank, you'll realize this is all you'll ever be."

He let go in disgust and wiped his hand on Cain's clothing before turning toward Theo as he rose to his feet.

"Take a picture of this."

Theo grinned and pulled out his phone.

"Make sure it gets sent to the group chat. I'm sure everyone would love to see the best student of Hunter Academy in such a pathetic state."

Theo grinned as he took the picture, and just as he was about to upload it, he asked,

"What caption should I use?"

"Hand it over," Adrian said as he collected the phone.

He pondered for a second before typing something and handing it back to Theo.

Josh leaned in to see what Adrian had written, and both of them immediately burst into laughter.

"This is cringe as hell."

"Shut up!" Adrian snapped before walking out, Theo and Josh following behind him, their voices echoing into the distance.

Cain lay on the ground quietly for a couple of seconds before letting out a groan. The pain he felt was disorienting, and his head was ringing like he had been hit with a sledgehammer.

Slowly, he turned onto his back and tried to touch his bleeding nose, but the pain made him flinch and pull his hand away.

'Yep... my nose is definitely broken.'

He stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before finally gathering enough strength to force himself to his feet. Then he stood in front of the mirror and opened his phone, checking the group chat.

It was an anonymous student group chat where stupid stuff, rumors, fight clips, leaks, and gossip were constantly posted. And there was already a picture of him lying unconscious on the ground, his nose bleeding.

And underneath it was the caption:

[Breaking news: Top student loses 1v1 against bathroom tiles]

Cain immediately clenched his fist after reading it, then switched off his phone the next moment.

He palmed his face before resting both hands on the sides of the wash basin, staring into the mirror.

His own bloodied reflection stared back at him, eyes burning with hate. Then he said to himself:

"Tomorrow... everything changes."

It had to.