Morning arrived. Hundreds of students stood in front of the three towers in the middle of the academy, waiting, eyes wide, sweating, waiting to see the result.

  The words ACADEMY CLASS PLACEMENT RESULTS appeared floating in front of the three towers. Then names appeared just above the ground: the students that failed and would leave.

  Students who saw their names in it started crying.

  Then above the names of those who failed, Class D appeared. As the names of Class D appeared, some students felt really disappointed while others got excited that their names didn't appear yet.Omar was praying for the first class. Marie was really worried, which showed by how cold the air around her was.

  Roy was praying to see his name soon.

  Then, on the left tower, Class C appeared. their names written by bronze light

  On the right tower, Class B appeared. Their names written by silver light

  Omar, Roy, and Marie's names still didn't appear.

  Before the last class name appeared, Omar was already thinking about how he would celebrate. The students around him began feeling hot. The students around Marie were basically freezing.And Roy had the light taken from his face.

  Then it appeared at the top of the middle and tallest tower: Class A, with gold light. Each name under it was huge, as there were only 20 names displayed.

  Inside the middle tower, a group of teachers and workers watched the reactions. Among them, Darius stood with his arms crossed.

  Anton leaned toward him.

  "You look proud."

  "I'm not," Darius said flatly.

  Anton looked where Darius was looking and smiled at the view of Roy not being able to stand as Omar and Marie tried to get him to celebrate with them.

  "So that's why. Looks like you ruined his plan."

  Behind Roy, Marie and Omar were still celebrating loudly, already talking about how amazing it was to be in the top class. Marie spun around like she'd just won the lottery. Omar started challenging random people to random challenges "to prove Class A dominance."

  Roy stayed still, staring up at the list.

  Somewhere nearby, Valeria Stormrend stood silently, her red hair bright under the sunlight. She glanced at the list once, then at Roy, with slight curiosity, before turning away.

  The wind passed gently through the courtyard, carrying with it both excitement and the weight of expectations.

  "This," he muttered under his breath, "is exactly what I didn't want."

  'Why did I lose control of myself after she used that lightning attack? I was gonna let it hit me. Why did I dodge? Why? Why?'

  But it was too late to ask now.

  The next day started with a loud knock on everybody's door. Students were given their IDs, and every group of students was shown where their room and class were, as every class rank had different rooms and privileges. The tour ended for each group at their class, as they entered to take their first class.

  The classroom buzzed with low chatter and nervous energy about how their teacher would be.

  The classroom was a small lecture room with benches instead of chairs.

  Roy sat on the highest tier of the lecture hall, on one of the benches in the back, still staring at the words printed on his ID.

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  Class A: Top Division.

  He'd read it five times. It still didn't make sense to him.

  Beside him, Omar was stretched out across the bench, grinning like a maniac.

  "I told you we were gonna make it!"

  Marie was perched forward, sitting at the edge of the bench, barely able to stay still, her foot bouncing against the sloped floor.

  "This is the top class! Do you know how rare that is? We're with the elites!"

  Roy leaned back against the bench.

  "How could I make such a dumb mistake," he muttered.

  Their chat broke when the classroom door slammed open.

  A gust of air followed. Then silence.

  The man who stepped in didn't need an introduction, but he got one anyway, in the whispers that spread like wildfire.

  "Wait, is that?"

  "Darius Kane?"

  "The Omnishot?"

  "No way. He's a hero, not a teacher!"

  He looked nothing like the tired teachers they'd seen before. Darius was tall, his frame broad and solid, with a posture that spoke of countless battles survived. His uniform was slightly different: sleeves rolled up, exposing scarred forearms wrapped in black cloth. A long bow hung across his back.

  His hair was dark and unkempt, streaked faintly with gray at the temples. But it was his eyes, sharp, purple like lightning itself, that silenced the room.

  He walked to the front, boots echoing with the rhythm of command. When he spoke, his voice carried easily, smooth and measured.

  "My name is Darius Kane," he said. "Rank 1B. Some of you may have heard the name. Most of you won't survive long enough here for it to matter."

  A ripple of tension spread.

  Marie whispered,

  "That's insane. He'll be our teacher?"

  Roy leaned closer.

  "You know what that means?"

  "Yeah," Marie said, her voice trembling with excitement.

  "Ranks go from 7 to 0. The smaller the number, the stronger you are. The letter is the same letter we have. It just means the number of powers. He's one of only two people to ever reach Rank 1 with just two powers, and the only one that is still alive."

  Roy listened quietly, his expression unreadable.

  Lightning crackled faintly from Darius's fingertips as he took the bow from his shoulder. The faint scent of ozone filled the room.

  "Your first assessment starts now," Darius announced.

  "Follow me."

  They got out of the building to a training platform outside at the back of the building, that was there for Class A only.

  Darius moved to the center of the training arena.

  "You'll each face me directly. I will shoot ten arrows. You dodge or block them. If you can't stop at least four, don't bother showing up tomorrow."

  Murmurs rose.

  Someone in the back asked. A student that was preselected for Class A.

  "Isn't that dangerous?"

  Darius smiled faintly.

  "If it were safe, it wouldn't be worth doing."

  "Form a line behind him," he said simply, pointing at the kid who asked.

  "We begin."

  The first student went pale before even stepping forward.

  Whish!

  The first arrow missed his head by a hair, embedding itself in the barrier wall that appeared behind him.

  Whish! Whish! Whish!

  He tried to stop the first arrow with water, but before he could, the second and third arrows came. He tried to dodge but tripped on his own feet.

  "Out," Darius said simply.

  "Next."

  Then came Marie's turn.

  She stepped forward, forming ice along her forearms, the air around her crackling with cold.

  "Alright, let's see if lightning can pierce frost," she said, half-grinning.

  Darius tilted his head, mildly amused.

  "Confidence. Let's see if you can back it up."

  The first arrow came, and Marie deflected it with a thin wall of ice. The second shattered her defense instantly, going to hit her shoulder.

  She spun to the side, letting a gust of air boost her dodge,

  Then she made a circle around her from wind, stopping the third and fourth. Then the fifth, sixth, and seventh came at her at the same time from different directions, all going through her wind bubble. It caught her off guard. She tried to dodge, but one of the arrows scratched her arm.

  Darius nodded once.

  "Good instincts. But not enough for how confident you are. Have more reality, or it won't end well."

  Marie smiled, despite the blood coming from her arm.

  "Noted, teach."