The whispers hadn’t stopped.

  Even as I stepped back into line, I could feel the weight of a hundred stares pressing down on me. Some were fearful. Others envious. Most were just... stunned.

  I barely noticed. My mind was already elsewhere — already moving beyond them.

  "Toho Isei," Gohan’s voice cut through the air.

  The tension shifted immediately. Some students looked confused, others curious. Toho? I caught him giving me a quick thumbs-up before he jogged forward, an easy grin pstered across his face like this was all some game.

  He pced his hand on the evaluation crystal.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then the glyphs ignited, faster and harder than nearly anyone else before him — save for me.

  The crystal pulsed, sending a thrum of power through the ground. The dispy blinked into life:

  Essence Pool: MonumentalControl: HighAffinity: Fire / Lightning (Strong)Potential: S-Rank Candidate

  Silence. Thick. Heavy.

  I heard Lucian mutter a curse under his breath.

  Even Gohan’s expression sharpened — a slight, almost hidden nod of approval.

  Toho pulled his hand back, looking slightly surprised himself. He turned to the crowd, giving an awkward shrug. "Guess I'm pretty decent too, huh?"

  The tension finally cracked into murmured conversations. Some people looked at me. Then at Toho. Then back again.

  Two monsters in the same room.

  I couldn’t help the slight, knowing smirk that tugged at my lips.

  This year was going to be interesting.

  As the st few evaluations wrapped up, Gohan raised his hand for silence.

  "Now that your evaluations are complete," he said, voice cutting through the lingering excitement, "it's time for css pcements."

  He gestured, and a holographic dispy formed behind him — a glowing, shifting tree of names and numbers.

  "Celestia Academy separates students in each cssroom based on initial aptitude. Your evaluation results, along with your entrance exam scores, determine your Css pcement."

  The tree split into three major branches: Css A, Css B, and Css C.

  Css A — Top percentile. Elite training. Direct pathway to the official Sorcerer Corps.

  Css B — Advanced studies. Strong support roles and specialized magic paths.

  Css C — General studies. Basic sorcerer curriculum with room to rise or fall.

  Gohan's gaze swept across the room. "Css A will be few. Only those with the highest potential and demonstrated ability. B and C will be rger, but all csses have opportunities to climb."

  Students exchanged nervous gnces. Some looked almost sick.

  "And let me make this clear," Gohan continued. "Pcement today is not permanent. Sck off, and you fall. Prove yourself, and you rise. Nothing is handed here."

  I folded my arms, studying the dispy. None of this was surprising. If anything, it felt expected.

  Gohan waved his hand again, and a new list appeared — names starting to slot into branches automatically.

  The first names to appear under Css A:

  -Zero Langham

  -Toho Isei

  -Lucian Wraith

  -Terra Solis

  -Caen Rook

  Others trickled in afterward — only about fifteen names in total in our css.

  Toho whooped from beside me, punching the air. "Hell yeah! Css A, baby!"

  I allowed myself a slight nod. As it should be.

  Some students in the hallway looked dejected, while others were smirking at their potential and power.

  "Dismissed," Gohan barked. "Css lists and dormitory assignments will be sent to your devices. Tomorrow, your real training begins."

  The hallway erupted into motion, with almost everyone celebrating.

  Toho caught up to me as we walked out, cpping a hand on my shoulder.

  "Bro, can you believe it? Css A! Man, this is unreal."

  I gave him a sideways gnce. "It was never a question."

  He ughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, guess you’re right. Still... feels good."

  As we moved through the crowd, I noticed Lucian leaning against a far wall, watching us with that same, unreadable smirk. His arms were crossed casually, but there was an unmistakable sharpness in his gaze.

  ***

  The walk back to the dorms was quieter than I expected. Toho had that usual grin, but even he seemed a little lost in his own head.

  Once inside our room, he colpsed onto his bed with a groan. "Man... today was insane. I feel like I aged five years."

  I dropped onto my bed across from him, pulling out my Academy-issued tablet. Sure enough, our schedules had already been uploaded.

  "Looks like we start actual combat training tomorrow," I said, scrolling through. "Instructor's name... Professor Rael."

  "Guess they’re serious about pushing us fast," Toho said, running a hand through his hair. "Not that I’m compining. After today, I wanna get stronger. Fast."

  He gnced at me, hesitating.

  "...You think anyone else in our cssroom has the potential to match us? Terra and Lucian made it into Css A, too."

  I leaned back against the wall, letting the cool stone steady my mind.

  "Perhaps a couple, maybe. I haven't paid much attention," I said quietly. "Either way, don't underestimate anyone. That Lucian kid, he's strong, I feel it whenever he's close by."

  Toho sighs. I interrupt him to speak again, "But don't focus too much on others; focus on yourself and your growth."

  Tomorrow, the real fight would begin. Not against the others — not yet — but against ourselves. Against the limits trying to chain us down.

  And I already knew:

  I had no intention of losing.

  ***

  The room was quiet, the buzz of the day finally giving way to a heavy silence.

  Toho was lying on his bed, tossing a ball of essence energy between his hands out of boredom. I scrolled through my tablet absentmindedly, but my mind was elsewhere, focused.

  I sat up.

  "You ready?" I asked.

  Toho grinned, instantly catching on. "Thought you'd never ask."

  We pulled on darker jackets over our Academy uniforms and slipped out into the night. The hallways were patrolled lightly — no one expected first-years to break curfew on their first week.

  But Toho and I weren't normal first-years.

  Weeks before coming to Celestia Academy, we made a pact: we'd keep honing our skills outside the system. Missions. Real ones. Tracking criminals and Marks too small for the Supreme Council to bother with, but dangerous enough to be a real test for us.

  The Supreme Council was the head of the World Council. The World Council is the organization that governs our pnet, Elor. The World Council consists of many ranks: Councilman at the bottom, then Judges, Governors, and the Supremes at the top. They have the final say and most power.

  The World Council doesn't bother to deal with tonight's target: a rogue essence-user who had been sighted near the outer gardens of the Academy. A former mercenary turned thief and a Mark. Skilled, but careless. Considering he's a lowlife thief, no wonder he's nowhere near the top priority of the World Council.

  Marks are sorcerers who turned evil, who go against the moral code of what it means to be a sorcerer. This guy was a perfect example, and a warm-up.

  We moved silently through the empty courtyards, the moon hanging low and sharp above us. It didn’t take long before we found him — a shadow slipping between trees, carrying something wrapped in cloth.

  "There," I whispered.

  Toho nodded. "I'll fnk him."

  Toho and I had to stick to martial arts or low essence attacks to take down opponents in order to not cause a stir or any unnecessary attention.

  The rogue spotted me immediately, tossing aside the stolen goods and drawing a jagged dagger coated in dark energy. His grin was all teeth.

  "Another little brat thinking they’re a hero," he sneered.

  I didn’t answer.

  The rogue charged. Fast. Sloppy.

  I sidestepped, I suppressed all the essence within my body. Essence can boost your physical prowess, your strength, and speed.

  I don't need any essence to take this guy down. I've already trained in martial arts for years, since I was a kid. Martial arts take many forms, and each is useful. I took a leap forward, using my right foot to brake, and threw a punch using my open palm, nding directly into his chest.

  The Mark flew backwards, barely nding on his feet. He stood up and immediately started coughing up blood. He grabbed his chest tightly while gritting his teeth. He desperately tried harder to breathe, but he couldn't.

  Before he could recover, Toho darted in from the side, nding a clean, heavy punch that bsted him again.

  The rogue, on his knees, snarled and unleashed a pulse of dark energy, trying to overwhelm us. The dark energy enveloped the area like a domain.

  For a second, the air cracked with power — but it wasn’t even close to what I had endured before.

  Together, Toho and I countered; our attacks were fluid and precise. A single strike from me to his gut, a sweep of Toho's leg to knock him down, and the rogue was pinned, groaning, essence draining out of him.

  I jumped into the air, spinning once before falling and nding a nasty kick to his shoulder. Toho and I, despite the distance from him, both heard the loud crack of his bone. He let out a scream of pain, cursing me.

  Toho grinned down at him. "Maybe next time, don't pick a fight with Celestia students."

  The rogue muttered something under his breath before colpsing unconscious.

  I exhaled, letting the tension seep out of my body. "Bag him and tag him?"

  Toho pulled out a binding charm, tossing it casually onto the rogue's chest. Golden threads wrapped him up instantly.

  "We'll drop him off at the night patrol station," Toho said, brushing off his hands. "No one has to know we were even out here."

  I nodded, but inside... something gnawed at me.

  This fight had been easy. Too easy.And somehow, it only made me hungrier for the real thing.

  Tomorrow, official combat training was scheduled to begin.

  And I was more than ready.

  ***

  After dropping the Mark in front of the night patrol station, Toho and I swiftly leaped onto the buildings.

  I whisper the words, "Rift,"

  I grab hold of Toho and wave my hand, covered in spatial essence, and we instantly get transmitted into our dorm room back in Celestia Academy.

  We take a deep sigh of relief.

  "I'll never get used to that spell," Toho says as he jumps into bed, looking like he's about to puke.

  I let out a light chuckle, "It's a simple spatial spell, but effective and useful."

  Toho eventually heads to sleep. I y in bed, wondering about tomorrow: our first css, combat training.

  I've already made an enemy here, and maybe an ally, Terra. I need to branch out and make more friends if I'm going to survive school.

  But I'm still ready for any battle that'll come.

  The real story is just beginning.