It was September 1st. On 54 Aram Street, there was a large building made of a huge black volcanic stone. It was a beautiful old building of the Academy of Detectives. Hundreds of students gathered in its hallway and were waiting for the dedication ceremony.
"Good afternoon, dear students!" there was suddenly heard a voice.
A black-haired man of about 30 was standing in a black uniform on the second floor of the academy.
"I am glad to welcome you to the Academy of Detectives. There is a lot of work ahead of us today."
"A lot of work?" was heard in the crowd of students.
"Isn't it a solemn ceremony today?"
"Well, or at least a light holiday in honor of admission?"
The students were clearly unhappy.
"Oh my god, it's the same every year," Chief William grumbled to himself.
"I want to remind you that you are all here for a reason. Fate has chosen that your future is firmly connected with the police. And from today on, your whole life is devoted to riddles and truth. Nobody will pity you, you have to do it yourself. There will be hundreds of situations in front of you in which you will feel broken and defeated, when you will not find a way out, when you have to make a serious choice. But you must understand that serving people is difficult. That is why we start the educational process from the very first day."
Some were inspired by the words of the detective. They saw themselves in his speech. But some, on the contrary, grumbled.
"Be prepared, you may not be returning home today, ahahaha, the chief laughed.
"What does he mean? We won't be back?" conversations began again in the crowd.
"Or maybe you won't come back at all. Never," William said with a smile.
"He is crazy," said one of the students.
"I like that," Reia whispered and smiled.
"In our today's festive program," William continued, "there are 4 tests. You will have an intellectual test, which you will pass in a solo format, team murder investigations, battles 2v2, and a surprise."
"Surprise? What is that?" David whispered.
"Sounds tempting," Ksyu also answered quietly.
"And yes, I forgot to say, no one will leave this building until everyone has passed the fourth stage. Good luck," William said when suddenly...
All the doors of the academy slammed shut and the lights went out. The students started to panic.
"What is it? What is happening?" was heard from everywhere. "Is this exactly September 1? Is this a trap?"
After a couple of seconds, the light turned on again.
"Sorry," William said, embarrassed, "I accidentally turned off all the lights."
"How funny he is," Reia said. She clearly liked Chief William.
The rest of the students clearly did not share her emotions. They thought that one of the teachers, or maybe the head of the Academy himself, mocked them. And in principle they were right.
A new person appeared on the second floor. He was about the same height and age as Chief William.
"Hello everyone!" he said cheerfully. "Before you are divided into classes, I will take care of you. My name is Felix. This is how you can contact me. No mister, chef, and the like. Just Felix," said the blond with long hair.
The girls on the ground floor were pleasantly surprised by their new teacher. Chief William's trick was forgiven. But the guys obviously didn't think so.
"I'm going to ask you to pair up and pick two more people. Why? You have to guess yourself. After all, you are our future detectives. You have one minute for all this," Felix said with a smile.
"What do you mean by saying 1 minute?" someone said loudly.
Everyone began to run quickly, looking for acquaintances.
"What is your active superpower?" someone asked Aram.
Aram turned his head and saw a girl. That was Reia.
"Chains," answered Aram.
"And the passive one?"
"It will not help in any way until someone dies," Aram replied with a grin.
"Understood. I'm Reia. My active superpower is darkness. I think that's enough for a start."
"My name is Aram."
"Cool name. Like an academy street," Reia said. "Okay, it remains to pick up opponents for us."
A brown-haired guy burst through the crowd of students, holding a girl's hand.
"Hey you," he shouted from afar. "Don't you dare choose your opponent, get it! I am your opponent, I am!"
Flushed Ksyu trailed behind David. She was clearly having fun.
"I knew it," she chuckled.
"Who is this?" Reia asked.
"You!" Aram swung. "This is war! I'll kill you!"
"I asked a question!" Reia shouted and kicked Aram in the side.
"Oh, it hurts! Are you crazy? I'm your ally," Aram cried.
Reia said nothing and stood with her arms folded.
"My name is David and I will kick this fool's ass!" David said.
"I am Ksyu," Ksyu held out her hand, "In principle, I don't care."
"I see, the boys are just playing around," Reia said. "My name is Reia. Let's stay together, we are already four. And I think the time is over."
"Stop!" Felix shouted. "Time is up. If you have not chosen anyone, then you will fight with people standing nearby. And we are heading to the arena."
The floor beneath the students' feet began to shine and all the students disappeared.
"They're so, you know, green," William said.
"Anyway, I'm sure it will be fun to watch them."