Chapter 37: Hero names
Sitting down in the new classroom after the classification exam for a self-study session, everyone was opening up discussions all over the place.
"Damn it, Steve. Oh gosh, why did we become classmates? I see you every day; give me some privacy."
"It's the 10th day of you complaining about it," Amanda commented, feeling bored.
"Looking at someone with the same face as mine is disgusting," Kevin said, disgruntled.
'...this idiot is looking to die,' Steve's mouth twitched.
"Why are you all standing here? Why don't you go back to your seats?" Tracy complained despite not being in her seat herself.
'Why are you complaining? I should be the one to complain about you surrounding my table,' Ryan thought inwardly, gazing briefly out the window into the dark and colorful expanse of both mana and radiation clashing gently against each other, creating a colorful display of firework-like art.
Looking at Damion, who's having some quality time for himself reading, and Astin, who's sleeping on his desk.
'I also want some private space,' Ryan felt envious.
Jacob tapped on Ryan's table and spoke, demanding his attention. "Are you listening to me? You need to stay focused even if you find this course boring."
Ryan turned his head back to Jacob, who was explaining math to him, nodding.
"This math formula is as follows; you need to take..."
"This is too easy... It's a middle-school math problem," Ash leaned in, interrupting, and wondered, clasping his hands behind his head.
"Have you never studied this before?" Eddie asked, intrigued. "How did you pass the entrance exam, then?"
"Stop interrupting me and go back to your seats," Jacob sighed.
Annoyance started to creep in; he had been trying to teach Ryan just one simple formula for an hour during the self-study session, but the constant interruption started to get on his nerves.
"But I'm bored," Kevin complained for the nth time.
Ding dong--
"Alright," A raspy, low, gentle voice sounded, alerting all the relaxed students. "Please return to your seats so we can start."
Professor Alfred entered the classroom after the start of the next class. Everyone's attention in the room turned, and the chattering atmosphere turned silent as everyone fell back into their seats.
"I'm sure you already know, but today we are going to talk about the importance of names— your hero's name," Alfred said.
Yeah--
Students started to get excited; some people had been thinking of their names for ages, and now was the time to declare their chosen hero names.
"Your superhero name would be your own identity after you leave 'Erou,' something that you could use to represent yourself as heroes," Alfred coughed.
"I know you're ecstatic, but keep it down," he added helplessly, finally calming his students.
"Ahem~ Your hero name could be a combination of your initials, last name, nickname, or even something that describes your powers. It can be anything, but most importantly, it should be something that will make you stand out." Alfred looked at his students seriously.
"Your name basically would follow you for the rest of your journey as a superhero; it's what the civilian would recognize you as; it might change if the government decided you're eligible for a better one."
"But mostly, it's a name that would follow you for the rest of your lives. So, I'm sure you thought seriously about it. And remember, if you don't live up to your name, it's going to be taken away from you."
The students nodded seriously; they had seen all kinds of drama on social media of heroes taking away other heroes' names; it was one of their greatest sources of entertainment, but now the thought that it may happen to them doesn't sound so amusing anymore.
"You were given a few hours to think of your superhero names, so I assume all of you are ready to present your names in front of the class," Alfred said. "You also need to share why you chose the name. Now, who wants to go first?"
"Please let me!" Amanda said, appearing in a flash in front of the class.
Whoose-
"Go ahead," Alfred said with a smile, patting his slightly disheveled clothes and beard due to the wind created by Amanda and giving her an approving glance.
"My superhero name is 'One Strike.' Because I'm going to kill you before you know it," Amanda said, beaming with a smile before returning to her seat just as fast.
"That was fast." He clasped his hands and asked, "Who wants to go next?"
Most of the students were busy sizing each other up, trying to see who would go next after her; some felt shy.
"If no one wants to go first, then I'll call based on your rank."
This class was formed from the twenty-first students in the ranks, so the list went accordingly.
"Astin, you go first."
Getting up from his seat, disinterested, Astin stood in his seat and stated, "My hero name would be 'Dark Age.'"
Silence clouded the classroom as someone said, "Dark age? That sounds more like a supervillain name, haha."
The murmurs and whispers of the students started to fill the entire room with a slight inflexibility. Even though he only glanced at then briefly and with disinterest, they all could not help but feel uncomfortable while being looked at by him.
Professor Alfred said, breaking the tense atmosphere, "Are you sure that's the name you want to go with? It does sound more like a supervillain's name indeed."
Astin shrugged and said, "Well, you said the name can be based on my magical element; mine is 'darkness.'"
"I guess you can go with that," Alfred nodded, but he shivered, feeling cold run down his spine for a split second. 'Why did I feel eerily that this was wrong?'
Astin thought inwardly, 'If only going with 'Demon King' wasn't impossible,' So he just shrugged it off and went back to his seat.
"Damion, you're next," Alfred called out.
Damion got up from his seat and said, his face calm, "Oclixir."
Alfred raised an eyebrow and said, "That is your last name."
Damion nodded and said, "I'll just go by my last name."
"But that could seriously endanger your family."
"It's going to be okay," Damion answered, his face indifferent. "No one can hurt my family anyway."
Alfred opened and closed his mouth before shrugging off and saying, "As you wish." It's indeed meaningless for him to worry about Damion's family.
Ash, as number three, was still deep in thought, clenching his brown head tightly. He then stood up and said, "I am a bit concerned about my hero's name. I have two great names, but I'm not sure which one I should use."
He walked to the front of the class and continued, "I'm torn between 'Doctor Voice,' which is based on my ability, and 'Voiceless Stranger,' which sounds cooler in my opinion."
Ash spoke energetically, but the response he received was silence.
An awkward silence filled the room as nobody responded to him.
"But I think I'm going with 'The Holy Knight,' as I aim to become the mightiest superhero of all mankind and defeat the hero killer," he declared with enthusiasm.
"Hmm, 'Holy Knight' is already taken. You can't try to steal a senior's name as a newbie," Alfred interjected.
"I think 'Doctor Voice' sounds better, in my opinion. What do you think?"
He added, being a considerate professor.
"Okay, Dr. Voice, it is."
"Next."
"I've chosen the name 'Black Star,'" Lisa declared. "Astin and I started dating, so I plan to be the only shining star in his dark days."
The students started to cheer upon hearing her name.
A round of applause soon erupted, and her classmates cheered, congratulating the couple. Lisa's pink hair cascaded down her neck, and her ears turned red from the blush on her rosy cheeks.
"Tsk. Why don't I go next?" Tracy said, slamming her hand on the table, her tone irritated. "Since Amanda has already taken her turn."
'It's my turn. I'm ranked 6th,' Steve thought, feeling a menacing gaze on his back. "Forget about it; I can go after you."
"My hero's name is 'Forest Fairy,' chosen by Ryan," Tracy announced, wearing a smug expression.
"..." Ryan muttered, "When did I choose that?"
"You did?" Kevin asked with a smile and dark blue eyes that seemed to know what was going on.
Ryan nodded, thinking, 'I suppose I did, just now.'
"PFFFTT---" Amanda burst into laughter.
Tracy shot her a death glare from an angle no one could see, thinking, 'This name just came to her mind. I wanted to go by the name 'Fantastic Lady,' but...'
'If I had to call you 'Fantastic Lady,' I'd throw up every day.'
Amanda's laughter from the previous night rang in Tracy's mind, and she gave up on that nickname.
Steve got up from his seat and said, "My hero's name will be 'Snow Polar Bear.'"
"That matches quite well with your bear-like physique and shining light blue hair. Snow Polar Bear— it's a shame those animals are extinct, but they were cute creatures. It suits you," Amanda said, giving an approving thumbs up.
Kevin went up next, saying, "Well, I'm going with 'Snow Antarctic Fox.'"
"It's a shame those cute creatures don't match you at all," Amanda teased.
"That's not fair. Why did you think 'Snow Polar Bear' suited my brother?" Kevin grumbled.
"At least their temperatures match well—both cold as ice."
"That's still unfair," Kevin sat down with a huff, acting unconvinced and unhappy that his carefully chosen name was so blatantly told off, while in reality, he didn't mind her remark a bit.
Amanda, on the other hand, was as red as a tomato as she covered her entire face, trying so hard to suppress her laughter.
She was, in her own regard, very much amused by her tasteless joke, and only she knew what transpired in her head.
"Ahem." Professor Alfred coughed, giving her a helpless glance.
With everyone looking at her, she slowly started to tame her crazed breaths as she sat back down. And with a slight wink, she started at the person in line, not one bit embarrassed about becoming the center in a split second.
Jacob stood up, awkwardly fidgeting with his big round eyeglasses, and said, "My superhero name will be 'The Mysterious Mage.'"
"Oho, and why did you choose that?" Alfred asked unhurriedly, his eyes scanning the room, and quietly shushing the enthusiastic classroom.
"Because I," Jacob's face turned red as he continued, "Because I think 'Mysterious' is cool."
'Nobody's going to know about my elemental magic, not yet. That's why I went with the name 'Mysterious,' Jacob thought as he sat back in his seat.
Tracy and Amanda had already taken their turns, as had Steve and Kevin.
Next up was Catharina.
Catharina thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to be 'Omni-Lady'— the girl who knows all of history."
Alfred nodded and said, "That's great."
The class continued, and eventually, Alfred turned to Eddie and asked, "What about you, Eddie?"
Eddie scratched the back of his head and replied, "I thought, and I think I'll go with 'Fire Shooter.' My ability is kind of weak, so I didn't want to pick an amazing name."
Alfred gently corrected him, saying, "That name is already taken, Eddie. And 'Fire Shooter' is an amazing name. You should think of something else."
Eddie fell silent for a moment, feeling the pressure of his classmates' gaze. He couldn't think of another name.
Ryan spoke up from behind, "I think 'Fire Fury' suits you."
Due to the seating arrangement based on their ranks, Ryan sat right behind Eddie.
"I...then I would go with that. Well, I think I'm going with that," Eddie said, scratching his red hair and feeling embarrassed as he sat back down.
Alfred turned to Ryan and asked, "What about you, Ryan?"
Ryan paused for a second, and the entire class awaited his hero's name.
"I think 'Descendants of the Sun' suits him. Just look at his hair and eyes; matching them up with his fire ability is impeccable," Tracy suddenly suggested.
"As...he... I don't think that suits him quite well," Jacob answered weakly, somewhat shocked by Tracy's suggestion. "Besides, such a name would put a lot of pressure on Ryan," he added hastily before falling silent.
He didn't want Ryan to get that name because that was Hiro's name in the novel, and it doesn't quite fit Ryan. Did Tracy play a role in the novel? Although Jacob had stopped treating this world as if it was the novel, he couldn't help but think about it.
"I think 'Raven Lord' sounds amazing," Jacob said after a brief pause.
"Why do you say that?" Alfred inquired.
"That sounds good, but why 'Raven Lord'?" Ash wondered. No matter how you looked at him, no one would associate Ryan's bright appearance with ravens.
"Because..." Jacob began but didn't finish his thought, opting not to mention that Ryan grew up with crows.
"What about 'the Sleepy Prince'? Ryan always seems like he wants to sleep," Kevin suggested, giving Jacob some breathing room.
"Fire Hunter," Amanda declared, thinking her suggested name was better.
"Nuclear Explosion," Eddie hesitantly suggested. Since Ryan chose his hero's name, he also wanted to pick a cool name for him.
"Majestic Fire Dragon," Steve chimed in.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Professor Alfred suggested, "Why don't you let Ryan decide his name? He probably has something in mind. Give him a chance to choose."
"My hero's name is..." Ryan paused for a moment, with the whole class hanging on his words.