Everyone, except for me, listened to the words spoken by my aunt Ava and felt inspired. Ava was giving a speech about the importance of heroes' existence, and because she was our teacher and, mainly, because she was Ava Lothbrok, all the students took her words seriously.
Being an S-class and belonging to the Lothbrok family, Ava is known worldwide. Her social media, which she uses for relationships, has over 300 million followers. Undoubtedly, she is the most famous Lothbrok in my family. Her beauty and, mainly, her strength have made her not only a heroine but also a brand in this world.
"Do you understand?" She asked the students. "YES!" Everyone, except for me, answered enthusiastically.
Sighing sleepily, I gave a brief glance at Michael, who seemed focused on Ava, and reflected: "We're in the 'King' arc. This arc will portray a dispute made by the academy to move students and bring competitiveness among them. Ava will reveal our rankings from 1 to 1000, and the lower your number, the higher you will be within the academy. A cruel game where those with high rankings can be freely used by lower-ranked ones."
After considering, I looked at a girl with pink hair and blue eyes. Her innocent appearance can be compared to Serena's, but it's all just a façade. This girl's name is Elisa Black, a character who will play the role of villain in this arc.
She will be ranked fourth among the entire first year, meaning only three people will be able to boss her around. With her power and authority, she does horrible things to other girls. An example was when she had three boys rape a girl who had called her a slut.
Unfortunately or fortunately, the academy will not intervene in anything that happens during the 'King' game, meaning the academy will turn into a lawless land where someone else will decide the fate of the cadets. Weird, right? Now, the question is... Am I worried? Actually, I'm not, because I'm confident that I will be in the top 1 or 2 ranking. After all, I destroyed a city!
Suddenly, Ava took a sheet of paper from her folder and began to speak: "Now that you know the importance of heroes, I'll tell you your rankings and the first mission as cadets."
An excited atmosphere began to emerge among everyone. They were eager to hear what their rank was. Honestly, I was excited too. Class A-1 is where the best students are, and since there are an average of 50 students in the class, it's certain that the lowest ranking in this class is 50. That means we can boss around 950 first-year students as we please.
Ava looked at the enthusiastic faces of the students and smiled, as if it were a devilish grin that few people would notice. "I see you're excited to find out your rankings, but before I tell you, I'm going to tell you your missions, ok?" Ava asked the students, and they all answered at the same time, "Yes!"
Ava smiled and said, "Your first mission will start after I announce your rankings and will last until the end of the semester, which means the mission will last two months. Your goal is simple, just survive until then." With an excited tone, Ava spoke those words while smiling at everyone, but it wasn't a sweet and gentle smile, it was a smile from someone who wanted to see chaos.
I looked at the others and saw shocked expressions on their faces. It seemed that Ava's news had put them on alert. After all, Ava had hinted that the rankings would interfere or help the individual to complete the mission.
"Ok, seeing everyone understands the mission, here are your rankings: the number one spot of the entire freshman year goes to Michael Blad..." Ava only announced the first placer to see the reaction of the other students. She looked at their surprised faces and then at Michael, who had an indifferent expression. She reflected, "A boy who doesn't belong to any institution, family or even organization, has achieved the number one ranking of the entire freshman year... What secrets do you hide, Michael Blad?" Ava was clever, she had seen this kind of people before, those who suddenly appear in the world and overshadow everyone else. She knew that these people had something that made them different from others, and Michael was one of them.
"Alright, the second-ranked of the entire freshman year is..."
After that, Ava revealed everyone's rankings in the following order:
1- Michael
2- Kato
3- Elisa
4- Alice
5- Serena
6- Andrew
7- ?
8- ?
I didn't pay attention to the rest of the students, as only the main characters were important. But why the hell am I not in second place? I defeated Kato and destroyed a city! Ok, calm down... If we analyze the situation, my entrance into the academy was instant, and since I didn't participate in the new admission test, it's likely that I didn't receive a ranking, which means...
"Edward Lothbrok, ranked number 1000," Ava said.
Suddenly, all eyes in the room turned to me. The students were shocked by this information. Why? Because I am a Lothbrok, so they didn't expect me to be last. Shit... But wait, my situation is not that bad.
"With everyone's ranking revealed, I will give the final explanation about the mission. From now on, the mission has started and its name is 'The King's Game.' In this mission, those with the lowest rankings will have power over others. The power can be used in any way you want. If you're ranked 20, you can order the ranked 21 to do anything you want, without limitations! Crimes will be allowed during The King's Game, including murder. But remember, everything has a consequence in the end," Ava said as she looked towards the main characters. "No one is obliged to obey, but if you don't obey someone with a lower ranking than yours, you will be breaking the only rule of The King's Game. The punishment for breaking this rule will be expulsion, but you will only be expelled after The King's Game is over. There will be no classes during the mission period. You are free to do anything, whether it's stealing or killing. With that in mind, see you in 2 months."
Ava started walking towards the door and left, leaving everyone confused and shocked. Suddenly, a boy stood up and tried to run towards her to ask for more information, but when he was about to do that, Elisa said with a smile, "Don't move." Her sweet and gentle voice echoed throughout the room, leaving everyone paralyzed.
She smiled as she saw that the student had stopped and said, "The teacher has said enough, how about you go get a snack for me to eat? I'm hungry." The student swallowed and answered nervously, "Okay, I'm going..." After that, he walked towards the door and left to get Elisa's snack.
At the same time, Kato started laughing loudly, attracting everyone's attention. He looked at Elisa and asked, "Hey, what's your name?" Elisa gave him an innocent look and replied, "My name is Elisa Black, nice to meet you, Kato Miyamoto."
Then it all started... This test is something inspired by a military training of BOPE, an elite squad whose individuals are chosen after a test that can be called torture. Every year, they do this test with the aim of taking out the "trash" from the academy. Those with a villain profile will be analyzed during the period of two months and eventually removed from the academy.
It's a famous saying: give power to a man and see what he will do.
Honestly, I'm not worried. Even if I am the last-ranked, I don't need to obey anyone. The punishment for disobedience is a bluff, meaning I can do whatever I want, especially with my strength. I will pass these two months peacefully.
Or so I thought...
[...]
Author's note:
"To give a man power and see what he will do"
This statement reflects a rather pessimistic view of human nature, suggesting that when given power a man will become corrupt and abuse his position. Although there are examples in history that may support this view, it is important to remember that it is not universally true.
Political philosophy has debated the relationship between power and corruption for centuries. One perspective is that power corrupts the individual because they are subject to temptations and selfish desires. In this view, limitation of power is essential to prevent abuse.
On the other hand, other perspectives argue that corruption is not inherent in power itself, but rather a matter of how it is exercised. These perspectives emphasize the importance of ethics and morality in the use of power and personal responsibility in relation to its effects.
Ultimately, the relationship between power and corruption is complex and multifaceted. While the phrase "to give a man power and see what he will do" may have some truth in certain contexts, it is important not to generalize human nature as inherently corrupt when it comes to power.