I approached Solomon Nova since he was the most recognizable person on our team. He was standing next to Lionel Lionheart and as I got close, I saw that he was yawning while tiredly blinking his eyes.
Lionel seemed to glare at Solomon before he began walking away. As he passed me, his gaze paused momentarily before sliding right over me.
"Trash."
I ignored him and continued walking toward Solomon who turned toward me.
The crystal blue eyes looked tired but as we locked eyes, his eyes widened, and I felt a sharp pain shooting through my eyes while feeling as if something was trying to pry me open.
"What th-?"
[Scan resisted successfully]
He narrowed his gaze at me and I felt another sharp pain in my eyes.
[Scan resisted partially.]
[Scan resisted partially.]
[Scan resisted partially.]
Fuck. Seeing the messages kept appearing as he walked toward me, I immediately stopped and wanted to keep my distance.
"Interesting…" He murmured before grinning mischievously and shouting, "Yo black rank!"
As my expression darkened he laughed and held out his hand, "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I was just imitating Evelynn. You're Asani Martin, right? Rank 1000."
"Yes."
"Those eyes of yours are quite interesting. You resisted my scan and just now didn't you? And even now I can't see what gifts you have. Curious." He tilted his head and I felt that sharp throbbing pain again. Pissed, I immediately tried to Analyze him in return. For the first time, I got a message I had never seen before.
[Analyze has been resisted]
I tried it again.
[Analyze has been resisted]
"Ohh? He fights back!" Solomon burst out laughing before scanning me again.
[Scan has been resisted partially.]
[Scan has been resisted partially.]
[Scan has been resisted partially.]
"Interesting. It makes me want to dig into that head and figure out what you're hiding."
I kept my voice neutral as I responded. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You can lie to others but not to me. These eyes of mine are a bit special you see and I'm very very sensitive to mana and the mana around you is very…interesting." He pointed to his crystal-like eyes before smiling again. "Very pure but also very dark. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looks like you were cursed. Thoughts?"
I kept silent and just stared at him and he smiled knowingly.
"That's just a wild guess though. Either, keep your secrets for now. I'll find them out soon enough since we'll be working closely together very soon."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"If I tell you, won't it spoil all the fun? Look sharp, the others are coming."
He patted my back before chuckling again. As he walked away, I got one final message.
[Scan has been resisted partially.]
Fuck.
As I turned away from him, I began remembering everything I knew about him from Heroes Rise Again.
Solomon Nova. The current heir to the Nova Family and was considered the most talented person born to their clan after the current clan head Caerus Nova. In the novel, he was a capricious individual who rivaled Lionel Lionheart in strength even though he always came up short in the end. He couldn't fully be considered Lionel Lionheart's ally due to the rivalry between them, but more often than not, he was on the same side.
The novel never fully touched on Solomon's gifts. It was just known that he was good with mana and was a strong individual with versatile skills. However, there was one particular feature that was constantly written about when it came to him.
Fairy Eyes. Eyes that looked like shattered mana crystals with light refracting through the shards. Numerous rumors surrounded those eyes. Many thought the eyes were a blessing that allowed the owners to see mana, replicate skills, see the future, and analyze anything in the world. Others thought it was a cheat that gave the owners an unfair advantage in a world that valued strength. Despite the speculation, nobody was sure about the full extent of its abilities, however, there was one thing that was agreed on about them, when it came to mana, it was the best aid, and those that possessed the eyes were strong.
It was unknown whether the Fairy Eyes was an inherent gift talented Nova clan members were born with or if the clan somehow managed to transplant the eyes of fairies, the magical beings closest to mana into a person.
However, it was the pinnacle of achievement for the Nova's, a clan who pursued mana and magic to the fullest extent such that they were considered blessed and marked by mana.
The identifiable trait of all Nova Clan members was the platinum blonde hair they all possessed at birth. As their proficiency in using mana grew, the hair would slowly become stained by the mana. Red for fire, blue for water, yellow for lightning, you could easily identify the magic specialty of a Nova clan member by looking at their hair color.
In that clan of magic freaks, there were only two current individuals who could use nearly any type of mana and those same people had Fairy eyes.
Caerus Nova - the current head of the clan and the person who was considered the pinnacle of mana and magic. She was called the master of mana and the rainbow magician due to her long rainbow-colored hair and the variety of magic types she could use. Ranked second behind Basil Lionheart.
And Solomon Nova her nephew. Rumored to have awakened his talents at a ridiculously young age. Ranked second behind Lionel Lionheart. It was almost poetic how the junior generation mirrored the senior one. However, he was the one character I wanted to avoid if I could.
Unfortunately, it seemed that I would have to be on his team until the middle of the semester, and even more unfortunate, I had caught his attention. Still, it was good to know that the Eye of Odin (D) was partially effective in blocking whatever his version of Analyze was and I was doubly happy that any mark connecting me to the Nox clan was gone. Although it was a bit worrisome that he could see something like a curse around me, it seemed as if he couldn't get the full details. I would have to prioritize raising that gift as much as possible in the event that I continued to encounter him more, or worse, meet someone stronger with similar talents.
"How annoying."
Sighing at my bad luck, I turned to see who else would be joining our team.
Three people were walking over and they all beelined for Solomon. It was two black uniformed students; a boy and a girl who both held swords and one white uniformed boy with a large bow on his back.
"Hello Mr. Nova, I'm Jacob Arin. Rank 250, Archer. I also sit in your history class."
"Okay." Was Solomon's apathetic reply
"I'm Whitney Moore. Rank 850. Swordsman. It's an honor to be on your team."
"I'm David Branch. Rank 790. Swordsman. Same here."
"I see."
As they all turned to look at me, I held up my gun and did my introduction, "Asani Martin. Rank 1000. All-rounder."
"Heh."
I watched as everyone but Solomon Nova immediately sneered at me before turning away.
"So what's the plan? I propose we have Mr. Nova take the lead while I become the secondary since my vision is good. Once we have our assigned monster, I'll help to scout and can attack from a distance as well. The rest of you can join in as well until we take down the monster before moving on to others. With our skill and Mr. Nova's strength, we're guaranteed a spot in the top 3!"
"That sounds good to me."
"No arguments here."
"Mr. Nova, what do you think?"
All three of them echoed each other before turning to Solomon.
"Plans? We don't need that. Weaklings can just sit back and let the strong folk handle it. " Solomon replied casually as his gaze swept over us.
"Right. We white ranks will take care of it while the black ranks can stay back without dragging us down right Mr. Nova?"
"No? When I said weaklings, I meant all of you. As soon as they give us the signal to start, I'll take care of it so don't get in my way." Solomon responded lightly.
"But if we don't do anything, we won't get enough individual points!"
"What does that have to do with me?" Solomon smiled coldly. As the rest of the team stared at him in stunned silence-
Wheeeeee! The whistle sounded out.
As the students around us began to run into the forest, Solomon turned around and gave a warning, "Just sit tight and grab some popcorn. Someone so nicely requested for me to go all out today so you'll get to see a good show for free."
He held out both his hands and closed his eyes. Unlike the sharp feeling from earlier, I felt a gentle ripple of mana spread out with him as the center. The mana felt like a gentle gust of wind blowing on my face before reversing and blowing in the opposite direction. Then it suddenly stopped.
"Got them. I suggest you all cover your eyes, it's gonna be bright!" Solomon suddenly yelled with a wide smile on his face. He pulled sunglasses from his pocket, putting them on before lifting his hands once more as if conducting an orchestra.
As I quickly crafted my own pair and placed it on my face, a large surge of mana suddenly erupted from him, engulfing the surroundings from the ground to the sky.
His hair began to float up and his finger pointed at the sky in the distance.
I looked up and watched large waves of mana cover the sky as far as I could see. In my mana vision, it looked like whirlpools of mana slowly growing larger, forming an intricate net that hovered over the forest as far as I could see. The air felt dense and heavy similar to the way it felt before a thunderstorm.
With a light smile on his face, Solomon Nova gently spoke as his finger traced a line from the sky to the ground, "Rain down"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Even though it was the middle of the day, the world became black, the only thing visible was the small sparks illuminating the sky like stars. One by one, they twinkled into existence, sparkling like orbs of gold.
"Beautiful." I heard a voice whisper beside me.
Then.
The sparks then began to fall into the forest, leaving a faint streak of light behind it. First one. Then another. It was silent for a moment as everyone paused and stared at the beautiful scene of the falling stars.
Then.
Booooooooooooom!
The loud roar of thunder sounded out and what could only be explained as a curtain of lightning began crashing repeatedly into the forest, illuminating the entire area in a white glow and causing the ground to shake.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of the thunder was so great, it sounded like one continuous drum being beat.
Covering my ears at the cacophony while I glance around. Some students were falling to the ground covering their heads while others looked shocked as they stared between the lightning show happening and the culprit who was watching his handiwork with a satisfied smile. The few who had made it into the forest quickly ran back to join the rest of us, a look of confusion and fear on their faces.
For 5 minutes straight, the vicious cycle of lightning and thunder continued until it suddenly stopped and the day became bright and clear again, as if nothing had happened.
A suffocating atmosphere filled the field, the tension so thick, it could be cut. Many people looked shocked but a good amount of them looked defeated. This was their classmate, someone they were supposed to train along with and fight against. Yet what he had displayed was something you would expect from professional heroes, not a 17-year-old student.
"As expected of the 9 clans." Somebody muttered and it seemed as if that was the catalyst.
"Yeah as expected. He's rank two for a reason."
As people began chatting softly, a cheerful voice spoke out.
"Alrighty. Test over. I eliminated all the monsters in the forests. Everyone else can start running laps while I check in with the professors."
"….."
Spinning to us, Solomon smiled as he removed his sunglasses. "I told you it would be over quickly right? There's no need for weaklings like you to act while I'm here."
Asani: "…."
The rest of the team: "…."
The rest of the students:"..."
Before anybody could say anything, Professor George Woodson stomped over and tried to grab Solomon but he quickly dodged before staring at the professor in a challenging manner.
"Solomon Nova. What are you doing?"
"Completing the test?" Solomon replied unrepentantly.
"What part of this is a team activity did you not understand? "
"Is it? Why does it matter as long as it's completed?"
"You were supposed to work together as a team to tackle the monsters before possibly moving on to others. This was supposed to display each other's skill level and build your teamwork! That was a reckless display from you! You could have hurt or even killed somebody.!" Professor Woodson seemed to be on the verge of yelling.
"Please don't insult me. I controlled my strength perfectly. No student was harmed, the forest is still standing, and I displayed my skill level so I'm good. As for teamwork? Heh. I don't need that. If you care so much, I wiped all the monsters and I was in a team so it should be fine. Can I go now?"
"Solomon! Nova!" Professor Woodson actually began yelling, his face turning red. Although he knew the students from the 9 clans were all problematic in their own rights, to have this happen was a shocker to him. The power and control needed to control lightning and execute such a skill shouldn't be something a young student should be able to do even if he was from the 9 clans.
"Professor I'm right here. No need to keep calling my name. It's not my fault you put me in a team of weaklings. In the real world, I probably wouldn't have a team anyway since it's just faster to do the work by myself. This was quick and efficient. What I did wasn't against the rules so I'll take it as we're done here." Solomon shrugged before beginning to walk away.
"Solomon Nova, are you talking back to a professor?"
Professor Lee's voice sounded out as she walked over with a fierce glare. Solomon immediately stood straight and his tone was respectful as he responded.
"No, I would never do such a thing."
"Then what the hell is going on here? And what did I tell you about your skills?"
"It's a friendly discussion between a student and his professor. I think you said something like tone it down to a weaker level. I was sleepy so I don't remember."
"And what is this?"
"Is this not a weaker level?" he sounded honestly confused.
"Solomon" Professor Lee growled out in a warning tone.
As the professor's eyes began turning yellow, Solomon held his hands up with a sigh, but as he spoke, his tone was completely unapologetic.
"I swear, I restrained myself and I don't think I'm in the wrong! You asked for monsters to be defeated and they were. Whether or not my team directly participated is irrelevant."
"Taking away the opportunity for people to learn and grow is wrong. What the hell are the rest of the teams supposed to do when you obliterated every target? Is there even anything left alive?"
"…Maybe? I only cleaned out the area within 3 miles and only aimed for D, E, and F-ranked beasts. Besides, and I'm sure everyone agrees with me, I don't want to be grouped up with randomly selected people especially when it's decided by something as nonsensical and useless as rank." He gave Professor Lee an arrogant smile as he looked around catching the eyes of Lionel Lionheart who was glaring daggers and Evelynn Isolde who looked shocked.
"And I don't think this is a good test for the real world. It's too safe and controlled and obviously not well thought out. I'm not the only student here who could have done something close to this so why am I being scolded?
I think you should throw us into a real-life scenario to test our skills. We are supposed to be the best of the best students in the world right? Treat us like that. After that evaluation, allow us to form our own teams. After all, I think there's quite a few people with such…interesting skills not quantified by their rank and it would be a shame to miss out on getting to know them." As he finished, he turned to smile at me in a refreshing manner.
"What do you think Professor Lee?"
Professor Lee was silent for a moment before giving him a sharp smile.
"I see you've gotten cocky in the time you haven't had morning training thinking you can mess around like this. Perhaps I need to speak with your clan head about your behavior so she can call you home for some one-on-one time?"
"I respectfully decline and apologize for my actions. I'm willing to take any other punishment. But I also don't think I'm wrong. This was useless as a learning experience. You should redo the exam."
Surprisingly, his tone became immediately respectful and he bowed his head.
"Sigh. If it's not one thing it's another." The professor rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "You all can leave. Since technically, Solomon Nova did no wrong, his team wins and everyone else fails. The punishment for the losers is a hundred laps."
"What?!"
"No way!"
"That's completely unfair that he monopolized the points! We didn't even get the chance to do anything!
"Yeah, it's not fair that his teammates did nothing and still get to pass!"
"Professor, you have to redo the exam!!"
"I refuse to fail something so early in the year without showing my skill!"
As numerous students began gathering in a circle and protesting, Professor Lee gazed about before giving a dark smile.
"I suspected something like this might happen and I don't mind redoing the exam however this was supposed to be an intro that your other combat professors insisted was necessary to get you acclimatized. The redo exam will be much harder than this. Do you still want to proceed with it?"
"Yes please!"
"Professor you have to."
"Please, professor!"
I looked around at the students who were yelling excitedly for a new exam and shook my head in pity. These fools hadn't realized yet that when Professor Lee began smiling like that, it meant hell for all participants.
"Fine fine, just remember that when you take the next exam, you asked for it, and make sure to thank Mr. Nova for his suggestion. Details will be conveyed to you this evening but my hint would be to prepare for any situation you might experience in a dungeon. Ah but don't worry, we will make sure to give you food and other supplies to ensure your survival. You have the rest of the day off to prep. I suggest you use it wisely. Dismissed. Solomon, with me."
Seeing that we had effectively been given a free day, I began leaving before noticing someone walking beside me. It was Lina.
"I don't know if I should say you're lucky or unlucky. You would have won if today was valid." She commented lightly.
"Unlucky for sure. Whatever exam Professor Lee has planned, I'm sure it's 10 times worse than this one."
"Any idea what it could be?"
"Did you hear her words, 'prepare for anything you might experience in a dungeon'? With the kind of personality she has, she might throw us into a jungle filled with monsters with nothing but the clothes on our backs or something even worse than that. I'm sure there's a reason the other professors wanted an easier exam for the first one."
"Do you really think so? That seems a bit harsh considering they haven't prepared us for any situation like that. Won't it just be a real dungeon this time or something?"
"Definitely." Remembering Professor Lee's cold smile, I began trying to remember other exams that had been taken by students in the novel. There were several dungeon trips, open battle scenarios like this one, battle royales, etc. Although it wasn't a jungle, there was an exam scenario where students had been tossed onto an island for a week to fend for themselves which had ended catastrophically for more than one reason….
She wouldn't, would she? Would Professor Lee throw the first-year students with a month's training into an island filled with monsters? I didn't have to think too hard for my answer.
Absolutely! She would definitely do so while laughing!
"Well, since we have the rest of the day off, do you want to go to my warehouse?"
"Sure. Also, loan me some money, I'd like to do some general shopping as well."
"What are you trying to get? I have sources."
"All of a sudden, I'm interested in wilderness survival gear. I suggest you look into the same."
Lina gave me a look before rolling her eyes, "I think you're overthinking it. The academy would never do that to first years"
"The academy might not but Professor Lee. Heh. We'll see."
***
Facts would show, that I was indeed correct with my suspicions.
It was 6 am and we had been called to gather in one of the heavily restricted rooms of the academy. A glowing purple portal over 10 feet tall was visible behind Professor Lee who was dressed in her usual black outfit. Besides her were 3 people.
One was a woman in a dark blue outfit and flight goggles who had a large navy and black wings.
The other was an angry-looking man with wild gray hair dressed completely in red leather.
The third person was completely covered by the robe they wore and nothing about their body could be seen.
"I came to the realization that the academy may have been babying you a little too much which is why some of you have so much energy to be causing me problems. I was told to take it lightly on you all and originally planned on saving this for later in the year but hearing your enthusiasm yesterday warmed my heart so I decided to move it forward. Today's exercise is a fun one I specifically thought of and I'm glad to share it with you.
You will be teleported to a random location on an island filled with monsters and beasts and will be there for a week. Consider it a real-life dungeon if you will.
You will be getting a special watch and your goal is to last for the week and defeat monsters for points. You may do so individually or team up and share or trade points. Alternatively, you can also steal other students' watches to disqualify them. For bonus points, there is a special opportunity available at the Red Lighthouse by the coast.
As always, attacking others is allowed. Killing is not.
The helpers for the exercise are Mid-Ranked Heroes Captain Merlin, Robin, and Swallow. They'll be posted at the tower in the center of the island to keep an eye on you and to evacuate students who want to forfeit or are heavily injured. I will be observing you from here. Questions?"
"Yes, professor. You mentioned previously we would be getting supplies?"
"That's correct, you each will be provided with supplies to ensure you won't die. I advised you all to prep supplies as well right? You can take a look when you are portaled over. Anyone else?"
"Yes professor…."
As the professor continued speaking, I turned to give Lina a knowing smirk.
"Aren't you glad you listened to me?"
"Shut up."
Seeing her displeased smile, I chuckled before paying attention again.
"Oh, and Solomon Nova come here."
"Yes, professor?" Solomon walked up with a bright smile.
"Let me see your hands."
"Yes?" He hesitantly held both hands out.
Click.
Professor Lee quickly clamped silver bracelets that glowed in my mana vision onto his wrists.
"Magic cuffs specially made by your clan head to reduce you to rank E. Oh, and she said to tell you, 'If you dare to take these off without it being a life or death situation I'll know. And if you dare cause trouble, don't blame me for punishing you severely.' Understood?"
"…."
With that, she clapped her hands.
"Alright, one at a time through the portal. Grab your survival packs and watches. I'll do a final inspection of your bags of any illicit items and you can go. See you all in a week. Don't die."
As the professor began checking the bags of students, she began laughing. First, it was a soft chuckle, but with each bag checked she threw her head back and roared with laughter. She even occasionally wiped tears from her face while muttering to herself.
I waited until almost all the students had gone ahead before approaching Professor Lee.
"Let me see you pack Asani."
"I handed the simple bag to her and she gave me a knowing look before handing it back.
"I see you over-prepared."
"Of course. I couldn't believe in your words with the way you've been cackling since yesterday so I prepared for all possibilities." I calmly explained.
Professor Lee: "...." Perhaps she needed to double his training? He had been getting really cocky lately.
"Anyways, professor, how will you be observing from here? Drones? A magic orb? Hidden cameras?" I asked innocently.
"Planning on doing something bad are you? Get going Asani."
"…tsk. Stingy. That's why you're graying early."
"I heard that!"
Ducking her slow swing with a light laugh, I took my first step into a portal.
I felt as if I was dunked into a warm pool and my vision was covered with swirls of mana before it immediately stopped.
Screech! Screech! Screech!
The call of an unknown animal sounded in the air.
I looked around me, noting the dense tropical foliage around me as well as the sweltering humidity in the air. The air felt so hot and heavy, that I felt as if I were breathing in water.
"Was it a jungle after all?" I muttered to myself while digging through the pack Professor Lee gave us.
Seeing the contents as well as the note she had written, I could understand why she had been laughing her ass off.
Dear students, as promised I have provided you with enough supplies to survive if you carefully ration them. If you didn't pack for the excursion properly, do your best to hunt wild animals to eat. Of course, since these animals are used to living with magical monsters they are quite tough, however, you will get no points for hunting them. See you in a week ^_^
- Your favorite professor.
The supplies were as follows.
- 3 bottles of water.
- 3 protein bars.
- A plastic poncho.
- A box of matches.
Crack! Booom!
As I stood there holding the matches, it immediately began pouring, completely soaking me, my uniform, and of course the matches.
"Favorite professor my ass."