Slurrrp!
I slurped my noodles, the sound it made was loud, almost echoing in the cafeteria.
"Hey, eat like a human." Beside me Anna scolded.
"I am eating like a human."
Slurrrp!
For some reason, it felt unusually loud today.
~Staaareee!
'Or may be not.'
Someone had been staring at me with the intensity of a hawk eyeing for its prey.
Aria Frostheart.
She hadn't said a word since we sat down.
Her black eyes drilled into me like lasers, she wasn't even blinking. It was unsettling, to say the least.
I glanced at Anna, hoping she'd say something to break the silence, but she was… ignoring me.
'What?! What did I do? We 'both' agree to let them join.'
~Staaareee!
'Oh, come on! If you want to say something, then just say it,' I thought, trying my best to ignore Aria's gaze.
But those eyes… those terrifying eyes…
It reminded me of someone.
[Envy].
The Rank 4 Hero.
My and Ruby's mentor back at the Hero Association. The one who taught me everything about Essence control.
She was terrifying and strict to the point of being a tyrant, back then Me and Ruby named her The Sadistic Devil.
But… she was also brilliant. Her teaching methods were top-notch, and were incredibly effective.
I owed her a lot.
And now, sitting here, with Aria Frostheart staring daggers at me, I couldn't help but see the resemblance.
The way her sharp eyes seemed carved from ice, her unreadable expression, and that aura to caught everyone's attention—yeah, she was way too similar to [Envy].
I was so distracted by the comparison, that I almost didn't notice when she spoke.
"How can you control dual skills at the same time?"
'Damn, straight to the point.'
The question didn't caught me off guard. I already guessed her reason to tagged along with us.
Casting dual skills wasn't actually rare or difficult, but it was far from common for a first year to do it.
It basically required an advanced understanding of Elemental Essence or the ability to flow Essence through multiple pathways simultaneously, and most importantly—a level of parallel thinking that could easily fry someone's mind, if they try without practice.
I paused for a bit, letting her question hang in the air for a moment.
Memories of Envy's tortu—training sessions flashed through my mind. The countless hours she'd spent drilling the concept into my head until it became second nature to me.
Just remembering it gives me shiver.
But she's the one who taught me, as such, I have to return favor.
"It's all about Essence flow," I finally said. "You need to understand the essence of the Element at a fundamental level—how it moves, how it interacts, and how it connects to everything else. Once you grasp that, then it's just a matter of… synchronization."
My sudden reply, caught every one's attention.
I noticed the way Aria and Julius's eyes narrowed, as they tried to processing my words.
Even Anna, sitting beside me, nudged me with her elbow. "Wow, look at you, Professor Skylark, sharing his wisdom like it's free candy. But when I asked, you didn—"
"Shut up," I muttered, ignoring her grin.
Meanwhile, Aria, leaned back slightly, resting her chin on her hand in a thoughtful pose.
"I see," she said simply.
Those two words caught me off guard. I was expecting few follow-up questions.
But no—she seemed to have understood everything in one go.
'As expected of Envy's pupil.'
I was impressed.
But something didn't sit right. If Envy was a part of family then, why hadn't she taught Aria this herself? Knowing the Frostheart house, This was their field of expertise.
It was odd, to say the least.
Without holding my curiosity, I asked her.
"By the way, I've heard a lot about the Frostheart family. Especially about Envy. She's your…"
I intentionally let the question hang, watching her reaction carefully.
Her expression changed, there was a flicker of something in her eyes—something I couldn't quite grasp.
"She's my mother."
'Eh?'
"Wait!? She is married! Who in their right mind would marry her!?"
". . ."
". . ."
". . ."
I failed to hold my surprise, and without much thought, I just blurted out something really stupid, drawing everyone's attention.
'Fuck!'
But… But, here me out, my questions are all reasonable. Who in the right mind would marry That Sadistic Devil, and much less have a 'daughter'.
Smack!
Beside me, Anna smacked with her elbow. "Hey, That's rude!"
And Aria, she just blinked, still processing my comment.
"Yeah, I apologize." Facing Aria I apologized.
"Pftt.. Hee hee hee," a soft playful chuckle escaped Aria's lips, her laughter was like a warm ray of sunshine.
"Oh, Pardon me, I was just Pftt–hee hee…" without stopping she cracked again.
Everyone, including me was surprised, we just simply stared her giggling face.
"I'm Sorry, It was just… pftt… you seem to know my mother."
'Just my rotten luck.'
"Y–Yeah, she… uh… she once saved me, from a fire, when I was little, and… umm… I heard her say something really scary thing, and that's why…"
I know. My reasons, were really dumb.
"Oh, Don't worry, I am not interrogating you, it just that, very few know her… scary side."
'She is an angel! An Angel! Unlike her mother…'
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
But suddenly at the same time our wristband vibrated.
Looking at each other, we finally understood what it's about.
The lunch time's over, and our Year-1 Rank has finally been decided.
Tapping my wristband, I opened the notification. And their it was, my Year-1 Rank, clearly visible on the holographic display:
-------------------------------------
Student Name: Zane Skylark
Elemental: Ice
Essence Throughput: D
Skills:
1.Elemental Discharge: C
2.Ice Field: D
3.Ice Spear: E
Combat Skill: A
Year-1 Rank: 190
----------------------------------------
'Please kill me.'
If it wasn't for my stupidity, I would be getting a Rank above 250.
Sigh…
"Woah! 190, not bad." Anna leaned from the side as she stole a glance at my results.
"Hey! No peeking, first show me yours."
"Heh heh, Here behold!"
Without questioning she, shoved her holographic display at my face:
-------------------------------------
Student Name: Anna Ashborne
Elemental: Fire
Essence Throughput: A
Skills:
1.Fire Cave: A
2.HellFire: A
3.Cannon bullet: B
Combat Skill: A
Year-1 Rank: 03
-------------------------------------
"Rank 3, very impressive. But is it okay for you to show me your skills?"
"Meh! If it's you, then, I guess it's fine." She said it with a grin, as she leaned closer to me and whispered, " Either way, I still owe you for saving me that day."
"You two seem to be pretty close." Julius finally said something.
'And here I was wondering, why this guy has been so quiet today.'
Well proved me wrong.
"Anyways, aren't you curious about my Rank?" Julius asked.
"Not really." Both Anna and I said in unison.
"Oh! Come on."
There's no reason to ask him.
Julius Hartfield, without a doubt is a talented individual. And it's something I can confirm, as a former Rank-1, I can Blankly declared that his skills are without a doubt remarkable.
And Aria. She is one step above Julius. And I wouldn't be surprised, if one day she replaces [Envy].
Ding!
The displays hanged on cafeteria's wall turned on and the Rank of Year-1 displayed for every one to witness:
-------------------------------
Rank-1: Aria Frostheart
Rank-2: Julius Hartfield
Rank-3: Anna Ashborne
.
.
.
Rank-190: Zane Skylark
.
.
--------------------------------
As I witness the Ranks, I thought about what lay ahead for them. The dangers, the responsibilities.
No one here deserved to fall like [Hope]—like… me. I'd make sure of it.
As next generation of heroes, they deserved a chance at future, and I'd do whatever it took to secure that for them and for the rest of the world.
They don't deserve someone like [Glory].
But… for now, I was… having fun.
For the first time, I felt something.
Was it being in a group with Anna, Aria and Julius? Or simply having people around who won't try to stab me in the back?
I didn't know.
But I did know one thing.
Maybe making more friends wasn't so bad after all.
…
Hero Association HQ:
Markus leaned back in his leather chair, the lighting of his office casting long shadows across the room.
A large screen in front of him played a clip on a loop—a recording of Glory's brutal murder at the hands of a mysterious figure.
The figure, a man with crimson red hair and a black mask, stood over Glory's lifeless body.
Beep!
The screen froze as Markus paused the video, zooming in on the masked face of the man known as Nightmare.
Markus turned his head slightly, his gaze shifting to a lone figure standing silently in front of his desk. "Glory is dead," he said, "and the Rank 3 position is now vacant. As per protocol, the next eligible candidate will take his place."
He paused, as he narrowed his eyes while addressing the woman before him. "Envy," he said. "You are now the new Rank 3."
Envy stood tall, her black leather jacket and matching leather pants was shining on the light. Her black hair framed her sharp features, her expression was unreadable.
Markus gestured toward the frozen screen, "Can you deal with him?"
Envy's eyes fixed to the screen, scanning the image of Nightmare.
She remained silent for a moment, as if she is processing every detail.
"Surely," she finally said.
"Good," he said. "Because, Nightmare has proven himself capable of taking down a Single Ranker, and we can't afford to underestimate him. To that end…"
He reached into a drawer near him, pulling out a sleek brown file and sliding it across the desk toward Envy.
The words [The Apex] were written in bold letters on the cover.
"…we're forming a new team, and you, Envy, will be the leader."
End of Chapter.