"Welcome freshmen!" A tall man with sparse hair and a white suit spoke into the microphone at the podium. He looked around the room with confidence and ease. It was almost as if he had made this speech dozens of times before. Which, coincidentally, he had.
"It is my pleasure as Dean of the Superhero Training Program to be the first to congratulate you on making the cut into our elite community," the dean continued. "My name is Felix Bean, however I want you all to address me as Dean Felix. It is my wish as well as my responsibility that each of you grows stronger in the years to come, and that the best of you graduate from this program and go on to become genuine heroes who will protect our community from all who seeks to bring harm. We want to see all of you succeed!"
"That's impossible," Tris muttered.
"What?" Mage whispered back. They were currently sitting in a seat near the back of the auditorium.
"I said it's impossible to see us all succeed."
"Why?" Mage asked
"Only the top 10 of the class will graduate to become heroes."
Mage fell silent at this. This changed everything. If there were only 10 spots available at the end, this meant that the competitiveness of the class will be the absolutely insane. He looked around the auditorium, at the seventy-something students paying rapt attention to the Dean's speech, at the seventy-something opponents he would have to face. He sighed softly.
"I know most of you are not used to being near other supers. Some of you are from places where you are the only Super around, but having peers around you who can understand and relate to what you're going through is a novel experience. We will ensure that is a wonderful one." Dean Felix continued.
"As some of you may know, becoming a hero is a long and arduous journey that requires steadfastness, courage and determination. Above all it requires a good and pure heart that is dedicated to fighting evil and helping to make the society a better place.
In the four years you will spend here, you'll be taking combat classes, training your tactical skills, and learning to think outside the box on the different application of your skills. Most important of all, Ethics of heroism and keeping your abilities secret."
Dean Felix chuckled at the unhappy groans that followed his statement. He looked down at the seventy-eight freshmen and said, "I know many of you will find it hard to adapt after living with your abilities out in the open for many years protecting a secret identity helps you practice a lot of skills heroes need; Ingenuity and thinking on your feet. Those of you who fail to do so will be booted immediately."
The groans stopped immediately. Dean Felix looked around and continued without breaking his smile, "Of course there will be special cases, it's inevitable. But it will be up to us to decide if it's a special case or not, so just try your best not to be exposed, everyone?"
"Great," Mage heard a boy beside him mutter.
…
"Now that we've got all the unpleasant part settled, it's time to move on to today's main event. Since your normal standard classes don't start until tomorrow, we will be having our combat ranking today. Combat rankings after this will be done at the end of every year. This is so we can get a sense of how much you've improved, and the areas you need focused training. We won't just be taking account who wins, but how you win… or lose. We want to see you make, not just use of your abilities, but also your brain. Today's combat ranking will be a single elimination tournament, so the more you win, the higher your ranking."
Mage felt his stomach drop and his heart sink. He normally would not be afraid of fighting as he was a pretty good fighter back where he came from. But he didn't think his meager fighting abilities could help him against guys who could bend steel and breathe fire. He was not alone though, half of the students around him looked pale and frightened.
Strangely enough, Tris was not among them. He had an easy-going smile on his face.