The classroom was quieter than usual.
Not because the students were focused, far from it.
They shuffled in with stiff shoulders and aching limbs, the aftermath of the morning's hand-to-hand combat session still written across their bodies.
Bandaged knuckles, bruised jaws, and limps filled the rows of polished desks.
Even the Monster Trio sat less pristine than normal. Valek's lip was cut, Adrian's usually flawless hair was disheveled, and Selene rubbed her wrist where a sparring dummy had nearly broken it.
And then, there was Kairo.
He sat in the back, his uniform clinging to his sweat-damp skin, every movement betraying fatigue. His body was screaming at him, his stomach hollow, yet his eyes were sharp.
'This… this is the grind'.
'I've been doing it all my life, and I'll keep doing it'.
'I'll keep doing it till I get what I want'.
The air stilled when Professor Haldren Voss entered.
