Running up and down the steep mid-mountain slope had gone on for over thirty minutes.
Knox and the Class A students were chasing after Hong Feng without a moment to breathe—when suddenly, the path simply ended.
Ahead of them, two cliffs faced each other, a valley stream roaring between them as white foam churned over the rocks.
"You'll need to use Darkness to leap across that valley up ahead."
At Hong Feng's words, several students visibly stiffened.
"Y-You want us to jump over that?"
"It's fine. You just need a bit of technique. Like when you summon Darkness beneath your palms—this time, you blast it from the soles of your feet."
She hopped into the air as she spoke.
With a pop!, black smoke exploded beneath her feet, and she performed double—no, triple—jumps in midair. Gasps erupted everywhere.
"You don't even need to jump in the air like that," she added, tumbling as she landed.
"Right at the moment your foot pushes off the ground, release the Darkness you gathered in your feet—like blasting it downward. It should feel like stepping on Darkness itself and launching forward."
Standing at the front, Hong Feng sprinted, kicked off, and leapt.
Boom!
She soared several meters and landed lightly on the far side.
"Like this!" She waved her arms and laughed.
The students' expressions twisted.
The valley wasn't even that deep, but nobody wanted to be the fool who fell in during the first week of school.
Some slowed down without meaning to, while the confident ones shouted and charged.
"Hyaaaah!"
Voooom!
They leapt. Thin trails of black smoke burst beneath their feet. Three landed cleanly, one rolled on the ground, and another barely managed to cling to the cliff edge.
"Well done!"
Hong Feng reached over and pulled him up. The boy gave a sheepish smile.
"Your release timing was a bit late. Try it faster next time!"
"Thank you, Professor!"
One after another, students jumped.
As expected of Kizen enrollees — all twenty succeeded.
"I'm going first!" Rick waved at Knox and Simon, then sprinted.
He kicked off, tucked both knees in, and confidently flew through the air.
"Waaah!"
The girls cheered — and Rick smirked…
…until he looked up.
A whole meter above him, Hector spun magnificently mid-air.
Shraaaak!
Hector slid across the ground, both feet planted, landing flawlessly.
"Well done!"
Hong Feng beamed and gave him a thumbs-up. Hector returned it, then bowed.
"Nice, Hector!"
"As expected!"
He high-fived his faction on the other side.
"…Tch. I just can't warm up to that guy," Rick muttered into the dirt after his less-than-perfect landing.
"Ooooooh!"
A second cheer erupted.
Rick and Hector turned.
Simon was upside-down midair, then twisted, dropped his legs, and slid backward across the ground—
Shraaaaaaak!
He stopped right in front of a rock, passing both Rick and Hector along the way.
"Very well done!"
Hong Feng clapped, delighted.
"That bastard…" Hector's jaw tightened.
Simon bowed politely, walked back, and casually slapped Rick's raised hand.
Smack!
"Finally showing the flair of Special Entry No. 1."
"Wait, wasn't he a Magical Combat major?"
Whispers spread. Hector's expression darkened. His calculations were unraveling.
Then someone remembered—
Another Special Entry No. 1 still stood on the opposite cliff.
Knox.
A normal student standing around might look scared, hesitant.
But Knox Aznable — the White Devil — afraid of jumping?
People would sooner believe a priest had invaded Kizen. They didn't know it yet, but they had just jinxed things badly.
Knox, who was still daydreaming about how to recreate the drink the TA had given him earlier, suddenly realized he was the only one who hadn't jumped yet.
"Huh? Oh—my bad, my bad. Hehe."
He walked to the edge of the cliff. Yes — walked. Slowly.
Every student who had jumped before him had taken a running start to build momentum. But Knox didn't bother. The students watching tilted their heads, confused about what he was trying to do.
Before they could even ask, the answer appeared right in front of them.
Knox reached the edge, then jumped — lightly, almost lazily — as if he were just hopping around. Once, twice, three times. With each step, a patch of darkness formed beneath his feet, supporting him midair. After a few casual jumps, he landed softly on the ground below, as light as a feather.
His landing looked gentle… but the way he'd jumped was something completely different.
The students stared, processing what they'd just seen. Some mouths hung open. Others widened their eyes. Even the TAs didn't quite believe it.
Hong Feng, watching from afar, was taken aback as well. His use of darkness was precise — too precise. Smooth, refined, controlled. This wasn't the movement of a first-year student.
Meanwhile, Hector grit his teeth so hard his followers heard it.
"Knox… Aznable…" he muttered, seething.
Then the students around them burst into cheers, praising Knox. He smiled back — and somehow, that simple smile made the cheering grow louder… especially from the girls.
Knox walked over to Simon and Rick and high-fived them.
Rick grinned. "Way to steal the spotlight, Knox!"
Simon added, "Nice job."
Knox then noticed the Four Musketeers — Jamie, Claudia, Cindy, and Merida. He waved at them with a relaxed smile, and the four girls waved back happily, earning a few envious glances from nearby students.
"Hmm." Rick opened his notebook and started scribbling something down.
Curious, Simon leaned over — while Knox just watched.
"What are you doing?" Simon asked.
"I'm drafting a recruitment list for the group projects. They'll probably start next week, so I need to be ready."
The notebook was filled with names of Class A students to keep an eye on, along with notes about their strengths and personalities.
To Simon, Rick felt a little different from the others. While most students were just trying to survive class, Rick was always studying the people around him.
"How's the research going so far?" Knox asked.
"Our class is pretty strong overall. Everyone's decent, but…"
Rick closed the notebook and shrugged.
"That one's a bit lackluster. I don't think she'll last long once the protection period ends."
Simon followed Rick's gaze. It was the girl who had only managed to mount the hippo thanks to Simon earlier — now being helped up by an assistant.
Knox rested his hand on his chin and grinned.
"Rick, don't judge a book by its cover."
Rick frowned slightly, hearing something in Knox's tone.
"So you're saying I missed something? You know about her?"
"Her name is Camibarez Ursula," Knox replied. "She's the daughter of the current Vampire Lord and a human woman. Even though she has vampire blood, her body is basically human — she can't handle it properly. In short, she's like an uncut gem. She has talent, but she lacks confidence. There's real potential there."
Rick clicked his tongue, annoyed with himself. "…I see. Guess I need to work on my observation skills. I won't ask how you know all that — honestly, it's not even surprising. Still, thanks. I almost overlooked a gem."
Knox waved a hand casually. "Don't worry about it. Just think of it as compensation from me."
Rick and Simon both tilted their heads.
"Compensation?" Rick asked. "For what?"
Knox smiled. "From the way you were talking, it sounded like you'd already decided I'd be on your team."
Rick stiffened. "Wait— what? You mean you're not teaming up with me and Simon for the group project?! Why!?"
Even Simon looked surprised.
Knox shrugged. "First, I never said I'd be on the same team as you. Second…" He pointed at Simon.
"Me?" Simon blinked.
"Yeah — you. Do you realize how people see you right now? Most of them think you don't deserve the Special Entry No. 1 spot. Even a few professors doubt you."
"I believe in you — and Nefthis wouldn't choose some random nobody — but if I'm on your team, nothing about that evaluation will change. It might even get worse. They'll just say you only did well because you were with me."
He crossed his arms. "Third, our majors will clash. You're planning to choose Summoning, right? To be honest, even though I'm confident in every subject here, I've decided to major in Summoning too — for reasons I can't explain yet."
"And lastly — if we're together, your growth will get held back. Those are my reasons."
————————————
Character Voicelines · Knox: About Double Jump
Knox: Do you know how it feels to pull off a double jump?
Knox: It's like going from Honkai Impact 3rd, where jumping barely feels like a thing…to Genshin Impact, where jumping finally becomes a thing…then straight into Wuthering Waves—where you can jump and dash.
Knox: j＜(￣︶￣)＞