The moment Ash stepped across the threshold of Classroom 001, ten pairs of eyes locked onto him with the precision of a targeting system.
The air inside didn't just feel heavy; it felt weaponized. This wasn't the clumsy, unrefined pressure he had sensed from the Openers in the city center.
This was the aura of survivors—of geniuses who had stared into the abyss and forced it to blink first.
An ordinary Opener would have been reduced to a shivering, sweat-drenched mess under such a concentrated gaze.
But Ashfei was no longer ordinary.
The Core of Void stirred in his chest, a cold, hungry vacuum that resented the intrusion.
Boom—
Without moving a muscle, Ash allowed his presence to flare.
An invisible wave of absolute, crushing indifference surged outward, meeting the collective pressure of the room head-on. The air seemed to ripple with a dark, distorted energy.
Several students narrowed their eyes. A few raised their brows in genuine surprise, shifting their postures from casual dominance to wary appraisal.
'This one... he isn't just another recruit.'
'Another monster has joined the fray.'
'That aura... it feels like standing on the edge of a cliff.'
As the silent clash of wills subsided, Ash took a measured breath and surveyed his new environment.
Including himself, there were eleven students: six males and five females.
They were scattered across the room, which was designed like a tiered amphitheater with ten rows of long, integrated desks.
In a display of sheer territorial arrogance, each of the ten students had claimed an entire row for themselves.
They sat in solitary defiance, as if any proximity to another would be a sign of weakness.
Ash sighed internally, the weight of social exhaustion already pressing on him.
'This class is going to be a nightmare to integrate with.'
He knew his goal: survive until graduation. But the immediate problem was more practical.
'Where the hell am I supposed to sit?'
He scanned the rows. Every time he stepped past a tier, a pair of eyes followed his movement like a predator tracking prey.
He ignored them, his face a marble mask of apathy, and climbed to the highest point—the tenth row.
A girl was already seated at the far-left edge of the long desk. She was a vision of metallic elegance. Her hair was a short, silver bob that shimmered like brushed steel, framing a face of porcelain perfection.
But it was her eyes that held the world at bay—heterochromatic spheres, one a cold steel-gray and the other a burning amber-gold. Her pale skin looked healthy yet porcelain-firm, and her light pink lips were pressed into a thin, uncompromising line.
She possessed a beauty that was both breathtaking and intimidatingly mechanical.
Ash took a seat at the far-right edge of the same desk, leaving a vast, empty expanse between them. She spared him a brief, analytical glance before returning her gaze to the void in front of her.
An oppressive silence stretched through the room. No one spoke. No one moved.
Tap—Tap—Tap—
The sound of rhythmic, heavy footsteps broke the trance.
Every head snapped toward the front of the room. Instinctively, the students released their auras, a defensive reflex against the newcomer. Ash followed suit, his presence coiling like a viper.
Suddenly, a tectonic weight slammed down upon them.
The collective pressure of the eleven students was snuffed out in a heartbeat, replaced by a gravity so immense that Ash found himself gasping, his hand gripping the edge of the desk to keep his torso from collapsing.
'This... this is a thousand times heavier than Hearth,'
Ash thought, his lungs burning.
'At least an Ascendant... maybe higher.'
He forced his head up, his neck muscles straining. Standing at the podium was a mountain of a man.
Standing 1.9 meters tall, his physique was a testament to decades of brutal combat. He wore a skin-tight black tactical shirt that strained against his muscles and olive-green military trousers. His eyes were like twin glaciers, cold and unforgiving.
After a few agonizing seconds, the pressure vanished.
The air rushed back into the room, leaving everyone gasping.
"Welcome to Class 001 of the 1000th Intake, Aegis Academy," the man began, his voice a low, resonant growl.
"I am Karl Vandir, a Colonel in the Union Military. My rank is Ascendant."
He paused, letting the weight of his title sink in.
"And for the duration of your stay here, I am your lead instructor and commanding officer."
The students remained silent. Being taught by a high-ranking Ascendant officer was an honor, but Karl's expression suggested that "honor" would be paid for in blood.
"First, a few words," Karl continued.
"This class has the smallest enrollment in the history of the Union. Even five hundred years ago, the first class had twenty students. Today, the average is thirty. Some in the administration are calling you the 'Failed Class.' Others prefer the 'Death Class.'"
No one flinched at the mockery. They were too proud for that.
"In this academy, a class is a squad," Karl said, his eyes scanning them. "A larger squad means more support, more eyes, more hands.
A smaller squad means you are more likely to die. Tomorrow, you will receive your official academy uniforms via your Chronographs.
They are designed for both environmental comfort and high-impact combat. Wear them with pride, or don't wear them at all."
He stepped closer to the edge of the podium.
"Now. Introduce yourselves. Name, age, and Core type."
Ash's heart did a slow, painful roll.
'Socializing. Why did it have to be socializing?' To a boy who had spent eighteen years avoiding notice, this was more terrifying than a Predator attack.
"I'll go first," a voice rang out.
A girl stood up. She was radiant—long, golden hair that cascaded down her back like a silken waterfall, eyes of deep cobalt blue, and skin as white as fresh snow.
She carried herself with the innate, suffocating grace of high nobility.
"My name is Isolde Victoria von Adler," she stated, her voice like a silver bell.
"I am 18. My Core is the Core of Manipulation."
Karl's eyebrows twitched.
"An Adler? I hope you don't expect your title to carry weight here. In this room, you are all equal—which is to say, you are all nothing until you prove otherwise."
"I understand, Colonel," Isolde replied smoothly before sitting down.
Ash was screaming internally.
'An Adler ? what is that ?... But a Core of Manipulation!!!!' She was the real thing. He was the fraud. If she ever scrutinized his "powers," his cover story would crumble like dry ash.
'Why am I so cursed?'
Next, a tall young man stood.
He had pale blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a stature of 1.85 meters. He looked like the definition of a modern knight.
"My name is Kael von di Vance. 18. Core of Weapon."
"The Vance family," Karl noted.
"An ancient lineage of knights. Let's see if your blade is as sharp as your ancestor's."
The introductions continued, but Ash stopped listening. His mind was a frantic storm of "what-ifs." He needed to maintain his mask.
Outside, his face remained a frozen wasteland of gray eyes and pale skin, but inside, he was a wreck.
Then, the girl to his left stood up.
"Riven Kurogane," she said, her voice as sharp and cold as a razor.
"18. Core of Armor."
She sat down immediately, offering nothing more. Her brevity was a blade, cutting the air short.
Karl's gaze finally landed on Ash.
"And finally... you."
Ash felt the weight of eleven gazes—ten students and one Ascendant—drilling into him.
He felt the familiar pull of [Adaptation], his heart rate slowing to a steady, rhythmic thrum. His mind cleared.
He stood up slowly.
His voice, when it came, was a flat, emotionless drone that somehow carried an inexplicable, regal authority.
"Ashfei. Call me Ash. 18. Core of Manipulation."
The room seemed to grow a degree colder. The brief, sharp syllables of his introduction felt like a verdict.
Isolde von Adler narrowed her blue eyes, her gaze sharpening into a spear as she looked at the boy who claimed to share her rare power.
Ash sat down, staring straight ahead. Internally, he let out a massive sigh of relief.
'Done. It's finally over.'
But he was wrong. By now ten different minds in the room reached the same silent conclusion:
'I need to keep an eye on that one.' x10