Mara's eyes had turned crimson red. The wooden stick in his hand suddenly began to burn fiercely. Flames crawled across its surface as the temperature around him started rising rapidly.
A moment later, Mara slowly lowered his hand. The stick slipped from his grasp and fell onto the ground. The instant it touched the earth, its temperature began to decrease, and within seconds, the flames were extinguished.
Artha stared at the scene in shock.
"What kind of magic is this?!" he exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Alpha calmly walked toward Mara. Every step he took carried an unsettling sense of patience and authority. Despite the pressure in the air, Mara stood fearlessly, staring directly into Alpha's eyes without hesitation.
Alpha finally stopped in front of him. Slowly, he raised his little finger and placed it against Mara's forehead.
"Kanishka's Depth…" Alpha whispered softly.
At those words, Mara gently closed his eyes.
It felt as though he was sinking into a deep dream. Endless darkness surrounded him, silent and cold. Then, within that abyss, he noticed a single light.
The glowing radiance pierced through the darkness and moved closer and closer toward him, as if it had chosen him.
And then… it tried to enter through Mara's eyes.
Mara slowly opened his eyes.
Standing before him were eight people — among them were Jeron, Alpha, Torisa, and Atirika. The atmosphere around them felt unusually heavy, as if everyone had just witnessed something impossible.
Alpha looked directly at Mara and spoke in a calm voice,
"So… the Energy of heat exists within you."
The moment those words were spoken, a new glow appeared on Mara's face. It was not ordinary confidence — it was the radiance of awakening power.
Alpha then turned toward all the teachers and said,
"Now we must train every one of these students. They need to become strong enough for the tournament… and for the battles that await them. Let us begin."
As the others prepared themselves, Alpha gently placed his hand on Mara's head.
Inside his mind, Alpha silently thought,
The soul of Scarface…
Out of thousands, only one person is chosen to possess such a legendary soul.
At that moment, Artha suddenly asked in confusion,
"If there was so much Taap inside him, then why didn't his clothes burn?"
Alpha glanced toward the students before answering,
"The uniforms you all are wearing are special. They neither become wet, nor dirty… and they do not burn easily."
Mara turned around and saw his friends standing behind him.
Among them, Pasito stepped forward and asked with a grin,
"How are you feeling?"
Then Vasuki crossed his arms and said,
"Why aren't you answering? You alive or not?"
Mara nodded slightly.
"Yeah…"
But deep inside his mind, he thought,
Wow… this feels strange.
It's almost like I'm some kind of king.
Before the moment could continue, Torisa spoke in a serious tone,
"Now we should explain the plan we have prepared to train them, Alpha."
But Alpha interrupted her calmly.
"First, let us introduce everyone properly."
He stepped forward and looked at the students.
"You already know Jeron, Torisa, Atirika, and me. Now listen carefully to the introductions of the remaining four teachers."
At that moment, a man wearing glasses suddenly started laughing lightly.
Alpha looked toward him and said,
"Then perhaps we should begin with you."
The man adjusted his glasses before speaking lazily,
"What should I even say…? Ah, fine then. My name is Nakime Vilina."
Right after him, another woman smiled warmly and introduced herself,
"My name is Kamino Vilina. How are all of you doing?"
The moment the students saw her friendly smile, almost all of them raised their hands and excitedly shouted together,
"Hellooo, ma'am!"
Another teacher wearing glasses stepped forward. In a tired voice, he said,
"So… my name is…"
He suddenly paused mid-sentence.
Alpha slowly leaned slightly toward Torisa and whispered,
"At this rate, morning will arrive before he finishes speaking."
Torisa immediately shouted toward the teacher,
"What happened? Did you forget your own name?"
The man blinked behind his glasses before replying in a dull tone,
"Ravi Yukain."
Alpha leaned closer to Torisa once again and quietly muttered,
"Who even made him a teacher in such a huge academy?"
Torisa tried not to laugh as she replied softly,
"Just ignore him, or Ravi will get upset again."
The two silently laughed to themselves.
Then, a short and chubby man stepped forward proudly and said,
"My name is Smark Knightkin."
Alpha immediately whispered again,
"It looks like Smark is pregnant."
Sitting on the ground nearby, Vikar overheard the comment and let out a small laugh.
A moment later, Alpha's eyes shifted toward him.
The instant Vikar noticed Alpha staring at him, he quickly turned his face away without saying a word and pretended to focus entirely on Smark instead.
Alpha looked at everyone and loudly said,
"Listen carefully, villagers! We know a tournament is approaching, and many people may come there to set your fielding. That is why it becomes our duty to make sure your fielding does not get set."
The students stared at him in confusion.
Mara finally raised his hand and asked,
"What does 'setting our fielding' even mean?"
Alpha burst into laughter before replying,
"It means the destruction of your soul, understand?"
Hearing that strange explanation, Vikar slowly stood up.
Inside his mind, he thought,
That kind of language is usually used by gangsters or crime bosses…
Were these people former dons or something?
Meanwhile, Alpha continued speaking as if nothing unusual had happened.
"So yes, in order to prevent your fielding from being set, we will train all of you. After all… it is our responsibility."
At that moment, Vasuki quietly wiped tears from his eyes and thought to himself,
And they can also give us punishments… which is the truly terrifying part, brother.
Torisa shouted in the loudest voice among everyone,
"So, we are going to take all of you somewhere!"
The moment she said that, Vikar excitedly jumped up and yelled,
"We're going on a trip?!"
Alpha slowly turned his gaze toward Vikar.
For a brief second, it looked as if the anger inside him was desperately trying to escape.
But then, Alpha took a deep breath and forced a gentle smile onto his face.
"My child," he said lovingly, "we are taking you there for training."
The moment Vikar heard that tone, his excitement instantly disappeared.
Inside his mind, he thought,
If I speak any more, the same people whose duty is to stop others from setting my fielding…
…will personally set my fielding themselves by smashing their duty onto my face.
Then Torisa spoke in a strict voice,
"And if any of you create a kaand there, you will receive a very severe punishment."
Mara tilted his head in confusion and asked,
"What does kaand mean?"
Torisa instantly changed her expression and replied with a sweet smile,
"Well, dear student, kaand means causing trouble in any kind of work… or refusing to follow instructions."
Mara nodded slowly.
"Oh… okay."
Meanwhile, Pasito quietly stared at the teachers.
Inside his mind, he thought,
Were these people seriously gangsters in the past or something?
What is even happening? The students are being trained by people who themselves seem completely unruly.
Jeron stepped forward and said,
"Now, we will show all of you the banners. As you already know, until now we revealed the ratings of only one or two students. But now Alpha will bring the banners that contain your energy types… along with your ratings."
The moment they heard this, Mara and Pasito looked at each other with excited smiles.
"Now this is where the real fun begins!" they shouted enthusiastically together.
Alpha immediately frowned and snapped at them,
"Stop shouting so loudly!"
At the same moment, Torisa silently folded both of his arms.
Inside his mind, he thought,
These ratings… this world… none of it is a joke.
But what choice do I have? I have to act amusing to keep these students smiling…
…even though I absolutely despise enjoyment itself.