"Why am I here while others are suffering on the front lines?" Zen thought.
"Because you'll kill yourself if you keep fighting, dumbass!" His conscience replied.
He didn't try to argue with himself. Not when his conscience was right.
Four days since he transferred to the academy—and he was already bored with the routine.
The instructor continued his lecture on humanity's technological advancements, pacing back and forth at the front of the class.
"…and after years of research with the contribution of several Elementals, we were finally able to start mass-producing nanoparticles. Since nanotechnology is so powerful, it's still under strict military use. Because of the latest second-gen nanotech, your military-grade combat gear can deploy in mere seconds, from just a small accessory, like a wristwatch."
He tapped his knuckles against the desk to regain their attention. "Back in my day, we had to put our combat suits on the old-fashioned way—manually. You, kids, have it way easier now."
Zen couldn't help but smirk a little at the instructor's words. His eyes snapped from one student to another in a routine sequence, noting their appearance, micro movements, and body language for the tenth time.
They looked so… peaceful, relaxed, and… typical. He almost envied them. But also pitied them for what the future held in store.
They hadn't seen cities burn. They hadn't seen thousands die. They hadn't witnessed the death of their comrades in battle. They didn't even know what a Null in action truly looked like.
Maybe the last part was for their own good.
Zen's gaze shifted to the black, fingerless glove on his left hand.
"It didn't take long for humans to go from cellphones to full exosuits stored in a wristband," he thought, staring at it.
"The speed at which humans evolved when faced with the need to survive is almost unreal."
A strong breeze came through the window, but it didn't startle him. The pages of the book on his desk flipped rapidly and landed on a chapter completely unrelated to the ongoing class. The picture on the page caught his attention.
Two figures, their body made of what looked like space filled with distant stars, locked in a catastrophic battle, the city around them reduced to rubble.
Zen's eyes softened. "So much happened in just about five decades."
"Elemental awakening… Fire, Water, Air, Lightning, Earth, Nature, Ice. Null…"
One rogue Null was all it took to level multiple major cities. And there were nearly two hundred of them out there.
One third of the mainland was already gone. And what remained wouldn't survive if only twenty went rogue simultaneously.
Zen looked out the window, eyes locking onto the massive ocean outside as far as the eye could go.
Humanity had already pivoted to its only option. Create massive islands over shallow seawaters to relocate while they rebuild the destroyed mainland. Each one the size of a city or two.
"But how safe are we really?" he thought.
These islands were more economically stable, which made them rich targets in a world where crisis reigned.
Humans and Elementals were constantly at war. All it would take is an army with one of their titan-class war machines to show up for cleansing this land, and all hell would break loose.
Nexus Pentagon was one of the dozens of projects that stood out.
A cluster of five islands surrounding a central hub island in a pentagon shape.
"Was it a bad idea to come here? I guess the geometric design is good for defense."
"Would it matter, though?" he scoffed at the thought.
"Only the easternmost island is fully capable of defending itself. After all, they poured a big budget into making this academy one of the best in the world."
The East-Wing Warriors Academy boasted multiple private combat arenas to the front, military camps to the left, a shipyard and container zone to the back, and expansive student facilities to the right.
In class 1-S2 on the second floor of the academy, Zen sat in his white academy uniform, wondering if this day could get any more boring.
"I'm so tired. I want to take a nap."
Suddenly, the instructor's voice cut through the atmosphere.
"Zen Fuyukawa," and Zen's head lazily turned towards the front of the class, his eyes locking onto the instructor.
"Since you have nothing better to do than stare out the window, why don't you tell us something about second-generation combat gear?" the instructor asked with a mix of anger and frustration.
Zen stared at him for a second and said, "Pass" with a calm, expressionless face.
Other students burst out laughing, some shaking their heads in resignation, at someone who was already making a name for himself for being a slacker.
The teacher sighed. "I expect better from you, Fuyukawa."
The blonde-haired guy one desk ahead laughed. Finn Morrison, Zen's best friend.
A few seconds later, the bell rang, signaling the end of this class. "We'll read about some specific roles of military-grade gear next class," the instructor stated before leaving the class.
Zen yawned and stretched as he sat at his desk for another minute until he decided to go to the restroom before the next class started.
"Be right back," he said as he got up from his desk.
"Alright," Finn smirked. "Try not to start a war out there."
"Don't jinx it."
He left the classroom and walked through the long, tiled corridor, hands in pocket, staring at the students scattered around the school field.
Meanwhile, a group of pranksters stood near the intersection of the men's and women's restrooms, holding their laughter in anticipation. They had messed with the circuit board not even a minute ago, which caused the holographic signs for male and female to swap places.
In the women's restroom, Princess Cassie Lysandra von Solheim was washing her hands, her long pink hair flowing freely under a white cap worn backward. Not the most fitting of a princess, but for her, it carried sentimental value.
Standing right beside her, arms crossed, orange hair tied in a high ponytail, and a smile on her face as always, was Princess Viara Elysia von Solheim, Cassie's cousin.
Both from the noble Solheim family of Ignisar and strong, respected A-rank first-year students from class 1-S2 of the academy.
"You know, I sometimes wonder how you maintain peak performance with such a tight schedule," Viara said, smiling with pride towards Cassie. "You shot down three drones in seven seconds with your bow and arrows."
"We have to live up to our reputation. Our families expect perfection from us," Cassie replied while focusing on washing her hands.
"Yeah… can't help it now, can we?" Viara sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what it feels like to be a normal person without royal expectations haunting you."
"Hey, don't be like that! Normal people also have expectations of their family to deal with. It's not very different," Cassie said with a subtle smile to cheer up her cousin.
Suddenly, the door pushed open. Cassie and Viara immediately turned their heads towards the door. At the door, Zen was about to enter, but he paused immediately, eyes locking onto the two girls in confusion. Cassie and Viara's faces slowly turned red with humiliation.
For three whole seconds, everyone just stared at each other; nobody moved. As the awkward moment finally broke, Zen slowly stepped back, letting the door swing closed as if nothing had happened.
He looked up at the holographic signs that indicated this as the "men's" restroom, as some students nearby barely held their laughter.
"...what?" There was genuine confusion in his voice.
Then the door swung open, and Cassie burst out, Viara standing right behind her, trying yet failing to stop her from lashing out.
"THE AUDACITY!" she screamed furiously, throwing punches at Zen, making him pivot behind immediately to dodge, his back hitting the railing behind.
Zen's expression remained unfazed. "Can we talk about this?"
But Cassie wasn't in the mood to listen. She aimed a punch at him.
He rotated his shoulder ninety degrees, his foot shifted in a perfect arc, his head tilted just a little, and his eyes locked onto hers, tracking so smoothly as if he had all the time in the world to kill her right then and there, yet he chose otherwise.
The moment Cassie's eyes met his, a chill ran down her spine. "That motion... The position of his foot... The slight tilt of his head and that stare... That's her style."
She snapped and shook it off mentally. "No. I'm dreaming. That can't be."
She followed with a kick, and he tilted his head back with perfect timing, dodging again.
"How's he dodging so effortlessly, damnit?! Have I gotten slower?" Cassie thought, her jaw tightened, and her face burned red.
His dodges seemed so skillful and smooth, like he had been doing this his whole life. In a matter of seconds, he had dodged every single one of her attacks.
Zen rolled his eyes, sighing at her unwillingness to talk it out like adults.
Before Cassie could continue, Zen hopped over the railing with a "Nope! I'm out of here," and jumped down from the second floor, using Wind to stop his fall and land unharmed.
Cassie stood behind the railing as Zen slipped out. Her breathing became heavier.
"You think you can run from me?" she murmured, eyes narrowing dangerously.
Then, suddenly, Cassie's right hand tightened into a grip, and a staff with a central grip and two long, single-edged blades extending outward formed in her hands with a metallic chime of nanoparticles.
But it wasn't only a double-bladed staff. It also had a retractable, integrated arrow launcher, making it perfect for both close and ranged combat.
Cassie's grip on her staff tightened again, activating the integrated arrow launcher. Two levers at either side of her staff's center grip flicked open with a string attached between both. The levers functioned as anchor rods for the string.
Just as Zen thought he got out, he sensed thin, flaming elemental arrows flying in his direction. He rotated his shoulder to dodge the first and pivoted forward with a dive to dodge the second.
A crowd had already started gathering, hearing the commotion.
Cassie was gritting her teeth so hard that they would break. She hopped over the railing.
"Cass, wait!" Viara called from behind to stop her, but Cassie paid no attention to her and jumped down, using her flame to stabilize her landing, scorching the ground in the process.
"You are SO DEAD!", Cassie said furiously as she drew another arrow and fired at Zen.
But before Zen moved, a black katana, gleaming with red lines, appeared in front and sliced through the arrow, making it vanish into thin air.
Madoka Fuyukawa, second-year S-rank student, intercepted. A cold breeze swept through her braided dark hair as she adopted a firm combat stance, ready to stop Cassie in an instant.
Cassie didn't react well to the intervention, and a fight seemed inevitable. Until, barely a second later, a transparent water barrier appeared between her and Madoka, forcing both to stagger back slightly. They both knew only one person could have done it.
The voice of an elegant, tall girl with flowing red hair cut through the air.
"Hold on now, I'm sure we can talk this through without the need to use military-grade weapons in an environment not meant for war? Hmmm?" Julianna teased with a polite smile. "Or do you prefer a penalty?"
Cassie and Madoka sighed in unison. After a few seconds, they both dropped their stances and retracted their weapons back into their nanotech housing unit.
They knew better than to argue with someone of Julianna's calculated mind. The barrier between them dropped.
Madoka's eyes locked onto Cassie. "What are you doing, Solheim?! Are you crazy?" she snapped, though with a stoic expression as ever.
"That pervert peeked into the women's restroom! What do you think I'm doing?!" Cassie replied, still furious.
Madoka looked over her shoulder, "Zen?"
"The sign showed men's restroom. It's not my fault," Zen explained, his voice nonchalant as if someone just hadn't tried to kill him.
Viara, hearing this from above, looked up behind her at the signs. To her surprise, the sign did indeed show the 'male' sign above the women's restroom.
"Cass! He's right. Someone swapped the signs," she shouted from above.
Julianna sighed dramatically. "Not again! Did they forget to install a lock, as I suggested the last time it happened? Does anyone care to listen to me?"
"Tch! Whatever. Be careful, or next time, you won't be as lucky," Cassie said with lingering anger and frustration as she walked away towards the staircase.
As the commotion died down, the crowd slowly dispersed.
"Jeez. What was that?" Zen sighed, shaking his head.
"Miss Solheim can be hot-tempered at times. Don't mind her. But it makes her all the more fun to mess with," Julianna chuckled with an innocent yet devious smile.
"Don't mind her? Like she didn't just try to murder someone," Madoka said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
Zen suddenly felt his left hand going numb. He stretched his left arm and shook off the feeling.
"Injured?" Julianna asked, noticing his discomfort.
"No. Just a little strain. I'll be fine," he replied. "Thank you for calming the storm down."
"No worries. Just doing my job." She clasped her hands demurely. "I'm Julianna Favina Marcevelle, student council president, and the current rank one. Everyone calls me Julianna... or Favina, whichever they prefer."
"Zen Fuyukawa. I'm a transfer," he introduced himself, his tone flat.
"Fuyukawa?" Her gaze shifted to Madoka. "A relative of yours?"
"My brother," Madoka replied.
"Oh, I see." Julianna smiled politely, but her eyes were teasing. "Though I must say, he doesn't sound very enthusiastic about meeting new people."
"I really am not," Zen replied.
Her smile didn't falter. "Anyway, I hope you feel at home in East-Wing Warriors Academy. It's one of the best in the world after all," she said, walking past him and looking over her shoulder.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." She picked up her pace, waving goodbye. "Do find me when I'm free if you ever crave a tour of the facilities."
Once left alone, Madoka immediately turned her attention back to Zen. "We need to talk."
"Rooftop, lunchtime," Zen replied, already turning towards the staircase to head back to his class. "Right now, we have classes to attend."
Madoka exhaled at the mention of classes and dropped the matter, for now. They both started walking back to their homerooms after quite a chaotic incident.
Meanwhile, Cassie walked back towards her class, lost in thought as Viara caught up to her quickly.
"Are you okay? You scared me when you jumped down like that," she asked, concerned.
Cassie sighed. "I'm fine. Just... angry."
"It wasn't his fault. Just forgive and forget it," Viara replied, falling into step beside her.
"Not because of that. He... he dodged my attacks so effortlessly. How?" Cassie explained.
"Well, maybe he's got some tricks up his sleeve," Viara said, optimistic as always. "I mean, even the lower-ranked students have some skill. Besides, he only transferred here a few days ago. We don't know much about him."
As they walked, Cassie's mind drifted back to the moment he stared directly into her eyes.
"That facial expression. It felt just like every one of her victims described," she thought.
She suddenly turned around and walked the other way.
"You go back to class. I'll be right back."
"Wait, where are you going?" Viara asked. "Classes are starting."
"Don't worry, I won't take too long," Cassie replied as she walked away fast towards the data center.
Viara couldn't help but return to class, though she was concerned about what Cassie was up to.
Soon, lunchtime approached. At the rooftop of the academy building, Zen stood, leaning forward against the railing, enjoying the breeze as he sipped a chocolate milkshake while gazing down at the school field.
Some students were gathered in a group, sharing homemade lunches, but most of the rooftop was empty, even during lunch.
Madoka arrived without wasting too much time. She stopped beside Zen by the railing, finally getting a moment to talk. She glanced around, ensuring no one was close by, before asking, "So, what brings you back to school?"
Zen took another sip of his milkshake before replying in a calm, low voice, "Mandatory cooldown period. Commander Stelle ordered me to take a break before redeployment."
Madoka smirked, unimpressed. "Figured as much. You're not the type to willingly return to basics. Must be frustrating for someone of your caliber to act... mediocre. It's painfully convincing, though."
She finally looked at Zen, properly this time since morning, noticing the changes in his appearance. "You changed your hair and eye color, too?"
"No, it's just the camouflage function of my gear." He showed her his left hand with the black, fingerless glove that had "A-02" written on its back in silver metallic print.
"It allows me to change some biological traits. I changed my hair and eye color to white and brown. Good enough to keep me from getting recognized too easily," Zen explained as he took another sip of his drink.
She observed his hand. "A-02? That isn't your gear, is it?"
"It is mine, but for more discreet use. Dr. Frank modified a gear from the Alpha series and gave me a more customized version," Zen replied. "This is Alpha version two. It's a second-generation model, unlike my primary gear, Protocol-4."
She smirked. "Must be nice, having two separate custom gears made exclusively for you… completely free of charge."
Zen looked up at the sky and thought for a second, "I wouldn't deny it when you put it like that, but it's out of necessity. Protocol is a widely recognizable figure to civilians and criminals alike. If that identity were exposed, every criminal faction in this city would come for me."
"This place would turn into a warzone overnight," Madoka said while staring at the school field.
"By the way, when exactly did you transfer here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Like… three or four days ago," he replied.
Madoka's eyes narrowed with disappointment at Zen's words. "Three days... yet you didn't bother to contact me or meet me. What kind of brother are you that I only hear about a transfer student sharing my surname from my instructor, and not from you?"
She exhaled as if trying to calm a storm inside her. "So, how long do you plan to stay hidden?"
"I'm not necessarily hiding. More like trying to avoid attention. I just want some peace." Zen replied as he finished his drink.
Right then, Cassie arrived at the rooftop, her presence immediately demanding attention. It was pretty clear she was looking for something... or a certain someone.
She noticed Madoka and Zen standing together. "Madoka Fuyukawa. Didn't expect to see you consorting with a... lesser student."
Zen looked at Madoka. "You should get going."
Madoka raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that an order, bro?"
She scoffed. "Fine, I'll comply this time."
She walked by Cassie without making eye contact and walked away back down the stairs without hesitation, leaving the two alone.
"I find it hard to believe that someone like you is related to a skilled warrior like her," Cassie said, curious.
"We're step-siblings. I was adopted," Zen replied as he steadied up from the railing while throwing the empty juice box in the trash can.
"No wonder," Cassie scoffed with a piercing gaze.
"We're close regardless," he said as he walked by Cassie.
Cassie's eyes narrowed slightly. "How interesting. An F-rank with the confidence to walk away from royalty. I don't recall dismissing you, Zen Fuyukawa."
Zen rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Jeez, this is a school, not your palace. Do I really need permission to walk back to class now?"
"Sure, run along then. I look forward to tomorrow's combat demonstration. I've requested you as my sparring partner. The instructors were... amused by my choice. See you at the school arena tomorrow after the second period," Cassie said with a triumphant grin.
Zen stopped at Cassie's words and glanced back at her.
"Why are you wasting your time on me?"
Cassie chuckled as she continued, "You see, I've studied the combat profile of a lot of students in this academy, including many F-ranks. Most F-ranks have consistent histories of failure. Yet you... Your records only began recently. Almost as if it were... forged. Convenient, isn't it?" Cassie smiled with satisfaction, knowing she was getting under his skin.
Zen sighed yet stayed calm, stoic as ever. "And? What do you want from me?"
Cassie narrowed her eyes mockingly, grinning. "Nothing too much. Just wondering how you dodged my attacks so fluently while being a slacker. You're not getting away with it until I get answers."
Zen stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to the stairs.
"Sure, I'll be there. Whatever pleases you."
He walked down the stairs, heading back to class, completely unfazed. His agreeing to the duel so easily couldn't help but make Cassie feel more intrigued to find out what was truly going on. She laid down a very clever trap, and Zen was aware of it.
Zen returned to class and sat down at his desk by the window, staring outside, lost in thought.
After a minute, Finn sat down at his desk. He could practically feel Zen's mood.
"You look like the cafeteria just ran out of milkshake," Finn whispered. "You okay, dude?"
"…remember what happened this morning?" Zen asked calmly.
"…yeah?" Finn replied, curiosity piqued. "She asked me where you were earlier."
Zen raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. "And you told her?"
"Yeah," Finn replied. "I thought, maybe she wanted to apologize for that misunderstanding."
Zen sighed. "Solheim requested me as a sparring partner in a demo match."
"What?" Finn blinked, caught off guard.
Zen propped his chin on one hand. "You heard me."
"Oh… that's concerning. Why not just refuse?" Finn asked.
"Do you think she'll let me be at peace if I refuse?" Zen said while gazing outside.
"Better to play along."
"Are you sure? You struggle a lot with holding back," Finn whispered.
Zen exhaled. "You're not wrong."
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunchtime and the start of the next period. Finn gave him a mock salute before turning back to his desk.
Zen could only sit at his desk and wonder if his peaceful days were coming to an end so soon. Tomorrow might just be an interesting day.