Orhan wakes up in his room.
"What time is it?" Orhan muttered slowly.
Orhan picked up his phone while rubbing his eyes. He tapped the power button to turn on the screen.
The moment the screen turned on, Orhan's eyes widened. It was almost 10:00 AM, and his class startes at 11:00 AM.
"Shit—!"
He jumped out of bed in a hurry.
Rustle—!
Orhan quickly started brushing and bathing. After grabbing his breakfast from the dorm canteen, he rushed outside and met Arya and the others at the Academy's gate.
"Oye Orhan, you're almost late today. Did you sleep late last night or something?" Arya asked.
"It's not like that," Orhan replied. "Last night, after the biryani party, I returned to my room, but so many thoughts about today's sparring match kept piling up—like who my opponent will be, what kind of power he might have, and how I will defeat him."
"Wait, today is sparring day?" Arya asked. "I thought today was Friday."
"Our typical Arya," Roy said with a sigh.
"Bro, last time you forgot your slingshot in your room on sparring day. Don't tell me you forgot it again today!"
"Actually… I did!" Arya replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Huh…" Milen sighed. "Arya, what should we even do about you?" she said in mild anger. "You always forget important things."
"Do we have to bring gadgets to use our powers?" Orhan asked.
"Well, if your power needs a gadget, then yes," Milen replied. "You need to bring anything that enhances or controls your power."
"Oh right… what's your power, Orhan?" Arya asked. "You've never used it in front of us."
"Yeah," Roy added. "I only know your power is related to fire, but what kind of fire? And how does it work?"
"My power…" Orhan hesitated. "My power is, uh… kind of like Flame King."
"So you're saying your power is the same as Flame King's?" Milen said.
"That's not a very rare power—unless you can use attacks like Flame King."
"I can use—" Orhan replied.
"Yeah, you can use—" Milen said casually, then suddenly froze.
"WHAT?! You can use attacks like Flame King?!"
"What?! You can use the same attacks as Flame King?" Arya and Roy asked at the same time.
"Yeah…" Orhan replied quietly.
Ding—Dong!
The bell rang.
When they were still talking, the class bell rang for the period to start, and Orhan and the others rushed to class.
In Class
Milen leaned closer to Orhan.
"Hey Orhan, do you know how to use Flame King's famous AOE move—Fire King?"
"I know," Orhan replied. "I even used that attack on a monster before my Aether Test. Although my attack wasn't even close to Flame King's."
"Can you show us your AOE Fire King attack during lunch?" Milen asked. "Or maybe you can show your power in the sparring match."
"Umm… okay!" Orhan replied.
And just like that, Milen kept asking Orhan so many questions about his powers until lunchtime.
---
Lunchtime
At lunchtime, Orhan and the others gathered at the Academy's canteen.
"Oye Orhan! How did you unlock your powers?" Arya asked.
"My powers…" Orhan said softly.
"My powers unlocked during a tragic incident."
"Ohh… I see," Arya said.
"Hey Arya, think before asking," Milen whispered.
"How was I supposed to know it was a tragic incident?" Arya whispered back.
Roy quickly read the situation and changed the topic.
"Hey Orhan, do you want to go again to that biryani shop?" Roy asked.
"Absolutely," Orhan replied. "I can eat that biryani every day."
"Oye Orhan," Arya said, "did you create your own move yet, or are all your attacks copies of Flame King's attacks?"
"It hasn't been long since I awakened my powers," Orhan replied. "I haven't even tried to unlock my own attack yet."
"Actually," Milen said thoughtfully,
"Flame King's attacks don't make him rare. His fire-type ability does."
"Fire type?" Orhan, Arya, and Roy asked at the same time.
"Yeah," Milen replied.
"As you know, everyone has similar powers, but what makes them different is the typing of that power. Flame King unlocked a Tier-1 Fire Ability—something no one has unlocked in the last hundred years. That's why no one can replicate his moves."
"So you mean Orhan also unlocked a Tier-1 Fire Ability?" Roy asked.
"That's why he can use Flame King's attacks?"
"I… I unlocked a rare type of fire ability," Orhan said excitedly.
"Just like Flame King."
"Maybe you can create your own attacks someday," Milen said to encourage him.
"Attacks that can even rival Flame King."
"Yeah…" Arya was about to say something—
Ding—Dong!
The lunch bell rang.
Lunch ended, and they headed toward the sparring room.
"I think you wanted to say something before lunch ended, Arya," Roy said while walking.
"Forget it," Arya replied. "I'll ask after the sparring lesson."
Sparring Room
All Class-1B students entered the sparring room.
Orhan and his friends also entered. The room was large enough to be a football field. Although it wasn't open, sunlight poured in through the glass roof.
Students were talking about TV shows, parties, homework, and superhero news.
"Hey, did you hear? Another kid was kidnapped last night," a random student said.
"Yeah, five days ago a child from my neighborhood was kidnapped," another replied. "I heard monsters are behind it."
"Last night, Magic Man saved a building full of dogs from a fire," another student added.
Suddenly—
"ALL STUDENTS! STAND STILL!"
The instructor arrived and shouted loudly.
Everyone immediately stood straight without bending their backs.
"Students, as you all know," the instructor shouted,
"In the last class, I said you all would fight each other today to test your powers and identify flaws in your skills!"
"Yes, sir!" every student shouted.
"Now write down your names on a paper and put them in this jar."
Students started searching for pens and paper because nobody brought them. Usually, they didn't need pens or paper in the sparring room.
"Sir, we don't have pens or paper. Should we go back to class and bring them?" a student asked.
"Sir, I have pen and paper. Everyone can use this," another student said.
"All students, use this pen and paper," the instructor ordered.
One by one, students wrote their names and dropped them into the jar.
"Hey Roy," Orhan asked while standing behind him,
"Who is this instructor, and why does he shout like we're in the military?"
"He's always like this," Roy replied. "His name is Mr. Max. He's a professional superhero in AGA. His Superhero name is Thunder Sword."
"And what is his Aether power?" Orhan asked.
"He has Thunderstorm Aether," Roy replied.
"He can't use lightning like others. Instead, he coats his sword with Aether and fights."
"Can I coat swords or other weapons with Aether too?" Orhan asked.
"If I can, I could use new moves to defeat monsters."
"You can," Roy replied,
"but you need to learn it from a master swordsman—and they only live in Fuko Country."
"Master swordsmen are already rare," Orhan said with a sad face.
"And Fuko is too far… so I can never learn this technique."
After everyone finished writing their names, the instructor picked two chits.
"Raj and Shin will fight first. The second match will be—"
After announcing several matches, he continued,
"Orhan and Roy will fight in the 26th match.
And in the final match, Arya will fight Milen."
Roy hugged Orhan excitedly.
"Bro! We're fighting each other! I'll show you my power today! Even if you unlocked Tier-1 Fire, I'll defeat you with my unique power!"
"Milen, we'll fight again, just like old days," Arya said confidently.
"This time, I won't even let you scratch me."
"Don't get too proud," Milen replied with ego.
"You won last time because I wasn't ready. This time, you'll be shocked."
"NOW LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" the instructor shouted.
"Raj and Shin, step into the ring!"
First Match
Raj and Shin entered the ring.
Whoosh—!
The moment the match started, Shin moved with flash-like speed and completely overpowered Raj.
"What?! How did he become this fast?" Raj thought.
"In running sessions, he was always the slowest!"
"Can't you see me?" Shin said coldly.
"I still remember how you and your friends mocked me."
Flashback — Running Session
Students were running laps, but one student was so slow it looked like he was walking.
He tried his hardest to run faster, but his body gave out.
Thud—!
He collapsed from exhaustion.
A group of students gathered around him.
"Hey Raj, you said he has Speed-Type Aether," one student said.
"I heard teachers say he unlocked a Running-Type Aether," Raj replied.
"Maybe they were talking about someone else."
"Oye, you loser!" another student sneered.
"What kind of power did you awaken? Or did you get into this academy using your father's money?"
"These filthy rich kids get into Hero Academy without awakening any Aether," another added.
"We awaken powers and still have to pay extra fees!"
"Yeah, my brother was kicked out because some rich kid took his seat," someone else said.
"Loser!"
"Trash!"
"Filthy rich scumbag!"
The insults kept raining down.
Back to Present
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Shin attacked Raj with consecutive punches to the face.
Raj struggled to dodge and kept getting hit.
"Huff… huff…"
"I need to find an opening… or I'll lose to this loser," Raj whispered.
"Who is this Shin guy?" Orhan asked.
"How is he moving so fast?"
"I don't know much," Roy replied.
"But there's a rumor he unlocked a super-rare Speed-Type Tier-0 Aether. We never saw it before, so we thought it was fake."
"I wish I was his opponent today," Arya said with a smirk.Tier 0…
"Tier-0 abilities appear only two or three times in a hundred years."Roy said.
And a Speed-Type Tier-0 had appeared for the first time in history.
"Raj can't fight anymore!" the instructor shouted.
"Shin wins the match!"
The crowd buzzed.
Other matches followed—some one-sided, some tied, some intense.
But the most awaited fights were still yet to come.
"Orhan and Roy, step into the ring!" the instructor shouted.
"Good luck, bro," Roy said. "Don't hold back."
"Same to you," Orhan replied.
Both stepped into the ring—
smiles on their faces.
This fight will be intense…
Chapter:6 End