A black haired young man wearing khaki pants, a burgundy hoodie with a school insignia on the left chest area, and black sneakers could be seen entering a building, the sign on the building read, “Bakery Kim” as the young man opened the door a glimmer of happiness could be seen in his emerald eyes. Once inside the man greeted the man at the counter, “Good morning, Mr. Kim. I’m just here for my daily dose of sweet bread.”

“Good morning, Oswald! You know calling me Hajin is fine, you are one of my favorite customers!” Mr. Kim said with laughter. Oswald grabbed a pair of pastry tongs and a tray and started to select the bread he found the most appealing. After choosing his bread, Oswald made his way towards the counter. “For the ten pieces of bread that will be 100 Ix.” Mr. Kim told Oswald as he placed the bread into a paper.

“I think I have a 100 Ix bill.” Oswald said as he took out a bill from his wallet. “How is your family doing?”

“They are doing well. My wife and daughters are doing well. My oldest daughter is doing well at Rosemary High School, my younger daughter is also aiming to get admitted to Rosemary High, and my wife helps me run the shop. I can’t complain too much, I am a lucky man. Is everything good for you, Oswald?” Mr. Kim said.

“Yeah, everything is good. I have no complaints about Zapotes High School. I see why a private school like Rosemary High is highly regarded, but I chose to attend a public school because I didn’t want to deal with my cousins.” Oswald responded. “I better get going to not be late for class. Later Mr. Kim.”

“Alright. Take care of yourself, Oswald.” Mr. Kim said as Oswald walked out of the store. Oswald made his way through the street and in a few minutes reached the front entrance of Zapotes High School. From the entrance of the school Oswald could see the many buildings that the school houses in which many of its top notch classes are held. Zapotes High School was the only public high school in Zapotes City that rivaled the private high school Rosemary High School, both schools have top teachers in the stem fields and magic fields, although in terms of facilities Rosemary High School had better ones because it had the backing of the Deus family as it had been started by Rosemary, the wife of the great hero Leon Deus. As Oswald reached the stairs he spotted a tall red-haired guy wearing khaki pants, a burgundy jacket with the school insignia, and red sneakers and called out to him.

“Morning Jack! I have some bread, here you go.” Oswald greeted.

“Sup, Oz! Thanks for the bread. Thanks a bunch for the bread. I really love Mr. Kim’s bread.” Jack said.

“Do you know if Hannah is here? I also have some bread for her.” Oswald said with flushed cheeks.

“You know her, she should be studying in the library. Oz, you better tell her your feelings before someone else does it before you.” Jack told Oswald.

“I’ll do it soon enough. I just need to focus on something else before I can confidently do it. Alright, let’s go to the library.” Oswald said.

“You sure like making me the third wheel. Fine, let’s go.” Jack said. They made their way to the library to meet with Hannah. Towards the back of the library a beautiful girl with black silky hair and black eyes wearing a khaki skirt, a burgundy sweater with the school insignia, and black loafers could be spotted reading a magic theory book. She looked up and spotted Jack first, then she saw Oswald and a smile formed in her face. She immediately greeted them.

“Good morning, guys! We have combat training first period; I hope you two are ready.” Hanna greeted them as she placed her book down; she immediately gazed at the bag Oswald was carrying.

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“Yeah, I should be ready. Here you can choose any piece of bread you like.” Oswald responded as he passed the bag to Hannah.

“I’m ready. We should be able to get first place. I mean you’re good with magic, Oz is good at close combat, and I heal and buff pretty good.” Jack remarked as he sat down. Hannah scanned through the bag and once she spotted a concha, she quickly grabbed it.

“I love Mr. Kim’s bread, he can make all sorts of bread! Thanks Oz!” Hannah said as she happily took a bite of the bread.

“No problem. I am glad you are enjoying it. I have to give some forms to the administration. I will see you guys at combat training.” Oswald said as he made his way out of the library. Oswald quickly arrived at the Admin Office and when he opened the door and went inside, he spotted the admin secretary, Alondra Ramirez.

“Good morning, Oswald. How are you this fine morning?” Alondra greeted Oswald.

“Good morning, Ms. Ramirez. I am good. I am here to drop some leave of absence forms.” Oswald said as he handed the paperwork to Alondra.

“I see, so the tournament to show off the abilities of the youngsters of the Deus family is coming soon. I hope you do well.” Alondra said as she gave a quick glance at the forms.

“I’ll do my best. I have to show my dad how much I have improved, he has been too busy ever since he became the head of the Deus family. Thanks, I’ll see you later. I have to go to class now.” Oswald said.

“Take care of yourself, Oswald.” Alondra said to Oswald. As soon as Oswald exited the Admin Office, the first bell rang and he quickly arrived at the Training Building. As he entered his classroom on the second floor, Oswald overheard his classmate Ron Smith talking to Hannah and Jack.

“You two should ditch Oswald. I mean he might be a Deus, but what good does that do if he is the only human on the planet who can’t use magic. He’s just bringing down you two in the combat class.” Ron said.

“You’re pissing me off, Ron!! Just shut your goddamn mouth!!” Hannah yelled. “Oz might not be able to use magic, yet he is the best physical attacker we have. Besides in all the sparring matches with Oz even when you use magic you have lost!”

“She is right, Ron.” Jack interjected as stepped in front of Hannah and positioned himself between her and Ron. “Just go back to your seat and stop bothering us.”

Ron glared at Jack and went back to his seat. Oswald then walked up to his friends. “That idiot. Oz, let’s show him today by getting first place.” Hannah told Oswald.

“It’s a given we’ll get first place. I trust your guy’s abilities.” Oswald said. As soon as the second bell rang indicating the start of the first class, the combat teacher, Connor Johnson, entered the classroom.

“Good morning, CLASS! I hope you guys are ready for the combat training.” Connor enthusiastically said. “Here is how this is going to work. In your teams you guys will enter the artificial dungeon and clear it. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour per team. You’ll be graded in the time it takes to clear the dungeon and how well you did against the monsters. Now, the first team to go will be Hannah Chang, Jack Atlas, and Oswald Deus.” Connor noticed that Jack had raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Atlas?”

“Mr. Johnson, is this artificial dungeon the same type as the ones we been studying this past week or a random one?” Jack asked.

“Think of this dungeon as your midterm, so it will contain aspects of everything you guys have learned so far. You’ll receive your grade based on the team results and your individual contributions.” Connor replied. “After the first team, the next team will be Ron Smith, Ellie Perez, and Marie Lambert. Third team on the list is Emma Lee, Aurora Lee, and Rose White. And, finally fourth team John Williams, Albert Romero, and Mike Ross. Any more questions?”

“I have one.” Ron replied and Connor gave a nod of acknowledgment. “Is there a prize for finishing the dungeon quicker than the other teams?”

“The team that finishes the fastest will get 10% extra credit. But don’t rush like an idiot because these monsters are tough. Any more questions?” Connor asked and saw no one say anything or raise their hands. “ALRIGHT LET'S GO!”

With a determined expression on their faces the students got up from their seats and started to walk towards the prep room.