"Eptosi Agnes," [Output: Elemental: Air Impact]
"Ron Clark, [Mind: Only: Calculation]"
"Juan Garcia, [ Body: Sense: Enhanced Hearing]"
"Janna Hall, [Output: Magic: Light]"
"Alexis Jones, [Weapon: Projection: Infinity Bullet]"
"Zoe Martin, [Weapon: Normal: Air Spear]"
"James Miller, [Creature: Living: Cheetah]"
"Dicou Muharib, [Effect: Physical: Double Hit]"
"Tia Rodriguez, [Creature: Mythical: Salamander]"
"Andrew Thomas, [Output: Elemental: Lightning Strike]"
"Gwen Walker, [Output: Elemental: Water Healing]"
"Sophia White, [Body: Full: Superstrength]"
We all introduced ourselves and our powers.
"I'm planning to divide you into three groups of four students each. The teams will be balanced according to power positions," Ms. Taylor muttered. Power positions are mainly used in hero guilds where they travel as a group for missions, so having designated positions is necessary for strategy. The top 100 heroes in the world hardly use power positions because they possess immense individual power.
"Juan, Gwen, and Ron will be support roles."
"Janna, Tia, and Alexis will be long-range fighters."
"Zoe, Andrew, and Eptosi will be mid-range fighters."
"James, Sophia, and Dicou will be close-range fighters." She stumbled through the names as she assigned their positions and formed the teams.
"Juan, Tia, Eptosi, and Sophia will be on Team 1."
"Gwen, Janna, Andrew, and Dicou will be on Team 2."
"Ron, Alexis, Zoe, and James will be on Team 3." She finished forming the teams.
"There are 32 students in your grade. Eight teams of four students each will compete in a tournament. Each team will have a teacher as a coach. I will be coaching Team 1," she explained. Shortly after, two other teachers entered our practice room. A man in his thirties wearing glasses and a woman of the same age stood beside her, though not as beautiful.
---
Every team gathered in their respective practice rooms, strategizing for the team matches.
"Tell me who's going to be the captain," Ms. Taylor asked.
"I want to be the captain," Tia replied.
"I will be the captain," Eptosi murmured. Suddenly, everyone looked at him, surprised. He sighed and explained, "Maybe you all know each other from last year, but Alexis and Dicou are my childhood friends, so I know how they operate. Alexis may be lazy, but he is brilliant at commanding and making strategies, and his power is troublesome. Dicou is strong, and you can never win a one-on-one physical fight against him." He knew they would be difficult to handle if he didn't lead the team.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"We're the weakest class out of the three, you know," Sophia muttered. It was true; they were clearly the weakest among the three classes.
"We've lost two years in a row," Juan nodded, always wearing a stoic expression.
"This year will be different," he said confidently.
"Why?" Tia asked, unsure of his confidence.
"Because I, Alexis, and Dicou will be fighting," he responded.
"What nonsense are you saying? The other teams defeated would you without even flinching," Tia called him out, unsure if he was confident or just plain foolish.
"Why don't you all fight against me, and if I win, I'll be the captain?" he suggested.
"You're overestimating yourself a bit too much, aren't you?" Sophia asked arrogantly, unable to believe the disrespect.
"If you take back what you just said, I might not burn you to a crisp," Tia muttered, thinking Eptosi was overly confident.
"Can we do it, Miss Taylor?" he asked, uncertain if she would agree.
"Sure," she replied. She was curious about Eptosi's confidence. She already knew about the powers of all the students except for Eptosi, Alexis, and Dicou. The data of all the other students could be seen from last year, but since they were new to the high school, she couldn't assess their capabilities.
---
Juan, Tia, and Sophia were already in their positions. Ms. Taylor gazed at them and began the countdown.
"3, 2, 1, go!"
>Whoosh<
Sophia charged at Eptosi, confidence written on her face.
"Before I use my powers, I'll explain how I do it," Eptosi inquired. Using his powers without explanation would result in them constantly seeking information.
>Bang<
Sophia was taken aback. She rushed at him with all her might, but he blocked her attack with his arm as if nothing had happened.
"With my power, I can create, enhance, and weaken impacts. I simply reduced the impact of your punch," he murmured. That was why close-range fighters were at a disadvantage against him. He could weaken any physical attack. Due to Dicou's troublesome power, he needed to find another way to defeat him.
Sophia continued striking him, but she couldn't inflict any damage. Despite being well-versed in martial arts, Eptosi was far superior. He effortlessly blocked all her hits, as if he wasn't exerting any effort.
"It's time to strike back," he murmured, wanting to gauge the strength of her average hit. Now that he had assessed it, it was time to counterattack.
>Bang<
He punched her in the face, and it was evident how shocked she was as she was sent flying by the force of the blow.
Now she was on the defensive, desperately trying to block his attacks, but to no avail.
' I would have been defeated already if I didn't have super strength.' she thought, realizing why he wanted to fight both of them.
Suddenly, a burst of flames came toward Eptosi. It wasn't particularly strong, but it caught him by surprise.
"I told you I would burn you to a crisp," Tia chuckled. She was astonished to see Sophia at a disadvantage and decided to catch him off guard.
" [Impact Wall] " he murmured. An invisible wall appeared in front of him, stopping the flames in their tracks.
" How is that possible? " Tia exclaimed, shocked that he blocked her attack.
"I can create impacts with wind force and pressure. To create one, I generate a collision between two wind forces traveling in opposite directions. If the forces are equally strong, the impact will be balanced, resulting in a sturdy, balanced surface without one wind force overpowering the other," Eptosi explained. He could see the shocked expression on Miss Taylor's face.
"It took me more than five years to learn this," Eptosi sighed. It was true. The challenge was not creating a balanced impact but maintaining it. Let the collision begin, but never let it conclude. He had conceived this idea when he was ten years old. Four years were spent mastering and maintaining the impact, while an additional year was devoted to balancing it. But now he had full control over it.
Eptosi charged at Tia.
However, she continually fended him off with her fire. Every time he approached, she used her power to push him away while Sophia took the opportunity to strike.
"It's time to end this." Eptosi grew tired of the back-and-forth. He knew that if the battle continued like this, it would become a test of stamina.
>Bang<
Sophia finally landed a blow on him, a smile forming on her face. But it didn't last long. She realized that Eptosi had grabbed her right arm and hadn't even flinched at the punch to his head.
Eptosi clenched his fist, preparing for an attack as he murmured,.
"[Grand Impact]."
>Bang!<
Sophia was sent flying.
Fortunately, Miss Taylor caught her. She was astonished that Eptosi had injured Sophia even when her power was activated.
'He's very strong for his age.' she thought. No one his age could knock someone with [Body: Full: Super Strength] unconscious with a single blow like that.
Now she was curious to see how Eptosi would defeat Tia.
"You're really strong, Eptosi, but you can't approach me," Tia murmured. She knew it would be over if he got close. As long as she could keep him at a certain distance, she would win.
"Do I?" Eptosi asked, grinning. He aimed his hand at her and murmured.
"[Impact Burst]."
Suddenly, Tia felt a force like an air cannon coming at her. She tried to defend herself with fire, but it was too strong.
>Whoosh<
>Bang<
Tia's body slammed against the wall. Pain coursed through her, and she fell unconscious.
"And how did you do that?" Miss Taylor asked, curious to learn his method.
"Too tired to explain right now, and you probably already know, right?" Eptosi sighed. He wasn't really exhausted but wanted to explain once the two girls regained consciousness.
"I bet the other two have finished as well," he thought. They had made a pact to become the captain of their respective teams.
---
In another room, two injured students lay on the ground, while a blond boy sat, blowing smoke from his guns.
"It seems like I'm going to be the captain," Alexis muttered. He had just defeated Zoe and James thoroughly.
"Congratulations, Alexis. You will be the captain of Team 3." the staff member declared, surprised at how easily he defeated his opponents.
---
One boy stood in a fighting pose, while two other students lay defeated on the ground.
"He really pulled it off," their teacher stammered. He had witnessed Dicou's victory against the other students. Despite being a close-range fighter facing both mid-range and long-range opponents, Dicou emerged victorious.
"They must have succeeded as well," Dicou sighed, itching for another battle.