Monday rolled around, and on the day of the duel, more than just the cadets were abuzz. This was the first ranking spar of the year. And Suho was part of it.

He was strong, but nobody really knew where his rank would land. This would be one way for everyone to determine it.

Above the training room they’d reserved for the duel was a viewing platform. And visiting inside was Moon Hyuna—

The headmaster of National.

She had long, sleek white hair and an iciness to her demeanor that could make Yuna’s aura pale in comparison. She smiled everywhere she went, but there was no warmth to it.

The kids respected her like an idol. The other faculty spectating inside gave her a wide berth.

Who wouldn't? She was an A-rank, bordering on S. There were only 5 Korean S-ranks, so Hyuna was not only hard to read, but dangerous.

She took a seat by the center window. Below, some students had already begun to gather, waiting for the challengers to arrive.

She turned to her secretary, a thin man in a suit.

“What are the odds?” she asked.

“Pardon?”

The secretary looked confused.

“The betting odds.”

“Betting—headmaster, this is a student spar!”

Hyuna chuckled.

“I was just pulling your leg,” she said. “I meant what’s your opinion? Who will win?”

“Jaejin has already won once against Suho, during class,” he responded. “It looks like Suho has little experience with person-to-person fights. Jaejin’s also top of the class in spears.”

“A shame,” Hyuna said. “I was hoping for something fun. Well, it’ll be a learning experience either way.”

She looked down at the gathering crowd. There were some students, but not a ton. Most were probably only passing the time. The fact that Suho had already been beaten once must have spread.

Jaejin was rank 22—she knew all her students and where they stood. It wasn't a notably high rank, but it was respectable. And he specialized in spearmanship, so his actual combat abilities surpassed his rank, which was determined by general grades.

She folded her hands over her lap.

It always made her nostalgic, watching these. She’d only been headmaster for the last three years, but every time, the first ranking spar set the tone for what the rest of the semester would feel like. Sunghyun’s last year…

Well, suffice to say, it had established him as someone not to mess with.

Suho and Jaejin might think of this as just a friendly spar between classmates, but it would have long-lasting effects down the line. And that was why she was always present for the first one.

“I’m placing my bet on Suho,” she said, glancing back at her secretary. “I’ll owe you a meal if he loses.”

“Headmaster…”

He gave her a look of disapproval, which she laughed off.

She didn't think Suho had a better chance of winning or anything. She just thought: if an unranked student suddenly shot up and stole rank 22…

That would make for a lot more interesting of a year than the opposite.

⊕

Sunghyun was in attendance, sitting nearby as Suho prepared to go up. He scanned the faces present, but Kitae hadn't been able to make it. It was Monday, so he was stuck in marksmanship class.

“You can still back out,” he said. “I don't think it’s worth the risk.”

Suho sat on the floor and stretched. He was surprisingly flexible for someone with no formal training.

“I’ll have to do this eventually,” he replied. “I can't avoid fighting if I’m going to stay here.”

Sunghyun smiled dryly. He wanted to retort, but he’d used the exact same reasoning last year when people started challenging him.

“Then I guess I can't stop you.”

“You knew that.”

Suho got up and started going through his bag. From it, he dug out a case of pressed pills.

Sunghyun frowned.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

Taking medications before spars wasn't disallowed. Especially in the age of skills, it was hard to outlaw pharmaceutical drugs but accept things like magic buffs. And this pill specifically was used so often that it was a staple of the industry.

Suho had gotten it the day before from a medical department student. They were called deactivation pills, or “stop” pills for short. They could shut off your body’s use of certain skills for a set amount of time—in this case, about five minutes.

Hunters used them often to turn off skills that were already in effect. A stop pill could end the use of a skill that might otherwise keep sucking up magic power or stamina for hours. But few people took stop pills that turned off passive skills, so Suho had practically gotten these for free off of a student who had only made them as a class assignment.

“I’m sure,” Suho replied. “If it works, it works. If it doesn't, then nothing changes.”

Sunghyun was still nervous. He was the only one here who knew about Suho’s SS-rank skill. Even though they weren’t perfect indicators of strength, ranks were nothing to scoff at. Suho thought Animal Instinct made no difference, but Sunghyun was still afraid of what might happen without it.

Suho opened the tin and popped a little pink tablet into his mouth. It was bitter and herbal, but it quickly melted. It’d take a bit to activate. And the time he had to spare was now up.

A professor in sportswear came and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Ready?” he asked.

Suho nodded.

“Good luck,” Sunghyun said.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

He raised a fist. Suho bumped it with his.

“Thanks.”

He followed the professor up to the stage. As they took their places, he finally saw Jaejin across from him.

He smiled, that same friendly but scathing smile that he always used.

“Good to see you again, Suho,” he said.

“You too.”

Suho nodded along, not as annoyed by his demeanor as before. Sunghyun’s “trash talk” wasn't quite as unsettling as Jaejin’s, but it certainly helped thicken his skin.

“You’ve been working hard,” he continued. “Do you think that highly of me?”

“Of course. You’re an expert at what you do.”

That took him off guard a bit. He laughed.

“Oh, look at you. National has a new king of flattery.”

Their conversation seemed like lighthearted banter, but the spears in their hands glinted in the cold light of the room. There was danger underneath all of this.

“You know, Suho, I’ve been thinking the last couple days,” Jaejin said. “I do kinda like you. But only from far away, you know?”

He motioned towards the distance between them.

“We can't get along together.”

Suho thought about that for a moment, then nodded.

“I get it.”

He couldn't get along with everyone in the world. And to be honest, he preferred there being a clear line between them.

“I knew I could rely on you,” Jaejin remarked.

He sent the presiding professor a look.

“Are we ready?” the professor asked.

“All good here.”

“I’m ready.”

“Then, to your marks.”

They took their proper places at opposite ends of the stage. A hush fell across the room.

The professor held up a hand and clicked a button in his hand. On the stage, a barrier rose exactly halfway between them, glowing blue.

The two of them locked eyes through its shimmering surface. Jaejin sent Suho a sly smile.

His hand fell.

“Start.”

The barrier disappeared.

Suho and Jaejin dashed forward. Their weapons clashed, sparks flying. Jaejin’s formerly playful expression had faded—focused now. Suho glanced briefly towards a clock turned timer on the far wall. The seconds were ticking up. He couldn't tell if the stop pill had taken effect yet, but he had committed himself to finishing this within the next five minutes.

“Distracted?” Jaejin said.

He twisted his spear and broke the balance they had been stuck in. Suho took it in stride and lunged back in.

Jaejin’s defenses were tight. They exchanged slashes and jabs, neither side taking real damage, stuck in a stalemate of blocks and diversions.

Until Jaejin cracked a smile.

“You really did work hard,” he remarked.

He had been feeling Suho out. He turned his offense up a notch, and suddenly Suho was being pushed back.

The difference in skill couldn't be bridged by two days of training with someone who wasn't even a spearman. He had always known that. And now the width of the gap was being made obvious.

Jaejin twisted his spear around Suho’s hand, trying to disarm him like he did in class. Suho instead let go on purpose, letting his spear spin around, held tight in his other hand.

He ducked a jab from Jaejin, backed away, and grasped it again.

He couldn't let himself get disarmed. It’d be over the moment that happened. Although Jaejin was the better spearman, there was one thing Suho was confident in.

He went back on the offense. Jaejin defended expertly. But slowly his expression eroded into one of exertion—furrowed brow, frown across his mouth.

Suho was turning up the heat. No matter how good at spearmanship Jaejin was—

Sunghyun was faster and stronger than this.

If he couldn't deal with Jaejin at this level, then he’d just have to force him to a level that made him uncomfortable.

He didn't care if his attacks started getting a little sloppier. His every movement had to be swifter and harsher, enough to back even an expert into a wall he couldn't overcome.

He imagined the speed at which Sunghyun had attacked him over the past weekend and sped up to match it. Jaejin gritted his teeth and tried to make space—to break Suho’s streak.

He leapt back, but Suho had known this was coming. He followed him just as fast.

“Fuck—whirlwind!”

A gust of wind magic hit Suho in the side, pushing him off track. Jaejin got the distance he needed, catching his breath.

“Are you panicking yet?” Suho asked.

Jaejin sent him an irritated look.

“Did you really think I’d honestly answer that?”

“Nope.”

Spending two days listening to Sunghyun’s trash talk had ended up teaching him a bit too. He was starting to understand what it took to be annoying.

“Ha… We’ve got to stay far apart after this,” Jaejin said.

“I don't mind helping you out with that.”

And then they were at each others throats again, spears clashing. Going back and forth, neither willing to give up their space.

Suho glanced up at the clock. He had a couple minutes left to end this.

“You keep checking the time,” Jaejin noted.

He pushed Suho back hard, a red aura gathering around his weapon.

“Are you in a rush or something?”

Suho didn't respond. The regular smirk spread across his face again.

“Oh. You are.”

Suho knew he was in trouble.

He charged back in, but Jaejin kept going backwards, avoiding him, only giving him a jab or two here and there.

Wasting time.

“I’m so offended,” Jaejin said. “I could fight you all day, but you want to get rid of me as soon as possible? How could you betray me like this?”

The sarcasm was dripping off his voice. Focusing on the time helped Suho ignore how annoying he sounded, but it made him anxious about what might happen once the stop pill’s effects wore off—assuming it had done anything to begin with.

4:01…

He tried to push forward and trip Jaejin up. Jaejin flipped backwards and easily stuck the landing.

4:30…

The tip of his spear whizzed past the side of Jaejin’s face. Jaejin just stuck his tongue out at him.

4:50…

Suho had 10 seconds left of “safe” time to end this. A deep blue aura flared up around him. As he struck his spear down and Jaejin dodged—

The floor cracked.

“Oh, you’re really going all out now.”

4:55…

He charged. Jaejin’s red aura activated in response, the two of them clashing and getting stuck in a stalemate.

The clock kept ticking up. Jaejin grinned as he saw the impatience in Suho’s eyes.

“I can do that too,” he said. “Got anything else?”

4:59…

5:00.

Suho pushed back, making distance. Mentally checking his own state.

He felt normal. There wasn't a guarantee that the pill had worn off yet, since he didn't know when it had gone into effect, or if it had had an effect at all. He took a deep breath, centering himself.

He put his spear up as Jaejin charged at him, taking the offensive now.

—?

Time seemed to freeze in his mind.

Jaejin was still moving, but all of it was in slow motion.

His hearing went out, replaced with a high-pitched, urgent ringing.

Suho’s eyes flicked to the wall beside them—plain, flat, unassuming.

Hairs all over his body were standing on end.

Something was coming. He could feel it.

Animal Instinct was most definitely back online.

So that’s what it did.

BOOM.

Suho threw himself as far as he could as the wall EXPLODED. Jaejin was thrown the same way, rolling to a stop on the stage.

Pieces of the shattered wall flew around them—concrete, rebar, tiles from the floor crashing through like a landslide. Jaejin groaned. As he looked up, a giant chunk of cement was flying right at his face.

Suho grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him away just in time. It crashed into where he had been, leaving a crater in the stage.

“Th-thanks,” he managed to get out.

Suho didn't respond. And Jaejin quickly realized why. He was looking over at the gigantic hole that had been made of the wall. In its place stood an unwelcome intruder.

There was an orc. Not particularly tall, compared to the whole it had punched through the building. It had flaming red hear—literally on fire—and its skin was black like igneous rock. And unlike the orcs that they had studied and read about, this one was decked out in thick armor.

It mumbled something under its breath in an incomprehensible language, red eyes darting around and scanning the scattered students.

Its gaze stopped on Suho and Jaejin.

With a step that left craters in its wake, the monster rushed towards them.