"I know a way to be resurrected."
With her eyes red from excessive crying, Nina looked at Maya. There was now a twinkle of hope in those eyes. "Is there really a way to go back to life?"
Scratching her head, Maya replied, "Yes. I'm not completely certain I'll be able to take you guys with me, but if there's even a slight chance, it's best we try it."
"Why are you trying to help us?"
"I don't know… It's kind of a gut feeling. I just thought I should go with what I'm feeling."
Avaritia
Avaritia is located in the Goldilocks zone of a large star called the Sun. It has a total surface area of approximately 175 trillion square kilometers, with a landmass of around 29.33 trillion square kilometers. The rest is made up of absurdly vast bodies of water. Avaritia has about 243 days per year and 36 hours per day.
39th Continent: Woshalden
Woshalden is a small-sized continent spanning approximately 102.02 billion square kilometers. There are 29 major provinces in Woshalden.
Woshalden
Floreatia, Capital city of the Central Province
Reale Academy
The academy of every youth's dreams. A place where the children of the most prestigious and powerful people enrolled. Reale Academy nurtures talents that could potentially become great-grade existences. Having been around for over 500 years, it has produced more than a hundred high-grade students—once even the hero of a generation, a greater-grade existence.
But I would say to hell with all that. I'd much rather go to a normal school with normal people. This place is just a nest of arrogant, spoiled brats. I guess I don't really have a choice.
My parents put in a lot of effort to get me and my twin sister into this school, so we might as well try our best to graduate.
Currently, I'm staring at the massive gates of the enormous academy. Apparently, we don't get to leave until the holiday at the end of the semester.
"Hale, what are you doing? Hurry up, we have to get our grades assessed!"
Snapping me back to reality was a familiar feminine voice.
Turning my head, I saw my twin sister, Hayley. She didn't wait any longer and simply walked to where the other students were gathered for the grade assessment.
Watching her go, I noticed a lot of the male students couldn't take their eyes off her. Apparently, lots of guys—including my friends back in middle school—thought Hayley was some sort of beauty goddess. I just couldn't relate. Sure, she wasn't ugly, but she didn't strike me as the incomparable beauty they made her out to be. Maybe it's because she's my sister, and I've seen all kinds of ugly sides to her personality.
However, all those guys staring at her would soon find both of us extremely repulsive.
They were all rich kids from prestigious families or organizations who believed they were chosen—thanks to their backing and bloodlines. Hayley and I appeared to be from a normal middle-class family, but in reality, our dad is the leader of the black market—the Shadow King—with many of their families and organizations beneath him.
That said, we couldn't exactly go around announcing we were the children of the Shadow King. He's a wanted man, even though he's a higher-grade qualitative existence. He still couldn't go head-to-head with the government, which has numerous higher grades and even great-grade executives.
With our undercover background, we were probably going to be lumped in with kids who had no backing and trashy bloodlines.
But that wasn't the main problem.
The real problem was our talent and grade.
The kids from rich families had naturally ascended more times than those from "trash" families. Most of them were already at Lesser Grade - 2 or -3, while the ones from top organizations—or children of government executives—were at Lower Grade - 1.
Each grade was further divided into three tiers. Hayley and I were already at Lower Grade - 3, much higher than any of the other first-years, but our dad had forcefully lowered our grades to Minor Grade - 3. It would've been suspicious if two prodigies popped up from a middle-class family—inviting all kinds of unwanted attention.
I jogged a bit and caught up with Hayley.
"What took you so long?"
Mocking, I replied, "Don't you know you're supposed to observe your surroundings when entering an unfamiliar environment? You're too lax."
Puffing out her chest and waving a hand dismissively, she said, "Oh, please. Even though we had our grades lowered, these morons are no threat. My combat experience dwarfs theirs a million times."
Letting out a bitter smile, I said, "That's beside the point. "Then I sighed. "Just don't forget our training."
"Hale Servas!"
"I guess that's my cue. See you on the other side, sis."
Hayley just scoffed at me, not bothering to reply.
I walked into the building. As soon as I stepped in, the space around me distorted. I found myself in a 50 by 50 white room. A 7-foot bulky man stood at the center.
His hoarse voice resounded in my ears: "Your task is simple. Try to land one hit on me. The more difficult it is to block your attacks, the higher your combat assessment will be."
So all I have to do is land a single hit. That shouldn't be too difficult.
"Begin!"
The second those words hit my ears, I tensed my calves and propelled my body forward. In under two seconds, I had already crossed the 20-meter gap. Clenching my left palm into a fist, I threw a punch aiming for his face. He didn't seem the least bit bothered.
—Thoom!
Pain instantly surged through my fist. It felt like I'd just punched a diamond wall. But I didn't let it slow me down. Twisting my body, I delivered a kick aimed at his liver. Just as my leg was about to connect, knowing he'd block it anyway, I twisted again—this time aiming for his feet.
Suddenly, a huge fist filled my vision.
What the hell? He didn't say he would attack!
I couldn't dodge, so I had to block. I raised my arms to shield my face—
—Thoom!
—Bang!
His fist slammed into my forearms, and the next second, I was flying backward—crashing into the wall 25 meters behind me.
Kneeling on the floor, coughing profusely, I spat out a bit of blood.
"You… didn't say you would attack."
The bulky man didn't say a word. He just stood there like I hadn't spoken.
I recollected myself and got back to my feet.
Seeing me recover, the man said, "If you're within range, I will attack. You have four minutes and twenty seconds left."
That short exchange had lasted ten seconds. The remaining thirty must've been recovery time. I couldn't let him hit me again—but I still had to try and hit him.
Sigh.
This would be no problem if my physical abilities hadn't been reduced by over four thousand percent. I guess I have to work with what I have.
Steeling my resolve, I charged at him again, raining blow after blow at incredible speed. He blocked every single one. This time, he didn't even try to attack. I think he saw through my plan.
My strategy was simple: keep attacking until he finds an opening, and when he does, I'd let my guard down and land a hit just before taking his blow. But he figured it out—deciding instead to block until I exhausted my stamina.
I kept pushing forward, racking my brain for a solution.
Then—an idea.
I twisted my foot, loosening my right sneaker. Then I aimed a kick at his stomach while letting the shoe fly toward his face.
Caught off guard by the dual strike, he hesitated for just a split second—but still managed to block both.
Still, that split second was all I needed. I'd already begun spinning. By the time he blocked the sneaker in front of his face, my right foot had swung around, aiming for the side of his head.
—Baam!
What the—?! He still blocked it?!
I did a back handspring to get some distance. I was just starting to think of my next move when a loud sound of applause and laughter echoed in the room.
"Hahaha! Absolutely exceptional!"
I was confused. Why was he applauding? I didn't even land a hit.
The bulky man handed me a card. "Excellent. You managed to almost land a hit, even without using your ability. Fascinating. You pass. Your combat grade is B++."
He gestured to a door behind him—a door that definitely hadn't been there before. "You may proceed to the next assessment."
I stepped through.
Looking at the card, I fell into deep thought.
Name: Hale Servas
Age: 17
QualitativeExistence: …
CombatGrade: B++
EstimatedIntelligence: …
OverallStudentEvaluation: …
Is B++ a good grade? From the way he sounded, it seems so. And what's this "Overall Student Evaluation" thing? Whatever. I'll just try my best and accept the results. I mean, how far can I really go with most of my power sealed?
I wonder how Hayley will do on the combat test.
Outside the building where the students had gathered, another name was finally called.
"Hayley Servas!"
Sighing, Hayley walked toward the entrance. She felt a bit relieved—she couldn't stand those morons trying to hit on her.
Clicking her tongue, she thought I wonder how well Hale did. I should try my best not to lose to him.