The class followed Kael into a large training room, cluttered with towering structures of pillars, platforms, and hanging ropes. Some obstacles reached the ceiling, while others curved around the floor.

"Thank you, Maris," Kael said.

A girl near the front wobbled under the weight of a large glass jar, struggling forward until she finally set it down in the middle of the room with a heavy thud.

"Everyone, this is Maris Feld. She is my assistant and will be helping me with your assessments."

Maris gave an awkward wave.

"Together, we'll be evaluating your strengths and weaknesses. But today's test has one focus: agility. Pay close attention. This isn't just about speed—it's about how well you control your body under pressure."

Landen scanned his classmates, who came in all shapes and sizes. But he could tell that only a handful had what it took to do well in this test.

In a battle arena, there were five distinct roles, one of which was the assassin—built for speed and precision. High burst damage, low defense. Pure agility. If this test was designed with any role in mind, it was clearly the assassin.

"Look down at your suits," Kael continued. "You'll each find a number on your chest and back. That's your identifier. After all assessments are completed, your results will be posted—find your number and you'll find your score."

The students had swapped their uniforms for sleek black suits, each marked with a unique number. Landen wore 28. And across from him was the white-haired boy—number 56, uncomfortably staring at him again.

"Hit the lights," Kael said, pointing at Maris.

She tapped on her tablet, and the room went dark.

Gasps rippled through the group. Then the jar on the floor began to glow—softly at first, then brighter.

"Don't move," Maris said quietly.

She unscrewed the lid and hundreds of glowing lights drifted upward, spreading through the space like floating lanterns.

"Wisps?" Landen whispered in awe.

Kael approached the jar. "This test is called the Wisp Tag. Your suits are equipped with sensors that will track your every movement—coordination, balance, reaction time, acceleration, velocity. All of it."

He and Maris began handing out a small woven basket to each student.

"Your goal is simple: catch as many wisps as you can in thirty minutes. Store the wisps inside your basket, and our system will automatically register your points."

As Landen strapped his on, he pulled up his system menu to check his agility stat.

‘Damn, only two points of agility.’

"You still possess ten unclaimed stat points," the system said. "Shall I apply them to your agility?"

‘No.’

"A few points would make this significantly easier."

‘That's the point. I want to know where I actually stand.’

He closed the menu. Though he sounded confident, he was anything but that. The truth was, he had never been athletic. Back on Earth, he was the kind of person who chose a controller over a gym membership—scrawny and slow. But here, he was strong, or at least he felt strong. The question was, how strong? That was what he needed to find out.

Then a bright holographic display flickered to life above them.

"There are a few things you should know before you begin. Take a close look at the display, and you'll notice four different-colored wisps. Each one carries a different point value."

The display zoomed in, isolating four colored wisps along with their point value.

|| White: 1 point ||

|| Blue: 2 points ||

|| Red: 3 points ||

|| Rainbow: 10 points ||

"You will notice the higher the value, the fewer there are. White wisps will be scattered throughout the course, but if you want a high score, you'll need to keep your eyes open for the others. But just know—they're worth more for a reason."

"There are also two rules," he said. "First: you are not allowed to use any abilities during this test. This is a measure of your natural physical capability—nothing more."

"Second: you are not allowed to interfere with other participants. No fighting, no sabotage, and absolutely no stealing wisps from someone else. Any violation of these rules will result in immediate disqualification."

While Kael spoke, Landen felt a presence settle beside him.

"You don't belong here,” 56 said in his deep voice. He sounded certain—like he knew his true identity.

Landen was ready to point a finger at him, but 56 spoke before he got the chance.

"People spend years to reach this point. Raising their Essence level. Training their bodies. Competing against thousands just for the chance to walk through this academy's doors. And then there's you. A Civilian criminal with zero Essence and a clear soul color nobody's ever seen before. Vanderbilt may think that the clear soul color means something special. But we'll find out soon enough that it means nothing. You're not some hidden genius. You're just a criminal. That's all there is to you."

Landen didn't respond. Because honestly? He wasn't wrong.

Back on Earth, he was ordinary. No power. No talent. No greatness. Even now, he still didn't fully understand why he had been brought here instead of someone else more deserving. Being here among the academy students, all radiating confidence and strength, made him feel like a lesser human pretending to belong among monsters.

56 got into Landen's face. "I'll expose you. Right here, right now."

And then—

A translucent blue screen suddenly appeared in front of Landen's vision, blocking out 56's face.

“Oh, look at that,” the system said, her voice surprised. “You have received your first quest.”

|| QUEST: Outscore your opponent. ||

|| REWARD: 20 EXP. ||

‘Finally,’ he thought, his pulse kicking up. “A quest. An actual quest.”

Ever since the system appeared, one question had been gnawing at him: How do I earn EXP? He finally got the answer. Quests!

56 had expected anger, perhaps even fear, but the expression on Landen’s face caught him completely off guard. Instead of looking like someone who’d just been threatened, Landen looked like a kid who’d just unwrapped the perfect birthday present.

“Thank you,” Landen said cheerfully, dropping a hand onto 56’s shoulder. “That was exactly what I needed.”

"Let me remind you all," Kael announced. "Your results today will determine whether you earn your place here at Aegis. This is not just a test. It's your future. Do your best."

"You have thirty minutes." Kael raised his hand.

"Begin!"

Students leapt, sprinted, slid, and climbed as glowing wisps scattered in every direction. Some vaulted across pillars. Others scrambled up walls.

While all the students moved, Landen and 56 ran side by side, equal in speed. They both dove towards a few wisps, but instead of catching anything, they crashed into each other hard.

Landen was on the ground, but not 56. He just stood there, staring off into the distance.

What is he planning? Landen thought.

Then 56 slowly turned to look at Landen. He had a knowing smile, as if to say, “I've got you beat.”

They both sprinted together again, but this time 56 was faster, much faster.

I swear our speed was just equal, but now I can't seem to keep up. Did he use some kind of ability or something?

Landen stopped. Then 56 sprinted ahead, jumping over obstacles until he reached the top. Holding his first wisp high, he shouted back to Landen. "I will win this!"

- - -

56 had disappeared, leaving Landen farming on his own.

He sprinted with everything he had. It felt fast to him—but compared to everyone else, he might as well have been standing still. Seeing that everyone else moved at a similar speed to 56, he realized: this was normal here. Back on Earth, this level of speed would've been called inhuman. Superhuman.

But here? This was the baseline.

Not far away, Professor Kael and his assistant Maris stood at the center of the course, tablets in hand. Landen tracked their gaze.

"Pull up information on number 11," Kael said.

They watched a smaller girl with blond hair tied into two tight, bouncy pigtails, moving effortlessly through the obstacles.

Maris checked her tablet. "Elara Vesperine. Age sixteen. House Vesperine."

Kael looked over at Maris. "So one of them finally enrolled here."

The infamous Vesperine family—known as a noble house specializing in covert operations and security. However, everyone knew the truth. For generations, House Vesperine had produced some of the deadliest assassins in history. And here was one in the making.

They continued to watch her.

Elara flowed—pivoting lightly, stepping where others leapt, adjusting her balance mid-motion with subtle shifts of her shoulders and hips. Wisps seemed to wander into her basket.

Then Kael pointed to someone in the distance. "Number seventeen—who is he?"

The boy had a leather headband pushing back dark hair, and eyes that held a focused, predatory stillness even in motion. He looked exceptionally fit, clearly trained.

"That boy is Silas Vance," Maris said. "He appears to have no family record. A simple commoner."

"A commoner with exceptional skills," Kael replied, watching Silas dash around, his eyes nearly keeping up.

Compared to Elara, Silas was a different breed entirely. If Elara was a breeze, Silas was a bolt of lightning. He ignored the lower, easier wisps and went straight for the top. He sprinted up a slanted wall, grabbed a dangling chain, and snatched three wisps out of the air in a single pass.

Landen watched in amazement.

"They're like characters straight out of a video game," he thought. "I bet I can do that too."

"Is that an order to add points to your Agility?" the system asked.

"Stop it," he said, hitting his head.

He tried running again, but something was wrong. His stride wobbled, like his legs weren't fully listening. Each step landed half a beat too late. When he threw a punch, it dragged. Even jumping felt off.

Landen slapped his legs in frustration. "My mind and body aren't syncing. I need practice. But I don’t have time."

"I have a suggestion," the system chimed in.

A menu opened up in front of him with a tab that read [ TRAINING ], pulsing in and out.

“You can use the training facility within the MOBA system,” she said. “Within it, you operate at the speed of thought rather than the speed of your body. One hour of training there equates to approximately six minutes in reality.”

Landen thought about it, then looked up at the clock. Twenty-five minutes remaining.

Suddenly, a new prompt materialized:

|| Quest: Explore the MOBA Training System ||

|| Reward: 10 EXP ||

"Five minutes to pay for one hour of training and free experience points?" He grinned. "Let's do it."

"System, enter the MOBA training system."

"Right away."

The world cut out.

Sound vanished first—then color—then everything else. For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence and the faint sensation of falling inward.

Then—

Endless, blinding white stretched in every direction. No walls. No floor. No horizon. Just a space that felt both infinite and contained.

"Welcome to the MOBA training system." Bob’s voice filled the area. "I am capable of generating any training scenario you can conceive. Environments. Enemies. Conditions. Limitations. All tailored to your needs."

“Is that you, Bob?” Landen asked.

“More or less. Though I’m not actually here. Think of me like a super, super intelligent AI system.”

“Okay? So you can do anything here, huh? Then let's see what you can really do."

- - -

Back in reality, Kael and Maris continued to monitor the students. Maris noticed something odd.

There, a lone boy sat cross-legged on the ground. His eyes closed, his posture calm—completely unmoving, as if he had forgotten he was in the middle of an exam. Wisps floated nearby, yet he made no attempt to collect them.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

"Number 28 is Landen Knight," Maris said. "Essence Level: Civilian."

Kael recognized the face. "He is the boy from the classroom. What a disappointment."