Bright Horizon

Teo enters the principal's office. 

Principal: "Come in." 

Teo sits down with some tension: "Hello, sir. I-I'm Teo Nathan, the new student." 

Principal Henderson: "I've been expecting you, Mr. Teo. The school day has already started, so I won't go into great detail about the school's system. Here at Bright Horizon School, we aim to achieve the best results. As you know, you're an exceptional case here. No student is allowed to transfer to our school mid-term, and every applicant, even those from "B.M" Middle School, must pass a special test. You should be grateful and proud to be one of our students now." 

Teo (thinking): (This old man talks a lot.) "Why am I an exception?" 

The principal rises from his chair, turns his back to Teo, clasps his hands behind him, and ignores the question: "The watch on your left hand, we call it the classification tool. If you turn it on now, your name will appear on it." 

Teo turns it on and finds a welcome message on the watch's screen with his name on it. 

Principal: "We are like any ordinary school, teaching standard curricula, but we also have a combat ranking for all students. We currently have one hundred and twenty students.There are twenty combat rankings in the school. 

Ranks twenty to ten are called the Elite Warriors. Ranks ten to one are called the Masters. The ranking system is based on arena battles. Until you reach a higher level, all ranks are equal. The only difference is the points. You can earn points by participating in battles. Your achievements and feats in battle are recorded by a judge and converted into points at the end of the fight. 

If you manage to defeat someone with higher points, you get five points. If you tie, you get only two points, and if you lose, three points are deducted. If you lose against someone with fewer points than you, you will lose twice the difference in points between you. 

If you are ranked thirtieth and your opponent is thirty-fifth, and you lose, you will lose ten full points, and he will get five points. If you win, you get two points, and a tie won't help you if you are in a higher rank." 

Teo (thinking): (I feel dizzy.) "D-Do I have to memorize all these instructions?" 

Principal: "Don't worry. Once you get used to it, you'll find it easy. Now go to your class. It's not in your best interest to be late." 

Teo stands up and bows to the principal: "Y-Yes, sir. Excuse me." 

Teo exits the office. 

The principal Handerson clasps his hands together and rests his chin on them: "I feel like I've complicated things for him. Anyway, he has a lot of support behind him. He better impress me." 

As soon as Teo leaves the office, he bumps into Evan. 

Teo (thinking): (W-What is this? His body is so solid!) 

Teo looks up and glares at Evan: "Watch where you're going!" 

Evan extends his hand to Teo with a broad smile: "Ah, here you are, the new student. How are you?" 

Teo looks at his hand in confusion: "Get away from me, or I'll crush you." 

Evan's smile turns into one with a hint of threat: "Oh my, Man !, you're quite aggressive." 

Teo feels threatened and activates his ability, putting Evan in an illusion, but at the same time, Teo feels nauseous and loses his vision. Teo collapses on his limbs, trying to stay conscious, but suddenly regains his vision and balance. 

Eva: " chuckles Man, that was great. Want me to train you?" 

Teo stands up quickly: "W-What was that?! What's your ability?!" 

Evan smiles and puts his index finger to his lips: "That's a secret. I won't tell you now." 

The bell rings, announcing the start of the next class. 

Evan: "Oh my, we need to hurry. I'll see you after class! I'm heading to my class now. Bye!" 

Evan leaves, leaving Teo confused. 

In the first-year class: 

Teo enters, panting: "S-Sorry, sir! I didn't mean to be late!" 

Teacher: "Sit down quickly, we're behind on the syllabus." 

Teo moves between the desks and sits at the back, noticing Lynn sitting in front of him. 

A boy with gray hair and blue eyes stares at Teo (thinking): (So this is the new student, the one who saved Janet.) 

The bell rings, announcing the end of the first period. 

The gray-haired boy stands up and heads toward Teo but is stopped by another boy with long, messy black hair. 

Zack: "Where do you think you're going, Tyr?!" 

Tyr turns to him: "Zack? What's up?" 

Zack: "Don't forget about what is between us , it's time for our fight to see who will rise to the rank of Masters! Haha, I'll make sure to smash your head." 

A strange student named Harith enters the classroom and heads to Teo's seat, accompanied by two other students. 

Harith addresses Teo: "Are you Teo Nathan? What's your rank?" 

Teo glares at him with disdain: "Mind your own business. I didn't come here to fight or play your silly games." 

One of Harith's companions grabs Teo by the shoulder, shouting at him: "Know your place, you bastard! If someone asks you a question, lower your head and answer the damned question!" 

Teo headbutts the student in the nose, causing him to fall to the ground, holding his face and screaming in pain. 

The other student grabs Teo by the shirt and pulls back his fist, ready to punch, but Evan appears and stops the punch by grabbing his wrist. 

Student: "E-Evan?! T-This guy punched Sam, look his nose is bleeding, we should teach him a lesson." 

Evan, with a cunning smile: "How about someone challenge me instead? Harith, want to rematch?" 

Harith responds in a shaky voice: "W-What do you mean? You know why I'm here, idiot. Don't mess things up now!" 

Teo: "Should I get some snacks until you all finish?" 

Evan laughs loudly and pats Teo on the back three times: "Let's be friends. I'm sure we'll get along very well." 

Teo interrupts: "You're not even in my class. Spare me this nonsense. (His hand is so heavy, I feel like he just broke my back.)" 

Teo turns to Harith: "Still here? Get lost, you scum!" 

Sam stands up, wiping the blood from under his nose, and points his watch at Teo's face. 

Sam: "Don't think you can just hide behind one of the Masters. I challenge you!" 

Teo's watch lights up, displaying a message: "Do you accept the challenge from student Sam?" with two options, yes or no, and a warning next to the refusal: "Ten points will be deducted if you refuse a challenge from a lower-ranked student." 

Harith yells: "You idiot, why are you acting on your own?!" 

Sam: "Open your eyes, Harith! This bastard has already surpassed rank thirty just by stepping into the school. Are you kidding me?!" 

Evan places his hand on Teo's shoulder and smiles slyly: "I don't recommend refusing. You can easily beat that idiot." 

Teo brushes Evan's hand off his shoulder: "Don't talk as if you're my friend. Whether I refuse the fight or not is up to me." 

Teo presses the accept button, and a screen appears showing Teo and Sam's names and their points below. 

Sam has 132 points and is ranked thirtieth, while Teo has 145 points and is ranked twenty-fifth. 

Sam is shocked by Teo's points (thinking): (W-What? . Are you kidding me? It took me a whole year to get to where I am now.) 

Teo turns to Harith (thinking): (I need to create the right scene.) "What's your rank, anyway?" 

Harith sighs: "Look, I'm not here to fight you. I'm in rank twenty, so now—" 

Teo interrupts, cracking his neck, trying to appear strong: "After I kick your follower's butt, get ready because...I'm going to knock you out of your elite ranking." 

Sam: "All battles are after school. I'll be waiting for you in the arena, and I'll gather the crowd and make sure to humiliate you in front of everyone." 

Sam and the other student leave . 

Harith stays and exchanges glances with Teo. 

Teo: "Are you looking for something?" 

Harith chuckles softly: "You? Knock me out of the top rank? I'm looking forward to it." He turns to Evan. "See you later, Eve." 

Harith leaves the classroom. 

Evan: "Need some tips?" 

Teo: "Tips for what?" 

Evan: "Your opponent has a decent enhancement ability. Even with medium aura enhancement, you might face some trouble—" 

Teo interrupts: "Do I really look like I need this crap?" 

Evan's friendly smile turns sly, and a faint yellow aura surrounds his body. He presses Teo's shoulder, forcing him to sit. 

Evan: "You'll need at least as much strength as the one I used on you to endure it. Good luck, Mr. Teo." 

Teo grabs his shoulder, trembling (thinking): (T-This guy...he's a monster. I'm sure he didn't even use his full ability!) 

Tyr watches from afar (thinking): (E-Evan himself is here?! What the hell is going on?!) 

Zack: "Isn't that brown-haired guy Ivan, the dangerous one from the Masters?" 

Tyr: "Yes...it's him." 

Zack: "Anyway, get ready for the fight, you bastard!" 

After the school day ends, Teo leaves his classroom and finds Evan waiting for him. 

Evan: "Let's go, bud—" 

Teo interrupts: "Don't you have anything better to do?" 

Evan laughs mockingly: "I'll guide you to the arena, follow me." 

Teo follows Evan out of the main building and into another enormous structure. 

Evan: "This is the combat arena. It's huge, right?" 

Teo looks around to see many students gathered in the stands in large numbers. 

Teo: "W-What's with all these people? Are they here to watch my fight?!" 

Evan laughs: "Definitely not... but they're here for this." 

Evan points his finger to the center of the ring where Zack and Tyr are standing opposite each other, and their names appear on the screen. 

"Zack Reeve, ranked 11th with 227 points, versus Tyr Ryoma , ranked 10th with 228 points." 

Evan: "Watch carefully, this fight is going to be... very exciting."