The next morning, Roy woke up with one thought on his mind.
The note.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the small piece of paper sitting on his desk.
Don't rely too much on what the academy teaches you.
Roy had barely slept after finding it.
He had tried to convince himself that it was probably a joke.
Maybe someone had mistaken his room for theirs.
Maybe one of the students had left it there.
But something bothered him.
The handwriting was deliberate.
Whoever had written it wanted him to see it.
Roy picked up the paper and examined it again.
Nothing.
No name.
No signature.
No clue.
He folded it and placed it inside his notebook.
"Whatever."
He stood up.
"I'll figure it out later."
---
By the time Roy reached Class 1-A, Leo was already there.
Leo immediately noticed something was wrong.
"You look distracted."
Roy sat down.
"I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Leo stared at him for a few seconds.
"You're really terrible at lying."
Roy looked at him.
"Since when?"
"Since I met you."
Roy sighed.
"Forget it."
Leo shook his head leaned back.
"Fine."
Before he could ask anything else, the classroom door opened.
Their instructor entered.
"Good morning."
The class responded.
"Good morning, sir."
The instructor placed several documents on his desk.
"Today we're going to discuss combat evaluations."
The room became quieter.
"Over the next few weeks, every first-year student will undergo several assessments."
A student raised his hand.
"What kind of assessments?"
"Physical ability. Nexis control. Combat ability. Academic performance."
The instructor paused.
"And teamwork."
Several students immediately began whispering.
Roy looked toward Leo.
"Teamwork?"
Leo nodded.
"Probably group training."
The instructor continued.
"Your performance will affect your position within the academy."
Roy's eyes narrowed.
"Position?"
"Students who consistently perform well may receive additional training opportunities."
The class became more interested.
"However, don't misunderstand."
The instructor's expression became serious.
"Your rank does not determine everything."
He wrote on the board:
SPARK does mean you are WEAK
VANGUARD does mean you are INVINCIBLE
"A Spark with excellent control can defeat a careless Awakened user. A Vanguard can lose to someone with better strategy."
Roy smiled slightly.
That made sense.
He had already experienced something similar.
---
After class, Roy headed toward the training grounds.
Leo followed.
"Where are you going?"
"Combat Club."
"Again?"
"Yeah."
Leo laughed.
"You really like that place."
Roy didn't answer.
He wanted to practice what he'd learned.
Especially his Lightning control.
When they reached the training grounds, Roy immediately began warming up.
He stretched his arms.
Then his legs.
Leo watched.
"You've changed."
Roy looked at him.
"What?"
"You're actually training properly now."
Roy shrugged.
"I have to or i'll have an even bigger target on my back."
He raised his hand.
Lightning appeared.
A faint blue spark traveled across his fingers.
Roy concentrated.
The spark remained stable.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Leo smiled.
"That's better."
Roy nodded.
"Yeah."
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A loud explosion came from the other side of the training ground.
Everyone turned.
A group of students had gathered around one of the arenas.
Leo looked toward Roy.
"Again?"
Roy started walking.
"Let's see."
---
A student stood in the center of the arena.
He had dark hair and a confident expression.
Across from him stood another first-year.
The first student crossed his arms.
"So you're the new guy?"
The other student frowned.
"Yeah."
"What's your name?"
"Roy."
The first student smiled.
"Roy?"
He laughed.
"You're the one everyone has been talking about."
Roy stopped.
"Me?"
"Yeah, so really don't know how popular you are in the academy."
The student stepped forward.
"You're the guy who supposedly almost defeated a second-year."
Roy's expression remained neutral.
"Supposedly?"
The student laughed.
"I heard you barely survived."
Roy looked at Leo.
Leo whispered.
"Don't."
Roy ignored him.
The student looked at Roy.
"I'm Darius."
He released his Nexis.
The air around him began vibrating.
Roy immediately recognized the element.
"Sound."
Darius smiled.
"That's right."
Roy became interested.
Sound-based Nexis wasn't something he had seen much of.
Darius pointed toward the arena.
"Fight me."
The crowd immediately reacted.
"Ooooh!"
"He's challenging Roy!"
"Let's see what the new guy can do."
Roy looked at Darius.
"Why?"
"I want to see if you're actually as good as people say."
Roy sighed.
"I'm not interested."
Darius frowned.
"What?"
"I said no."
The crowd became quiet.
Darius looked irritated.
"Scared?"
Roy walked past him.
"No."
"Then why won't you fight?"
"Because I don't feel like it."
Leo laughed quietly.
Darius clenched his fists.
"You're arrogant."
Roy stopped.
He turned around.
"Maybe."
Darius smiled.
"Then prove you're not."
Roy looked at the arena.
Then at Darius.
He sighed.
"Fine."
Leo immediately grabbed his arm.
"Roy."
"I'm not going to use anything dangerous."
Leo frowned.
"That's not what I'm worried about."
Roy stepped into the arena.
Darius smiled.
"Good choice."
The instructor supervising the training area approached.
"A controlled spar."
He looked at both students.
"No forbidden techniques."
Roy nodded.
Darius did the same.
"Begin!"
---
Darius moved first.
He snapped his fingers.
BOOM!
A powerful sound wave exploded toward Roy.
Roy immediately activated Lightning.
He moved sideways.
The wave missed.
It struck the ground.
CRACK!
Roy's eyes narrowed.
"That's strong."
Darius attacked again.
This time, the sound wave spread across the entire arena.
Roy couldn't simply dodge sideways.
He jumped.
The attack passed underneath him.
Roy landed.
Lightning surged around his legs.
He disappeared.
Darius's eyes widened.
Roy appeared behind him.
He swung.
Darius turned.
BAM!
He blocked Roy's punch with a sound barrier.
Roy was pushed backward.
Darius smiled.
"Got you."
Roy rubbed his hand.
"That's annoying."
Darius laughed.
"Sound isn't just attacks, you should try paying attention in your classes."
He raised his hand.
The air vibrated.
Roy suddenly heard a loud ringing in his ears.
He stumbled.
"What the—?"
His balance was disrupted.
Darius rushed forward.
Roy barely blocked the incoming punch.
Another sound wave struck.
Roy was thrown backward.
He rolled across the ground and stopped.
The crowd reacted.
"He's controlling the battlefield!"
"Roy can't get close!"
Darius smiled.
"Give up?"
Roy stood.
"No."
He wiped dust from his uniform.
Darius attacked again.
Roy moved.
Instead of trying to avoid the sound wave completely, he studied it.
The vibration.
The direction.
The timing.
He remembered his Combat instructor.
Adaptation.
Roy smiled.
Darius fired another wave.
Roy waited.
At the last possible moment—
CRACK!
Lightning exploded from his feet.
He moved through the smallest opening in the attack.
Darius's eyes widened.
Roy appeared directly in front of him.
His fist stopped inches from Darius's face.
The arena went silent.
Darius stared.
Roy lowered his fist.
"You're good."
Darius looked surprised.
"You could've hit me."
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you?"
Roy shrugged.
"The instructor said controlled spar."
Darius laughed.
"Fair."
The instructor stepped forward.
"Match over."
The crowd began talking again.
Roy stepped out of the arena.
Leo walked over.
"That was good."
Roy nodded.
"His ability is interesting."
"You almost got knocked out."
"I know."
Leo stared at him.
"And you're smiling?"
Roy smiled.
"Because I learned something."
---
Later that afternoon, Roy returned to the library.
He wanted to research Sound Nexis.
He found several books.
Elemental Combat Applications
Advanced Nexis Theory
Rare Elemental Techniques
He opened the last one.
Sound was listed among the specialized elements.
Roy read through the section.
Sound users could manipulate vibrations.
They could create offensive shockwaves.
Disrupt balance.
Enhance communication.
And, with enough mastery, manipulate the vibration of objects.
Roy's eyes widened.
"That's actually dangerous."
He continued reading.
Then he noticed something.
Sound and Lightning had something in common.
Both relied heavily on movement and timing.
Roy began thinking.
"If I can control my Lightning precisely enough..."
He stopped.
He didn't know exactly what he was thinking.
But there was something there.
A possibility.
---
As Roy left the library, he noticed someone standing near the entrance.
Mira.
The girl from the previous day.
She was holding another stack of books.
"You again."
Mira looked at him.
"You're here often."
"So are you."
She smiled.
"Fair."
Roy walked past her.
Mira followed him closely behind.
"You fought Darius."
Roy glanced at her.
"How do you know?"
"Seriously everyone knows."
"Of course they know." Roy sighed and kept on walking
Mira laughed.
"You learned from it."
Roy stopped.
"What?"
"Your movement."
She looked at him.
"Yesterday, you relied to heavily on instinct."
"And today?"
"Today you were observing."
Roy smiled slightly.
"You noticed."
"I notice a lot of things."
Roy continued walking.
Mira asked:
"What are you trying to become?"
Roy stopped.
He looked at her.
"I don't know."
"Then you should try figuring it out."
She walked past him.
Roy watched her leave.
Again, she had said something that stayed in his mind.
---
That evening, Roy returned to his room.
He took out his notebook.
He opened it to the page containing the strange note.
He stared at it.
Then he remembered something.
The note had been placed in his room.
Not his bag.
Not his classroom.
His room.
Which meant whoever wrote it had either entered the dormitory...
or had access to it.
Roy's expression became serious.
He folded the note again.
Then he heard something outside.
A faint sound.
Tap.
Roy looked toward the window.
Nothing.
He walked over and opened it.
The courtyard was empty.
Roy looked around.
Nothing.
He closed the window.
As he turned—
A small black envelope was sitting on his desk.
Roy froze.
He hadn't left it there.
Slowly, he walked toward it.
There was no name on the envelope.
Only a single symbol.
A strange mark resembling a broken circle.
Roy picked it up.
He opened it.
Inside was a single sentence.
"If you want answers about your past, come to the eastern training grounds after midnight."
Roy stared at the message.
His heart began beating faster.
His past.
That was something he rarely thought about.
His foster mother had never told him much.
He didn't know his biological parents.
He didn't know where he came from.
And now someone was claiming to know the answers.
Roy folded the message.
For several seconds, he stood completely still.
Then he smiled.
"Looks like things are getting interesting."
He placed the letter inside his drawer.
But he didn't notice the small black symbol glowing faintly on the envelope.
And somewhere far away, inside one of the academy's towers, a figure watched the eastern training grounds through a window.
The figure smiled.
"Let's see what you're really hiding, Roy."