The morning sun shined through the windows of Nova High School.
Students filled the hallways as usual, talking about rankings, powers, and rumors.
Kai walked through the school gate slowly.
His face still had a small bruise from the night before, but he didn't seem to care.
"Another normal day," he muttered.
Students around him were showing off their abilities again.
A boy created sparks of electricity in his hands. A girl lifted her backpack using telekinesis while laughing with her friends.
Kai watched quietly as he walked past them.
No one paid much attention to him.
To everyone else, he was still just the powerless new student.
When Kai entered the classroom, some students looked at him.
"Hey… isn't that the guy who got beaten yesterday?" one whispered.
"Yeah, the powerless kid," another said.
Kai sat down in the back of the classroom like nothing happened.
He rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window.
I really need to avoid trouble, he thought.
Suddenly the classroom door opened.
The teacher walked in.
"Good morning, class."
Everyone sat down.
"Today we will begin combat ability training," the teacher announced.
The classroom immediately became noisy.
Combat training meant students would fight each other using their powers.
Kai sighed quietly.
This school really loves fighting.
The teacher continued.
"Later today, we will go to the training arena. Students will be paired to test their abilities."
Kai slowly leaned back in his chair.
Great…
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Because if he was forced to fight…
It might become harder to keep pretending that he was powerless.