"Wait—Muhan, how are you this strong?"
Ji-hoon's voice trembled with disbelief, a bitter edge of disappointment cutting through.
> "So… all those times we sparred… you were holding back?"
Muhan turned with a teasing glint in his eye and a mischievous grin on his lips.
> "Yeah… I guess you could say that."
Ji-hoon's expression twisted, part frustration, part betrayal.
> "You were holding back? That's not fair!"
Muhan laughed softly, then clapped Ji-hoon on the back.
> "Don't take it so hard, Ji-hoon. You're still strong—crazy strong. I was just... being careful."
Ji-hoon scowled but said nothing, the storm of emotions behind his eyes slowly settling.
From the sidelines, Mi-cha watched with a gentle smile, relieved to see the two boys mending their tension with banter—even if Ji-hoon still wore a bit of a sulk.
Professor Su-yang cleared her throat, voice firm but composed.
> "Alright, students—focus. Let's continue. We still have a full rotation of spars to go through."
But before she could call the next pair—
Ji-hoon burst forward, a blur of movement, launching himself toward Muhan in a reckless burst of emotion.
> "I still need to land one clean hit!"
His fist was mere inches from Muhan's face—when everything changed.
Muhan's expression didn't flicker.
He simply exhaled.
And in that breath, his aura erupted.
A blinding navy-blue light engulfed the space, pouring off him like a cosmic storm, dense and regal. The sheer pressure slammed into Ji-hoon mid-air, stopping him cold. He dropped to his knees, gasping.
Professor Su-yang froze.
Her eyes widened—then widened more—as she scanned Muhan's energy. Her lips trembled.
> "Impossible," she whispered. "Your level… it can't be…"
Muhan stood calm in the chaos, surrounded by pulsing waves of raw force.
> "It's true, Professor," he said gently, voice steady. "What you're sensing… it's mine."
The classroom went silent.
Not a whisper. Not a breath.
Then—shock turned to awe.
Ji-hoon stared in disbelief. Mi-cha's eyes shimmered with tears.
Tauhyeun the Elve and Pyo-wol the Lycan exchanged proud, stunned glances. Even they hadn't expected this.
Professor Su-yang stumbled back a step, her face pale.
> "Level 100… You… you're a genius, Muhan. A prodigy born once in an epoch…"
Far beyond the sealed battlefield, Professor Su-ho, instructing new arrivals, suddenly paused. Her head tilted slightly, sensing something.
A smile tugged at her lips.
> "Outstanding as always… aren't you, Muhan?"
Inside the pocket dimension, chaos erupted.
Students gasped. Whispers turned to outcries. Eyes were fixed on the boy cloaked in a divine navy-blue aura, the very essence of authority and control.
Ji-hoon approached Muhan slowly, his pride dissolved into reverent awe.
> "Dude… I had no idea. You're… something else."
Muhan laughed softly, his aura slowly dimming.
> "Maybe I was hiding my strength a little more than I let on."
But deep inside, Muhan thought:
> "Still just Level 50. The rest… was projection."
Before he could say more, Mi-cha rushed forward, wrapping her arms tightly around him, tears rolling down her cheeks.
> "I'm so proud of you, Muhan," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Muhan blinked, a little surprised… but he smiled, heart warm.
Professor Su-yang regained her composure, her eyes now gleaming with renewed energy.
> "Now that we've witnessed Muhan's astonishing potential," she said, "let's see how our other top students stack up. Mi-cha. Soo-ah. You're next."
Mi-cha stepped forward, her eyes blazing with determination.
Soo-ah grinned confidently, cracking her knuckles.
Both girls stood tall—Level 45 warriors, honed by years of training and fierce competition.
Their auras flared—Mi-cha's a radiant silver glow, swirling with lightning-like currents, while Soo-ah's burned hot pink, wild and flame-like.
> "BEGIN!" Professor Su-yang called out.
In an instant, the air ignited with power.
Mi-cha charged forward, her strikes like meteor impacts. Soo-ah danced back, then retaliated with a spinning kick that tore a star cluster apart.
Each movement was a spectacle—planets shattered under the pressure of their blows, solar systems were thrown out of orbit, and energy pulses rippled through the battlefield like crashing waves.
Mi-cha swiped with her palm, and an entire solar system veered into oblivion, collapsing into a dark rift. Soo-ah responded with a high-speed axe kick that split a cluster of suns, sending fire and plasma spiraling through the void.
Professor Su-yang watched, her gaze sharp and unreadable.
> "Excellent. Both of them are close to evolving. One more push…"
The class was speechless, jaws slack as they watched two titans—girls their age—turn galaxies into debris.
And yet… a quiet truth buzzed in every mind present:
> If Mi-cha and Soo-ah were this strong at Level 45… then what was Muhan really capable of at Level 50… or beyond?