After a while, Connor finally finds Ivan at the back of the stadium, sitting alone and drinking a beer, looking disappointed.
"Ivan, are you okay?" Connor asks, but Ivan doesn't reply.
"What's the problem?" Connor inquires again.
"My father passed away; he won't be able to see me become one of the chosen heroes of Ortha," Ivan explains.
"I'm sorry for your loss. You need to stay focused for our combat training tomorrow," Connor said, trying to comfort him.
"I'll be okay; don't worry about it," Ivan replied.
"How about I join you? It's always better to have someone to talk to," Connor suggested.
"Sure, thanks, man," Ivan replied gratefully.
"No problem. Just stay strong; you'll get through this," Connor encouraged as they shared a beer together.
The next day, an explosion rocked their academy, waking them from their sleep. They noticed smoke rising from the forest outside.
"What's happening out there?" Connor asked Ivan.
"I don't know; maybe we should check it out," Ivan replied.
"But it could be dangerous if there's a villain out there," Connor warned him.
"We could hide; no one would see us if there's a villain," Ivan suggested. However, Connor was unsure about the plan.
"Come on, let's go," Ivan encouraged as he headed toward the forest.
"Ivan, wait!" Connor called out, trying to stop him, but Ivan kept going.
Meanwhile, in the school, the combat training is about to start, but Yuto and the others still do not know where Connor and Ivan are.
"Hoka, where is Ivan?" Yuto asks Hoka.
"I still can't find him. Did you locate Connor?" Hoka replies, returning the question.
"Not yet; Amy is still looking for him," Yen responds. Just then, Ms. Evonne passes by and overhears their conversation.
"Excuse me, students. Are you looking for other students?" Ms. Evonne asked them.
"Yes, Ms. Evonne," Yen responded.
"May I know who they are?" Ms. Evonne inquired.
"Their names are Ivan Impactum and Connor Hanson," Yen replied.
"Okay, I will ask your professor, Mr. Hashi, to assist me in finding the two students," Ms. Evonne said to them.
"Thank you, Ms Evonne" Yen thanked her, and they proceeded to find Connor and Ivan.
Meanwhile, Connor and Ivan have already arrived in the forest. Searching for the source of the explosion.
"Ivan, we need to go back to the academy," Connor said.
"We have to find out where the explosion came from," Ivan insisted.
"It's our Combat Training today. Do you remember that?" Connor asked, reminding Ivan of their forgotten lesson.
"I'm sorry, I forgot! We should head back to the academy," Ivan said to Connor as they were about to leave. But Connor suddenly noticed something.
"Wait, I see something," Connor said to Ivan, lowering his voice.
"What is it?" Ivan asked quietly.
And they saw a mysterious man with a hoodie talking with someone inside the Dark portal, and they heard their conversation.
"All the professors will attend the regional meeting and leave the academy. This is your opportunity to eliminate them and seize control of the academy using the power I have given you, Zyroth," said someone from the Dark Portal to the mysterious man.
"With pleasure, my Lord. I won't let you down," the mysterious man replied.
"We need to return to the academy immediately," Connor quietly told Ivan.
They both sprinted back to warn everyone. However, Zyroth, the mysterious figure, suddenly heard the sound of their footsteps and summoned enormous armoured beast bots to chase after them. As Connor and Ivan realized someone was pursuing them and shooting, they quickly ran and dodged the incoming shots.
As they continue their search for Connor and Ivan, Mr. Stanford calls Ms. Evonne to inform her that they need to proceed to the principal's office before leaving the academy for the regional meeting. She almost forgets about the call because she is so focused on finding the missing students.
"Wait, everyone! Mr. Stanford is calling. Please keep searching for them," Ms. Evonne said to the students.
Ms. Evonne asked Mr. Stanford during a call, "What is it, Mr. Stanford?"
"Go to the office, Ms. Evonne; we will be leaving for the regional meeting in a few minutes," Mr. Stanford replied.
"Oh, sorry, Mr. Stanford! I almost forgot about it. I'm on my way," Ms. Evonne said.
"Students, I apologize, but we have a regional meeting today. Please continue searching for the missing students." Ms Evonne to the students.
"Copy Ms Evonne" Amy replies to her.
"Thank you, students. Goodbye for now," Ms. Evonne said as she walked toward the office.
Meanwhile, Xander and Blake stood at the back of the stadium to relax, discussing the fight they had participated in last time.
"Regarding our fight last time, it was our fault, not Finley's. I won't engage in any fights with students at the academy anymore," Blake said to Xander.
"I feel the same way. I let my anger get the best of me and dragged you into it. I'm sorry about that," Xander replied, apologizing to Blake for his involvement.
"It's okay, don't worry. We need to prepare better because we're here to become heroes," Blake said to him.
"Yeah, unless someone needs our help, I guess," Xander replied, noticing an explosion coming from the forest.
"I think someone definitely needs our help," Xander said to Blake.
"But I think it's dangerous out there," Blake said to him.
"But this is our chance to be heroes, right?" Xander insisted, urging Blake to go to the forest.
"Okay, let's go then," Blake agreed, and they proceeded into the woods, unaware that Yuto had seen them and was following.
"We need to find Connor and Ivan, but I also need to discover what's happening in the forest," Yuto thought to himself. He recalled the explosion he had witnessed and felt compelled to uncover the truth.
As they make their way into the forest, they spot two students dodging shots in the distance while running toward them.
"Blake, do you see what I see?" Xander asks, squinting at the two students rushing their way.
"Yes, they look familiar, and it seems like something is chasing them," Blake replies, observing the scene.
"Speaking of the fight we had last time, those are the ones we faced. Why are they running?" Xander asks Blake.
"I have no idea, but I think they need our help," Blake insists.
"Yeah, but they fought against us before; we won't fight them anymore. We should just leave them," Xander replies, refusing to help.
"But we won't be fighting them; we will help them instead because that's what heroes do, right?" Blake asks Xander.
"Okay, okay, let's go," Xander replies, slightly annoyed but ultimately agreeing to help.
"Wait, I want to join you," Yuto said, surprising them.
"How did you get here? Did you follow us?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, I used my super speed," Yuto replied.
"Why are you following us?" Xander asked him.
"Because I want to know what is happening there, and I finally understand why," Yuto replies to Xander.
"Let's go and help them." He invites Xander and Blake to join him in rescuing Connor and Ivan.
Meanwhile, Ms. Evonne arrives at the office and speaks with Mr. Stanford about the regional meeting.
"Are we leaving today?" Ms. Evonne asks Mr. Stanford.
"Almost. We just need the other professors to prepare. Were you doing something earlier?" Mr Stanford asked Ms Evonne.
"We were searching for two missing students earlier when you called me about the meeting today, so I assigned four students to find them," Ms. Evonne explained to Mr. Stanford.
"Don't worry about it; we will assign Mr Clonoski to help find the missing students," Mr Stanford said to Ms Evonne. "Thank you for assigning him, sir," Ms. Evonne replied gratefully.
"To keep the students safe, Ms. Evonne," Mr. Stanford replies just as the principal arrives in the office while they are preparing to leave the academy for the meeting.
"As we leave the academy, we will assign Mr. Clonoski to stay here and look after the students to ensure their safety," said Mr. Viktor, the principal.
"I will activate the enhanced barrier of the academy as soon as we leave," the principal added to the professors.
To be continued...