Inside the classroom, three students surrounded a weak kid near the corner.
"Hey, you loser. Give the protection money for this month, or we'll beat you again," one of the bullies demanded.
"But I already gave you this month's money…" the weak boy replied, his voice trembling.
"Are you talking back to us?" the bully snapped. "Did you already forget what happened last time?"
Another bully, Samar, smirked.
"Hey Troy, why don't you teach him that lesson again?"
"Yeah, he needs it," Ravi added.
Troy cracked his knuckles.
"Why not? If you can't pay us kindly, then we'll make you pay by force."
Thud!
Bam!
Whack!
The three bullies began beating the kid brutally.
At that moment, Orhan and his friends entered the classroom—and froze.
Orhan rushed forward, stepping between the bullies and the kid.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Orhan shouted. "You beat him so badly he's bleeding! Why are you hurting him?"
Samar laughed.
"Hey Troy, look—another loser trying to be a hero."
Orhan glanced down at the boy. Blood streamed from his nose. He sighed.
"Why don't we settle this with me letting you go without any injuries?"
He kneeled and gently wiped the kid's nose with his handkerchief.
"Can you move?" Orhan asked softly, then looked up at the bullies. "And you three—go now, or I'll make you regret bullying others."
"Oh yeah? Do you really think you can defeat us?" Troy replied sarcastically.
"Me? Oh no, I can't," Orhan said with mock seriousness. "I'm just a normal boy who recently awakened his powers."
He chuckled lightly. "I just wanted to say a heroic line in this situation."
"Do you think you're funny?" Samar snarled and lunged at Orhan with his fist.
Just as the punch was about to land—
Clang!
Something invisible reflected Samar's hand with force.
"What was that?" Samar thought in shock. How did I miss him from this close? It felt like something hit my hand.
"Oye Orhan, why are you talking with these losers?" a voice came from the classroom entrance. "They're just cheap senior bullies who pick on weak Aether Awakeners."
"Yeah," another voice added. "Last month they tried to bully me too—but they're too weak for an Rank-B Awakener."
"Don't react," a voice whispered directly into Orhan's ear.
What was that? Telepathy? Orhan thought.
"It's me—Milen," the voice continued. "We need to take this boy to the infirmary. His condition is critical. He lost so much blood."
"I'll make both of you invisible," Milen said calmly. "Okay?"
Before Orhan could respond, his body—and the injured boy—faded from sight.
As they retreated, two boys pushed through the crowd of students gathering to watch the fight.
"Who said we're losers?!" Troy shouted angrily.
"It's us," Arya replied, stepping forward with Roy. "My name is Arya. I hope you still remember me, senior."
"He's the kid who beat us three in a 1-vs-3 last time while saving that girl," the third bully whispered to Troy.
"Shut up," Troy muttered, punching Ravi lightly in the face. "I know who he is."
"Hey senior, do you remember me too?" Roy added with a grin. "Last month you tried to punch me, and I beat you bare-handed for fifteen minutes."
"And he is—" Ravi tried to whisper again.
"I said I remember!" Troy snapped.
"Hey Troy!" Samar called out.
"What?!" Troy barked.
"That loser kid escaped—and the one helping him is gone too."Samar said.
"Are you talking about my new friend Orhan?" Arya asked coldly. "If you even touch him, I'll put you in a wheelchair for months."
That's our Arya, Roy thought. He can't stand seeing his friends hurt.
I hope Milen and Orhan reached the infirmary and informed the teacher. I don't want another detention.
"Oye Roy," Arya asked, "what should we do with them? Should we Let them go?"
"For now," Roy replied. "Let them go."
"Oye loser bullies," Arya said loudly, "get out of our class right now—or we'll beat you before any teacher arrives."
Troy smirked.
"Do you think you can defeat me now? You know Some people undergo a second awakening—and I'm one of them."
He raised his hand. Black clouds began forming around his palm, spreading rapidly until the classroom was filled.
"So," Troy sneered, snapping his fingers, "what do you think of my second awakening?"
CRACK!
Lightning struck wildly from the clouds. Students screamed and ran.
But two students remained standing—staring at Troy with fury.
"What are you doing?!" Roy shouted. "There are other students here! Stop this now! If you want to fight, we'll fight outside!"
These idiots never understand, Arya thought. I'll have to use that shot.
Arya pulled a slingshot from his back pocket and aimed.
Snap!
Something flew faster than the eye could follow.
The projectile struck Troy's forehead.
"What—what is this?!" Troy screamed in mind as he collapsed. "Monsters! Help! Brother, help me!"
The black clouds vanished.
Troy lay unconscious on the ground.
Whispers spread across the classroom.
"With that much power, he'll bully everyone," one student said nervously.
"He tried to bully me too last month," another replied. "I barely defended myself."
"I saw him bullying a girl yesterday," someone added.
"Arya, what did you do to him?" Roy asked.
"He's fine," Arya replied. "Just a hallucination shot. Besides, he knocked out his own friends—he doesn't deserve concern."
Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway.
A teacher rushed in—with Orhan and Milen behind him.
"What happened here?!" the teacher shouted, staring at the unconscious students.
Sir, Troy used his second awakening and attacked everyone. Arya stopped him with a slingshot," a student explained.
After reviewing the CCTV footage, the principal expelled Troy.
Later, class resumed.
"Students," the teacher said, "as you know, at Hero Academy we teach all academic subjects—and also monsters and how to counter them."
"Sir, do we have sparring classes?" a student asked.
"Yes," the teacher replied. "Every Saturday after lunch. You must be a special entrant, right?"
"Yes sir. Rank-B in Aether Test."
"All special entrants, raise your hands."
Orhan raised his hand—along with two others.
"Only three this year," the teacher said. "Let's see how skilled you are."
"I am William Moll, your history teacher," he continued. "I'll teach you how AGA was founded and how legendary heroes saved the world."
After history, normal subjects followed.
After lunch, Mr. Rod entered.
"Special entrants, stand up and introduce yourselves."
"I'm Riya, Rank-B Awakener."
"Stop mentioning ranks," Mr. Rod said. "Everyone here is Rank-B."
"I'm Vicky."
"I'm Orhan."
"Sit down," Mr. Rod said. "Today's topic: the One-Eye Monster."
"Why do animals mutate into monsters?" a student asked.
"Because of Aether," Mr. Rod explained. "The same power that gives us abilities. Without mental strength, even humans can become monsters."
"Hey Orhan," Milen whispered, "my father fought a city-level monster last year."
"Is he a famous superhero?" Orhan asked excitedly.
"No. He's the Master of the Hixi Clan. He hates superheroes."
"You two—focus," Mr. Rod warned.
When school was over, Roy said that he knew a place where the world's best biryani was sold.
Orhan was a big fan of biryani since childhood, so he immediately agreed, and the others agreed as well.
"Orhan, you'll love that place's biryani," Roy said while walking. "He sprinkles fried onions on top of the biryani with a special biryani masala."
"Yeah," Arya added, "when Roy took me and Milen there for the first time, we were also surprised by the taste. I never tasted biryani like that before. That biryani was phenomenal."
"If that biryani is really that delicious, then I can't wait to taste it," Orhan replied. "I love biryani since my childhood."
"Milen, what are you doing on your phone?" Arya asked.
"Mmm… nothing. Just checking when the new Ben 10 episode is coming," Milen replied.
"Ben 10? You watch Ben 10, Milen?" Orhan asked curiously.
Not only Milen—Arya and I also like Ben 10, and we all watch it.
"Which series? My favorite is Omniverse," Orhan asked.
"Mine is Classic," Milen replied. "Because nothing beats Classic Ben 10 in terms of storytelling and animation."
"Mine is Ultimate Alien," Roy said, "because Ultimate Alien has the best art style and animation with dark stories."
"I like UAF and AF both the same," Arya replied, "because both series have the same art style and dark stories."
They continued talking about animated series until they reached the biryani shop Roy had mentioned.
"Hey, stop talking about Pokémon," Roy said. "We already reached Ilyas Biryani Shop."
Roy pointed at a food cart standing by the roadside.
"Is this the biryani shop you were talking about, Roy?" Orhan asked in confusion.
"Orhan, don't judge a book by its cover," Arya said. "Believe in Roy."
Roy ordered four full plates of biryani with special masala, topped with fried onions.
When the order arrived, Roy and Arya forced Orhan to taste the biryani first.
"Bismillah," Orhan prayed and took a bite.
"How's the taste? Do you like it?" Arya and Roy asked together.
"Alhamdulillah," Orhan said.
And with that, the first day of school ended.
Orhan woke up in his dorm room.
"Where am I? Oh right… I shifted into the academy's dorm yesterday. What's the date today?" Orhan thought.
Orhan took his phone and checked the time and date. Today was Saturday.
That means today is sparring class.
Chapter 5 Ended.