By the time I got my phone back, I had nine hundred and twelve notifications.
I stared at the number.
Then at Agent Mercer.
"Can I fight Ygros again instead?"
"No."
"Another Apocalypse?"
"No."
"Small monster?"
"No."
"Can I go home?"
"Eventually."
I sighed and unlocked the phone.
That was a mistake.
Messages flooded the screen faster than I could read them. News alerts competed with social media notifications, missed calls, interview requests and several messages from numbers I didn't recognize.
One notification informed me that KAI SKYLINE FRAUD was trending.
Directly beneath it:
KAI SKYLINE X-RANK POTENTIAL
Also trending.
Humanity worked quickly.
I opened the first article I saw.
Ygros Survivor Kai Skyline Receives Only C-Grade
Only.
I closed it.
The next headline was somehow worse.
FROM C TO X: WHO IS KAI SKYLINE?
Then:
EXPERTS QUESTION ACCURACY OF HISTORIC X-CEILING ASSESSMENT
Historic?
It had happened twenty minutes ago.
"I hate the internet."
Mercer continued walking.
"You've mentioned that."
"Can we turn it off?"
"The internet?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Have we tried?"
He glanced at me.
"No."
"Then we don't know."
We were moving through a secured corridor beneath the Assessment Center while security redirected reporters toward the official press room. President Cross had apparently decided letting me speak freely to international media immediately after my evaluation was a national security risk.
Fair.
I would've told them I got C because the machine hated me.
My phone vibrated.
Benny: C??????????
There it was.
Another message arrived before I could respond.
Benny: BRO
Then:
Benny: C??????????????????
I counted the question marks.
Too many.
Benny: YOU FOUGHT YGROS
Benny: I COULD BEAT YOU???
I stopped walking.
Mercer looked back.
"Problem?"
"No."
I started typing.
Kai: Apparently.
The response came instantly.
Benny: OH MY GOD
Benny: FIGHT ME
I smiled.
Kai: No.
Benny: coward
Kai: B-rank bullying a C-rank. Embarrassing.
There was a pause.
I imagined his face.
Benny: dont weaponize the ranking system against me
I laughed.
Mercer shook his head and kept walking.
Then another message appeared.
Benny: X ceiling is insane though
That one sat differently.
I looked at it for a few seconds.
Kai: 12%
His answer came quickly.
Benny: still X
I locked the phone.
I didn't know why that bothered me more than the insults online.
Maybe because Benny sounded genuinely impressed.
Maybe because some part of me still wanted his approval.
That was exactly the kind of thought I'd been trying to avoid.
I shoved the phone into my pocket.
Distance.
Remember?
The Flag-Bearers had been given a private observation room for my evaluation.
Apparently they hadn't left.
Benny stood directly beneath the screen displaying my final results, staring upward as though the letters might rearrange themselves if he waited long enough.
CURRENT GRADE: C
TALENT CEILING: X
ASSESSMENT CONFIDENCE: 12%
"That's stupid," Frank said.
Paul looked over.
"Which part?"
"All of it."
"I thought it made sense."
"You think everything makes sense after someone explains it to you."
"That's how explanations work."
Frank stared at him.
Paul shrugged.
Montiro was leaning against the wall, reading the technical breakdown on his phone.
"His physical numbers are awful."
Threya looked over.
"Awful is dramatic."
"For someone who fought Ygros?"
"That's the point," Emi said.
She hadn't looked away from the replay.
The screen showed Kai holding the unfamiliar short blade.
First attempt.
Mistake.
Adjustment.
Second mistake.
Adjustment.
Third.
Then nothing.
His movements changed until he looked like someone who had spent years with the weapon.
Emi rewound the footage.
Played it again.
Benny noticed.
"You've watched that like twelve times."
"Fourteen."
"That's worse."
Emi paused the footage.
"He didn't copy anyone."
Beth sat nearby with one leg crossed over the other.
"How can you tell?"
"Because there was nobody to copy."
Emi pointed toward the screen.
"Watch his grip during the first exchange."
The footage played.
"Wrong."
Then Kai adjusted.
"Better."
Another exchange.
His stance changed.
"Better again."
The final minute played.
Emi stopped it.
"That's not imitation. He's learning."
Frank frowned.
"Isn't that normal?"
"Not like that."
She looked toward him.
"If I gave you a weapon you'd never used, how long before you became good with it?"
Frank considered it.
"Depends on the weapon."
"Exactly."
Emi pointed toward the screen again.
"For him, apparently it doesn't."
Threya had been quiet.
Her attention wasn't on the X.
It was on Kai's interview after the physical assessment.
She replayed one line.
Ygros wasn't weak.
Then another.
It could've killed me.
Threya frowned.
Benny noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That was definitely a something face."
She ignored him.
The footage continued.
Kai didn't sound embarrassed about being C.
He didn't sound angry.
If anything, he'd looked relieved when Dr. Vey explained why his suicidal output against Ygros couldn't represent his normal grade.
That was strange.
Most teenagers would've hated being publicly ranked below expectations.
Kai almost seemed happy that people understood he wasn't as strong as they'd believed.
"He's weird," Threya said.
Benny pointed at her.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"It can be."
Beth glanced over.
"You've spent more time with him than any of us."
Benny's expression changed.
"Not that much."
"You visited him after Ygros."
"So did you."
"You've messaged him every day since."
Threya looked at Benny.
"Every day?"
Benny suddenly became interested in the ceiling.
"He responds."
Beth waited.
Benny sighed.
"Sometimes."
"Why?"
"Because we're friends."
That quieted them.
Frank raised an eyebrow.
"Are you?"
Benny looked genuinely offended.
"Yes."
"You met him a few weeks ago."
"So?"
"So you call everyone your friend."
"That's because I'm likable."
"No. It's because you have boundary issues."
Benny pointed at Frank.
"Also my friend."
Frank groaned.
Kenya laughed from the couch.
The spectral fox resting beside her lifted its head at the sound of Kai's voice from the replay.
Kenya noticed.
Its ears turned toward the screen.
"You like him too?"
The fox stood.
Then walked closer to the display.
Beth watched.
"What is it doing?"
"I don't know."
The fox sat beneath Kai's image.
Kenya's smile faded slightly.
Her spirits usually reacted to emotion, danger or things Kenya herself couldn't consciously sense.
Recently, the fox had been unusually interested in Kai Skyline.
She hadn't figured out why.
Not yet.
The meeting room beneath the Assessment Center was considerably less entertaining.
President Evelyn Cross sat at the head of the table.
Dr. Vey stood beside a display showing my results.
Bladeon occupied the seat across from me.
Three researchers sat farther down.
Nobody looked happy.
I leaned toward Mercer.
"Am I in trouble?"
"You ask that frequently."
"Because people keep putting me in rooms like this."
Evelyn tapped the table.
"Kai."
I sat back.
"President."
Dr. Vey enlarged my assessment.
"Your Current Grade is finalized at C."
"Great."
"You appear unusually pleased."
"I spent the morning expecting D."
One researcher looked offended.
Apparently he'd been responsible for the D energy score.
Dr. Vey continued.
"Your Talent Ceiling is not finalized."
That got my attention.
"So I'm not X?"
"The Commission has accepted X as the provisional result. The issue is what that result means."
She changed the display.
A graph appeared showing several lines.
Most rose gradually before leveling out.
One didn't.
Mine.
It climbed until it reached the top of the chart and simply stopped because there was nowhere else for the line to go.
"The model requires measurable limiting factors," Dr. Vey explained. "Energy capacity. Ability growth. Physiological development. Technical progression. Your physical limits are easy to identify."
"Thanks."
"Your technical limit is not."
Bladeon spoke.
"Because he hasn't shown one."
I looked at him.
"Yet."
He nodded once.
"Yet."
That distinction mattered.
Dr. Vey continued.
"X does not mean infinite potential. It means our current framework cannot establish your upper boundary."
"So the machine gave up."
One of the researchers sighed.
"In extremely simplified terms."
"I knew it."
Evelyn ignored me.
"The public needs to understand something else. Your C classification stands."
"Why wouldn't it?"
"Because half the world is already calling for you to be placed in S or higher."
I stared at her.
"Did they watch the first half?"
"People saw you fight Ygros."
"People saw Ygros let me live."
Silence.
I'd said it before.
Apparently nobody liked hearing it.
I leaned back.
"If you put me against Bladeon because somebody online thinks I'm secretly SS, I'm going to die."
Bladeon looked at me.
"I wouldn't kill you."
"Comforting."
"You'd still lose."
"Less comforting."
For the first time, Dr. Vey almost laughed.
Evelyn changed the display.
A map appeared.
Dozens of locations were marked across the world.
"Your assessment accelerated a decision that was already underway."
I studied the map.
"What decision?"
"Hero education."
Dr. Vey answered this time.
"The old academy structure was built around the D-through-S framework. It isn't sufficient anymore."
The map expanded.
Existing academies appeared alongside proposed new institutions.
"Beginning next term, hero education will be reorganized according to demonstrated grade, projected development and specialization. Regional institutions will handle most developing D and C candidates. National academies will focus primarily on B and advanced C students. Prime programs will train exceptional candidates projected toward A, S and beyond."
I understood where this was going.
Unfortunately.
"The Flag-Bearers?"
Evelyn answered.
"They've received invitations to one of the new Prime Academies."
Of course they had.
Nine B-ranks with ceilings ranging from A to SS.
Made sense.
I looked at my own profile.
C.
X.
That combination probably caused paperwork.
"And me?"
Nobody answered immediately.
I didn't like that.
Dr. Vey changed the screen.
Two academy recommendations appeared.
One carried a gold emblem.
NORTH AMERICAN PRIME HERO ACADEMY
The other was considerably less dramatic.
HIGHSMITH REGIONAL HERO INSTITUTE
I stared.
Prime.
Regional.
"Why two?"
"Your ceiling qualifies you for developmental consideration at the Prime level," Dr. Vey explained. "Your current grade does not."
That made sense.
"Which one has the Flag-Bearers?"
Evelyn's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Prime."
"Regional."
I answered so quickly that one of the researchers blinked.
Evelyn stared at me.
"You haven't heard the differences."
"Regional sounds great."
"Kai."
"Love regional."
"The Prime Academy would provide access to superior training facilities, international instructors and candidates closer to your projected developmental path."
"Sounds crowded."
Bladeon watched me carefully.
Evelyn knew exactly what I was doing.
That was annoying.
"Highsmith Regional," she said, "would place you among mostly D and C candidates, with a smaller number of B-grade students."
"Perfect."
"You're choosing the weaker school."
"I'm choosing the school appropriate for my current grade."
That answer was true.
It just wasn't the whole truth.
Prime meant the Flag-Bearers.
Prime meant Benny finding me every morning.
Beth asking questions.
Emi watching every time I touched a sword.
Threya being close enough that eventually I'd make a mistake.
Highsmith gave me room.
Maybe I could actually breathe there.
Evelyn studied me for several seconds.
Then she leaned back.
"Fine."
I blinked.
"Fine?"
"You want Highsmith, you'll attend Highsmith."
That was suspiciously easy.
"When's the catch?"
"There isn't one."
"That's the catch."
She ignored me.
"Orientation begins in twelve days."
Twelve days.
A school.
Again.
The idea felt strange after everything that had happened.
Ygros.
The broadcast.
The hospital.
Recalibration.
For the first time since I'd awakened, somebody was telling me to do something almost normal.
Go to class.
Train.
Meet people.
Try not to destroy anything.
I could handle that.
Probably.
Evelyn stood.
"One more thing."
There it was.
"Kai Skyline is now officially registered as a C-grade hero candidate."
I nodded.
"And due to your unusual ceiling assessment, your development will be reviewed regularly."
"How regularly?"
"Very."
I sighed.
She left.
The researchers followed.
Mercer went with them.
Soon only Bladeon and I remained.
He stood.
"Highsmith."
"Yep."
"Interesting choice."
"Appropriate for a C-rank."
He looked at me long enough to make it obvious he didn't believe that was the reason.
Thankfully, he didn't push.
As he reached the door, I spoke.
"Bladeon."
He stopped.
"How long did it take you to reach SS?"
He thought about the question.
"Most of my life."
That wasn't encouraging.
Then he added, "And I'm still not where I want to be."
I looked at the empty X beside my name.
For some reason, that answer made me feel better.
Bladeon left.
My phone vibrated.
Benny: PRIME ACADEMY
Another message.
Benny: THEY WANT ALL OF US
Then:
Benny: YOU BETTER BE COMING
I stared at the message.
Slowly, I typed.
Kai: Nope.
Three dots appeared instantly.
Benny: what
Kai: Highsmith.
There was a much longer pause.
Then:
Benny: WHAT
I smiled.
Highsmith Regional Hero Institute.
Smaller school.
Lower-ranked students.
Far away from the Flag-Bearers.
Exactly what I needed.
My phone vibrated again.
Benny: im coming to your house
My smile vanished.
I looked toward the door.
"How does he know where I live?"