"Alright class," said Zantos as the Mo Biology period ended. "From today onward, you can no longer change your chosen electives. From the list I have here, two of you picked Tactical Command, twenty-two picked Scouting, and all of you picked Threat Assessment and Adaptation."
Zantos looked up at the silent class, chuckling. "Well, you'll be having the TAA class with the Hero Course, and from now on you will have your Weapons and Martial Arts class with them."
The class remained silent.
"Well, if that is all, I'll be going."
The moment Zantos walked out, the class exploded into chatter.
"I wonder what the Hero Class is like," Lisa said as she turned her head to Liam.
"Hopefully, they avoid us." Liam yawned.
"Of course you'd say that." Lisa rolled her eyes. "We have Martial Arts class up next anyway, so we can feel them out today."
Liam groaned as he stood. The rest of the class was already walking out, and a few glanced back at them before quickly turning away.
"...Now it's getting annoying," Liam said with narrowed eyes.
"Don't worry about it. I basically asked for this," Lisa muttered.
As the two spoke, Hannah approached. She grabbed Lisa's hand with a wave at Liam:
"Hi Liam! Gotta borrow Lisa. Bye Liam!"
He watched them go in surprise, then shrugged.
Hmm... I wonder what meeting the Hero Class will be like?
****
The Hero Class was, in one word, different.
They had a different vibe from the Hunter Class-more united for example. There were also multiple large guys in their ranks, and most of the class were glaring at the Hunter Class...
Who were ignoring them completely.
A few were stretching, one or two were yawning, and others were chatting with each other.
After two minutes of silence, their teacher finally came in.
Since the class was held in the Crucible, over forty students were able to train comfortably. They warmed up by running, moved on to the basic forms of self-defense, and only forty minutes into the lesson, their teacher, a woman named Leona, was called out.
Seems all my cardio is paying off, Liam thought as he sat near the mat. His heart had calmed down within several seconds after the exercise ended abruptly. I practised this morning, and then worked out with Lee-
"What are you thinking about?" Lisa asked as she collapsed beside him.
"Stuff."
"Mm." She nodded. "Those Hero guys seem a little... over-competitive."
Liam turned to her in surprise. "They are?"
Lisa scoffed as Hannah walked up and sat beside her. "They tried to stay ahead of us during the warm-up jog, some of them finished their reps first, they finished their katas first, they keep glaring at us, they are sitting on the opposite side, and are giving 'let's-attack-them' vibes."
Liam frowned. "I'm pretty sure the last two have nothing to do with competitiveness, and I hope they don't go with the last one."
"They're going for the last one."
"Gah!" Liam jumped. Lee had appeared out of nowhere and was sitting beside him. Liam had a brief flashback to the day before, when Lisa and Lee had assaulted both him and Hannah. He shuddered a little when he remembered how many times he got punched and shaken around like a doll.
"W-what do you mean?" Liam muttered.
"A few of them are radiating hostility. I don't think all of them will attack, of course, but most will."
Liam looked at him in concern, "So what do we do if they attack?"
Lee smirked. "We respond in kind, of course."
Liam didn't even have time to respond before a voice filled the hall:
"Hey, what are you glaring at me for? If you have a problem, step up and face me."
Every student in the building turned to look at Kazumi, who was glaring right back at the Hero Class.
Raidou stood up. "Kazumi, stop."
"I have no reason to."
On the other side, three boys rose. One was taller than Kazumi, with a single black horn on the left side of his forehead. He was the one glaring at Kazumi, and the black sclera both boys possessed made their glares even harsher.
The second boy had silver-colored skin, and his black hair was cut in a clean buzzcut.
The last was a boy with brown hair and green eyes, and he smirked up at Kazumi.
"What exactly is your problem big guy?" he chuckled.
Kazumi clicked his tongue. "I didn't ask for words. Are the three of you coming at me all at once? Good, I won't get completely bored."
The space fell silent at his words.
He's a lunatic, Liam gaped.
The Hero Class didn't seem to appreciate Kazumi's words, and more of them got to their feet. In response, a few members of the Hunter Class stepped forward. Liam glanced at the exit for a moment, then looked back at the situation.
Soon, most of both classes were facing each other.
Liam remained seated with a few more members of the Hunter Class. He glanced at the exit again, and he spotted two people exit.
Then all of a sudden, Lee and Lisa stood.
Liam froze, and Lisa smiled back at him before her face turned serious and she faced the others again.
"Welp, I'm out," Hannah sighed. She stood up, then rose an eyebrow at Liam. "You coming?"
Liam blinked, then stood.
"...No."
Hannah shrugged, a small smile on her face, then left.
Liam remained where he stood, fighting himself.
I can't fight!
We've had training.
So what?! They may be better than me!
Lisa's going.
...I can't leave her here...
At the same time-
"So you mean to say you gathered all these people, and you threatened us, and you want us to let it slide?" the brown-haired boy said with an eyebrow raised.
"Sam," Raidou sighed, "We don't need to fight. Just let it-"
"Don't step in Raidou." Kazumi grumbled.
Raidou clicked his tongue in growing frustration, "I'm trying to defuse the situation, Kazumi, so I'd appreciate it if you remain silent."
Sam laughed as he raised his hands. "Well, well, we can't have you fighting with each other..."
Raidou turned to him, gold eyes glowing, jaw set. "Just be quiet-"
"We're your opponents," Sam chuckled as he slapped his palms together.
Suddenly, every student from the Hunter Class in front of him froze up.
"Get 'em." Sam grinned as the shock began wearing off.
The horned boy took a wide step forward, fist cocked back, and twisted his upper body into a powerful cross to Kazumi's gut.
The blow landed with an audible thud, and the horned boy glanced up to see Kazumi glaring down at him.
Without another word, Kazumi leapt back, pulled on the boy's wrist, turned his back at the right moment, and executed a perfect judo flip.
The moment the boy landed, the room exploded into battle. The silver-skinned boy went for Lee, and he was joined by another boy. Raidou leapt back to gain distance from a white-haired boy. Nanami was laughing and running from a girl, and Tiffany was going toe-to-toe with a boy. Lisa had already knocked down another girl, and she immediately leapt towards Sam to stop him from jumping in.
Wait, Liam flinched as he saw the two engage. He took a single step forward, then ducked to the ground the moment he noticed something flying towards him.
What. The. Hell?
Liam rolled to the side to get out of his crouch, then stared at the sight of a small person hit the wall feet first and flipped down. It was a short girl with spiky black hair, and when she looked up at Liam, he immediately froze at the sight of large canines and red eyes.
...Those are fangs, Liam thought as a drop of saliva fell from her mouth.
Oh no, Liam shivered as the girl lowered her body.
She's a vampire.
****
In a world full of unique powers, there were a few specific Venma that had an almost ninety-percent chance of being passed down to the next generation.
And one of those Venmas was the Muta Venma: Vampire.
Liam sidestepped the girl's almost imperceptible charge, then raised his arms as the girl stopped mid-charge and jumped into a spin kick. He blocked the attack, then lowered his hands to block a flurry of jabs and crosses. One jab slipped through his guard and landed in his gut.
Why did I stay again? Liam thought as he doubled over in pain. He fell to a knee and rose an arm to block a roundhouse kick, but the girl's powerful leg knocked his arm down, and her other foot landed in his temple.
Liam let his body go slack right before impact, but his ears were still ringing as he turned the force of the kick into momentum to roll away. His entire head ached, and the moment he was on his knees he was kneed in the nose.
Ow... Liam thought hazily as his head snapped back. His heart began pounding hard as the girl licked her chops and growled:
"Your blood smells great."
The fog in Liam's mind cleared the moment the girl bit down on his right shoulder.
His left hand snapped back, then shot forward in a powerful hook to her neck. She reacted immediately, coughing and grabbing her neck—
Liam shot to his feet, grabbed the back of her shirt, spun around and threw her as far as possible.
She landed on her feet, stumbling and coughing. She glanced around to see that they had gone much farther from the chaotic battle. She growled as she turned her head to Liam, then froze as a fist filled her vision. It sent her head snapping back, and without wasting a second Liam's foot buried itself in her side and sent her rolling to the side.
She got to her feet, then took in the sight of the boy she was fighting.
His skin was red, steam was rising from his body, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he seemed to vibrate with energy.
She spat to the side and burst forward with a jab aimed for his gut. He leaned to the side to dodge, and his fist snapped forward at her face. She tilted her head to avoid it and jumped away as Liam swept his arm in an arc. She leapt at him with a powerful drop kick, but Liam blocked it. He threw a cross as she fell, but she grabbed his wrist and twisted her entire body around it midair, aiming a kick at his head.
Liam blocked it with his forearm. He then grabbed her ankle, shifted his weight, and slammed her into the floor.
"Gack-!" she coughed, wide-eyed as the air rushed out of her lungs. Liam, still holding her ankle, turned in a tight circle and sent her flying into classmate of hers back at the vicinty of the battle.
Liam's breathing was sharp and deep, his heartbeat so fast it felt like it was vibrating. His entire mind was filled with the roar of his own pulse, and he couldn't seem to stand still.
I... can't gather my thoughts..
He began walking, but even that was fast. The entire fight had calmed down,and only a few were still locked in combat: Tiffany, Raidou, Kazumi, Lee, and Lisa.
Liam took off in Lisa's direction with a short, deep growl as Sam punched her in the face.