Walking out of the dorm, I gripped my knife tightly.
Each step felt heavier than the last.Each one brought me closer… closer…
…to another thrashing by those muscle-headed high-top idiots.Ah, screw it. I couldn't even be bothered to say their names properly.
Don't worry, I told myself. They won't try to kill me.At worst, they'd just hurt me. That's what they were sent to do by Captain Kinga—he had a reputation to uphold at Shalu Academy.
But then another thought crept in.
What if they don't care if I die?What if students dying is normal here?
"No… that's too absurd—too FUCKING absurd!" I shouted.
Only then did I realise everyone around me had stopped to stare.Great. Now I looked like a lunatic.
My best—no, my only—option was to talk things out with Paul, their leader.
And if that failed…
I tightened my grip on the knife.
By the time I reached the stairs, I slipped the knife into the back of my trousers, ready for anything.
Then I walked forward.
To my fate.
…Or maybe my doom.
The car park was quiet. Too quiet.
The wind brushed cold against my skin, the only sound in the empty space. A few cars were scattered around, parked without care.
It made everything worse.
More tense. More suffocating.
I stood alone.
Maybe I should've brought Rose…No. That would've been selfish.
"Joseph, Joseph, Joseph… what a pleasure."
A voice cut through the silence.
"How was your little trip to the ER?"
I turned.
There they were—the high-top trio.
But something was different.
Instead of their usual ugly outfits, they were dressed in clean white suits with black ties.
"What's with the outfits?" I smirked. "Trying to copy losers? Captain Kinga wears the same thing, doesn't he?"
Damn.I clicked my tongue internally.
I was supposed to talk things out—not provoke them.
But then it hit me.
The suits.The setup.Kinga sending them.
"I get it," I said. "I'm your initiation."
Their faces twisted instantly.
Flow energy radiated off them—violent, unstable.
"Yes," Marcel snapped. "This is our initiation. So what?"
"Captain Kinga said if we destroy you, we join him. We gain everything."
So that was it.
I should've seen this coming… especially after everything Hadal told me.
But this fast?
This was insane.
"Well," I said coldly, "I guess Kinga isn't that smart if he's recruiting brainless idiots with muscles."
They froze.
"Enough talking," Marcel said.
"Say your prayers."
He vanished.
Then—
BOOM.
His fist slammed into my stomach.
All the air left my lungs instantly.
Pain exploded through my body as I was sent flying, skidding across the ground.
My skin tore against the concrete.
I couldn't even scream.
Another hit—
My arm.
I was launched again.
Then Paul appeared behind me—
And slammed me forward.
Again.
And again.
And again.
I wasn't fighting.
I was a toy.
A ball.
They were playing with me.
Fifteen minutes.
That's how long it lasted.
Fifteen minutes of pure, relentless assault.
Then—
I hit the ground.
Hard.
This time… I wasn't ready.
"Get up…" I muttered.
"Get up."
My body trembled as I forced myself to stand.
I swayed like a collapsing tower.
One more hit…
…and I was dead.
Then—
My eye burned.
Just like during the match before.
"Yo, boss…" Chris muttered. "Why is his eye glowing?"
"Is he… awakening as a flow user?"
Silence.
Then—
intent.
Cold. Clear. Deadly.
"Sorry," Paul said. "No more games."
"We're killing you now."
"Boxing Flow Art: First Move—Enhanced Shadow Step."
He vanished.
Appeared in front of me in an instant.
But something had changed.
My left eye…
…I could see it.
His movements.
Before he made them.
He shifted his stance—
Lowered one hand—
The other guarding his face.
"Boxing Flow Art: Fifth Move—Hitman Assault."
His fists came fast.
Blindingly fast.
But I didn't move.
Not my feet.
Just my head.
Each punch missed.
Barely.
But cleanly.
I could feel the power in them.
The flow energy vibrating through the air.
Paul jumped back.
Sweat rolled down his face.
"What the hell…?" he muttered."How are you dodging that?!"
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because something else had my attention.
The air.
The energy.
The presence of everything around me.
The three idiots in front of me.
Even distant smells… food… alcohol…
Everything felt sharper.
Clearer.
Then—
It clicked.
The pain in my eye.
The vision.
The awareness.
"Am I…"
"…awakening as a flow user?"