“Hey, look over there.”
“Kail Meyer…….”
“He’s a real Master, right?”
“But I heard he doesn’t show off his Aura Blade?”
“Hey, think about it. Isn’t it strange for Masters to accept such requests?”
Kail walked past the cadets whispering about him and entered the cafeteria. Since it was a place where cadets from all departments and grades gathered at once, gazes freely landed on him without hesitation.
Envy, admiration, jealousy, anger—every kind of gaze pierced into him. The sensitive senses of a Master could feel all those stares simultaneously, and it was quite stressful.
‘It’s not like I’m a monkey in a zoo… What is this…?’
Do other Masters live feeling this way? Kail thought as he began to eat with his spoon.
Even eating his food under surveillance every hour, minute, and second made it impossible for him to swallow properly.
In the end, unlike usual, Kail left some food on his plate, roughly cleaned up his tray, and stepped out into the field.
“Sigh.”
He thought that when attending the Academy, others’ opinions didn’t matter at all. A Master was someone who could do whatever they wanted, after all.
Isn’t a Master the freest being in the world? A superhuman who surpasses the power of the collective through individual strength can surely live by their own rules.
But now that the fact he was a Master had come to light, Kail felt an overwhelming urge to drop out.
A Master is an existence that cannot be confined by any framework, but that also means they can’t belong to any group either.
‘Just as Masters don’t treat others as equals, people also don’t see Masters as one of their own…’
A vast world unfolded before Kail. At the same time, he found himself utterly alone in that vast expanse.
If not another Master, no one else would regard him as an equal. He realized he’d have to live among just a handful of people on this entire planet.
‘Now I understand why Duke lives as a family man.’
From a Master’s perspective, a regular person who understands and empathizes with them is as rare as a fragile pet.
Something so delicate it might break if touched, yet so rare it couldn’t help but be cherished.
Kail realized there were only a few ways to avoid this sense of loneliness and emptiness.
‘Either I lower my standards, or I wait for the people around me to reach the same level as me…’
Other Masters wouldn’t even dream of such a thing… but Kail wasn’t like them. Around him were many individuals with abilities close to that of a Master.
Geniuses who could become Masters at any moment given the slightest push. It might take a few years, or even decades… but Kail could wait.
Even if they never became Masters, it didn’t matter. Kail’s current acquaintances treated him the same way even after knowing he was a Master.
“How annoying.”
“What’s got you so annoyed?”
At that moment, a sweet voice and the tangy scent of oranges wafted over. Kail glanced behind him to see Ariah appearing.
One of the candidates who could stand equal to Kail.
She stood behind him with her hands clasped behind her back, looking down at him. Her cheerful smile showed no fear or discrimination towards Kail.
“Just… everything?”
“Heh—heh, how fascinating. Even Masters get annoyed?”
“Of course. People who think Masters are like zoo monkeys, for instance.”
“Why not just punch them?”
“What are you saying… Are Masters thugs?”
“Aren’t they?”
Seeing Ariah innocently tilting her head, Kail gave her a flick on the forehead with his Aura. Ariah crumpled to the ground, clutching her head as if it might split open from the sharp pain.
“Ughhh…!”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Ahhh… it hurts.”
“Does it hurt that much? My heart hurts just as much.”
With mixed feelings of guilt and comfort, Kail patted her head gently. Despite getting hit by Kail, Ariah grinned tearfully, clearly enjoying the attention.
Watching her pitifully, Kail casually turned his head to look at the distant ridge.
“Ariah. Is your ability still the same?”
“Hmm? No, it’s improved lately.”
“Oh? That’s perfect.”
Hearing that Ariah’s abilities had grown, Kail hoisted her over his side. Suddenly caught in Kail’s grip, Ariah let out a shriek and flailed.
“Ka, Kail? What are you doing all of a sudden…?”
“Let’s go somewhere. I think there’s something you need to do.”
With that said, Kail smirked and surrounded both himself and Ariah with Aura. Protected by the Aura, Kail jumped with full force.
Like a rocket launching, his body shot forward in an instant.
* * *
A group wearing robes with dragon patterns etched on the back marched somewhere. When the leader raised his hand, the group following behind stopped simultaneously with mechanical precision.
“All stop.”
The leader gazed intently at something in the distance. After a moment, he took an object from his pocket and threw it into the bushes.
A glass bottle filled with flammable liquid shattered, engulfing the bushes in flames instantly. As they watched the blazing bushes, they remained silent, simply staring into the fire.
And shortly after, what they had been waiting for burst out from the bushes. It was a 3-meter-tall monster—an Ogre.
“─Number Four.”
“Yes.”
The man called Number Four pulled out a pill, swallowed it, and charged straight at the Ogre. Relying solely on his immense strength, he clashed with the Ogre and managed to overpower it using a technique.
The technique of reversing the opponent’s strength meant the stronger the opponent, the greater the impact. Essentially defeated by its own power, the Ogre began foaming at the mouth.
With the Ogre lying on the ground, Number Four drew a small dagger. He pierced the jugular vein and severed the spine, causing the Ogre’s eyes to roll back.
“Eliminated.”
“Let’s move.”
Shortly after, the roaring flames subsided, and they resumed their march toward the Academy. Along the way, the leader sensed the same presence he had felt earlier.
He had assumed it was the Ogre’s murderous intent, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“─Come out.”
When the leader spoke, a monster half the size of the Ogre emerged from behind a tree. Given that size equates to strength, it was natural to assume this 2-meter creature was weaker than the Ogre.
Still under the influence of the drug, Number Four smirked and stepped forward.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Finish it quickly.”
“As you command.”
Flexing his bulging muscles, Number Four extended his hand toward the monster without a word. His movement was so swift that even a skilled Expert user would struggle to evade it.
Once caught, it was over. Number Four began squeezing the monster’s arms. With enhanced grip strength capable of defeating an Ogre, he expected to easily crush this smaller foe.
But despite his efforts, the monster didn’t budge. Perplexed, Number Four widened his eyes.
“What is this…?”
─Release me, human.
“─It speaks?”
As Number Four stood dumbfounded by the unprecedented sight of a talking monster, it revealed two hidden pairs of arms from within its body.
Startled, Number Four stepped back, only for his own arms to be ripped off as if they had always been detachable.
Staring at his detached arms, Number Four stammered in confusion.
“Wha, wha—?”
SHWOOOSH—! Realizing too late that his arms had been severed, blood spurted from Number Four’s body. So cleanly sliced, he hadn’t even noticed until now, and the rest of the team confirmed today that such tales were true.
CRUNCH—!
The monster devoured Number Four’s body and smiled with juice dripping from its mouth.
─Tasteless, human.
SWISH—! Black streaks matching the monster’s skin color erupted from the bone swords wielded by its six arms.
Seeing this, the leader immediately shouted.
“The enemy is an Aura Master! Everyone! Consume the fruit!”
Upon the order, they shoved life-granting fruits into their mouths. Superhuman strength surged momentarily, and the empowered members drew their swords, revealing the proof of transcendence.
─Aura, Blade.
Seeing the glow emanating from their blades, Hecate grinned wickedly.
─I’ve been searching for you.
The next moment, the monster and the artificial superhumans clashed.
* * *
“What the hell are these guys?”
Arriving at the site where flames raged with Ariah in tow, Kail let out a dry laugh upon seeing the monsters and organization members fighting each other.
“Why are these idiots fighting amongst themselves?”
