Johan's POV
"Lucy," I said calmly. "I choose Discerning Eyes and Hell Flames. If that's what you want me to have, then so be it."
She nodded approvingly. "Good choice. But remember—if you ever want more skills, you'll need to earn points. Skills can be activated by thought and enhanced through deeper understanding of their principles."
Curious, I focused on Lucy and activated Discerning Eyes.
Discerning Eyes – Level 1
Name: Lucy
Race: System Race
Realm: Unknown
Form: Fairy
Evaluation: Unknown
"Is that your real information?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied with a gentle smile.
I looked up. The system entity itself flew above me in all its splendor. She appeared as a 12-inch-tall fairy, with shimmering green hair and dazzling blue eyes. Her wings were butterfly-like, twice her size, etched with transcendent, glowing patterns.
Before I realized it, I drifted off to sleep.
The Next Morning
The blaring siren jolted me awake. It was test day.
After freshening up, I rushed to join my assigned section. We gathered in a massive hall filled with strange machines. The roof above was translucent, letting in warm rays of sunlight.
One examiner, standing by a peculiar machine, waved us over. He introduced himself as the official in charge of strength evaluation.
"The machine you see here is a strength-level reader," he explained. "It measures power up to one million SL—Strength Level."
The device had a punching surface with a gauge labelled from 0 to 1,000,000 SL. The examiner stepped forward.
"Watch closely."
With a casual swing, he punched the machine. A violent gust of wind surged from the impact, knocking most of us back a step.
"Oops," he said dryly. "My hand slipped."
We stared in disbelief.
100,000 SL. That was the reading—on a slip?
If that was a mistake, what would a serious punch look like?
Then it was our turn.
A girl named Claire went first. Her punch registered 7,300 SL—the second highest so far.
I was up next.
I took a deep breath and threw all my strength into the punch.
1,400 SL.
Dave, the guy who had been staring daggers at me the whole time, followed with 6,000 SL.
He glared at me. He had seen Claire chatting with me earlier and clearly didn't like it. My low score only fueled his contempt.
The Aura Test
The examiner led us to another machine.
"Epics can vaguely sense auras," he said, "but we built this to quantify aura strength. The stronger your abilities, the more intense your aura. And yes, you can suppress or alter it with training."
"For demonstration, I'll release half of mine."
The moment he did, gravity seemed to multiply. We all collapsed, crushed by the pressure.
Then, he retracted it, and we could breathe again.
Each of us was tested. Once again, I had the weakest reading.
Ability Reveal
The final phase was to display our awakened powers.
The first student emitted a blinding Healing Light.The second radiated violent Lightning Sparks.The third grew her hair rapidly, turning it into razor-hard strands.Claire showcased her rare ability—Weather Manipulation, changing conditions based on her emotions.
Then it was my turn.
I summoned the Hell Flames, and the temperature spiked. My body ignited with dark, crimson fire.
Dave followed with his ability—Cold Petrification. He hardened his body to the point that no equal-level attack could pierce his skin.
At the end of the day, we were each handed a sleek smartwatch.
It tracked performance, stored system information, and acted as a communicator and guide.
Classroom assignments were then finalized based on realm and ability. Groups were formed.
A new chapter of our journey had just begun.
Writer's POV
After the intense entrance evaluations were completed, the students were finally assigned to their classrooms. Johan, despite only being at the Early Stage of the Aura Awakening Realm, had done well enough to qualify for one of the top-tier classes. Coincidentally, both Claire and his dorm mate were placed in the same class as him.
Even more surprisingly, the strongest student during the testing rounds and Dave, the one burning with jealousy and frustration, were also in the same class.
As the students settled in, the teacher entered. He was a tall, confident man with a commanding voice.
"I'm Mr. Benson, your instructor for the first academic combat arc."
After brief introductions, he divided the class into five groups, with five students in each team.
Johan's team included:
ClaireDaveHis dorm mates: Lam and Brave.
After the groupings were over Mr. Benson continued with some explanations on things we ought to know.
'Power in this world is structured through two systems: Epic Realms, which define personal strength and progression, and Fortress Levels, which measure the difficulty of combat environments, mainly used for missions, training, and advancement. These two are directly linked—your realm determines what type of Fortress you can survive and grow in. Pushing beyond that boundary is dangerous, but it's also the only way to surpass limits.
Each Epic Realm is divided into three stages—Early, Mid, and Late—marking your progression and control within that realm.
Each Fortress Level is also divided into three difficulty modes: Easy, Normal, and Difficult.
🔹 Epic Realm → Fortress Level Mapping
Body Strengthening Realm
This is the first step. The body begins adapting to energy, improving strength, speed, and durability.
Matched with: Beginner Fortress
Aura Awakening Realm
Energy begins to leak out from the body naturally. It becomes visible in attacks, defense, and aura projection.
Matched with: Intermediate Fortress
Aura Condensation Realm
Aura starts to compress, refine, and become stable. It can now be shaped into techniques and weapon enhancements.
Matched with: Advanced Fortress
Aura Fusion Realm
The aura is fused fully with the body—movements and attacks become instinctual and layered with force.
Matched with: Soldier Fortress
Body Fusion Realm
The physical form is perfected, fused tightly with aura, making the body itself a weapon. Speed and defense reach superhuman levels.
Matched with: General Fortress
Essence Creation Realm
Energy stops being passive. It begins forming a personal essence—a core identity of power.
Matched with: Commander Fortress
Essence Core Realm
The essence becomes solidified—this stage separates ordinary Epics from the top-tier elites. Their power becomes overwhelming.
Matched with: King Fortress
Domain Creation Realm
Aura, body, and essence spill outward. An Epic here can create zones of dominance—"domains"—where they control the very environment.
Matched with: Emperor Fortress'
Mr. Benson then gave the students their first assignment, which was to procure parts of some monster bodies. This required each group to present theirs separately.