I WAS The Rank–1 Hero

It's been around four days since I officially enrolled the Nova Academy. And today counts as the fifth day.

I sat on my desk, quietly watching my classmates. A few of them sit in groups, chatting. And their topic of discussion was none other than Nightmare.

"I think he did the right thing," one of them said. "We all saw the footage; Glory had done so many evil deeds, someone has to stop him. For me, Nightmare is a Hero"

"But did he have to kill him like that?" another one replied. "It was brutal. That's not how a hero acts."

Someone else added, "Brutal or not, he's strong. I mean, look at Him, Glory was Rank 3, and Nightmare took him down in minutes. That's… insane."

They all had different opinions about me, but no one could deny how powerful Nightmare was.

I didn't really care what they thought. They could praise me, hate me, or fear me—I don't give a damn. I'd do whatever it took to protect the future of the ones I care about.

"What do you think?"

Anna's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She was sitting next to me, with her usual curious expression.

"About Nightmare," she clarified. "Do you think he did the right?"

I shrugged, pretending to think about it. "Hmm… He did the right thing," I said without hesitation. "Someone had to step up. The Hero Association clearly knew what he was doing, and yet they didn't do anything about it. Nightmare just did what needed to be done."

Anna didn't say anything, she simply stared at me. Maybe she was trying to reconcile her admiration regarding Heroes with the reality of what Nightmare has shown.

Or maybe she was just wondering if I shared that same admiration.

But before she could say anything, the classroom door opened, and Miss Monica stepped in.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down," she called, her voice cutting through the chatter. "Albert, get back to your seat already."

The room quickly went quiet, and the lesson started. Miss Monica was teaching about the history of Elementals, and, as always, to me, it was interesting. She had a way of explaining things that made you want to pay attention.

But then she brought up something that got everyone even more focused.

"After this class, we'll have the Rank Evaluation Program," she said. "And it's mandatory for all first-year students. Your rank will be determined on the basis of your skills, Elemental Essence, and overall power."

'Damn it.'

Just my rotten luck.

Everyone seems excited except me, as whispers broke out across the room.

"The rankings here are separated year wise," Miss Monica explained. "So, each year has its own Rank 1. This is to prepare you for the real-world ranking system and get you used to it."

With that the lecture ended, and Miss Monica gestured us to follow her.

She led us down the hallway. Everyone was buzzing with nervous energy.

Eventually, we arrived at a huge room. It was packed with equipment, training dummies, and holographic displays. The walls had glowing lines running across them, giving the room a high-tech feel.

"This is where the Rank Evaluation will take place," Miss Monica said, looking at all of us.

"Now, everyone change to your combat uniforms."

Haah…

'No more running away, I guess.'

As instructed, I changed into my combat uniform.

It consisted of a tight black t-shirt, military-grade black jeans, and a half-length white leather jacket.

The Nova emblem was stitched on it's right chest, and my class rank, 45, was printed on the left. This rank only represents my position in the class, but today's evaluation will determine my rank for the entire first year.

There are around 500 first-year students at Nova Academy, divided into 10 classes with 50 students each.

 Being ranked 45th in my class isn't exactly praise worthy, but I've kept a low profile on purpose. I don't want to stand out, so my goal is to aim for somewhere around rank 250 out of 500.

That should be good enough.

Still, I can't help but feel uneasy about the skill analysis test.

There's a reason to it, I possess some skills which are way above SS+ Rank grade. I don't want anyone to know about it.

I can't guarantee that I can manipulate the skill analysis results to keep them under my control. The technology to analyze skills is very advanced.

Once I was dressed, I made my way to the practice ground.

'Alright.'

Looking around, I noticed that everyone's combat uniform was the same as mine. Even the girls wore the same outfit, though some of them had customized theirs slightly, in regards to their weapon.

Soon after, the teacher entered the practical room. He looked to be around 40, with silver hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a powerful aura that immediately grabbed everyone's attention.

'He's strong.'

If I have to point out, then somewhere around Rank 700 to 800.

"I'm Arthur Woodenbow," he announced in a loud commanding voice. "Listen carefully brats, I'll be conducting your Rank Evaluation. Line up according to your class rank, and don't make me repeat myself."

We all quickly lined up as instructed. Mr. Woodenbow stepped forward and explained the process.

"There are three phases to this evaluation," he said.

"The first is the Elemental Essence Throughput Test. The second is the Combat Test. And the third is the Skill Analysis Test. Your final rank will be determined based on your performance in all three phases. And the test will only be conducted once for each student, so don't question your results, if you are dissatisfied, then… you better drop out of Nova, is all I care."

Every one fell silence, including me. I have to be extra careful now.

"Let's see…", taking out his tablet he called, "Julius Hartfield, come stand in front of that crystal."

Julius Hartfield. Ranked 1st in our class.

Julius confidently stepped up to the podium, which had a large stone crystal hanging from wires connected to a machine.

"Place your hand on the crystal and channel your Elemental Essence," Mr. Woodenbow instructed.

Julius placed his hand on the crystal and began channeling his Earth Elemental Essence.

The result was incredible. The crystal lit up with a golden hue, and the machine displayed a value of 827 out of 1000.

'Julius huh… Impressive…'

Everyone gasped. Even I had to admit it was impressive.

What amazing Essence capacity, Julius, no doubt, has a bright future ahead.

Mr. Woodenbow also nodded in approval. "Excellent work, Julius. I think we might already know who's first year Rank 1 will be."

"Ok, Next… Aria Frostheart."

Aria stepped forward she ranked 2 in our class; she was an admiration to both boys as well as girls, and she possesses both beauty and brain.

She was the one with Julius on the Day of the Monster Hunting Trip to Frostvile Mountain.

Believe me, when I say this, from head to toe, she is drop-dead gorgeous.

'So her name's Aria Frostheart. Wait… Frostheart?'

Frostheart was a renowned noble house in [Frostvile] Kingdome, their family took part in many great historical events in this world. Simply put, they are powerful, even Rank 4 hero, [Envy], a part of the Frostheart Family. And among all the single rankers, her control over Essence is even greater than my own.

'I wonder, where she's doing currently.'

[Envy] is someone who I personally looked up to. She is the Reason, I was this good at controlling my Essence, Me and Ruby both. Our Mentor.

"What!?"

Someone exclaimed, breaking me out of my thoughts.

My eyes shifted towards the display.

A wide grin appeared on my face.

'Damn, Would you look at that….'

Points: 901 out of 1000, displayed clearly on the screen.

Everyone including Mr. Woodenbow, was staring at her, simply out of envy, their expression clearly stated their thoughts.

Yes, she will be without a doubt, the Rank-1 of 1st year.

Frostheart bloodline never ceases to amaze me.

"A-Alright… Miss Aria, you may return." Mr. Woodenbow stuttered, "Cough.. Next Anna Ashborne'."

Anna, who ranked 3rd in our class, achieved 773 points, earning her plenty of praise from the teacher.

One by one, the rest of the students were called up.

"Zane Skylark."

Then it was my turn.

I stepped forward and placed my hand on the crystal. Carefully, I manipulated my Elemental Essence, focusing only on the Ice Essence, I suppressed the other four. I didn't want to attract attention, so I only channeled a small amount of my power.

The crystal glowed faintly, and the machine displayed 600 points.

'Perfect.'

It was a safe number—not too low to look suspicious, but not high enough to draw unnecessary attention. I stepped back into the line, keeping my expression neutral.

"Ok.. next…"

With that, the Elemental Essence Throughput Test came to an end. The teacher dismissed us, and we all made our way to the combat arena.

The arena was massive, equipped with metallic dummies and drones. Rows of dummies lined the center, while the drones hovered in the air, ready to be activated.

The setup was intimidating, but it made sense. Nova Academy always went all out when it came to Rank evaluations. That's what makes it the top Hero Institute.

End of Chapter.