The grand auditorium of Hunter Academy filled with forced applause as the headmaster called a young man to the podium to receive the Best Student Award.
Holograms displayed the rankings of the top students, flashing brightly for all to see, and right at the very top of the class was this same young man’s name. Cain Wright.
Cain walked onto the podium with barely any emotion on his face.
He should’ve been proud to have made it to that position, but all he felt was emptiness as whispers crawled through the crowd.
"How did he even get that spot? His potential is garbage."
"I agree. No matter how well he does in training, it won’t matter if his Awakening is trash."
"There’s no if. With his potential, he’s definitely going to awaken with a low-tier ability. His fate is sealed."
More and more murmurs mocking him echoed around the auditorium.
But Cain barely reacted to them.
He had heard it all before.
His potential, the genetic cap that determined how powerful one could become after awakening, had been tested when he was six years old.
The process was simple.
A device scanned the child’s core energy to determine how much power their body could handle. The results were then classified into ranks ranging from Elite and High-tier to Mid-tier, Low-tier, Inferior, and finally Dud.
Duds were basically civilians who had no energy, no power, and weren’t even allowed into Hunter academies.
And Cain’s rank was Inferior, a level just above Dud.
Low-tier potential was already considered terrible, as there was barely any chance of awakening anything above a D-tier with it.
But Inferior was even worse because most people with that potential never awakened at all.
That’s why the students weren’t so happy Cain had won.
It was like the academy was basically saying, "You all are trash compared to him."
Even the teachers found the winner the headmaster had chosen shocking.
But what was so shocking about it?
Cain began to get mad upon seeing the expressions of those on the podium. Only the principal was smiling, while the rest looked at him with disgust.
I was the best in academics, tactics, dungeon simulations, and strategy, but none of that should matter because my potential was Inferior?
Cain refused to accept that.
Across the stage, in the crowd, stood his brother, Adrian Wright, watching as Cain received the plate-shaped award and took pictures with the headmaster, the camera lights flashing.
Two of his lackeys, Theo and Josh, were also beside him, staring at Cain with barely concealed rage.
Adrian was the one everyone had expected to be on the podium receiving the award.
He was the best combatant in the academy, breaking every record left behind by past graduates.
His potential was Elite, and his awakening was the most anticipated because of it.
He ranked first in physical ability and swordsmanship, and no one could match him in direct combat, not even Cain.
Yet none of it mattered because Cain had beaten him in every other category.
And because grades, strategic ability, and leadership were also factored into the Best Graduating Student Award, Cain had won instead of him.
"In what world does someone with Inferior potential outrank someone with Elite potential?" Theo asked.
"In a fantasy story, that’s where," Josh responded. "I thought the academy was supposed to teach us the reality of the world, yet they were pulling something crappy like this."
"Ahh... It doesn’t make sense." Theo shook his head. "That bastard shouldn’t have ever been allowed into the academy in the first place. I don’t understand what the headmaster was thinking accepting him in."
Theo turned towards Adrian, noticing he hadn’t said a word since Cain had been called forward instead of him.
"Yo, Adrian. You good?" he asked.
Adrian responded with a nod.
As much as he disliked what was happening, he rested assured knowing that tomorrow, Cain’s illusion of superiority would crumble, and he would permanently put him in his place.
It was only a matter of time.
The graduation ceremony ended, and the students poured out of the auditorium, their voices buzzing with excitement.
The Awakening Ceremony was the next day, and everyone was eagerly anticipating it.
It was the day young aspirants, after years of training at the academy, would finally step onto the awakening platform and unlock abilities that determined their futures.
Each ability was ranked from F-Tier to S-Tier, with the rarest awakenings propelling individuals to heights of power capable of shaping nations. And every single one of these students hoped to awaken a high-ranking ability, including Cain.
Cain, instead of leaving the school premises, slipped into a restroom.
The negative attention he had received earlier had taken a toll, and he just needed a moment to himself.
His nerves were on edge as he felt both pressure and anticipation.
Tomorrow was the Awakening Ceremony, the day he could finally prove to the world that he was something special.
And it was making him tremble.
If he somehow failed tomorrow, he would no doubt become an embarrassment. Not only to his family but to the school, now that they’d made him their face.
He sighed.
A part of him wondered if the headmaster had done it on purpose.
Potential was everything, and the entire academy made that painfully clear through the way they treated their students.
So why had he received the Best Award when, day after day, the teachers subtly made it clear that good grades alone would never amount to much?
Like everyone else, he was confused by the reason.
Cain shook his head.
It doesn’t matter now.
All that mattered now was surpassing everyone’s expectations and proving them wrong.
The restroom door swung open, and Cain heard footsteps behind him.
He glanced at the mirror to see who it was.
It was his stepbrother, Adrian, and his two lackeys.
Cain sighed.
Adrian showing up with Theo and Josh was nothing new. If anything, it was expected. After all, Cain had allegedly stolen his title, and Adrian wasn’t the type to let that slide.
Petty bastard.
Adrian walked toward him and leaned against the sink beside him, his ever-present smirk tugging at his lips. Theo and Josh stood by the door, watching.
Adrian mused.
"You looked awfully confident on the podium today, Cain. Didn’t you think about how your poor brother would feel?"
Cain wiped his face dry, not bothering to look at him as he spoke:
"Why the hell would I be thinking about your feelings? And you’re not my brother. You’ve made that pretty clear since we were kids."
"Bastard," Josh scowled. "You should be honored that he referred to you as a brother."
"Suck his dick, then, why don’t you?"
"You..." Josh was about to step forward, but Adrian stopped him.
"You think you’re funny, don’t you?"
"Listen, if you’re here to beat me up, just go on ahead instead of wasting both our time with this cliché dialogue."
Adrian chuckled, shaking his head.
"Oh, this isn’t the usual beat-up. This is something special." Adrian casually cracked his knuckles, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "I’m just here to remind you that tomorrow, you stop mattering. Tomorrow, the whole ’top student’ nonsense will mean nothing because you’ll awaken something pathetic, and for the rest of your life, you’ll be known as the weakling who thought he was special."
Cain met his gaze, calm and unimpressed.
"You know, for someone who thinks so little of me, you’re awfully concerned about my future."
"What?!"
"Why? Does losing piss you off that much? Then maybe you should’ve done better instead of taking out your feelings of incompetence on someone else."
"You..." Josh stepped once again, but Adrian stopped him.
He stared at Cain for a moment before smiling.
Cain knew what that smile meant.
Before he could do anything, Adrian’s fist shot forward faster than he could react, smashing into his gut and stealing the breath from his lungs.
Cain doubled over, gasping, but Adrian didn’t let up.
He yanked him upward, drove a knee into his ribs, then threw a hook into his jaw that sent him crashing to the ground.
Cain gritted his teeth and forced himself up on shaky arms, but a foot slammed down onto his back, grinding him into the floor.
"You don’t get it, do you? You were never my rival. You’re just a placeholder until I take back what was mine."
"Fool... I never said I was your rival. What delusions do you live in?"
"Shut up!" Adrian kicked him once more. "You, of all people, shouldn’t be talking to me about delusions.
"You think you’re some sort of smartass, don’t you? I know why you’re doing this. You think tomorrow, despite your trash potential, you’ll go ahead and awaken something amazing, making Father proud. But you’re deluded."
Adrian kicked Cain over and over again.
"You are the deluded one, you piece of shit!!"
Cain winced.
"Why? Did I strike a nerve? It’s the truth, Cain. It doesn’t matter what you do. Father will never see you as anything but trash, and you know why..." Adrian leaned toward his ear. "It’s because your mother was a whore, you piece of shit."
Cain, enraged, tried to push himself up despite the pain he felt, but Adrian grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head upward before slamming his face back onto the tiled floor.
"Aargh!"
Pain exploded across Cain’s face, and his consciousness began to fade.
Adrian pulled him up by the hair once more, blood spilling from Cain’s now broken nose as his vision blurred.
"Burn this feeling into your soul, Cain. The helplessness. The humiliation. The pathetic feeling. Because tomorrow, when you awaken a worthless rank, you’ll realize this is all you’ll ever be."
He let go in disgust and wiped the blood that got onto his hand on Cain’s clothing.
"Take a picture of this."
Theo grinned and pulled out his phone.
"Make sure it gets sent to the group chat. I’m sure everyone would love to see the best student of the Academy in such a pathetic state."
Theo grinned as he took the picture, and just as he was about to upload it, he asked,
"What caption should I use?"
"Hand it over," Adrian said as he collected the phone.
He immediately typed something before returning it a couple of seconds later.
Theo and Josh read what Adrian had written, and immediately, they burst into laughter.
"Yo. This is cringe as hell."
"Shut up!"
"Yeah, shut up. Can’t you see the effort he put into writing this masterpiece?"
"I said shut up!!"
Adrian left the restroom, Theo and Josh following after him, their voices echoing into the distance.
Cain lay on the ground unmoving for about ten minutes before letting out a groan.
The pain he felt was disorienting, and his head was ringing like he had been hit with a sledgehammer.
Slowly, he turned onto his back and tried to touch his bleeding nose, but the pain made him flinch and pull his hand away.
Yep... my nose is definitely broken.
He stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before finally gathering enough strength to force himself to his feet. Then he stood in front of the mirror, looking at his broken nose.
His phone began to vibrate with messages, and he opened it, only to see numerous notifications from the school’s public group chat.
It was an anonymous student group chat where stupid stuff, rumors, fight clips, leaks, and gossip were constantly posted.
There was a picture of him lying unconscious on the ground, and underneath it was the caption:
[Breaking News]
[Top Student Loses 1v1 Against Bathroom Tiles]
"How cringe."
Cain clicked his tongue and switched off his phone a moment later.
He washed the blood from his face, then braced both hands against the sides of the washbasin and stared at his reflection.
His reflection stared back at him, eyes burning with hate.
"Tomorrow... everything changes," he said to himself.
It had to.