Episode 2: The Gold and the Grime

Apex Warrior High School didn't look like an academy. It looked like a military fortress wrapped in a five-star hotel.

Arkan stood at the massive wrought-iron gates, adjusting the collar of his stiff, tactical-black uniform. The fabric was heavy—designed to resist low-level monster claws and acidic blood. It felt suffocating compared to the worn-out gear he usually wore in the Dead Zones.

Next to him, sleek black sedans and imported sports cars pulled up to the drop-off zone.

Students stepped out wearing pristine white uniforms lined with gold trim. Their armor pieces—shoulder guards, gauntlets, and chest plates—gleamed under the morning sun, enchanted to perfection. They laughed, waving at hovering camera drones broadcasting the "First Day of the Future Heroes" to the local news networks.

The Hero Department. Arkan ignored them and joined the thin line of students wearing the same heavy black uniforms as him. The Raid Department didn't get camera drones. They got directed to the side entrance.

"Look at them," a voice sneered from the Hero crowd. "I didn't realize Apex was accepting charity cases this year. Do they even know how to hold a sword?"

Arkan didn't turn around. He just kept walking. In the Dead Zones, pride got you killed. The only thing that mattered was surviving long enough to cash in your mana cores.

"ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS—PROCEED TO THE MAIN COURTYARD FOR THE ORIENTATION ASSEMBLY."

The mechanical voice boomed from the PA system, vibrating in Arkan’s chest.

As the two lines of students merged toward the massive courtyard doors, the hallway grew crowded. The scent of expensive cologne and ozone mixed with the nervous sweat of the Raid students.

Suddenly, a loud clatter echoed through the hall.

A Gold-trim student—tall, broad-shouldered, with a customized greatsword strapped to his back—had dropped a silver mana-measuring device. It rolled perfectly to stop at the tip of Arkan’s standard-issue combat boots.

The hallway went dead silent.

The Gold student crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hey. Logistics boy. Pick that up."

A few of the Hero students chuckled. The Raid students behind Arkan instinctively took a step back, lowering their heads. It was an unwritten rule—never antagonize the Golds. They had guild sponsorships before they even graduated.

Arkan looked down at the silver device. Then, he looked up at the Gold student.

Stance is too wide. Center of gravity is resting completely on his heels. His greatsword is strapped too tight to his back—it would take him exactly 1.4 seconds to draw it. He's dead meat if a Goblin jumps him. "I said," the Gold student took a step forward, his aura flaring. A heavy, suffocating pressure filled the hallway, making a few nearby students gasp. "Pick it up."

Arkan didn't release his aura. He didn't need to. He simply shifted his weight forward.

In a fraction of a second, Arkan closed the distance. He didn't draw a weapon. He just walked past the Gold student, his shoulder brushing against the larger boy's chest plate.

It wasn't a hit. It was a precise, calculated shift of leverage.

CLANG.

The Gold student gasped as his feet were swept out from under him by his own displaced weight. He crashed hard onto the marble floor, his heavy greatsword pinning him down like a turtle on its shell.

Arkan didn't even break his stride. He kept walking toward the courtyard doors, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets.

"If you drop your gear in a dungeon," Arkan called out without looking back, his voice completely flat. "The monsters won't pick it up for you. They'll just eat you."

The entire hallway stared at Arkan’s retreating back in stunned silence.

Up on the second-floor balcony, leaning against the railing, a man in a rumpled suit watched the whole exchange. He took a long drag from a cigarette, exhaling a cloud of gray smoke.

"Well," the man muttered, a predatory grin spreading across his scarred face. "Looks like a stray dog managed to sneak into the kennel this year."

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Author's Note

And so the academy life begins! Arkan isn't here to make friends with the elites. Who do you think the scarred man on the balcony is? Drop a comment, and make sure to add Abyssal Raider to your library so you don't miss the entrance exams! - itsYurtzy

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