3 years later...

  “If you could choose your own destiny, what would you want to do when you grow up?”

  The question caught me a bit off guard since those idiots usually just talked about girls, food, and other random crap.

  I didn’t particularly enjoy hanging out with them, but they liked me, and even though they got on my nerves at first, I’d learned to tolerate them—barely.

  “Ash, what kind of question is that?” Lucas asked, stunned. Even he was surprised that Ash, definitely the least sharp one in our group, would ask something so deep.

  “Well… Think about it!” Ash blurted out. “In this world, if you’re not a Reaper, you’re nobody! Or at least, that’s what my parents say…” He nodded, sure of himself.

  And honestly, he wasn’t entirely wrong. This world is trash: if you’re a Reaper, you’re treated like a god, and doors open for you everywhere. Sometimes you gain so much power, you can ignore the law altogether.

  But if you’re not an Awakened—if fate didn’t choose you to be superhuman—then Reapers and their groupies look at you like you’re worthless, like you’re less than dirt. Like you’re nothing.

  In this world, Reapers are the privileged ones, while ordinary people often suffer at their hands. And even when the abuse is blatant, people turn a blind eye, making you feel crazy for noticing it.

  But the truth is, even ordinary people matter. If pushed to their limits, even the smallest among us can become dangerous. And I was ready to prove it.

  “Well… if we study hard, maybe we could land some high-ranking positions…” I mumbled as we headed out of the school building.

  “Speak for yourself, Ryu! Unlike you, we suck at everything!” Ash grumbled, looking at me enviously.

  “Exactly,” Lucas added, adjusting his glasses. “You’re good at everything: sports, top grades in all of Tokyo… You’re even the most popular guy in school! Damn, I envy you!” Lucas groaned, then pretended to start crying—like a total idiot.

  “And yet!” Ash chimed in again, “You don’t care about girls, fame, or glory… Is there *anything* you care about?” He asked, getting a little too close to my face.

  “…”

  There was something I cared about. Something that meant more to me than anything else in the world: my sister. My goal was clear—I’d get her back at any cost, no matter the consequences.

  But every time I thought of her, I remembered that I had another goal. Yeah, a goal even more important than saving her: destroying the Ozaki with my own hands.

  Thinking about them always put me in a dark mood. I used that fire in me for my “work,” but I wasn’t used to showing it around others because I could barely keep my rage in check.

  In that moment, for just a second, I let the guys see my true self—angry, furious, hell-bent on revenge. Every time it happened, my expression would turn dark, almost terrifying, and I was pretty sure that’s exactly what happened this time, because Ash suddenly went pale, stumbling backward like he’d just seen a monster.

  [Damn…] I thought when I saw the fear on his face. I had a little trick to control my fiery side, which was just to think of the most stupid, random things.

  [Chicken… pizza… car… cat… women… boobs…] I breathed, repeating them for a few seconds until I was fully calm. It’s a dumb technique, but it kept people from avoiding me like the plague.

  “Hey Ash, you good? What happened to you?” Lucas asked, puzzled.

  “Y-Y-Your face… Uh…”

  Ash tried to say something, but when he looked back at me, the terrifying expression he’d seen was gone.

  “U-Uh… how strange…” Ash muttered, clearly confused.

  “Heh, got scared, huh?” I said with a smirk. “Just a little prank. Sorry for spooking you…”

  “Woah, dude!” the idiot exclaimed, relaxing again. “You looked like a freakin’ monster! How’d you do that?”

  “...I’ll teach you one day,” I replied, trying to dodge any more questions, but I knew that idiot would keep pestering me about “that look.”

  *BEEP* *BEEP-BEEP* *BEEP-BEEP* *BEEP*

  Luckily, my phone started buzzing, the four beeps meaning only one thing: it was time to head to work.

  “Well, guys, I gotta go! Work starts soon!” I shouted, eager to make my exit.

  “Hey, wait! You didn’t answer my question! What do you want to—”

  “Make a mark!” I shouted back as I slipped through the crowd of students. “I want to make my mark on the world!”

  Yeah, that was my goal. Because once I completed my plan—I was sure—many others would find the courage to do what was right.

  So yeah, I wanted to make my mark—I wanted to become a Pioneer…

  -----

  Edward’s P.O.V

  Location: Inside of a Class D Gate

  “You... goddamn pile of junk!”

  I hit that useless *thing* with all my strength, delivering a brutal punch straight to its face, sending it crashing to the ground. I could feel its jaw shattering under the force of my blow, and even though I only showed my anger in front of them, that sensation was something that almost excited me—it was like a drug. In certain moments, especially when no one was listening to me, I really needed it. And today was one of those days.

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  “What... the hell are you doing?!” One of my classmates dared to shout, looking at me in horror and fear. The others were just as terrified, and I could hear—no, I could almost feel—their whispers of terror and disapproval. How dare they judge me?

  “Huh? Got a problem?” I said coldly, striking fear into the one who had dared to speak out first. “Do you all have a goddamn problem?!” I yelled again, this time at the whole group.

  Just as I expected, the whispers stopped immediately, and they all lowered their gazes.

  [That's right. I’m a genius, and you all better respect me!] I thought to myself, a small smile creeping up my face.

  I was a prodigy—the best at the Academy of 1000 Arts. Respected by the professors, feared by my classmates, constantly worshiped by those idiotic peers, desired by the guilds. Everyone in the sector predicted a bright future for me, and I knew that one day, not too far off, I would be at the top of the world.

  And yet… here I was, stuck inside a goddamn dungeon playing explorer!

  How could I, the prodigy of Tokyo, be stuck doing this? How the hell could I be an explorer? That’s a role meant for the dregs of society, for the unawakened and the awakened who weren’t good enough to be called Reapers. Not for me!

  And this... this was all the damned academy’s fault. Despite knowing my worth, the professors and that damned principal didn’t hesitate for a second before making me go through these "useless" experiences, just like this one!

  And because of them, now I was stuck in some stupid dungeon, where the air was cold and harsh, and the oxygen so scarce that you had to watch how you breathed... And to make matters worse, there weren’t even any monsters around!

  “I live for action! I’m not a goddamn observer! Damn it!” I muttered angrily, grinding my teeth.

  If I couldn’t stay at the academy to train and be alone, then I’d get myself thrown out of this stupid special class by force!

  “Damn it, Edward! What the hell did you do?!” one of the professors exclaimed, rushing toward that damned *pile*, now lying on the ground in agony.

  “A healer! Quickly!” the professor shouted again, and once the healer took over the useless mess, he came over to me with a stern face.

  “Mind telling me what the hell was going through your head?!”

  “That pile just annoyed me, that’s all,” I replied dismissively, looking away, even though there was nothing worth looking at in this stupid dungeon.

  “Pile?” The professor repeated, confused, not understanding what I meant. How could he be so dumb not to know what a *pile* was?!

  “Yes, a pile! That’s a pile! Its use ends the moment it starts exploring. Otherwise, it’s just a useless heap of flesh.”

  I knew I was right. I knew my answer was correct. But when I said those words, the professor gave me a dirty look, letting out a long sigh of disapproval. Why did he look at me like that?

  “Listen, you brainless idiot,” the professor began, visibly irritated—probably from the cold, “Everyone here is important: the observers, the supporters, the healers, and us, the assault Reapers. If one of us doesn’t work together, then—”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Same old stuff,” I said, bored, miming the "blah, blah, blah" gesture with my hand. “Explorers are just a burden for us assault Reapers. We could do without them here. Instead, we’re forced to not only defend ourselves but also protect these nobodies! If you just left me alone in this dungeon, I—”

  “Stop talking nonsense, kid,” the professor grumbled loudly, visibly shaking his head.

  I still knew I was right. Yet, even though the professor was an assault Reaper like me, he still looked confused and irritated by what I said. What the hell was wrong with him?

  “Despite being almost 17, you’re still immature! That’s why at the academy, you... What?”

  Suddenly, from a little over a kilometer away, I heard a series of loud booms. No, they weren’t exactly booms—more like... sounds of a fight.

  “What’s going on over there…” the professor murmured, his gaze scanning the area carefully. We were supposed to be the first ones in this low-level dungeon, yet those booms and the faint energy we felt signaled that a battle was taking place.

  But between whom?

  “Now the monsters are fighting each other?” the professor tried to reason, his eyes quickly calculating what to do. Besides me, there were 20 students, 2 professors, 1 healer, and 10 explorers, 5 of whom were unawakened.

  “Well, team!” another professor called out, catching up with the group a bit later. “Looks like there’s an anomaly in the dungeon. So grab your things and stay close, we’re leaving now!”

  “Anomaly...?”

  At that moment, my heart skipped a beat.

  “Anomaly…”

  I felt something stirring inside me. A strong feeling, one I couldn’t control. Yes, I had to follow that feeling. I had to…

  [I need to go there!]

  I waited for the professors and the others to look away from me, and as soon as they were busy making their hasty retreat, I completely ignored their words. I headed straight for the battle site at full speed. People might think I was crazy, an uncontrollable fool, but in truth, I was a genius. And this moment, this uncertain and unique opportunity, was the one I had been waiting for to stand out in front of these idiotic professors.

  “I’ll finish this dungeon on my own! AHAHAHA!”

  It didn’t take me long to cover those few kilometers in mere seconds, and as I arrived, I prepared myself for the upcoming fight. I maximized my body’s abilities, pulled out my two C+ grade axes, and with a feline leap, I planned to make an entrance from above, hoping to surprise those stupid monsters.

  “Ugly monsters! Take th—”

  But as soon as I arrived at the designated spot, I was stunned by what I saw. There were indeed monsters in the area—about a dozen strange monkeys, with massive builds, red fur, and sharp canines—but they were all already dead.

  “…Monsters killing each other... really?” I thought aloud, not convinced that something like this could happen. After all, the monsters were all about the same level, so they’d have taken longer to kill each other. Instead, it had all lasted just over three minutes.

  And I was right to think that way, because as I quickly scanned the bodies of those damned monsters, I noticed many holes in their bodies—about the size of a glass.

  These holes were in their vital points—heart, brain, neck—and the precision was abnormal. It didn’t take me long to come to a conclusion that could explain the wounds and the speed of execution.

  “This… was the work of a Reaper—!!”

  Suddenly, as I was lost in my thoughts, I sensed a strong danger right in front of me. My instincts kicked in, and before it was too late, I clumsily sidestepped, managing to dodge a blow that would almost certainly have knocked me out, if not worse.

  The bastard's weapon was a Gùn, a long iron staff—an unusual choice for a Reaper, yet the diameter matched perfectly with the holes I'd seen in those sacks of meat lying in the snow around me.

  His Gùn, though it missed me, slashed through the air with a forceful whistle, leaving a sharp echo that rang out, like the blast we’d heard moments earlier. No doubt about it: this was the guy who’d left a trail of bloody carnage behind him.

  "A stick? Really?" I taunted, stepping back to give myself some space. I smirked, enjoying the absurdity of it.

  “Good reflexes,” he noted, spinning his staff with a kind of theatrical flair that reminded me of a damn circus act.

  I scrutinized him, noting his dark clothing—he was clad in black, padded armor, probably around D-grade, which didn’t scream high class, but it was sturdy enough. His face was concealed by a black mask, further shadowed by a hood, giving him an eerie look. Not that it scared me; I wasn’t one to be intimidated by masked idiots.

  Then I noticed something interesting: he wore a dark sack on his back, leaving a trail in the snow with a puddle of black blood forming beneath it. I glanced again at the dead apes scattered around us. Each had two puncture wounds, one at the neck, another at the chest. At first, I hadn’t given it much thought. But seeing the sack, I realized he wasn’t just hunting for sport. He was harvesting monster hearts.

  [Who else would come all the way here to collect something like that unless…Bingo! That’s it!]

  “Hmm... you’re pretty young. Are you an official Reaper?” he asked nonchalantly, like I was barely worth his attention.

  But it didn’t matter. This was my lucky day, and I felt that surge, the thrill of what was to come. My Force, which I’d momentarily let ebb, returned in full, flaring around me and whipping up a powerful gust that sent snow swirling between us.

  “I came here hunting monsters,” I sneered, “but it looks like I found myself a damned Dungeon Raider!”

  The clown in black stopped twirling his weapon, clearly sensing the rising threat. I could feel his Force—a moderate presence, likely D-grade, maybe a bit higher. Not bad, I’d admit.

  But unlike him, I was a C+ Reaper.

  “You’re screwed…” I hissed, barely containing my anticipation, the bloodlust building as I readied myself to strike.

  But that bastard didn’t flinch. In fact, his stance tightened, and I saw a glimmer of determination, as if facing me made him even more resolute.

  “…Bring it on, you bastard. Show me what you’ve got!”