I was alone in my room, but it didn’t feel like my room anymore. There was a turret bolted right next to the window—just sitting there like it belonged, like some creepy robot guardian watching for threats. The whole place felt colder now. Different.

  And honestly, so did I.

  Someone had tried to kill me.

  Not mess with me. Not scare me.

  Kill me.

  The thought kept echoing in my head, looping like a song I didn’t ask to hear. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I wasn’t some top-level agent or war hero. I’d been here two days. Two. My fighting skills were basic at best, and magic? I barely knew what I was doing with it.

  But apparently, I was dangerous enough to get targeted.

  Why? I didn’t know. But all signs pointed to the same answer: my Perk—this weird, untapped strength buried in my DNA. I hadn’t figured out how to use it yet. It was just… there. Waiting. Useless when I actually needed it.

  I sat on my bed, the weight of everything pressing down on me. Fear. Confusion. That feeling like the walls were closing in. My eyes stung, but I refused to cry. I didn’t want to feel weak. I couldn’t—not when classes were still happening like nothing had gone wrong. Like I wasn’t almost gone.

  So I shoved it down.

  Locked it away.

  Survive now, break down later.

  When I headed out for my next class, I ran into Tisiah and Nikki. They were siblings, and somehow always had this chill, positive vibe even when things got intense. Just seeing them made me feel a little better—like maybe I wasn’t totally alone in this.

  “You good?” Tisiah asked, looking genuinely worried.

  I nodded and gave a quick smile, trying to play it cool. Nikki, though, wasn’t buying it. She looked at me a second longer, like she could see right through me. But she didn’t push.

  Now with this one, it was a combat class like Sensei Waine---except not powers. This one was meant to be more about the physical, grounded ideas and strategies of fighting. For example, how to actually fight with our wands, not just abuse nature's powers using them. This also—according to the description of the class—explains everything else. Guns, knives, all the yada yada.

  The three of us took a door and a hallway outside to the training area, which was a field littered with students in rows. Apparently, wand-fighting in the open air was supposed to make things feel more “real.” Honestly, it just made me more nervous. There was a huge fence that surrounded the area, though I imagine if an emergency did happen, those would turn into something else entirely.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Waiting for us was our instructor, Master Tiphe.

  She was hard to miss—jet black hair that faded into neon-pink tips, sleek black uniform, and eyes sharp enough to cut glass. Everyone knew her reputation: strict, serious, and absolutely not here to play games.

  “Hello, students,” she said, all business. “You all look way too comfortable. Let’s fix that. Drop down and give me one hundred push-ups.”

  The entire class groaned. No one argued though. We all hit the ground. The concrete was freezing, and it bit into my palms as I struggled to keep up.

  “Really?” she called out when some of us started slowing down. “Already struggling? Let’s make it two hundred. That should help.”

  More groans. A few people flat-out collapsed. I didn’t dare stop, even though my arms were shaking and sweat was dripping down my face. My chest burned with every push.

  Just my luck—she walked over.

  “So, you’re the one someone sent an assassin after, huh?” she said, looking right at me.

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have to. My silence was enough.

  She gave me a look—part curiosity, part challenge. I could feel everyone staring now. And then, from across the way, Malachi and his crew started laughing. Loud enough for me to hear. Loud enough to hurt.

  “Quiet,” Master Tiphe snapped, and the room went silent instantly.

  Malachi’s smirk didn’t fade, but he didn’t say anything else.

  Master Tiphe continued staring at the class, at least our suffering. Then, as if there was a small angel on her shoulder that convinced her, she said, "Stop."

  Everyone collapsed and rested... for two seconds.

  "Alright, get up."

  We stood, catching our breath, while Master Tiphe moved on like none of that had happened.

  “Today’s lesson: fighting two enemies at once,” she announced. “This isn’t like one-on-one duels. It’s harder. Smarter. More dangerous.”

  She raised her wand, and two holographic opponents appeared. Without hesitation, she moved between them like water, dodging attacks, redirecting one enemy’s strike right into the other. It looked effortless, but you could tell every step was perfectly calculated.

  “Don’t fight force with force,” she said. “Use your enemies against each other. Or they’ll use you.”

  Something about the way she said it stuck with me. I don’t know why, but it lit a small spark inside me. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I wasn’t completely hopeless. But there was also that creeping fear—what if I failed again? What if I couldn’t live up to any of this?

  "Now, with that, I want to try and use this technique in this simulation."

  Simulation???

  Before I could sink too deep into those thoughts, the floor opened beneath us—literally. The whole area shifted, revealing a massive underground arena. The walls glowed with strange symbols, and the space felt alive, like it pulsed with magic.

  “Group A,” Master Tiphe called out, pointing to half the class, “you’ll be infiltrating the enemy base. Your goal: disarm the bomb hidden in their control room.”

  Then she turned to the rest of us. “Group B, you’re backup. If Group A fails, it’s on you to either finish the mission—or take out the enemy completely. Understand this, you will not be able to use any powers in which you've gained during your training with Sensei Waine. This is purely an assessment on how well you can do without those.”

  From the ceiling, sleek black glasses dropped down—our virtual reality gear. I grabbed mine and slipped them on.

  Instantly, the world around me vanished and was replaced by a thick, hot jungle. I could hear birds screeching in the distance, feel the wet air sticking to my skin. Even though I knew this was a simulation, it didn’t feel fake. Not even a little.

  My wand was in my hand. It felt real too—even though its powers were deactiviated for the exercise. Just holding it gave me a weird comfort.

  The jungle was quiet. Too quiet. My heartbeat picked up as our group spawned in.

  None of us said a word.

  We all knew—this may have been training, but it felt like anything could happen.

  And honestly?

  I wasn’t sure if I was ready.