Kill the Dragon Chapter 1 part2

Kill the Dragon
Translated by iseuli

Note from the translator: Throughout the whole story, the author refers to the protagonist with their full name “LeeHan.” However, reading the full name gets very tiring even though the name is short. Thus I translated only his first name through a majority of the places.

Chapter 0. Psychic Children

In the not so distant future when science completely replaced religious beliefs, humanity had begun a war to prevent the extinction of the human race.

Dragons had begun invading the earth with an organized military force.

Modern weapons of this era were strong enough to destroy an entire country on earth, but these dragons had crossed over from a different dimension and the usual military armaments were not strong enough to destroy them.

The humans required supernatural psychic abilities to kill dragons. Another dimension and Earth had combined into one. Amongst the humans there were those who manifested new psychic powers, who were called "acquired psykers".

Only these psykers had the ability to kill the dragons.

After three years, the First War of Aggression was won by humanity. However, a famous psyker who had the ability to look into the future forewarned that in fifteen years there would be a second wave.

"The enemies we have fought are but mere advanced guards. Humanity must prepare for the enemy's main forces in order to once again fight for the survival of humankind."

After the invasion of the dragon race, there were children who were "inborn psykers." Since birth, they had been influenced by the energies of this new world. These inborn psykers had superior potential compared to the acquired psykers.

Cross-nationally, humanity gathered all the children who were judged to be psykers and established an institution to cultivate and train them. It was mandatory that all children with psychic abilities register at these institutions. Trying to claim an infringement of basic human rights was meaningless in front of the possibility that humanity could go extinct.

These psyker children were the last hope of humanity.

After the first war of aggression, 12 years had passed. At the North-east Asian Alliance, an orphaned boy from the Republic of Korea had been judged as a psyker.

He was caught stealing food for the younger orphans by the police, but the psyker sensor had resonated.

This young boy was a psyker and was then registered to the training institution "Ark."

His name was 'Han Lee'.

His power level was judged to be D rank, but the human race was desperate for even these mere psykers.
Chapter 1. Psyker Training Institution, Ark

"These are your new clothes, toothbrush, and daily necessities."

Han Lee received a formal uniform and several small items. He had never worn such clean clothes before. There were no holes and the size was perfect.

"I want to go home." Han spoke, causing the man in the suit to laugh.

"There are places much nicer than that abandoned building."

They had already collected all the information they needed about Han Lee. Han had been orphaned due to the war. He was the leader of a small group of orphans that numbered a little over ten. They lived day-by-day panhandling and begging. The orphans were supposed to be protected by the government, but after so much war nobody could support vagrants and orphans.

"My younger siblings are all waiting for me."

"You will be able to eat all the food you want at Ark. Although you will be undergoing harsh training, this country will provide everything to make your life as comfortable as possible."

"Sure, I'll be full, but that doesn't mean my younger siblings will be able to eat to their heart's content with me."

Han glared at the man causing him to flinch. The agent was shocked to see such aggressive emotions from a ten year old.

'How could he have such a strong sense of responsibility at such a young age?'

The man in the suit scratched his head. Han didn't move like he did before. It was possible to forcefully transfer the kid, but training was something that couldn't be forced upon anyone. Right now he had to coax the boy somehow, someway.

"If you attend Ark, we will distribute food provisions for all of your siblings."

"Please periodically send me photos as proof. I must be able to see with my own eyes that they are doing well."

Han was a smart child. He was the leader of the orphans; thus, he had already learned how to do business with adults.

"That's fine."

The man in the suit couldn't gain the upper hand. Han Lee was not like a child at all; the boy only made logical and reasonable comments.

'If he wasn't born in this era, he would have grown up to be an important figure. Though, a psyker is already a huge accomplishment.'

Psykers were the only existence in this world that had the power to kill dragons.

Humanity depended on the cultivation of the psyker armies. Each country was going crazy and doing their best to increase their possession of psykers by sending them to the international training institution, Ark.

An astronomical amount of funds were required for a single person to be trained at the Ark. Even so, countries all around the world invested as much money and resources as they could into these schools. They went above and beyond, going through every household in order to increase the psyker count of their military force.

After the war against the dragons ends, the psyker count would only add many benefits to the military.

In an all out war, one psyker would be the equivalent to the fighting power of a mid-sized squadron.

Depending on the situation, psykers could be used with similar technical strategies to nuclear weapons. There are many variations of powers amongst individual psykers, so they could possibly be a deadlier force than nuclear weapons.

At the moment, humanity shared a common enemy. But once that war ended, it would become a war of psykers.

Each country was doing their best to secure a safe amount of psykers for themselves.

"Hey, what are you struggling against such a brat for? I heard his potential power amounts to a mere D rank. He probably won't even be able to complete basic training and end up back home crying…"

The man's superior spoke. The superior seemed to be a soldier. Han didn't react to these words at all. Han looked on simply listening.

"Ah, Major Kang."

The man in the suit saluted and stepped back. Major Kang stared at Han Lee.

"I am responsible for taking you to Ark. Do you know where Ark is located?"

"I heard it's a psyker training institution."

"How insolent. It's not your usual psyker institution. This is an institution dedicated to training humanity's heros. Only the top geniuses are sent to this school. The fate of a homeless brat like you is only failure. The quantity of psykers is not important, it's the quality. Do you understand?"

"Rather than eating corn or potatoes three times, it's better to eat a nice plate of meat once. Right?"

Major Kang chuckled.

"It seems you're not so stupid after all. As promised, we will take care of your younger siblings. We shall provide them a place to sleep and more than enough food."

"Education as well. Please help my younger siblings to go to school."

Han was not shy to add more conditions.

"Sure, sure, but remember this well. If you drop out of Ark because you couldn't handle their training or you fail, then that will be the end of our sponsorship. All your younger siblings will return to the streets."

"If I receive good grades, will they be able to obtain better treatment?"

"Of course. Psykers are humanity’s treasures and a country's assets."

"Then please let my younger siblings grow up in the best community."

"Why should we have to do so?"

Major Kang opened his eyes wide and stared towards Han Lee.

"Because I will become the top student of Ark."

On an artificial island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

The leading members of the government and military authorities met secretly and periodically to change the coordinates of this artificial island. At this place, humanity's last remaining weapon, psykers were being trained.

Vrrrooong.

Han Lee woke up due to the engine. The view outside had changed. All he had seen was endless ocean, but now he could see many gray buildings below.

As he was told, this was an artificially made island.

This island was

"Wake up you brats."

Major Kang shouted. The children woke up while rubbing their eyes.

The first wave of aggression had decreased the world population so the alliance gathered to work together, but even then, they could only manage to find twenty-one psykers. Additionally, amongst this batch, about half were estimated to drop out because they would not be able to withstand the harsh training.

'Damn it, the number of psyker children decreases every year.'

Major Kang chuckled bitterly. The psykers who were of appropriate age had mostly already attended Ark Institution at least once. These children should be of the last few batches of psykers that could be found any time soon. Genius and strong psyker children were generally admitted and discovered at the ages of five or six. In some extreme cases, new-born babies had even been taken away right then and there.

'It's too bad, but we got to do with what we can. Nobody expects great things from any of these newly admitted children anyway.'

Major Kang gazed toward the children.

The predicted wave of aggression would occur in three years. It would take time to help the children grow and train. This last batch of children should be near the last few that would be able to go out and contribute to the war.

The following years, even if there was great potential in the young children brought in, there wouldn't be enough time to train them.

'A prospective kid…'

Major Kang suddenly looked toward Han Lee. The kid was daring.

'But the boy was a mere D rank. It was no different than being at the lowest rank. Would he be able to grow at all?'

The person in charge at Ark was waiting for Major Kang to re-verify everything. As soon as Major Kang completed the transfer process, he once again stepped onto the plane.

A handful of the children burst out in tears seeing an island surrounded by nothing but ocean. They were so far away from their homeland.

"All I need to do is work hard, then my younger siblings can live happily for the rest of their lives."

Han mumbled to himself and suppressed the rising feeling of loneliness in his heart.

To him, dragon invasions and wars all seemed so unrealistic. He would be happy as long as his younger siblings could eat to their heart's content.

They were orphans that had no direct blood relation to him, but they had survived all this time depending on one another like a real family.

All orphaned children joined gangs or syndicates in order to survive. Han was no different than the leader or oldest brother of the group of homeless orphans.

'I'm the oldest brother. I can't cry. I must become stronger.'

Han repeated this over and over while walking forward.

The officials of Ark carefully observed each child one by one like they were studying a specimen, checking over the documented files word by word.

Most children here were oblivious. However, Han calmly observed the adults of this place.

"Come in, rookies. It's time for a complete medical examination."

A researcher clad in a completely white gown spoke. Before the official admittance, they would examine each child's health and physic abilities and grade them by rank.

Each child came in with this information from their home country, but a majority of these documents had errors and exaggerations. They did everything they could to get their own country's psyker count to increase.

"People are so hopeless that they are sending over Rank Ds now."
"It doesn't matter because anyone's rank can rise through training. According to the rules, all you need are psychic abilities."

Official psyker soldiers were required to be at minimum a B rank. Also, it was limited to only B rank psykers who could display their abilities.

But, one had to be at least an A rank to be able to effectively use their powers during battle.

There had been only one person who had been recognized as an official psyker soldier below B-rank, and it was because he had shown exceptional skill. If one were not recognized as an official psyker soldier, one could not receive special supplies.

"It's extremely rare for a D rank to become recognized."

"It's just rare, that's all."

Han knew that the researchers were talking about him. Han did not add any of his own comments and just quietly complied with the medical examinations that were provided.

'I will not fail. I will endure.'

One by one, the children finished their medical examinations. The examiners lead them to their residence.

The fidgety children, nervous because they didn't know anyone around them, were grouped by their affiliation and ethnicity. The world had banded together to fight against humanity's enemy, but still, even when the enemy had appeared, the ethnicity and nationalities that was rooted deep within their bones remained as walls.

"That guy's black, but he's Japanese. How funny."

The children recruited by the Northeast Asian Alliance consisted of mongoloids. Amongst all of them, there was one black individual.

Mixed-race marriages were common, but at this moment he did not seem to belong anywhere.

"It's not funny."

Han stood up and walked to the alienated boy.

"My name is Han Lee. What's yours?"
"Kuro."

"That means black, right? Is that all to your name?"

"That's what everyone calls me."

Kuro was black, but Japanese. He was also an orphaned child due to the war so the two were able to converse very easily.

The children born after the formation of the Northeast Asian Alliance were fluent in both Korean and Japanese. As for China's language system, many found it difficult and too different, so in the end, Chinese was avoided by many individuals.

"Is Lee your family name and Han your first name?"

"It could be that my first name is [Han Lee], who knows? When I was left in the orphanage, I had a scrap of paper scribbled with this name."

The orphanage Han grew up in had continued to collect debt after debt until they had to file for bankruptcy. Following that day, Han lead a few other orphans and started their life out in the streets.

"Look at the yellow monkey and black boy together."

The children of the European Alliance snickered.

They had spoken in English, but most of the children were able to understand them. Everyone was taught basic conversational English since birth.

"What's it to you?"
A Chinese child stood up and shouted.

He wasn't pleased to see Han and Kuro grouped, hanging out together, but he couldn't stand being looked down upon by the white kids, either.

"I'm different from you failures. I wasn't brought here out of the blue, I've been training to be a psyker since birth."

The racist white child flicked his finger. A shoe zoomed across the air and zipped through the air towards the Chinese child's face.

"Ack!"

The Chinese child was shocked not from the pain, but from the way the other could naturally control his powers. This was proof that the white child had been formally training his powers for a long time now.

"I'm Simon Dell. Remember my name. Kuku."

Even Han was surprised to see psychic powers in action.

Telekinesis was the most basic psyker power. There was currently only a few number of children who had command over their telekinesis powers.

"AAaah!"

The Chinese boy ran at Simon, causing the latter to become flustered.

The boy's telekinesis powers were not strong enough to be useful in actual battle so they started battling it out with their fists.

"Stand at attention. Get down you brats."

The children who were slow got thoroughly beaten. The specially made stick was unable to break bones but was substantial enough to make a nice bruise.

Bam! Bam!

The drill instructors instantly suppressed the two and stood between them.

"Fighting already? Hopeless little brats. Simon Dell? You're so confident with a skill that might be a little bit useful at your grandfather's birthday? If that's all you're capable of, then you're nothing but a huge embarrassment."

The sergeant singled Simon out and punished him once again with more force. Simon's eyes glistened with tears. The children realized at this moment.

'Our enemy isn't the ones next to us, but that person. The drill sergeant!'

The sergeant continued to curse the children while lashing out beatings.

Ironically, the air became less stifled. The children were able to come together after finding a common enemy in the sergeant. Everyone became livid as they talked behind the sergeant's back with one another.

"As expected, children are so simple."

The instructors monitoring them laughed.

A different sergeant spotted a particular Korean child. It was Han Lee.

"That brat is a little different. He is very calm. He doesn't spout nonsense and doesn't join in on the bad-mouthing either."

"I doubt it. At that age children don't have much insight in life."

Han already understood the situation. The drill instructors were monitoring them and looking for the right time to come into the room. They had been waiting for the exact time when the children would fight amongst one another to create an event in which they would be able to unite as one.

After analyzing the situation, Han joined in on bad-mouthing the sergeants with the others. Han planned to completely understand the situation and get by without standing out too much. He was still too unfamiliar with this place to act rashly.

Han and the other children were given three weeks to get familiar with the Ark. After three weeks, they would be incorporated in with the first years.

Ark was organized by years, but in actuality, as long as anyone finished the curriculum they would be instantly transferred along side the next year of students. There were only a few students who were placed in their rightful years.

"That's good. At least we can stick together for three more weeks."

The children befriended one another quickly. They were children, so their discrimination against other countries and race had not developed as much.

When they saw an opportunity to befriend others, they had no hesitations.They had their own cliques, of course, but they didn't view each other as enemies.

All of the children had been dropped into an unfamiliar place and had walked the same road.

They quickly learned basic military jargon and commands during this time. During afternoons, they were busy with psyker power training classes.

"Simon Dell, you trained with the Royal England School of Psykers?"
A soldier who fought as an acquired psyker in the First Wave of Aggression spoke. Currently, he worked as one of Ark's instructors.

"Yes, that's right."

Simon got up with confidence. He had a lot of pride. He was one of few psyker recruits who had received formal training beforehand.

England, and a few other countries, also ran their own psyker training schools. Of course, all advanced training was done through Ark.

"That's good. Have you been enlightened on your personal psyker characteristic yet?"

"Not yet."

First Sergeant Red looked to the children. A few children tilted their head upon the word characteristic.

"Simon, catch this pen that I am about to throw with your telekinesis."

Simon's eyes glowed blue. Whenever someone used their powers, their eyes would light up.

He concentrated and grasped the pen with his telekinesis, freezing it in mid-air.

"Excellent, Simon."

Simon smiled hearing the sergeant's complement. Sergeant continued his words.

"But this is all you can do even with formal training. That makes you trash."

Simon's expression stiffened. Sergeant Red was never friendly to the children he taught. Simon's expression was filled with anger and shame.

Ark's goal was the creation of 'psyker soldiers.' These soldiers needed to surpass all types of despair, and hunt dragons. Having strong mental strength and endurance was a basic requirement.

The sergeant didn't stop his lecture or his abusive language.

"Are you angry, Simon? Do you want to cry? If you want to suck on your mother's milk some more, we'll be more than happy to send you back."

Sergeant Red's face was only inches away as he spoke in Simon's face.

Simon was about to burst into tears. It wasn't because he was scared but because he felt wronged. Even so, he suppressed his feelings. If he cried in front of all the other kids, he would be nothing but a huge disgrace.

"No need."

Simon replied quietly. Sergeant Red kicked him back to his original position.

"Isn't he too much?"

"Simon's irritating, but isn't it wrong to treat another human that way?"

The children whispered amongst one another. Many children who disliked Simon also sympathized with him.

Han looked at Sergeant Red disapprovingly out of the corner of his eye.

'I'm used to that kind of treatment already.'

Han had grown up underprivileged and lacking in comparison to other children.

He was still young, but he prioritized the safety of his younger siblings over himself. He had to become an adult much faster than other children.

There were many times he suffered horrible beatings from adults because he had gotten caught stealing their food. He would consider it a lucky day if all they did was throw abusive language at him.

"All of you who can't even match up to this Simon trash is an even filthier pile of trash. Do you think I'm too much? I think this situation that we're in is f***g s***t. I have to make you bastard brats who can't even use telekinesis into psyker soldiers. Soldiers who will be able to fight against dragons."

Sergeant Red's expression became furious. He continued his impassioned speech while insulting their characters.

A few of the children began to cry. When Sergeant Red saw the children crying he started to laugh wildly.

"When the dragons appear, will you cry and look for your mommy? Do you think she will fly over to you like supermom and slap the dragon silly while changing your diapers? Far from it… all that'll happen is death. If you don't fight, they will eat you alive. Then, your family and friends will die. This situation is s**t, but you're humanity's future and hope. I'm not speaking figuratively. You're really our last hope. Inborn psykers are able to see results ten times greater than acquired psykers from the same amount of training. That means that even if you train for a short amount of time, you can become stronger than any of the sergeants here."

A few children felt their heroic spirits rising in their hearts after listening to Sergeant Red's speech. They were the key to humanity's future. The word "hope" had made their hearts race.

'He's an eloquent speaker.'

Han felt like he would be taken in by his speech. Han meditated over his own goals.

'I don't care about war. What I need at the moment is good results so that my younger siblings can eat well.'

Sergeant Red went over various tricks to using psychic powers.

"Picture the part of your body that can form psychic energies. It's fine whether you imagine it to be your head or heart. If it's easier, you can imagine it to be your abdomen like many Chinese martial arts do. What's important is the image of psychic powers materializing in your body."

Many psychic children in general fail to manifest their powers physically. They are unable to bring out the energies within their own bodies. Han was also this way. He thought that things like psychic energy would have nothing to do with his own life. He couldn't even imagine the thought before the sensor rang.

"Hmm, this is hopeless."

Sergeant Red mumbled to himself. However, all the children still heard his words.

"As you already understand, you have three weeks. In three weeks, if you are unable to manifest your psychic powers then you will be sent home."

All the children's expressions changed.

Everyone had been admitted to this place for their own personal reasons. Everyone could name a reason why they couldn't go back home. This went for Han as well.

Han concentrated once more. He couldn't feel any sort of psychic energies at all.

No matter how many days passed, no matter how much training he received from Sergeant Red, it was useless. All the surrounding kids succeeded one by one. Kuro, whom Han was closest to, also succeeded.

Wwooong.

Kuro's eyes glowed with blue light. The air around him began to shake.

"Success! I did it! Han! I also succeeded!"

Kuro jumped with glee. Han glanced over to him.

"Congratulations."

Han spoke curtly. Kuro flinched and looked down.

"I'm sorry, Han."

Seeing Kuro's success made Han feel anxious. One week had already passed.

Other than physical training and theory hours, he had spent all that time training his psychic powers.

But he couldn't feel an ounce of psychic power.

'Maybe I don't have the talent for this.'

"Han."

Kuro called him from the side.

"What?"

Han was feeling worked up and responded coldly.

"Why don't you ask Simon for help? A lot of other children succeeded following the training methods from Royal England School of Psykers."

Han slightly furrowed his brows.

Due to Simon's comments during their first gathering, the European and Northeast Asians did not get along so well. They didn't outright fight against each other but there was a silent war between the two.

"It's fine. I still have time."

Han also did not see Simon in a good light. Every word from Simon's mouth had the pride of an elite.

Simon thought highly of himself and above the rest. It was not all for show though, because he was ranked first in all their classes.

Han felt anger burning inside his chest. He continued to train his psychic powers until it was time for him to sleep.

"How are the newly admitted kids?"

The trainers and teachers were talking in the resting area. They were enjoying a cup of coffee while looking through some hologram files.

"Simon Dell's personality is trash but his results are alright."

"I heard he was Royal England School's last genius."

"He was judged as an A6 Rank for his Psychic powers. His future is bright. His telekinesis power is also excellent. He's already far past the first years. He's still young so there is a chance that he could go up to the A1 ranks as well."

They were looking over Simon's profile on their hologram screens.

Only the elite could be formally be instated as a psyker soldier because the price for their equipment prices was astronomical.

There was only a limited amount of psychoframes which could maximize a psyker's manifestation of their psychic powers, which made the price for them skyrocket.

"How about this guy? His name is Han Lee, from Korea."

"He learns the fastest in all the classes. His learning capabilities excel greatly compared to everyone. He just puts in that much more effort. But it's a shame he couldn't manifest his psychic powers all this time. He's only a D rank, so even if he succeeds, he will be greatly limited."

Sergeant Red listened to everyone's words. He lit a flame to the tip of his finger. His psychic characteristic was fire. He sucked in his cigarette and puffed out some smoke.

"There's still time. Psychic powers don't gradually grow stronger anyway. It's possible that anyone could suddenly grow stronger."

Sergeant Red said these words and leaned his body on his chair. Someone called out to Sergeant Red.

"Sergeant, this is the no smoking zone."

"Haa, Haaa."

All the children were out of breath in the gym.

They had to run every morning and night.

This was the hardest training for the children who had yet to fully mature. The drill instructors always shamelessly made unreasonable demands. It was an amount even adults would find tiring.

"Uuhek!"

The children flopped to the ground or stopped to throw up. The drill instructor approached them and shouted. The children who were throwing up continued to run.

'This isn't meant for physical training.'

The children needed to run until the drill instructor ordered them to stop.

This run was a test of mental strength. The drill instructors made them run until their utmost limit. Ark's goal was to make strong psyker soldiers who were able to continue forth with their mission no matter the circumstance.

When their bodies gave out, they needed the strong mental strength to stand up once again.

"I, I can't go on any longer."

Kuro covered his mouth and spoke. He swallowed back the contents that were daring to come up. Han, who had been running next to Kuro, pushed his back.

"As soon as you say you want to give up, it's the end. Endure it, Kuro."

Kuro was black, but his body was on the weaker side.

Kuro was also an orphan of war but he had grown up in Japan much more comfortably than Han Lee. He had faced similar situations but at the same time incredibly different.

"Uuuk."

Kuro fainted and flopped down to the gym floor.

The drill instructor ran to Kuro and began shouting. He shouted abusive words and screamed insults. The instructor roughly made Kuro stand on his feet.

"I, I can't, anymore…"

If he were to quit now, that meant he would be sent back home.

Ark picked only the most extraordinary children to make into superhuman soldiers. They did not bother turning common children into soldiers.

Han pulled Kuro to to his side. He made Kuro lean on his shoulder and ran forward.

The drill instructor didn't say anything. Soldiers needed to leave their lives with their colleagues at times. The drill instructors were flexible when it came to peers helping one another like this.

Gradually, the children with stronger builds supported their weaker peers one by one. This was because they saw that the instructors had allowed Han Lee to do so.

'Among all the new children, he has the strongest mental strength. Han Lee. You don't act your age.'

The instructor made a memo and thought to himself.

"Stop!"

The instructor blew his whistle and shouted. All of the children fell to the floor like puppets whose strings had been cut off. They couldn't even open their eyes while on the floor.

"Thank you, Han."

Kuro barely managed to choke out.
"You're welcome"

Han didn't want to leave Kuro behind for some reason. He was reminded of his younger siblings that were back home.

A minute had not even passed before the drill instructor commanded everyone to gather. The kids formed a messy line and moved to gather. The only time they could rest was when they were being moved like this.

"Dragons originate from the other world. They exist both on Earth and in their own world. On Earth they materialize in an illusionary dream-like form. They cannot be killed with physical weapons."

In the mornings they held theory and culture classes.

Instead of the scary drill instructors, they had a delicate-looking teacher lecture them through a hologram. Most spent their time dozing off during this time, but many listened with interest.

"Only psykers have the ability to kill dragons. To be more precise, only psychic energy can kill dragons. Psychic attacks that can accompany physical weapons are very effective against dragons."

"Can't we use nuclear weapons against them?"

A child raised his hand and asked.

"They are only useful for obstructing their path. I have said that they materialize in an illusionary, dream-like form."

"If we were to use something powerful enough to instantly vaporize the thing itself, which is in its illusionary dream like form, the most we would do is delay their attacks. The fundamental issue would not be solved. Many countries thought that nuclear weapons would be effective against dragons during the First Wave of Aggression, but in the end all they caused was irreversible damage to the earth."

The teacher continued to explain the timeline of the First Wave of Aggression. Acquired psykers gradually made their appearance. In the end, they were able to hang on with great effort and kill the dragon, just narrowly keeping their lives.

But they were forewarned that these had been a mere advance guard. With a small skirmish humanity was almost annihilated. It had been twelve years since then, and they still had not recovered.

Han sat by himself in the corner seat and continued trying to train his psychic powers. All the other children, who had yet to fully awaken their psychic powers, also seemed to be focusing on something else.

Two weeks had passed already. The children who were able to manifest psychic powers were relaxed, but for the remainder of the stragglers, their expressions were darkening by the day.

'Simon Dell.'

Han stared at Simon. He was sitting in the front row of the class like a typical honor student. He probably already learned everything already, but listened with focus.

'Most of the kids who asked for Simon's help had succeeded manifesting their power.'

Simon knew of a different method to the one Sergeant Red had lectured.

Overcoming the mental hurdle was the biggest problem of tapping into one's psychic powers. There were an infinite variety of different psykers and each person had their own unique method of manifesting their powers.

Han understood the general gist of it.

'This is no time to worry about my own pride. I only have a week left.'

Finding a new method to manifest psychic powers didn't mean he would succeed in one day.

Han waited until the end of class. The only free time was during lunch. Han approached Simon.

"Hey, who do we have here? Han, what's up?"

Simon diverted his attention from his clique of European friends.

"Can I borrow a bit of your time?"

"Why should I?"

Han took out the chocolate in his pocket. After his meal, he did not consume his desert.

He was a growing boy and always faced a shortage of calories; no matter how much he ate it was not enough.

"This is enough, right?"

Upon Han's proposal, Simon laughed and snatched the chocolate away. He stood up from his desk to privately talk with Han.

"Okay, Han. What's your question?"

Simon ripped away the chocolate foil and took a bite, munching away.

"Don't ask when you already know my question."

"Okay, okay. You're curious about my method." Simon said cunningly.

"I heard you know a different method from the Sergeant's."

"Sergeant's method is quite unclear. But truthfully, if you can't break through with that method it also means you won't have much luck with my own method either. The kids I taught this to were the ones who would have succeeded within these 3 weeks anyway. I heard you're a mere D-rank. Your chances of manifesting psychic powers is low, and even if you were to succeed your future isn't too bright."

"That's my own problem. All you need to do is teach me your method."

"All your snacks for the remaining week will be mine. Agreed?"
Simon bossily said. These conditions were quite heavy compared to the other's.

'It's fine. I should be happy he's not asking me to starve myself.'

Han had always been worrying about his daily meals until he had come to this place. He was fine that he wouldn't be able to snack anymore.

Nod.

Han nodded his head. Simon gladly asked for a handshake.
"My method is a bit more aggressive. Just bare with it even if it hurts." Simon let off a dark laugh.

Han felt a little nervous, but decided to believe in Simon. He was just a bit more snobby and prideful, but he wasn't a coward that would back out of a deal halfway through.

"Will it take long?"

"Only a moment. Where is your core?"

"Core?"

"The place you store your psychic powers. The best place that comes to your mind?"

"My heart."

Upon Han's answer, Simon took out a ball point pen from his pocket. He ruthlessly began stabbing Han in the chest with the point of his pen.

"uek."

Han groaned. Simon continued stabbing the same place to widen the injury.

"Is this the method? Aren't you trying to kill me?"

Han complained. Simon returned his pen into his pocket and answered.

"Now that injury has become a passageway for your psychic powers. You'll feel the pain so it's easier to focus into it. Imagine pulling out your psychic powers through that hole in your chest.

He made sense.

Han focused into the pain of his chest. He felt the hole made into his chest and found it was the size of a pen.

"Okay."

"Don't forget about my snacks. It doesn't matter whether you succeed or not, hand them over every day."

Simon stressed over and over. From that day on, Han gave up his snacks to Simon without a bit of regret.

'Visualize pulling out my psychic energy from the passageway of my chest.'

It throbbed with pain.

The mental image that had been ambiguous and all over the place began focusing into the hole of his chest. His psychic energy that had been vaguely out of reach now had become easier to feel on a physical level.

'Please… I can't get kicked out of this place yet.'

Han had always remained calm, but his heart felt restless as the deadline date neared. He had yet to start, but already found himself stuck at a dead end.

Trickle.

Blood trickled out from his chest injury. The feeling of blood trickling down his chest felt chilling.

"Hey, Han. Training period is over."

Sergeant Red already blew his whistle. The children gathered one by one. Han did not open his eyes.

'Just a little longer.'

It felt like he was able to grab onto a little sliver of something. If he snapped out of his moment, it would be hard to grasp onto this same feeling once again.

Han did not even bother answering to Sergeant Red's commands.

"This b*****."

Sergeant Red glared and walked toward him. The surrounding children clicked their tongues and stared on.

Those were the words that led to a beating.

'Just one minute longer…'

Cold sweat fell from Han's forehead.

Sergeant Red blankly stared toward Han . He crossed his arms and paused for a moment.

Sergeant Red was also a psyker. He was able to see Han's condition at once.

'He makes his own life so difficult. Maybe he's got no talent for this.'

Psychic powers greatly differed from one individual to another. There were many who had psychic potential in their bodies but could not manifest them physically.

On the flip side, there were some who could naturally use psychic powers without training. It was as easy as breathing for them.

Pah.

Han felt something snapping inside his body. A hot and cool sensation overwhelmed his body.

The pupils of his eyes glowed of blue light. The spark of his eyes were vividly bright.

"S,success."

Han mumbled and fell to the floor.

A few children clamored. Han had been one of the last few children to succeed. There had been many who had already given up trying to manifest their powers.

"Quiet. First, let me congratulate you, Han."

"Thank you."

Sergeant Red let out a bloody smile. Han flinched.

"No matter how urgent the situation, it's a soldier’s duty to report when called. There are no exceptions."

Puk! Puk!

"Keuk."

Sergeant Red raised his beating stick and began ruthlessly beating Han.

The beating stick was manufactured with unique materials so that it would cause nothing more harmful than a light bruise.

However, the sound that reverberates is so shockingly loud that it causes the brain to think it hurts more than the actual truth.

'I did it, I succeeded.'

Han let out a satisfied smile while getting beaten. He didn't have to stress out about succeeding anymore, and the joy inside his heart overwhelmed himself that it didn't hurt a bit.

Sergeant Red gradually became bored and put his beating stick down.

"I'm feeling generous today so I'll let you off here. The pre-training period is not over yet; however, it's almost the end of your three week grace period. Soon, you will be transferred with the first years. You all probably thought of me as a pain in the neck; you're mistaken. I'm not a pain in the neck, but the worst pain in the neck of your life."

Han wiped the blood dripping from his lips and stood up.

'He waited for me. I should be grateful toward him.'

If he had forcibly interrupted him at that moment, it might not have been possible for Han to successfully manifest psychic powers within these three weeks.

It would have been easy for Sergeant Red to stop him. But he had not.

"Assemble!"

Upon Sergeant Red's command the children efficiently assembled into rows. There had been 73 children, but now only 25 children remained. Within these three weeks, the children had changed drastically. Their behavior and the focus of their eyes seemed sharper. They always remained alert, ready for their next command.

"Congratulations first year transfers"

There are no more admission tests in the Ark. Now, all that remains is transferring up into the higher ranks.

As long as one has the talent, they will be promoted. The year classifications were made only as a formality because the trainees were young children.

'They're just burying their heads into the sand. They're looking out for the children's human welfare as much as they can.'
Everyone understood this other than the transfer students themselves.

The higher one transfers into the system, the more likely death becomes. Time to time, they will be mobilized for tasks outside of the Ark. Seniors of the Ark were in reality, no different than regular soldiers.

"I'm in class D."

"I'm in C."

"Anyone in class A?"

The grades ranged from A to D. This too, was separated into a rating system.

The overall potential talent and skill of the child would be graded and then they would be assigned accordingly. In this batch of transfer students, Simon Dell was the only one to be accepted into class A.

"Simon is in class A."

"That's obvious. He's different from us."

All the children felt a great gap of talent compared to Simon.

Simon Dell had already received basic training. The remaining task was to receive advanced training and practice his skill.

The gap had been too big so there was no sense of rivalry. Competitive spirit and jealousy are only born upon people of similar capability.

"Han, what class are you in? I'm in class B. I hope we're in the same class." Kuro said.

Kuro's magnetic sensitivity to his psychic powers had been very high. Kuro had been the only child to master manifesting psychic and psychokinesis within the three weeks.

He had ranked low in physical strength and mental resilience and had been placed in a lower class, but he had great talent in manifesting his psychic powers and was placed in class B.

Han quietly checked his digital bracelet's hologram.

"I'm in class D."

"I don't believe it."

Kuro shook his head in denial.

"I already predicted this."

"Han, how can you be in class D? Are you sure you're looking at your hologram correctly?"

Kuro had received a lot of help from Lee Han the past three weeks. At the very least, he expected Han to be at class C.

"I'll be promoted soon enough."

They were gathered into their designated class line. The children who had spent the past three weeks together looked to each other with sad eyes.

Simon was alone in transferring into class A, 4 people into class B, while the rest were gathered into classes C and D.

There were many students who were in class D along with Han.

"It doesn't make sense that Kuro is in class B while Han is in class D."

The drill instructor spoke looking to the chattering children. The instructors understood the children's true thoughts behind the children's words.

Kuro was only able to withstand the past three weeks due to Han's help. In reality, Han had to work 1.5x a person's worth of training.

"If he has true talent, he will be promoted soon enough. He has low psychic talent so it is natural for him to be in class D."

"If Han's psychic talent was average he would have been easily placed into class B or A."

"The most important factor is psychic powers. We don't need human power, we need psykers."

Han passed the instructor's falling gaze and marched into the class D's dormitory. The other children looked nervous.

"Welcome to class D. I'm the class president, Jose. Just call me President, or just Jose is fine."

A young youth sporting a healthy tan spoke from the dormitory.

Class presidents were given bonus points that would be added to allow earlier transfers to the next class over. In turn, they had the responsibility of handling all the trifling matters. Each class already had a set of rules that had been formed naturally through time.

"Your places have already been assigned. Check your data braclet's holograms. The dormitory cleaning has always been handled by the new transfers. You understand what I'm saying, right? Other than that, there should be nothing others can discriminate against you for. As long as you work hard, you'll be transferred up. Any questions?"

Jose eloquently spoke. He looked to be the same age as the new transfers but spoke like an older brother.

"No."

Han had been the spokesman for the group of transfers.

He had tacitly become the spokesman for the group of new transfers to class D. Han's grades was the most outstanding, and most of all, he had the charisma to lead others.

"Good, you become the temporary head for now. Han."

Jose was able to quickly evaluate the situation between the new transfers.

"Head?"

"It's not an official position, but it was made for smoother organization. Until the first year new transfers get settled in, you will be the head to lead everyone. After everyone settles, this position becomes pointless. However, the drill instructors are also aware of this system so you will be able to get bonus points for yourself."

Han thought for a moment and nodded. There was no reason to reject an opportunity to score more points.

"Okay."

Jose patted Han's back and went on his way.

Han walked to his assigned bed. Many eyes followed Han.

First year class D totaled about 90.

Everyone understood they were all rivals without any exchange of words. You must be acknowledged as an A rank in order to graduate into year two.

'This is finally the start.'

Han mumbled to himself. He viewed this as a chance.
The morning started with a running drill. They had to go to the military training grounds and run laps. They could see their high-ranked peers in the far distance.

"They're our age?"

Han's eyes also grew large in surprise. It was his first time seeing his seniors.
His seniors were tall and muscular, dressed in uniform. Their physical bodies were no different from adults.

A few were taller than many adults. Their faces still had childishness to them, but nobody would assume them to be in their early teens.

"So interesting, right?"

Jose stood next to Han. Jose was the president of class D. He spoke as if he were mentoring someone.

"The second years are administered drugs. They mature exponentially faster. Did you forget? In three years we have to wage war against the dragons. The adults won't wait for us the mature naturally."

Han felt psychologically repulsed. They had been forced to become adults. Teens in their early 10s had been turned into adults through drugs.

However, humanity had no choice. Though Psykers had unique powers, physical strength was also required to use them. It was impossible to fight a war in a child's body.

"But still, this is…"

The children complained amongst themselves.

"Nobody is forcing you; you have the option to retire." Jose spoke with a cold laugh.

Their seniors sprinted around the track inhumanly fast. They promptly went to the shower room first and came out while showing off their burly tan bodies.

"Not bad."

Han mumbled to himself. Jose looked towards Han.

"What's not bad?"

"I always hoped to quickly become an adult. Nobody was generous to me just because I was a child back home."

Jose burst out laughing loudly.

"Aah, you're from Korea, right?"

Korea had been one of the first countries to be hit in the first wave of aggression and thus had suffered the most casualties.

Out of the six dimensional gates, one had opened in Siniju of North Korea.

The dragons that appeared in Siniju divided into two groups before invading China and Korea.

The North ruthlessly fired their nuclear bombs, but it had been useless. On the contrary, it had made North Korea a land of death.

The citizens of North Korea fled in large scales for refuge across the cease fire border between the North and South. The North Korean government was no more. South Korea accepted all northern refugees and had to defend against the invading dragons all at the same time.

"I don't need such a thing like a childhood. It's more important to survive."

Malice reflected Han's eyes.

The orphanage that had been his home had filed for bankruptcy. The director who had been under a mountain of debt ran away late in the night, leaving all the residing children homeless.

There was no such thing as government aid.

'I had to compete against adults all of my life.'

Han used his small body to his advantage to steal food, but homeless vagrants would frequently attack small children to snatch their food.

Han's normal life had always been this way. He was never protected by the law nor human rights.

"Work hard, rookie."

Jose said while blankly looking toward Han.

The curriculum for first years was not too different from the ones they received during the adjustment period. Math, history, science, and physical training courses were held.

Ark worked hard to erase any national patriotism from the children to the best of the abilities.

The psyker soldiers of the Ark were humanity's shield and spear. This was not a place to develop special weapons of mass destruction for any particular country.

However, following the Second Wave of Aggression, countries around the world continued to scheme while calculating these psykers into their war plans.

Ding.

Han's data bracelet vibrated. Han turned on the hologram function. He saw a message had arrived.

"Open."

The message was from Major Kang. It was a group photo of everyone from the orphanage.

-I heard you've succeeded passing the adjustment period. First, let me congratulate you. As promised, we're looking after your younger siblings well. They are receiving the best education that is normally meant for only the rich. They are being given nice clothes and food as well. I will continue to pray for your good luck. Next time, I shall send a recorded video clip of each child.

He listened to Major Kang's audio message. As he had said, his younger siblings faces were much rounder than before. They no longer looked pale and lifeless, but bright with joy.

"So they're doing well."

Han mumbled quietly.

Seeing his younger siblings looking healthy eased his heart. They were not blood related, but they were equally important to him.

Major Kang had kept his promise. As long as Han provided good results, Major Kang would provide better funds.

The government held fostering psykers of their own with utmost importance.

'I will climb the ranks.'

Han felt no national pride nor responsibility for humanity. He simply had his own personal reasons for working hard.

"His unique skill is in telekinesis psychic skills. He has the common ignition skill, however, there are those able to use blink teleportation skills. There are a total of 52 formally recognized skills. Depending on the unique skills, they will be sent to different military branches. The same thing applies to any skills that are of the same family. For example, those with the power to look into the far future will automatically be admitted into the Central Command division. However, those who can predict the immediate future would be put onto the front lines."

Han and the new transfers listened with focus. All the while, the remaining class D students who had listened to this same speech many times over sat completely apathetic.

"What happens when one has no unique skills?"

"Anyway, unique skills are nothing more than a single weapon. We consider ourselves lucky to have another weapon at hand. Of course this is very useful, however everyone's main weapons will be your psyker gear. Being unable to develop unique skills does not disqualify you from becoming a part of the psychic military forces."

The children of low psychic ranking heaved a sigh of relief. The lower one's rank, the less likely it is that they would develop a unique skill.

Han took down notes by hand. Han had always worked harder during classes than the rest of his peers.

The training course was hell and fatigue overwhelmed him, but he had never received formal training or education of any sort; therefore, he had to work many times harder to see the same results as his peers.

Han felt so drowsy as he walked. The Ark had many complicated facilities and it made the trip in between different courses that much longer.

"Don't fall asleep, Han."

BAM!

Sergeant Red kicked Han.

Han tumbled forward onto the ground. It had been a merciless kick. The small body of a child had flown through the air from the kick.

"Cough, Cough."

Han heaved erratic, fatigued breaths.

"If you want to sleep, you can sleep as much as you want at home. Understood, you brats?"

Sergeant Red shouted ruthless curses. The sleepy children's eyes snapped awake once again.

Amongst the drill instructors in the Ark, Sergeant Red was one of the worst tempered. He never overlooked anything, he drove the students into the corner with his cruel nature.

He's been the most hated among students.

"I'm sorry."

Han replied shortly and joined the group once again. He felt Sergeant Red's prickling glare from the back of his head.

The next training grounds were at the military gymnasium. Training dummies and equipment were hung around the wall.

"The next course will be weapon drills."

A Caucasian drill instructor stood inside the gym. The badge on his chest had his name, Chen engraved onto it. He was a man with a stocky build.

"Drill Sergeant Wei, these are today's transfers."

Jose stood in attention and spoke. Instructor Wei nodded and took two of the weapons hanging on the wall.

Fwish!

Sergeant Wei caused strong wind from just spinning his spear and sword. It looked showy like from the martial arts movies.

He easily proceeded to show an example of some moves and looked to the students.

"My name is Wei Chen. I'm a weapon martial arts specialist. I'm sure there are many here confused as to why we must learn to wield classic cold weapons when we have psychic powers. Cold weapons had disappeared from the war scenes since long ago, but the reason you must learn is because these will be your psychic gears."

Instructor Wei projected his hologram bigger. Many weapons of ivory color were projected. It looked like swords made of bones of some sort.

"These are weapons made from dragon bones and fangs. No materials from Earth can harness psychic energies. However, dragon leather and bones will respond to psychic energies and even transmit psychic energies. Weapons created of dragons are fatal against dragons themselves. You will need to master these types of weapons so that you can use them like they're your second limb. Any questions?"

Sergeant Wei was short and concise with this commands.

"How were dragons killed before these weapon were made?"
"That's a good question. The answer is hand-to-hand combat. In order to kill a single dragon, hundreds of psykers were sacrificed. Of course, the psykers back in the day were merely a little stronger than regular, common soldiers. Only a minority of psykers had the ability to give critical damage, the remaining psykers were used as meat shields. When the first dragon was killed about 500 psykers were sacrificed. When the second dragon was killed, 200. Upon the third dragon, 100. Only from the sacrifices of your seniors were we able to compile the data to kill the seventh dragon with only two casualties."

Sergeant Wei only instructed the transfer students. The remaining students sparred on their own.

The student's expressions looked full of fire. It was rare that any male child would hate playing with a weapon of any kind.

Compared to the endurance drills that tested the physical limits of the body, weapon mastering drills were much more interesting.

"The basic weapons used against dragons are short range weapons. These weapons are capable of storing psychic energies, but the moment they leave your hand all the stored energy will dissipate and become no different than normal weapons. The psykers proficient in long distance unique skills can attack distances of 30-40 meters, but critical blows can only be accomplished through close combat. You must stab into the heart or head while releasing your psychic energy. With these moves, even dragons will fall to their demise. The psykers who deliver the critical blows are referred to as strikers.

Sergeant Wei continued to repeat the same information over and over.

His words about strikers shook the children's hearts. The role of killing the dragons. The war's main protagonist.

"Today, find the weapon that you're most comfortable with. I shall coach you all one by one."

Sergeant Wei was always calm in nature and spoke with clearness, though his voice was often dry.

He spoke to each transfer student one by one, recommending a weapon as he explained its pros and cons.

Among all the drill sergeants, he was one of the friendliest.

'It seems that the majority of weapons are swords and spears.'

Han observed the various weapons along the wall and thought.

It seems to be the case because they required a weapon that could enable them to penetrate deep into the dragon. Axes or blunt weapons were not included among the various psyker gear.

"Have you chosen your weapon yet?"

Sergeant Wei approached Han and spoke.

"I have not."

"I see you're from Korea. I have also been there many times before. Hmm, if you're having a hard time choosing between a spear and a sword why don't you leave it up to superstition?"

Sergeant Wei pointed to a sand bag.

"A sandbag?"

"Give it a punch. Use all of your strength."

Han stood in position and delivered a few punches. Sergeant Wei attentively watched Han's form.

"How was that?"

Han spoke while sweating. His fist felt numb and his wrist was hurting. Sergeant Wei nodded and spoke.

"This method has not been developed through science; this is purely my own superstitious belief. We will watch whether you throw more hooks or straight punches, and depending on which punch you like, we will choose your weapon. You're the straight punch type. Try out the spear."

Sergeant Wei threw a spear that fit his physique to Han. After teaching him the basic forms and techniques to practice, he left to the next student over.

Han decided he would follow Sergeant Wei's instructions to repetitively practice the basic forms until the forms felt as natural as breathing.

Woosh!

The wind howled as he swung the spear. Han enjoyed hearing them. He quickly became entranced while learning the spear art forms.
Han learned the weapon martial arts skills faster than the average person. He had to live everyday on the streets stealing from others so he was naturally nimble with his hands and body.

Only two weeks had passed, but he had already caught the interest of Sergeant Wei.

He was outstanding amongst the transfers and had also been no pushover while sparring against the regular students that had trained for awhile.

'Seems like we got a brat talented with his movements.'

Sergeant Wei watched Han sparring from a distance away.

"Haa!"

Han was currently sparring against another student. The student was one of the top ranking students of the weapon martial arts technique category among class D students.

A dull sound reverberated as the wooden sword and spear clashed.

"He dodged?"

The observing children said surprised.

Han lowered his upper body, dodging the attack. His skill in martial arts helped speed up his reflexes.

"But, that's what I aimed for!"

The opponent yelled while flying a kick.

Han already lowered his upper body and had no room to dodge the kick. He raised his spear in front of him to block the kick.

Kang!

Han's spear got kicked out of his hands and flew into the air. But just before it was out of reach, Han stretched his left arm and caught it in mid air then followed to stab forward.

Kuk!

Han stabbed the spear deeply into his abdomen.

"I, I g-give up. Cough, cough,"
When the sparring match ended, there was a burst of applause. Sergeant Wei, who had been observing, called for Han.

"What do you need me for?"

Han wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked. Sergeant Wei looked at both of Han's hands.

"During the last move you caught the spear with your left hand, but then you didn't switch to your right hand and instead stabbed forward. Although that's your non-dominant hand, your posture seemed very strong. Are you ambidextrous?"

"I am originally left handed. In the orphanage, I was taught to use my right hand."

"Hmm."

Sergeant Wei scratched his chin. Being ambidextrous was highly advantageous for a martial artist. Through switching hands, one can plan irregular attacks.

'However, the weapon art I am teaching is not for man-to-man combat. When faced against a dragon, this does not make much of a difference. Maybe he might be able to use this a little against the dragons' underlings.'

"Being ambidextrous is a good talent. If you continue to practice, it will become a valuable skill."

Class D students gradually began to take note of Han. In a majority of the courses, Han was advancing quickly in ranking.

The only time he struggled was during subjects related to psychic powers. He had been one of the slowest concerning development of psychic skills.

'This won't do.'

Psychic energy manipulation class always tried his patience. He's been consistently ranking as one of the lowest among all transfers. Thus, he worked even harder and reviewed twice as much as the others to make up for his shortcomings.

After a month passed, grades were formally given.

"Han Lee, ranked 12 in class D."

The Sergeants looked over and spoke. Sergeant Wei looked up and quirked his head.

"Only at rank 12? In class D? I gave him almost perfect scores in my class though."

"That's why he was even able to rank at 12. He's quite famous. Excluding psychic training, he ranks A in all fields."

Sergeant Wei looked over Han's data. He furrowed his brows.

"His advancement for psychic energy manipulation comes last."

"He has not been able to tap into the psychokinetic realm at all. If his grades were average in all subjects, he would have long been forced to retire. He has the requirements to be a soldier, but the key point of psychic talent is lacking, thus, his future looks dark."

Sergeant Wei had been his weapon martial arts teacher and had no idea about the struggles. He had no idea that Han's situation had been so seriously bad.

'It seems god is truly fair in all things. He gifted him talent in every field except the most important psychic talent.'

Sergeant Wei's mood turned for the worst. He had finally found a student he could put his hopes on.

How could he have known that this student's psychic talent was at the rock bottom?

"Once this quarter ends, Simon Dell will be promoted to a second year."

The sergeants talked highly of Simon. He had received top grades for all the courses, and most of all his results for psychic skills were top notch.

Wwweeng.

Han barely managed his psychokinesis.

He was able to lift a 100 gram object within a 100 meter radius. The skill level was pitiful, but to Han, this was a great step forward.

Cold sweat dripped from Han's forehead.
Sergeant Red, who was leading this psychic training drill stared towards Han.

"How can you be happy with those pitiful results? Are you aware that sergeants have been proposing your retirement? If you continue to crawl forward at this pace, you will find yourself kicked out."

Sergeant Red sneered coldly. Han had already been used to such cold treatment and simply nodded his head.

Bam!

"Ugh."

Sergeant Red's temper flared upon Han's attitude and sent a kick at him. Han's body was sent tumbling backwards.

The surrounding children had grown numb to this scene and had annoyed expressions, 'Again?' Sergeant Red had always been cruel, but he had been especially brutal with Han.

Another person he had treated this brutally was Simon Dell.

"I'm sorry."

Han said shortly.

Sergeant Red sighed, out of energy, and looked around hunting for his next prey. Sergeant Red's training classes were always vicious. People could not afford to relax in the slightest and had to remain attentive.

'Good focus, good mental strength. But his psychic ranking falls at D rank. His poor speed of psychic manipulation progress is unexplainable.

Sergeant Red thought after beating Han.

Han's mental strength and focus ranked near the top among his peers. Psychic talents are highly related to inborn talent and one's mental state.

It was unnatural that Han's psychic power results would be this poor.

'Could it be true he just doesn't have the talent for it at all?'

Sergeant Red had seen many students, but it had been the first time he met anyone like Han.

Han lived everyday of his life drowned in stress. The only time he could relieve his stress was during Sergeant Wei's weapon arts class.

"HAAA!"

Han struck the end of his spear into the ground and moved. He landed on his opponents back. He moved as fast and as light as a flying squirrel.

Pow!

Han pushed down his opponents back. The opponent who fell out of the sparring zone looked down to the ground. His pride had been stepped on without mercy.

Han had only trained for a little over a month and had already won against a majority of his peers in the sparring matches. There was almost nobody who could win against Han in weapon arts.

"Tch, acting so full of yourself. You're nothing but a half-baked good-for-nothing."

A handful of students said with hostility to Han. A majority of them had been students unable to earn a promotion for months now.

These were the students who had been on the borderline of being enlisted into retirement by the Sergeants. To these students, watching Han leave them in the dust was unnerving.

"Fight against me next, Han."

Jose, who also had a spear, approached. Jose would be promoted to class C next week.

"Bring it, Jose."

Han laughed as he spoke. He enjoyed weapon arts class so much so that time flew by quickly.

CLANG!

The wooden spears clashed. Jose skillfully moved his spear. Han made his fair share of battle moves to push Jose back.

'Let's see how you handle this switch up!'

Jose turned his focused forward. Han's switch up was his specialty skill.

He would abruptly change his stance and stab his spear forward. The direction of the attack tangented to a different direction. While trying to make sense of the erratic attack, Jose allowed an attack to land on his face.

PANG!

Blood spilled from Jose's nose. Jose sat on the floor, in a complete loss.

"It's hard to block even when I know what's coming. You're awesome, Han."

Admiration exploded from the surrounding audience. Even in their own eyes, Han's attack had been highly advanced.

"Thank you for the fight."

Han and Jose faced each other and respectfully bowed.

This had been sparring etiquette enforced by Sergeant Wei. Jose muttered in a low voice as he passed Han.

"When I'm promoted, make yourself into the class president, Han. When you become president, you'll be able to obtain bonus points to make up for your lacking psychic powers. It would somewhat lift your worries of getting kicked out of here."

"It's not something I can do just because I want to. There are a lot of guys who hate me as well."

"I'll tell all my friends to support you. All the transfers will probably follow you as well."

"Thank you, Jose."

"I'm not supporting you thoughtlessly. You have talent. You'll be promoted in no time. I'm investing for the future."

The following week, Jose and a few others were promoted to class C.

Class D's president was now vacant and so when Sergeant Red appeared, a vote of class president began.

"Everyone who wants to volunteer to be president step forward. No matter how unskilled you are, you'll be able to be promoted with the additional bonus points. Right?"
Sergeant Red spoke sarcastically as usual The children looked amongst one another. The children had already chosen their president long ago.

His grades had been good and had already led a fair amount of peers.

There were many who complained that a transfer student would become the new class president, but there were no opponents who were good enough to prevent Han from climbing the ranks.

"I will do it."

Han raised his hand and spoke. Sergeant Red wrote Han's name into his data bracelet's hologram.

"Are there any other volunteers? Are you in your right minds to leave class D to a half-baked psychic user? Really?"

"Kekeke."

Upon Sergeant Red's words a few students started to snicker. Sergeant Red looked toward the laughing sounds.

"I'm not saying this to make you laugh. This is serious, fools."

Class D's dorm fell into a chilling silence. If there were no other volunteers, Sergeant Red would spend the night punishing everyone.

"I see that there are no other volunteers."

Sergeant Red took out a cigar pack from his pocket. He stuck one in his lips and lit it with his ignition skills. The smoke spread throughout the room. There was a no smoking policy through all of Ark, but Sergeant Red never followed this rule.

"Han, I hear that your weapon arts grades are top?"

"I'm not so bad."

"Bring your weapon and fight me, Han. If you make me fall over once, I'll acknowledge you as the class president."

"If I lose, will the seat remain vacant?"
"I will take on the entire class D leader's responsibilities."

Class D's faces contorted. Being with Sergeant Red for 24 hours of the day would make their lives hell.

It was hard enough taking a single course with him. All the students looked toward Han with earnestly desperate eyes.

Han got out his wooden spear from his personal storage box. Sergeant Red and Han left to the empty yard at the back of the dorms.

The rumor of Sergeant Red and Han's spar had spread through all of Ark. All the students who had been resting peeked out their windows or climbed to watch on the roof.

"Just a single blow! Han!"

Sergeant Red's reputation was the worst. All the students agreed that there would be no student who liked Sergeant Red.

Within the crowd, many were able to anonymously slander Sergeant Red with hateful comments.

"Hum, brats."

Sergeant Red was not affected in the slightest. He walked forward unarmed.

"You will be fighting unarmed?" Han asked.

"Of course. Do you think I would fight on equal grounds against a mere child? The rules are simple. If you make me kneel or fall on my butt, it will be your win."

"What is my losing condition?"

"That will be when you admit your own loss."

"Then there is no way that I can lose."

"Let's see about that."

Han was confident that he would never admit his own loss. When he used to steal food for his younger siblings, no matter how much he was harshly beaten by adults he never snitched or opened his mouth to tell the truth.
Han did a light warm up and swung his spear.

Voosh!

Feeling a good pressure push against the palm of his hands, Han spun his wooden spear left and right. He used both arms to brandish his spear freely.

"How shameless can you be to be class president when you're unable to properly display psychokinetic powers. Kids have such low standards these days. Don't you think it has fallen a bit too low?"

Sergeant Red smiled as he spoke. Han's face flushed slightly red. He firmly held his spear and attacked.

"HAA!"

Han shouted as he attacked.

Sergeant Red laughed through his nose and dodged. His body was at complete ease.

"I won't go easy on you for being a child, Han."

POW!

Sergeant Red grabbed Han's shoulder and used his knee to stab into his gut. A gut wrenching groan was heard. Everyone winced unknowingly.

"cough, cough."

Han couldn't breathe properly because his chest was aching with pain. Sergeant Red raised his feet to stomp onto Han,

KwaK!

Han rolled on the ground and managed to dodge just barely. He felt a chill run down his spine.

'Isn't he trying to kill me?'

Han's legs shook from horror.

If he had been stomped on just then, he would have really died. Sergeant Red's military boots were as heavy and no different from hammers itself.

"Whether dragons, minions, one year-old babies, girls, or 80 year old elders it doesn't matter because I will kill them all. I won't go easy on others just because they're weaker than me. Your enemies are as I described. They have no mercy, and they don't negotiate; they're the worst enemies of humankind. If you were to compare it to your current fears, you would find that moments like these are nothing but trivial feelings."

Han struck his spear onto the ground and struggled up.

"Sergeant, is your specialty to fight with your mouth?"

Han spoke. Upon those words, the whole space became quiet.

"WAHAHAHA!"

The sightseeing sergeants and students boisterously laughed.

"This brat…"

Sergeant Red had truly become enraged. He had landed a heavy hit. For a long while, Sergeant Red would become the butt of all jokes.

He grabbed Han's collar and threw him in the air. Just before Han flew off, he scratched the sergeant's face with his spear.

PAM!

The corner of Sergeant Red's lips bled while Han, who was thrown in the air, slammed into the wall. His back felt numb.

"Aah."

Han groaned. Sergeant Red didn't understand the idea of mercy.

"Give up, Han."

The student of Class D looked toward Han with nervous hearts.

'Please win, Han. How can Sergeant Red take control…. that devil just wants to kill us all.'

All the children who had hated Han also wished for a good outcome. Rather than living under Sergeant Red, following under Han would mean a happier life for everyone.

"Han!"

"Win! Han!"

"Break his nose flat!"

Encouragement permeated from all direction. Han took hold of his senses and looked forward. Sergeant Red's fist was flying his way.

BAM!

Han raised his spear and blocked the oncoming fist. Sergeant Red's forehead twisted. Suddenly a kick flew from the side.

Fwish!

Han reflexively dodged. Sergeant Red's kick connected with nothing but air.

"AAAAH-!!"

He yelled with all his strength while swinging his spear. The only way to land critical damage with his small body was to move his body in large arcs. However, this also meant that his attacks would be slowed down drastically.

'That is a good attack. So there was a good reason Sergeant Wei held him in such high regard.'

Sergeant Red praised Han's senses. His spear arts had been fully adapted for battle.

SWISH!

"Ugh!"

The spear handle crushed into Sergeant Red's side. The sound of ribs cracking reverberated. Sergeant Red gritted through his teeth to bear out the pain. He grabbed onto Han's neck and arm.

SSSSsss

Sergeant Red's eyes glowed red. A hellish glow dripped from his irises. His palms seared with heat. Smoke billowed out.

"ggue….aaaaaaah!"

Han screamed with pain. His arm and neck were burning.

Sergeant Red used his psychic energy to burn Han alive. The burn wounds extended as the smell of cooked meat spread throughout the area.

"Admit your loss, Han. Joke around and you'll die."

Sergeant Red's voice sounded calm and steady.

He spoke as if he really held no qualms of killing Han. The audiences expressions also hardened.

"Sh-shouldn't we stop them?"

"What are the other sergeants doing? Han's going to be killed!"

Han felt as if even his brain was being fried at this moment. He barely managed to open his eyes. Sergeant Red coldly looked down towards Han.

"I will not give up."

Han spoke through gritted teeth.

His face was bright red by now. He was in a state of excruciating pain. The blood inside his body was boiling and it felt like his body would explode.

Plap.

Sergeant Red threw Han onto the floor. Han lost consciousness at that moment.
"Damn, he didn't give up, but I didn't lose either. What to do?"

The observing students felt anger rising from Sergeant Red's behavior and words.

"BOOOO!"

Jeers flooded from all direction. Sergeant Red found his cool once again and smiled while waving his hand in appreciation.

"Okay, okay, you brats. This brat needs to be sent to recover. Until he recovers, I will take control of class D. Once Han recovers, he will become the new class president."

The medical team ran over and carried Han away on a stretcher. Sergeant Red lit his cigarette and roared with laughter.
Han had to remain in the recovery ward for a week.

'I wasted a whole week. That damn sergeant.'

His flesh had been badly lacerated, but now he had made a perfectly full recovery. The burned flesh had regrown. The medical facility of Ark was top notch. As long as one still had a breath of life in them, one would be able to make a full recovery.

For emergency treatment, human organs and body parts were preserved constantly.

Han didn't wish to waste his time, so the moment he woke up, he started reading his books. He did everything he could while remaining in bed.

Every month, Major Kang contacted him. Major Kang had already been aware that Han fell below average for Psychic powers. Major Kang pressured Han all he could without being upfront with it.

Intense stress fell upon Han.

'I'm only 10 years old.'

Han muttered to himself. But, he quickly shook his head.

'But I'm a 10 year old with the responsibilities of the life of others.'

Outside Han Lee's recovery ward, Sergeant Red and a researcher stood talking. It was a one-sided mirror so Han was not aware of Sergeant Red.

"The child's stress tolerance and mental strength is higher than an average adult's. His psychometric level is also surprising. Compared to children his age, his sense of responsibility is very high, and his sense of identity is strong."

As the researcher spoke, Sergeant Red added onto the evaluation.

"To put things simply, he has strong mental strength and will power."

"I read through his profile that he had been born into a harsh environment and lived through stress all his life. Since he survived through such conditions, it can't be helped that his mind is unshakable."

"We found a great unpolished gemstone. He has the potential to become the greatest striker in the future."

Sergeant Red generously praised him. The researcher laughed.

"This is the first time I heard you praise a child. No matter how much talent a child had, you've always remained stoic."

"The top officials funding Ark are mistaken about one thing. The most important aspect of a dragon hunter is not psychic skill. That is only the basic minimum requirement. The soldiers require the strength to tough through the most gruesome horrors in order to stab and penetrate deeply into their hearts. Strikers are the only ones with the ability to land critical blows. It would be nice to setup the greatest situation for the squad, however if that were to be impossible we need a squad that can run through the worst fires headon in order to kill our enemies. That is the striker's role."

"Are you saying those top officials are clueless?"

"Just wait and see. Who knows? The kid that I chose could be the one to save the world."

The researcher and Sergeant Red both let out a loud laugh.

"Good to see you!"

"You've been through a lot."

"Sit here!"

Han returned to class D's dormitories. Han looked towards the kids confused.

They treated Han like an esteemed guest. They had even cleaned up and organized Hans bedding and items. He had become the class president, but they were being overly hospitable.

"What are you doing?"

Han mumbled out.

"Don't even ask. Just thinking about how we suffered under Sergeant Red…."

Sergeant Red had woken up class D an hour earlier. He didn't allow any of them their designated free time either.

He drilled the children like he wanted them dead. All the children's faces had become exponentially haggard since Han disappeared.

The only hope in the children's hearts was Han's return as the class president. There was no way that anyone would become unhappy to see Han's return.

"Anyway, you're now class D's president."

Han had become the president. He was now responsible to lead class D.

'This doesn't feel like anything new.'

He had always lead the group of orphans and was in charge of putting food on the table day by day. He had long become used to the position as leader.

He quickly became accustomed to become the class president. He led his peers without any mishaps and settled any disputes smoothly.

Among sergeants, everyone praised Han with high remarks. Everyone pitied that he had such low psychic talent that blocked him from continuing forward.

"It's okay. I'm getting better little by little."
Han repeated this to himself while practicing his psychokinetic powers.

The good point of being the class president was that he could use the cleanest and best bed and he could decide his own sleep schedule.

Han reduced his sleeping hours to train his psychokinetic skills.

Weeeng.

A metal marble of 2kg floated in the air. Han's forehead was drenched in sweat.

CLANG!

The metal marble fell to the floor.

'With this, I managed to advance a bit.'

Uri Geller of the 20th century had publicized his skills for bending spoons and had become a world renowned psyker.

If he had remained alive to this day, he would have fainted seeing the level of skills of the modern psykers.

"Phew."

Han wiped his sweat with a towel. He was ranked drastically lower than others, but he was making progress.

"I just need to continue to train, I don't need to worry about food and shelter, even my younger siblings are living a comfortable life now. I can't ask for a better situation than this."

Han ended his training. He turned on his hologram to check tomorrow's tasks.

"I see we have joint training with class B. Kuro should be in that class."

It had been a long time since he last saw Kuro. It was rare for different classes to meet at all.

They only had the chance to meet when they had joint training of some kind.

Usually, those of lower rank disdained joint training with those above them.

'Everyone will not like this news tomorrow.'

It was weapon arts period, but the expressions of class D's students were dark. Class B students entered from the opposite side of the gymnasium.

The gymnasium contained many different exercise equipment and wooden weapons. Wei Chen and the remaining sergeants divided into groups to start today's class.

"HAA!"

Shouts were heard from all different directions.

Overall, class B did overwhelmingly better than class D and excelled exponentially in every skill category.

The lowest ranked class was class D. When a student remained in this class for over three months, it became rare for that student to become promoted at all. This has been accounted for through statistical data throughout the years.

Class D was made up of a majority of these kinds of students who felt jealousy and held an inferiority complex toward others.

"There's no need to stress. Just carry on as usual."

Han lead class D. He wanted to prevent any pointless troubles with class B.

"Han."

Sergeant Wei called Han over.

"Yes, Sergeant."

"How are you feeling? I heard that you suffered quite badly under Sergeant Red."

"….Yes."

"Don't feel too disappointed in yourself. You managed to crack one of Sergeant Red's ribs after all. Plus, you're still young. Red's a veteran who has been through all sorts of hardships."

Sergeant Wei patted Han's shoulder and spoke.

Han had already realized Sergeant Red and Wei's different attitudes. Sergeant Wei still viewed Han as a child.

'However Sergeant Red views and treats me like an adult.'

Just then a memory popped into his mind.

"Dragons will not give me special treatment because I'm a young child. Sergeant Red speaks nothing but the truth."

Sergeant Wei stared toward Han with a blank face and then let out a deep sigh.

'He's too mature. Not childish in the least. He doesn't blame others, nor does he break down easily.'

Sergeant Wei was not the best candidate to foster promotions through the Ark system. He believed that children should have the right to behave as children. In Sergeant Wei's eyes, Han was just a pitiable child.

"I heard your psychic rank is the worst. Not only are you a D-rank, but the development of your powers is slow as well. It is very unlikely that you will ever awaken your own unique psychic skills. It will be good to give up on your dreams of awakening powers like fire or teleportation. Then, what is left for you? The answer is simple. Train your telekinetic powers to the utmost limit. If you don't awaken a unique psychic skill, then telekinesis can be considered your skill. Among the 52 different skills, telekinesis is still one of them. Why don't you train to become a master of telekinetic skills."

VVooong!

A gentle blue light flowed from Sergeant Wei's eyes.

All the weapons that had been hanging on the gymnasium wall started floating. Then, the weapons started floating in circles around Sergeant Wei.

With a short glance, it is easy to tell that the dozens of weapons were moving in different ways.

"Woah!"

The children who were training exclaimed. This had been the first time the young students had seen such forms of power. It felt as if they were in a fantasy world.

Click, clack.

Sergeant Wei stepped up onto the weapons.

"This degree of mastery might not be possible, but all psykers must master the ability to control many objects in the air. This is because a majority of the dragon race are able to fly. The jet packs that you will wear are unable to keep you afloat for a long duration. You'll be required to wage warfare up in the air."

The foundation of dragon warfare tactics has been made so solidly due to the generations of sacrifice during the first wave of aggression and many military intelligence officers.

"Phew, it's been a long time since I tried that. I'm quite tired now."

Sergeant Wei stopped releasing his psychic powers. All the weapons clattered onto the floor at once. It was ear deafening.

"Amazing."

Han was genuinely in awe. Sergeant Wei patted Han on the shoulder.

"You have a better chance than us. Most of the seniors are generally at the same power rank as the drill sergeants here. Han, do not give up and continue to train. Psychic power training is no different than strength training. The more you use and train, the more powerful it becomes. The initial rankings are but a mere analysis based on groundless predictions.

Han felt as if the roadblock in his road was no more. The road that had seemed so narrow and dark was now so clear and bright. Sergeant Wei's words had let Han grasp onto a bit of hope.

"Understood."

Han was a bright child. He turned around and continued to train. Sergeant Wei continued to watch Han's back figure.

'Sergeant Red, simply pushing them forward does not progress their growth. The students we are teaching are children. From time to time, they also require a bit of affection and praise.'
Sergeant Wei thought quietly to himself.

Kuro of class B didn't enjoy weapon arts at all.

The nations had become blurred in this time period, however, black people in Japan were still a rare sighting.

Additionally, Kuro was an introverted person. He was not very compatible with weapon arts.

"Hey, Kuro. What are you doing? Bring it on."

Class B often teased Kuro.

Sparring was required in every weapon arts class. Even when Kuro didn't want to, he was forced to fight against the other children.

Many of the students took this chance to use Kuro as their sandbag.

Pow!

"Ugh."

Kuro was beaten with the wooden sword and let out a painful groan. The boy who attacked Kuro circled around him.

"Bring it! Get up!"

Puk!

The sword beat down onto Kuro's back. This was how they bullied him all the time.

The students all took turns to spar against Kuro. Kuro always sported several bruises.

Click, clack.

Han, who had been observing all this time, walked over. The children of class B looked over at Han with confused eyes.

"What is it? Don't you belong to class D? We're in the middle of sparring. Beat it."

A boy from class B said. Han blankly looked to Kuro.

"This doesn't look like a sparring match to me."

"That's none of your business."

Han scratched his head.

"Kuro's specialty isn't weapon arts but psychic power manipulation. Is it fun to poke at his weakness like that? Can you win against Kuro if he were to use his psychic powers? You should feel grateful that we're not allowed to use our powers during class. You'd make an embarrassment of yourselves."

Kuro's psychic ranking topped all of class B.

His psychic growth speed was outrageous and many people felt that it was already far beyond Class A's level.

"What's it to you? Are you friends with the black boy over here?"

The boys felt great hostility towards Han who appeared from nowhere.

One of the boys from the clique recognized Han and muttered something to the group.

"That guy is Han Lee. Class D's president."

"The guy that fought against Sergeant Red?"

The group of boys looked forward and brandished their weapons.

"You're nothing but the top student of class D. I'll teach you that class B is leagues ahead of your level. I heard your weapon arts grades are good. How about a fight? This is a joint training period so there shouldn't be a problem."

A boy spoke. Han shrugged his shoulders and brandished his weapon as well.

"Okay, I accept your challenge. Let's see how good you are."

The boy and Han's wooden weapons clashed.

'He's slow and makes too many mistakes. He's not that talented in weapon arts at all.'

Han quickly oppressed the young boy. Han had struck at his opponent's throat with the spear handle.

"Cough!"

The boy grasped his neck and tumbled while groaning in pain. Their skill levels were of different classes. Class B had been done in by class D. The scattered children across the gymnasium began gathering around them.

'I told the kids to not cause trouble with class B, but I was the first one to do so.'

Han let out a sigh. When he saw Kuro getting bullied, he couldn't stop himself.

It's not like he felt obligated to save Kuro. He just didn't feel good about how the other boys were behaving.

"Waaah! Serves you right!"

Class D students sneered.

Han put his index finger to his lips and silenced the kids. He didn't want to cause a bigger scene than necessary.

"This was just a spar. Everyone return to your own training."

Han said.

"So you're class D's president. I'm class B's president Dmitri Vladimirovich Petrov."

A burly looking boy among the class B students approached. He had a towering physique, as expected from a student from Siberia of Russia.

"I'm Han Lee. Your name is too long for me to remember. What do you want me to call you?"

"Dmitri is fine. Han, I heard you're from class D but you rank within the top 10 for weapon arts. Spar with me."

This would be an eventful sparring match.

The sergeants observing from the side who had been keeping a close eye in case of trouble also silently agreed to this turn of events. Ark encouraged cooperative and competitive activities.

"That's hard to turn down. Let's spar then, Dmitri."

Han spun his spear and took his stance. His posture was sturdy and strong.

Clang!

Dmitri slashed his wooden sword. Han used his spear to bat it away.

Dmitri was physically strong so simply blocking the attack could potentially injure the grip of his hands.

TA!

Han lowered his spear and attacked Dmitri's leg. Dimitri's gait became unstable as his body tilted to one side.

'He's completely off balance. This is the end.'

Han spun the spear around the back side of his waist and changed the grip to his left hand. Without pause, Han struck down his spear to end the match.

"HAA!"

Pow!

Dmitri's pupils shook. The moment his neck was hit, he momentarily lost consciousness.

Dmitri gritted his teeth. As soon as he got a grip of himself once again, he sprinted forward. He disregarded the spear Han had hit him with and continued to run forward.

Bam!

Han's head spun. Dmitri had bulldozed him like a bear and headbutted him. It felt like something was ringing inside his head.

"A headbutt? This is weapon arts class, damn."

Han held onto his forehead and complained. The observing sergeants all laughed in amusement.

"Be careful, Han! Dmitri's father is a master of sambo. Ever since he could walk, he was taught sambo."

Russia's original martial art, Sambo, is similar to judo and wrestling combined.

"You heard that, Han? My sword isn't the only thing you should be wary of."

Han was not aware of sambo at all. It was the first time he heard such a thing existed.

He just categorized it as one of the many martial arts and increased his guard.

"Then will you kill dragons with sambo as well?"

Han said sarcastically. Dmitri laughed through his nose.

"If need be, I will strangle the dragon to death. Now, bring it."

Dmitri strongly shouted while gripping his hands into fists. Class B all shouted in cheers.

"Vladimir's son! Dmitri! Dmitri! Go! Son of the Siberian tiger!"
(t/n: 'son of a' in korean can be interpreted as cursing)

"I’ve told you to exclude, 'Son of the' "
Dmitri yelled while glaring at class B.

"You're only 12! So you're the son of a tiger! Great son!"

"Later, everyone prepare to die."

Class B and Dmitri were threatening each other, but underneath there was no evil intent.

Ever since Dmitri was made class B's president three months ago, class B's spirit had changed a lot. The sergeants highly regarded him for this talent.

Peng!

The wooden sword and the spear clashed once again. A crack formed in both their sword and spear.

"Hoooo!"

Dmitri cried out and slashed his sword once again. Han didn't let himself get phased by nonsensical distractions and calmly blocked.

'He has not had formal martial arts training before arriving to Ark, but it's amazing that he's an even match against Dmitri. Unbelievable.'

Han was quite famous among the sergeants.

"I'm curious how long you can take my attacks! President of class D!"

Dmitri yelled while working up a sweat. He put all of his strength onto this next move against Han.

Bbak!

The pole of Han's spear broke. At the same time Dmitri spread out his hand.

Martial artists well versed in Sambo have faster hands than others. He took hold of Han's neck and lifted him up into the air.

"This is the end! Han!"

Dmitri slammed Han onto the ground and followed up by grabbing his hand and snapping it backwards. It was a perfect combo joint attack.

"Ugh!"

Han's arm seared with intense pain. His bones and muscles felt as if they were screaming in agony.

"Give up before I break your arm!"

Dmitri shouted. The observing sergeants stood back wondering whether to restrain the match or not.

"Dmitri! Dmitri!"

Class B's cheers reverberated throughout the gymnasium. This had been Han's complete and utter loss.

"I'd like to see you try. Do you even have the nerves to do that, Dmitri?"

Han provoked Dmitri. Dmitri's face flushed red before instantly pulling at his arm. A horrifying sound broke through.
Ududuk

Han's arm broke. Han swallowed back yelps of pain.

"That's why I told you to give up, b***. This feels disgusting."

Dmitri dropped Han's broken hand and stood up. He assumed that this was the end.

Han took this chance to pounce on Dmitri from behind.

Pk!"

Han had taken his half-broken spear and struck directly onto Dmitri's head. The spear itself was very blunt, but the force had been strong.

"It seems that everyone you had sparred up until today has cried like little girls over a measly broken arm."

Dmitri couldn't hear what he had said because he had lost consciousness. Han's broken arm hung lifelessly. However, the winner had been Han.

Class B couldn't believe their eyes that Dmitri had lost and fell into silence. Immediately, class D erupted into cheers.

Before heading into the recovery ward, Dmitri yelled at Han.

"Coward!"

"Who told you to be careless?"

Han spoke flatly.

"Damn it!"

Dmitri and Han received treatment. Within just three days, all their injuries healed completely.

Through the three days, Dmitri and Han saw a lot of seniors. They looked like adults with burly muscles.

They had also come in with a body full of injuries.

Most of the time, they had come in completely bloody from head to toe with only a breath left in them. Han and Dmitri assumed that they had undergone intensive training of some sort.

"Starting your second year, everyone begins drug rehabilitation. It's probably the students who do not fully mature that cannot physically handle the harsh training drills."

Dmitri had a bigger build than his peers. However the seniors were much taller than any normal adult. The shortest of them were at minimum 180cm (5'9''), and the majority of them were over two meters tall.

Dmitri and Han had become friends during these days. Dmitri didn't dislike Han. Han also didn't have a reason to dislike Dmitri.

There was still the problem regarding Kuro, but Han could not continue to watch Kuro's back forever.

'If he can't look after himself, then that's the end for him.'

Kuro naturally had a soft personality. Han understood the goal of today's joint training. If one couldn't win, they should quit while they're ahead. No matter how unfair it was to be bullied, they must overcome it.

It had been three months since he became class president. Although he became class president quickly, it felt like a long duration for him.

"So you're the new transfers. I'm Han, the president of class D."

Han was no longer considered a transfer student.

A new batch of transfers had arrived. It was his turn to look after the new transfers now. He selected a new transfer as a spokesman to lead and gave them a short rundown.

A day before announcing promotions throughout Ark, the sergeants and teachers were in a conference. Usually, students would be promoted based on grades but there was a new agenda today.

"Let us promote Han in this batch of promotions."

"To class C?"

"No, class B is better. He has low psychic ability, but can keep up with the students of class A and B."

"Would the higher ups accept this? We saw and trained this student first hand, but all they will care about will be the document report on psychic analysis."

"Although his psychic abilities may be weak, he has too much potential for us to bury his talent."

Sergeant Red said.

"O-ho, Sergeant, didn't you dislike Han?"

"Not at all. I am rather fond of him."

"Sergeant Red, I didn't know you were a sadist."

"A soldier who can stand against a dragon is not a genius who has never experienced defeat. It is the man of steel who has overcome challenges and went forward.."

"Are you speaking based on experience?"

Sergeant Red stuck a cigar between his lips instead of replying. He lit the cigar.

"I've told you many times but this place is a no smoking zone, Sergeant."

Somebody said to Sergeant Red.