"They’re just as important," Mr. Halden said, serious now. "Tracking. Healing. Buffing. Recon. These are real tools in a team. Don’t think it’s all about blowing stuff up."
His gaze swept across the room.
"This isn’t a solo competition. You win or fail together."
Ethan exhaled slightly, letting the words settle.
He wasn’t nervous. He had a feeling he’d be fine.
But he also knew that, given his strength, the chances of him being the main damage dealer might be high.
So he would most likely end up teamed with a full support team—or at least something close to it.
He had also considered the chances of being paired with Evelyn and Everly, which would be nice, but... with the three of them being the only S-ranked students in the class, that wasn’t likely. They’d be spread out for balance.
Again.
The room started to buzz as tension broke. People whispered guesses about team combinations.
Some tried to sneak a look at the projected training map, while others leaned back in their chairs and sighed.
Ethan stayed in his seat, casually resting one elbow on his desk and keeping quiet until he felt a presence beside him.
Actually—two.
Before he could fully register it, Everly slipped into the open seat to his left, her usual smile already in place.
Evelyn leaned on the edge of his desk from the right, soft-spoken but close enough that her hair brushed his shoulder.
"You heard him," Everly said, eyes playful. "Random teams. Four per group."
Ethan gave her a look. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said, tilting her head. "Wouldn’t it be fun if we were in the same group?"
Evelyn nodded slightly. "We already work well together."
Everly giggled. "We’d win. Like, easily."
Ethan smirked but shook his head. "You know they probably won’t let that happen, all three of us on one team? That’s overkill."
"They haven’t said no yet," Everly teased.
"We can hope," Evelyn added softly.
The three of them talked quietly, but it didn’t go unnoticed.
Almost every student in the class kept stealing glances their way.
Some tried to play it off by stretching or yawning in their direction.
Others didn’t bother hiding their looks at all.
It was clear what everyone was thinking.
Anyone teamed with one of the Moonshade twins had a high chance of surviving the exam.
And Ethan? He was already considered the wild card. The guy who beat Lucas without breaking a sweat. The one who made beating an A-rank superpower user look easy.
Together, the three of them were practically untouchable.
So naturally, everyone wanted a piece of that safety net.
A few students whispered to each other in the back corner.
"Imagine if I get paired with Everly," one guy said, sounding half-dreamy, half-panicked. "She could carry us all."
"I’ll take Evelyn," another muttered. "She’s calm. Doesn’t talk much. Less scary."
"And Ethan?"
They didn’t say it out loud.
They just looked over at him, then looked away quickly when he caught them.
He didn’t care.
It wasn’t like he wanted attention.
But at the same time, it was too late to avoid it.
At the very back of the room, sitting by herself near the rear door that led to the outer hallway, a quiet girl with long black hair peeked up from behind her notebook.
She looked small. Not physically—just in the way she carried herself. Head low. Shoulders hunched. Trying not to be noticed.
Her eyes, however, were fixed on the trio.
Specifically, Ethan.
Her lips moved slightly, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Is that the person... my brother told me never to talk to? But why...?"
No one heard her.
She didn’t expect anyone to.
But the hairpin in her dark, silky bangs pulsed faintly. Soft blue light shimmered across its surface before vanishing.
A bubble-like shield wrapped around her body for a moment—almost invisible—then settled quietly again.
The girl didn’t notice, and even if she did, she wouldn’t care as this was something her brother gave to her.
She just stared, her brows furrowing with quiet confusion.
At the front of the classroom, Mr. Halden looked up from his tablet again and clapped once.
"Alright, that’s all for now. You’ll get your team assignments by Friday. Use your time wisely. Map review is open online.
There are sample missions posted too—run through them if you want to get familiar with objectives."
He glanced across the room one last time, eyes lingering briefly on Ethan and the twins.
"Dismissed."
The bell hadn’t rung yet, but that didn’t matter. Everyone knew the conversation part of the class was over.
Students got up slowly. Some lingered near their desks. Others packed up early and started whispering about forming unofficial study groups.
A few brave ones drifted toward Evelyn and Everly—but they didn’t stay long.
The girls were too close to Ethan.
And no one really wanted to interrupt that.
As the chatter grew, Ethan stood, stretching his arms above his head. His hoodie shifted, showing a glimpse of his toned waistline. A few girls who had been pretending not to look... definitely noticed.
Evelyn quietly gathered her things but didn’t move away from his side.
Everly smiled like she’d just won a prize, still chatting away as she leaned into his shoulder.
"So," she said. "Any predictions? Think we’ll get lucky?"
"Luck doesn’t have much to do with it," Ethan said. "But yeah... would be nice."
Someone near the front of the class gave a loud, fake cough—clearly annoyed by the attention the three of them were getting.
Ethan ignored it.
Evelyn did, too.
Everly, however, leaned in a little more and whispered, "Jealousy looks so ugly in the morning."
Ethan chuckled under his breath.
As they made their way to the door, the shy girl in the back didn’t move.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her notebook.
Her eyes followed them.
And even though she didn’t know why...
She couldn’t look away.
The protective shimmer over her body pulsed again—just once—like it had sensed something.
But no one noticed.
Not even her.
Ethan stepped out into the hall with the twins still beside him, his presence drawing attention from passing students.
Whispers followed.
Some loud.
Some hushed.
But Ethan didn’t react to any of it.
His thoughts were already moving forward—to the simulation—the trial.
The unknown teammates, but still, he can’t wait as he will get to use his powers again, and that is enough for him, for now at least.