Episode 4: No Matter How You Look at It, This Is Clearly a Superpower Story
“Within the Academy, a certain level of commotion is tolerated.”
It was such a baffling thing for a knight to say that Abel and Seria turned to look at each other almost simultaneously.
It didn’t make sense. These were knights belonging to the Empire, right? In situations like this, you’d expect them to say something like, “Any and all disturbances are strictly prohibited.”
But instead, they said disturbances were tolerated. And this was coming from one of the top educational institutions on the entire continent?
It was enough to make anyone tilt their head in confusion, but since they were being urged to board the carriage, they didn’t get the chance to ask.
“Lord Abel.”
Eventually, unable to contain her curiosity, Seria was the first to speak.
“What do you think that knight meant just now? That commotion is tolerated at the Academy? Do you think he just meant we shouldn’t worry too much because the atmosphere isn’t that strict?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure.”
It wasn’t entirely impossible. Sure, if the place they were going to was just a normal academy, that interpretation would make sense.
If you take the word “commotion” to mean minor disruptions or playful antics, then yes, it could just be reassurance.
But they were heading to the Continental Academy.
That was not a normal place.
It was a place meant to accommodate people with special powers.
To use such a term in that context?
‘…No way. It can’t be, right?’
A sudden possibility flashed through Abel’s mind.
What if the “commotion” the knight referred to wasn’t some euphemism or light joke to ease tension?
What if he literally meant real disturbances?
And what if that was actually allowed at the Continental Academy?
But then he immediately dismissed the thought. That couldn’t be.
These weren’t ordinary students. They were Ability Users gathered from all across the continent.
They were the future of their respective nations—valuable human resources.
If anything were to happen to them, the situation would escalate far beyond a few diplomatic remarks.
“Or maybe he just meant harmless pranks between students might be overlooked a few times?”
“That could be the case.”
“Right? That seems more likely.”
Seria seemed satisfied with that answer and moved on, but Abel couldn’t shake off the feeling.
And soon, he would once again be reminded—this world was, without a doubt, a superpower story.
***
“Please disembark here. Your personal luggage will be sent directly to your assigned dormitories.”
Hearing the coachman’s words, Abel pulled out his outerwear and a few essential items to keep with him.
As he strapped his sword to the back of his waist, Seria, who had already gotten off the carriage, suddenly gasped in awe.
“Woooow…!”
A spectacle.
That one word perfectly described the scene before their eyes—no more, no less.
Some might imagine an academy as just a few educational buildings, but this was different.
It was the Continental Academy—the place where Ability Users from all nations gathered.
If such a place were made up of just a handful of buildings, that would be the true impossibility.
This was an entire city.
A separate, self-contained world built solely for Ability Users.
A paradise for those chosen by the gods—a sanctuary for those blessed with gifts.
The most beautiful and perfect world in history, created just for them.
It was, quite literally, an island on land.
“Look, Lord Abel! All of that over there—that’s the Academy! Everything you can see!”
“No, Seria. That’s just a small fragment of where we’ll be living. It’s merely the entrance of the Continental Academy, just a tiny portion of this enormous district.”
“Seriously?!”
“They say it’s even larger than a duchy of the Empire. There’s a reason this entire area was designated as a special zone.”
It was truly Impressive.
Abel, though not as expressive as Seria, found himself letting out quiet gasps of admiration.
Even just his home territory, which was one of the most advanced regions in the kingdom, now felt dull—almost pitiful in comparison.
“Suddenly, I’m nervous again… Do you think I’ll do okay?”
“Of course. First, we need to check in as new students, so let’s head insi—”
Abel’s words were cut off.
“Lord Abel? Why did you suddenly stop—ahhhh?!”
What is this? What the heck is going on? Seriously, what is happening?
‘Why is Lord Abel holding me right now?!’
At first, I thought I was dreaming.
But no—it couldn’t be a dream. My head is too hot. My eyes, my nose, my ears—everything’s burning.
My entire body just suddenly feels like it’s on fire.
CRACK!
If it hadn’t been for the sharp shattering sound…
If she hadn’t seen the shards of ice breaking and scattering in midair…
Seria might have stayed frozen on the spot, completely unable to move.
“Miss Seria, are you all right?”
At first, Abel thought he was seeing things.
He figured the sunlight was just unusually strong today and that it was glinting off something.
But then he realized that wasn’t the case.
When he saw that the flash of light had come from a spear made of ice, he immediately pulled Seria close and retreated from its path.
‘There’s a follow-up attack.’
If it had just been one spear, he could have written it off as someone’s mistake.
But once it became two, it was clear—it was intentional.
Since Seria was still in his arms, it was awkward for Abel to draw his sword.
So instead, he dodged the second spear with enough space to maneuver, then, as the shaft passed by, he struck it with his fist.
“Miss Seria, are you hurt?”
“N-No, I’m okay. I’m really okay.”
After steadying Seria, Abel clenched and unclenched his hand, calmly analyzing the situation.
This wasn’t a weapon made of steel or wood.
The feeling when he struck it, the sound it made when it shattered, and the shards now melting at their feet—this was a weapon created through ability.
Judging by its nature, it had to be the work of an Ice-type Ability User.
That much wasn’t hard to figure out.
The real issue was what came next.
This kind of action could have easily led to injuries.
Judging by the angle, it wasn’t meant to kill, but it was clearly meant to harm.
“Wow. Not only did he dodge it, but he even blocked it? These new first-years are something else.”
“Told you—the class rep said this batch of freshmen are above expectations.”
The ones answering Abel’s unspoken question were two students casually strolling toward them.
Judging from their use of “freshman” and “class rep,” they were at least second-years.
In other words, seniors to Abel and Seria.
Now that Abel knew who they were, everything suddenly made sense.
This was—
“Welcome, freshmen! Welcome to the Continental Academy. Sure, Our initiation was a bit rough, but hey, this is the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with daily here.”
“We all went through it too, so don’t take it personally. Give it a year, and you’ll be doing the exact same thing to the next batch.”
Right. It was that damn initiation ritual you see in every school setting.
Considering this wasn’t a normal academy—heck, not even a normal world—
What those seniors just did might’ve been dangerous… but not entirely unacceptable.
Just like those seniors, Abel and Seria were also ability users.
Their talent had already been verified by the examiners.
Seria had just been too distracted by sightseeing to notice.
If she’d paid a little more attention, she would’ve sensed the incoming manifestation in time.
Even if she couldn’t block it, dodging it wouldn’t have been too hard. The trajectory was clear enough.
‘…That’s the logical perspective.’
But people are emotional beings.
The only species that explains all of its actions through feelings.
Abel understood that this was something like a tradition at the academy.
He understood that there was no real malice behind it.
But so what?
Even if it’s just an initiation, is it really okay to go, “Ah, I see. Makes sense,” and move on?
Anyone on the receiving end would be upset.
It’s just that as freshmen, it’s hard to talk back to seniors, so everyone forces themselves to act like it’s no big deal.
“…Heh.”
Abel laughed. Not because he wanted to.
It was a laugh that slipped out despite himself—he couldn’t hold it in.
‘So this is how things are going to be, huh? That’s actually kind of a relief.
I was wondering how this fantasy-flavored world worked. But yeah… this is how a typical superpower story plays out, isn’t it?’
One of the rules he’d read on the way here came to mind:
Rule #1: At the Academy, your school year takes precedence over age or social status.
“…Uh, hey. Wait a sec. Isn’t that freshman’s look a little off?”
“Hey, freshman? It was just a welcome thing, so take it easy…
H-Hey! Put the sword away! UWAHH—?!”
And Academy Rule #2:
Sometimes, talent can take precedence over grade level.
Why do we treat seniors as seniors? Because they enrolled earlier? Because they’ve been around longer?
No way. This isn’t the kind of place where status is decided by how long you’ve kept a seat warm.
It’s because they’ve learned more, trained more, and therefore, have greater skill and precision in using their abilities.
Because they are stronger and more capable than freshmen, they are treated as seniors.
Which also means—
If there’s a significant gap in skill, then the senior-junior relationship can be overturned at any time.
“Thank you so much for the welcome ritual, seniors. In that spirit, I’d like to offer my thanks properly— So would you mind stopping right there for a moment?”
“Damn it! We told you it was just an initiation! You should learn to take a joke, freshman!”
“It is a joke. So why don’t you take it like one?”
“You’ve got eyes like you’re ready to kill someone and you still say it’s a joke?!”
The sword Abel swung cleanly sliced through the ice barrier.
The surrounding ice didn’t even crack.
That meant it was a perfect, clean cut—no waste, no excess motion.
Realizing that, the second-years panicked even more and tried to stop him.
But it was pointless.
Even when several ice spears flew his way, even when thicker and taller walls of ice rose to block him, Abel destroyed everything in his path—breaking, slashing, and closing the distance.
In a normal world, this would be considered unacceptable.
Seniority and respect are important, no matter where you are.
A junior attacking their senior just because they’re angry? That kind of thing could cause a lot of trouble later.
Even so, Abel wasn’t worried in the slightest.
In fact, he felt more certain than ever that this was the right thing to do here.
‘This is an ability-user world.’
A meritocratic world.
There’s no need to pretend to be weak here, right?’
He’d always imagined worlds like this.
Worlds where he could rise to the top. Be the strongest.
Even if he couldn’t reach the very summit, he wanted to at least be a contender.
That’s why he’d worked so hard since childhood, sweating blood and tears, and finally awakened.
“This is insane! Is that body enhancement?! How is he this fast?!”
“Freshman! Wait! Is this because of the girlfriend thing?
If that’s it, then we’re sorry! We really are! We messed up, okay?! So let’s just stop—AAARGH!”
Girlfriend? What the hell are these bastards talking about?
To a guy who’s never even held hands? You trying to get killed or what?
“It’s too late! That guy’s totally gone berserk!”
Abel planted both feet on the ground, then exploded forward like a bullet.
Just like the seniors, he wasn’t aiming to kill.
If they had the skill, they could dodge or block him.
But they wouldn’t.
In stories like this, the ones who get wrecked during initiation rituals are always just average guys.
CHANG!
With a powerful arc, Abel’s sword suddenly stopped mid-air.
It wasn’t by his own will.
He’d only planned to smack them with the flat of the blade—just enough to hurt without killing.
“How about we stop being rude to our seniors now… classmate?”
What blocked Abel’s sword wasn’t steel or ice.
It was pure, writhing blackness—like a shadow made solid.
Hard to say if it was a sword or a club. It didn’t really matter.
“I get that you’re skilled, but this kind of behavior will leave a bad impression about our entire freshman class. It’ll affect our peers too, so why don’t we put an end to it here?”
A very handsome blond man stepped in, exuding grace and nobility he couldn’t possibly hide.
His refined way of speaking, and the way he spoke casually despite Abel’s strength, made his identity clear.
“At the Continental Academy, the relationship between juniors and seniors is very important. Especially—”
“Lord Abel!!”
Huff! Huff!
Seria finally made it to Abel’s side, breath ragged with excitement.
The sunlight shining down on her pink hair only made her look even more radiant.
The blond man’s eyes met Seria’s.
Abel didn’t think much of it, but the same couldn’t be said for the blond.
“…Ahem. Hrm!”
Very, very different reactions.
“Seniors… even so, I do think it’s improper to treat a beautiful lady with such violent behavior.”
Suddenly turning red and changing his tone, the blond man left both Abel and Seria tilting their heads in unison.
‘What’s with this guy?’
‘Who is this person?’