Weak Class of Anti-Hero
Chapter 29: Aquakinesis and a Decaying Island

Chapter 29: Aquakinesis and a Decaying Island

"It’s just rumors for now," I said, to end the conversation. I didn’t want Min-Soo digging too deep. It was information that was too dangerous.

Bora nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! But it’s a super cool rumor! Imagine, another dimension!"

Just then, a bell rang across the campus. A second later, our terminals vibrated at the same time.

A notification appeared on our screens.

[MANDATORY CLASS NOTIFICATION]

[Course: Group Field Strategy]

[Class: All C-Rank Students]

[Time: Immediately]

[Description: This practical course will teach students the basics of team strategy and survival during a mission. Attendance is mandatory. Sports attire required.]

[Assigned Professor: Coach Hwan]

[Instructions: A bus is waiting for all C-rank students in front of the Beta building. It will drop you off near the academy lake to reach an isolated island used as a training ground.]

Min-Soo sighed. "Surprise class. I love it when they do that."

Bora, on the other hand, jumped to her feet, full of energy. "Ooh! A strategy course! This is going to be great! We’ll team up, right?"

She looked at us, Min-Soo and me, with big, hopeful eyes.

Coach Hwan. He was the combat course teacher. The man with the scar.

This wouldn’t be a simple walk in the woods.

"Looks like we don’t have a choice," I said, getting up. "Let’s go."

We hurried down from the roof. We went to our respective rooms to put on our sports attire. Mine was the academy’s standard outfit, black with gray stripes. Simple and functional.

When we arrived in front of the Beta building, about fifty C-rank students were already there, getting on a large bus.

I recognized a few faces from the combat course. Some looked at me with respect, others with obvious fear. Lee Jin-Hyuk wasn’t there. He had probably been transferred to a support class after losing his power.

Bora pulled us by the sleeve, Min-Soo and me, to find seats together at the back of the bus. Her energy was contagious, even if I tried not to show it.

The bus started, driving across the campus towards a part I didn’t know. A wilder, less maintained area.

We arrived at the edge of a huge lake. The water was dark and calm, and in the middle, about a kilometer away, was a large island covered with a dense forest.

Coach Hwan was waiting for us on the shore. He was wearing military combat gear, and his expression was even more serious than usual.

"Get off! Line up!" he barked.

We all lined up on the pebble beach.

"Welcome to the Strategy course," he said, his voice carrying over the entire group. "Your first test starts now."

He pointed to the island in the distance.

"Your goal is to cross this lake and reach the center of the island. There’s a flag there. The first team of three to bring back the flag wins the maximum points for this course."

A student raised his hand. "Sir, how do we cross? There are no boats."

Coach Hwan gave a sadistic smile.

"That’s your first strategy exercise. Find a way. You are allowed to use your powers. You have one hour. Begin!"

And he crossed his arms, watching us like a general sending his troops on an impossible mission.

While the other students started to panic, hastily forming groups and shouting stupid ideas, I turned to Min-Soo and Bora.

"We’re a team," I said. It wasn’t a question.

Bora nodded with a big smile. "Obviously! The best team!"

Min-Soo, on the other hand, was looking at the distance, looking thoughtful. "A kilometer of water... Some will try to freeze a path. Others, to create bridges of earth. But that will take too much time and Aura. We have to find a faster solution."

"Don’t worry about that," I said, confidently.

I looked at them both. "Crossing the lake is child’s play."

Min-Soo looked at me, surprised. "What do you mean? Your power is your dagger, right? I don’t see how it can help us cross a lake."

I gave a small smile. It was time to reveal one of my new cards.

"My dagger has a... special ability. When I injure an enemy, I can absorb a part of their essence and temporarily copy or sometimes even permanently acquire their powers."

I thought back to the siren in the underground oasis.

"During my last mission, I acquired an aquakinesis ability."

Min-Soo’s eyes widened behind his glasses. The analyst in him was overheating. "Acquire powers... permanently? That’s... that’s an S-rank power, at the very least! It changes everything!"_{fre ewebno(v)e\l.(c)om}

Bora, on the other hand, had stars in her eyes. "Wow! That’s so cool! You’re like a superhero who can do everything!"

I looked at the lake. "Less talk, more action. The other groups are almost ready."

Sure enough, the other teams were gathering on the shore, ready to launch. One group was trying to build a makeshift raft. Another was concentrating its energy for an ice attack.

We approached the water.

"Stay close to me," I ordered.

Coach Hwan looked at his watch. He raised his arm.

"Ready? Go!"

The race began.

At the coach’s signal, chaos erupted on the shore.

I, on the other hand, remained calm. I put one foot on the water. Instead of sinking, my foot held, as if I were walking on glass. I had made the surface of the water solid, tangible, just below us.

Bora and Min-Soo looked at me, astonished.

"Get on," I said.

They put one foot, then the other, hesitantly, then with growing confidence. We were all three standing on the water.

"Hold on tight," I warned.

I reached out to the water behind us. I felt an immense connection with the lake. I pulled.

A huge wave rose from the water, as high as a wall. It didn’t crash. It waited for my orders.

I pushed it.

The wave propelled us forward, like a surfboard on a breaker. We were gliding on the water at incredible speed.

On the shore, Coach Hwan widened his eyes, completely shocked.

The other teams were far behind. Some, who didn’t have a suitable power, were swimming across, struggling in the cold water. Another group, smarter, had a leader with a creation spell. He had conjured a fast canoe and they were rowing with all their might.

I smiled.

From afar, I just made a small gesture with my hand. The water around their canoe became thick, like molasses, slowing their progress. They started rowing with much more difficulty, without understanding why.

In just a few minutes, we reached the beach of the island. We were the first, and by far.

We ran into the forest and found the flag, planted on top of a small hill. I took out my terminal, took a picture of the flag and sent it to Coach Hwan, as proof.

Immediately, our terminals vibrated.

[Objective 1 achieved. Team Gamma-7 (Kang, Lee, Park) finished first.]

[Reward: Domination Bracelet (Gold)]

[New objective: Eliminate the other teams or survive until the end of the allotted time.]

We now had a considerable lead. We dominated the other teams.

"Domination Bracelet? Eliminate the other teams?" said Bora, reading the notification. "Looks like it’s becoming a battle royale!"

"The bracelet probably gives us an advantage," analyzed Min-Soo. "We should go back to the shore to wait for the other teams and discover the exact rules of this new objective."

He was right. We went down the hill and posted ourselves at the edge of the forest, observing the beach.

Silence fell again, only disturbed by the distant noise of the other teams struggling to cross the lake.

We had time.

My gaze swept over the island. It was a normal forest on the surface, but I sensed something strange. Something I hadn’t noticed when I arrived.

Thanks to my father’s training, my perception of Aura had become more refined. And the Aura of this island was... weird.

It wasn’t pure and vibrant like that of the Bukhansan forest. Nor was it corrupted and malevolent like that of the breach.

It was a gray Aura. Dead. Like shit.

It was a feeling of emptiness, of despair. As if all life and energy had been sucked out of this place a long time ago, leaving only an empty shell.

"There’s something wrong with this island," I murmured, more to myself than to the others.

"What do you mean?" asked Bora.

"The Aura," I said. "It’s... dead. Something happened here. Something bad."

Min-Soo took out his terminal and started searching the academy archives. "That’s strange. The island is classified as ’Level 1 Training Ground’. No mention of any incident or anomaly."

Meanwhile, the first teams were finally starting to arrive on the beach, exhausted and soaked.

The game was about to begin. But my gut told me that the real danger of this island wasn’t the other students. It was the island itself.