Luna shot up from her bed, breathing fast.
A moment ago she had fallen on Julian—their faces close enough to feel each other's breath—
and right when their lips were about to meet…
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Her alarm destroyed the moment.
Luna groaned, burying her face in a pillow.
"What kind of dream was that…? It felt so real…"
She hugged the teddy bear beside her and then jolted upright.
"Wait—today is the special mission! I'm going to be late!"
---
Training Grounds
The scene shifted to the training grounds where Julian was dripping in sweat.
Pushups. Pull-ups. Sword swings.
He repeated each movement with absolute focus.
A faint purple arc sliced the air.
Julian grinned.
"Cosmic Slash… at least I can use one move now."
Nami ran toward him, waving both hands.
"Julian! Come on! We'll be late for the mission!"
"Oh—right. I'm coming. Where's Yin?"
"He got assigned somewhere else today."
Julian nodded and picked up his sword.
"Alright, I was just warming up anyway. Let's go."
As they walked—
Nami smirked.
"So… will you be happy if Luna is assigned with us?"
Julian nearly tripped.
"W–Why are you bringing that up now? But… yeah. I'd be happy. I like her."
Nami placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then treat her right. A real man respects his woman. And because women like strong men."
Julian chuckled.
"I'll become strong… but not for that. To protect everyone."
---
Field No. 5 — Unexpected Faces
When they reached field no.5, two figures were already there a boy with icy blue eyes and a girl with long silky hair.
Nami squinted.
"Is that Luna?"
"No," Julian answered instantly.
"How do you know from so far away?"
"She's have completely different aura from Luna."
As they came closer—
Nami groaned.
"Ugh. I lost… they're—"
"Cats. The Paxley family," Julian finished.
Zan snapped his head toward them.
"Huh? Who are you calling cats?"
Emily smiled sweetly.
"Ignore him, brother. They're joking."
(Emily, internally: So that boy is Julian… he's kinda handsome.)
Before things got awkward, Nami whispered,
"So Luna isn't in our team…"
Julian sighed.
"Yeah… I kinda feel bad."
Emily stepped closer to Julian, brushing her hair behind her shoulder.
"Hello… Julian, right? Want to hang out tonight?"
Before Julian could respond—
A familiar presence arrived behind them.
Luna.
She immediately pulled Emily's hand off Julian's arm.
"We're here to train. What are you doing?"
Her voice trembled with jealousy.
Emily leaned toward her ear.
"Oho? Jealous?"
"N-No! Why would I be jealous?!" Luna snapped.
Emily shrugged casually.
"I was just asking him for help. And why does it matter? You're not part of team five."
Luna frowned.
"What are you talking about? I am in team five."
Just then, Eto arrived.
---
The Truth of the Special Mission
"Let me explain," Eto said.
"There is no special mission yet. I only told you that so you all would give your best in the trials."
And Luna is in our team.
Emily: Why we are already a team of four.
Eto:I don't know ask the higher ups
Emily: Ahhh ok
Nami threw his hands up.
"So even if we didn't come first, it was fine?!"
"No," Eto corrected.
"The ranking helps us evaluate your strength for future missions."
Nami puffed his chest.
"So we're the strongest?"
Eto stared blankly.
"You are the fifth. Out of five."
Julian blinked.
"Then… who is first?"
Zan answered.
"Noctis Voidborn."
Nami's jaw dropped.
"Voidborn… I've heard that name."
Julian nodded.
"Astraeus Voidborn. One of the strongest fighters in history."
Zan smirked.
"Yeah. He single-handedly killed a million NC once."
---
Training for Space Combat
Eto clapped his hands.
"Enough talking. For the next seven days you will learn how to fight in space."
Julian stiffened.
"In space?"
"Yes," Eto said.
"You must form a Somatic KI Envelope—SKE. It's a layer of KI around your body that lets you survive in low-oxygen and radiation zones."
Nami shivered.
"Sounds scary…"
"It is," Eto replied calmly.
"SKE drains KI very quickly, so control is everything."
He led them into a low-oxygen chamber.
"Everyone, release your KI and try to wrap it around your body."
Zan went first.
His KI surged—
then crashed, leaving him exhausted.
"KI drains faster here," Eto warned.
Luna tried next.
She held the SKE for ten seconds.
"Impressive," Eto said.
Nami and Emily lasted seven seconds.
Then Eto looked at Julian.
"Your turn."
Julian inhaled deeply, released his KI—
…and collapsed at two seconds.
Eto blinked.
"Only two? But your KI is higher than most here…"
Julian shrugged weakly.
"Yeah… I don't know why."
Eto sighed.
"You'll train here all day. After that, come take your room keys."
He left them to practice.
Julian walked to Luna.
"Luna… can you help me control my KI?"
She smiled softly.
"Of course. I'll teach you."
Emily immediately interfered.
"Julian! Come train with me!"
Julian shook his head.
"I'm fine. Luna's already helping me."
Emily glared.
"Tch! You big breast lover!"
Julian choked.
"WHAT—?! It's not like that!"
Luna's face turned red.
---
Training — Nightfall
By night, Julian managed to hold SKE for four seconds.
"See?" Luna said gently.
"You're improving."
Julian sighed.
"Four seconds is embarrassing…"
They left the room after getting their key cards.
On the way to their dorms, a tall man walked past them—
an aura so intense it made the air vibrate.
Julian whispered,
"Who's that…?"
"Noctis," Luna replied.
Julian's eyes widened.
"So that's him… he's tall. And cool."
Luna muttered,
"You too…"
"Huh?"
"…Nothing! I'm going to bed."
Their rooms were next to each other.
"Goodnight," Luna said.
"Yeah. Goodnight."
---
Luna's Room — Memories
After bathing, Luna lay on her bed.
She stared at the wall separating her room from Julian's.
"Just one wall…" she whispered.
Her mind drifted to the first day she met Julian—
---
Flashback — Years Ago
A twelve-year-old Luna sat crying beside a tree, lost and scared.
A boy walked up to her and offered a stick of Pocky.
"Don't cry. Here. Eat this."
Luna sniffed.
"What's your name?"
"Julian. I was just walking around."
She wiped her tears.
"My name is—"
Before she could finish, two strange men approached.
"Hey kids… want some chocolate?"
Julian grabbed Luna's wrist.
"Nope! We're good!"
He dragged her away.
The men chased them, but Julian threw sand at their faces and led Luna into a forest.
They sat under a tree, panting.
Luna clung to his arm,scared.
Julian stood, confidence blazing.
"One day I'll become so strong that no one can defeat me."
Luna giggled.
"Why are you laughing?"
"No reason… You're just… a good person."
Her bodyguards eventually found them and returned them home.
Luna: That day i can't tell my name to him.
---
Present Day
Luna fell asleep hugging her pillow.
---
Two Days Later — Mission Briefing
After two days of SKE training, Eto entered the room.
"Everyone now lasts around ten minutes. Except Julian—five minutes."
Julian rubbed his head.
"Sorry…"
Eto continued,
"Your first real mission begins today."
Nami pumped his fist.
"Finally!"
"A small dungeon has been detected in space," Eto explained.
"It's surrounded by NC. You must defeat the ones outside within ten minutes—your SKE limit."
Nami gulped.
"And inside…?"
"Inside the dungeon, there is oxygen. Only Julian needs to be careful—your limit is five minutes at best."
Julian clenched his fists.
"Got it."
Eto looked at all of them.
"Prepare yourselves. At 5 PM, you depart."
Julian exhaled.
"(Finally… a real mission.)"