"Class, we have a new exchange student. Kobayashi Koji from Bluehaven-9. Make him feel welcome," Mrs. Wineburg announced.
Dozens of curious faces lifted.
"Koji, would you like to tell us anything about yourself?"
"No."
A flat, honest answer. A few students snickered.
Mrs. Wineburg clasped her hands. "Perfect timing, actually. Today everyone is showcasing their arts." Her tone warmed as she addressed the room.
The room leaned in.
"Moon Arts — what we teach here at Hallowcrest. Elemental mastery."
"Blood Moon Arts — outlawed. Mostly used by vampires."
"Chrono Arts — reality manipulation. Illegal. Usually used by criminals."
"And lastly, Neptune Arts. Found only in those from Bluehaven-9." She gestured to Koji. "A rare gift."
Silence thickened.
Then she clapped sharply."So—who's ready to slay a vampire?"
The class roared with excitement.
Except Lucas, whose eyes drifted toward the empty seat beside him.
Kell's seat.
...
Students rushed into groups—weapon users, Celestial artists, and the confused. Lucas headed to the Celestial artists.
"Alright, everyone!" Mrs. Wineburg called. "First-day groups back together for demonstrations. Stephanie and Ke—" A pause. "Just Stephanie. Please begin."
Stephanie froze.
Then she burst into tears and fled the room.
"Someone go get her!"
Lucas ran after her. She sat in the hallway, curled against the wall.
"Steph… are you okay?"
"No," she whispered, face streaked with tears.
Lucas tried comforting her—awkwardly—until June arrived and knelt beside her.
"What's wrong? You've been off all week."
"It's Kell…" Stephanie sobbed.
Lucas tensed.
"What happened to Kell?"
...
"1…2…3…"Lucas hammered through push-ups in the courtyard. Sweat dripped. Muscles burned. Since the night his mother died and his sister was taken, something inside him had awakened.
The system chimed:
[Regenerate: Full Vitality]
+25
+45
He felt OP.
Koji stepped beside him. "Do you need competition?"
Lucas wanted to scoff, but something about Koji simply radiated strength.
"Bluehaven-9 values competition," Koji said before jogging off—already finishing his seventh lap.
Lucas groaned. Of course he was that guy.
...
At lunch, Koji unpacked a perfectly organized, healthy meal. Lucas tore into cafeteria junk.
"Bluehaven-9 sounds amazing," Lucas muttered.
Koji nodded. "Cities floating on the ocean. Modified islands. Vampires a rarity. Some call it Oasiana BlueHeavenNine."
Lucas blinked. "Damn…"
After laps, Koji retreated to his dorm to paint. Lucas watched as a vast, abstract ocean flowed across the canvas—waves alive with memory.
"When I paint," Koji said, "it feels like fighting."
Lucas frowned. "Sometimes I feel like I don't see the bigger picture."
Koji's brush slowed."Do you know the rain?"
"Rain hasn't stopped since my father left," Lucas murmured.
Koji nodded. "Rain comes and goes. What matters is preventing it from making you sick."
Lucas dropped to the floor. "1…2…3…4…"
Koji continued painting."A painter never seeks the perfect line—only the courage to place a stroke that reveals the truth he's been carrying in silence."
Lucas felt that.
Later, in the showers, Koji held up a small bottle.
"This is Arabian Night Fang. Smells like Neo-Capri, the rich state. Girls like it."
Koji: quiet, strange, helpful, unpredictable.
Lucas: confused.
...
Mrs. Wineburg practically vibrated with excitement.
"You've all been waiting to kill a vampire, right?"
Training Room 0's iron door groaned open, revealing an elevator descending underground.
"Don't worry—they're restrained," she said with an unsettling smile.
Thirty-one students. Thirty-one vampires. Anyone who refused would be expelled. Could she even do that?
No one dared challenge her.
Lucas stepped forward when his name was called. Something inside him cracked open.
He lifted the blade—and beheaded the vampire cleanly.
A grimace tugged at his lips.
Then—
[Blood Art Activated: Blood Manipulation]
The corpse convulsed.
Not the vampire—the blood.
Dark crimson liquid floated from the body, forming star-shaped clusters in the air.
The room froze.
"Is the vampire alive?" Mrs. Wineburg gasped. "Lucas… are you doing that?"
Lucas blinked—and collapsed.
...
"Koji? Koji!"
A child's voice echoed in Lucas's dream.
He woke to Koji leaning over him.
"Lucas, you're awake."
June exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness."
Stephanie offered fruit with trembling hands. "I… brought snacks."
"How long was I out?" Lucas asked.
"Two days," Koji replied.
The system flickered:
[Hibernation Complete: 36 hours]
Koji lifted a canvas."I painted this."
Lucas stared.
It was him—surrounded by floating blood stars.
"Koji… this is incredible."
Every stroke whispered a story of loss.
A story of grief.
...
"Koji!!!"
The memory ripped into him.
The Koba Clan—slaughtered.
Not by strangers.
By one of their own.
Koji's little brother.
"Koji, I don't bite. Come out…"
A slash—Koji dissolved into paint.
"Damn clone," the vampire hissed.
The real Koji slipped out through a hidden hatch, only to be struck again—blood gushing.
"You're no match for me, big bro," his brother sneered.
"You killed our family!" Koji rasped.
"The Arc Fang set me free."
The flames roared violet and black.
"I won't kill you," his brother murmured. "The world needs more painters."
Then he vanished.
...
"Come back—I'm not done with you!"
Koji jolted awake on the couch, gripping a game controller. June laughed beside him. Lucas sipped water in bed. Stephanie sat quietly near his side.
A girl burst through the door. "Akimbo!!"
A cyborg third-year on the opposite of Lucas's bed glowed dangerously hot.
"Akimbo," she scolded, "you need a firmware update."
"The ISBC is in a month," she added. "We can't afford it!"
"ISBC?!" June gasped. "I love the ISBC!"
"Who are you?" the girl snapped.
"Kim Ha-Joon. ISBC Women's Champion."
"Never heard of you."
June's jaw twitched. "Can I join your team?"
"Why don't you compete, Kim Ha-Joon?"
"They won't recognize me, I was 6 before I retired..."
...
"What is Celestian Combination?"Mr. Knight lectured the class.
"We are all Godspawn—except vampires. Animals are forgiven by the gods. Humans… cursed and gifted with arts."
A student raised a hand. "Are vampires Godspawn too?"
"No. Something else created them. Two negatives don't make a positive. And yet 2 positives make a..."
...
Koji and Lucas watched June stretch while Angela prepared to fight.
[Blood Sick Psychosis]
ETA: 00:31:58
"Oh damn," Lucas muttered. "They're starting."
June threw the first punch.
Angela blocked easily and countered with a brutal blow—but June didn't even flinch.
"Moon Art: Third Law."
Newton's Third Law made real. June absorbed the force and sent it back as a devastating counter-punch.
Angela flew across the courtyard.
"I'm so sorry!" June called.
Angela stood, furious."Kim Ha-Joon—I'm going to END you!"
Akimbo stepped beside her.
Their hands linked.
Metal and Water.
Lithium and Water—a combustible fusion.
Power ignited.
"Oh no," June teased. "Someone's reactive today."
She grinned.
"Let's see if this thing blows."