The maniacal peal of laughter from Shelby snapped Zane to full attention.
"I found it!" Shelby declared, eyes gleaming.
The curiosity etched across Zane's face seemed to please him.
"Step aside!" he barked, moving faster than Zane could register.
Lightning crackled to life in his palm—a sizzling mass of white-hot energy, crackling with static and fury.
"Lightning magic!" Zane murmured, instinctively taking a few steps back.
With a swift motion, Shelby slammed his palm to the ground.
BOOM!
A loud bang tore through the silence, ringing painfully in Zane's ears.
He winced, already regretting not staying farther back.
"Divine Radiance—Luminous Step!"
Zane's body blurred as he moved, leaving a trail of glowing motes in his wake like falling stars.
Zane shielded his face, coughing slightly. When he looked up, the dust was beginning to settle.
What emerged from the dispersing cloud made his eyes widen—
A massive white stone slab, half-buried in the earth, now lay fully revealed.
It was carved with intricate designs, arcane patterns, and sigils of strange beasts—creatures Zane had only ever seen in fable books and myths.
"What are you waiting for? We don't have much time. Get your ass over here," Shelby barked.
Without hesitation, Zane activated his movement skill. His figure blurred, leaving a trail of luminous motes as he flickered and appeared beside Shelby.
He didn't say a word. There was no need—only curiosity burned in his eyes.
"Get ready for a bumpy ride, kid," Shelby said, grinning wide as he thrust his lightning-covered palm into the center of the slab's carved designs.
Crack!
A brilliant arc of white lightning exploded across the stone, racing through the patterns and runes.
Zane was struck too.
There was no pain—only a strange numbing sensation crawling across his skin. He found himself frozen, completely immobilized.
Still, he didn't panic.
For one, he could tell the lightning was under Shelby's control.
And two—the System inside him would have warned him if anything truly harmful approached.
Rooted to the spot, Zane could only watch.
As the lightning poured into the stone slab, he noticed something—
The intensity of the arcs was slowly decreasing, as though the slab was absorbing the magical energy, awakening something hidden deep within.
Then—
The ground shuddered.
Pillars, beams, and slabs began to erupt and expand, growing outward from the central stone as if an invisible hand was constructing a building before his very eyes.
The growth was chaotic—the floor jerked upward, then dropped, then shifted sideways, throwing off any sense of balance.
The abrupt, uneven movements left Zane nauseous, a wave of dizziness crashing over him.
He clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to vomit.
Noticing his pale face, Shelby burst out laughing.
"What? You can't even handle this much?" he mocked, voice dripping with amusement.
"And you wanna become a hero? Kid, my best advice—" Shelby smirked, "—is to find yourself a nice desk job after graduation."
There was a clear challenge hidden beneath the teasing tone.
Zane stiffened.
Even after enduring a mountain of discrimination, he still wasn't ready for this kind of provocation. His blood boiled.
With red, teary eyes, he scowled fiercely.
"Desk job? If it's a desk job I wanted, I wouldn't even step a foot near the Academy Branch!" he snapped.
"I've already made my decision—and my conscience is still clear as day. Nothing can change my mind. Not you. Not that rag-tag bastard who cursed my and Grandma's life. I'll end him with my own two hands. That's my ambition for joining the Hero Academy."
Shelby blinked, the grin slipping off his face.
He had only meant to tease the kid a little—he hadn't expected this explosion of raw determination.
In Zane's eyes, he saw it—an unyielding spirit burning bright.
"Revenge, huh?" Shelby said after a moment.
"So you're joining the Hero Academy just to take revenge on your father?"
He shook his head slowly, lightning still crackling at his fingertips.
"Kid, that fire you're carrying—it's dangerous. If you let it get out of hand, it'll burn you too. And everyone you care about. That's the price for walking down that path."
He let out a long breath, voice softer now, almost regretful.
"In my experience, I've met enough people fueled by that same anger. You wanna know what happened to them?"
Zane stood silent, overwhelmed by emotion, clenching his fists until they shook.
Shelby continued, "They all met fates worse than death. Some lost themselves to obsession and became the very monsters they hated. Some ended up in supermax correction facilities, their lives wasted. Some... just disappeared."
He narrowed his eyes, his tone almost pleading now.
"And you—you're my junior, from the same damn town. I'm telling you: calm your mind. Channel that anger into something else. Otherwise, you'll lose sight of the world—and of yourself."
Zane lifted his head, his expression fierce and unflinching.
"Revenge?" he sneered. "You're wrong, Mr. Shelby. I don't seek some fancy word like that. I'm a hero—and he's a super-villain.
Ending him isn't revenge. It's retribution. It's karma.
It's doing the world a favor."
Shelby stared at him for a long moment.
"Sure, sure," he finally said, forcing a chuckle while still channeling lightning into the slab. "If you really keep it that way, maybe there's a remarkable path waiting for you."
But deep inside, he couldn't stop pondering the weight of the words that had come from a boy far too young to carry them.
Retribution. Karma.
What an overloaded sense of responsibility for someone his age, Shelby thought grimly.
So that's how your mind works, huh? Truly unique... but also truly dangerous.
At that moment, the shifting, grinding noises around them finally ceased.
The growths along the walls and floor halted, and silence descended.
Zane looked around. They now stood inside a vast hall made entirely of ancient, worn bricks.
"Mr. Shelby," Zane asked cautiously, "is this... the temple?"
Shelby grinned.
"Yeah. You're witnessing the existence of that damn organization—" he caught himself mid-sentence and chuckled, clapping his palm against his chest like a good Catholic in mock repentance.
"Bless my soul, slipped my tongue there."
He then continued more seriously,
"Registration through this Temple is... rare. No—super rare. Happens only in exceptional cases like ours."
Zane's brows furrowed. "But you said there's still a hurdle left?"
"There is," Shelby confirmed, his tone darkening.
"There's a complementary test that comes with the registration. Mandatory. No exceptions."
He gave Zane a pointed look.
"But if you pass, there's perks. Big ones. You'll be one ticket away from recruitment into that organization. Plus..."
Shelby smirked knowingly, "No one will ever dare look down on you for being your father's son. Most people won't know. But the powerful ones—the ones at the very top? They'll know. And they'll know they can't mess with you."
Zane straightened his back. "I'm ready."
"Wait! Don't rush yet."
Shelby raised a finger and pointed at the walls around them.
"This temple... it's a maze. We're in one of a thousand rooms. Your task?
Find the registration room. Somewhere deep inside."
He sighed.
"If you find it, the Artificial Intelligence attached to it will guide you through the process."
"But," he added grimly, "there's a catch—and you're not gonna like it."
Zane tensed.
"You'll encounter traps. Magical beasts. And other... things, designed to stop you. Plus, you have to find the room within one hour. Otherwise, you fail."
Shelby narrowed his eyes, his voice sharp.
"Nod if you understand everything I just told you."
Zane gave a firm nod without hesitation.
"Good."
Shelby turned back to the door, gathering more crackling lightning into his hands.
He poured the energy into the carved patterns, and with a low, rumbling groan, the door slowly creaked open.
"Best of luck," Shelby said, flashing a quick grin.
"Now get going—before my juice dries up."