At exactly 8:00 AM, the students of Class Zero stood in front of the academy's underground simulation dome—an enormous, high-tech battlefield hidden beneath Nova Hero Academy. It could replicate anything from burning wastelands to haunted ruins.
Today's setting: a fog-covered, abandoned city, eerily quiet and full of crumbling skyscrapers and dark alleyways.
Standing in front of the dome was Kaizen, hands behind his head, a casual grin on his face like this was just a sunny field trip.
"Alright, Class Zero," he said, "today's lesson is simple: Survive."
The class stared at him in silence.
"Survive what, exactly?" Mira asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Me," Kaizen answered with a smile.
Before anyone could argue, the ground shook slightly. The arena began humming as the simulation activated. Fog spilled from the cracks in the dome as the lights inside flickered eerily.
Kaizen tossed a handful of glowing wristbands into the air. "These are your mission tags. Lose it—you're out. Get knocked out—you're out. Cry? I might let you go."
The students scrambled to catch the wristbands.
"Your objective is simple," he continued. "There's a flag planted in the center of the ruins. Five teams. One winner. Everyone else goes home sore and humiliated."
A hologram projected above his head showing the randomized teams.
Team 1:
Rika
Leo
Jae Eun
Team 2:
Taemin
Mira
Byul
Team 3:
Sori
Dae-Min
Do Yoon
Team 4:
Ryuu
Ha-Joon
Yul
Team 5:
Yuna
Minari
Juno
"Work with what you've got," Kaizen said with a shrug. "I'm not here to hold hands."
The massive dome doors began to rise, revealing the foggy simulation zone beyond.
"Oh," he added, as casually as someone mentioning the weather. "Almost forgot. I may have... released a few surprises into the arena."
His grin widened.
Click.
Kaizen tapped a button on a remote in his coat. Deep inside the arena, a locked chamber opened with a hiss.
Three non-standard combat droids activated.
Unit One: "Gaslighter" – Projects illusions and fakes voices, causing mistrust and paranoia.
Unit Two: "Pressure Point" – A martial arts mimic bot that targets nerve points. Fast. Silent. Painful.
Unit Three: "Karen" – Loud, armored, rocket-launching insult machine. Screams at you while firing missiles. Completely uncalled for.
Kaizen looked at the simulation feed like a proud dad at a school play.
"Let the games begin."
The gates slammed shut, sealing the students inside.
Inside the Arena…
Team 3 was barely five minutes in when chaos hit.
A voice whispered through the fog.
"You really think you can trust them…?"
Sori froze. "Did you hear that?"
A clone of Dae-Min walked out of the mist, smiling in a way he never did."You left me to die. Why should I help you now?"
"What?! That's not me!" Dae-Min snapped. "That's not even my hair!"
The fake clone lunged, and Sori reacted, shoving it into rubble—only for it to vanish into smoke.
"What kind of mission is this?" Do Yoon growled, fists clenched.
Meanwhile, Team 2 entered a collapsed shopping center.
A blur flashed past, and Byul was suddenly on the ground, gasping.
"What the hell just hit him?" Mira shouted.
"I think I saw a leg," Taemin said. "Or a blender."
Pressure Point stood still in the shadows, its eyes glowing.
Byul groaned. "I think... my arms forgot how to be arms."
In another zone, Team 1 had spotted the flag tower—but their joy ended when the street in front of them exploded in confetti.
Out stomped a seven-foot robot in glittery pink armor.
"HELLOOOOOOOO, STUDENTS!""I SEE SOMEONE DIDN'T COMB THEIR HAIR THIS MORNING!"
Jae Eun screamed. Leo swore in French. Rika cracked her knuckles.
"I'm gonna take that robot's head off."
Back in the control room, Kaizen kicked back in his chair, sipping from a canned coffee.
He updated his personal scoreboard:
Gaslighter: Emotional damage – ✅
Pressure Point: Physical trauma – ✅
Karen: Verbal assault & explosives – ✅✅✅
He laughed to himself.
"Let's see what breaks first—their teamwork, their confidence... or their egos."