Heroes' Odyssey: Varunton

2 - The First Encounter

Hiro was confused as Ms. Ivanov addressed him. "You heard a lot about me, Ms. Ivanov?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Yes, I heard a lot about you from Mr. Sheppard." Ms. Ivanov continued staring him in the eyes. "I believe he told you that you were quite unique, am I correct?"

Hiro nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's correct, miss. I believe he was referring to my hypercompetence."

With a chuckle, she corrected Hiro's misunderstanding. "You've got it all wrong, young man," she said. "The reason you're unique is because you're a c-class." Ms. Ivanov revealed the truth behind Hiro's rarity.

As time passed, Hiro's confusion became denser, like a thick fog settling over his mind. "I'm not sure I understand," he admitted. "Could you explain what being a c-class means, Ms. Ivanov?"

"Usually, having an unknown class is a common syndrome among heroes," Ms. Ivanov explained to Hiro. "While everyone has a class, most people born with a syndrome cannot have their class determined by doctors, except in rare cases in which your situation is the best example, as the doctors were able to identify your class right after you were born."

"Tell me, can you name a single classmate or teacher in this school who has the same class type as you?" she asked.

Hiro attempted to think of someone but ultimately came up empty-handed. It appeared that he was the only one in their school with a known class type.

Ms. Ivanov posed a question to Hiro, seeking confirmation that he was indeed the only one with his particular syndrome. "Am I correct that there is no one else?" she inquired.

"Yes, you're right, Ms. Ivanov." Hiro didn't expect there was no one beside himself to have the class hierarchy.

Ms. Ivanov decided to dive deeper into the topic and share some insight with Hiro. "Let me tell you something about having a class hierarchy in your syndrome," she said, and Hiro eagerly looked back at her, keen to learn more.

"Having a class in your syndrome can have both positive and negative impacts on your life," she said. "On the positive side, anyone below your hierarchy will always be weaker than you. However, this also applies to the negative side, as anyone above your class will always be stronger than you."

"That is if the person you're facing also has a class in their syndrome. If you're facing someone with an unknown class, you can play mind games with them," she advised Hiro. "You can make them believe that your C-Class is superior to their unknown class."

"But what if they do have a better class than me despite their class being unknown?" Hiro expressed his doubts about the effectiveness of playing mind games if his opponent had an unknown but potentially superior class.

Ms. Ivanov responded in a lighthearted tone, almost like a joke, but her answer was actually quite serious. "Well, the simple solution is to call your friends and allies," she said.

Hiro remained skeptical, still uncertain of the effectiveness of such a simple solution.

Ms. Ivanov, however, was certain in her response. She looked at Hiro sternly and explained, "No matter how high the class type may be, the power of friendship is stronger than anything else."

Hiro grasped the concept that Ms. Ivanov was explaining about this class hierarchy.

"Do you have any more questions, Mr. Naito?" their history teacher asked him.

Hiro replied with gratitude, saying, "I don't have any more questions. Thank you for answering my questions, Ms. Ivanov."

Ms. Ivanov then proceeded to start the orientation for their history class by writing names on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.