After giving a brief introduction to the academy, Yami finally turned his attention toward the group.
"Shinomiya Kaguya. Hayasaka Ai. Yukinoshita Yukino. Yukinoshita Haruno. Kato Megumi. Kirisu Mafuyu. Chabashira Sae. Kojima Kana."
He called their names one by one without warning.
Everyone immediately straightened up, sensing the seriousness behind his voice.
"Before you officially join the Potential Academy," Yami continued calmly, "you need to understand why this place exists."
The original intention…?
"I'll be frank. The world is slowly slipping out of control. The monsters and evil spirits you've heard of are merely the beginning. Even I cannot predict how far things will escalate."
"!!!"
This was the first time they heard such an absolute statement.
Until now, everyone only had suspicions that "the world might be changing."
But coming directly from Yami's mouth, those changes suddenly felt real—undeniably real.
Shinomiya Kaguya quietly felt a sense of relief.
At least her decision to join earlier hadn't been a mistake…
If she stayed outside, she might've been helplessly crushed beneath the tide of the new era.
And then Yami delivered the real shock.
"Potential Academy was founded by me to cultivate my own forces. To put it simply, this place exists to raise and gather talents."
"..."
Yukinoshita Haruno's eyes flickered subtly, and even Kaguya's expression shifted.
Gathering talent. Gathering influence.
It was exactly the sort of move powerful families like the Yukinoshitas or Shinomiyas would make.
"You should think carefully before joining," Yami finished. "The decision is yours."
"Well… can I still go home in the future?" Kojima Kana asked timidly.
"..."
That wasn't what he meant at all.
"Of course. I'm not imprisoning you," Yami corrected with a sigh. "But your strength — from the moment you choose to join — will belong to my side."
Hearing the clarification, Kana scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
Her misunderstanding had clearly gone too far.
It wasn't an easy decision for anyone.
Especially since Shinomiya and Yukinoshita both had families that would definitely interfere.
Yami snapped his fingers. In an instant, a pure black bracelet appeared on each of their wrists.
"If you wish to leave, simply think about 'leaving' and you'll be teleported out immediately."
"Leaving means you give up completely — and you can never return here again."
"You have until this evening. Those who choose to join, meet me at the training ground."
After saying that, Yami brought Chisato, Takina, and the others with him and began walking toward the training area.
Hiratsuka Shizuka lightly patted her friend's shoulder before following after them.
The rest of the group remained standing there, silent, thoughtful, and weighed down by the decision in front of them.
"Did you decide that quickly?"
Yami looked to the side, where Kato Megumi walked beside him quietly — having followed him almost instantly after the explanation.
The others glanced over. Seeing Yami talk into the air, they immediately understood who he must be speaking to.
Only Hiratsuka Shizuka blinked in confusion.
"Um… why are you talking to yourself?"
Yami let out a helpless sigh.
Once again…
He went through the trouble of explaining the existence of an "invisible Kato Megumi" to Shizuka.
"Hiss…! S-So you mean she's really been here the whole time!?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked shocked.
Invisibility.
As a teacher who had seen many troublesome students, she could already imagine the chaos such an ability could cause.
"It feels a little strange though… Megumi Kato, show me your hand."
"Eh? My hand? O-Okay."
Kato Megumi obediently extended her hand.
Yami took her delicate hand gently.
A moment later — light exploded.
A beautiful, shimmering rainbow glow radiated from Megumi's arm, flowing outward like a spreading veil of stardust.
In the blink of an eye, her entire body was wrapped in a faint, transparent iris-colored aura.
"Woah! There really is someone there!"
Everyone could now clearly see the outline of Kato Megumi.
"This is…?"
Megumi stared down at the iridescent glow surrounding her body, clearly stunned.
"This is a presence-covering effect," Yami explained patiently.
"I'm covering your existence with my star power and projecting it visually. Until you learn to control your power and make yourself visible on your own, it'll be better for you to stay in this state."
"Thank you," Megumi said quietly — calm as always, but genuinely grateful.
Then she turned to the others.
"Hello. I am Kato Megumi. Please take care of me."
"Oh! Hello, hello!"
Chisato immediately bounced over excitedly and wrapped an arm around Megumi's shoulder — as if they were already friends.
"Megumi, your power is perfect for assassination missions! Want to join our team?"
"Team…?" Megumi tilted her head slightly, confused.
"That's right!" Chisato nodded enthusiastically. "It's the organization Yami Tsukishiro founded— umm… what was it called again?"
Chisato paused, frowned, tapped her own forehead.
Then turned to Takina.
"Takina! Do you remember the name?"
Yami pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Chisato… I never told you the name because I never actually named it yet."
"Eh? Really!?"
Chisato froze.
Then—her eyes sparkled.
"In that case—! Why not name it after me? Let's call it… Chisato! Isn't it cute!?"
Takina couldn't take it anymore.
She grabbed Chisato by the ears and dragged her back like a mischievous cat.
"Listen to Yami-kun, you idiot!!"
The normally calm and elegant Takina had completely snapped.
Meanwhile, the cheerful and hyperactive Chisato flailed around like a colorful festival bird, chirping endlessly.
It was cute, lively, and absolutely unbearable.
Yami coughed lightly.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke slowly:
"Then… let's call it Future One.
Because we will be the pioneers who walk ahead toward the future."
The moment the name was declared, the upper-layer organization that stood above the Potential Academy was officially born.
With Chisato's boundless enthusiasm, the first official team of Future One was successfully assembled.
The captain was Nishikigi Chisato.
The vice-captain, Inoue Takina.
Other members included Kasumigaoka Utaha, Sawamura Eriri, Kato Megumi, Nakahara Mizuki, Walnut, Hiratsuka Shizuka, and Sawamura Sayuri.
Hiratsuka Shizuka stared blankly at her own name.
"Wait, shouldn't I be a teacher? Why am I suddenly a team member!?"
"Hmm? Did I ever say Teacher Shizuka was only a teacher?"
Yami flashed a light smile — with just the slightest hint of teasing.
After all, Hiratsuka Shizuka possessed the C-class Gene-Lock Meme of Possession.
Not using that would be an outright waste.
As for Sayuri, she held a D-class Gene-Lock Meme.
And the three friends Shizuka brought along were all D-class holders as well — a bundle of untapped talent waiting to be polished.
"..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka held back a groan.
She suddenly felt like she had stepped right into the biggest trap of her life — all because of this unforgiving principal.
"This is the training ground," Yami said, walking ahead.
"Follow me."
From the outside, the area looked like a simple dome — a smooth, glass-like hemisphere.
But the moment they stepped inside, their breath caught.
It was vast.
Unbelievably vast.
The ceiling above wasn't a normal roof — it was a swirling cosmic panorama, as though an entire galaxy had been pulled down from the heavens and set to drift overhead.
Stars shimmered softly. Nebulae flowed like mist.
"Woooow! How did you do this!?" Chisato gasped, her eyes sparkling.
"Is there some giant monitor hidden somewhere? Or maybe a projector??"
She ran around in circles, scanning every corner, looking for wires or hidden machinery.
Yami simply chuckled.
"This is no ordinary screen."
The shimmering starry dome was a barrier — one formed by guiding and manipulating star-dragon power, then letting it draw in the actual starlight from the night sky above.
The result was a barrier with absurd defense.
Strong enough to casually shrug off nuclear shockwaves or radiation bursts.
In truth, this star barrier didn't just cover the training ground — the entire island and academy grounds were protected under its veil.
Aside from defense, the barrier held other amazing functions...
And Eriri demonstrated one immediately.
Up high, soaring freely, she swooped back and forth like a radiant blue swallow.
Light wings spread behind her, glowing with hundreds of tiny feathers.
"SO FUUUUUN!!"
She zipped through the air, laughing in exhilaration.
Sayuri and the others watched with envy practically dripping from their eyes.
"Wait—why do Eriri's wings look different from before?" Utaha asked, shocked.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Eriri's previous wings were made of four thousand thread-thin strands of light.
But now, between those lights, countless shimmering feathers had appeared — forming a beautiful, radiant set of wings.
"In fact," Yami explained, "your abilities have… evolved."
This change had been caused by the activation and unlocking of their genetic locks.
Eriri's former D-level meme had transformed into a C-level power:
[Meme]: Gene-Locked Light Feather
Level: C
Abilities:
• Light Feather Flight — freely unfold light feathers to soar through the sky
• Light Feather Control — flexibly control the movement and direction of light feathers
"Look, look!! Yami-kun, watch this!"
They all gazed upward.
Eriri floated gracefully, spreading her radiant wings.
With a single flap—
Countless feathers rained down like shooting stars, piercing straight through the floor and carving deep trails into the ground.
The feathers circled Eriri like orbiting stars — dazzling and beautiful.
After finishing her display, she descended lightly and landed with sparkling eyes.
"Yami-kun, I feel like something changed inside me. It feels… amazing."
Yami nodded.
"You're not the only one. Utaha, Chisato — your abilities have evolved as well."
"Try feeling them for yourselves."
And so—
Kasumigaoka Utaha
D-level Gale Meme → C-level Meme: Gene-Locked Windrunner
Abilities:
• Wind Travel — channel wind energy to increase speed
• Wind Manipulation — basic control over wind source-energy
Nishikigi Chisato
B-level Functional Meme → A-level Meme: Divine Function
Abilities:
• Perfect Body — near-perfect physical structure
• Muscle Control — freely control every muscle in the body
• Deification — temporarily enter a divine-mode transformation
Inoue Takina
C-level Falcon Eyes → B-level Meme: God-Sight Meme
Abilities:
• Perspective — see through objects
• Long-range Vision — super-distance sight
• Life-Sense Eye — detect living beings by their life signatures
Nakahara Mizuki
D-level Hypnosis → C-level Meme: Hypnotist
Abilities:
• Hypnosis — induce hypnosis when necessary
• Memory Reading — read memories through hypnosis
Walnut / Kurumi
D-level Super-Computation → C-level Meme: Mental Computing Power
Abilities:
• Super Calculation — ultra-fast mental computing
• Information Transmission — transmit personal data within a certain radius
Meanwhile—
Shinomiya Kaguya and the others, after brief hesitation, did not leave.
One by one, they walked into the training ground as well.
The moment they entered—
They froze.
Eriri streaked across the air like a comet, wings shimmering.
Utaha stood in a pillar of swirling wind.
Walnut processed data faster than machines.
Chisato—
Chisato literally gleamed.
Her entire body radiated dazzling golden light like a Super Saiyan.
Then—
She leaped.
Twenty meters straight up.
And came crashing back down—
BOOOOOM!!
The ground split open instantly.
A giant crater erupted, gravel scattering everywhere like fireworks.
The newcomers were speechless.
And terrified.
And amazed.
And, for the first time...
They understood exactly what kind of place the Potential Academy truly was.
And why joining Future One would change their lives forever.
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