<Bright>

 

 

“Wow.” (B)

Staring at the district ahead, Bright’s mouth fell slightly open.

The photos online didn’t do the place justice.

The Hero District spanned a single, monumental road. One where no vehicles dared to cross its polished surface; it was a place reserved for legends. Towering buildings flanked the road on either side, each one a masterpiece of imagination and pride, designed by Hero Agencies to reflect their ideals, dreams, and philosophies of their champions.

Walking beneath these architectural giants were the heroes themselves, living myths in motion. Clad in capes, armour, or sleek tech suits, they strode with purpose, their presence enough to draw awe from anyone fortunate enough to witness the scene. Here, every footstep echoed with power, and every glance hinted at glory. It wasn’t just a district—it was the beating heart of the world’s hope.

“Ain’t that something, huh?” (L)

Luke let out a sharp whistle while taking off his fedora and exposing his bald head.

He even sat up a little straighter on his seat and dusted off his uniform.

Bright couldn’t blame him.

The aura in the air was something else.

Closing in on the gates, a barricade came into view. Multiple expensive-looking cars were lined up in a neat queue being thoroughly searched at that point. After which, a hero would exit the car while it drove off. Bright recognised one face exiting such a car.

He held his breath. It appeared no one was free from this rule.

With the bus joining the queuing line, Bright felt a sudden unease take him.

The bus was totally out of place.

And he wasn’t the only one to notice that.

A heavily armoured man signalled the bus to exit the queue.

In a world where the vast majority of people never awaken abilities. Militias comprised of regular people still existed. Of course, the higher in rank you are in them, the more likely you are to encounter abilities users. They tended to be seen as more valuable due to being more powerful, resulting in them looking down on average people.

Still.

Knowing this didn’t put Bright at ease.

The guns they held looked damn scary. Even if they were likely too weak to instantly kill him. They would still hurt quite a bit.

“Scared?” (L)

Luke met eyes with Bright.

Bright rolled his eyes.

“Be serious, please.” (B)

At the end of the day, Bright has faced literal monsters before. There was nothing a human could do to intimidate him. The nerves he was feeling right now were just excitement from getting close to his objective.

They had to be.

As the bus pulled to the side of the road, the armed man walked up to the door.

He gave it a little knock.

The door opened.

A soldier in a navy blue uniform highlighted by gold stripes staggered onto the bus. The characteristic olive green colour Bright was familiar with in his past life was replaced. Replaced by two colours that had become a pride of many. The blue symbolising this nation while the gold its sparkly hero.

“Heyo, sir, how may I help you?” (L)

The soldier glanced at Luke with tired, unimpressed eyes. Well, it at least looked that way to Bright. The balaclava he wore made it hard to actually tell.

“State your business here.”

Luke gestured to Bright.

“I’m here to drop off this lovely trainee.” (L)

The soldier lethargically turned to Bright.

“Good morning, sir~!” (B)

The soldier paused.

His eyes then widened considerably.

“Young Miss! We’ve been expecting your arrival!”

‘Young Miss?’

No, never the strange way of being referred to.

Did this guy seriously not notice Bright?!

“I—I see?” (B)

The soldier gave a salute while motioning to the exit.

“A vehicle has been prepared. Please, after me!”

An awkward smile grew on Bright’s face at the soldier’s abrupt change.

Getting up, he walked to the door.

‘Huh, so I guess cars are allowed in?’

Stopping by the exit, Bright turned back.

Luke was grinning.

“Catch you later, alligator?” (L)

Bright smiled.

“In a while, crocodile.” (B)

 

 

Bright stood on the road and watched the bus disappear from view.

‘All things come to an end, eh?’

“Right, they should be here any moment now.”

Be that as it may, now was not the time to lament.

He had a persona in need of maintenance.

And.

A glorious future to behold.

“I never did get your name?”

Bright shot the soldier with a disarming smile. A common tactic he used to break the ice and quickly get to know a person. Naturally, this only worked because he has a face that could make it. The persona Bright painstakingly crafted, despite not really wanting to, leveraged his looks quite a bit. A kind, cute girl who just wanted the best for the world.

“A-Ah, my apologies, Young Miss.”

The soldier scratched the side of his balaclava.

“But… would you mind me telling you later? My father was a bit of a practical joker, you see, and, unfortunately, that reality plagues my name as well.”

Wasn’t that curious?

“Don’t worry, sir. No matter what name,

Honestly, it couldn’t be worse than the name Bright had been originally given at the orphanage.

That one had been downright atrocious.

“… Young Miss, please don’t address me so formally.”

A faint tiredness returned to the soldier’s voice as he dodged the question.

“If that’s a matter, how about you tell me your name?” (B)

“…. Walked into that one?”

“Yep~!” (B)

The soldier shifted in place but didn’t make a strong move to answer.

Bright silently sighed.

‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

If his address of him wasn’t weird enough, then his pseudo-mysteriousness certainly was. By now, most people would’ve caved in and told Bright their name. It wasn’t like he was asking for a lot. Just a name, a simple thing any normal individual would provide.

It was slightly infuriating.

Bright didn’t want to have to beg for normal amounts of information.

Opening his mouth, he began to speak—albeit in a less conformational way—when the screeching of several tires reverberated out. Multiple armoured vehicles parked right in front of them. And, from them, soldiers dressed similarly to the man beside Bright poured out. They came in droves and began setting up a perimeter of sorts in a matter of seconds.

“Let’s get going then.”

The soldier walked forward and then pulled the door open.

Bright blinked at the sight.

“Ah, right. Of course!”

The soldier smacked his face before calling a colleague nearby.

A set of stairs were then placed to ensure ease of access to the vehicle.

‘Eh?’

The next thing Bright knew, they were speeding off into the district.

 

 

No matter how you look at it, this was an army vehicle caravan.

Sitting in the back seat of the centremost vehicle, Bright found himself in a daze.

Didn’t the weird soldier say they had prepared a car, as in, a single vehicle?

What the hell was this!?

Bright sank in his seat as they passed by various hero agencies.

Everyone was staring at the caravan.

Being the only vehicles in the district, they sure stood out a lot.

“Are we almost there?” (B)

A pair of eyes poked out from the car’s small partition opening.

It was the weird soldier.

“We’ll arrive in about five minutes.”

At least this would be over soon.

From the looks of it, they would be stopping at the golden skyscraper in the distance.

The Top Hero’s very own agency.

 

 

‘This… This is moving too fast’

After being rushed through the exotic reception and an uncountable number of fancy corridors, Bright was led through a heavily guarded restricted area and left at an elevator point. Besides the guards outside, nobody was here to watch him.

He was completely alone.

Left with the vague instructions to head into the elevator.

Walking over to the elevator, Bright pressed the button.

‘Damn, rich people’

Even this simple waiting room was unordinarily extravagant.

‘Maybe I should buy a mansion too?’

With the monies coming in today, such a thing was not out of the realm of possibility.

‘Ugh…. But I don’t really want to talk to people’

Hired help would be a must at that point.

Bright would have to think about this more.

Ding.

He stepped into the elevator.

“Rich people….” (B)

The words came out almost sounding like a curse.

Taking a seat on the couch, yes, couch. Bright pressed the button conveniently lowered to sitting level.

Without a doubt, he would have to get an elevator in his mansion.

Ding.

After a minute or two on the elevator, the doors finally opened.

A stunning view came into scene.

Bright instantly felt his palms get sweaty.

He was no stranger to luxury. Even though his role as CFO in his last life didn’t typically see the same sexy action as the CEO, he was still familiar with wealth’s bells and whistles.

But.

This….

This was something else.

The sheer size of the penthouse overwhelmed him. The cityscape twinkled through the expansive windows, and the entire space radiated a soft, white glow. The walls were painted a pale cream, and furnishings – the couches, tables, and even the grand piano – were all white, creating an ethereal, cloud-like atmosphere. Touches of silver accentuated the room’s elegance, appearing in the table legs, delicate light fixtures, and artwork frames.

It was all much too much.

So much, in fact, Bright failed to immediately notice the two overbearing auras crushing the whole space.

The wonder didn’t last long.

Two presences filled the room. One, draped casually on a couch, radiated warmth and charm. His aura was like a comforting hug, easing tension and drawing people in. The other stood by the window, an embodiment of cool detachment. Her aura was icy cold, sharp and calculating, keeping those who ventured too near in check.

Between them, Bright felt inexplicably small.

Both their eyes bore down on him.

He couldn’t think.

Arf! Arf!

The pressure crushing Bright disappeared as attention shifted to the new arrival.

‘Ha…!’

Unfortunately, this moment of respite was short-lived as an unnatural fast blur charged at him. Still stunned, Bright failed to react in time. Newton’s first law of motion states, “An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by another force.” In accordance with these founding principles, Bright rocketed back and crashed into the elevator doors–slightly denting them.

A live creature was dancing on his lap.

‘A-A pup?’

A quick note was made.

It was not just a pup but the wonder pup belonging to the one and only Top Hero.

A cheerful laugh tore through the deafening silence.

“Welcome, trainee!”