CHAPTER 92: CH 92: TRIP.

In a matter of moments Mr Collins passed out the quiz paper and their eyes widened with bewilderment at the questions.

Five minutes in and Aegon could only answer five from the fifteen multiple choice questions and those were all guesses.

---

"Time’s up." Collins said as they passed the papers back to the front of the class.

He saw the annoyed expression plastered on their faces but paid no heed. The paper finally got to him as he skimmed them for about a minute and smiled.

"You." Collins said as he pointed a finger that Aegon.

"Number 1. The Rosenzweig Scale is a foundational model used to classify a villain’s primary:

a)Power level and destructive capacity.

b)Motivation and psychological origin.

c)Preferred tactical environment.

d)Likely secret identity career."

"Uhmm..." Aegon scratched the top of his head. "B?"

Collins shrugged. "Correct. Why’s that important?"

"Because to properly handle a situation as fragile as a villain attack then one must take into account their motivation and tipping point most of all." Aegon answered smoothly.

A boy at the back scoffed, audibly drawing stares from everyone in the room.

"Is there something you disagree with?" Collins raised a brow.

"Nothing, sir." The boy quickly straightened out.

"No." The professor folded his arms. "This is supposed to be an interactive class, so interact."

"...?"

The room was silent for a moment but the student piped up. "I’m just saying that Nightwalker and some of the other top heroes don’t worry about that."

Collins bobbed his head. "True..." He raised a finger. "but let me ask this, are you a Paragon?"

"No."

"Exactly." Collins rolled up his sleeve and stepped down from the elevated podium, leaned against his table and faced the class. "I’ll let you know on the one thing that gets most supes killed...

It’s going into a situation half-assed and assuming you can brute force your way into it.

You can’t.

The majority of heroes in this world are Ascendants, including me, but the majority of villains are also Ascendants.

Heroes need to stop walking into situations without the full picture and then getting killed because of ignorance and arrogance.

Which brings me to Number 2.

What does the "Peter Principle of Villainy" theorize?

a)Villains will always be defeated by someone named Peter.

b)Villains often rise to the level of their competence, but then attempt a final, over-ambitious scheme beyond it, leading to their downfall.

c)Every hero will create their own greatest villain.

d)For every villainous action, there is an equal and opposite heroic reaction."

The room fell silent waiting for his next pick.

"You." He pointed at Micheal next to the window.

"B. Sir."

"Can you explain to us why?"

Micheal sighed. "When a hero and villain are locked in battle, they often match each other punch for punch... but the longer the match continues the angrier the villain gets and hence, the sloppier."

"True." He nodded once. "Now can anyone tell me why the hero doesn’t get sloppy?

You?" At Quinn.

"Because the hero’s supposed to be psychological sound not fucking crazy—"

"Correct."

But she wasn’t done. "—although there is several evident factors that someone is crazy but we’ve done nothing about it."

A jab at Nightwalker, and everyone in the room who knew who she was referring to straighten up, even Micheal.

They stayed there for a minute but Collins continued. "Miss?"

"Orvin."

"Miss Orvin. How would you handle a Kermite ranked anomaly is one was ever detected?"

"...I’d involve all the other heroes."

She met his gaze head one.

He tilted his head slightly. "Okay, now what would be your projected death and destruction toll?"

"What?"

"It’s a Kermite, no matter how many people you being to the fight, at least million are gonna die, are you ready for that?"

"If it’ll finally get rid of the problem? Maybe."

He shot his brows up. "Maybe isn’t an answer. And let’s just assume you can be decisive enough to say yes. Then you’re not just saying yes to death in the tens of millions of people, awakened and not alike.

But you’d be killing hundreds of supes, you’d be causing destruction of property ranging in the billions of Royals—"

"It’d get rid of the root problem."

"Death, destruction, economic devastation, and then what’s left won’t even be enough to have a Thrall ranked anomaly."

"So what would you suggest?!"

Quinn unknowingly screamed.

Collins drew a long breath as he walked in front of Quinn’s desk. "I’d suggest a Kermite just as strong as it so while they’re fighting, the supes can be getting everyone to safety.

Otherwise, it’s a double-edged blade, it’ll get the job done but at what cost."

~BBRRGG!~

The bell rang dismissing the class before anyone could say anything else but the hadn’t moved, not yet.

"You can go now." Collins added. Eyes still locked with Quinn’s.

The students avoided the uncomfortable situation and filed out the class to their respective locations.

But Aegon already had something to do, he had to go get his suit fixed and find out what the keys Omniblade have him unlocked.

He made way for this dorm room to pack the suit and head for the tailor, he eased the door open to the familiar sight of Zara sprawled on her bed.

Long red hair all over her and dipping to the floor, she glanced at him from the top of her eyes. "What you doing back?"

"What are you always doing here?" Aegon retorted. "Have you ever been to class, like even once?"

"Nahhh." She stretched out. "This is way more fun."

He scoffed. Ignored her and went to his bed to get the case with the suit and stuffed the keys into his pockets.

"Where you going?"

Zara asked.

He arranged his sheets. "Going to the tailors, have to go get my suit fixed."

"Oh, yeah. The fight with Omniblade... You know I fought him once."

"Sure." He said sarcastically. "And when was this?"

"I’m serious." She groaned as she sat up from the bed. "We were both hired to kill the same person, when I got there he’d beaten me to the punch so I lost it."

"You attacked him? You were a hitman?!" He screamed and snapped his head back to her.

"I prefer the term hit-lady. And yeah, so if you ever need help finding and killing someone then I’m your gal." She said playfully.

But he immediately had an idea. Pulling the keys from his pockets, "could you help me figure out what these keys open?" He tossed them to her.

Zara ran her hands over them, studying every key meticulously, and humming along while doing so. "Who have you these?"

"Just a friend." He lied. "Why?’’

"It’s to a storage locker near the docks," she turned it to him. "From the logo here, ’patel and sons’, but the key it’s have a rim type which means the actual key’s been changed to a high-grade hardened steel lock."

His eyes opened in surprise. "You can tell all that from a key... Zara, how’d you like to come on a trip with me."