The gray fog that Professor Powell summoned dulled the surroundings around the students subtly.
It didn’t just reduce visibility; it muted sounds, dampened external disturbances, and wrapped the training ground in an unnatural stillness.
It wasn’t suffocating, but it was disorienting, making it impossible for students to perceive further than 15 meters from their location, hence sending their senses into overdrive.
And it was in this altered atmosphere, that Professor Powell disappeared from the location he was standing on, his voice reverberating from every corner of the open classroom, as he began his lesson.
"Perception," he said, his voice carrying effortlessly through the haze, "is not just about seeing. It is about understanding."
His tone was steady, deliberate. He was not simply lecturing—he was teaching, and his every word had weight.
"The biggest mistake novices make in combat is assuming their eyes alone will save them. That if they can see an attack, they can react. That if they watch their opponent, they’ll know what’s coming." Powell scoffed, as the fog around the students seemed to shift, now growing thicker.
"You do not see with your eyes. You see with your mind." Powell said, his voice now growing more firm.
"Your eyes are merely a tool—a flawed, easily deceived tool. They fall for illusions, they misjudge speed, they fail to track movements in the heat of a fight. To survive, to thrive, to be the kind of warriors this academy is shaping you into, you need more than simple sight."
"Perception is the ability to process information, to recognize patterns, to know rather than guess. A true assassin does not watch their opponent’s blade—they sense the shift in weight, the tension in their muscles before they even move. A swordsman does not look for openings—they feel the rhythm of battle, understanding when to strike without hesitation. An archer does not merely aim—they anticipate where their target will be, long before they move."
A pause.
"Perception is not just about noticing your surroundings. It is about understanding them."
The fog thickened, reducing visibility even further. The students tensed.
"In this mist, you are blind. So tell me—how will you fight?"
No one spoke.
Powell chuckled. It wasn’t a pleasant sound.
"You see, raw information is meaningless if you do not know how to interpret it." He let the words settle before continuing.
"Some of you, right now, are panicked. You’ve lost one of your senses, and instead of adapting, you freeze. Others are straining your eyes, trying to force sight through the fog. A mistake. You are relying on something that is already failing you."
The tension thickened.
"To see is passive. To perceive is active. It means knowing what is happening even when your eyes are closed. It means recognizing the presence of a threat not because you saw them move, but because you felt the shift in the air. Because you heard the faintest scuff of a foot against the ground. Because your instincts told you something was wrong."
There was no mockery in his tone—only truth. And that made it worse.
"This," Powell said finally, "is why you are weak."
A ripple of unease passed through the students as the fog surrounding them began to rapidly clear.
However, as the fog cleared, to the horror of all students, standing behind each one of them, was a masked assassin, with their knives pointed towards their back.
None of them had managed to perceive when the Assassin had arrived behind them, or when they had arrived behind the individual beside them.
As on the first day of the class, all of them collectively failed to perceive the threat to their lives.
"Holy Shit! He got us…. He got us all–"
"How did these guys get here? I couldn’t sense anything at all!"
"I was looking back over my shoulders the whole time, but I still couldn’t see it coming. Are we really that poor at perception?"
The students whispered amongst each other, as Powell’s demonstration left everyone speechless.
Even Su Yang, who walked around like he was the best, could not perceive the presence of the Assassin behind him, as a deep frown spread on his face when he felt the cold tip of the dagger pressed against his back.
He was not proud of being caught off-guard like this, however, looking around as he saw both Mu Shen and Leo Skyshard facing the same fate, he somehow did not feel as bad as before.
"If any one of you was wondering why you need to take a class on perception before today? Now you know why—" Powell concluded, as with a clap of his hands he dismissed the gathered assassins.
The students had no way of knowing that the assassins lurking around them were, in fact, highly skilled operatives—Grandmaster-level warriors hired specifically for this exercise.
Their presence was far beyond what any of the students could hope to detect at their current level. But without that crucial piece of information, all they felt was inadequacy.
Their failure to sense even a single presence gnawed at them, making them question their instincts, their training, their very worth. And yet, rather than feeling discouraged, it ignited something deeper—a raw, urgent desire to learn. To understand. To perceive beyond mere sight, which was exactly the professor’s goal.
"Unlike your other courses, we will progress in the Basics Of Perception class based on goals.
You have 4 weeks to achieve each goal, after which we move on to the next.
If you achieve your goal before time, you can take the remainder of the classes for that period off, no problem.
However, if you lag behind, you better work extra-time before bed, because I will deduct your grades and move on ruthlessly without waiting for you to catch up," Powell warned, as he explained the format for the class.
"The first objective is to eliminate blind spots in your vision. To achieve this, we begin with the fundamental perception skill—(360° View).
Your level of genetic talent will determine the version of this skill that you learn:
Grandmaster-level talents will have the opportunity to learn the legendary version of this skill—(Peripheral Vision).
Transcendent-level talents can push further, advancing to the Semi-Divine tier—(Full Vision).
While our couple lucky Monarch-level talents will have access to the ultimate form—(Absolute Vision), an ability that grants an unparalleled field of perception.
Your task over the next four weeks is simple:
Master the skill to (Intermediate Grade) for full marks.
Achieve only (Basic Grade), and you’ll pass, but barely.
Fail to learn it at all, and you get point deductions from the very start.
This is your first step toward true awareness. Let’s see how many of you actually have what it takes." Powell said, as with a clap of his fingers, he summoned digital skill scrolls that landed precisely as per one’s genetic talent in their hands.
Leo and Su Yang got the ultimate version of the skill, in the form of (Absolute Vision), while Mu Shen and the other top geniuses got (Full Vision).
However, the majority of the class got (Peripheral Vision), showing how even within the Elite Class, over 70% of the students gathered were still Grandmaster level talents at best.