The teens reach a huge entrance placed in between 5-meter-tall stone walls. A carved rock set aside has "Entrance #2" written, with a road leading into a forest. Makishima is so exhausted he kneels to the ground and lowers his head, with both eyes closed.

_Makishima: Pant...pant...Fabio, I can't anymore. Carry me, please...

_Fabio: Yeah no problem.

Fabio grabs his backpack and places it on his front instead. He then kneels in front of Makishima, who puts a last effort to stand and falls on Fabio's back. Fabio grabs his legs and gives him a piggy ride into the forest. As he walks, Makishima's hand emits aura, and summons his chain, hanging from his wrist with an iron ball. Fabio notices this.

_Makishima: Remember, if someone attacks you, just scream, I will react.

_Fabio: Gotcha.

_Makishima: Alright then, seeya in one hour...(silence) zzzzzZZZZ.

Fabio stares ahead and starts walking the road ahead, nervous but determined.

(The forest is an abandoned cemetery.  Mold, broken headstones, and other structures wrapped in climbing vines are visible everywhere. As the passage of time flows forward, A NARRATION BEGINS)

"This forest is called The Valley of the Abandoned. It's a huge cemetery for all soldiers who have died in combat during Vergilia's belic conflicts for the past 300 years.

Here, structures called "mausoleum" are also built, and are used to store all the remains of the bodies that the empire could gather after their fights ended."

"However, despite seeming like an important place, its maintenance has been reduced to a minimum, and many mausoleums have withered so much that they can't even be opened. That being said... all of that is actually done on purpose!"

"Truth is, the main Military High School of the Vergilian Empire is located here, and it can only be reached by walking through the Valley of the Abandoned. In other words, every day, of every week, students always cross this abandoned cemetery, and remember the deaths of all the soldiers that came before them. The purpose for this, is simple:"

"To remind them that they'll also be abandoned in this place, if they don't work hard enough."

(Next Scene)

Fabio arrives at a wide road that has many mausoleums lined up at each side of it.

"And on top of all this, there's a BIGGER problem."

Reveal that there're 4 students hiding in between the walls of the mausoleums. They carry maces, and are clearly bulkier and older than the protagonists (about 3 years older). The last bit of narration is shown as they come out and begin to ambush Fabio.

"Since the valley isn't supervised, the students have turned this place into a no man's land, where they can sabotage and injure one another without consequences!"

THEY'RE SURROUNDED! The evil intentions of the students are very clear!

_FABIO: 360, 4 METERS, ONE LOOP!

Suddenly, Makishima's chain lifts horizontally and extends itself! Fabio spins and the chain zones out all students in a circle, with the last one behind them getting hit sideways on the ribs!

_FABIO: -20, 30, STRAIGHT!

The chain is shot directly at a student on his left, he tries to dodge but the iron ball still connects to his forehead and knocks him cold! Two enemies remain to his right side. They charged forward and are already too close to Fabio! They start to swing their maces!

_FABIO: BAAACK!

Fabio turns his back, kneels, and the maces crash Makishima's back instead. BUT HE'S NOT INJURED! As the clash effects fade, it's revealed that the chain managed to wrap itself around in circles and create a shield that blocked the attacks! 

The chain starts to wrap the maces and contract itself, attempting to pull and take away the weapons from the students. After a few moments of pulling the maces, one of the students lets his mace go, and races to the side to try and punch Fabio.

_FABIO: 180, 45 SWEEP!

The chain sweeps and in doing so, the body of the chain whips the student on the back. Also, the swing is so strong, that the other student is seen holding onto his mace as the chain swings him in the air! Eventually he lets go of the mace, and the chain's momentum launches him mid air into the front wall of one of the mausoleums. The impact clearly damages the wall, showing how the impact damaged the student's head and back. He finally falls onto the ground, unconscious.

(Next Scene)

Finally, there's a moment of silence, as a high angle of the scene shows all the 4 bullies beaten on the ground, with a zoom-in panel for each one. As Fabio finally has time to collect himself and check his surroundings, a flashback begins. Makishima and Fabio are at a crowded plaza, in the night. Makishima is sitting on the edge of the plaza's fountain eating an apple, and Fabio is standing in front eating a pear.

_Makishima: Honestly, not even I know how it works, but my chain can attack even if I'm unconscious.

_Fabio: Oh really? That's actually kinda cool, bro.

_Makishima: Yeah, I guess...

_Fabio: Uh, how wouldn't that be cool, bro?! That means no one can harm you while you're asleep, right?

_Makishima: Ah, not really. When I'm asleep, I can't see anything, and it's like my chain moves on its own trying to protect me. But, according to what my father has seen, its moves are very uncoordinated, and the chain lacks awareness of its surrounding.

(Show a background scene of Makishima laying on the ground unconscious, face down with his chain sticking out of his wrist, and his father next to him looking at the chains)

_Fabio: Hmm, but still there should be some use to it, don't you think?

_Makishima: For now I don't think so, I need to train a lot more if I want to do it like my father does. In his case, he even told me that once he killed 10 assassins while sleeping.

_Fabio: ...Yup, I totally picture him doing crazy stuff like that...

(A scene appears in Fabio's mind where Chen Han is sleeping in the forest, but chains come out of his back and kill a bunch of enemies around him)

_Fabio: (silence) But... hey! I thought of something!

_Makishima: What is it?

_Fabio: Since the problem is that you can't see, what if I gave you instructions to attack?!

_Makishima: Uh?... Uhm...eh...w-wait... wait that may be a good idea, man!

_Fabio: For sure! Think about it, if I gave you instructions as if you were in a three-dimensional space, you could set your chain's angle for turning and raising your attack!

(Draw a three-dimensional graphic with a Chibi face of Makishima in coordinate 0,0,0)

_Makishima: That... actually sounds pretty fun, we can try it!

_Fabio: Hell yeah! Besides, you're a genious, you should be able to learn it very quickly!

_Makishima: Yeah, no problem, man.

(Next Scene)

_Fabio: That was 2 months ago, and Makishima got the hand of it this quickly! Amazing!

Suddenly, the bully who previously got whipped into the ground begins to grunt and try to stand up.

_Fabio: ZERO, -50 STRAIGHT!

The chain ball strikes the bully hard against his cheek. However, his body doesn't flinch and remains still.

_Fabio: ...Dude, this fight is over, keep trying to be brave and all, and I'll break your bones...

_Bully: Ugh...agh...Shut up! I can only fight, that's the only thing I can do!

(The bully slowly tries to stand up, pressing his elbows onto the ground. The injury on his cheek starts to turn into a purple inflammation)

_Fabio: Dude, you couldn't even beat me with my friend on my back, what makes you think you can win?

_Bully: I DON'T CARE, I DON'T EVEN WANNA WIN, DAMMIT! JUST SHUT UUUP!

Fabio stares with a serious expression.

_Bully: One...one of these days, I'll eliminate him...

I WILL ELIMINATE HAN MAKISHIMA!

Dramatic pause, the atmosphere gets tense.

_Bully: No matter...no matter what I do...that bastard, just because he's the son of Chen Han, , WE WILL ALL BECOME HIS SLAVES, INCLUDING YOU!

_Fabio: ...

_Bully: I...I won't accept this, I work way harder than him, harder than anyone in this STUPID SCHOOL! And yet... it's never enough, because as long as he's alive... as long as Han Makishima is alive, no one else can aspire to greatness! That's why... that's why... no matter how long it takes... ONE DAY I'LL CATCH HIM OFF GUARD, AND I WILL...

As he turns his head to look at Fabio, he realizes that Fabio is already gone. He looks then far into the road, and realizes that he's already leaving. He shouts in response.

_Bully: HE-HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK HERE!

Fabio looks back at him, with a disinterested face. The bully stares at him. He then says:

Tell your PATHETIC drama to someone who actually cares, asshole.

As Fabio finally leaves, the bully is zoomed out, left alone with his fallen comrades.

(Final Scene)

A new area is shown, looking like the ruins of an old castle.

_Fabio: Sigh, dammit, this is why I wanted to arrive at school very early. If only Makishima wasn't so tired, we could've arrived at the forest before those bullies, and avoid stupid fights like that one. Now everyone at school will find out, and we'll draw unwanted attention. Aagh, what a pain...

Silence, but as he keeps walking, he looks at Makishima, and remembers what the bully said: "That's not fair! No matter what we do, he will become the new leader of Vergilia's army! Just because he's Chen Han's son!".

_Fabio: ...(Yeah, I'm not surprised that so many students hate Makishima. He's in a privileged position as the First General's son, so there's no doubt that he's destined to greatness! But this frustrates the others, cuz they think their reputation and power has been "stolen" by him.)

(Silence)

_Fabio: ...(Anyway, there's always a second option, but I guess everyone is too stupid to realize it...because...)

WHY TRY TO SABOTAGE OR SURPASS MAKISHIMA, WHEN YOU CAN BECOME HIS BEST FRIEND?

The final panel of the chapter is a low angle of Fabio and Makishima walking away from the camera, as roman domes and rooftops are seen in the distance above the trees, signalizing that they're about to arrive at their military school!