Academy — Training Grounds
Fifteen days before the practical exams, the Academy had taken on a new face.
The training fields were never empty.
Cries, impacts, and bursts of energy echoed from morning until night.
Every student had grasped one essential truth:
The simulation would not be a mere fight.
It would resist their abilities.
It would adapt to their statistics.
It would deliberately leave tiny, nearly invisible gaps—flaws that only the sharpest minds could exploit.
The instructors watched silently.
"They're about to learn something fundamental," one murmured.
"Raw power isn't enough."
The students — relentless training
Some repeated their techniques to the point of exhaustion.
Others sought to understand the logic behind their powers.
Milim, focused, refined the control of her energy, striving to manifest her historical model's legacy more clearly. She revealed only a fraction, but every movement gained in precision.
Douriel, fists wrapped, alternated between close-quarters combat and condensed incantations. He perfected the transitions between martial arts and magic, leaving no wasted moment.
Isaac pushed his limits… yet always stopped just before breaking.
He observed more than he trained, memorizing everything.
And Diopha?
Diopha… was nowhere to be seen.
Some whispered that he rested too much.
Others called it arrogance.
The truth was simpler.
He had just finished one of his daily quests.
Diopha's Dorm — Night
Diopha stretched after a series of basic exercises.
"Status Window."
The numbers confirmed what he already knew.
He had reached a threshold.
Then—
[System Notification]
Condition Met.
Evolution Test Available.
Rewards: 2 (Unknown)
Accept?
Diopha stared at the air for a moment.
"…I accept."
The space before him cracked.
A black portal, silent, opened in his dorm room.
No sound.
No alarms.
Invisible to anyone but him.
Mini-Zenkai, leaning against the wall, lifted his eyes from the screen he'd been staring at.
"Perfect timing."
"How long?" Diopha asked.
"Fifteen days out there."
"Forty-five here."
Time inside collapsed.
Diopha inhaled deeply.
Then stepped forward.
To be continued…