The cafeteria was packed.
Soren grabbed something that might've been protein and carbs.And ate it mechanically while his body screamed about the last six hours.
His AR display showed 18:30. Thirty minutes until advanced training.
Jake sat across from him looking equally destroyed. "I hate everything. I will die at this rate even before facing any monsters."
"Same."
"My legs don't work. Pretty sure they're gone. How's yours?"
"What legs."
"Great. We're both are equally suffering." He managed half a smile. "Advanced training tonight?"
"Yeah."
"That's gonna be brutal if regular training was this bad."
"Probably worse."
[You're not going to die.]
*Thanks for the support.*
[You're welcome. I care deeply about your survival.]
*Liar.*
[Okay fine. I'm just mostly curious how you'll embarrass yourself in front of the first-ranked student.]
At 18:55, Soren dragged himself like a sack of potatoes to Training Facility A.
Different building. Filled with equipment that looked expensive and premium. Holographic combat projectors hummed along the walls, casting blue light across polished floors.
Other nine other students were already there.
Lyra leaned against the wall, looking completely relaxed despite probably training just as hard today. Her black hair was still perfect.
Zara stood with military posture. Silver eyes cold yes beautiful. She was reviewing data on her AR display.
Marcus Webb, third rank, He looked comfortable confidence written all over him.
Six others Soren recognized from assessment but hadn't interacted with much. All ranked between fourth and ninth.
And him. Tenth place holder. The insect DNA kid everyone was still trying to figure him out.
At exactly 19:00, Instructor Vale walked in.
She moved like violence waiting to happen.
"Sit."
Everyone found spots. Soren ended up near the back.
"Advanced training. Twice weekly. Tuesday and Friday nights." Vale pulled up holographic displays showing combat formations. "You're top ten. That means you're either talented, lucky, or both. Neither matters if you die on your first field mission."
"This facility teaches coordination. Tactics. Advanced enhancement usage. Things that keep you alive when raw ability isn't enough." Vale walked between them. "Most students wash out of academy because they can't work as a team. You're going to learn or you're going to fail."
The display shifted. Showed team formations with DNA users and reactor heart users mixed together.
"Combat requires balance, teamwork and coordination. DNA users excel at close quarters. Reactor heart users provide ranged support and energy shields. Both are useless without coordination." Vale stopped walking. "Tonight we're running basic two-person drills. I'm pairing you randomly."
She pulled up assignments on the main display.
**Shadowmane / Cross**
Soren's stomach dropped.
[Oh this is going to be entertaining.]
*Shut up.*
[First-ranked student paired with tenth. This isn't random. Vale's testing you.]
Lyra pushed off the wall. Walked over. "Hey beetle boy."
"Hi."
"Ready to learn some stuff?"
"From you Not really."
She grinned. "Look like your opinion doesn't matter here."
They moved to the combat zone. Padded floor, obstacles scattered around, holographic projectors in the ceiling.
"Okay here's how this works," Lyra said. "We're gonna fight simulated enemies. You watch my positioning. I'll watch yours. We call out threats. Work as a unit instead of two idiots running around separately."
"Got it."
"Don't try to match my agility. Use your burst mobility when I create openings." She cracked her neck. "And don't make a clown out of yourself in front of everyone. That'd be embarrassing for both of us."
"I'll try."
Vale activated the simulation.
Holographic enemies appeared. Wolf-sized. Too many teeth hard to count. Eyes glowing red. Three of them materialized at once.
Lyra moved immediately without hesitation.
Soren triggered his enhanced perception.
The world slowed. Green glow edged his vision. He tracked all three enemies, Lyra's position, his own spacing.
Lyra strike one of them and launched it to the ground but it got up and jumped towards Lyra and another one also attacked her. Within this chaos the third enemy broke away from Lyra. Came at him.
He waited. Let it commit to the attack path.
Then burst forward.
Short sprint. Covered three meters in a heartbeat. He struck from the side while the enemy was mid-lunge.
The hologram flickered. Damage registered.
"Nice timing!" Lyra's voice cut through. She'd already eliminated the first enemy. "But you used full activation. You will burn your stamina fast."
She was right. His stamina was already dropping.
Two more enemies spawned.
Then three more.
The simulation ramped up. Testing them with each monster they killed a new one immediately swapped in to take its place.
Lyra kept perfect positioning. She created openings, called out threats, never wasted any movement and opportunities to land critical strikes. Combat family training advantage was obvious. This wasn't only talent, this was ten years of drilling and hard work that now it became instinct.
Soren tried to keep up.
His enhanced perception helped track everything but his body couldn't execute as fast as his brain processed. Gap between seeing and doing were obvious.
Five minutes in, he was breathing hard.
Lyra looked fine. Despite fighting more monsters than him.
"You're burning energy too fast," she said while casually destroying another enemy. "Split your enhancement. Use perception only until you need speed."
"You learned that. Right? "
"Yes i did."
"Then who are you waiting for. Use it."
He tried. It was more harder than he thought it would be. Concentrating on something mid-fight is more harder compared to when you were just standing on training ground. He was not able to focus, keep in mind stable but after some failed attempts he was successfully able to triggered just perception, kept his legs relaxed.
It helped. Stamina drain slowed.
The simulation ended at twelve minutes.
"Shadowmane and Cross. Functional coordination." Vale reviewed their performance data. "Shadowmane carried majority of combat load but Cross adapted positioning reasonably well. Stamina management needs significant work."
That was instructor-speak for "you sucked but not completely."
[Twelve minutes. Better than expected.]
*I almost died three times.*
[But you didn't.]
Other pairs ran their drills. Zara with Marcus, both moved like machines, precise killing machines with Perfect sync. Daniel Park with his sister Emily, sibling coordination made them almost telepathic.
Everyone else was competent.
And Soren was... learning.
By 21:00, when Vale dismissed them, Soren could barely walk.
Lyra caught up to him outside. "Not bad for your first advanced session."
"I got destroyed."
"Yeah, but you kept up for twelve minutes. Most people without foundation don't make it past five." She adjusted her jacket. "That stamina thing's gonna kill you though. Fix it or you won't survive field missions."
"Working on it."
"Good." She started walking. Looked back. "You made top ten with zero training. But talent only gets you so far. Past this point, it's all work."
Then she left.
[Was that a compliment?]
*Maybe?*
[From the first-ranked student. You're moving up socially.]
*Or she was being nice before crushing me next session.*
[Also possible. She's strategically unpredictable.]
Soren limped back to his dorm.
Jake was already asleep.
His AR pinged. Message.
**Lyra: Good work today beetle boy**
**Lyra: Next session's Friday. Don't skip leg day**
**Soren: Wasn't planning to**
**Lyra: Good**
**Lyra: Also that burst speed timing in the third encounter was clean**
**Soren: Thanks**
She sent a laughing emoji. Conversation ended.
Soren collapsed on his bed. Didn't even take off his training gear.
Tomorrow would bring more foundation training. More stance corrections. More getting beaten up while learning basics.
But he'd survived today. Learned more in twelve hours than the previous two weeks.
And he'd worked with Lyra without completely embarrassing himself.
That was progress.
[First day of real training complete. How do you feel?]
*Like I got hit by a truck.*
[That's normal. Enhanced healing will fix most of it by morning.]
*Most?*
[The emotional damage might take longer.]
*You're hilarious.*
[I know. It's part of my charm.]
Sleep took him fast. No dreams weird dreams this time. Just darkness and recovery.
Day one was done.
Many more ahead.