Kai stared at Elena. The silver moonlight caught the frost on her lashes, making her look like a creature carved from the very heart of a glacier.
"A mana link," Kai repeated, his voice surprisingly steady for a guy who felt like his internal organs were being rearranged. "So, let me get this straight. You want to tether your S-Rank soul to my 'F-Rank' dumpster fire of a talent. Won't that, I don't know, give you a magical rash or something?"
Elena didn't blink. "It's a resonance synchronization. My core will act as a dampener, wrapping your mana signature in a layer of my own. To the sensors in Sector 7, you won't look like an E-Rank or a D-Rank. You'll look like an extension of my Ice Empress talent—a minor frost-construct I've created to assist me."
"So I'm basically your magical sidekick? Your frosty pet?" Kai grinned, though his muscles were trembling with fatigue. "I've been called worse. Is there a uniform? Does it involve glitter?"
"It involves survival, Kai," Elena said, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. She stepped closer, closing the distance until the air between them was thick with the scent of ozone and peppermint. "Give me your hand."
Kai reached out. As soon as his fingers brushed hers, the world didn't just turn cold—it turned absolute.
A jolt of pure, crystalline energy surged through Kai's arm, slamming into his chest like a freight train made of ice. He gasped, his knees buckling, but Elena held him upright. The golden screen in his vision went haywire, the gold and blue light clashing in a violent strobe effect.
[WARNING: EXTERNAL CORE SYNCHRONIZATION DETECTED.] [Analyzing S-Rank Frequency...] [Growth Potential has detected a 'Divine' stimulus.] [Multiplier increased to 10.0x!]
"Don't fight it," Elena whispered, her face inches from his. "Focus on the rhythm of my breath. Match your mana flow to mine. If you resist, the feedback will shatter your channels."
Kai shut his eyes, focusing on the freezing sensation circulating through his veins. It was like drinking liquid liquid nitrogen. But beneath the cold, he felt something else—the sheer, terrifying order of Elena's power. Her mana wasn't chaotic; it was a perfect, geometric architecture.
[Adaptive Learner Active: Decoding S-Rank Rotation...] [Progress: 32.4%... 38.1%... 45.9%...]
"You're... actually doing it," Elena murmured, her voice filled with a rare note of awe. She could feel his core—which should have been a stagnant pool—churning like a whirlpool, greedily absorbing the logic of her power. "Your talent isn't just growing, Kai. It's devouring."
"I'm a... hungry guy," Kai managed to wheeze.
The link stabilized. The violent shivering stopped, replaced by a deep, resonant hum that seemed to vibrate in his very marrow. Kai opened his eyes. He felt lighter, sharper, and his vision was suddenly overlaid with a faint, blue crystalline HUD that mirrored Elena's own senses.
"The link is established," Elena said, letting go of his hand. She looked slightly flushed, a rare sign of exertion on her otherwise porcelain skin. "As long as you're within ten yards of me, the school's scanners will see us as a single entity. My entity."
"Great. I'm officially a sub-plot," Kai said, stretching his arms. He felt a sudden, explosive surge of energy. He looked at his golden screen, and his jaw nearly hit the rusted concrete of the yard.
[TALENT EVOLUTION COMPLETE!] [Rank E 'Accelerated Growth' → RANK D 'ADAPTIVE LEARNER']
[Attributes Updated:] Strength: 7.20 Agility: 7.15 Intelligence: 8.50 Stamina: 7.40
[New Skill Unlocked: Copy Mechanic (Basic)] Description: You can now temporarily mimic one active skill from a linked or observed partner at 30% effectiveness.
Kai looked at Elena. A wild, reckless thought crossed his mind. "Hey, Elena. You said we needed stimulus, right? You said I needed a weight I couldn't lift?"
Elena's eyes narrowed. "Kai, you just evolved. Your body needs rest—"
"I have a 'Tireless Mind' and an 'Adaptive Body,' remember?" Kai's eyes glowed with a faint, golden-blue light. "And I just got a new toy. Let's see if the Ice Empress can actually keep up with a 'trash' talent."
He didn't wait for her to agree. He lunged.
The next four hours were a symphony of violence and frost.
In the secluded Old Yard, away from the prying eyes of the security drones, Kai pushed his new D-Rank limits. He wasn't just dodging anymore. With Adaptive Learner, he was reading the air currents Elena created before she even launched an attack.
"Copy Mechanic... Ice Shard!" Kai shouted.
He swiped his hand through the air. He didn't have Elena's 'Ice Empress' talent, but his system mimicked the logic of the skill. A small, jagged piece of ice—cloudy and unrefined, but undeniably real—manifested and shot toward Elena.
She shattered it with a flick of her wrist, her eyes wide. "You copied a mana-manifestation skill? Without the elemental affinity?"
"I'm a quick study!" Kai laughed, sliding beneath a wave of frost.
He was moving at speeds he hadn't thought possible. His 8.50 Intelligence was processing Elena's patterns in real-time, predicting her frost-circles and leaping over them with a 7.15 Agility that made him look like a blur.
[Growth Potential Progress (D-Rank): 4.2%]
By the time the first rays of dawn began to bleed over the horizon, both of them were drenched in sweat. The Old Yard was a disaster zone of shattered ice and cratered concrete.
Elena leaned against a rusted pillar, her breathing heavy. "Enough. If we... if we keep going, the sensors will definitely pick up the mana depletion."
Kai collapsed onto his back, staring up at the pink sky. He felt like a god. Or at least, a god's very tired intern. "That was... the best date I've ever had, Elena. Though the service was a bit cold."
Elena let out a short, genuine laugh—a sound so rare it made Kai's heart do a double-take. "You're impossible. You hit D-Rank in a single night. If anyone ever found out, the entire Hero Association would turn this school upside down."
"Then let's make sure they don't," Kai said, sitting up. He looked at his hands, feeling the dense, high-quality mana humming in his veins. He wasn't the Millennium Man anymore. He was a weapon in the making.
"The Ranking Test starts in six hours," Elena said, her expression returning to its serious, Ice Empress mask. "Go to the showers. Eat. And Kai?"
"Yeah?"
"In Sector 7, don't leave my side. The Shadow-Stalker isn't like Ryker or Brooks. It doesn't want to humiliate you. It wants to eat you."
"I'll be the most loyal shadow you've ever had," Kai promised.
The Academy's central plaza was a sea of uniforms. The atmosphere was thick with the scent of fear and adrenaline. Thousands of students were being sorted into transport buses, their gear clanking, their talents occasionally sparking in nervous bursts.
Kai stood in the F-Rank queue, looking like the same "burnout" loser everyone expected. His clothes were slightly wrinkled, and he kept his head down, playing the part of the background character to perfection.
Suddenly, a loud, authoritative chime echoed across the plaza.
"All students, attention!"
Headmaster Vance stood on the central balcony, flanked by Commander Graw and several high-ranking government officials.
"The Sector 7 Forest Dungeon has been prepared," Vance announced. "However, due to a sudden 'Mana Surge' detected in the dungeon's periphery, the mission parameters have been adjusted."
A massive holographic screen ignited, showing a list of pairs.
"To ensure the safety of the lower ranks and to test the leadership of the elite, the Ranking Test will now be a 'Mandatory Duo Expedition,'" Vance said, his eyes scanning the crowd until they landed—briefly, piercingly—on Kai. "An S or A-Rank student has been paired with a student from the D to F-Ranks. You are responsible for each other's survival."
The crowd erupted in a mixture of outrage and excitement.
"Look at Ring 1!" someone shouted.
Kai looked up at the screen. His heart hammered against his ribs.
[MISSION PAIRING: SECTOR 7 RECONNAISSANCE] [1. Elena Frost (Rank S) & Kai Rowan (Rank F)]
"It's not just a test," Leo whispered from behind Kai, his face pale. "Vance did this on purpose. He's putting you right under the Ice Empress's nose to see if you crack."
Kai didn't look at Vance. He looked across the plaza, where Elena was already walking toward him, her silver hair catching the light like a blade.
[New Quest: First Joint Mission] [Objective: Complete the Sector 7 Reconnaissance without breaking the Mana Link.] [Warning: Shadow-Stalker Activity is 50% higher than projected.]
Elena stopped in front of Kai. The students around them pulled back, creating a circle of stunned silence.
"It seems we're official, partner," Kai said, his voice dropping into that familiar, sarcastic lilt. "Try not to slow me down."
Elena didn't smile, but her eyes glittered with a secret, dangerous fire. "Just keep up, Rowan. The transport leaves in five minutes."
As they boarded the armored bus toward the edge of the forbidden forest, Kai felt the silver coin in his pocket grow cold—as if the Snake itself was settling in for a long, entertaining show.
"First mission," Kai whispered to himself, looking out the window at the looming, dark trees of Sector 7. "How hard could it be?"
The bus doors hissed shut, and a loud, distant roar echoed from the heart of the forest, shaking the very ground beneath them.