Meridian Academy wanted five representatives.
The top fifty students in the local ranking could compete to become one of them.
Adrian didn’t need to participate.
Examiner Bennett explained that to him three times during the briefing, perhaps because he continued reading the rewards instead of listening to her.
"The evaluation also functions as an examination for provisional access to C-Rank dungeons," she said. "You already possess that license. You can maintain and improve your position in the local ranking by completing ordinary raids."
"I understand."
"Then stop looking at the prize."
Adrian enlarged the final line of the announcement.
[First Place Reward]
[One free entry: Meridian Special Dungeon.]
[Entry fees, extracted materials, and core taxes waived.]
"What makes it special?"
Bennett closed the panel from her device.
"No."
"That didn’t answer my question."
"It means I’m not going to help you justify a decision you’ve already made."
The main screen displayed the evaluation’s complete structure. Participants would accumulate points across three phases: combat, survival, and monster elimination. The five students with the highest total scores would represent Meridian Academy in the regional tournament.
First place would also receive free access to Abyssal Garden, a special C-Rank dungeon that opened for only four days every three months.
The normal entry fee exceeded half a million credits.
That wasn’t the important part.
Abyssal Garden had six times the monster density of a conventional dungeon. Teams used its limited access to gain levels, collect rare materials, and acquire combat experience before major competitions.
Adrian needed to reach Level 15 to enter Meridian Station.
He was still Level 9.
"I’ll participate," he decided.
Bennett sighed.
"Naturally."
"You could pretend to be a little enthusiastic."
"A little over a week ago, you destroyed an evaluation machine. Then you turned a public dungeon into a temporal anomaly, registered its core under your name, and forced the medical center to create a protocol for someone with three Class Cores. I exhausted my enthusiasm completing the reports."
"I can sign them."
"You don’t know what they contain."
"That has never stopped the academy from asking me to sign something."
Bennett stared at him for a second.
"Report tomorrow at seven. And try not to claim ownership of the testing grounds."
"I make no promises if it has a core."
The evaluation attracted more spectators than some professional raids.
The central arena’s stands filled before eight in the morning. Guild representatives occupied the upper boxes, while students who didn’t meet the requirements watched the broadcast from other areas of the academy.
Of the fifty candidates summoned through the local ranking, forty-eight had confirmed their participation.
Adrian received five new recruitment offers before reaching the participant area.
Every one of them was exclusive.
He rejected all five.
The sixth came from Argent Dawn and included a clause allowing him to retain his units and fifteen percent of the resources he acquired.
Adrian returned it unsigned.
"A week ago, that would have been an exceptional offer," Evelyn commented.
She stood beside one of the pillars, dressed in Meridian’s white combat uniform. A new sword hung from her waist.
"A week ago, I didn’t own thirty percent of a dungeon’s resources," Adrian replied.
"You also didn’t have nearly five hundred unanswered messages."
"Have you been looking through my phone?"
"It vibrated throughout your entire medical examination. It was difficult to ignore."
Adrian examined her new weapon. The guard bore the academy’s emblem, and the blade was reinforced with a bluish mineral.
"I see you replaced the sword."
"The academy did. It was destroyed during an official expedition."
"Then I don’t need to buy you another one."
"You said you would."
"You were leaning against me and didn’t appear to be in any condition to negotiate."
Evelyn rested one hand on the hilt.
"I could break this one over your head too."
"That would be an expensive way to acquire a third."
She tried to maintain a serious expression, but her lips moved slightly before she looked toward the field.
The injuries from Hollow Station were no longer visible. The academy’s healers had repaired her ribs during the previous week, and Evelyn moved without difficulty, though Adrian noticed that she still protected her left side slightly when turning.
War God’s Instinct detected the small limitation in her posture.
Evelyn was also examining him.
"The way you walk has changed," she said.
"I spent six hours training with Lyra and the rest of the week practicing what she taught me."
"That explains the bruises. It doesn’t explain the rest."
"What rest?"
"In Hollow Station, you used a technique to move through space. Before entering, you had only demonstrated physical abilities. Then you registered another creature, and now you walk as though you’re calculating the distance to every surface."
Adrian looked around.
The nearest wall was eight yards away. Two Riftbreaker Steps would be enough to reach it. The stadium’s ceiling could become an exit if he needed to change direction.
He had calculated both without intending to.
"Maybe I pay attention."
"You paid attention before. This is different."
Evelyn lowered her voice.
"Every time you appear, you possess a new technique. Starbreaker, those soldiers, the spatial ability, that black beast... The academy classified you as a Special Summoner because it doesn’t understand what Infinite Sovereign does. Neither do I."
"Do you want to ask me something?"
"I want to know where your techniques really come from."
Adrian thought about the recording hidden ten thousand years in the future.
The adult Evelyn had known his decisions, his jokes, and how his class worked. She had even known that he would choose to take all three rewards from the Temporal Warden.
The young woman standing before him still distrusted every answer.
Adrian stared at her a second too long.
"What?" Evelyn asked.
"I was imagining you with longer hair."
She blinked.
"We’re talking about your abilities."
"I know. Long hair would suit you."
"Do you always flirt when you want to avoid a question?"
"Not always. Sometimes I do it because I want to."
Evelyn pressed her lips together.
"One day, I’ll discover what you’re hiding."
"Then we’ll have something to discuss over dinner."
"We still haven’t agreed to that dinner."
"You owe me one after Hollow Station."
"You owe me a sword."
"Perfect. We can discuss both debts while we eat."
Before Evelyn could respond, the stadium screens activated.
[Representative Selection Evaluation]
[Eligible candidates: Local Rookie Ranking Top 50.]
[Registered participants: 48.]
[Available positions: 5.]
[Three phases: Combat, Survival, Monster Elimination.]
[All scores are cumulative.]
The first phase wouldn’t begin with duels.
Meridian wanted to measure something more fundamental.
The ability to reach a fight alive.
Part of the central field descended, revealing a structure nearly two kilometers long beneath the stadium. Mobile towers, incomplete bridges, narrow corridors, and suspended platforms formed an artificial city.
Hundreds of training devices occupied the streets. Some fired mana projectiles. Others generated gravity zones, barriers, and traps.
The participants had to cross the course, reach three checkpoints, and destroy a target at the end.
Every hit received would add five seconds.
Falling outside the designated route meant immediate elimination.
[Phase One — Combat Mobility.]
[Maximum score: 1,000 points.]
[Scoring factors: Completion time, damage received, target destruction.]
The academy record appeared on the screens.
[Current Record: 2 minutes, 11.04 seconds.]
[Record Holder: Leon Mercer.]
A young man with dark brown hair looked up from the opposite end of the participant area.
Adrian recognized him from the academy records.
Leon Mercer held first place among Meridian’s combat students. He possessed an A-Rank lancer class and had set the record five months earlier using a charge technique that converted every foothold into linear acceleration.
He was also ranked second on the local rookie ranking.
He wasn’t the spoiled son of a guild or someone protected by his family name. He had earned both positions by winning battles, completing expeditions, and maintaining the best results of his generation.
Evelyn followed Adrian’s gaze.
"That’s Leon Mercer."
"I recognized him."
"He doesn’t usually look away from the field to study another participant."
Adrian looked back at the lancer.
Leon didn’t appear annoyed. He was examining Adrian’s stance, probably trying to identify what had changed since the records from Hollow Station.
"I feel special."
"You entered the top fifty after a single raid and appeared with a technique that didn’t exist a week ago. It’s natural that he would want to measure you."
"That sounded less romantic than I expected."
"Nothing about this conversation was romantic."
The participants were divided into five groups. The first four would contain ten members each, while the last would contain eight. Each group would traverse a separate version of the artificial city to prevent interference.
Evelyn belonged to the third group.
She completed the course in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. She took one hit while protecting her side but destroyed the final target with a single slash.
[Evelyn Hart]
[Completion time: 2:37.81.]
[Penalties: +5 seconds.]
[Final time: 2:42.81.]
[Points awarded: 872.]
The score temporarily placed her third.
Evelyn returned to the participant area while a healer examined her side.
"You’re tilting your left shoulder," Adrian said.
"I was hit by a projectile."
"You were doing it before that."
"My ribs are still sensitive."
"Then you shouldn’t have blocked with that side."
"Thank you. That’s extremely useful to know afterward."
"I could examine your posture more closely."
"You aren’t touching me."
"I hadn’t finished offering."
"You didn’t need to."
The fifth group was called before Adrian could respond.
He entered his lane and took his position behind the starting line. The remaining seven students adopted different stances. Two activated speed abilities. Another covered his legs in wind. A young woman grew additional limbs from her back to propel herself over obstacles.
Adrian activated Starbreaker and Rift Hunter.
The two Class Cores found the rhythm Lyra had forced him to maintain for six hours and which Adrian had practiced throughout the week.
[Active classes: 2.]
[Class synchronization: 11%.]
[Class Conflict: None.]
Calamity Beast remained isolated.
He didn’t need resistance if no one managed to hit him.
A voice echoed across the field.
"Participants ready."
Rift Sense spread throughout the artificial city.
Adrian detected the active traps, the empty spaces between structures, and routes a normal body couldn’t traverse. Hunter’s Mark appeared over the first checkpoint.
"Three."
Starbreaker concentrated force in his legs.
"Two."
Rift Hunter folded the distance before him.
"One."
Adrian took his first step.
A Rift opened beneath his foot.
[Begin.]
The other participants had barely crossed the starting line when Adrian disappeared.
Riftbreaker Step released the accumulated momentum thirty yards ahead. Adrian emerged from the fissure running along a wall, took a second step, and stored more force.
A mana cannon fired at him.
Adrian opened the next exit above the projectile. He appeared behind its trajectory without losing speed.
The third step carried him to the first checkpoint.
[Checkpoint 1 reached.]
[Elapsed time: 6.18 seconds.]
The stands fell silent.
Adrian couldn’t safely chain more than three Riftbreaker Steps. Spatial strain increased with each use, and a fourth step could close the fissure around his body.
Instead of forcing it, he landed and covered the next stretch using only Starbreaker’s movement.
The shift allowed both cores to release tension without deactivating the synchronization.
Three drones descended in front of him.
He didn’t need to destroy them.
Rift Sense revealed the space between their formations. Adrian slid beneath the first, used the second drone’s casing as a foothold, and vaulted over the third.
A barrier appeared in front of him.
He opened a Rift to one side.
The barrier extended to block the exit.
Adrian canceled the fissure before entering it and used the change in trajectory to turn. Starbreaker converted the motion into new momentum.
Riftbreaker Step activated again.
Adrian crossed through a building without entering it.
[Checkpoint 2 reached.]
[Elapsed time: 21.47 seconds.]
The traps in the final sector activated simultaneously.
The floor disappeared.
Dozens of platforms began moving above a hundred-foot void while mana projectiles covered the direct routes.
Leon had established his record in that sector. His Vanguard Lancer class allowed him to accumulate acceleration during a charge, but even he had needed more than forty seconds to cross without receiving a penalty.
Adrian applied Hunter’s Mark to the third checkpoint.
The shortest route was a straight line.
There was no floor beneath it.
He didn’t need one.
The first Riftbreaker Step launched him into the void.
The exit appeared over a platform that hadn’t yet reached its position. Adrian touched its surface for a fraction of a second and converted its lateral movement into momentum.
Second step.
A rain of projectiles sealed the exit.
Adrian turned the Rift before emerging and appeared beneath a platform.
He used the ceiling as the floor.
Third step.
Space folded and returned him to the main route.
[Checkpoint 3 reached.]
[Elapsed time: 43.09 seconds.]
Adrian landed in front of the final target.
It was a reinforced steel tower designed to withstand C-Rank abilities. He could strike it with Starbreaker Fist, but doing so immediately after using Riftbreaker Step would force the golden core to alter its mana flow.
He would lose time.
Instead of separating the techniques, he maintained the synchronization.
He accumulated force in his foot.
Opened a Rift in front of the target.
And took one final step.
The exit appeared behind the first layer of steel. Starbreaker’s momentum didn’t need to penetrate the entire outer shell.
Riftbreaker Step released the accumulated force inside the tower.
The target deformed from within.
Its outer layers exploded a moment later.
[Final target destroyed.]
[Course completed.]
The timer stopped.
[Adrian Vale]
[Completion time: 1 minute, 34.62 seconds.]
[Damage received: 0.]
[Penalties: 0.]
[Previous academy record: 2 minutes, 11.04 seconds.]
[New academy record established.]
For several seconds, no one in the stands reacted.
Then the noise began.
Students rose from their seats. Guild representatives activated their devices, and several cameras descended to focus on Adrian.
The scoreboard updated his position.
[Phase One Ranking]
[1. Adrian Vale — 1,000 points.]
[2. Leon Mercer — 941 points.]
[3. Evelyn Hart — 872 points.]
[Academic record reward: +100 classification points.]
[Total classification points: 1,100.]
Adrian returned to the participant area while the technical staff inspected the destroyed target.
Evelyn was waiting for him.
"That technique didn’t exist in Hollow Station."
"I learned it while training with Lyra."
"In six hours."
"She’s a demanding teacher."
"That still doesn’t explain how you created a technique combining physical force with spatial manipulation."
"I could explain it over dinner."
Evelyn crossed her arms.
"I’m beginning to think you use that dinner to avoid every important conversation."
"I could also use it to have an important conversation."
She opened her mouth, but someone stopped in front of them.
Leon Mercer was taller than he had appeared from the opposite end of the field. A folded spear rested across his back, and there was no hostility in his expression.
He didn’t look at Evelyn.
His full attention remained on Adrian.
"The course favors mobility abilities," he said, "but Rift Step normally loses momentum during the transition. Yours preserves it and then accumulates more."
"You were paying attention."
"Not closely enough from the stands."
Leon looked toward the destroyed target and then at the final spatial fissures disappearing above the field.
"The record was mine because I completed this test better than anyone else. Now it belongs to you because you were faster. I have no objection to that."
Adrian inclined his head slightly.
It wasn’t the response he would have expected from someone desperate to protect his position.
Leon opened the evaluation panel. The combat pairings hadn’t yet been assigned.
"However, the academy wants five representatives. If we’re going to compete on the same team, I need to know what you can do when another fighter prevents you from choosing your route freely."
He selected his name and submitted a request to the committee.
[Special Combat Request submitted.]
[Leon Mercer — Academy Combat Rank 1.]
[Class: Vanguard Lancer.]
[Class Rank: A.]
[Requested opponent: Adrian Vale.]
Leon held his gaze.
"I want to measure the difference between us personally."
***
Thanks for Reading
It looks like the novel got a contract, so I hope you keep reading so it can grow even more.
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