[Observed result exceeds the candidate’s theoretical limits.]
[Attack Classification: IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIS LEVEL.]
The conclusion remained displayed across every screen in the room.
No one seemed willing to be the first to explain how four C-rank strikes had destroyed a target designed to withstand A-rank abilities.
Adrian had an explanation.
Starbreaker didn’t need to overcome the target’s resistance. Each impact found the flaw created by the previous one, expanded it, and forced the material to destroy itself from within.
However, sharing that information with the World Awakened Authority didn’t seem like an especially intelligent decision.
Representative Halden walked over to the remains of the plate. He crouched, picked up one of the black fragments, and examined it beneath the light.
"It isn’t burned," he said. "There are no traces of corrosion, mana penetration, or spatial distortion either."
Examiner Bennett studied the crack running through the fragment.
"It was physical damage."
"Four impacts of that strength couldn’t have produced it."
Adrian put on his jacket.
"Your machine already mentioned that part."
Halden dropped the fragment.
"The test will be repeated."
"With another machine?"
"With three separate targets, new sensors, and multiple examiners present."
Adrian looked at the clock on the wall.
"How long will that take?"
"As long as necessary."
"I have a date waiting."
From the stands, Evelyn raised her voice.
"You don’t have a date."
Adrian turned toward her.
"I’m glad you’re still available."
"With you."
"That can be fixed too."
The barrier muffled the laughter of several students. Bennett pressed two fingers against the bridge of her nose.
"Mr. Vale, you will remain in this room until we conclude the evaluation."
"Is dinner still a possibility?"
"Less so by the second."
"Then it’s still possible."
Bennett walked away without answering.
The repeated test took forty-seven minutes to begin.
The Authority closed the room to the public but allowed Evelyn to remain in the stands because she was still waiting for her own combat evaluation. The other students were sent to the floor below.
The news didn’t take long to escape.
When Adrian destroyed the first target, only four people had been watching from behind the barriers. By the time the technicians finished installing the new equipment, nine examiners, three guild representatives, and the academy’s deputy director occupied the room.
The representatives hadn’t been invited.
No one asked them to leave.
Three identical plates were positioned in the center of the platform. Each was connected to an independent system and surrounded by sensors capable of measuring force, mana, vibration, temperature, and structural changes.
A short man with white hair and a permanently displeased expression entered alongside Bennett.
"This is Senior Examiner Marcus Venn," she announced. "He’ll supervise the repeated test."
Venn didn’t greet him. He walked around Adrian, examined his posture, and looked at his hands.
"Eighteen years old."
"For several months now."
"Level one."
"Since yesterday."
"A primary class with no registered skills and a secondary class that doesn’t exist in any database."
"That summary is correct."
Venn stopped in front of him.
"I don’t like anomalies."
"I’ll try not to take that personally."
"Anomalies create mistakes. Mistakes create corpses inside dungeons."
Adrian pointed toward the three plates.
"Then you’d better correct yours."
The examiner stared at him in silence before turning toward the technical team.
"Begin."
The first part of the test was intended to demonstrate that Starbreaker required consecutive strikes against the same target.
Adrian synchronized the class.
[Starbreaker synchronized.]
The blue ring closed around his wrist, and the basic stance returned to his body. He positioned himself in front of the first plate and threw a single punch.
[Recorded Power: C-rank.]
[Surface Damage: 0.04%.]
[Fracture: 1/4.]
The technicians removed the plate before he could strike it again. Adrian moved to the second and repeated the motion.
[Recorded Power: C-rank.]
[Surface Damage: 0.05%.]
[Fracture: 1/4.]
The third produced almost the same result.
Venn examined the readings.
"Individually, the attacks aren’t extraordinary."
"Thank you," Adrian replied. "I worked hard to become disappointing."
"Put the first target back."
The technicians installed the original plate. The system had completely repaired the slight deformation, but Adrian could still feel the vibration within the material.
More than two minutes had passed since the first strike.
Before Starbreaker Fist reached Level 2, the layer probably would have disappeared. Now it remained hidden behind the restored surface.
Adrian struck a second time.
[Recorded Power: C-rank.]
[Surface Damage: 0.21%.]
[Structural anomaly detected.]
[Fracture: 2/4.]
Venn studied the plate.
"The damage increased even though you used less force."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I hit it better."
"That isn’t an explanation."
"It’s the only one you’ll receive before I’m granted a license."
Halden stood beside the senior examiner. His expression hardened, but Venn raised a hand before he could intervene.
"Third attack."
Adrian obeyed.
A blue line appeared beneath the surface.
[Fracture: 3/4.]
[Integrity: 96.8%.]
[Warning: Unidentified energy accumulation.]
The sensors began displaying contradictory results. The force behind the strike had decreased again, but the damage was fifteen times greater than that produced by the first.
One of the examiners checked the mana flow.
"There is no external accumulation. All the energy disappears after impact."
"It doesn’t disappear," Bennett said. "It remains inside the target."
"The sensors aren’t detecting anything."
"Then the sensors don’t know what to look for."
Venn walked over to the central console.
"Increase structural sensitivity to maximum."
The technician hesitated.
"The system could overload when he performs the fourth strike."
"The plate is A-rank."
"The plate can withstand it. The sensors might not."
Venn didn’t take his eyes off the target.
"Increase the sensitivity."
The lines on the console changed from blue to orange.
[Deep Analysis Mode activated.]
[Warning: Equipment will operate beyond recommended limits.]
Venn pointed at the plate.
"Destroy it."
Adrian closed his fist.
"I thought you didn’t like anomalies."
"I don’t. That’s why I want to see exactly how this one works."
Adrian found the three overlapping vibrations within the metal. He could distinguish them more clearly now. The first had created the path. The second had widened it. The third had spread the flaw through the internal layers.
The fourth strike only needed to connect them.
Adrian stepped forward.
His fist struck the plate.
[Fracture: 4/4.]
The sensors registered the vibration for a fraction of a second.
Every screen filled with blue lines. Thousands of invisible cracks spread from the point of impact, passed through the plate, and connected behind all six reinforcement barriers.
Then the target split in two.
The feedback wave reached the console.
The room’s lights flickered. One of the analysis modules exploded, and a cloud of black smoke poured from the side panel.
Bennett pressed the isolation button.
It didn’t respond.
"Cut the power."
"The system isn’t accepting the command," the technician said.
The readings continued multiplying. The console attempted to calculate the energy required to produce the observed damage, but every result contradicted the force recorded by the sensors.
[Calculation error.]
[Incompatible result.]
[Recalculating.]
[Calculation error.]
The smoke thickened.
Bennett struck the emergency switch with the base of her tablet.
The panel caved in.
The entire room went dark.
A second later, the emergency lights came on. The console remained off, and a small flame burned inside the analysis module.
Adrian studied the broken panel.
"That one was you."
Bennett placed the tablet on the table.
"Don’t say anything."
"I didn’t break the machine."
"Adrian."
"There are witnesses."
Evelyn covered her mouth to hide a smile.
Examiner Venn didn’t seem to find the situation amusing. He approached the destroyed plate and ran his fingers across the inner surface.
"The technique accumulates structural damage," he said. "It doesn’t increase the physical force of each strike. It changes the way the target receives the next one."
Adrian neither confirmed nor denied the conclusion.
Venn picked up a fragment.
"The first impact created a weakness our sensors couldn’t detect. The following strikes expanded it until the structure collapsed completely."
"That would explain the result," Halden said, "but not its origin."
"The origin is irrelevant to this evaluation. The technique exists, the candidate can use it, and the result has been reproduced under controlled conditions."
Halden looked at the burned console.
"I would hardly call these controlled conditions."
"The target behaved as intended. The analytical equipment was what failed."
Adrian pointed at Bennett.
"After she hit it."
"One more word and I’ll suspend the evaluation," Bennett said.
"Understood."
Venn placed the fragment on the table.
"My conclusion is that Starbreaker Fist possesses an initial power of C-rank and cumulative destructive capability of A-rank or higher. Its effectiveness depends on the user repeatedly striking the same target."
Adrian noticed that the examiner hadn’t mentioned how long the fractures remained or that they could survive regeneration.
He hadn’t discovered everything.
That was convenient.
Venn turned toward Halden.
"I approve a provisional combat license."
"He awakened yesterday," the representative replied. "Regulations limit newly Awakened individuals to F-rank dungeons during their first four weeks."
"Regulations also allow exceptions when a candidate passes a higher-rank evaluation."
"He hasn’t demonstrated experience inside a dungeon."
"First in the regional physical rankings. Second in tactical evaluation. Years of combat training and a technique capable of destroying A-rank defenses. Sending him into an F-rank dungeon wouldn’t provide useful information."
Halden remained silent.
Venn extended his hand toward one of the technicians.
"Prepare the license."
"With what access limit?"
The examiner looked at Adrian.
"C-rank."
A murmur spread through the room.
The guild representatives began typing on their communicators. Bennett looked at Venn as though she expected him to correct the order.
He didn’t.
"Newly Awakened individuals aren’t granted access to C-rank dungeons," Halden said.
"This one just destroyed two A-rank targets."
"Striking a stationary plate doesn’t mean he can survive against monsters of that level."
"That’s why the license is provisional. He may enter E-rank dungeons without supervision and dungeons up to C-rank as a member of an authorized team. He may not serve as team leader, enter alone, or accept extermination contracts outside regulated zones."
Adrian considered the restrictions.
Other newly Awakened students needed to spend a month inside F-rank dungeons before applying for E-rank access. Even after obtaining it, most took several months to reach D-rank.
He could skip almost all of that progression.
"I accept."
Halden looked toward the guild representatives.
"This information will remain restricted until the Authority releases an official report."
One of them raised his communicator.
"You’re too late."
The screens installed in the viewing boxes began displaying notifications.
[RECRUITMENT ALERT: New unique class registered at Meridian Academy.]
[Adrian Vale receives provisional combat classification.]
[Unregistered ability destroys A-rank target.]
[Infinite Sovereign: The first class capable of acquiring other classes?]
The silence vanished.
Almost every communicator in the room began vibrating at once. Guilds, academies, artifact companies, and specialized media outlets requested information.
Adrian’s device received twenty-seven messages in less than ten seconds.
One of the representatives immediately descended onto the platform.
"Mr. Vale, I represent the Argent Dawn Guild. We’re prepared to offer you an entry contract with a two-million signing bonus and immediate access to our—"
"The Iron Vanguard Guild can triple that amount," another interrupted. "We’ll also guarantee you a B-rank team for your first expeditions."
The third representative didn’t try to outbid them aloud. She approached closely enough to hand him a black card.
"Nightfall doesn’t need to make promises in front of a crowd. Call me when you want to learn what we truly offer."
Adrian pocketed the card.
The other two representatives began talking about residences, artifacts, private instructors, and percentages of dungeon materials.
None of them asked how Starbreaker worked.
Not because they weren’t interested.
Because they expected to find out after he signed.
The technician returned with a small silver card. Its surface displayed the symbol of the World Authority and Adrian’s information.
[PROVISIONAL AWAKENED LICENSE]
[Name: Adrian Vale.]
[Primary Class: Infinite Sovereign.]
[Current Classification: Level 1.]
[Independent Access: E-rank Dungeons.]
[Supervised Access: C-rank Dungeons.]
[Provisional Duration: 30 days.]
[Promotion Condition: Complete a practical evaluation inside a dungeon.]
Adrian held the license up to the light.
He had awakened the day before.
He could already enter dungeons that took other students months to reach.
[Achievement recorded.]
[Combat authority acquired.]
[Future synchronization adjusted.]
The final message disappeared before he could open it.
Bennett approached him.
"You’ll need to choose a team before using it."
"Are you volunteering?"
"I’m suggesting that you don’t enter a C-rank dungeon expecting every monster to stand still while you punch it four times."
"That would make for a poor first date."
"We aren’t having a first date."
"Then we can start with the second."
Bennett stared at him for two seconds before walking away, the broken console still releasing smoke behind her.
Examiner Venn looked at Adrian.
"Does he always talk like that?"
Evelyn descended from the stands.
"Unfortunately."
Adrian didn’t make it to the exit.
Evelyn was waiting for him in the adjacent training room, leaning against a pillar with her sword in one hand. The blade was an unsharpened training artifact, but the turquoise lines running across the metal indicated that it could withstand mana.
The screen above the entrance displayed the result of her evaluation.
[Evelyn Hart.]
[Class: Blade Dancer.]
[Rarity: Epic.]
[Combat Potential: S.]
[Provisional Combat Grade: S.]
Only seven students from their generation had obtained S-rank potential. Evelyn was the only one to achieve it with a class specializing in speed and technique instead of destructive power.
Adrian put away his license.
"Congratulations."
"This morning, you said you were saving the good compliments for our date."
"That was one of the cheaper ones."
Evelyn pushed away from the pillar.
"You promised me a fight."
"I said tomorrow at the same time."
"It’s almost nine. Technically, you kept your promise."
She pressed the control on the wall. The doors closed, and a protective barrier covered the windows.
Adrian looked at the sword.
"You want to find out whether the results were real?"
"I want to find out how much of that depends on the target being unable to hit you back."
"The examiner already pointed that out."
"For once, I agree with her."
Evelyn walked to the center of the room and assumed a sideways guard. The Awakening had changed the way she held the sword. Her movements, precise before, now seemed to flow without any visible pause between one stance and the next.
Blade Dancer hadn’t only given her speed.
It had turned her entire body into part of the attack.
Adrian removed his jacket.
"Rules?"
"No attacks capable of causing permanent injuries. The first person to surrender, fall, or lose their weapon loses."
"That sounds designed to favor the only person carrying a weapon."
"You can use Starbreaker."
"I don’t want to break your sword."
"Try touching it first."
Evelyn disappeared.
It wasn’t true teleportation. Adrian managed to see the push of her legs and the rotation of her shoulder, but her speed had increased several times over since the previous day.
The sword reached his neck.
Adrian stepped back.
The tip passed less than half an inch from his skin and changed direction without losing speed. Evelyn pivoted on one foot and transformed the horizontal slash into a rising attack.
Adrian deflected her wrist.
She used the contact to rotate around him. Her elbow struck his ribs, and the sword descended toward his shoulder.
Adrian moved out of its path.
"Faster," he said.
"So are you."
Evelyn advanced again.
This time, she chained five attacks together. The blade appeared in front of Adrian’s chest, shifted toward his leg, and returned to his face. Each movement concealed the next within a rotation that made it difficult to distinguish where one attack ended and another began.
Adrian avoided the first three.
He blocked the fourth with his forearm.
The impact numbed his arm.
The fifth stopped in front of his throat.
Evelyn smiled.
"You lost."
Adrian looked down at the blade.
"Are you sure?"
She tried to pull it away.
The sword didn’t move.
Adrian held the tip between the fingers of his right hand. He had caught it at the same instant it appeared to reach his neck.
Evelyn pulled harder. Adrian twisted his wrist, redirected the blade, and stepped toward her. The distance between them vanished.
The sword was trapped beside their bodies.
Adrian could feel Evelyn’s breath against his neck.
She looked into his eyes.
Then her gaze dropped.
Only for an instant.
Adrian took the weapon from her.
The sword rotated between his fingers and came to rest against Evelyn’s shoulder.
"You can try again when you stop staring at my lips."
Evelyn froze.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
"I was watching your breathing."
"My lungs are lower."
"I know where your lungs are."
"I’m relieved you’ve been paying attention."
Evelyn tried to recover the sword. Adrian moved it beyond her reach.
"The fight ended when you lost your weapon."
"You grabbed it with your hand."
"That’s usually what hands are for."
"Next time, I’ll use a sharpened sword."
Adrian returned the weapon to her hilt-first.
"Then I’ll make sure you aren’t distracted."
Evelyn took the sword and stepped closer until there was barely any space between them.
For a moment, it seemed as though she might accept the provocation.
Instead, she stomped on his foot with all the strength Blade Dancer had added to her body.
Adrian failed to move in time.
"That wasn’t in the rules."
"The fight was already over."
Evelyn left the room before he could respond.
Adrian watched the doors close behind her.
"She was definitely staring at my lips."
News of Infinite Sovereign spread throughout the city before nightfall.
Some reports claimed Adrian could copy any skill he saw. Others said he had stolen a secret class. One publication claimed Starbreaker was a hidden evolution of Martial Artist and that Adrian had accidentally discovered its requirements.
No one mentioned corpses from the future.