Chapter 5 005
Kael arrived at Instructor Vera's office exactly ten minutes after breakfast ended.
The room was neat and minimal. A single desk sat in the center with two chairs facing it. Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, packed with thick volumes on talent theory and combat strategy. A large window behind the desk let in pale morning light.
Vera was already seated when he walked in. She gestured to the chair across from her without looking up from the document she was reading.
Kael sat down and waited.
After a moment, she set the document aside and studied him with the same quiet, calculating look she had given him in the cafeteria.
"You were ranked last in your entire year group six months ago," she said plainly. "Talent Detector. Zero offensive capability. Zero combat scores."
"Yes," Kael said.
"And this morning you put four students in the infirmary, two of whom are Platinum 2 ranked, and you completely stripped Matthew Kane of his talent." She paused. "Explain."
Kael held her gaze. "I got stronger."
Vera was silent for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, the corner of her mouth curved slightly upward.
"That much is obvious." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I reviewed the cafeteria footage before coming to find you. Your movement, your reaction time, your strength output — none of it matches any standard talent profile we have on record." She tilted her head. "You awakened something new, didn't you?"
Kael said nothing.
Vera did not press him. Instead she reached into her desk drawer and slid a single sheet of paper across to him.
"The academy's annual ranking tournament begins in three weeks. Every student competes. Rankings determine your class placement, your resources, your access to advanced training zones." She tapped the paper once. "Last year you placed dead last. I expect that will change this time around."
Kael glanced at the paper. It was a formal registration confirmation — his name already filled in at the top.
"You registered me yourself?" he asked.
"I did it this morning after watching the footage." She met his eyes directly. "I don't care about talent ranks, Kael. I care about results. And what you showed today was a result." She stood up, signaling the meeting was over. "Train hard. Don't get yourself expelled before the tournament. Dismissed."
Kael picked up the paper, stood, and walked toward the door.
"One more thing," Vera said behind him.
He stopped.
"Matthew Kane's father is a Gold ranked government official. When word of what happened today reaches him, and it will reach him, things will become complicated for you very quickly." Her voice was even and matter of fact. "Be ready for that."
Kael nodded once and left.
He walked down the empty corridor alone, the registration paper folded in his pocket. The moment he stepped outside into the open courtyard, the familiar blue screen appeared.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[NEW TALENT ACQUIRED: Dark Cannon — Lv.1]
[ATTRIBUTES UPDATED]
NAME: Kael Voss
LEVEL: 2
HP: 25/25
TALENT POINTS: 15/15
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 20
Speed: 5
Agility: 5
Bravery: 5
Reflex: 5
Available Points to Distribute: 20
TALENTS / ABILITIES
Talent Detector (Lv.5)
Lightning Speed — Cost: 5 Talent Points per use
Talent Drain
Dark Cannon (Lv.1) — Cost: 3 Talent Points per use
NEW DAILY QUESTS UNLOCKED
Run 10km: Reward 5 Attribute Points
Complete 50 Push-ups: Reward 5 Attribute Points
Spar against a stronger opponent: Reward 10 Attribute Points
NEW OPTIONAL QUEST
Win the academy ranking tournament. Reward: Hidden.
Kael read through everything slowly, letting it all sink in.
'Twenty free points and a new quest unlocked.' He looked at the optional quest again. The reward was hidden, which meant it was something the system considered too significant to reveal upfront.
'I need to be smarter about how I distribute these points,' he thought. 'Strength alone won't be enough forever. Speed and Reflex next.'
He allocated ten points to Speed and ten to Reflex.
[Speed: 15]
[Reflex: 15]
Immediately his perception sharpened. The world around him felt slightly slower — students crossing the courtyard, a bird cutting across the sky overhead, leaves drifting down from a nearby tree. Everything felt more readable, more manageable.
He rolled his neck and exhaled.
Three weeks until the tournament. Three weeks to become someone this academy would never forget.
He turned toward the training fields and started walking.
Behind him, without his knowledge, three separate pairs of eyes watched him from different windows across the academy building. A curious female student. A silent instructor. And someone else entirely — someone whose expression carried neither admiration nor hostility, but the cold, patient look of a person making quiet calculations.
The ranking tournament was still three weeks away.
But the games had already begun.
