Chapter 6 006
The training fields stretched out behind the main academy building like a vast open arena. Divided into separate zones, each section was designated for different types of talent training — elemental users on the far left, physical enhancement users in the center, and special ability users toward the back where reinforced walls contained the more destructive outputs.
Kael walked past all of them and headed toward the standard physical training zone — a wide open stretch of dirt track, weighted equipment, and sparring platforms. At this hour, most students were still finishing breakfast or heading to morning theory classes. The field was largely empty.
He dropped his jacket on a nearby bench and looked at his quest log.
[DAILY QUESTS]
Run 10km: Reward 5 Attribute Points
Complete 50 Push-ups: Reward 5 Attribute Points
Spar against a stronger opponent: Reward 10 Attribute Points
'Simple enough. I'll start with the run.'
He stepped onto the dirt track and began at a steady pace, gradually pushing faster with each lap. Within the first two laps he noticed the difference immediately. His legs felt like loaded springs. His breathing stayed controlled even as his speed climbed well beyond what any normal sixteen year old should be capable of. Students who had come out for morning warm-ups stopped and stared as he flew past them on the track.
By the time he crossed the tenth kilometer, he had barely broken a sweat.
TING!
[Run 10km Quest Completed! +5 Attribute Points]
He kept moving without stopping. He dropped to the ground and knocked out fifty push-ups with clean form, each rep faster and more powerful than the last.
TING!
[50 Push-ups Quest Completed! +5 Attribute Points]
Kael stood up and rolled his shoulders. Ten free points already and the morning had barely started. He pulled up his stats and distributed them evenly between Agility and Speed.
[Speed: 20]
[Agility: 10]
He felt the change instantly. His feet felt lighter. His balance shifted in a way that felt more natural, more precise, like his body was finally catching up to what his mind already wanted it to do.
One quest remained.
Spar against a stronger opponent.
Kael looked around the training field. Most of the students nearby were low ranked. He needed someone above his previous level — ideally someone who would actually push him.
'This might be a problem. After what happened in the cafeteria, nobody is going to volunteer to spar with me willingly.'
"You."
The voice came from behind him. Sharp and direct.
Kael turned around.
A boy stood at the edge of the sparring platform with his arms folded. He was tall and lean with close-cropped black hair and dark eyes that carried a steady, unreadable expression. His academy uniform had a single gold stripe along the collar — the mark of a Platinum 3 ranked student.
Kael recognized him immediately. Zane Holloway. Third highest ranked student in the entire second year. Quiet, rarely social, and according to academy gossip, one of the few students that even Matthew Kane had never bothered picking a fight with.
"You want to spar?" Kael asked.
"I watched what you did in the cafeteria," Zane said simply, stepping up onto the platform. "I want to see if it was real or just a fluke."
Kael studied him for a moment, then stepped up onto the platform across from him.
The few students nearby immediately noticed. Word spread fast and within two minutes a loose crowd had gathered at the edges of the sparring zone.
Zane settled into a low, balanced stance. No theatrics. No trash talk. Just clean, practiced posture.
Kael stood straight with his hands relaxed at his sides.
Zane moved first.
He crossed the distance between them in two quick steps and threw a precise combination — a jab to Kael's chin followed immediately by a low body shot. Both punches were fast and technically clean.
Kael slipped the jab by tilting his head and absorbed the body shot against his forearm, redirecting it rather than blocking it fully. He felt the force transfer through his arm. Zane was strong. Noticeably stronger than any of Matthew's minions.
Zane reset instantly and came again. This time he feinted left, then drove his right knee upward toward Kael's midsection.
Kael stepped back just enough to let the knee pass and countered with a quick palm strike to Zane's shoulder, knocking him slightly off balance.
Zane steadied himself and paused, reassessing.
'He's disciplined,' Kael thought. 'He doesn't overcommit. Every move is calculated.'
They exchanged another rapid sequence. Zane's talent was becoming clearer with each exchange. His movements occasionally blurred at the edges — a short-range speed boost that activated in precise bursts rather than sustained acceleration. It made his attacks unpredictable in timing even when the direction was readable.
Kael adapted quickly, reading the slight shift in Zane's weight that preceded each burst.
Zane threw a blurring straight punch. Kael turned his body sideways, letting it pass across his chest by a margin. In the same motion he stepped in close and drove his elbow sharply into Zane's sternum.
The impact sent Zane skidding backward three full steps. He stopped himself at the edge of the platform and looked up.
For the first time, something shifted in his expression. Not anger. Genuine surprise.
"Your reaction speed is abnormal," Zane said quietly.
"I know," Kael replied.
A short silence passed between them. The crowd around the platform was completely still.
Then Zane straightened up and dropped his stance. He looked at Kael with a different kind of attention now — not the evaluating stare of someone sizing up an opponent, but something more like recognition.
"You're going to enter the tournament," Zane said. It was not a question.
"Yes."
Zane was quiet for a moment. Then he stepped off the platform, paused beside Kael, and spoke without looking at him.
"Then you should know that the top three spots are already claimed by people who will not go easy on you simply because you beat Matthew Kane." He glanced sideways. "I'm one of them."
He walked away without another word.
TING!
[Spar Against a Stronger Opponent Quest Completed! +10 Attribute Points]
Kael looked at the notification and then at Zane's retreating figure.
'Top three,' he thought. A slow smile spread across his face.
'Good. I wasn't planning on going easy either.'
He stepped off the platform, picked up his jacket from the bench, and headed toward the academy building for morning classes. The crowd parted around him without a word.
Above the training field, from a window on the fourth floor, Instructor Vera Cross watched him walk away. She uncrossed her arms and turned back to her desk.
She had seen enough.
