(Rodova Military Academy – Principal Alric's Office)
*WHIRRR*
*TAP* *TAP*
The quiet hum of the air system was the only sound in the vast chamber, broken occasionally by the gentle tapping of a stylus against glass.
Principal Alric Dainhart sat at his polished desk, legs crossed, eyes scanning a glowing data slate resting on the surface before him.
A live biometric breakdown of Leo Skyshard flickered across the screen, as Alric studied the improvements that had happened in his body after the tier promotion.
As per protocol, Leo was taken to the physical assessment chamber after his Break-Through, where the machines took a new reading of his body, providing Alric with a whole new data-set to compare Leo's previous self to now.
Muscle Tensile Strength: +273%
Explosive Force Output: +292%
Recovery Speed (Cellular Regeneration): +315%
Stamina Recovery Rate: +244%
Tendon Durability: +267%
Joint Flexibility: +228%
Neuromuscular Reflex Speed: +358%
He exhaled—long, slow, and deep—as a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Impressive…" he murmured, leaning back in his chair as he laced his fingers together over his chest.
If there had been one area where Leo had noticeably lagged behind his peers before his tier promotion, it had been raw strength.
His tactical thinking, combat intuition, and mana control had always been elite—but his physical output was… average at best.
But not anymore.
Alric flicked the screen, bringing up a comparative bar graph of Leo's stats from six months ago versus now.
The transformation was staggering. Growth rates in the 200–400% range across every category.
While several areas had even crossed the 350% threshold—especially those linked to movement, speed, and neuromuscular precision.
Leo's current baseline strength now sat squarely within the range of the Academy's Elite Grandmaster warriors of the past, and just a notch below Su Yang, who had long been hailed as the strongest physical combatant to join Rodova within the past 100 years.
But Leo did not need to match Su Yang's raw power anymore.
Because where Yang had brute force, Leo had speed.
Where Yang could punch through stone, Leo could appear behind his opponent before the punch even landed.
"He's closed the gap in his weakness… and widened the gap in his strengths," Alric whispered, a note of admiration entering his tone. "What a terrifying result… A prodigious breakthrough."
He set the data slate down and took a moment to simply breathe.
Weeks of pressure, of holding his breath for this exact moment, finally dissolved into satisfaction. The boy had made it through. Not only that—he had exceeded expectations in every category that mattered.
Alric's eyes drifted toward the window, his gaze piercing through the glass to the sprawling campus outside.
Beyond the courtyard, he could see instructors moving about, Cadets running drills, and the unmistakable energy of anticipation rising across the Academy grounds.
Circuit Team Selections… Two days from now.
He could already imagine it.
"Those idiots who doubted me…" he said with a chuckle, rising from his chair and straightening his coat.
"Those idiots who said it's stupid to just invest so many resources into uplifting two talents. They have no idea what's about to happen—" Alric said, as he gleefully chuckled to himself.
"Skyshard, Yang, those two stepping onto the battlefield tomorrow against senior students a full tier below them….. it's going to be a bloodbath!" He said, his voice holding no malice, just certainty.
—------------
(Rodova Military Academy, Muiyan Faye's Room)
"He's done it. Leo broke through without any hiccups." Muiyan Faye informed via the communication crystal, as the silence that followed wasn't a surprise.
It was as expected.
A few heartbeats passed before a voice echoed from the crystal—low, male, and frigid as stone submerged in still water.
"…As he should."
The elder's tone carried no praise. Only inevitability.
"I trust you're still monitoring him closely," the voice continued. "Now more than ever, we need to understand his rate of growth. A Grandmaster at his age is rare… but not unprecedented."
Faye nodded once. "I've kept detailed records of his progression. There's been no deviation in behavior—so far."
"Good. That may change. Strength awakens memory. And memory for him… is dangerous."
There was a faint crackle in the air as the elder's tone sharpened.
"If he awakens memories of his family before we give it to him, it may make Leo distrust us, as he may be exposed to a half picture.
Instead, let's use his memories as a carrot and dangle it before him to perform well at the circuits.
Inform the boy that if he performs well at the circuits and gets selected to join the Black Serpents Guild, he is to be given memories of his family back—" The elder instructed, as Faye widened her eyes in surprise.
Leo's family remained the cult's most powerful leverage over him, and his family was the only reason behind Leo agreeing to take on such a difficult mission.
If Leo somehow recalled fragments of his family life before the Evil Cult returned his memories, it could cause his behaviour to change drastically, as depending on what he recalls, his impression of the Evil Cult may shift dramatically.
Under such circumstances, the promise of giving him back his memories in due time was the best counter to him not becoming restless.
Which was why Faye wholeheartedly agreed with the elders suggestion.
"Very well, it shall be done as you suggested—" Faye confirmed, as the connection abruptly terminated.
With Leo now becoming a Grandmaster, his life in the shadows was nearing its end, as once he stepped onto the limelight of the circuits, very soon every major power in the universe was going to be made aware of a budding new talent called 'Leo Skyshard'.
Under such scrutiny, whether Leo thrived or failed would determine not only his own future, but the future of the whole Evil Cult.
As although the elder did not voice those words today…. Muiyan Faye could already hear them being whispered in-between the pauses of his sentences.
'The next dragon—'
Muiyan Faye knew it.
Leo had it in him to become the next dragon and from today onwards, he was on a fast track to getting there.
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END OF VOLUME 1.
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