Because there, he met the nobles.
Children younger than him, faster, stronger, sharper, more gifted in ways he couldn't comprehend.
Their talents weren't just a notch above his—they were mountains higher. While Gordon had spent years being the best in his small pond, these nobles were born in oceans of power, and they swam like it was second nature.
Every spar, every class, every evaluation—he came out worse, slower, weaker.
His grand delusions?
Reduced to ash.
And instead of working harder, instead of sharpening himself to rise to their level…
He succumbed.
Jealousy dug into his bones. Bitterness became his closest friend.
He stopped trying.
And it showed.
By the end of the year, he'd received one of the lowest rankings in the training center.
The very same people he had once looked down on passed him without even a backward glance. He had to repeat the year—a humiliation that nearly broke him.
