Robert shouted Karnah's name at the door of the forbidden room, then entered, and the doors sealed shut again.
Karnah... She was the definition of brute force. But Robert didn't want her to be just a "meat shield." As he sat in the Bending Machine's chair, he imagined not a massive warrior, but an unbreakable diamond. As he processed the data through the Fuj, the Protocolasm pool began to take on a dense, hard, and transparent form this time.
Robert thought of defense first. Karnah absorbed blows with her body, but that wasn't sustainable. Robert designed an emitter blending "hard light" technology with magic. Then he moved to offense. He removed the weight of metal and replaced it with pure energy.
When production was complete, Robert stepped out into the outer room, holding parts that had just cooled down but were vibrating from within.
The giant warrior approached with ground-shaking steps and a huge smile on her face when she saw Robert. "My turn, little Leader? What did you make for me? A bigger axe?"
"Better," Robert said. He opened his palm. In it lay an elegant, slender, silvery metal rod. It was only the length of a pen but had hexagonal rune engravings on it.
Karnah's smile faded. She picked up the tiny rod with her massive hands as if holding tweezers. "This... is very cute. Am I going to gouge my enemies' eyes out with this?"
"Mentally give the command 'Open' to the rune on the hilt."
Karnah grasped the rod doubtfully and gave the command.
FWOOSH!
In an instant, a massive, three-meter, translucent energy shield made of hundreds of interconnected hexagonal plates opened up from inside the rod like an umbrella. The shield glowed with a honeycomb pattern, slightly bending the image behind it.
"This is a 'Deflector Shield'," Robert said. "You don't have to absorb blows anymore. You can reflect them back to where they came from."
Karnah's eyes lit up like a child receiving a gift on a holiday morning. But Robert wasn't finished. He pulled out the second piece he was hiding behind his back.
"And this," he said, extending a long object in its sheath. "Your axe was for brute force. This is for surgical precision."
Robert drew the sword from its scabbard.
This was unlike anything they had seen before. The blade was completely transparent, as if made of pure, frozen light. Inside the crystal, all the colors of the rainbow pulsed slowly like an aurora borealis as it moved. Its sharpness... the edge was so fine it was invisible to the naked eye. It only showed as a line dividing the light in the air.
"Pure Protocolasm and light," Robert explained. "Almost weightless, but hard enough to pierce the heart of a mountain."
Karnah strapped the shield to her other arm and took the sword. Her muscles, accustomed to her own massive strength, were surprised by the supernatural lightness of the sword. When she swung it in the air, the sword sang a melancholic but deadly song as it cut the air: "VVVIIINNNN!"
Karnah couldn't hold back anymore. She let out a laugh that lit up the room. "THIS IS AMAZING!"
She dropped the sword, closed the distance to Robert in two massive strides, and in a single move, snatched Robert up and lifted him into the air like a toy doll, bringing him to face level. Robert found himself suddenly dangling two and a half meters off the ground in the arms of that massive woman.
"Tell me, little Leader," Karnah said, her voice ringing with that warm, joyful laughter. "You gave them such beautiful gifts, paid them compliments... Are you going to kiss me too?"
At that height, Robert could smell the scent of Karnah's wheat-blonde hair and feel the warmth of her breath. He grinned. "Just ask, Giant Beauty!"
And like an actor's stage kiss, he lunged toward Karnah's cheek with an exaggerated move. Karnah joined this game with excitement, turning her head to plant one on Robert's cheek. The sound of the two kisses echoed in the closed room like the popping of a champagne cork: "POP!"
Karnah laughed triumphantly while holding Robert in the air. "Thank you again, Leader! This... this is better than everything!"
While still suspended in her strong arms, Robert reached out and touched Karnah's neck. "Being modified suits you, darling. But if you put me down, maybe I can focus on the next designs."
"It is a pleasure to serve!" Karnah said, gently setting him down.
Robert waved to the others in the waiting area—the team watching him with envy, amusement, and curiosity—and returned to the forbidden room.
Next challenge: Amara.
When Robert sat in the chair, his mind was filled with Amara's wild, chaotic nature. He thought like an engineer. Efficiency. Power. Control.
He remembered the sound of heels and the crack of whips from that first night. Amara's nine tails... They were messy. He had to unite them. In his mind, he designed a segmented "tail unifier" made of dark, blackened metal to integrate with the spine. A sort of mechanical corset.
When production ended, he walked out with that heavy, metallic, somewhat industrial-looking piece in his hand.
"Amara."
The succubus entered the room as always, swaying lazily, wearing only a thin piece of black fabric that covered the shadows. "Missed me again, bender?"
Robert showed her the metallic 'knob' in his hand. "Try this. It will turn your tails into a single destructive limb."
Amara's amber eyes looked at the strange, crude tool. "What is this? A new torture device?"
Robert approached to show her how to wear it. Amara reluctantly turned around. When Robert tried to place the tool on her waist, the coldness and pressure of the metal made Amara flinch.
"Ah! It's cold! And... it pinches! It digs into the roots of my tails! Take it off!"
She snatched the tool from Robert's hand in a fury and threw it into the corner of the room. The sound of metal hitting the wall echoed.
"I will not allow you to constrict my beauty with such crude metals and collars," she said, sidling up to Robert again. Her hands began to roam over Robert's chest. "If you want to unite my power, handsome, there are much more... sensual ways to do it."
Robert realized his mistake in that moment. Tina required control to balance her, but Amara... Amara was chaos. To "constrict" her was against her nature.
"You're right," Robert said, pulling back. "My mistake. It was a crude approach. Instead of restricting you 'more', I should make you 'more' free."
He entered the forbidden room again. This time he thought not of engineering, but of aesthetics and protection.
Minutes later, he emerged with a slender chain of blackened silver in his hand. At its end hung a teardrop-cut crystal, glowing like a trapped piece of fire, identical in color to Amara's amber eyes. Simple, elegant, and deadly.
"This is a 'Deflector Talisman'," Robert said, handing over the necklace. "It reflects physical objects or low-level spells approaching that beautiful skin of yours back before you even notice them. You won't have to defend yourself while 'playing' anymore."
Amara's eyes sparkled. This wasn't captivity; it was invulnerability. She turned around, gathering her hair. "Put it on."
As Robert clasped the necklace around her long, elegant neck, he allowed his fingers to touch Amara's warm skin. The moment the lock clicked, the crystal attuned to Amara's aura and emitted a bright amber glow.
Amara turned slowly. She wore that seductive mask on her face. "This... is much better, Leader."
And then, with a single fluid motion, she pulled Robert by his collar and latched onto his lips. This wasn't like the wild war they had in their rooms. It was a deeper, more controlled "possessive" kiss. Less of a thank you, more of a "you are mine now" brand.
When she pulled back, her lips were wet. "See? Jewels suit me, not chains."
Robert laughed, steadying his breath. "Wait your turn, sweetheart. First, I need to deal with our other flying disaster."
He entered the forbidden room again. This time he worked on speed and aerodynamics.
When he came out, he held parts made of shiny, black metal. "Vingyu!"
Vingyu dove into the room like a wind, doing somersaults in the air before stopping in front of Robert. "Me! Me! Is it my turn?"
Robert showed the parts in his hand. "I made you not one, but two gifts."
The first was a pair of mechanical wing add-ons. Designed to be mounted on his shoulders over Vingyu's silvery-blue wings, they consisted of light-absorbing, razor-sharp black metal feathers.
When Vingyu put on the add-ons, his body tensed for a moment. Then he opened all four wings simultaneously. He was no longer a cute bird, but a four-winged storm, a mix of angel and demon.
"Four wings..." Vingyu whispered.
"Extra speed and instant turning capability," Robert said. Then he extended the second gift, a black metallic feather about thirty centimeters long.
"This is 'Typhoon's Needle'. Throw it."
Vingyu threw the feather at the wall. The moment the feather stuck, Robert said, "Ask it to come back."
The moment Vingyu gave the command from his mind, a blue energy line formed between his wrist and the feather. And Vingyu, screaming "YIIIAAA!", was pulled along that energy line from one end of the room to the other before he could even blink.
He was in shock. Then, pure euphoria exploded on his face. "THIS! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!"
A storm broke out inside the room. Vingyu threw himself here and there, turning into a projectile drawing blue and black lines. Just as he passed by Robert, Robert caught him in mid-air with a sudden move and trapped him in his arms.
Vingyu flapped in surprise, his four wings closing around Robert. Robert held him tight and kissed him.
This was a sudden, overwhelming, and huge kiss, just like Vingyu's energy. Vingyu's constantly moving mind stopped in that moment. And then he responded.
Like a bee attacking a flower, he began to smother Robert with small, fast, chirping kisses. His four wings fluttered excitedly, creating a small whirlwind around Robert.
Robert lowered him to the ground, laughing. And he headed to the room again for the final name. Elegance. And deadly cold.
Five minutes later, he emerged holding an ivory-colored closed fan and a belt adorned with crystal stones.
"Syla."
Syla approached with her aristocratic stance. Robert handed her the fan.
"Requires charge and water," Robert said. "I filled the flask at your waist with Bending Machine water. The fan atomizes the water and instantly turns it into ice spikes."
When Syla took the fan and swung it in the air, a dozen scalpel-sharp ice spikes shot from the tip of the silk surface and embedded themselves in the ceiling. Syla's ice-blue eyes sparkled with admiration for the first time.
Robert handed her the belt. "Crystal Ivy. Inlaid with emeralds and sapphires. Extends like a whip, captures like a lasso."
Syla couldn't maintain her cold mask any longer. "Leader," she said, her voice cool as always but warm underneath. "Your genius is not only functional but also aesthetic. You grant us the luxury of being beautiful even while fighting."
And that ice queen hugged Robert. Elegant, controlled, but sincere. Robert pulled her close and gave her a big kiss. This was neither lustful nor excited; it was a calm and deep kiss, like two professionals appreciating each other.
When Syla pulled back, she was laughing. "I see that thank-yous have become standard protocol in this new order of the Academy."
Robert smiled, stepped back, and looked at his creation.
A four-winged storm, a queen of ice, an untouchable succubus, a deadly healer, a focused fire, an invisible hunter, an assassin owl, and an unshakable shield.
"Now," Robert said, his voice echoing in the room. "The Sun Tournament is near. Go to the training ground. Push the limits of those things. Let's see what you can do."
The team looked at him as one body, with gratitude and unshakable loyalty, then left the room. A new age was beginning.
Three weeks passed as quickly as a blink of an eye, yet as long as a century.
During this time, the Bending Room never fell silent. The sound of metal grinding against metal echoed through the nights, while Robert's harsh, uncompromising commands rang out across the training grounds by day. Like a sculptor chipping away at marble, Robert carved that misfit, broken team ranked 406th, discarding the excess and leaving behind a pure, deadly diamond.
The sonic booms created by Vingyu, the melancholic song of Karnah's sword (VVVIIINNNN!), the rhythmic click-click-click of Bellero's machine gun... This was no longer noise; it was a symphony. A symphony of metal and magic conducted by Robert.
And the day arrived. The Sun Victory Tournament.
The Academy was electrically charged that morning. The academic calm of the corridors had been replaced by the blood-scented anticipation of gladiators about to enter the arena. When Robert gathered his team at the entrance of the waiting tunnel, he no longer saw the "Red Friends" before him.
Before him stood a war machine of his own design.
Syla looked like a winter queen in her flexible armor with ice-blue details. Amara had ditched the daring leather straps for a matte red, fire-resistant jumpsuit that fit her body like a second skin; only her back and the base of her tails were exposed. Tina's armor started with an obsidian plate on her chest and turned red as it went down. Karnah, with her massive frame encased in distressed bronze armor, was as solid as a fortress gate. Uhura was a purple ghost in the shadows, while Vingyu was a storm bird in his aerodynamic white jumpsuit.
"Listen to me," Robert said. His voice echoed in the tunnel. There was no fatigue in his eyes, only an icy focus. "We are not going out there today to put on a show. We are going out there to send a message. No mercy. No hesitation. Only the plan."
The team confirmed with a single voice, a metallic growl.
The massive gates opened, and the blinding light of the arena poured over them.
The Sun Victory Arena was a massive crater carved into the heart of the Academy. Hundreds of thousands of spectators vibrated like a swarm of ants on transparent platforms suspended in the sky. In the darkened boxes at the very top, the shadows of the Council sat like gods watching the world below.
The arena floor this year was shaped with the theme "Ruined Temple." Marble columns half-submerged in water, ruins woven like a labyrinth, and strategic cover points...
At that moment, a giant, holographic head appeared in the center of the arena. The Announcer.
"LADIES! GENTLEMEN! AND THE MILLIONS OF SPECIES IN BETWEEN!" The Announcer's voice hit like a physical pressure wave. "WELCOME TO THE 514TH SUN VICTORY TOURNAMENT! THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: NO KILLING, MAIMING IS ALLOWED! IF YOUR BACK HITS THE GROUND, YOU GO HOME!"
The crowd roared with a savage hum.
"EYES ON THE FIELD FOR THE OPENING MATCH! A WALL OF STEEL! IRON GUARDIANS VS STEEL REPTILES!"
From the left flank of the arena, a massive team of eight emerged. In the front walked Normah, holding his legendary hammer made from a volcano core. Right beside him, Tersan shook the ground in his heavy, hydraulic armor that provided gravity manipulation. Behind them were six more "tank" warriors wearing identical gray armor, carrying tower shields and spears. This was a team of military discipline, not individual talent.
Opposite them were the "Steel Reptiles," composed of lizard-like humanoids with skin shining like metal. They were fast, they were savage.
The moment the whistle blew, the Reptiles attacked with uncontrolled speed.
Robert watched his old teammates from the shadows of the tunnel. The Iron Guardians didn't even flinch. The six shielded warriors interlocked at Tersan's command, forming an impassable wall. When the Reptiles slammed into the wall, Tersan slammed his hand onto the ground.
BOOOM!
Gravity increased tenfold in an instant. The fast reptiles were pinned to the ground as if an invisible mountain had fallen on them, their armor cracking. And in that moment, the wall opened. Normah dove into the pinned opponents with that massive hammer. His strikes were not strategic; they were destructive. Every blow broke a bone, every blow knocked an opponent out of the arena.
This was not a battle; it was an industrial press machine. No strategy. No elegance. Only pure, ruthless power. The Iron Guardians won the match in three minutes, without taking a single scratch, sending their opponents to the hospital.
While the crowd wildly applauded this display of primal strength, Robert was just taking notes. Strong, he thought. But inflexible. They have only one trick.
"AND NOW!" shouted the Announcer, while the dust of the first match hadn't even settled. "LOOK TO THE SCREENS FOR THE SECOND MATCH OF THE DAY!"
Names spun like a slot machine on the holographic screen and locked in.
RED FRIENDS vs SKY EMPIRE
The roar of the crowd turned into a confused whisper for a moment. Red Friends? That freak team ranked 406th?
When the opponents emerged from the opposite tunnel, it became clear why they were in the top 50. "Sky Empire" lived up to its name. Four armored Harpies with spears took off screaming. Behind them rose the Tamer Leader, a burly man with a scarred face carrying massive, steam-powered mechanical wings on his back. And beside him... beside him were two nightmares pushing the limits of what the Academy allowed.
One was a massive Wyvern with scales glowing emerald green, spitting acid.
The other was a Behemoth the size of a building, resembling an armored rhinoceros, shaking the ground with every step.
A complete air and brute force team. A thin, dangerous smile appeared on Robert's lips. Perfect.
The two teams took their places. The Announcer's voice exploded like thunder: "LET THE BATTLE... BEGIN!"
Sky Empire, as expected, did not hesitate. While the Harpies and Wyvern took to the sky, darkening it, the Tamer hovered in the air and slammed his staff down. The Behemoth, grunting like a freight train, charged towards the Red Friends, smashing through the marble columns in front of it.
The ground shook, tons of weight were coming at them. The Tamer Leader laughed from the air. "Crush them! Don't even leave dust behind!"
"Syla! Karnah!" shouted Robert. "Be the wall!"
Syla stepped forward with aristocratic calm. The Behemoth was about to reach them. She opened her ivory fan and swung it in a sharp arc towards the ground.
CRACK!
In a tenth of a second, the Behemoth's path turned into a smooth ice rink shining like a mirror. The moment the claws of the monster running with tons of weight hit the ice, the laws of physics kicked in. Balance was lost. The giant creature tipped over with unstoppable momentum and slid with its own speed right to the point Robert had planned, in front of Karnah.
"Now!"
Karnah lunged forward with a wild laugh. She held that transparent, light-vibrating sword. She had forgotten the "Mountain Splitter." As the Behemoth tried to stand up, Karnah swung the sword.
VVVIIINNNN!
The sound drowned out even the noise of the crowd. The light sword sliced through the Behemoth's supposedly impenetrable armored legs cleanly, like a hot knife through butter. The monster's roar of pain shook the arena. As the Light Security Cage activated to pull the crippled giant from the field, the crowd was in shock.
Their greatest ground power was gone in ten seconds.
The smile on the Tamer Leader's face froze. "What is that sword?!" he shouted. "Air attack! Destroy them all!"
"Incoming from the air!" shouted Vingyu.
The Wyvern and four Harpies dove with the fire of vengeance.
"Make the sky narrow for them," Robert said calmly. "Bellero, suppressive fire!"
The mechanical owl landed on top of a marble column. The miniature turrets in his helm opened. Click-click-click-click! Magic Dust bullets forced the Harpies to scatter like a swarm of flies.
Vingyu screamed and opened his four wings. He was now a storm drawing black and blue lines. He threw "Typhoon's Needle" at the furthest Harpy. The moment the feather stuck, Vingyu pulled himself along the energy line. ZIIIP! He appeared on top of the Harpy at a speed the eye couldn't follow and slammed her into the ground with a kick.
The airspace had turned into chaos. The Tamer Leader saw his team crumbling. He roared in anger. He cast strategy aside.
"Enough!" shouted the Tamer. The steam engines on his back whistled, the mechanical wings reached maximum power. He chose his target: Robert. If he took down the leader, the snake's head would be severed.
The Tamer dove toward Robert like a meteor, raising his electric staff. His speed was terrifying. "DIE!"
Robert didn't move. He didn't even blink. He just whispered. "Uhura. Amara. Take him down."
Two figures emerged from the shadows.
Amara stepped onto a ruined column right under the Tamer's dive path. In her blood-red jumpsuit, she looked like she was walking on a runway, not a battlefield. She opened her arms wide, the Deflector Talisman around her neck glowing.
"Hey, toy man!" she called out, her voice piercing through the noise of the arena. "Eyes on me, not on the road."
The Tamer looked at this provocative target for a moment, for a tiny fraction of a second. His speed didn't drop, but his focus shifted. That hesitation was his end.
This was the moment Uhura was waiting for.
The purple ghost inside the shadow pointed the Double-Headed Shadow Staff at the Tamer. Her purple eyes glowed. This wasn't an illusion, it was a short circuit spell. Uhura locked her mind onto the control chip of the mechanical wings on the Tamer's back. She injected the reflection energy she pulled from Amara's talisman directly into that chip like a virus.
Just meters away from Robert, the Tamer felt an explosion on his back.
CRACK-POP!
Black smoke and sparks erupted from the mechanical wings. The system rejected its owner's commands. When the right wing locked up and the left wing continued at full power, the Tamer began to spin in the air like an uncontrolled pinwheel.
"No! System! Respond!" screamed the Tamer.
But there was no answer. Uhura slammed her staff hard onto the ground. "Fall."
With his own momentum and uncontrolled wings, the Tamer crashed into a pool of water five meters away from Robert with massive speed. A column of water rose into the air. As the man struggled under the weight of his armor and the effect of the water, Syla swung her fan with an elegant movement. The surface of the pool froze instantly. The Tamer was trapped in ice, only his head remaining above.
Their leader had fallen. Only the Wyvern remained. Seeing its master fall, the massive dragon roared in fury. Gathering green, acidic fire in its mouth, it dove at the brightest target on the ground, Tina.
This was suicide.
"Tina! Burn!"
Tina stood still with that blue-knobbed staff in her hand, facing approaching death. The volcano inside her woke up, but it didn't burn her anymore. The staff's heat sink hummed.
She opened her eyes. Not a chaotic flame, but a focused, blindingly white plasma beam shot from the tip of the staff.
BZZZZZTT!
The beam sliced through the air with a screaming sound, cutting the Wyvern's wing cleanly off at the root. The massive creature tumbled through the air and crashed onto the frozen pool, next to its own leader, with a massive noise.
Silence.
The arena of hundreds of thousands held its breath. The hum on the platforms had ceased.
406th rank "rejects" had wiped out one of the Academy's strongest without taking a single scratch, humiliating their leader, toppling their giants, and downing their dragons.
The Announcer's voice broke the silence, trembling.
"UNBELIEVABLE! INCONCEIVABLE! A HISTORIC ROUT! THE WINNER... RED FRIENDS!"
The crowd exploded.
Robert stood amidst the dust and smoke, between the ruined columns. His team gathered around him. Karnah patted his shoulder, Vingyu flew around joyfully, Syla bowed respectfully. Robert looked up, towards the darkened Council boxes. He couldn't see them, but he knew the message was received.
This was not a victory; it was a declaration.
When the portal opened, the team moved to the "Celebration Lobby." This was a place cleansed of the dirt and blood of war, smelling of luxury and fame. Med-Bot drones swarmed around them like bees. Other teams—even the Iron Guardians who had just won a brutal victory—stopped and watched this new "anomaly."
"Leader Robert!" a drone crackled, getting right in his face. There were dozens more behind it. "You destroyed the Sky Empire in five minutes! That light sword... That plasma fire... Aren't these technologies banned? Where did you find this power?"
Robert looked into the camera lens as if looking into the eyes of the Council members behind it. He had that cold, calculating smile on his face.
"The power was always here," he said in a calm voice. His voice drowned out the whispers in the lobby. "The Red Friends always had potential. You were just looking in the wrong place. I just unlocked the locks to reveal their true potential."
Another drone interjected. "Your old team, the Iron Guardians, also won. Are you afraid to face them?"
Robert locked eyes with Normah, who had taken off his helmet and was looking at him from the other end of the lobby. There was surprise and anger in his old friend's eyes.
"Fear?" Robert laughed lightly. "I am an engineer. I don't fear, I calculate. And according to my calculations... their hammer is not enough to break my shield."
Amara linked arms with Robert, rested her head on his shoulder, and gave the camera a flirtatious look. "And believe me... our Leader's shield is very sturdy."
As the lobby filled with laughter, shock, and whispers, Robert knew. This moment of champagne and victory was temporary. The real war, the real test was starting now. Because he was no longer just a student; he was a threat disrupting the balance of the Academy.
At that moment, while the echoes of the Red Friends' victory still rang in the lobby, a completely different conversation was beginning in the heart of the Academy, in that tower suspended among the stars.