Training ground seven. Dawn.
Elena waited in the center, ice rapier already manifested. Morning mist clung to her silver hair.
Jayden approached. Marcus watched from the sidelines.
"You're on time," Elena said.
"Didn't want to keep you waiting."
"Good." She raised her blade. "No holding back. I want to see what that eye can really do."
Jayden's right eye flickered red and black.
**[ELENA NORTHSTAR]**
**Rank: Sonnet**
**Speed: 11.8 units**
**Power: 14.2 units**
**Affinities: Ice + Light (Dual)**
*Almost four times faster than me.*
"Ready?" Elena asked.
"No."
She smiled. "Smart."
Then she vanished.
Omni screamed a warning. Jayden threw himself sideways. Elena's blade carved through where his neck had been, ice crystals trailing.
**[Speed: 11.8 units. Current disparity: 280%]**
*Can't dodge forever.*
Elena closed again. Three strikes, impossible speed. Omni mapped them all but Jayden's body couldn't keep up. He blocked one, deflected another. The third slashed across his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
"Too slow," Elena said.
She thrust forward. Jayden twisted, felt the blade graze his ribs. Pain flared.
*She's not trying to kill me. Just testing.*
Another barrage. Five strikes. Jayden caught two. Dodged one. Took two hits.
**[PASSIVE GROWTH ACTIVATED]**
**Speed: 4.2 → 4.9 units**
Faster. But not enough.
Elena spun, ice spreading across the ground. Jayden's foot caught. He stumbled.
Her blade stopped at his throat.
"Dead," she said. "Again."
Jayden's chest heaved. Blood soaked his shirt. "Again."
Elena stepped back. "You lasted twelve seconds longer than Drake would have."
"Not good enough."
"No. But you're learning." She gestured with her rapier. "Your eye sees my attacks. Your body can't match. That's your weakness."
"I know."
"So fix it."
She lunged. Jayden's eye pulsed.
**[ADVISORY: Match her rhythm. Predict farther ahead. Move before she does.]**
*Predict farther ahead.*
Omni showed him three moves out. Elena's next strike, the feint after, the real attack following.
Jayden moved early. Dodged the first. Blocked the second. Caught the third on his blade's guard.
Elena's eyes widened fractionally.
He pressed forward. Not attacking reading. Every shift in her weight, every breath, every micro expression.
**[Pattern identified. Speed burst incoming in 2 seconds.]**
Jayden dropped low before she moved.
Elena's speed burst sliced empty air. Her balance shifted.
Jayden swept her legs.
She backflipped, landed perfectly. But surprise flickered across her face.
"Better," she said.
**[PASSIVE GROWTH ACTIVATED]**
**Speed: 4.9 → 5.7 units**
They clashed again. Jayden lasted thirty seconds this time. Then a minute. Then two.
Each exchange, Omni learned. Each hit, his speed climbed.
**[Speed: 5.7 → 6.4 units]**
Elena's attacks came faster. Ice and light mixed blinding flashes, freezing mist, blade strikes hidden in glare.
Jayden's eye tracked it all. His body adapted.
**[Speed: 6.4 → 7.2 units]**
"Impossible," Elena breathed.
She unleashed everything. A storm of ice and light, twenty strikes in three seconds.
Omni saw them all.
Jayden's body moved on pure instinct. Dodge. Parry. Duck. Spin. His blade became a silver blur.
**[Speed: 7.2 → 8.1 units]**
For the first time, he matched her rhythm.
Their blades locked. Elena's ice spread toward his hand. Jayden released, spun away, slashed upward.
His blade stopped an inch from her throat.
They froze.
Breathing hard. Sweat and blood mixing. Elena stared at him.
"Two hours," she said quietly. "You doubled your speed in two hours."
Jayden lowered his blade. His entire body screamed. "Broke a rib. Maybe two."
"Worth it?"
"Yeah."
Elena dismissed her rapier. "Tomorrow. Same time."
"You want to do this again?"
"Every day." Her eyes gleamed. "Until you surpass me."
She walked past him. Stopped. "Your eye. It's not just prediction. It's evolution."
"What do you mean?"
"Every time we fought, you adapted. Faster each round. That's not normal passive growth." She glanced back. "Whatever that eye is, it's making you stronger by experiencing strength."
Then she left.
Marcus jogged over. "Dude. You're bleeding everywhere."
"I'm fine."
"Your speed tripled."
"Doubled."
"That's insane. You know that's insane, right?"
Jayden sat down hard. His vision swam. "Yeah. I know."
**[OMNI Analysis Complete]**
**Total Growth: Speed increased 93% in one session.**
**Method: Extended combat against superior opponent.**
**Conclusion: Optimal training = fighting stronger enemies.**
Text scrolled across his vision.
**[Warning: Body cannot sustain this growth rate without rest.]**
**[Estimated recovery time: 8 hours.]**
Jayden laughed. Winced. "Eight hours. That's nothing."
"You need a healer," Marcus said.
"Later. First tell me something." Jayden looked at his friend. "Why aren't you scared of me?"
"What?"
"I'm getting stronger too fast. It's not natural. Most people would be freaked out."
Marcus shrugged. "You're still you. Just… faster." He grinned. "Besides, means I've got the strongest guy at the Academy watching my back."
"Second strongest. Elena's still way ahead."
"For now."
They walked toward the medical wing. Students stared. Whispered. Pointed at Jayden's bloody clothes and the red black flicker in his eye.
Let them stare.
He'd gone from 4.2 to 8.1 speed units in one morning. From being three times slower than Elena to almost matching her.
*If I keep this up…*
Professor Vance intercepted them at the main building. "My office. Now."
Her office was small. Bookshelves lined the walls. She gestured to a chair.
Jayden sat. Everything hurt.
"I watched your spar," Vance said. "All two hours."
"And?"
"You're not Beggar rank anymore."
"Still feels like it."
"Your speed doubled. In one session." She leaned forward. "That eye. What is it?"
"A talent. I think."
"You think?"
"I was born with it. Never knew what it did until I started fighting." Not entirely true, but close enough.
"Scanning ability. Prediction. Passive growth acceleration." Vance tapped her desk. "Those are three separate talents. You have all three in one package."
"Is that bad?"
"It's unheard of." She pulled out a file. "I did research last night. There's only one recorded case of multi function talents. The user became a Transcendent before age thirty."
Jayden's heart skipped. "What happened to them?"
"They were assassinated. Too dangerous to live."
Silence.
"I'm telling you this," Vance continued, "because you need to understand. Your growth rate makes you a threat. Not to the Academy to kingdoms, guilds, powerful families who want to maintain their positions."
"So I should hide it?"
"Too late for that. Half the Academy watched you fight Elena. Word spreads." She closed the file. "But you can control the narrative. Show them you're worth investing in, not eliminating."
"How?"
"Win. Publicly. Climb the ranks fast enough that killing you becomes more trouble than it's worth." Her expression softened. "Or find powerful allies who benefit from your growth."
"Like Elena?"
"She's one option. But be careful. She's not befriending you out of kindness. The Northstar family is calculating. They see potential, they claim it."
Jayden stood. "Thanks for the warning."
"One more thing." Vance's voice stopped him at the door. "That man who became Transcendent? His name was Lucian Valeheart."
The name hit like ice water.
"He's the reason we have protocols for dangerous talents now." She met his eyes. "Don't become him."
Jayden left without answering.
That night, lying in bed, Jayden stared at his hand. It trembled slightly. Exhaustion and pain.
But also strength.
**[OMNI Status Update]**
**Current Speed: 8.1 units (Novice rank threshold: 7.0)**
**Growth acceleration: 340% baseline + combat modifier**
**Next milestone: 12.0 units (Sonnet rank)]**
*I'm already Novice rank in speed. Just not officially.*
His eye pulsed.
*Lucian Valeheart. The previous Transcendent. The one who got assassinated.*
*Or did he?*
Something about the story felt wrong. But Jayden was too tired to think.
Tomorrow he'd fight Elena again. And again. And again.
Until he surpassed her.
Until no one could threaten him.
Until he was limitless.
His eye flickered once more, then darkness took him.