The silver coin sat on Kai's bedside table, the snake eating its own tail shimmering in the moonlight like a tiny, metallic threat.
"Consumption," Kai whispered, rolling the word around his mouth. "See, that's the problem with secret organizations. They're always so dramatic. Why can't it ever be 'Failure Penalty: A very stern talking to' or 'Failure Penalty: You owe us a pizza'?"
He sighed, leaning back against his headboard. In the corner of his vision, the blood-red timer continued its relentless march toward zero.
[Time Remaining: 19 Days, 21 Hours, 12 Minutes.]
"Twenty days to jump two entire ranks," Kai muttered. "In a world where people spend years—decades, even—trying to move from E to D. It's not just an experiment anymore. It's a sprint through a minefield."
He swiped his hand through the air, summoning the golden interface.
[Name: Kai Rowan] [Rank: F (Evolutionary)] [Growth Potential Progress: 12.45% / 100.00% (To E-Rank)] [Strength: 5.08] [Agility: 5.05] [Intelligence: 6.12] [Stamina: 5.09]
"Twelve percent after one day of manic pull-ups and intense library lurking," he calculated. "If I keep this pace, I hit E-rank by the end of the week. But E to D is an exponential jump in mana density. I need more than just push-ups. I need to hack the system."
Kai stood up. His room was small—basically a glorified shoebox with a window—but it was his laboratory. He grabbed a heavy textbook on Advanced Mana Circuitry, a set of hand-grips, and stood on one leg.
"Okay, experiment number one: Multi-tasking Stimulus," he said, clicking the hand-grips while beginning to read a chapter on mana-vein stabilization.
[Action Detected: Physical Strain (Grip) + Mental Strain (Complex Theory) + Balance Equilibrium] [Strength +0.0001] [Intelligence +0.0002] [Agility +0.0001] [Growth Potential EXP +0.008%]
Kai's eyes lit up. The gains were stacking. The talent didn't just track one thing at a time; it tracked the total output of effort. It was like an all-you-can-eat buffet of self-improvement, and he was the guy with the extra-large plate.
The next morning, Northwood Academy was buzzing with the kind of energy usually reserved for the arrival of a pop star. The "Mock Combat Tournament" was all anyone could talk about. It was the first time the freshmen would be allowed to show off their talents in front of the upperclassmen and the local scouts.
Kai walked through the halls, his eyes fixed on a digital tablet as he power-walked toward his first class. He was reciting chemical formulas under his breath while keeping his core muscles tight.
[Action: Mental Recitation + Focused Muscle Tension] [Intelligence +0.0001] [Growth Potential EXP +0.002%]
"Look at him," a voice snickered. It was Brad again, standing with a group of C-rank students near the cafeteria. "The Millennium Man is actually studying. Hey, Kai! You trying to learn how to grow a spine? I heard it takes about a hundred years for an F-rank!"
Kai didn't even look up. He just kept walking, his pace never wavering.
"I'd reply, Brad, but my talent tells me that talking to you is a zero-effort activity," Kai said, his voice flat. "And since I only have twenty days to become your superior, I can't afford the brain-cell loss."
"What did you say?" Brad stepped forward, his skin shimmering with the dull, metallic sheen of his 'Iron Skin' talent.
Kai stopped. He finally looked up from his tablet. To Brad, Kai still looked like the same F-rank loser. But for a split second, Kai's eyes didn't look average. They looked... analytical.
"I said your fly is down," Kai lied.
As Brad instinctively looked down, Kai continued walking. "Focus, Brad. Constant vigilance. That's how you get to B-rank."
He left the C-rank fuming in the hallway, but internally, Kai was checking his screen.
[Action: Psychological Dominance (Minor)] [Growth Potential EXP +0.001%]
"Even being a jerk gives me EXP," Kai grinned. "I'm going to be the most productive asshole in history."
The Academy Library was usually a sanctuary of silence, but today, the air felt charged. Kai was tucked away in his usual corner, surrounded by three different open books and a bowl of high-protein snacks he'd smuggled in.
He was so deep in his "Mental Grind" that he didn't notice the temperature drop until his breath hitched in a cloud of white mist.
"You're late for Combat Theory," Elena Frost said, her voice echoing off the mahogany shelves.
Kai looked up, blinking. Elena was standing at the end of the aisle, her arms crossed over her blazer. She looked less like a student and more like an ice sculpture that had been given a lethal education.
"And you're early for 'Stalking the F-Rank 101,'" Kai replied, leaning back and stretching his aching shoulders. "I thought S-ranks had better things to do than check my attendance. Don't you have a glacier to go be majestic on?"
Elena walked closer, her blue eyes scanning the books on his table. Dungeon Ecology, High-Speed Mana Channeling, and The History of Rank Evolution.
"You're reading things that won't be covered until the third year," she said, her voice losing its edge and turning into something closer to genuine confusion. "Why? Even if you understand the theory, an F-rank doesn't have the mana capacity to execute these techniques. It's like a toddler reading a manual on how to fly a fighter jet."
"I like the pictures," Kai said, tapping a diagram of a mana-vein. "And besides, who says I'm a toddler? Maybe I'm just a very short pilot."
Elena stepped into his personal space, her presence radiating a cold, sharp energy that made the hair on Kai's arms stand up. She reached down and grabbed his wrist. Kai flinched, but she held on. Her grip was surprisingly strong—not just physical strength, but the weight of her S-rank mana.
"Your pulse," she whispered.
"I have one," Kai said. "Last time I checked, it was a requirement for staying alive."
"It's too fast," she countered. "And your body temperature is elevated. You aren't studying, Kai. You're... vibrating. Your mana channels are wide open, as if you're in the middle of a high-intensity duel. But you're just sitting in a chair."
She let go of his wrist, her eyes narrowing. "You're experimenting on yourself. I told you, if you're using illegal mana-boosters—"
"I'm not," Kai said, his voice turning serious. He stood up, closing his books with a series of muffled thuds. "I'm just working harder than anyone in this building. Is that so hard to believe? That the guy at the bottom actually wants to move?"
Elena stared at him for a long beat. The frost on the nearby table began to recede.
"Hard work has a limit," she said, her voice softening for a fleeting second. "Talent is the ceiling. You can climb the stairs all you want, Kai, but eventually, you'll hit the roof. And the roof for an F-rank is very, very low."
"Then I guess I'll just have to break the roof," Kai said, flashing his signature sarcastic grin. "Bring a raincoat, Elena. It's going to be messy."
She shook her head, a stray silver lock falling across her face. "You're insane. But... I want to see it. If you actually make it to the trials without blowing yourself up, I'll personally sponsor your registration for the Dungeon Expedition."
"Sponsorship? From the Ice Empress herself?" Kai mock-gasped. "My social standing just went from 'Trash' to 'Premium Trash.' I'm honored."
"Don't be," she said, turning to walk away. "I just don't want to see a good tactical mind go to waste because its owner was too stubborn to know when to quit."
Night fell over Northwood Academy, but Kai wasn't sleeping. He was back in the "Old Yard," the moon casting long, distorted shadows across the cracked concrete. He had spent the last six hours pushing himself through a grueling circuit of "Stimulus Stacking."
He was attempting to manually circulate his meager mana while performing high-intensity sprints. It was a technique used by B-rank warriors to maintain stamina, but for an F-rank with near-zero mana pools, it was like trying to jump-start a car with a couple of AA batteries.
[Warning: Mana Channels are under extreme stress.] [Growth Potential Progress: 98.55%] [Stamina: 5.95] [Agility: 5.90]
"Just... a little... more," Kai gasped, his lungs burning like they were filled with hot coals.
He didn't stop. He couldn't. He thought about the man with the violet eyes. He thought about the snake coin in his pocket. He thought about Elena's "ceiling."
"I... am... not... finished!" he roared, throwing himself into one last, explosive sprint across the yard.
Suddenly, the world went silent.
The sound of his heavy breathing, the crickets in the grass, the distant hum of the city—it all vanished. Kai tripped, rolling across the concrete, but he didn't feel the impact. He was suspended in a sea of liquid gold.
A notification erupted in the center of his vision, glowing with a light so fierce it felt like it was being etched into his very soul.
[CRITICAL THRESHOLD REACHED]
[Hidden Talent 'Growth Potential' has absorbed the 'Defiance' stimulus.]
[RANK EVOLUTION INITIATED]
The golden light surged, pouring into his veins, his bones, and his very cells. The "tea cup" wasn't just being filled; it was being reforged into something stronger, something wider.
Kai's heart gave one massive, echoing thump that seemed to shake the very foundation of the yard.
[Rank F 'Growth Potential' → RANK E 'ACCELERATED GROWTH']
[New Passive Unlocked: Tireless Mind] [New Ability Unlocked: Focused Breathing]
Kai lay on his back, staring up at the stars, gasping for air. His body felt lighter, more efficient, as if a heavy cloak had been lifted from his shoulders. He reached out a trembling hand, watching as the golden notification flickered.
But as the light of the evolution began to fade, a new message scrolled across the bottom of his vision, turning the joy of victory into a cold spike of adrenaline.
[Warning: Evolutionary Talent detected by external sensors.] [Proximity Alert: Unknown entity approaching.]
Kai's head snapped toward the shadows of the academy's main building. There, standing on the edge of the roof, was a figure draped in darkness.
The violet eyes were back. And this time, they weren't just watching.