Time flew faster than he expected. It's already Friday advanced training night. Second session except this time Instructor Vale had different plans.
"No coordinated drills tonight." She stood at the front of Training Facility A while announcing. "Tonight is chaos simulation. Real combat doesn't have structure. You adapt or you die."
She activated the arena's combat systems. Holographic enemies spawned randomly. Different types, different ranges, Randomly.
"You'll fight in randomized pairs. No preparation time. React to whoever you're partnered with and whatever threats appear." Vale pulled up the pairing system. "First match starts now."
The board showed names.
**Soren Cross / Marcus Webb**
Third-ranked student with wolf DNA integration. Combat family trained since childhood.
Great.
Marcus walked over. "Hey. Heard you figured out strike enhancement already."
"Got lucky."
"Luck's part of skill." He cracked his knuckles. "I'm taking lead since I've got pack coordination instincts. You cover flanks and hit hard when openings appear. Sound good?"
"Yeah."
They entered the arena. Holograms materialized immediately. Five enemies. Then seven. Then three more from different angles.
There was no time to plan. Just react and hit anything moving towards you.
Marcus moved like he'd done this a thousand times. His wolf DNA gave him natural awareness of positioning. He called out threats while engaging, creating space for Soren to operate.
"Left flank, two closing!"
Soren triggered enhanced perception. The world around him slowed down. He tracked both enemies, saw their approach movements, then he moved with a burst of speed. He covered the distance in a heartbeat.
Strike enhancement. His baton connected with the first hologram at full power and shattered it like glass. It flickered and vanished.
The second enemy swung at him. He ducked under it, countered with another strike.
Gone.
The counter connected perfectly.
"Nice timing!" Marcus said while fighting. "Three more coming from center!"
They worked through the simulation for twelve minutes before Vale called time.
"Not bad for randomized chaos, Webb utilized pack instincts effectively. Cross executed enhancement timing without hesitation. This is baseline competence. Still need improvement but at least you know basics."
She cycled through more pairs. Lyra got matched with Zara the pair who hate each other they are not helping or coordinating with each other but completing with other. Despite that they moved like synchronized machines but out speaking despite never training together. Both combat families, both prodigies. Terrifying to watch. At the end they both managed to score same points both turned back and walked away even without looking at each other.
Soren's second match paired him with a reactor heart user named Daniel Park. Ranked sixth. Tactical mind his combat style included analyzing enemies before attacking, energy shield specialist.
This combination was harder to pull. Different enhancement types, different combat ranges, different thinking patterns.
"I'll provide mobile cover," Daniel said. "You handle close threats. Call out if you need shields."
The simulation activated. Enemies spawned fast. They were surrounded quickly. To avoid getting caught in swamp of enemy Soren decided to make move.
Soren moved forward. He struck with enhancement timing, eliminating close targets. With near perfect strike.
Suddenly an enemy appeared behind Daniel. Too far for Soren to reach in time. He shouted.
"Behind you!"
Daniel's reactor heart activated. An energy shield materialized, blocking the attack. He pivoted to side and fired an energy blast. Enemy gone. Obliterated without any trace.
They lasted ten minutes. Shorter than Soren's previous record with Marcus, but functional enough to not make Instructor Vale dissatisfied.
Vale reviewed everyone's performance at the end. "Most of you adapted adequately. Some of you excelled. All of you have improved last week."
She dismissed them at 21:00.
Soren left the facility feeling different from last week, less like he was wondering whether he'd survive, and more like he could actually perform and achieve better results next time.
Mira caught him outside. "Saw your matches. Your strike was clear and you also have developed good team support and adaptability."
"Thanks. Still figuring it out."
"You're ahead of most people." She adjusted her jacket. Her expression was slightly dark more accurately. Dull. Like she was about to ask or say something she shouldn't have. "Did Zara approach you about training data?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?" He was confused by her question. He and Jake were the only person who knew about this.
"She does that to anyone improving faster than expected. It's her thing." Mira smiled slightly, awkwardly. "Say yes if you haven't already. Steelhearts give good advice once you get past the creepy analysis part. She helped me fix my enhancement transitions last month. Gained fifteen percent efficiency."
Soren thought to himself. That everyone seemed to know about Zara's offers. Apparently this was normal behavior for her.
His AR pinged. Group message from Lyra to all top ten students.
**Lyra: Good session tonight everyone**
**Lyra: Special shoutout to Cross for those strike enhancements**
**Lyra: Didn't know beetle boy had that in him**
Multiple people replied with thumbs up emojis. Marcus sent a fire emoji.
Zara's reply was just: **Adequate performance from all participants.**
Classic Zara. Soren now stated to wonder if she is even a human or some hidden AI wrapped in human skin developed by Steelheat family.
Soren headed back to his dorm. Jake was glaring at his AR display.
"How was advanced training?"
"Chaotic. Fought with Marcus and Daniel. Didn't embarrassed myself again."
"You made some progress."
"Lyra sent a group message praising my strike timing."
Jake looked up. "She what?"
"Group message. To all top ten."
"Huh." He went back glaring his AR. "She doesn't usually do that."
"What do you mean?"
"Lyra doesn't compliment people publicly unless it's significant. Combat family thing. Reputation matters." He paused for a second. "She's marking you as someone to watch. Making sure everyone knows you're improving fast."
"Why would she do that?"
"No idea. Maybe she likes you. Maybe she's building alliances. Maybe she's just being nice." Jake shrugged. "Combat families operate on ten levels simultaneously. Don't hurt your brain trying to figure it out."
[He's right,] the System said. [Shadowmane family politics are complicated. Could be strategy, could be genuine interest, could be both.]
*Very helpful analysis.*
[I'm not a relationship counselor. Figure it out yourself.]
Soren collapsed on his bed.His strike enhancement was developing faster than expected. Zara had offered tactical analysis. Lyra was publicly acknowledging his improvement. Marcus had complimented his timing.
Things were happening faster than planned.
[Your integration percentage ticked up slightly,] the System noted. [You're at 11% now. Physical stress and enhancement practice are accelerating your adaptation.]
*That's good?*
[Depends. Faster integration means faster power growth. But it also means your body's changing quicker than expected. Could cause complications around 15% if you're not careful.]
*What kind of complications?*
[You'll see when you get there. Sleep now. Tomorrow's another day of training.]
Not comforting.
But nothing about this whole reincarnated-with-beetle-DNA situation had been comforting so far.
Soren closed his eyes and let exhaustion take over.
Week one was ending. Changes were happening. Rankings would shift soon.
And for the first time, he felt like maybe he belonged in the top ten after all.