Kaizer circulated energon through his body and activated his frequency sense, scanning everything within ten meters radius. Nothing escaped it—not even micro-level organisms.
A sharp laser arrow shot from the towering drawer, aimed straight at his chest. He sidestepped casually, already predicting where it would land.
The arrow struck the floor and vanished.
He had already activated his frequency sense and detected more than fifty crossbows hidden in the towering drawer.
Every participant in this gamble had to dodge every incoming arrow while looking at the towering hollow drawer, rotating at its own pace. It looked like a python wrapping its prey.
If the laser arrow touched even slightly, it would mean immediate elimination.
Before it happened, participants had to choose a manual, or, worse, if they failed, they would be sent out empty-handed.
There were no second chances.
They were allowed to take only one manual. What participant chose depended entirely on their own judgment.
As the floor shifted upward, and with each move, another arrow shot out. Even the drawer's hollow compartments rotated, shuffling manuals like a cruel puzzle.
Kaizer's footwork picked up.
Most of the time, he predicted the laser arrow landing place by looking at the crossbow head direction, which gave him some advantage.
His movements and senses synced perfectly, leaving no blind spots. After only ten minutes, Kaizer was sweating, and his legs were starting to ache. The laser arrows were increasing in number and also in speed. Even though he could predict the arrow's hit point, his body couldn't keep up like this, as difficulties only increased with each passing time.
The floating platform reached the middle of the first layer. He was already dodging forty arrows, every thirty seconds.
Where is that manual? He thought, anxiety prickling at the edge of his mind.
Sweat dripped into Kaizer's eyes, blurring his vision. His energon was draining rapidly; maintaining both high-speed footwork and his frequency sense at once was taking a brutal toll. Every breath felt heavier than the last.
He was currently using the most basic footwork technique—something everyone learned—but he was pushing it to extreme intensity.
It wasn't that Kaizer didn't want to use Nightfall Ghost Steps. He knew its power better than anyone. But if he activated that technique while keeping his frequency sense fully open, he wouldn't last more than ten minutes. His energon couldn't support it.
So he relied on fundamentals alone, squeezing every bit of efficiency out of simple movements.
Other students also noticed the platform rising.
"What is that?" someone whispered, pointing at the rising floor.
"That student is reckless," another muttered. Reckless? More like insane.
Most students only tried the gamble after reaching higher layers of the Sacred Vault Hall. The academy allowed new students to pick their first two techniques for free, reducing the gap between students from different backgrounds. Because of this, most avoided the once-in-a-lifetime gamble with their free technique—it was far too risky.
If you lost your two free techniques here and gained nothing in return, you would be left with nothing to compete with. In the academy, the starting point mattered more than anything else.
That was why most students only attempted the gamble after reaching their limits.
The gamble itself could begin from any of the nine layers of the Sacred Vault Hall. The higher the layer, the more precious and advanced the manual stored there—but the cost in merit points rose just as sharply. The first layer contained only crude and advanced manuals, while the upper layers held far rarer and more powerful ones.
The danger, however, was the same on every layer.
The laser arrows, the pressure, the endurance test—never changed. That was the advantage of gambling in the higher layer. Every manual in the drawers was unique because it didn't follow the common rule. The academy never made copies of these manuals. Once taken, it belonged solely to the student and could be passed down to others.
The academy had carefully planned this system for a long time. They didn't want students gambling recklessly during their early years. Instead, they wanted them to take this risk when they were about to leave for the military—so that even if they failed to rise further, they would still possess something truly their own, something they could rely on… or pass down to the next generation.
Kaizer's chest tightened as he scanned his surroundings.
He hadn't yet seen what he was looking for.
I can only keep this up for ten minutes, he thought, teeth gritted, as another volley of arrows zipped past. Just a little more… I've come too far. If I miss this chance, it's over.
As he reached the second layer, sixty arrows rained down. His legs trembled—at any moment, they could give out. He had trained hard, but even a strong will couldn't entirely erase human limits.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
His legs adjusted, closing the gap between him and the tower. The hollow drawer rotated, but he leapt, snatching the manual and pressing it to his chest as he crouched and arched backward.
Seventy laser arrows struck, hitting mostly his back. A sharp groan escaped him. None was lethal, but each sent a jolt of pain to his brain.
"Student No. 501, eliminated. One-time gamble completed," the robotic voice announced.
Kaizer lifted his head, smiling despite the pain. As he looked at the manual, it was covered with dust; only the title glimmered:
Frequency Adaptation Manual.
He tried to stand, but his legs buckled. Collapsing to the floor, he laughed softly. Pain radiated through his muscles, but satisfaction outweighed it. Some students glanced at the manual, curious—but Kaizer didn't hide it.
He didn't bother hiding it; there was no point.
Sooner or later, everyone would know.
After taking five minutes' rest, he pulled his backpack from the floor and carefully placed the manual and walked slowly out of the Sacred Vault Hall, every step heavy but steady.
At the back of the academy's main building, twenty fifty-story buildings loomed. The lower five floors were cylindrical; above them, rectangular blocks stretched skyward. From above, they looked identical.
Kaizer found building one. A 3D hologram showed room layouts. His room was on the third floor. He took the staircase alongside other students.
Some grumbled. "Lucky I'm on the second floor. Imagine the top floor!" Others laughed. Some sneered silently.
Kaizer didn't say anything and just walked until he reached his room.
He noticed a student next to his door. This student was obviously a newcomer; anybody could tell by looking at his irregular dress. This student didn't have any special features except the golden hair, and he was a little bit shorter than kaizer.
"Hello, I'm Soren. You must be my neighbor."
"I'm Kaizer," he replied.
Soren chuckled. "My neighbor—let's hit the cafeteria for lunch at 9 pm."
Kaizer nodded and entered his room, pressing the access key.
It was small but comfortable: a bed, a desk and chair, a sofa, and a bathroom—about fifteen square meters. He dropped his backpack and collapsed onto the sofa, muscles screaming.
After an hour, he finally breathed normally again. He unpacked clothes and necessities, placing the Frequency Adaptation Manual carefully on the table.
Washing his face, he opened the window. Greenery stretched outside; boundary wires were barely visible. He inhaled, savoring the quiet.
This room isn't bad at all, he thought, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Returning to the sofa, he picked up the manual, tension returning to his eyes.
In the past, Kaizer had worked as a guard at an old civilization's heritage site. The Earth Federation had collected many artifacts, manual and treasures from there, along with records of the ancient civilization. Kaizer had only caught glimpses of these items and picked up bits of information from the archaeologists. He never asked too many questions—he wasn't allowed to study the artifacts or any other item, and he couldn't risk drawing suspicion.
He had tried to use his frequency sense to study them, but it was of no use. The site was filled with many frequency waves, so without having enough energon to support his frequency sense, he missed many chances.
By coincidence, he had heard archaeologists talking about this manual, and by drying up his energon, he managed to read a few sentences: that every frequency could be canceled or redistributed.
He had to keep his frequency-sense abilities hidden. In the past, it had brought him nothing but trouble, and he didn't want the higher-ups to suspect anything unusual. All he had heard was that some of these treasures were being sent to the Astra Federation Academy's Sacred Vault Hall. This Frequency Adaptation Manual was value had been assessed advanced, so it was placed in the first or second layer in the towering drawer.
Over time, Kaizer had carefully schemed and followed orders from above, all in an effort to gain favor and enter the academy. First, he needed to obtain this manual. Then, getting resources easily without having to question anyone or report anything to higher authorities.
Kaizer flipped through the manual.
'Don't disappoint me. I don't have much time, at most a few years.'
After reading each line with extreme care. Even after finishing a page, he went back over it, afraid to miss a single detail.
Two hours later, Kaizer set the manual down, a faint frown on his face. The book contained only one technique: Harmonic Levitation. It allowed the practitioner to lift objects but required bio-genes capable of producing frequency.
Kaizer furrowed his eyebrows.
His parents' genomes could produce frequency.
However, he could feel it, but couldn't command it.
Also, these bio-genes were very difficult to obtain.
While human evolvers could learn techniques step by step, gradually becoming proficient, bio-genes offered instant mastery. They could directly merge with a human, granting the user immediate skill, making them highly coveted but incredibly difficult to obtain.
They were painstakingly extracted from Exo-Hominids. These creatures came in many formed some were beasts, while others were aliens.
To be classified as Exo-Hominids, a species had to possess a genetic structure similar to that of human evolvers. Their genome needed to contain both a Parent Genome and a Child Genome, much like the genetic framework found in evolved humans.
More importantly, both genomes had to contain a crucial biological structure known as the Adaptive Gene Lattice. This microscopic lattice acted as a genetic regulator, allowing its DNA to restructure itself when exposed to external energy or a foreign biological environment.
Because of this unique component, Exo-Hominid genes could rewrite and stabilize themselves after merging with a host, adjusting their genetic pattern to match the host organism instead of being rejected. This rare compatibility was what made Exo-Hominids the primary source of highly sought-after Bio-Genes.
Kaizer sighed, running a hand over his face. The rest of the manual was dense with research—pages upon pages on attaching, detaching, and canceling frequency waves. Yet, despite the complexity, a faint glimmer of direction emerged. At last, he had some idea of how to tackle his problem.