The second bell rang harder than the first.
The candidates were ushered into a different section of the academy—deeper, wider, and far more dangerous. The floor beneath them shimmered, then dissolved into a vast simulated battlefield of broken stone, collapsed structures, and drifting dust.
Above them, the examiner's voice echoed.
"Stage Two: Combat Simulation."
A pause—deliberate.
"You will face artificial enemies modeled after real ability users. There will be pain. There will be fear. Withdrawal is permitted. Failure is remembered."
The air thickened.
The battlefield lit up.
Holographic enemies began to form—humanoid figures wrapped in unstable energy, each one radiating a different threat. Some moved with brute force. Others vanished and reappeared in flashes of speed.
Lira stood a few meters from Damon, her expression focused. "Stay alive," she said quietly.
Damon nodded.
The system activated instantly.
[Combat Simulation Detected]
[Threat Level: High]
[Recommendation: Adaptive Engagement]
The first enemy charged.
It was fast—faster than most students could react.
Damon moved before thought.
He sidestepped by a fraction, letting the attack pass where his chest had been. His body followed a path the system calculated in real time—no wasted motion, no hesitation.
[Prediction Accuracy: 61%]
He struck—not hard, but precise. The enemy destabilized and shattered.
Around him, chaos erupted. Fire scorched the ground. Shockwaves cracked the air. A student screamed as they were eliminated and pulled out by emergency protocols.
Another enemy appeared—heavier, stronger.
Damon adjusted.
[Pattern Recognized: Physical Enhancement]
[Countermeasure: Force Redirection]
He used the enemy's strength against it, pivoting at the exact moment of impact. The construct slammed into debris and dissolved.
Eyes were on him again.
Then—
Something went wrong.
The battlefield flickered.
For half a second, the system froze.
[ERROR]
[External Pressure Detected]
Damon's vision fractured into overlapping layers—probabilities stacking too fast, calculations spiraling beyond safe limits.
[Warning: Forced Adaptation Triggered]
[Cause: Lethal Threat Density Exceeded]
Three enemies converged at once.
This wasn't part of the exam.
This was pressure.
Survive.
The system responded—not by asking permission.
[System Rewrite: Partial]
[Limiter Bypass — Software Level]
[Adaptation Rate: TEMPORARILY UNLOCKED]
Time slowed.
Not the world—him.
Every movement around him became clear. Damon stepped forward, weaving through attacks that should have killed him, striking weak points the simulation never intended to reveal.
One enemy fell.
Then another.
Then the third—before it could fully stabilize.
The battlefield went silent.
Examiners stood up.
"That wasn't authorized," someone said sharply.
The tall examiner from before stared at the data feed, eyes narrowed.
"Did you see the spike?" another asked. "His neural output—"
"—just rewrote itself mid-combat," the tall examiner finished.
On the field, Damon exhaled slowly.
His head throbbed.
[Emergency Evolution Complete]
[New Trait Acquired: Combat Acceleration (Prototype)]
[Warning: Further Triggers May Cause Instability]
The barrier dissolved.
Medical staff rushed in, but Damon was still standing.
Across the field, Lira stared at him—half awe, half concern.
High above, unseen by candidates, the tall examiner turned off the display.
"This student," he said quietly, "is not awakening an ability."
He paused.
"He is becoming one."
In Ethereal, exams were meant to measure potential.
But Damon had just crossed a line the system itself hadn't planned for.