White ceiling. Sterile smell. Beeping machines.
Jayden's eyes opened slowly.
Pain hit immediately. Every muscle felt shredded. His head pounded.
"He's awake."
A healer approached. Elderly woman, experienced eyes. "Don't move. You nearly destroyed your nervous system."
"My team "
"Alive. Thanks to you." She pressed a hand to his chest. Green light flowed. The pain dulled slightly. "Marcus has three broken ribs but he'll recover. Cinna has a concussion. Both are sleeping."
Relief flooded through him.
"You, however," the healer continued, "are a medical miracle. You should be dead. Or paralyzed. The strain your body endured..." She shook her head. "What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't."
"Clearly." She stepped back. "Headmaster Theron wants to see you. I told him you need rest but "
The door opened.
Headmaster Theron entered. Tall, silver hair, presence like a mountain. Behind him Professor Vance and two other faculty members Jayden didn't recognize.
"Leave us," Theron said to the healer.
She bowed and left.
Theron stood at the foot of the bed. His expression was unreadable.
"Jayden Cross. Officially Novice rank. Enrolled three months ago." He pulled out a tablet. "Yesterday you eliminated a B rank corrupted entity and three C rank stone golems. Alone. In under forty seconds."
Silence.
"Your speed during the incident was clocked at 25.8 units. That's Grandmaster level." Theron's eyes locked onto Jayden's. "Explain."
Jayden's throat was dry. "My team was dying."
"That's not an explanation. That's motivation." Vance stepped forward. "We need to know what you are. What that eye does."
*No more hiding.*
Jayden took a breath. Winced at the pain.
"It's called Omni. A talent I was born with. It scans opponents, predicts movements, and..." He paused. "Adapts my body to match threats."
"Adapts how?"
"Speed. Mostly speed. The more I fight stronger opponents, the faster I become. The limiter that normally stops growth mine's broken. I grow passively just by existing. But combat accelerates it exponentially."
The faculty members exchanged glances.
"Three months ago you were Beggar rank," Vance said. "Now you're moving at Grandmaster speeds."
"Only when I overclock. Normally I'm around 11 or 12 units."
"'Normally,'" one of the other professors muttered. "He says it like it's nothing."
Theron raised a hand. Silence fell.
"This talent. Can you control it?"
"The prediction, yes. The growth, no. It happens automatically." Jayden met his eyes. "The overclock I used in the dungeon I forced it. Nearly killed me."
"Yes. The healers said another ten seconds and your heart would have stopped." Theron set down the tablet. "You're dangerous, Jayden. Not because you're malicious. Because you're exponential. Left unchecked, you could become Transcendent by age twenty."
"Is that a problem?"
"It's unprecedented." Theron turned to the window. "The last person with multi functional talents became Transcendent at thirty. His name was Lucian Valeheart."
There it was again. That name.
"What happened to him?" Jayden asked, even though he suspected he knew.
"He was assassinated. Or so the official reports say." Theron glanced back. "But we've had... unusual activity recently. Corrupted beasts appearing in low rank dungeons. Essence fluctuations. Someone is manipulating things."
"You think he's alive."
"I think someone with his level of power doesn't die easily." Theron approached the bed. "Which brings us to you. You're on a similar trajectory. That makes you either a weapon, a threat, or both."
"What does the Academy want?"
"To protect you. Train you properly. And ensure you don't repeat Lucian's mistakes." Theron's expression softened slightly. "But there are factions beyond our walls who won't see it that way. Powerful families, guilds, kingdoms they'll either try to recruit you or eliminate you."
"So what do I do?"
"You get stronger. Fast enough that killing you becomes impossible." Vance stepped forward. "And you stop hiding. The entire Academy saw what you did. Word's already spreading. Pretending to be weak won't work anymore."
Jayden laughed bitterly. "Great."
"There's more," Theron said. "Your performance in the dungeon caught attention. You've been selected for advanced training. Along with the other top students."
"Like who?"
"Elena Northstar. Zain Corvus. A few others." Theron pulled out a folder. "Specialized combat instruction. Missions above your current rank. Access to restricted training facilities."
"Why?"
"Because in six months, there's a tournament. The Concordant Trials. The five continents send their best students. Winners receive sponsorships, guild contracts, and royal attention." Theron set the folder on the bed. "The Academy wants you ready."
Jayden stared at the folder. "And if I say no?"
"Then you stay a Novice rank student with a target on your back and no resources to defend yourself." Vance's tone was flat. "The advanced program offers protection. Training. Allies. You'd be stupid to refuse."
She wasn't wrong.
"When do I start?"
"Two weeks. After you recover." Theron moved toward the door. "Rest. Heal. Then we see what you're really capable of."
He left. The other faculty followed.
Vance lingered. "Your friends are asking about you. I'll send them in."
"Professor "
She paused.
"That corrupted wolf. The dungeon. That wasn't normal."
"No. It wasn't." Her expression darkened. "Someone sabotaged the mission. We're investigating. But between us?" She lowered her voice. "Watch your back. Whoever wanted students dead might try again."
She left.
Jayden lay there, processing everything.
Advanced training. Tournament. Lucian Valeheart possibly alive. Someone trying to kill students.
*What the hell did I get myself into?*
The door opened again. Marcus limped in, bandages around his chest. Cinna followed, one arm in a sling.
"You look like shit," Marcus said.
"You too."
They laughed. Winced. Stopped laughing.
Cinna sat carefully in a chair. "You saved our lives."
"You're my team."
"You went from barely keeping up to soloing a B rank in seconds." Marcus shook his head. "That eye. What you can really do. It's insane."
"Yeah."
"Also terrifying," Cinna added quietly.
Jayden looked at them. "Are you scared of me now?"
Marcus snorted. "Scared? Dude, I'm relieved. Means I've got the scariest guy at the Academy watching my back."
"You're not... worried I'll lose control?"
"Did you?" Cinna asked.
"No. I knew exactly what I was doing. I chose to overclock."
"Then that's all that matters." She smiled weakly. "You chose to save us. That's the person you are."
Marcus nodded. "Plus, someone needs to keep you from doing stupid shit like fighting B ranks alone."
"Fair."
They sat together in comfortable silence.
Outside, the Academy buzzed with rumors. The Novice who killed a B rank. The student with the glowing red eye. The monster in training.
But in this room, Jayden was just their friend.
Their captain.
Their teammate.
"Two weeks recovery," Marcus said. "Then what?"
Jayden thought about the folder. The advanced program. The tournament.
"Then we get stronger. All three of us."
"Strong enough for what?"
"Strong enough that nothing can touch us again."
His eye pulsed faintly. Back to normal brown. But the power was still there.
Waiting.
Growing.
Always growing.
**End of Chapter 10**
**[STATUS UPDATE: Jayden recovered, secrets exposed to Academy leadership. Advanced training program beginning in 2 weeks. Tournament in 6 months. Investigation into dungeon sabotage ongoing. Threat level: EXTREME.]**