Moments earlier, a staff meeting had been held in one of the academy's upper conference chambers. Drex presented the results of his training program, showing that the students under his instruction were physically stronger, more aggressive, and better able to endure pressure than they had been before. He argued that the academy was becoming soft and that its students needed to experience conditions closer to real combat.

“We must mandate physical conditioning and combat training across all disciplines, especially with the support class and mages. And it should be a daily regimen."

Changing a system in a military institution bound by decades of tradition was hard. But convincing a room of department heads to hand over their schedules and swallow budget cuts to fund it was impossible.

There was one man at the table who agreed with him.

Halvek knew the freshmen were getting softer every year, and that hard training would do them good. His own methods were every bit as punishing as Drex's, if not more. But of course, he couldn’t let Drex have his way.

“There is more to becoming great than just physical strength and combat, Drex,” Halvek said.

That was all it took. The others nodded, and the room erupted into argument.

“They are first-year students,” one argued. “They need time to develop.”

“Without strategy and planning, they would lead their unit into a hole,” another added.

Drex barely heard any of it. His eyes stayed fixed on Halvek, who wore the same calm smile he always did. And that annoyed him more than any of the objections. Drex knew what Halvek was. A warrior, a man who loved to fight. He had every reason to back the proposal, and instead he was stirring the pot and turning the room against him on purpose.

“You’re training them for the wrong role,” Halvek said confidently. “They’re future leaders of this world, not frontline fighters.”

Drex wanted to argue, but the discussion had already moved beyond him. One professor after another sided with Halvek's position until finally, Chief Marshal Gordon Vanderbilt raised his hand, bringing the room to silence.

“I believe Drex is correct about one thing. Our students are not being pushed enough. But I don't believe increasing the physical intensity of every student's training is the answer. While those qualities are important, judgment, adaptability, strategy, and leadership are as well. We cannot afford to neglect those qualities.”

Vanderbilt picked up Drex's proposal.

“Your request for additional funding is denied. The resources that would have gone toward expanding your combat-intensive program will instead be distributed among the academy's broader leadership and tactical training programs.”

“So we're rewarding weakness,” Drex responded.

“No. We're broadening the definition of strength.”

And with that, the meeting ended.

But the argument continued to burn in Drex's mind. A military academy prioritizing paper strategies over combat capability was an absurdity he couldn't stomach. And he knew exactly who to blame.

Halvek.

Now, back inside the dark battleroom, Drex approached Landen like a moving storm cloud, Halvek’s smug expression still vivid in his mind.

“He turned them all against me,” he said. “I’ll show them.”

When his eyes finally focused on Landen’s face, his anger only deepened. This boy was the reason he had made the proposal in the first place. A zero-grade civilian had no business stepping foot in this academy. And looking at him now, sitting here in a disciplinary session for endangering his team out of sheer weakness, it was proof he was right. One weak link like this was all it took to tear the whole academy apart, and he was going to prove it to everyone.

“Get ready.”

Landen clenched his fist.

Drex stepped in closer. “I’ll show them how weak you freshmen really are.”

Back near the entrance of the battleroom, Hero folded his arms, watching the confrontation unfold.

“This should be over quickly.”

Having trained under Drex for quite some time, Hero knew firsthand what kind of monster he was dealing with. He glanced toward the trees, muttering under his breath, "Alright, newbie, I hope you listen to my advice and run."

But Landen couldn’t.

“Ability detected,” the system said.

Suddenly, the world tilted sideways as a strange, unnatural weightlessness lifted Landen's feet off the ground.

‘What is this? Telekinesis?’

“I am still registering the ability. I'll let you know once it is finished.”

Drex slowly closed the distance. Every step looked difficult, almost painful, as if he were carrying an enormous weight.

“Move, Landen!” Hero shouted.

Right on cue, Drex lunged forward with a brutal overhead punch, and the eerie weightlessness vanished the instant he swung.

Landen twisted mid-fall like a cat and landed on one knee. For some reason, he suddenly felt heavier than before, though he assumed it was simply the result of the abrupt change in weight.

As Drex's fist came down, Landen threw his hands up just in time, catching the blow.

“I blocked it!” Landen said, surprised.

“Block this.” Drex drove a kick into his chest, sending Landen flying backward.

Despite the pain in his chest, Landen sprang back to his feet, smiling. “Did you see that? I actually blocked it.”

He took off running.

“Your Vitality has increased since the last encounter with Drex,” the system said.

Landen ran deeper into the forest, ducking behind a thick tree. “Wait — I can gain stat points outside of the MOBA System?”

“Yes, of course. Stat points are ultimately determined by your physical condition, which is an external source monitored by the MOBA System. You can continue to modify and strengthen your body independently of the system.”

He moved again. This time behind a rock. “So even though I didn't get any experience points from that last fight, I still got stronger.”

“Correct.”

Landen kept moving, sprinting from cover to cover just as Hero had advised. He knew there was no beating Drex head-on; survival was the only objective. Fortunately, the forest was dense with massive boulders and old-growth trees, and tracking Drex wasn't hard. His heavy footsteps shook the ground, while the immense amount of energy radiating from his body made his presence almost impossible to miss.

At least, that was the plan.

A shadow passed overhead — Drex, flying so fast that he nearly missed him. But while in mid-air, Drex turned his head and met his eyes.

“Oh, shit!”

Landen immediately turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.

“How is he moving so fast? I thought he was a support tank.”

“He is classified as a versatile tank-fighter.”

“Damn it. Bruisers are the hardest ones to deal with.”

In Legends of Heroes, tank-fighters, also known as bruisers, were always heavily favored as the top meta heroes. Their ability to soak up damage while still producing damage made them especially dangerous. Drex was a tank-fighter, and the fact that he could move this fast only made him more terrifying.

Just as Landen thought he had escaped, his body suddenly refused to move.

“Kneel.” He heard Drex say from behind.

Landen's body obeyed before he could resist, dropping to his hands and knees.

“I can’t move. How am I supposed to fight telekinesis?”

“I’m not certain what Drex’s ability is yet, but I can tell you it isn't telekinesis,” the system said. “I need a clearer visual of the ability before I can determine what he is doing.”

“Fine. I’ll just have to make him show me.”

Landen felt Drex right behind him, then suddenly the pressure vanished.

Without wasting a second, Landen spun and threw a punch with everything he had.

Thud…

As he held out his fist, his gaze crept upward only to see Drex smiling down at him.

“Hit me again,” Drex challenged.

Landen didn’t hesitate. He swung again and again, but Drex didn’t budge. Instead, he threw his head back and burst into laughter. “Pathetic little boy. I will purge the weaklings from this army, starting with you.”

“Wait,” Landen said, widening his stance. “One more.”

Drex grinned and opened his arms. “Show me how weak you are, boy.”

Landen smiled. “Cultivate!” he shouted.

As he yelled, a burst of energy curled into his body, his arms lit up with a bright yellow glow, and a high-pitched hiss rang out.

Drex raised a brow, wondering what he was trying to do.

|| System: Skill Details ||

|| Cultivate (Level 1) ||

|| Channel time: 5 seconds. Increases a selected attribute by 10% for the next attack; stacks up to 5 charges. 2-second cooldown between charges. If no attack is activated after 10 seconds, -1 charge. ||

“Cultivate!”

The energy around Landen's arms intensified as he activated the skill a second time. Two charges meant a twenty-percent increase to his Strength. He kept channeling, building charges until he reached the fifth and final charge.

Fifty percent, armed and loaded.

His eyes locked onto Drex's stomach, visualizing the heavy punching bag he’d nearly torn apart during practice.

Remember the steps. Step forward. Rotate the hip. Snap.

BAM! CRITICAL HIT!

The impact drove Drex back a few inches, his legs buckling.

“Shit,” Landen said.

For a moment, Landen wasn't sure what had happened. The punch had felt powerful, but Drex barely seemed affected. Yet when Landen looked at his face, he saw something completely different. Drex was staring at the ground as if he was trying to solve a complex math problem.

This kid has an Essence Grade of zero.

It shouldn't have been possible. A freshman with an Essence Grade of zero should never have been able to produce that kind of physical strength. Yet the punch had been undeniably powerful—stronger than anything Drex had ever seen from a freshman.

For the first time, doubt crept into his mind.

Was I wrong? Are these students not as weak as I thought?

His gaze slowly rose toward Landen, and the doubt was quickly replaced by anger.

No.

He couldn't be wrong.

He had to prove it.

Before Landen could react, his body suddenly became weightless again, his feet lifting off the ground. Drex seized his wrist with one hand and crushed it in his grip.

“Now I will show you what true strength looks like.”

With his free hand, Drex drove a fist deep into Landen’s stomach.

BAM!

Blood burst from Landen's mouth, but the punches didn’t stop. Drex hit him again and again. Each punch drove deeper than the last, sending blood splattering across the ground as Drex laughed like a madman. “You—don’t—belong—here!” he shouted between blows.

Finally, Drex released Landen’s wrist and drew back his fist one last time. The punch sent Landen flying through the air and crashing deep into the forest, his body disappearing among the trees.

Hero watched the entire thing from a distance. He rubbed the back of his head, then cracked his neck from side to side.

“Welp. That’s the end of that,” he said, stepping forward.

The room fell silent. The only sound was Hero’s footsteps as he approached Drex.

"You didn't have to go quite that hard on him, did you?" Hero asked, raising an eyebrow.

Drex didn’t answer. He stood motionless, staring in the direction where Landen had disappeared.

Then minutes passed, still no movement from Drex. His attention fixed on something in the distance, as though he were listening for or watching something only he could detect.

Confused by his behavior, Hero glanced at him. “Drex?”

Suddenly, a scream tore through the forest, echoing through the area. Birds burst from the treetops, their wings beating frantically as a red light began glowing within the darkness. It grew brighter, then moved through the gaps in the trees like shifting beams.

At last, Landen stepped out of the shadows, stampeding through the brush with an eerie red energy radiating from his entire body. He staggered forward, snarling and growling, searching for something—or someone—to hunt. Each step landed with unnatural force, as though some demonic entity had seized control of his body, leaving nothing behind but a beast.

Hero approached him and waved. “Hey, Newbie. You good?”

Landen's head snapped toward his voice.

Hero instinctively took a step back. Landen’s eyes were wide and completely white; his unblinking, beastlike stare sent a chill down Hero’s spine.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then, without warning, Landen charged him with terrifying speed.

“What the hell…?”

|| System: Skill Details ||

|| Berserk (Level 1) ||