Landen tried to push himself up, but every movement sent a wave of pain through his body.

“Landen, are you okay?” the System asked.

“No.” His eyelids drooped. “It feels like a damn army hit me.”

“Rest for a bit. You need to recover.”

“I need to beat him…” He gripped the dirt, his arms trembling, then collapsed.

“Your quest is to survive—”

“I know… And to survive, I have to kill him.”

“You're in no condition to do such a thing.”

“You’re right, I’m not. But I will be… Pull up the library of abilities. It's time to pick my Ultimate.”

A translucent menu appeared, displaying hundreds of abilities. Landen scrolled through the list until he found the one he wanted.

|| Titan — S-Class ||

|| Cost: 5 Points ||

|| Transforms into a giant Titan for 30 seconds. ||

“There it is. If I can't do anything to him in this body. I'll just get a bigger one and squash him like a bug.”

Landen had always dreamed of transforming himself into something greater. Not just becoming stronger, but shedding the person he used to be and emerging as someone entirely different. Like a caterpillar breaking free from its cocoon, he wanted to leave his old self behind and spread his wings. And now, for the first time, he had the chance to do exactly that.

He reached to select the ability, but his consciousness slipped away, and his finger fell short.

|| Ability selected ||

|| Berserk — S-Class (Level 1) ||

|| Enter a raging, beast-like state for 60 seconds. Attacks anything and everything within range, including opponents, allies, and bystanders. All attributes and stats double. All cooldowns removed. Restore all Hit Points, Light Energy, and Dark Energy. ||

|| Passive Effect: Last Stand ||

|| When in battle, automatically activates when near death or unconscious, regardless of cooldown. Berserk state lasts for 45 seconds. Returns to an unconscious state upon expiration. ||

The world went silent. Everything went dark except for a single red flicker of light. It pulsed like a heartbeat, growing faster and faster until it erupted in a furious blaze. A layer of red energy spread across his body, flickering like the flame of a candle.

Landen shot up, screaming at the top of his lungs. His body twisted and contorted, and his eyes glowed white.

The scream echoed through the forest. When it finally ended, Landen dropped into a low stance and lunged forward, moving on all fours like a hunting beast. A guttural growl rumbled in his throat as he searched for his target.

The moment he found one, he pounced.

“Whoa, Newbie!” Hero sidestepped the attack with ease. “Whatcha doing there?”

He continued dodging Landen's wild swings. “If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to take my head off.”

Left. Right. Left. Right.

“What, you didn't like my advice?”

Landen threw a wide kick and missed.

“Judging by those eyes…” Hero ducked beneath a punch. “And that red aura…”

He pivoted to avoid another attack.

“You're not exactly yourself right now.”

Hero caught Landen’s wrist and patted him on the cheek.

“Hey, wake up, rookie. Wrong target.” He forced Landen’s chin around and pointed towards Drex. “He's the one you're looking for.”

Drex stood a short distance away, arms crossed, watching.

Landen snarled, then a blind backhand grazed Hero’s cheek, causing him to jump back to create some distance between them.

“Damn, you're pretty fast for a Civilian.” He rubbed his cheek. “You know, I'm starting to think you're not really a Civilian.”

Drex had reached the same conclusion. In fact, Landen's earlier attacks had already given him a good idea of the boy's true capabilities. Whatever his official classification said, Landen was probably the strongest student in the freshman class.

Landen came again, throwing one wild punch after another. Hero dodged most of them, but the next fist caught him on the side of the face.

He's not letting up. If anything, he's getting stronger.

“It looks like I have to teach you a lesson.”

Hero spread his arms wide, and the hair on both his and Landen's bodies stood on end. Hero's own hair lifted, crackling with tiny sparks as the strands brushed against one another.

“Did you know that they call me the Human Battery?”

Hero closed the distance and seized Landen by the shoulders.

“Let me show you why.”

Hero’s palms flared with light, and a violent surge of electricity shot through Landen's body, making him convulse and twist uncontrollably. Only when Hero finally released him did Landen collapse to his knees.

He stood above Landen, watching him sleep peacefully.

“Well, that's that.” Hero dusted off his palms. “I commend you for the effort.”

As he turned away, satisfied that the fight was over, Landen’s eyes snapped open.

He lunged.

“Whoa—!” Hero threw a reflex punch straight into Landen’s jaw. “Yeah, okay, I don't like that nickname either.”

Hero’s left hand glowed an electric blue and punched Landen’s shoulder.

“It's catchy, sure, but it undersells my true capabilities.”

Landen staggered back.

Hero raised his right hand, which began to glow red. At the same time, the spot where he'd struck Landen’s shoulder lit up blue, matching the same brightness of his hand.

“I always preferred my old handle: Arch Lightning.”

A jagged bolt of lightning shot out from Hero’s hand and struck the blue on Landen’s shoulder, and sent him tumbling across the dirt.

“Pretty cool, huh?”

Hero looked at his hands, one glowing blue, the other red. “I have the ability to manipulate electric charge. My left hand generates negative charge.”

Blue sparks danced across his fingers.

“And my right hand generates a positive charge.”

His right hand flared red. When he brought both hands closer, electricity crackled between them.

“Put them together…”

A bright arc leaped from his right hand to his left.

Landen dragged himself up, clenched his fist, and let out another fatal scream.

|| System Notice ||

|| Cultivate (Level 1): Activated ||

|| Strength +50% ||

|| Agility +50% ||

With all cooldowns removed by Berserk, Landen was able to quickly max out the Cultivation charges, increasing both his strength and agility attributes by fifty percent.

Hero’s smile faded.

Then, without warning, Landen appeared in front of him, driving a fist into his stomach. The impact sent Hero flying, carrying him twice as far as he'd sent Landen.

Hero laid on his back, looking up at the artificial sky. “You little bastard.” He raised his right hand, and it began to glow red.

Landen was already charging toward him when a blue mark appeared on the left side of his ribs. Hero had tagged him in the middle of that last exchange, tapping him with a light punch Landen hadn’t even noticed.

“Take this—”

Lightning shot from Hero’s hand, striking Landen on his side and sending him skidding across the ground.

Drex watched as Landen struggled to regain his footing only a few feet away. The boy was battered and exhausted, yet he still refused to stop fighting.

His head hung low. His arms and legs twitched as though they were moving on instinct alone, adjusting his stance until he was standing upright again.

“Impressive,” Drex said.

Landen's head snapped toward Drex, those eerie white eyes locking onto him. He moved to attack, but Drex raised his hand.

“Let’s see what this new form can do.” He held up two fingers. “Two.”

Suddenly, Landen’s body felt extremely heavy. He fell to his knees, then onto his hands.

“Oh, hey, Landen,” The System's voice spoke in his head. “Not sure if you can process this right now, but I’ve finished analyzing Drex’s ability. Displaying the results now.”

|| Ability: Gravity Dominion ||

|| Controls gravitational force within a 15-foot radius. The number of fingers raised indicates the level of gravity exerted. ||

“I'm surprised anyone still uses this ability. Gravity Dominion isn't very popular for several reasons. To control gravity, Drex must first store the corresponding gravitational force within his own body. In other words, he has to live under the same level of gravity he intends to exert. The longer he maintains that stored gravity, the longer he can sustain its effects on others. If he spends twenty-four hours storing five times normal gravity, for example, he can exert that level for twenty-four hours.”

Landen didn't respond.

Hero watched from a safe distance. “Looks like he’s trapped inside Drex’s gravity bubble. This is why you run. Keep your distance, or you get pinned by that unbreakable pressure.”

At twice normal gravity, Landen’s blood sank toward his feet, and his heart hammered, pumping twice as hard to keep up.

Drex stood over him, waiting for him to give up. “Can't even handle twice normal gravity. Pathetic—”

But as the words left his mouth, Landen began to move.

First, he pushed himself onto one knee. Then he slowly lifted his head, glaring up at Drex with those furious white eyes. His teeth clenched together as a growl rose from his throat.

His entire body shook with the effort. Inch by inch, he forced himself upright until he was standing in a low, hunched stance, fists clenched at his sides.

Drex smiled. “Not bad. Let's see how well you handle three times the gravity.”

He raised three fingers.

Landen’s body trembled, and he screamed. Then the red aura around him began to ripple and twist, as though something inside was struggling to break free.

|| System ||

|| Cultivated (Level 1): Activated ||

Landen maxed the Cultivation charges on his strength, agility, and dexterity. He slowly straightened. Then drew his arm back, preparing for the final blow.

For the first time, Drex looked genuinely surprised.

Even Hero stared in disbelief. “This kid's a monster.”

“Landen!” The system called. “Three times gravity appears to be Drex’s current limit. When he's holding that much gravity within himself, his effective weight is enormous. But when he releases it, like now, he becomes weightless. This is your opening. Take him down!”

Landen threw the punch.

Drex pulled all the gravity back in an instant, and Landen’s weight dropped to zero.

The punch connected, but Drex didn’t budge.

“There it is,” Hero said. “Zero gravity… Any punch thrown without mass behind it hits like a fly. And when Drex toggles zero-g, his own weight quadruples. He becomes an immovable wall. ”

Drex seized Landen by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Landen kicked and punched, but none of his attacks seemed to faze him.

But the downside was obvious. Drex could barely move under the weight he was carrying.

“Fortunately for you,” Hero said, “Drex can't hold zero gravity for long.”

Drex was sweating, struggling to hold his own weight. Finally, he released Zero Gravity and staggered backwards.

Landen dropped to the ground at normal gravity. He planted his feet, and once more he readied himself for a final attack. Before he moved, he screamed again, and the red aura flickered violently around him.

Drex had pushed his ability too far. He had nothing left. He couldn’t counter, and he couldn’t run. This was going to be Landen’s win.

The scream ended, and Landen launched himself at Drex. His fist shot forward. For a split second, Drex shut his eyes and braced for impact.

He felt the force of it on his face, but when he opened his eyes, a fist hung motionless in front of him. The punch had never landed.

Landen stood like a statue, arm fully extended, legs solid beneath him, holding the perfect straight right. But the red aura was gone. His eyes were unfocused, his body completely calm.

Berserk had ended…

Landen was unconscious…

Darkness…

Then…

“Ghaah!” Landen jolted awake, sputtering as he wiped the water from his face. “Oh, Bob! That’s freezing!”

Hero stood over him, holding an empty bucket. “Drex insisted it had to be ice water.”

Landen rubbed his throbbing head. “What… What happened?”

“Your session's over.”

Landen looked around, realizing he was back in the hallway.

Behind Hero was Drex, arms crossed and his back turned toward them. “Get up.”

“You’re still here? Thought you didn’t want to waste time waiting for me to wake up.”

“I accept you as my first disciple.”

Hero and Landen exchanged stunned looks.

“What?” they blurted out in unison.