They continued sparring inside the simulation until their time finally ran out. Neither said much when it ended. There wasn't any need to.
Both had enough for today.
Rhian stepped out of the pod, his body stretching instinctively. His back cracked slightly as he loosened his shoulders and arms, shaking off the stiffness from hours of simulated combat.
He instinctively opened his status screen again, just to check.
---
Name: Rhian Locke
Age: 18
Divine Core: F-Rank (0.99%)
Bloodline: Ragnarok
---
He smiled.
Almost there.
Just a tiny push left to hit 1%. It was ridiculous, really, to be excited about something so small. But for him, it was valid.
His situation wasn't normal. Every fraction of progress was earned through effort, pain, and grinding against people stronger than him.
But as much as he smiled at it, he also couldn't help thinking about the downside.
This was slow.
Way too slow.
Ragnarok Physique allowed him to grow through battle and pressure, but if he had to rely on this alone, reaching E-Rank might take him a year.
Maybe longer. It all depended on how much fighting he did and how dangerous the battles were.
And that was just one rank.
Rhian knew from his lessons that everyone's rate of energy absorption differed. Some people could clear multiple ranks in a year if they hunted hard enough and absorbed enough divine cores.
Without absorbing cores directly, relying only on Ragnarok Physique, his growth felt like crawling through mud.
Luckily, that was about to change.
He would be entering a portal soon.
Rhian's grin grew sharper.
It was almost time to stop crawling.
As Rhian stood there, staring at his progress, he suddenly felt a weight drop casually on his shoulder. A hand hung there like it owned the space.
Then came the voice, annoyingly close.
"Aras look at his smile..." Ash's tone was playful, almost lazy. "Thought only Nia could make him grin like this by beating him half to death."
Rhian's face twitched.
Without even glancing, he casually reached up and pinched the back of Ash's hand, pressing down hard enough to make it clear it wasn't welcome.
Ash didn't flinch.
He just let his hand fall away with no real reaction, stepping back like nothing happened.
Rhian sighed.
"What are you guys up to after this?" Ash asked, completely unfazed. "I don't have any classes today."
He stretched his arms above his head, already inviting himself into whatever they might be doing next.
..
..
Another week passed.
Rhian sat cross-legged on the floor alongside his six other classmates, the small group that made up the Evolved class. Scattered around the wide, empty training room, they were all catching their breath after another brutal session.
Standing in front of them barefoot as always, with her arms crossed loosely, was Miss Liane.
She finally spoke, her voice louder than usual, carrying a weight of seriousness that wasn't always there.
"Okay, that's it for today," she said, rolling her shoulders slightly before adding, "But before you all leave, I need to tell you something."
Her tone shifted.
Immediately, everyone in the room paid attention.
"Tomorrow, you'll be entering a portal," she announced flatly. "Along with the other classes."
That drew a reaction from the group.
Even Rhian, who had already heard about it from Nia, still felt his heart beat a little faster. Hearing it confirmed like this made it real.
Miss Liane looked at all of them slowly, her expression sharp. The usual bluntness, the constant insults or dry mockery, none of that was here right now.
She looked... serious.
Caring in her own strange way.
"I want all of you to be careful," she said plainly. "There will be teams of five. But as you can see..." her eyes moved across the room, landing briefly on Rhian, "there are seven of you."
Rhian already saw where this was going.
He had already formed a rough team in his mind. Him, Nia, Ash, and Aras. That was four. Only one slot left. And with how Liane had been watching him since his awakening, noting who he hung out with, who he trained with, it was clear she had plans.
Two of their class would have to find a spot elsewhere.
Liane didn't drag the topic.
"Two of you will have to join another team. I'm sure you've all made some friends outside this class." She paused, long enough to grin faintly. "Unless you're all just lonely freaks."
A few snorts echoed lightly around the room. Even now, even serious, she didn't completely lose her edge.
But then her expression flattened again.
"This isn't just a test or a field trip," Liane continued. "You all know the way it works here. Being Evolved already makes you a target. The other students will look for any excuse to get in your face, to start something, to pick a fight."
She didn't soften the warning.
"So avoid them. Avoid trouble. Avoid giving them any reason."
Her voice was steady now, the tone of someone who had seen enough of this cycle play out before.
"But most of all, protect each other. I don't care what happens out there. Don't leave anyone behind."
Everyone in the room, even the roughest, quietest types, nodded slowly.
Every one of them had felt it, the stares, the comments, the distance from the other students in their other classes.
It wasn't paranoia. It was just life for an Evolved.
Tomorrow wasn't just about monsters, it was about surviving people too.
Many people hated Evolved.
It wasn't just childish dislike or harmless ignorance. It was deep-rooted. Ugly. Some even went as far as attacking them for no real reason. The label "Cursed" wasn't just about looks or powers. It was a reason. An excuse.
In the city, crimes against Evolved weren't treated the same as crimes against others.
If a normal student got attacked in public, guards responded fast. Investigations happened. People cared.
But if it was an Evolved most of the time, they were just told to defend themselves. Some cases barely made it past the report stage.
There were disappearances too, Evolved going missing in the city outskirts, even in certain parts of the inner districts.
But no real noise came from it.
No politicians fought for them.
No powerful families demanded answers.
Instead, jokes spread. Crude ones.
That the missing probably went to the old lands.
Or worse, that they left willingly, crossed into a portal somewhere, and joined the monsters they supposedly belonged with.
For most of the world, the line between monster and Evolved was thin.
Rhian hadn't experienced the worst of that yet.
He knew it happened.
But he hadn't grown up as Evolved. He hadn't lived every day knowing people hated what he was.
Some of his classmates here though, they had.
People like them didn't flinch at insults anymore. They didn't get angry over every dirty look.
They carried it. Not because they accepted it.
But because it had always been like that.