For days, life at Eloria had been quiet—too quiet. Ronan continued to train in secret, his Blast Core growing stronger with each passing session. The new skill, *Blast Flow*, gave him better control—his energy no longer burst randomly but moved like water through his limbs. He could feel it responding to his thoughts, his breath, even his heartbeat.
But something about the campus had shifted.
Rumors floated: system outbursts, energy spikes, strange duels happening after hours.
Ronan kept to himself. He wasn't ready to be seen.
But fate, as always, had other plans.
---
Combat Dynamics class was held in an open arena surrounded by student spectators. Today was a practical exam, and Professor Zarek—a former general with a face carved from stone—stood in the center, arms crossed.
"Controlled aggression," he barked. "We train it, we test it. Who's first?"
A tall figure stepped forward.
*Daren Voss.* Third-year elite. Arrogant. Dangerous. His system, *Gravity Veins*, allowed him to manipulate pressure and force through his limbs.
"I'll go," Daren said, eyes scanning the crowd.
They stopped on Ronan.
"You," he pointed. "Haven't seen you fight once. Let's fix that."
Ronan's stomach turned.
He wanted to refuse, but Professor Zarek's gaze froze him in place.
"Step up, Ronan. We don't avoid duels here."
---
Ronan stepped into the ring. The crowd leaned in, sensing tension.
Daren grinned. "You've been playing ghost since the semester started. Let's see if there's any bite behind that silence."
The whistle blew.
Daren moved first, faster than expected. The air around Ronan thickened—gravity pressure closing in like an invisible hand trying to crush him.
Ronan gritted his teeth, stepped aside, and let his instincts guide him.
He didn't attack. He moved—fluid, precise.
He'd trained for this moment.
Daren hurled a compressed wave of gravity. Ronan countered with *Blast Push*, a glowing ripple from his palm that met Daren's wave and canceled it out in mid-air.
Gasps echoed through the stands.
Even the professor raised an eyebrow.
Daren's smirk faded.
"You've been hiding strength," he said coldly.
Then he did something unexpected—illegal.
He activated a *Gravity Anchor*, a heavy, focused blast meant to pin Ronan in place. It came at him full force, enough to crush a training dummy.
Ronan's chest tightened. His vision blurred from pressure.
The system flared.
> *Emotion Spike Detected.*
> *Passive Trigger: Controlled Burst*
Without thinking, Ronan released a calm but powerful dome of energy from his core. It pushed back the gravity field, knocked Daren off balance, and cracked the dueling floor beneath them.
Dead silence.
Professor Zarek raised a hand. "Enough. Duel over."
---
Later, walking back alone, Ronan was joined by Lyra.
"You couldn't stay hidden forever," she said.
Ronan kept walking. "I didn't want this kind of attention."
"You didn't ask for it," she said. "But now they know."
---
That night, the system spoke again.
> *New Trait Unlocked: Focused Core*
> Bonus: +10% blast efficiency under pressure
>
> *Achievement: No Longer the Quiet One*
Ronan sat at his desk, staring at the message.
This was the cost of using power openly. No more shadows. No more hiding.
From now on… eyes would be watching.
---