Physical Training Facility - Dawn
The facility was empty except for the rhythmic *thud* of Hajime's fists hitting a reinforced training dummy. Each impact sent shockwaves through the heavy bag that should have been impossible for human strength alone.
Vorn arrived exactly at dawn, as instructed.
"Strip down to basics," Hajime ordered without turning around. "We're testing your current limits."
THUD.
Another punch that made the air itself vibrate.
Vorn changed into simple training clothes, mind already calculating what this session would reveal. His enhanced body felt coiled, ready - like a machine waiting for activation.
"Combat position," Hajime said, finally turning to face him. "Show me what that protocol really gave you."
---
Sparring Session
The moment Hajime moved, Vorn understood he was facing something beyond normal human capability.
WHOOSH.
The master's punch cut through air with surgical precision. Vorn's body reacted instinctively, twisting aside, but Hajime was already there with a follow-up that grazed his ribs.
He's holding back, not seriously sparing
Vorn tried to counter, his enhanced speed letting him slip inside Hajime's guard. His strike aimed for the master's exposed flank.
SLAP.
Hajime caught his wrist casually, like plucking a slow-moving fly from the air.
"Better. But you're still thinking in awakened terms." He released Vorn and stepped back. "Internal energy doesn't flow like mana. It builds from within."
BLUR.
This time Hajime moved seriously. Not full power, but enough to show the gap between them. His movements weren't enhanced by magic or aura - just pure, refined human potential pushed beyond normal limits.
Vorn found himself on his back before he could register the sequence of strikes that put him there.
"Again."
They sparred for twenty minutes. Each exchange showed Vorn's rapid adaptation, but also highlighted how far he had to go. Hajime moved like flowing water - no wasted motion, no unnecessary force. Just perfect efficiency.
Finally, the master called a halt.
"You've already surpassed most students your age in raw conditioning," Hajime said, breathing only slightly harder. "Your adaptation rate is impressive. But you're still thinking like an awakened."
He gestured for Vorn to sit on the training mat.
"Time you learned what you're really capable of."
---
The Transcendent Revelation
Hajime pulled out that ancient text again, opening to pages covered in anatomical diagrams marked with energy flow patterns.
"Transcendents," he began, voice dropping to something conspiratorial. "A power system completely separate from awakened classification. Where awakeners channel external mana, Transcendents cultivate internal force."
Vorn leaned forward, his enhanced intelligence processing every detail.
"The threshold is brutal - twelve thousand kilograms of lifting capacity, speed that breaks the sound barrier, reflexes that operate at superhuman levels. Far beyond what most awakeners achieve even at S-rank."
Twelve thousand kilograms. That's... insane.
"Once you reach those physical benchmarks, you take the Transcendent Trial. Pass, and you receive the enhancement serum. Your body becomes something beyond human limitations entirely."
Hajime flipped to another page showing two distinct paths.
"Physical Masters focus on body enhancement - strength, speed, durability pushed to impossible extremes. Psychic Masters develop mental abilities - telepathy, telekinesis, even flight at early stages. What takes S-rank awakeners decades, Psychic Transcendents achieve in months."
Mental abilities without mana signatures. Completely undetectable.
"Why isn't this public knowledge?" Vorn asked.
Hajime's smile was grim. "Because it threatens the entire awakened power structure. Why worship mana-users when humans can transcend those limitations entirely?"
He turned to a section marked with warning symbols.
"The rich families know. They give their children enhancement potions from high-level dungeons, preparing their bodies for the threshold. Many countries have secret Transcendent programs."
Of course they do. Power always creates hierarchies.
"But here's the catch - the higher your awakened rank, the more your body rejects the Transcendent serum. Some A-rank awakeners who tried it... literally exploded. The two power systems are fundamentally incompatible at high levels."
[CRITICAL INFORMATION ACQUIRED]
[TRANSCENDENT PATH: AVAILABLE][CURRENT PHYSICAL THRESHOLD: 2,847/12,000 KG]
[WARNING: AWAKENER ADVANCEMENT MAY CLOSE THIS PATH]
So I have a choice. Continue as an awakener or pursue Transcendence. But not both.
Hajime closed the text. "That's enough theory for now. Time for practical application."
He tossed Vorn a small bronze key.
"This opens the advanced training chamber. Gravity manipulation, atmospheric pressure control, environmental adaptation systems. Most students need months before they're ready for it."
He's giving me immediate access to advanced training?
"Why?" Vorn asked directly.
"Because your body's already adapted beyond normal human limits. The standard progression would bore you." Hajime's grin was sharp. "And because I'm curious to see how far your 'adaptation' can go."
---
Advanced Training Chamber
The chamber was a sphere of polished metal lined with crystalline projectors. The moment Vorn stepped inside, the environment shifted - gravity doubled, air pressure increased, temperature fluctuated between extremes.
His body adapted instantly.
"Meditation first," Hajime instructed through speakers. "Transcendent power begins with internal awareness, sit, close your eyes. Find the energy that flows beneath your conscious mind."
Vorn settled into lotus position, spine straight, breathing controlled.
Focus inward, Find the energy source.
He tried for twenty minutes, Thirty. His enhanced concentration should have made this simple, but he found... nothing. No internal energy flow, no hidden reservoirs of power.
Just emptiness.
"I can't feel anything," he admitted.
"Most people can't at first," Hajime's voice was patient. "Internal cultivation takes months to develop properly. Don't worry about immediate results."
But Vorn's frustration was building. His body could adapt to anything physical, but this mental exercise felt impossible.
"Focus on your breathing. Nothing else."
In, out, in, out.
Gradually, the chamber's harsh environment faded into background noise. His enhanced proprioception mapped every muscle, every heartbeat, every cellular process.
And slowly, impossibly, he began to sink inward.
---
Inner Space - Vorn's Subconscious
The world around him dissolved.
He found himself sitting in an endless void, face to face with... himself.
Same features, same posture, but the other Vorn's eyes held knowledge that felt ancient.
"How are you?" Vorn asked, surprisingly calm about this impossible situation.
The other version smiled sadly. "I am the system. And since you've finally reached this level of internal awareness, I won't be protecting you like before."
The system... is me?
"Everything is up to you from this moment forward. There are still many secrets you don't know about your situation, your powers, your true purpose here."
The system-Vorn began to fade at the edges.
"Don't search for answers unnecessarily. When the time is right, we'll meet again. I'll explain why I am you, and what forces brought us together."
"Wait-" Vorn reached out, but his other self was already dissolving.
"The seal you bear, the card that consumes memories, the path you're walking - none of it is coincidence. But for now, survival is your only priority."
The void collapsed.
---
Training Chamber - Return
Vorn's eyes snapped open. Sweat covered his body despite the chamber's controlled environment. His internal clock said hours had passed, but it felt like minutes.
[MEDITATION: BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED]
[INNER SPACE: ACCESSED]
[SYSTEM COMMUNICATION: ESTABLISHED]
[WARNING: AUTONOMOUS OPERATION NOW ACTIVE]
The system's been... protecting me? And now it's not?
The implications were staggering. Everything he'd accomplished, every narrow escape, every perfectly timed adaptation - how much had been his own ability versus system intervention?
No way to know now. I'm on my own.
He returned to his dorm room as evening settled over the academy. His mind churned with questions about Transcendents, system autonomy, and the growing certainty that his situation was far more complex than he'd realized.
In his room, he continued training relentlessly. Push-ups, sit-ups, isometric holds. Sweat pooled around him as his body pushed toward that impossible 12,000-kilogram threshold.
[CURRENT PHYSICAL PROGRESS]
[STRENGTH: 3,124/12,000 KG]
[SPEED: SUBSONIC]
[ADAPTATION RATE: ACCELERATING]
[EMOTIONAL CAPACITY: 76% (DECLINING)]
Two paths diverging. Awakener advancement or Transcendent evolution.
Can't have both.
The choice would define everything that came next.
But for tonight, he would train. Push his limits. Prepare for whatever challenges this new world would throw at him.
System or no system, I'll survive on my own terms.
[LEVEL: 5]
[EXP: 378/500]
[PATH: BODY EVOLUTION - ACCELERATING]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: REACH TRANSCENDENT THRESHOLD]