Physical Training Facility - Early Morning
Vorn sat on the training mat in perfect stillness, legs crossed in meditation position, but his mind was anything but peaceful. The facility hummed with background noise - ventilation systems, distant conversations from other wings, the rhythmic 'thud'of someone working the heavy bags upstairs.
'No more levels, no more traditional progression. Just adaptation and artifacts.'
His analytical mind processed this new reality with mechanical precision. Other students competed for rankings, advancement, recognition. He was now playing an entirely different game with rules only he understood.
'The question is: what's the best path forward?'
The facility door opened with its characteristic groan. Master Hajime entered, moving with that controlled power that made the air itself seem to shift around him.
"Deep thoughts this morning?" Hajime asked, settling onto a bench across from Vorn.
"Processing new information."
"About your limitations?"
Vorn's gaze sharpened slightly. "You know."
"It's a normal thing to think like that when you're in a kind of cross road, might feel less confident when you look at how far your goal is."
---
The Assessment
Hajime stood and walked to a reinforced testing apparatus - a grip strength meter calibrated for awakened individuals.
"Show me your current output," he said simply.
Vorn approached the device and gripped the handles, no warm-up, no preparation. Just focused application of his adapted strength.
'4,200 kilograms.'
The reading flashed across the display. Hajime noted it without expression.
"Recovery test, full sprint to the far wall and back. Maximum effort."
Vorn complied, his body moving with inhuman speed across the training space. Subsonic velocity, perfect balance, no wasted motion. He returned to starting position and immediately checked his vitals.
Heart rate: elevated but stabilizing rapidly. Breathing: controlled. Muscle fatigue: minimal.
"Interesting," Hajime murmured, studying the biometric readouts. "Your recovery rate is exceptional. Tell me - do you use enhancement potions like the other students?"
"No."
"Genetic modification? Family bloodline enhancements?"
"No."
Hajime's eyes narrowed with what might have been excitement. "Natural adaptation then. Pure biological optimization."
"That makes you a one in a million genius of physical training," Hajime continued. "And extraordinarily dangerous to certain people."
---
The Hidden World
Hajime activated privacy screens around their section of the facility, cutting off visual and audio surveillance. The casual gesture suggested access to technology that shouldn't exist in a simple training room.
"What do you know about the world beyond awakeners and the Bureau?" he asked.
"Very little."
"There are factions that make the family politics you've experienced look like children's games. Organizations that predate modern government, with resources that dwarf national budgets. They monitor anyone with unusual abilities."
Vorn's enhanced hearing picked up the subtle shift in Hajime's tone - from instructor to conspirator.
"Your ability to strengthen your body without external enhancement puts you in a category they watch very carefully. Natural evolution beyond human limitations threatens their entire power structure."
'Of course it does. I represent something they can't control or replicate.'
"They eliminate threats," Hajime continued. "Quietly, efficiently. Make it look like accidents or natural causes. Your sister's condition might not have been coincidence."
Ice flowed through Vorn's veins at the implication.
"You're saying someone deliberately-"
"I'm saying powerful people have reasons to keep certain abilities from developing freely. Your sister's possession, the family politics, even your placement here - patterns exist if you know how to look."
The privacy screens shimmered around them, creating an island of secrecy in the facility.
"Which brings us to your real options."
---
The Transcendent Path
Hajime pulled out a thick textbook bound in materials that looked both ancient and impossibly durable. The cover read: "Biological Optimization and Monster Physiology - Advanced Applications."
"The Transcendent path isn't just about reaching physical thresholds," he explained. "It's about understanding the fundamental principles of biological enhancement. How bodies adapt, what limitations can be overcome, why certain modifications succeed while others fail catastrophically."
He opened the book, revealing detailed anatomical diagrams that seemed to shift and move as Vorn looked at them.
"Traditional awakeners channel external energy. Transcendents optimize internal systems. But true masters understand both - how awakened abilities function biologically, where their weaknesses lie, how they can be countered or surpassed."
'Knowledge as power. Understanding as weapon.'
"With your natural adaptation rate, you could become something unprecedented. Not just physically powerful, but strategically omniscient. Every creature, every awakened human, every enhancement method - all of it becomes transparent when you understand the underlying biology."
Vorn accepted the textbook, feeling its weight both physical and metaphorical.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because the hidden factions already know you exist. Your choice isn't whether to be involved - it's whether you'll be strong enough to protect what matters when they make their move."
---
New Purpose
Alone in the facility after Hajime departed, Vorn opened the textbook and began to read. His enhanced memory absorbed every diagram, every principle, every biological mechanism described in its pages.
'Monster physiology: cardiovascular systems optimized for burst power, respiratory adaptations for mana processing, nervous system modifications for enhanced reflexes.'
'Awakener biology: how external mana integration affects cellular structure, common failure points in enhancement attempts, genetic markers for successful adaptation.'
'Human optimization: theoretical limits of biological enhancement, successful transcendent case studies, fatal mistakes in self-modification.'
Each page revealed new possibilities, new threats, new understanding of the world's hidden complexities.
'They want to control evolution itself. Keep humanity within manageable limits while they profit from artificial scarcity.'
He continued reading while performing his physical training routine - push-ups, resistance work, flexibility maintenance. His body adapted and strengthened while his mind absorbed tactical intelligence about every potential opponent he might face.
'Physical power without knowledge is limited. Knowledge without physical capability is useless. But combining both...'
For the first time since the system's departure, Vorn felt truly excited about his path forward.
[CURRENT STATUS ASSESSMENT]
[PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 4,200/12,000 KG]
[KNOWLEDGE BASE: EXPANDING RAPIDLY]
[STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING: ENHANCED]
[THREAT AWARENESS: ELEVATED]
[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: TRANSCENDENT MASTERY]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: TACTICAL OMNISCIENCE]
The hidden war was already underway.
Time to start winning it.
[EMOTIONAL CAPACITY: 70% (STABLE)]
[ADAPTATION RATE: ACCELERATING]
[NEW TRAINING FOCUS: BIOLOGICAL WARFARE]
In the growing shadows of evening, Vorn continued his dual training - body and mind evolving in perfect synchronization toward something the world had never seen before.