The combat class changing pods were buzzing with students stretching, slipping into their light nano armor, and running through warm-ups.
Iseul slid into her own pod, adjusting the fit so she could move freely.
Her body felt different now—more responsive, stronger.
Even after weeks of using her gift more openly, she still felt the lingering fatigue from late-night Tinker prep.
The edge of excitement coursing through her made it fade into the background.
Miles caught up to her, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
"Ready to watch me obliterate everyone again?" he teased, spinning his purple-and-white hair as if it were part of the act.
Iseul laughed, tapping the holo-display on her wrist.
"Just try not to be so shameless today, okay? Including to yourself."
He saluted dramatically.
"No promises!"
By the time the instructor, Timothy Walters, stepped onto the floor, the room had quieted down.
A tall, stern man in standard combat instructor armor, he carried the aura of someone who had seen far too many cadets fall and rise in the field.
"Good morning, students," he said, voice carrying over the training room.
"Good morning instructor!" everyone chimed back respectfully.
Walters smiled, standing up slightly as he explained the class's current agenda.
"Today, we're going to continue conditioning and testing your reflexes. Standard drills first, then next one-on-one matches." he spoke loud with Firmness Standing completely upright with the his hands behind his back.
"Also, today we will be practicing with holographic recorded beasts to give you guys more hands-on combat. As I'm sure you guys have heard about the recent events at the scrapyard." he passed for a moment to allow them to process his words carefully.
Iseul Instantly felt sick to her stomach. She didn't think that such a thing would affect her school life.
Other students around her or whispering to one another with excitement.
Walter continued explaining cutting off the chatter of the surrounding students.
"With that, the mutant stampede. As a precaution, the principal has notified all combat instructors and teachers to give more knowledge and hands-on combat knowledge and defense to allow you guys to survive a day longer in this chaotic domination world."
A few students raised their hands Having questions, but Instructor Timothy Walters pretended like he didn't see them continuing with his words.
"Pfft— cough cough"
Seeing this Miles couldn't help but to laugh covering it with a cough quickly when the Instructor looked over.
This earned him an elbow to the gut from iseul Which felt like getting hit by a feather with his double A rank body.
"Tsk meanie" he whispered under his breath, side glaring at iseul he was about to help her back, but felt a dangerous feeling set up upon him.
He looked up like a deer, caught head lights.
"Remember, when participating in the holographic stimulation, all injuries are fake, but all the pain and feeling is all real. We will have medical attention drones on standby if you do happen to go into shock." Instructor Walters was staring miles down like a predator finding prey.
Miles smiled sheepishly nodding at the teacher mouthing sorry sir.
The instructor Walter didn't acknowledge anything. Only wisely moved his eyes away from the walking headache called miles finshing his speech.
"I expect focus and efficiency. Drones are active. No gift use in the initial combat rounds."
Iseul exhaled softly, letting herself relax slightly.
No gifts meant a somewhat equal level playing field.
She'd been practicing her movement discipline, blocking, and basic counters.
Today she wanted to see just how far she'd come.
The training drones powered on with a low hum, hovering at various heights around the floor.
Lights flashed red as they locked onto targets.
Iseul moved first, slipping into a crouch.
Her body flowed naturally, muscles responding almost before her conscious thought.
She felt her reflexes sharper, her reactions tighter.
The first drone lunged, swinging a retractable arm.
She sidestepped firmly, twisting her body in a way that would have been considered lucky just a few weeks ago.
The second drone followed.
She dodged, blocked, and countered with measured precision.
Her body conditioning felt more durable too.
The repeated strikes she'd once barely survived now barely left her winded.
Five rounds later, she noticed something that made her chest tighten with satisfaction.
She wasn't just getting pounded for once like a human sandbag.
Her muscle memory and combat instincts— influenced by recent events—kept her moving faster and smarter than before.
Iseul almost could shed tears of joy.
She felt the subtle shift in her own metrics.
The signs that her body conditioning might finally reach E-rank.
Her stamina held.
It wasn't a massive leap, but after years at the bottom, even a step up felt monumental.
Next came the one-on-one matches with classmates.
Iseul's opponents ranged in skill.
Some were still clearly above her, some her own rank.
Previously, she would have been toppled within seconds by even lower-ranked students.
Today, she lasted several rounds against most of them.
She used precise footwork, smart dodges, and clever counters.
Against higher-ranked students, she still got pinned eventually—but for longer than she ever had before.
She could hold her own enough to buy time and learn from their patterns.
Her confidence was quietly swelling.
The countless hours of study, alloy prep, and mental discipline were finally translating into physical performance.
Miles breezed through his matches like a whirlwind, finishing each opponent in under a minute.
He cast a playful glance at Iseul as she squared off against her last classmate.
He raised an eyebrow as if to say, "You're improving."
She flipped off his back, teeth gritted, weaving and ducking as the match stretched into the fifth round.
Sweat dripped down her brow.
Her chest heaved, but she could feel her body responding perfectly to every threat.
By the time her opponent finally scored a point, she collapsed to the floor with a laugh of relief, exhilarated.
Timothy Walters clapped from the sidelines.
"Not bad, Iseul. That's improvement I can see."
"Keep that up and you might actually just climb up a rank or two."
Her other classmates laughed hearing this.
Iseul didn't care, for her cheeks were flushed with pride.