The morning sky above Aureus Helix Academy was crystal blue, dotted with silver-winged drones patrolling like hawks.
Vadel walked through the main courtyard, the faint hum of EON's systems whispering in his head. Students streamed past in cliques—laughing, sparring, bragging about their traits.
No one noticed him.
No one except the ones who'd seen yesterday's fight.
"Hey, it's the punching bag," a voice muttered behind him.
"Yeah, wonder if he can breathe through all that pride."
EON's voice slid into Vadel's mind, smooth and mocking.
"Master, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, because if I did, I'd be very tempted to hack the nearest air filtration unit and give them all a nosebleed."
Vadel didn't answer out loud. He was learning fast—talking to an AI in public made you look like you were having a breakdown.
Instead, he thought: Focus. We train today.
"Finally," EON replied, his tone perking up. "I was starting to worry you'd just let me rot inside your squishy organic body without any fun."
---
The training hall was massive, built like an aircraft hangar, walls lined with weapon racks, reinforced flooring designed to take punishment from Tier 3 trainees without crumbling.
Vadel swiped his ID over the biometric scanner. The gate opened with a hiss.
Inside, a group of students sparred in the center ring—flashes of fire, arcs of lightning, shockwaves from pure kinetic bursts. Each fight was a spectacle.
Vadel ignored them and headed to the far corner, where unused dummies and weight racks sat collecting dust.
EON's voice clicked into a sharper tone.
"Alright, first calibration: physical enhancement. I'll synchronize with your motor cortex, boost muscle fiber output by thirty percent to start."
BZZT!
A cold wave shot through Vadel's limbs. His muscles felt… tighter. Stronger.
He wrapped his fingers around a training katana from the rack—a cheap practice blade.
"Why a sword?" EON asked. "You could just use your fists. Much more humiliating for your opponents."
Vadel tested the blade's weight. "Because I'm going to need range."
"…Fine. But I'm making it clear right now, I want to be the brains and the sass in this operation. You can be the muscle."
---
The first strike was clumsy—too much power, not enough control. The wooden dummy's head snapped off, clattering to the floor.
CRACK!
"Wow. Precision of a sledgehammer," EON remarked. "Shall we try again, Master Samurai?"
Vadel adjusted his stance, breath steady. He swung again—this time smoother, faster. The blade sliced clean through the target's neck joint.
EON's tone shifted to approval.
"Better. You're adapting. Neural response time improved by 0.12 seconds."
They continued for an hour—slash, block, dodge, repeat. EON adjusted microseconds of timing, tightened grip control, shifted foot placement.
By the end, sweat rolled down Vadel's back, but his movements felt different. Sharper.
"Phase one complete," EON announced. "Shall we test against something… less wooden?"
---
Vadel didn't have to wait long.
"Oi, traitless!"
He turned. Three older students—second-years—were leaning against the wall. The one in the middle twirled a chain around his wrist, faint sparks dancing along its links.
"Word is, you think you're special because you didn't drop out after Tyran flattened you," the leader sneered. "How about we fix that?"
EON's voice purred in Vadel's head.
"Ohhh, I like them already. Can I keep one as a pet after we're done?"
Vadel didn't reply. He stepped into the open mat space.
The chain user grinned. "This'll be quick."
---
ZAP!
The chain lashed forward, electricity crackling. Vadel sidestepped, the motion fluid, almost instinctual.
EON whispered:
"Angle: 30 degrees. Exploit the weight lag in the chain."
Vadel's foot slid forward, pivoting. The chain whipped past his shoulder, and he yanked the wielder's arm—hard.
THUD!
The boy stumbled forward. Vadel's fist drove into his stomach. The air left his lungs in a single, sharp gasp.
The other two moved in—one with a flame trait, the other coated in stone armor.
"Three-on-one?" EON's tone was gleeful. "Oh, this is going in my highlight reel."
---
The flame user swung a burning fist—Vadel ducked under it and swept his legs out.
The stone-armored one charged like a boulder, but Vadel sidestepped and smashed the butt of the practice blade into his knee joint.
CRACK! The stone shattered in a spiderweb pattern.
All three lay on the mat groaning within thirty seconds.
Vadel stepped back, breath steady, eyes cold.
"Training complete," EON announced cheerfully. "Congratulations, Master, you're officially terrifying."
Vadel picked up the wooden sword and returned it to the rack without a word.
---
Later, in the quiet of his dorm room, he sat at his desk while EON projected a small holographic interface above his wrist.
[ SYSTEM STATUS ]
Physical Calibration: 32%
Neural Sync: 45%
Combat Module: 28%
Potential Gene Mimicry: LOCKED
Vadel stared at the last one. "That's the trait-copying function, right?"
"Mmhm. And before you ask, yes, I can unlock it. But you're not ready. You need more baseline strength first. Otherwise, your body will tear itself apart trying to integrate foreign gene sequences."
Vadel leaned back in his chair. "Then we train harder."
EON chuckled darkly.
"Oh, Master… by the time I'm done with you, even the planet itself will wish it had a gene trait."
---
By the end of the week, whispers were already spreading through Aureus Helix Academy.
The boy without a gene had stopped losing.
And some claimed they'd seen him smile during a fight.