The training grounds were silent in a way Axel had never experienced before.
Not the tense silence of fear.
Not the suffocating pressure of an Apex-class presence.
This was expectation.
Hundreds of recruits stood on the upper platforms, arranged in neat lines overlooking the main field. The mana barriers below shimmered faintly, layered and reinforced—strong enough to withstand battles far beyond what any of them could survive.
Axel stood among the others, hands loose at his sides, posture relaxed.
No one was training today.
No weighted runs.
No endurance drills.
No mana-pressure chambers.
That alone made the air feel strange.
"Today," an instructor said, his voice carrying easily across the platform, "you will observe."
A murmur rippled through the recruits.
Axel's eyes stayed on the field.
Observe what?
Two figures stepped forward from opposite ends of the arena.
The first wore light combat armor, his presence sharp and focused. A long sword rested at his side, the mana around him compressed so tightly it hummed.
The second looked almost ordinary—no visible weapon, no armor. Just a calm expression and a faint, steady flow of mana around his body.
"A-rank combat Hunter," the instructor continued. "Versus a B-rank skill specialist."
Axel blinked.
That didn't sound balanced.
The signal rang.
The swordsman vanished.
Not dashed.
Not jumped.
Vanished.
A burst of light marked where he had been, and then he was already mid-swing, blade wrapped in dense mana that distorted the air around it.
Gasps erupted from the recruits.
The other Hunter raised a single hand.
No chant.
No shout.
The space in front of him bent.
The blade veered off-course, carving a deep trench into the reinforced floor instead of flesh. The shockwave rippled outward, rattling the barriers.
Before the swordsman could recover, the skill specialist stepped forward once.
Just once.
Mana surged—not outward, but inward—compressing, stabilizing, aligning.
The swordsman froze.
Pinned.
Not by force.
By control.
The duel ended there.
Silence followed.
Axel didn't realize he'd stopped breathing until his lungs burned.
That wasn't combat.
It was precision.
No wasted movement.
No excess mana.
No desperation.
Just absolute intent carried through the body.
"So that's it…" someone whispered behind him.
Axel felt it too.
A strange pressure in his chest.
Not fear.
Recognition.
The instructor's voice cut through the stillness.
"That is the difference between possessing mana and being awakened."
Axel's fingers curled slightly.
He had fought monsters.
He had survived a dungeon that shouldn't exist.
He had trained until his muscles screamed.
But what he'd just seen—
That was on a completely different axis.
The two Hunters left the field without ceremony, as if what they'd done was ordinary.
To Axel, it felt like a veil had been lifted.
So this is what awakening looks like…
Not raw strength.
Not speed.
Harmony.
The mana didn't fight the body.
It belonged to it.
The system flickered faintly at the edge of his vision.
[Observation logged.]
[Host awakening state: Incomplete.]
Axel stiffened.
Incomplete?
He swallowed slowly, eyes still fixed on the empty field.
"So… that's it," he murmured under his breath. "I haven't really awakened yet."
No response.
No correction.
But when he glanced to the side—
Cross stood at the edge of the platform, arms crossed, watching the recruits.
Watching him.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
Cross said nothing.
That silence was confirmation enough.