The Vanguard Archive was in the east side of the main academy building, behind a set of huge double doors.
The room was a big hall with shelves built into the curved walls from floor to ceiling. All the shelves were filled with books, old scrolls, and glowing tablets that held digital records of different skills.
Rows of holographic pedestals buzzed in the background, projecting blue lists so people could find what they were looking for.
There was a desk near the entrance, occupied by a man.
He was old and one eyed. The other eye was covered with a patch.
He did not look up when Holden approached his desk.
"First place," the man said.
"How did you know?"
"Nobody else comes in this early."
He turned a page.
"i'm Silas. I run the archive. You're here for your first place reward selection."
"Two Rank 2 skill manuals," Holden said. "That's what the examiner told me."
"That's right." Silas uncapped a pen, and passed a form across the desk. "Sign here acknowledging you understand that manuals selected cannot be exchanged, transferred, or returned, and the academy takes no responsibility for injury or death resulting from improper application of advanced techniques."
Holden picked up the pen.
"Death," he said.
"That's just a regular contract," Silas said, unmoved. "Sign."
He signed.
Silas took the form back, filed it somewhere under the desk.
"Look at pedestals two to seven for the list. Rank 2 manuals are indexed under gold tags. You have forty-five minutes."
He looked at Holden with his one eye. "Take your time. Choosing poorly here is a kind of mistake that follows you for the rest of your life."
Holden nodded and went to the pedestals.
They were hundreds of entries that had a glowing gold tag. Each tag told you the name and what kind of skill it was. You could pick techniques for movement, fighting, weapons, building power, or defense.
He moved through them, reading each entry carefully.
He'd thought about this on way here. Movement was his first priority. He was already a master at the basic footwork he'd learned, but he needed more than just the basics. He wanted a style designed for avoiding attacks.
There were several movement arts in the catalog. He read each one carefully.
One entry stopped him.
Gale-Step Footwork. Rank 1 (Adapted).
Speed and evasion framework.
Designed for close-quarters repositioning under pressure.
Note: listed under Rank 2 rewards by exception, as the complete theoretical foundation text is classified Rank 2 depth.
He tagged it.
He kept moving through the catalog, reading, discarding, returning to a few entries and reading them again.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Then he found it.
Asura's Ignition. Rank 2.
Internal energy art.
Forcible overclock of the user's meridian channels.
He didn't know what meridians were. The description explained they were like veins, but instead of blood, they carried energy through a fighter's body. The part about what the "Asura's Ignition" did to these energy paths was short.
Forcible overclock. Meaning: the technique didn't build capacity gradually. It forced the channels open wider and faster, all at once.
The result, the description said, was a sudden burst of power . Temporary, but huge. It was the kind of boost that could help someone win a losing fight.
There was also a warning written at the bottom of the description.
Warning: Asura's Ignition requires Perfect tier comprehension or above for safe application. Improper execution results in internal meridian rupture.
(Recovery from minor rupture: Six to eighteen months)
(Severe rupture: Permanent.)
He tagged it anyway, and went to find Silas.
The old archivist was back at his desk.
Holden handed him the two tagged entries.
Silas looked at the first one, wrote something in his book and looked at the second one.
He was quiet for a moment.
"How old are you," he said.
"Seventeen."
Silas looked at the entry again. His face didn't change much, but something about him felt different.
"Sit down," he said.
Holden sat.
Silas placed the form on the desk and looked at Holden.
"Asura's Ignition," he said, "has been in this archive for sixty years. In sixty years, nine fighters have chosen it as a reward manual." He paused. "Seven of them I never saw again after they walked out that door. One survived but his left arm got paralyzed. Only one person actually mastered it and lived."
He paused again. "Just one."
"The technique works," Silas continued. "It's one of the most powerful boosts you can get. But if you make a mistake, it destroys your inner pathways. It's literal fire inside you. Your body will consume itself, and there is no cure. I am telling you this as someone who has stood there and watched it happen."
He stopped talking.
Holden sat with it.
He thought about all he has achieved with his power.
He looked at Silas.
"Thank you," he said. "I appreciate you telling me."
Silas waited.
Holden reached across the desk and put his hand over the form, both entries still tagged.
"I'll take them both."
Silas looked at him for a long moment. Then he picked up his pen, signed the release form, and stood to retrieve the manuals from the archive.
He came back with two slim volumes, one plain green, one dark red.
He didn't hand them over immediately.
"You're not afraid," Silas said.
"I'm afraid of a lot of things," Holden said. "This isn't one of them."
Silas studied him for one more second. Then he passed the manuals across the desk.
Holden picked them up. He kept them both into his jacket.
"One more thing," Silas said, as Holden stood.
He looked back.
"If you manage to get it," he said, "come back and tell me how."
Holden walked out into the academy corridor.