The following morning, Roy woke up with a strange feeling.
His entire body felt sore.
He sat up slowly and rubbed his shoulder.
"That instructor really didn't hold back."
Yesterday's Combat Club assessment had been harder than Roy expected.
He had fought Marcus, a Vanguard-level student, and although the match had ended in a draw, Roy couldn't stop thinking about what the instructor had told him.
You need to develop a proper fighting style.
Roy had always relied on instinct.
When someone attacked, he reacted.
When he saw an opening, he took it.
When he became angry, he simply overwhelmed his opponent.
That had been enough at his old school.
But the academy was different.
There were students here who had been training since childhood.
Students from powerful families.
Students who knew exactly how to use their abilities.
Roy got out of bed.
"Guess I'll figure it out."
He quickly prepared himself and headed toward Class 1-A.
---
When Roy entered the classroom, Leo was already sitting at his desk.
"Morning."
Roy sat down.
"Morning."
Leo looked at him.
"You look terrible."
"You look worse."
Leo laughed.
"Yesterday's training was crazy."
Roy nodded.
"Yeah."
Leo leaned closer.
"Did you think about what the instructor said?"
"About my fighting style?"
"Yeah."
Roy rested his chin on his hand.
"A little."
"And?"
"I don't know."
Leo frowned.
"You don't have a fighting style?"
"Not really."
"What do you normally do?"
"Fight."
Leo stared at him.
"That's your answer?"
"Pretty much."
Leo shook his head.
"You're impossible."
Before Roy could answer, Mr. Adrian entered the classroom.
Everyone immediately returned to their seats.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, sir."
Adrian placed a stack of books on his desk.
"Today, we won't be having our usual Nexis Theory lesson."
The class immediately became excited.
A student raised his hand.
"What are we doing?"
"Practical orientation."
The excitement increased.
Adrian turned toward the board.
"At this academy, your abilities are only one part of your combat potential."
He wrote:
NEXIS + BODY + WEAPON
"Some of you will fight using your bodies."
He pointed at the first word.
"Some will specialize in their elemental abilities."
Then the second.
"And others will choose to fight through weapons."
He underlined the third.
"Today, you will be introduced to the Weapon Club."
Leo looked toward Roy.
Roy smiled.
"Perfect."
---
After class, the students gathered outside.
Several instructors were waiting for them.
One of them stepped forward.
"Follow me."
The group walked across the academy grounds.
The Weapon Club was located in a large stone building on the eastern side of the academy.
Unlike the Combat Club, which was loud and chaotic, the Weapon Club was strangely quiet.
As they entered, Roy immediately noticed the walls.
Weapons covered almost every surface.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Bows.
Daggers.
Staffs.
There were even several weapons Roy couldn't identify.
His eyes moved from one weapon to another.
Leo noticed.
"You like swords?"
Roy shrugged.
"They look interesting."
"You've never used one?"
"No."
Leo pointed toward a display.
"You could learn."
Roy stopped in front of a long sword.
It had a simple black handle and a silver blade.
He reached toward it.
"Don't."
Roy stopped.
An instructor stood behind him.
Roy turned.
"Why?"
"Because that's a live weapon."
Roy looked at the sword.
"It doesn't look dangerous."
The instructor laughed.
"That's because you haven't seen what it can do."
He walked over and took the sword from its stand.
"This is a Nexis-conductive blade."
The instructor held it horizontally.
"Ordinary weapons can be used by anyone. Nexis weapons are different."
He released a small amount of energy into the blade.
The sword immediately began glowing.
Roy's eyes widened.
"Nexis can flow through the weapon?"
"Exactly."
The instructor swung.
A thin wave of energy sliced across the empty training area.
WHOOSH!
It struck a reinforced target.
BOOM!
The target cracked.
Several students gasped.
The instructor lowered the sword.
"A properly synchronized weapon doesn't simply increase your attack power."
He looked at the class.
"It can improve control, range, efficiency and even allow you to perform techniques that would be difficult to execute with your body alone."
Roy stared at the sword.
That caught his attention.
"So the weapon becomes part of your Nexis?"
The instructor smiled.
"Now you're understanding."
---
The students were divided into different sections.
Some were given swords.
Others spears.
Some received staffs and bows.
Roy was handed a wooden sword.
He held it awkwardly.
Leo looked at him.
"First time?"
"Yeah."
Roy raised it.
It felt strange.
Too light.
He swung.
Whoosh.
The instructor supervising him frowned slightly.
"Again."
Roy swung.
"Again."
Roy repeated the movement.
"Your grip is wrong."
The instructor adjusted his hands.
"Don't hold it like a club."
Roy looked at him.
"How am I supposed to hold it?"
"Like an extension of your body."
Roy nodded.
He tried again.
This time, the movement felt different.
The instructor stepped back.
"Better."
Roy swung again.
Then again.
After a few minutes, something strange happened.
Roy began adapting.
His movements became smoother.
His feet naturally adjusted.
His body began finding its balance.
The instructor noticed.
"He's learning unusually quickly."
Roy didn't notice the instructor's expression.
He was too focused.
He swung.
Blocked.
Turned.
Struck.
The wooden sword moved naturally through his hands.
Leo stared.
"You said you'd never used a sword."
"I haven't."
"Then what are you doing?"
Roy shrugged.
"Learning."
Leo shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Roy smiled.
"It doesn't have to."
---
The instructor eventually gathered the students again.
"Now we're going to test weapon compatibility."
A large circular machine stood in the center of the room.
One student stepped forward.
He placed his hand on the machine.
A small display appeared.
WEAPON COMPATIBILITY
--------------------
Element: Fire
Weapon: Sword
Compatibility: 72%
The student smiled.
"Seventy-two!"
His friends congratulated him.
Another student stepped forward.
Element: Earth
Weapon: Spear
Compatibility: 81%
More students reacted.
The instructor explained.
"Compatibility isn't everything."
He pointed toward the machine.
"A low compatibility score doesn't mean you can't use a weapon. It simply means your Nexis doesn't naturally synchronize with it."
One after another, students took the test.
Eventually—
"Roy."
Roy walked forward.
The room became slightly quieter.
Several students were already familiar with him.
The boy who had fought Lee Ching.
The student who had drawn with Marcus.
The student who apparently didn't have a family name.
Roy placed his hand against the machine.
The machine activated.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
BEEP.
The display appeared.
WEAPON COMPATIBILITY
--------------------
Element: Lightning
Weapon: Sword
Compatibility: 91%
Silence.
Roy stared.
Leo's mouth opened.
"91?"
Several students began whispering.
"That's insanely high."
"Is that normal?"
"Mine was only sixty."
The instructor stared at the display.
"Interesting."
Roy removed his hand.
"What does that mean?"
The instructor looked at him.
"It means swords are highly compatible with your Lightning."
Roy looked toward the weapons.
"That's good, right?"
"Very."
Roy smiled.
"Then I'll probably use one."
---
After the compatibility test, the students were given free training time.
Roy returned to the sword section.
He picked up another wooden sword.
This time, he moved differently.
He imagined Lightning flowing through the blade.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"Maybe I'm doing it wrong."
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Leo walked over.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying something."
"Lightning?"
"Yeah."
Leo watched.
Roy concentrated.
A tiny spark appeared around the sword.
CRACK.
Roy's eyes widened.
"Did you see that?"
Leo grinned.
"Yeah!"
Roy tried again.
This time, the spark disappeared immediately.
Roy frowned.
"Come on."
He tried repeatedly.
Nothing.
The instructor approached.
"Don't force it."
Roy turned.
"What?"
"Your weapon isn't ready for your Nexis."
Roy looked at the sword.
"But it worked."
"For a moment."
The instructor crouched beside him.
"Weapon synchronization takes time."
He tapped the wooden blade.
"You need to understand the weapon before you can expect it to understand you."
Roy remained quiet.
"Think of it like learning someone's fighting style."
Roy nodded.
"Alright."
He looked at the sword again.
"I'll learn."
---
Later that afternoon, Roy remained in the Weapon Club after most students had left.
He practiced alone.
One swing.
Two.
Three.
He kept repeating the same movements.
His palms became sore.
His arms became tired.
But he didn't stop.
He remembered Marcus.
He remembered the instructor.
He remembered how predictable his fighting had become.
"I need something more."
Roy swung.
The wooden sword cut through the air.
"Something that's mine."
He swung again.
Lightning briefly appeared around the blade.
Roy stopped.
He looked at it.
A tiny blue spark traveled from his hand to the sword.
Then disappeared.
Roy smiled.
"Got you."
He tried again.
This time, the spark lasted slightly longer.
Roy continued practicing until evening.
---
When he finally left the Weapon Club, Leo was waiting outside.
"You've been in there for hours."
Roy walked past him.
"I know."
Leo followed.
"Why?"
"I want to learn."
"That badly?"
Roy nodded.
"Yeah."
Leo became quiet.
After a moment, he smiled.
"Then I'll train with you."
Roy looked at him.
"You?"
"Why not?"
Roy smiled.
"Alright."
The two continued walking through the academy.
Neither noticed that someone was watching them from the opposite side of the courtyard.
A student stood beneath a tree.
His eyes were fixed on Roy.
More specifically...
On Roy's hand.
A faint spark of Lightning remained around his fingers.
The student narrowed his eyes.
"That compatibility..."
He turned and walked away.
Roy and Leo continued toward the dormitories, unaware that something as simple as a weapon compatibility test had attracted attention.
For Roy, however, the day had given him something he hadn't expected.
A possible direction.
He had spent his entire life fighting through instinct.
Now he had another option.
A weapon.
Something he could train with.
Something that could eventually become an extension of his Lightning.
Roy looked at his hand.
A small spark appeared between his fingers.
He smiled.
"One day..."
The spark disappeared.
"...I'll figure it out."
And somewhere inside the academy, the path toward Roy's future weapon had already begun.