(Nava's POV)
It's been six months since that blonde devil took me in as his disciple. Six months of pain, training, and borderline torture. I swear, if I hear the words "Renewal Taekwondo" one more time, I'm gonna scream.
And just four months ago, I got myself a fellow student. A partner in suffering, if you will.
I still remember that day clearly—there I was, practicing kicks that were probably illegal in most countries, when Adam, that demon of a teacher, casually introduced a new boy to me. Like he'd just picked him up at the grocery store or something.
His name? Lan.
He looked… kind of cute, actually. I mean, if you're into the stoic, mysterious type. Short black hair streaked with faint blue lines, sharp eyes that seemed to see right through you, a calm face that never seemed to betray any emotion, and a posture that screamed discipline. He was taller than me—by a head at least—which was kind of annoying, and wielded both a bow and a sword. Talk about overachieving.
Adam gifted him weapons that looked like they came straight out of the year 2099. His sword had a transparent blade glowing neon-blue, like something out of a sci-fi movie, and his bow could generate arrows on its own—so long as Lan stored enough Honkai energy within it. Seriously, where does he get this stuff?
And me? Three months ago, Adam decided to give me a gauntlet. A freaking gauntlet—while I was focusing on leg-based martial arts. It's like he's deliberately trying to sabotage me.
Sometimes I wonder if my teacher gets a kick out of making my life harder. Maybe he's just bored.
Still, I can't deny that training's paid off. I've finally completed the basics of Renewal Taekwondo two months ago. You'd think that'd make Adam happy—but no, that devil decided to start teaching me about gravity. As if kicking things really hard wasn't complicated enough.
"Why do I even need to study gravity," I muttered one day, kicking a rock across the training field, "when I'm supposed to kick a Honkai beast to death?"
And yet… I ended up using those lessons. Sort of. I mean, I'm still not entirely sure how I'm using them, but I'm definitely using them.
Just recently, I awakened a Stigmata—The Stigmata of Stars, Adam called it. He said it matched me perfectly, since I was already learning how to control atomic movement. Which, again, I'm not entirely sure how I'm doing, but apparently, I am.
Still no clue why he's forcing me to study thermodynamics and cryogenics, though. Maybe he's planning to turn me into a human popsicle.
As for Lan? He awakened one too—a Natural Stigmata that enhances his precision and body control so perfectly that he can literally stop his heartbeat without dying.
No joke. He's freaky. I mean, who can just stop their heart? It's not natural.
What can we do, anyway? That teacher of ours is so far beyond us that it's not even funny. He's like a video game boss that you can't beat no matter how hard you try.
Once, Lan and I sparred against him together. We thought we had a chance, two against one. We were wrong. So, so wrong.
He didn't even use a real weapon.
Just strings.
Literal. Strings. Like the kind you use to tie up packages.
They were everywhere—thin enough that we could walk right through them. And yet, somehow, Adam used them to weave a massive construct, a string-made monster, easily twenty feet tall. It was like something out of a nightmare.
A chariot-sized beast of pure threads. It was both terrifying and strangely beautiful.
We attacked it from all sides—me with my kicks and Lan with his bow—but nothing worked. It was like hitting a brick wall.
Renewal Taekwondo's Silla? Useless. Gor Yo? Worthless. Even Screw Punch didn't scratch it. I felt so helpless.
In the end, we lost. Horribly. We were completely and utterly defeated.
He didn't even get a single speck of dust on his shirt. The nerve!
"One day," I swore under my breath, glaring up at him as he smiled that calm, infuriating smile, "Just you wait, blondie. Once I master my powers, I'll defeat you." I'll make him eat those words.
(Lan's POV)
It's been three months since Teacher Adam saved me from a massive Honkai beast that nearly killed me. I still have nightmares about it sometimes.
Since then, my life has been… strangely peaceful, if you can call constant exhaustion "peaceful." I'm always tired, always sore, but… I'm also stronger. More capable.
In those three months, I gained my own weapon, mastered their basic use, and learned two of Adam's self-made techniques:
Origin of the Unknown—a sword technique focused on deception and speed. It's all about misdirection and striking when your opponent least expects it.
Reignbow Technique—a bow art designed for hunting. It's about precision, control, and channeling your energy into every shot.
They sound weird, right? Teacher's naming sense is terrible. I mean, "Reignbow"? Seriously?
But even if his naming sense sucks, his teaching doesn't. Every technique feels like it's meant for something greater. Like they're building blocks for something bigger.
I've also noticed something else about him. He's always… observing. Not just during training—always. It's like he's studying us.
Like he's predicting every single thing we'll do in life. It's a little unnerving, to be honest.
Except when we're bathing. Thank god. That would be incredibly creepy.
There was one time when Sister Nava and I were sent to fetch something from his room. It was a rare moment of downtime, and we were both exhausted.
Inside, we saw seven piles of books stacked neatly in the corner. They looked ancient, like they'd been through a war.
Out of curiosity, Nava picked one up and read the title aloud:
"Recoilless Concept of Renewal Taekwondo."
She froze for a second, her eyes widening. I could tell by her face—it was something advanced. Something she hadn't learned yet. Something that probably involved a lot of pain.
I grabbed one too.
Mine read:
"Complete Compilation of the Reignbow Technique."
That day, something inside me shifted. A sense of determination, a desire to prove myself.
If he'd written all this—if he trusted us to one day reach that level—then I couldn't stay lazy. I couldn't let him down.
Since then, I've been training harder. Pushing myself beyond my limits.
One day, I'll earn the right to read every single page he wrote. I'll understand everything he's trying to teach us.
(Omni POV)
Unseen by both Lan and Nava, Adam was quietly observing them from the viewing deck. The wind whipped around him, but he remained still, his gaze fixed on his students.
His sharp eyes traced their movements with silent precision, analyzing their every action, while his pen moved swiftly across a notebook, recording data, ideas, and theories. The pages were filled with diagrams, equations, and cryptic notes.
"Rosy," he said without looking up, his voice calm and measured, "if we were to rank them using Schicksal's standards, where would they stand?"
Rosy's voice chimed through the air, calm and analytical:
[Rosy calculates: Nava stands at peak B-rank Valkyrie, while Lan ranks as low-to-mid B-rank knight, Host Adam.]
"Just as I thought," Adam murmured, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "They're growing fast. Faster than expected."
He paused, smiling faintly as he wrote another line in his notebook.
"After Lan finishes the basics of Reignbow Technique, I'll start teaching him biology. He needs to understand the intricacies of the human body if he wants to truly master his skills. And once Nava masters atomic de-acceleration using that device, I'll move her to life skills. She needs to learn how to cook something other than instant noodles."
Rosy tilted her head, her tiny mechanical eyes dimming slightly.
[Host Adam, aren't you… torturing them?]
Adam chuckled softly, a dry, humorless sound.
"No, Rosy. Torture is meaningless without purpose. What I'm doing is preparation. The knowledge I give them now will save their lives later."
Rosy hovered silently for a moment, her tiny mechanical eyes dimming slightly. Even she could feel pity for the two students, knowing that Adam's "love" came wrapped in cruel training. She wondered if they would ever understand his methods.
"The future belongs to them," Adam said finally, his voice lowering, almost wistful. "Once this one-year training ends—and we're already halfway through—I'll let them walk their own paths."
He sighed, his gaze turning distant, as if he were looking into the future.
"I'll make sure they end up at St. Freya. After that… they'll be free."
There was a pause. For a moment, Adam's calm mask cracked, and a trace of sadness slipped through. A flicker of regret in his golden eyes.
"They're like my children, Rosy. Watching them grow only to leave—it's harder than I expected."
Rosy hesitated, then asked softly:
[Host Adam, when will you give them the Emperor-class Honkai Beast gene—and turn them into MANTIS?]
Adam's expression hardened again, his jaw tightening. His voice was calm, but absolute, leaving no room for argument.
"In about five more months, Rosy."
He closed his notebook with a soft snap, the sound echoing in the silence. The faint gold title gleamed under the arena lights, a silent promise and a dark secret:
『Origin's Finality』