The next day, we trained like nothing happened.
No one spoke about the fainting, the healer, or the way my father's voice had nearly split the walls the night before. In House Valecrest, pain was yesterday's news.
By dawn, I was on the training ground again. My body still protested every move, but I kept my stance steady. My father's blows were the same precise, heavy, and carrying that brutal elegance only someone who'd been at war with the world could own. Each strike rattled through my bones like thunder, but this time, I didn't crumble. I blocked. I shifted. I adapted.
By dusk, I trained with Darius and Aria. They didn't go easy either not because they didn't care, but because pity was forbidden here.
Darius drilled aura manipulation into my head, each correction a bark, each success a grunt of approval. His aura was dense and suffocating, a heavy Dark Pressure type designed to crush enemy senses and disrupt balance.
Aria, on the other hand, moved like mist sharpened into glass. Her mana was Umbral Flux, subtle but deadly. It weaved into her blade and made her attacks unpredictable, bending light just enough to make you blink at the wrong moment.
And me?
I was the weak link trying to dance with wolves. But the thing about pain once you've tasted enough of it you start craving the progress that comes after.
Day after day, hour after hour, I trained.
My body toughened. My reflexes sharpened. Even my father stopped looking bored.
They didn't say it aloud, but I could tell every time I stood up again, every time I blocked what should've floored me, every time my breathing stayed steady when it should've broken the Valecrests were beginning to see me , they were beginning to acknowledge me.
By the end of the week, I wasn't sure if I was proud or terrified of what I was becoming.
I was improving.
Too fast.
[Status Window Opened.]
[HOST: LUCIEN VALECREST]
Race: Human (Architect-Blooded Variant)
Rank: Adept (High tier)
Age: 18
Strength: 35
Agility: 27
Intelligence: 110
Mana: 50
Aura: 30
Overall Evaluation: D+ — Noticeable growth; potential awakening imminent.
Trait Grade: D (98%) — nearing C-rank transformation threshold.
Bloodline: Architect Lineage — Fragmented Core Detected
Architect Ranking: Tier 1
Architect Skills:
Time Genius (Unlocked)
Allows host to analyze subtle mana, aura, and fighting techniques within a set timeframe.
Sub-skills:
• Copy: Can analyze and replicate observed techniques.
• Merge: Combine multiple techniques into one evolved skill.
Learned Techniques (Analyzed):
Reactive Step — A high-speed evasion and counter base movement.
Gravemind Pattern — Aura dominance technique
Vyre sweep — Mana veil slash technique
Aura Guard — Basic aura defense
(Merge unavailable — insufficient tier level)
System Points: 0
Architect Tier Progress: Level 1 (95%)
New Quest Generated:
"Trial of Ascendancy"
Objective: Secure First Position in the Academy Entrance Trials.
Reward:
Automatic merge of four learned techniques into an Advanced Skill.
+100 System Points.
Advancement to Tier 1 Level 2 of the Architect System.
Failure:
Loss of all currently learned techniques.
200 System Point debt.
Forced stagnation for one year (System Lockdown).
I stared at the text.
Then I reread it.
"…you've got to be kidding me."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
The System, silent as always, didn't care.
Win first place in a trial filled with prodigies from every noble house.
Children born with A-tier traits, awakened mana cores, and weapons older than the Empire.
And if I failed? I wouldn't just lose progress I'd break.
It was a scam dressed in divine lettering.
But the reward…
Tier advancement. Skill merge.
Freedom from this crawling, fragile body.
That was the problem with temptation it always came wrapped in truth.
I closed the window, staring out across the courtyard where Aria and Darius sparred beneath the setting sun. Their blades met with a clang that rippled through the air, aura bending like dark fire.
My lips twitched not quite a smile.
"It's about time," I muttered, dragging a towel across my neck. "If I'm supposed to survive in this world, I'd better start knowing my competition."
The faint hum of the Architect pulsed at the edge of my thoughts quiet, expectant.
The trials were coming.
And I wasn't planning on losing.