Chapter 131: Chapter 131 : Training and breakthrough

The sun filtered in through the tall arched windows of the Rune Department’s main office, casting golden light over countless bookshelves, floating scrolls, and half-assembled rune constructs buzzing with mana.

At the center of the chaos stood Alex Dragonheart, arms crossed, eyes slightly narrowed, while a man with disheveled grey hair, a monocle strapped to one eye, and ink-stained gloves danced excitedly around a glowing chalkboard.

Rick Colesan—Rune Division Head, madman, and Alex’s rune-crafting master—was in his element.

“Now, pay attention, boy!” Rick shouted, smacking the board with a mana-inscribed wand. “This here—this is the Binding Sigil, one of the foundations of containment runes! Combine this with a focus glyph and a channel rune, and you can trap the mana flow of a core without it imploding!”

’Why does he always act like he’s defusing a bomb instead of teaching runes…’ Alex thought, watching the old man vibrate with enthusiasm.

Rick turned, eyes gleaming. “Come here! Try replicating it. And if it explodes, don’t worry. We have backup limbs stored in the medical wing.”

Alex blinked. “Wait—what?”

Too late.

He stepped forward, hands steady as he pulled out his mana quill. The faint hum of magic tickled his fingers.

In the past two days, this had become routine—after exhausting his body through sword practice and hand-to-hand combat drills, he’d spend the rest of his time learning runes from Rick.

And surprisingly… he enjoyed it.

’It’s like solving a magical puzzle. Only, the puzzle can sometimes explode if you’re lazy,’ he mused, carefully tracing a containment loop.

Rick leaned in. “Good… good! Now reinforce the loop with a Pulse Stabilizer—just a simple triple spiral. Come on, faster!”

Alex’s mouth twitched. He adjusted his wrist and inscribed the spirals in one clean motion.

A soft buzz filled the air as the rune glowed blue.

Rick burst into laughter. “Hah! Excellent! At this rate, you’ll master this array by next week.”

Needless to say, Rick was thrilled.

“You learn things very quickly,” Rick said, genuinely impressed. “I’ve seen many so-called geniuses, but you really are one of a kind.”

He grinned wide, almost manically, as he turned away to ’casually’ clean his desk.

’With him… there’s no way my name will be sullied again in the inter-academy competition,’ he thought. ’Just you wait, you old buffoon from the other academies. Now I’m bringing a monster of my own this year!’

Alex tilted his head slightly.

’Why do I attract all the psychos in this academy…?’ he sighed internally.

Just then, Rick turned back, eyes narrowing, a smirk curling on his lips.

“Looks like you’re not only talented in runes, Alex.”

Alex raised a brow. “What do you mean, Master?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Rick said, poking the air toward him. “Your mana core… it’s on the verge of breaking through. I can feel the instability from here.”

Alex’s lips twitched upward into a knowing smirk. “Heh. So you noticed.”

He casually rolled his shoulders. “I should take my leave, then. I’ve got more studying to do.”

Rick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You’re not making excuses to leave early, are you, young man?”

“Of course not, Master,” Alex replied smoothly. “How could I?”

Rick sighed and waved him off. “Fine. You can leave. But don’t slack off! Practice every damn rune I taught you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

With that, Alex made a quick exit from the rune-scented madhouse. His feet echoed down the polished hallway.

Pulling up his watch, he glanced at the time.

’3 PM. Perfect.’

—

By 3:10 PM, Alex stood before the Warp Gate connected to Phoenix Spire. A brief pulse of mana later, he was home. He took the elevator to the 10th floor and entered his luxury apartment, dropping onto the bed with a sigh of satisfaction.

’I’ll rest for an hour. Then it’s time to break through.’

—

One hour later, fully recharged, Alex stepped into his private training chamber—a room reinforced with magic seals, glowing softly with calming ambient light.

He sat cross-legged in the center, back straight, eyes shut.

His breath evened out.

’Calm your mind. Focus the flow.’

Mana began to stir. Slowly, he directed the energy through his body, starting from the soles of his feet, moving through his legs, coiling around his abdomen, surging through his spine, and finally pulsing through his arms and chest.

The flow intensified as it cycled repeatedly, increasing with each pass.

Then came the final step—he guided it inward, toward his core.

His mana core pulsed erratically, like a balloon filled to the edge. As he channeled more energy in, a sudden sharp pain lanced through him.

“Ghh—!”

His fists clenched. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Agonizing heat flooded his insides as his core expanded, reshaping itself to accommodate the denser mana.

Every inch of his body screamed in resistance—but he endured it.

Minutes felt like hours.

Then—SNAP.

A wave of calm washed over him as the pressure vanished.

The mana settled.

His core was now larger, denser—refined.

He had broken through.

Alex exhaled deeply.

“Finally broke through… Advanced (Mid),” he muttered with a faint smirk.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

[Host, congratulations on breaking through. You’re now one step closer to becoming an Expert ranker.]

Alex rolled his eyes and smirked.

’Tch. It’s not a big deal. I just broke through a sub-rank.’

He leaned back lazily.

’Besides, I’m sure after awakening, Ethan’s already hit Expert rank.’

The System’s voice replied bluntly.

[Host… you really are a greedy bastard, you know that?]

Alex’s brow twitched. “Why the hell are you insulting me out of nowhere?”

[Because it’s true.]

[You and Ethan are the fastest-growing cadets in this academy. It’s only been a month and a half since the term started. Most students haven’t even touched Advanced rank, and here you are, upset you’re not already at Expert.]

[That’s why you’re a greedy bastard.]

Alex rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh.

“Alright, alright. I suppose you’re right. I shouldn’t be too greedy. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.”

Silence.

Then…

[…Am I dreaming, or did you actually agree with me just now?]

A vein popped on Alex’s forehead.

“Shut up, useless.”

He shook his head and raised a hand.

“Status.”

A soft chime echoed in the air as a glowing blue window materialized before him, hovering steadily at eye level.

—

[Status Window]

Name: Alex Dragonheart

Age: 16

Rank: Advanced (Mid)

Bloodline: [Unawakened]

Physique: [Unawakened]

Class: None

Talent: Dual-Soul Resonance

(Enhanced learning speed, intuition, and adaptability)

—

[Attributes]

Strength: D → D+

Agility: D+

Endurance: D+

Mana: D

Mana Capacity: C → C+

Will: A-

Charm: B+

Intelligence: C

Luck: ???

Tap to scroll…

—

Alex slowly opened and closed his fists, flexing his knuckles as he analyzed the screen.

’My stats are… almost the same. Just my strength and mana capacity went up a bit.’

He let out a faint breath.

He looked over to the row of AI combat units stationed along the wall of his training room. His lips curved slightly.

“Let’s start training.”

“Zara,” Alex called out, turning to the central control panel. “Prepare four AI bots. Advanced (Peak)-rank. Only hand-to-hand combat—no weapons.”

Zara’s voice responded sweetly from the wall panel, her tone calm and robotic yet somehow warm.

{Right away, Alex. Initializing simulation protocol. Spawning AI units.}

In the next instant, four humanoid bots materialized before him.

Their synthetic bodies were armored with matte black plating, and their frames pulsed with glowing blue veins of energy. Each one exuded the pressure of an Advanced (Peak) combatant.

The four bots silently stepped forward and took a combat stance in unison.

Alex cracked his neck. His own stance shifted low, balanced, and sharp.

“Let’s dance.”

He launched first, closing the distance with surprising speed—but the bots moved in unison.

All four lunged at him.

He twisted his body just in time, ducking under the first strike and weaving past the second. A third blow grazed his ribs while the fourth clipped his shoulder.

His muscles tensed—and then his passive skill kicked in.

[Force Control (D) – Enhances control over strength, improving combat efficiency.]

His next counter hit cleaner, sharper—redirecting a bot’s incoming fist and twisting it into a clean elbow jab to its side.

Then—

[Shadow Step (D) – Active) — Short-range teleportation under 5 meter radius ]

Alex vanished in a flicker of shadow and reappeared behind the second AI, delivering a hard blow to its shoulder joint.

But the moment he landed—

The three remaining bots turned in perfect sync and lunged again with terrifying precision.

One blow hit his side. Another slammed into his forearm, forcing him back.

’They’re adapting…’

His skill,

[Titan’s Resilience – Enhances durability and physical resistance.],

Absorbed most of the impact.

He endured the barrage. Sparks flew as fists clashed against skin reinforced by sheer toughness.

He parried a blow and growled, “Let’s see how you like this—”

[Heavy Strike (E) – (Active) – Enhances strength for a single devestating attack.]

With one brutal punch, he shattered the chest plate of a bot, sending it crashing into the wall. The AI unit sparked violently and slumped to the floor, defeated.

“Gotcha.”

The other three did not hesitate. They closed in fast, fists and legs flying.

Alex blocked and dodged, but several heavy hits landed on his abdomen and ribs, forcing him to stagger back.

Still—he refused to fall.

His skill [Unyielding Will] activated, dulling pain and sharpening focus.

Pain blurred away.

His eyes narrowed, calculating.

He sidestepped an attack, swept the legs of another bot, and smashed its throat with a heavy elbow, disabling it completely.

Two bots down.

But now… the final two didn’t repeat the patterns of their comrades.

’They’re learning,’ he realized. ’And I… set their difficulty to max.’

He studied their stance, breathing slow and controlled.

Both AI units rushed at once.

He ducked, blocked, countered—but took another blow to the shoulder. He twisted, grabbed one bot’s wrist, and threw it into the other.

Not missing a beat, he dashed forward and—using the last seconds of Heavy Strike—punched one bot’s head clean off its shoulders.

Only one left.

He turned to face it—but before he could react, a fist smashed into his gut.

“Guh—!”

Alex hit the ground hard, air knocked from his lungs.

The bot walked toward him without pause.

It raised a fist—aimed directly at his face.

He couldn’t dodge in time.

’Shit—’

Just as the fist came down—

[Shadow Step]

He vanished and reappeared right behind the bot.

“Surprise, bastard.”

His fist, still enhanced by Heavy Strike, slammed into the back of its neck.

CRACK.

The last bot fell.

The room went silent.

Alex stood in the middle of the wreckage, panting, body bruised but victorious.

—

Suddenly, Zara’s voice echoed gently through the room.

{That was fantastic, Alex. Truly impressive.}

{You maintained spatial awareness under pressure, adapted well, and maximized your physical skills effectively.}

Alex chuckled weakly. “Thanks, Zara. You’re the only normal and caring person in my life.”

A second voice chimed in—sarcastic and familiar.

[What about me?]

Alex smirked. “Who are you again?”

[…You little—]

The system began muttering incomprehensible curses before it muted itself.

“Finally,” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “Some peace and quiet.”

Just then, Zara’s tone shifted slightly.

{Alex, you have a visitor.}

He raised a brow. “Who is it, Zara?”

{It’s Miss Charlotte.}

Alex’s lips curled into a devilish grin.

’Looks like the potion has finally arrived.’

——–

A/N:

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