Lucian stood in front of a row of steel training dummies — reinforced constructs designed to withstand Mid Core Realm attacks. They were scarred, dented, and covered in the residue of thousands of student strikes.

He activated the Blood Eclipse Art.

The effect was immediate. Blood energy and mana began circulating simultaneously through his meridians. The air around him shimmered as the technique drew in ambient mana. His eyes glowed brighter — crimson irises edged with a faint golden ring.

He raised his hand. A Light Blade materialized — but it was different. The blade was thicker, denser, and pulsed with a visible aura that hadn’t been there before. The Blood Eclipse Art’s 50% spell amplification was in full effect.

He slashed.

SWOOSH.

The Light Blade carved through the steel dummy from shoulder to hip. The two halves slid apart, cut edges glowing white-hot, and clattered to the ground. Molten steel dripped onto the dirt.

"50% stronger," Lucian murmured, examining the destruction.

He raised his other hand. Blood Needle Rain.

Dozens of crystallized blood needles materialized around him in a shimmering cloud. With a mental command, they fired.

SHHK SHHK SHHK SHHK SHHK SHHK SHHK.

The needles punched through three dummies simultaneously, turning them into pincushions. Each needle penetrated two inches deep into solid steel. The ones that missed embedded themselves in the stone wall behind the dummies with sharp cracks.

Lucian felt the drain. His Blood Energy dropped noticeably — the Blood Eclipse Art’s cost stacking on top of the spell’s normal BE consumption. Powerful, but expensive. He couldn’t spam these enhanced spells in prolonged combat without managing his reserves carefully.

He drew the Sword of Aikis and began practicing Tempest Blade.

The first strike was slow. Clunky. His body moved through the motions correctly, but the transitions were stiff, the mana channeling uneven.

Strike two was better. The momentum built. The blade accelerated.

Strike three. Faster. The starsteel hummed.

Strike four. The air cracked. A visible disturbance followed the blade’s path.

Strike five. His wrist adjusted mid-swing, adding a rotational component that the manual called "the twist." The blade bit into a dummy’s chest and carved upward, splitting the head.

Strike six. His feet shifted. Phantom Walk integrated with the sword form — a lateral dash that turned a stationary strike into a moving one. The dummy behind him lost both arms.

Strike seven. Full momentum. Full mana channel. The blade came down with the accumulated force of all seven strikes—

CRACK.

The dummy exploded. Steel fragments flew in every direction. The concrete base cracked. Dust billowed.

Lucian lowered his sword. His breathing was heavy but controlled. Seven strikes. Each one faster than the last. The final blow had hit with more force than any single Light Blade he’d ever cast.

He practiced for three hours. Tempest Blade. Crushing Palm against the reinforced dummies — each palm strike left a concave dent that grew deeper as his technique improved. Flowing Water Block — he threw Light Blades at himself and redirected them with open-palm parries, the kinetic force spiraling harmlessly away.

By 4:00 AM, his skills had progressed.

╔══════════════════════╗

║ SKILL PROGRESS UPDATE ║

║ ║

║ Tempest Blade: Novice → Adept ║

║ Crushing Palm: Novice → Adept ║

║ Flowing Water Block: Novice ║

║ Heartbeat Detection: Novice → Adept║

║ PHYSICAL STAT INCREASE ║

║ +1 Strength (250 → 251) ║

╚═════════════════════╝

Then his normal routine. Fifty push-ups. Fifty sit-ups. Fifty squats. Three sets. His enhanced body made the calisthenics almost trivial, but the discipline mattered more than the difficulty.

He rested from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM. One hour of dreamless sleep — enough for a vampire.

At 7:00 AM, he knocked on Rose’s door. No answer. He knocked again.

"Rose?"

He pushed the door open. Rose sat on her bed in a lotus position, her body wreathed in faint green light. Her Bastion bloodline was active — tiny hexagonal barriers flickered in and out of existence around her like soap bubbles. Her mana was compressing. Condensing. The Core Condensation Pill’s energy was visible as a golden glow in her lower abdomen.

She was mid-breakthrough.

Lucian checked Clara’s room. Same scene. Clara sat in darkness, her vampire body still, her crimson eyes closed, her blood energy and mana merging in a visible vortex around her dantian. The golden pill’s energy was darker on her — tinged with crimson, reacting to her vampire bloodline.

Both were hours away from completion.

Lucian left them alone, grabbed his bag, and headed to class.

Class B. Room 207. Combat Department.

Professor Vasilev stood at the front of the room, her arms crossed, her sharp eyes scanning the students as they filed in. The morning light streamed through the tall windows, illuminating the dust motes that drifted lazily in the air.

"Sit down. All of you."

The murmur of conversation died instantly. Vasilev had that effect.

"Today is theoretical instruction. Spell theory, mana circulation efficiency, and combat application of elemental affinities." She tapped the blackboard with her finger. Words appeared in crisp, white chalk. "We will also review the updated class rankings."

A ripple of excitement passed through the room. Rankings. The lifeblood of academy competition. Every student lived and died by their rank — it determined class placement, resource access, mission priority, and social standing.

Vasilev pulled up the rankings on the holographic screen behind her.

╔═════════════════════════╗

║ COMBAT DEPARTMENT — CLASS B ║

║ UPDATED RANKINGS ║

║ 1. Lucian Grimaud — 11,200 AP ║

║ 2. Elias Schwarz — 9,800 AP ║

║ 3. Bruno Remmos — 8,400 AP ║

║ 4. Shū Yán — 7,200 AP ║

║ 5. Julian Morel — 6,500 AP ║

║ 6. Fiona Blake — 5,800 AP ║

║ 7. Marcus Webb — 5,100 AP ║

║ 8. Damon Holt — 4,600 AP ║

║ 9. Sophie Laurent — 4,200 AP ║

║ 10. Thomas Klein — 3,800 AP ║

║ ... ║

║ 27. (Remaining students) ║

╚═══════════════════════╝

The room went silent. Then erupted.

"GRIMAUD?! Since when is Grimaud first?!"

"He was ranked eighth last month!"

"11,200 AP? Where the hell did he get 11,200 AP?"

Vasilev raised her hand. Silence returned.

"Grimaud and Duncan cleared an F-Rank dungeon that was reclassified as E-Rank mid-mission. The completion bonus, beast core bounties, and resource exchange values have been applied. Additionally, Grimaud’s combat assessment scores and mission performance pushed him to the top of Class B."

She paused, her eyes finding Lucian in the third row. "Congratulations. Don’t get comfortable. Also, this aren’t spendable academy points. Your spendable academy points is in your bracelets."

Lucian’s expression didn’t change. He sat with his arms folded, his crimson eyes fixed on the board. 11,200 AP. The bulk came from the dungeon — 800 AP from the mission itself and the rest from accumulated combat assessments and miscellaneous academy tasks and tests.

The name in second place caught his attention.

Elias Schwarz. 9,800 AP. A new face.

A young man sat two rows behind Lucian. He had sharp, angular features, pale skin, and dark hair slicked back from his forehead. His posture was relaxed — too relaxed for someone sitting in a classroom full of competitive combat students. His eyes were a striking shade of gray, and they watched everything with a detached, calculating intelligence.

Schwarz. The name was familiar. One of the top five human clans. The Schwarz Family.

An exchange student from one of the most powerful families on Earth, sitting in Class B at the European All-Star Academy. Afterall, the European All-Star was one of the best if not the best academy in all of Europe.

Lucian filed the information away.

"Third place. Bruno Remmos." Vasilev’s tone was neutral, but her eyes lingered on Bruno’s massive frame in the back row. "8,400 AP. Significant improvement from last month."

Bruno leaned back in his chair — which groaned under his weight — and cracked his neck. "What can I say? I’m motivated."

"Fourth. Shū Yán. 7,200 AP." The Chinese girl bowed her head slightly from her seat near the window. Her jaw had healed perfectly from Lucian’s punch during the combat assessment.

Vasilev continued through the remaining ranks. Julian Morel in fifth — his smug expression slightly diminished from his previous second place. Fiona Blake. Marcus Webb. Damon Holt. Sophie Laurent. Thomas Klein.

The research department rankings were displayed next — a single class of 26 students.

╔═════════════════════════╗

║ RESEARCH DEPARTMENT — CLASS A ║

║ UPDATED RANKINGS ║

║ 1. Ryan Duncan — 10,400 AP ║

║ 2. ... ║

║ 3. ... ║

╚════════════════════════╝

Ryan. First in the entire Research Department. The dungeon haul, combined with his existing research credits and academic scores, had catapulted him to the top.

The support department rankings appeared last — two classes of 20 students each.

Rose was ranked 8th in Support Class A. Respectable, given her purely defensive ability. Clara would be in the Combat Department’s other class.

Vasilev dismissed the rankings. "The rest of today’s lecture covers mana circulation efficiency in dual-element casters. Page 247 of your textbooks. Open them."

The class opened their textbooks. Lucian already knew the material. He’d read the entire textbook in his first week.

But he opened it anyway. And waited for class to end.