I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 991: Hidden From The Rest

The underground chamber grew quieter and still. The sound of Adrien’s steady voice and the slow synchronized breathing of the candidates filling the space.

The subtle tingling Erend and the others who present here had felt earlier began to thicken like an invisible current swirling through the air.

It brushed lightly against their skin just like a faint prickle of static before a storm, but this one was warmer. Charged with something else more potent.

One by one, faint glimmers began to shimmer around the seated candidates. For those with elemental affinity, the air rippled with their nature like a faint blue glow pulsed around a water-attuned recruits with edges like mist in the morning sun. Another radiated a dim ember-orange color that flickering in rhythm with their breath. And another shimmered with a greenish tint, the aura gently swaying like leaves in a soft wind.

Those without a specific affinity yet emanated a pure transparent-white aura. It was almost like the air itself bent slightly around them. The glow was barely visible until the dim lights caught it.

Erend, standing with Jessica, Billy, Thomas, and Conrad at the edge of the circle, watched the display with calm fascination.

On one position in the circle sat Marcus, his posture as steady and calm just like the rest. His aura shone with the same faint unassuming clarity as the others without an affinity. But there was something different about him.

Behind his closed eyelids his brow furrowed and his eyes began to move rapidly, darting back and forth as if tracking something invisible.

His breathing remained steady and nothing outwardly showed the strange activity of his mind. This was something that only Marcus can see and experience. Something that was special to him.

Erend and the others didn’t notice it at all. Their attention was spread over the entire group, monitoring their progress and stability.

The meditation went on, the room filled with a deep quiet pulse that become stronger. The Magic is in the air, literally, in its raw and unshaped form. Its resonates faintly between them all.

After nearly an hour, Adrien gave the first break. The candidates slowly opened their eyes. Some of them blinked against the change from inner focus to the room’s dim light.

They drank water, stretched their legs, and exchanged soft, unsure words with one another.

Ten minutes later, Adrien called them back and they settled into their positions again.

The second session began more smoothly. The earlier tension in their shoulders seemed to melt away quicker this time.

The invisible current in the air grew more stable and less erratic, as if the Magic itself was matching their slower steadier rhythm.

When Adrien finally ended the meditation, the candidates were visibly calmer. Even those who had entered the chamber pale and anxious now sat with a looseness in their limbs. Their breathing deeper and their eyes look clearer.

The flickers of aura had faded but the room still held a quiet charge.

Adrien let the silence linger for a few moments longer, letting the candidates sit in the calm they had built for themselves.

Then, with a steady, even voice, he addressed them. "That’s enough for today. You’ve all done well. Rest now and let your minds settle and your bodies adjust to the new power. We will continue tomorrow."

A few tired but satisfied expressions passed around the circle. They give a firm ’Yes, sir!’ answer then gave small nods to each other. Others simply sighed, relieved the session was over.

The candidates rose slowly, moving with the quiet stiffness of people emerging from deep stillness.

They gathered their belongings and left in small groups, the sound of their footsteps fading into the corridor beyond.

When the last of them had gone, Adrien glanced at Erend, Billy, Jessica, and the two senior researchers. "Let’s check the readings."

They exited the chamber together. The cool and faintly humming hallway lights guiding them toward the monitoring room.

The air here was sharper and cleaner and lacked the charge of Magic that was almost tangible energy of the meditation chamber. Inside, several technicians sat before a wall of screens that displaying different camera angles of the session along with streams of data scrolling in neat columns.

One of the monitors displayed thermal imagery, another showed faint energy readings as captured by the experimental sensors woven into the chamber’s walls. Several smaller screens displayed heart rates, breathing rhythms, and micro-muscle activity for each candidate.

Conrad stepped forward first, scanning the results. "Vitals all within normal ranges. Stress levels dropped steadily over the course of the session."

Thomas pointed toward Marcus’s feed. "Even him. No anomalies picked up from this one. Nothing out of pattern."

Jessica leaned closer to the screen, her brow slightly furrowed. "That’s strange. I could’ve sworn he seemed... different."

The technician shrugged lightly. "If there was something it didn’t register on our instruments, Major."

Erend stood with his arms folded, his gaze moving from one set of readings to another.

"Sometimes the important changes aren’t in the numbers," he said quietly, though he didn’t push the matter.

Adrien studied the data for another minute before nodding. "Everything looks stable. That’s what matters for now."

They watched the replay footage from the special cameras. Marcus’s posture was calm, his expression neutral, nothing to suggest the rapid flicker of his mind beneath the surface. To the monitors, he looked just like the rest.

Satisfied there was no cause for concern, Adrien stepped back. "Alright. That’s all for today. Get some rest."

The group began to disperse. Conrad and Thomas left first, heading to their shared room to file their notes.

Adrien, Erend, Billy, and Jessica exited together. The corridor was quiet except for the soft hum of ventilation.

They didn’t speak much as they walked. The day had been long even though its not even noon, and the weight of the quiet progress hung over them like a slow steady tide.

They reached the branching hall that led to their private rooms a minute later and they immediately entered it.

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