The sound of steel clashing with synthetic bone echoed through the dome like a war drum.
Leo Brandon darted through the air, a blue flare of kinetic boosters bursting beneath his feet as he twisted mid-spin, bringing his blade down in a perfect arc. The simulation dummy—a massive mech-golem hybrid—staggered backward, its head half-sheared off by Leo's strike.
> "TPS Strike Efficiency: 98.7%."
"Combo Sequence: B+, Cooldown 3.2s remaining."
The voice of the system was calm. Cold. Calculated. Like it was waiting for him to fail.
Leo landed on one knee, breathing hard, sweat trickling down his temple beneath his combat visor. His muscles screamed, but he stood anyway.
"Again," he said.
The walls of the chamber flickered, then reshaped themselves. This time, four mech-drones dropped from the ceiling, each armed with null blades. A suicide program. The kind used to train only the top ten ranked fighters.
And Leo? He was Rank 5. The youngest fighter in the top tier. The Neo League's golden boy. The media called him The Silent Storm.
But Leo didn't care about fame. He only cared about one thing:
> Climbing higher.
He launched himself forward with a burst of dashfire energy, spinning low, then vertical-slashing through the first two drones before they even raised a weapon.
> "Combo Rank: A-"
"TPS Flow Sync: 76%"
> Too slow, Leo thought. Not good enough.
The third drone lunged with a two-handed overhead strike. Leo ducked, twisted sideways, and let it graze his shoulder just enough to activate his reactive counter spell. With a pulse of bright white, the drone exploded mid-air, showering the arena with sparks.
One left.
He turned—too late.
The final drone had disengaged stealth mode. It was already mid-swing.
A deep instinct inside Leo surged awake.
He didn't block.
He didn't dodge.
He stepped through it.
Time slowed. Or shattered. He wasn't sure.
One moment he stood beneath the drone's blade—
The next, he stood behind it, his sword already buried through its core.
The system blinked.
> "TPS Sync Level… ERROR."
"Unauthorized ability use detected."
Leo froze.
> "System recalibrating…"
"Analyzing true ranking…"
The chamber lights dimmed. The sound of distant gears grinding filled the air. For the first time in his life, the TPS system faltered — and spoke a phrase he'd never heard.
> "Rank reassigned. TPS User Leo Brandon: Rank… 999."
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