Royoshi was back to attending his classes in the Citadel.
The Citadel training hall buzzed with quiet activity.
Rows of recruits stood in formation across the large chamber, practicing Shuryoku circulation. Blue energy flickered faintly around their hands and weapons as instructors walked between them, guiding them.
Royoshi stood near the back of the room.
His practice sword rested loosely in his hand.
Across the hall, two students from class C clashed with training constructs made of compressed Shuryoku.
One of them finished the fight in seconds.
Royoshi watched for a moment.
Then he intentionally slowed his own movement.
His blade struck the training construct.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The construct shattered after the third hit.
Royoshi rubbed the back of his neck casually.
"Still slow," the instructor muttered while walking past him.
Royoshi shrugged, giving a little smile.
"Working on it."
Across the training hall, several students were already finishing their exercises.
One of them wiped sweat from his forehead.
"At this rate, we'll move to the list of the best soon," he said proudly.
Another student laughed.
"Only if you stop bragging."
Royoshi leaned slightly on his sword, pretending to catch his breath.
In reality, the exercise had barely taken any effort.
He glanced across the hall again.
Most of the students were pushing themselves without interruption, trying to improve their Shuryoku control.
Royoshi deliberately slowed his breathing, making it look like he was exhausted.
No reason to stand out.
Across the room, a sharp metallic sound echoed.
The large doors of the training hall slowly opened.
The chatter between the students faded almost instantly.
Master Devrik stepped inside.
His hands were clasped behind his back as his sharp gaze swept across the room.
The instructors straightened immediately.
Every recruit followed.
Royoshi did the same.
Devrik stopped at the center of the hall.
"Class C," he said calmly.
Even though his voice wasn't loud, it could be heard easily across the entire chamber.
"You will prepare for deployment."
A quiet stir moved through the room.
Several recruits exchanged excited looks.
"About time we get to do something."
"A live anomaly suppression mission has been assigned to your class," Devrik said.
Royoshi's expression remained natural.
But inside, he sighed.
Devrik continued.
"This mission will serve as an evaluation of your progress and will take place tomorrow."
For a brief moment, his gaze stopped on Royoshi.
Then moved again.
Royoshi resisted the urge to sigh again.
Yeah… he's definitely keeping an eye on me like always.
Around him, several students were already whispering among themselves.
"A real mission…"
"Finally."
"I heard Class B went on one last month."
Royoshi listened quietly without saying anything.
For most of the class, it was exciting.
For him, it was… not so exciting.
A live mission meant real anomalies.
Real danger.
And unfortunately, real attention.
Devrik continued speaking.
"You will depart at sunrise tomorrow."
A large display screen flickered behind him, revealing a map of a remote valley outside the Citadel's territory.
Several red markers blinked across the terrain.
"Your objective is simple," Devrik said calmly.
"Locate and eliminate the anomalies in this region."
The recruits leaned forward slightly.
"The anomaly level is classified as moderate," Devrik continued.
"You are expected to complete the operation as a team."
Royoshi glanced at the map briefly.
Moderate anomalies weren't normally a problem for trained recruits.
Still…
Something about the situation felt odd.
Devrik's gaze moved slowly across the room again.
"This mission will allow me to observe your development."
He paused.
"For some of you more closely than others."
Royoshi felt that familiar feeling again.
Yeah… It's definitely me.
"Training is dismissed," Devrik said.
The room instantly relaxed as the students began talking excitedly again.
Several recruits gathered around the display, discussing strategies already.
Royoshi simply picked up the practice sword and placed it back into its rack.
"Looks like you're trying really hard to stay unremarkable."
Royoshi turned.
Ishara stood a few steps away, arms crossed.
He raised an eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
She gave him a flat look.
"You don't have to lie to me," she continued. "You always slow down during the trainings intentionally."
Royoshi shrugged.
"Maybe I'm just tired today, you know."
Ishara didn't look convinced.
"You weren't tired yesterday."
Royoshi smiled faintly.
"How do you know?" Royoshi asked. "Have you been keeping track?"
"I observe things a lot," she replied calmly.
Royoshi leaned casually against the weapon rack.
"That's slightly concerning, you know…"
She ignored the comment.
Her gaze drifted briefly toward the display screen where the mission map still flickered.
"A field mission," she said quietly. "Class C rarely gets deployed."
Royoshi followed her gaze.
"Guess we're moving up in the world."
"Or being evaluated."
Royoshi glanced sideways at her.
"Same thing, isn't it?"
Ishara didn't answer immediately.
For a moment, she studied the terrain map again.
The valley on the screen looked quiet, but the blinking red markers scattered across it made the place feel uneasy.
Something about it didn't look quite right.
Then she looked back at Royoshi.
"Just…don't try to hold back tomorrow."
Royoshi raised an eyebrow.
"But being slow is kind of my thing, you know."
Her expression remained serious.
"This isn't training."
Royoshi sighed softly.
"Has someone told you that you're really good at killing the mood?"
That earned him the faintest reaction—almost a smile, though it disappeared quickly.
"Just be careful," she said.
Royoshi tilted his head slightly.
"That almost sounded like concern."
Ishara blushed a little, too little to be noticed. She turned away immediately.
"Don't misunderstand."
Royoshi chuckled quietly. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Across the hall, several students were already forming small groups and discussing strategies loudly.
"We should form trios."
"No, duos are faster."
"I'll take the left side!"
Royoshi scratched the back of his neck.
Everyone seemed overly excited.
Something about the way Master Devrik had announced it.
Something about the map.
And especially the way Devrik had looked directly at him.
He's definitely expecting something.
Royoshi glanced once more toward the doors Devrik exited through.
Then he looked back at the map.
Moderate anomalies…huh.
He exhaled slowly.
"Well," he muttered under his breath.
"Let's just hope tomorrow stays normal."
Later that evening, the Citadel had grown quiet.
The training halls were empty.
Most recruits had already returned to their dorms, resting before the mission at sunrise.
High above the residential wing, Royoshi stood on the rooftop platform.
The cold wind moved across the metal floor as the lights of the Citadel stretched endlessly below.
Royoshi rested his arms on the railing.
"Moderate anomalies," he muttered quietly.
"Yeah, right."
A faint distortion shimmered in the air behind him.
Moments later, Rikishu's translucent form appeared.
"You noticed it too," Rikishu said calmly.
Royoshi didn't turn immediately.
"That something about the mission feels off?"
"Yes."
Royoshi exhaled slowly.
"I thought it was just me overthinking again."
Rikishu stepped closer, looking toward the distant mountains beyond the Citadel walls.
"Devrik rarely assigns live missions to class C."
Royoshi nodded.
"Exactly."
He rubbed the back of his neck again.
"And the way he looked at me during the announcement…"
Rikishu folded his arms.
"He's testing you."
Royoshi sighed.
"Great."
"Not only you," Rikishu continued. "But you most of all."
Royoshi finally turned to face him.
"So what do you think?"
Rikishu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The anomaly signals were irregular."
Royoshi frowned.
"I knew it."
"Moderate anomalies do not appear in such density."
Royoshi leaned back against the railing.
"So… either someone messed up the report…"
He paused.
"Or someone set it up."
The wind soared across the rooftop again.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Royoshi straightened slightly.
"Well,"
He picked up his sword lying nearby.
"If things go wrong tomorrow, I guess I'll have to stop acting around."
Rikishu gave a faint smile.
"Perhaps."
Royoshi swung the sword once.
The blade cut cleanly through the air.
His Shuryoku flickered around it briefly before fading again.
"You still haven't fully recovered your Shuryoku circulation after the anchor incident," Rikishu said.
Royoshi groaned. "No need to remind me."
"Which means you will need to rely on your physical abilities more."
Royoshi stepped into stance.
"Alright then,"
His sword moved again.
Faster this time.
The wind around the blade shifted slightly.
"One more session before tomorrow."
Rikishu nodded.
"Again."
Royoshi sighed.
"You really love that word."
But he raised the sword anyway.
The rooftop was filled with the sharp sound of steel cutting through the air.
Far away—beyond the Citadel walls—
Something in the valley began to move.
Waiting for sunrise.