Liam stared toward the town center.Everything suddenly made sense.But understanding the enemy's objective wasn't enough.They were still surrounded. Students were still trapped.And the Abominations were still coming.Liam raised his voice."Everyone, listen to me!"His voice cut through the battlefield as several students turned toward him.Even those who couldn't hear him clearly began looking in his direction as nearby students repeated his words.Liam pointed toward Elena."Elena! Stop trying to hold the entire battlefield."Elena looked at him from behind her overlapping barriers."What?""You don't need to protect everyone from every direction."Liam pointed toward the evacuation routes."Keep those corridors open. That's your priority. If a barrier is about to collapse, reinforce the corridor instead of trying to stop every attack."Elena looked at the students moving behind her.Then she understood."You're changing the defense.""Yeah."She nodded."I can do that."Liam tur

The battle was over.But nobody celebrated.For several seconds, the only sounds in the ruined town were crackling flames, distant footsteps, and the groans of wounded students.Then everyone started moving."Check the wounded!""Search the buildings!""Look for survivors!"Students from different rooms spread throughout the streets.Some carried injured classmates.Others searched through collapsed buildings.A few simply stood where they were, staring at the destruction around them.The town looked nothing like it had when they arrived.Buildings had been destroyed, and the streets were covered in cracks.Blood stained the ground, and bodies lay beneath broken stone.Maguire returned from the underground chamber with several students following him.His expression was unusually serious."We found survivors."A few students immediately looked relieved."How many?""Several."Maguire paused."But..."The relief disappeared from their faces."Some of them are unconscious. Their mana cor

"What do you mean?""Your mana circulation isn't damaged."Lily opened her eyes."But it isn't normal either."Lucas looked over."What did you find?""Nothing I can identify."Lily stared at Liam."Something is interfering with his mana flow. It's subtle, but it's there."Liam's expression remained calm.Inside, however, he was alarmed.The Adaptive Core.There was no way he could tell them about it. At least, not yet.He forced a shrug."Maybe it's because I was unconscious for five days."Lily didn't look convinced."Maybe."She stepped back."But I'm watching you," she suddenly said.Liam sighed."Wonderful."He tried to keep his voice casual.Lily turned away."You're welcome."Later, when Lucas and Lily were occupied with their own things, Liam finally found a quiet corner.He needed answers."System."Nothing happened.Liam focused."Insight."Pain immediately stabbed through his head.He clenched his teeth as a blue window finally appeared.But it wasn't the Insight window he

The ranking review came sooner than Liam expected.By midday, the top-ranked freshers had been summoned to the main academy hall.Liam stood among them with his hands in his pockets, trying not to look as tired as he felt.The hall was packed.Students filled the seats and crowded the balconies, whispering among themselves as the ranked students stood at the front.Liam could hear his name being mentioned more than once."That's him.""The one from Room 1313.""He's first again.""I heard he coordinated the entire expedition.""And he won the engineering competition too."Liam ignored them.He had already heard enough.Principal Alaric stepped onto the platform.The noise in the hall immediately died down.His eyes moved across the students standing before him."First, I want to congratulate every one of you."His voice carried easily through the enormous hall."You survived the Six Races Festival. You competed against students from every race, including those who had years more exper

The examiner stared at the result for several seconds.Then he ran the scan again.The machine hummed as blue light passed over Liam's body from head to toe.The result appeared.[Cultivation Level: Silver Beginner.]The examiner frowned.He adjusted the settings and ran the scan again.The same result appeared.He looked at Liam."Wait here."He turned toward another examiner standing several meters away."I need you to look at this."The second examiner walked over."What happened?""I can't explain the reading."The first examiner pointed toward the display.The second examiner studied it before looking at Liam."Place your hand back on the scanner."Liam did.The examiner placed two fingers against Liam's wrist.Mana slowly flowed from his fingers into Liam's body.Liam felt the foreign mana inside his core react.His expression almost changed, but he forced himself to remain still.The examiner closed his eyes.He carefully followed Liam's mana circulation.After several seconds,