"Crouching Tiger Stance?" Vahn tilted his head, pausing mid-fight to listen.
"Yes," Han nodded, slipping into another form. "We crouch like a tiger and add martial styles to it; that's how it becomes a stance."
Vahn couldn't hide his surprise. From the moment they exchanged fists, he could tell he was stronger and faster than Han, but that technique gave him an edge. It let him hold his ground.
'But his body must be near its limit,' Vahn observed, noticing the subtle trembling in Han's limbs, carefully hidden beneath his stance.
'Still… I know he won't stop.' In the short time they'd known each other, Vahn had learned much about Han. He would keep going until he dropped.
Vahn nodded his head and lifted his hands to reach Han.
And at that moment,
Whoosh—
Trainer Tremblin suddenly appeared between them, halting the fight before it could resume.
"Hahaha! Now that's what I call a fight!" he laughed, throwing his head back.
It was clear then that the sparring session was over.
"Alright, everyone, come together," Tremblin called with a wide smile. "I'm sure you've all learned a thing or two today."
He didn't need to explain further. The entire class had just witnessed firsthand the difference between confidence and real strength. For many, it shattered their pride. What had once seemed like impressive power now paled in comparison to what Han and Vahn had shown, and they hadn't even used their abilities.
Some students stared at the two like they were aliens. For the first time, they really looked at Vahn, and his face was strangely familiar. They didn't want to believe it was what they were thinking, but from that moment on, they began to watch him closely.
As for the self-proclaimed top four students in class, the fight had ignited something. A competitive fire. The twin girls, who couldn't even follow the high-speed movements, clung to the belief that with their abilities, things would be different.
Regardless, the word was out: Vahn and Han weren't ordinary. Their story had already started to spread.
'Sigh…' Vahn sighed inwardly. He never liked showing off his strength. But time was running out. The longer they stayed weak, the more dangerous the world became.
Trainer Tremblin nodded as if reading the room. "Good. From now on, you'll be taught basic combat movement, military standard. We'll be building your physical foundation."
He continued, "Combat class will always be held here. For physical training, you'll report to the field. Now, let's loosen up. I'll guide you through stretches to free your muscles and bones. Spread out."
For the next hour, the students went through an exhausting round of stretches, and then class was dismissed.
"That wasn't bad," Han said, draping an arm over Vahn's shoulder as they walked out of the class.
"Well, you weren't either," Vahn replied.
"Me too?" Han looked at him incredulously. "If I told you what I went through to reach this level, you wouldn't say that."
"It can't be that bad, right?" Vahn chuckled, changing direction.
"Where're you going?"
"My next class."
"Wait, isn't that the library?" Han spoke, his face showing a bit of disgust.
"Yep."
"...Don't tell me you picked library as one of your courses."
"I did."
"…"
Han stared, speechless.
Vahn simply walked off, leaving Han frozen in place, still processing.
The library, a house of knowledge. But in this age, where books and pens were obsolete, how was that knowledge stored?
On the tables.
The evolution of technology had reduced everything to desk-sized machines. Access was based on clearance. With the right permissions, one could call up centuries of knowledge.
The library itself had four floors: The first was for first-years, the second for second-years, the third was a special level for students who selected Library as a course among the first and second years, and the fourth was completely restricted.
Naturally, the third floor held more advanced information than the first two.
So why had Vahn chosen Library as a course?
First, he'd recently gained a new skill that overrode his teleportation: Space. He hadn't tested it yet, but he needed to learn more about it.
Second, the Alliance's library likely held deeper intel on the world's condition. Vahn knew more than most, probably everyone except the Supremes, but he wanted confirmation.
Third, he needed to understand the Marked Beasts better.
He, Han, Carla, and Dante had already decided that staying within the Alliance would only slow them down. The official training was too regulated. Too limited. They'd be monitored constantly, which defeated the point of taking risks to grow stronger.
Thankfully, Dante's teleportation ability solved that.
Using it, they could travel outside the Alliance and fight real threats — Marked Beasts — without being detected. But they needed more than just courage. They needed intel.
That meant locating territories where beast activity was high but not under close surveillance.
The world was still vast, even after all the destruction. So vast that the Alliance hadn't even charted all of it.
Meaning they needed machines to scan terrain, detect activity, and track movement to avoid the alliance's eyes.
Thankfully, that was where Vahn came in. He had a roommate, William, a creator-type ability user who could fabricate machines from nothing.
Of course, Vahn couldn't risk exposing their plans, so they sent Dante instead.
Dante appeared as the representative of a broadcasting company and requested him to create a massive number of devices, from cameras to detector machines to mainframe computers. Basically, Dante asked for anything he would need and even those he didn't need. William was suspicious at first, but the payout silenced all questions.
When the group asked Dante why he ordered so much, he answered clearly: their true mission wasn't just to grow stronger. It was to find the Core.
Dante then explained how he was going to prepare the machines, then, using the teleporter, they would place them in various parts of the world, and then the larger-scale search would begin.
So, together with finding and marking the beast territories, they would find the core, probably discover secret locations of the demons, find other hidden clans in case they needed help, and maybe even monitor the movements of the Supremes.
It was the ultimate multitask — five birds with one stone.
So, while Dante was still prepping the devices, Vahn decided to dig into the Alliance's existing records. There might be files on the beasts — their habits, stages, territories, weaknesses. Every bit would help.
So, entering the library, he showed his qualifications to enter the third floor.
Then froze.
Across the room, he spotted someone familiar.
"Carla?" he called out.