"Take off your shoes and enter the arena."
The students exchanged uneasy glances. They had a nagging feeling that their Combat Training instructor might be the infamous Untouchable Morganna. All their seniors spoke of her with grim reverence, calling her either a devil or a vampire—because she drained the very energy out of her students.
Still, they complied.
One by one, they stepped forward, slipping off their shoes and planting bare feet onto the sand—only to recoil almost immediately.
"What the heck! Why is it so hot?!"
"My feet are literally burning!"
"Where was the heat coming from?"
They hissed and began shifting from foot to foot, as if hopping might dull the pain.
Some briefly wondered if they were somehow standing in the middle of a desert.
Then came me—I barely reacted. My [Physique] stat was more than double that of my classmates, giving me far better heat tolerance.
I narrowed my eyes at Morganna's pale, enchanting feet that were actually the source of heat.
I thought I could stare at those beautiful legs for eternity!
"Anyone caught dancing around like circus animals will be punished. Stand still. Try to act your age."
Morganna sternly warned and began her usual opening speech.
"You're probably wondering why you even need Combat Training," she said, pacing just slightly, her voice carrying clean across the sand. "You don't die in Evolution Portals. The High Cities are protected. Crime barely exists. So what's the point? Why fight, when you can just keep evolving and let the stats carry you?"
That question hit harder than most expected. Several nodded without meaning to. It was exactly what they'd been thinking.
Morganna caught their silent agreement and sighed.
"This world has expanded far beyond what our ancestors knew. It might still be expanding as we speak. Inside the City, the High Council protects you, but I'm sure you all know what lies beyond the City Walls, right?"
She didn't need to name it. The word formed anyway.
Outer Ruins!
A murmur ran through the group, followed by a collective gasp.
I frowned. The Outer Ruins weren't a mystery to me—they were an ever-present threat. A massive, untamed expanse of ancient forests, derelict ruins, and the broken bones of civilizations long dead. They encircled every High City like a noose, swarming with monsters and barbaric clans that occasionally breached the walls in violent raids. In the past decade alone, the Outer Ruins had consumed two A-Level Cities and launched more than a hundred invasions. The High Council had managed to repel most assaults—but the danger never truly faded.
Morganna gave a small, knowing nod, as if acknowledging the tension rising behind our silence.
"Unlike many Awakeners, you have the privilege to learn about monsters, Mana, and have a teacher to refine your combat skills. Be grateful and take advantage of that. Unlike the propaganda crap you hear in the media, this world is not as safe as you think. It will get even more dangerous soon. If you slack off in my class, your fate would be a cold coffin."
I was stunned. Was she even allowed to say that?
Judging by the silence around me, the others were wondering the same.
It appeared that the blazing sand beneath their feet no longer seemed like the real threat.
My classmate grit their teeth and endured while I felt like the sand was massaging my feat.
Without further delay, Morganna launched into her announcement.
"Today's session is a simple game of tag. Each of you will get three minutes to catch me. If one of you succeeds, we move on. If not, we repeat this session—exactly as it is—until someone does. I don't care if that takes three days or three months."
The students stared at her, half-expecting a punchline—some sign that she was joking.
When no one laughed or even blinked, she added with a pleasant smile, "Oh, and while we're at it—you're banned from using the Academy's Portal until one of you lands a hit."
That, finally, stirred a reaction.
"This is ridiculous! How are we supposed to win against a D Ranker like you?" "Yeah! We'll never win!" "Exactly," someone muttered under their breath.
There was a reason she was called Untouchable Morganna. No one had managed to tag her—not for months. How could we F Rankers possibly catch someone like her?
Morganna brushed off the complaints. "Who's going first?"
No one moved. Well—not entirely motionless. Several students shifted uncomfortably, their feet dancing from the heat beneath them.
Claire stepped forward. She had no interest in wasting time with whining.
"Good. What's your name?"
"...Claire Alphen. Daughter of D Ranker Thomas Alphen."
Morganna nodded once, then turned to the others. She guided us to the outer edge of the arena and instructed us to observe, while our feet continued to roast on the sand.
Most of us told ourselves this was probably part of the lesson too.
Probably about teaching us to focus when we were uncomfortable. To hold steady when the body started complaining.
…Probably.
Surely our Combat Training instructor wasn't doing this just to watch us squirm.
…Right?
I watched closely as Claire made her attempt. Her movements weren't exactly sloppy, but there were cracks. She focused too much on Morganna's upper body, completely neglecting her footwork. Morganna's feet formed a deliberate 'L' shape after every completed movement—subtle, but repeated with intent. I realized she was doing it on purpose, laying a trail for the observant. The class wasn't just about reflexes; the theme was clear—Observation and Adaptability.
And that was exactly what I was doing - Observing!
After three minutes, Claire returned to her seat, irritation etched across her face. She shot a glare at me.
What did I do?
The game of tag continued.
One by one, the students stepped up, each announcing themselves with a title—usually the name of a father or cousin, if they were Awakeners.
I briefly thought they were subtly insulting me, a reminder that I had no one in this world.
As expected, each one returned with the same look of frustration. They always came within inches of tagging her—only to fall short.
Just as another student stepped forward, Morganna's gaze pivoted—straight to me.
"You... in the corner. Black shirt guy."
My head snapped toward her, then I glanced sideways, hoping she meant someone else. But she was looking right at me.
Of course it was me!
Why was my luck always so bad?
I stepped forward, scanning the arena, the students at the far end, making sure they wouldn't be caught up if something went wrong.
Within moments, my mind ran cold calculations: Morganna's speed and movements had been consistent throughout. And my only advantage was my speed, which easily doubled that of my classmates. I could surprise her with that.
Surprisingly, my heart remained steady. I was supposed to fear a little, right? But I didn't.
In fact... when had I last felt fear at all?
This was deeply concerning.
....!
Taking a deep breath, I shoved the question aside. I'd get to the bottom of this later.
Right now—I had a task to complete.
My foot dug into the sand with a sharp crack, scattering dust as I launched forward at full tilt!
Whoosh!
Before Morganna could react, I was already upon her. My arm shot out mid-stride, reaching for her wrist with a precision sharp enough to demand a response.
She moved back cleanly. But my eyes weren't on the hand that missed. I cut sideways at once, locking onto her other arm as it drifted back. She wasn't changing her tendencies at all. Her movements were deliberately the same.
Without breaking stride, my second hand shot forward, reaching for the retreating limb.
Morganna smiled faintly, already pulling the arm further away—a step ahead, as always.
But I hadn't been aiming for her hands at all.
I twisted mid-motion, torque ripping through my torso as I redirected my momentum through my hips. My leg drove downward with purpose—my bare foot descended to stamp toward her back foot.
She was surprised by my unnatural speed but still managed to move again, calm as ever, drawing the leg back just in time.
But that leg—that same left leg—followed the same familiar tendency. As it shifted, it carved that shallow 'L' into the sand.
That was the cue I had been waiting for!
That leg had been my target all along!
Without hesitation, I shifted my wait. My foot chased the path she'd unknowingly traced—a second stomp crashing down along the ghost of her motion.
This time, it landed.
As the last of the dust fell, the image came into view—my foot resting squarely atop Morganna's.
The gasp that followed was nearly a wave.
Someone had touched her!
Someone had reached Untouchable Morganna!!
The very foundation of the Academy felt slightly less certain now.
She withdrew her foot with elegant ease, turned toward me with the faintest smile, then glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the class.
"Any one of you could've done exactly what this gloomy child pulled off today," she said, her tone measured, faintly amused. "If you'd stopped trying to tag me and actually started watching me, the outcome might've been different. Everyone has a tendency—some tell, some flaw—and only observation brings it to light. I've given you more than enough chances to notice."
I didn't hear the rest. My thoughts halted at a single phrase.
Gloomy kid?
Did she really just call me gloomy? I wanted to formally protest, but that required engaging with her, which was a hassle.
With powerless rage, I swallowed my words.
After a long speech....
"Combat instruction resumes tomorrow. Since you've earned it, I will not restrict your Portal access. However, don't simply trust them—as sometimes, you can truly die inside Portals."
With that final terrifying warning, she ended the session.
But no one moved. The silence stretched, broken only by a creeping thought:
Dying inside a Portal? Is that even possible?
Most had never even heard of an Awakener dying inside a Portal. And none of them believed Morganna would lie.
The students were clever enough to understand a warning.
And while most left deep in thought about Portals, I was still stuck on one point:
Was I really that gloomy?