Students gathered once the exercise came to an end.
The flames were extinguished with ease, unsurprising considering they had been conjured by a member of the teaching staff. Even the injured students brought themselves over to witness the results.
The scores from this exercise would contribute to their final graduation evaluation, and since it was the academy’s first crisis management assessment, anticipation hung thick in the air. Everyone was eager to see how they had performed.
Oddly enough, none of the instructors spoke.
Their silence caught many off guard, especially Ethan, who had been expecting at least a few words of praise after his performance.
Charles stood quietly with the rest of Class One’s third years, his own group beside him.
Every student waited with growing impatience for the leaderboard to update.
Then it happened.
The enormous blue projection suspended high above flickered before the rankings began to appear, starting from tenth place.
10. Zach Wulberg: Rescued—2 | Time—16 minutes
11. Nathan Grengor: Rescued—3 | Time—19 minutes
...
As more names appeared, one of Ethan’s teammates let out a confident grin.
"Ethan has this in the bag. They’re clearly valuing the number of people rescued over the time taken."
The remark was aimed squarely at Charles.
Everyone knew Charles had operated alone despite having a team of his own. It was only natural that he had rescued fewer people than Ethan, who had the advantage of coordinated support.
"In real combat, you won’t always have someone watching your back. I doubt this test was ever just about the scores," the girl standing beside Charles said with a scoff.
Ethan shot her a glare. "Then why are all of you standing here, waiting for the leaderboard to update?"
Charles merely smiled and gave a small shake of his head.
He hadn’t come to check his own score.
But there was no reason to say that aloud. He simply waited in silence.
One by one, the rankings appeared.
4. Raira Blaze: Rescued: 4 | Time: 21 minutes
3. Malandock Charles: Rescued: 5 | Time: 18 minutes
2. Kargent Ethan: Rescued: 6 | Time: 20 minutes
Ethan’s brow furrowed the instant his name settled into second place.
Second?
He had rescued six people. If that was only enough for second, then...
His thoughts froze.
The top rank finally appeared.
1. Astortia Kyle: Rescued: 8 | Time: 1 minute
[Congratulations, Astortia Kyle. You have set a new record!]
Silence engulfed the hall.
Every pair of eyes, except Charles’, widened in utter disbelief.
No.
Charles was surprised as well.
The emotion flashed across his face for only a heartbeat before it disappeared, replaced by a faint smile. If anyone could accomplish something so unbelievable, it was the man he had acknowledged as his rival.
Even the instructors struggled to accept what they were seeing.
They had personally watched Kyle’s performance, yet seeing the evaluator confirm that he had rescued eight people in a single minute still felt impossible.
"This is ridiculous..." Ethan muttered before looking toward the instructor. "Sir Maverick?"
The scar-faced instructor let out a heavy breath.
"It’s true, Ethan. We all witnessed it." There was neither pride nor exaggeration in his voice. "His efficiency was unlike anything we’ve ever seen."
He could not deny what he had seen with his own eyes.
Kyle hadn’t merely exceeded expectations.
He had shattered them.
What he accomplished today was the kind of record that might stand for years, perhaps even decades, without anyone coming close to surpassing it.
An awed silence settled over the arena.
Charles finally broke it.
Turning to Ethan, he met his gaze and said calmly, "I hope you understand the level he stands at now. Think very carefully before making your next move."
Without waiting for a response, Charles turned and walked away.
A faint smile lingered on his lips.
Hopefully, after today, no one would be foolish enough to provoke the man he admired the most.
.....
"Haah... that was exhausting," Kyle muttered, massaging his temples with his fingers.
The moment the rescue exercise ended, he had informed Godwin that he wanted to rest before quietly leaving the arena.
He couldn’t care less about the final rankings.
They meant nothing to him.
What truly occupied his mind was the evaluation of his newly awakened skill.
King’s Dominion.
The experience had been unlike anything he had ever felt.
For the first time in his life, his mind had entered a state of absolute calm.
The objective had been clear.
Rescue the survivors.
The instant that thought surfaced, he activated the skill.
From that moment onward, everything else unfolded on its own.
His body moved without hesitation, every decision made by instinct rather than conscious thought. He hadn’t forced a single action. It was as though he had handed control to a version of himself that simply... knew.
The sensation was indescribable.
He was still the one moving.
Still the one seeing, reacting, and fighting.
Yet every movement was cleaner, faster, and infinitely more precise than anything he could normally accomplish.
Even while wielding Aquilla, he had manipulated the arrows effortlessly.
There had been no deliberate commands, no conscious calculations.
They simply moved exactly where they needed to be.
Truthfully, even if he had tried to command them manually, he doubted he could have replicated what King’s Dominion had achieved.
Kyle let out a quiet laugh.
Was it supposed to be inspiring...
Or was it simply proof that he had never been using his own abilities to their true potential?
"System, what do you think? Should I use it more? Maybe it’ll help me understand myself better."
Today’s experience had taught him several things.
First, he had been using Aquilla nowhere near its true potential.
Second, half the mistakes he made came from panicking.
If King’s Dominion could eliminate that hesitation, then perhaps training with it wasn’t such a bad idea.
[Host, I would advise caution. King’s Dominion narrows your perception until only your objective matters. Everything else becomes insignificant.]
Kyle paused.
Now that the system mentioned it...
He remembered several students running straight into the flames while searching for survivors.
He had seen them.
He had recognised the danger they were in.
Yet he had felt utter indifference towards their situation
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
His objective had become the only thing that mattered.
Everything else, no matter how important, had been reduced to little more than background noise.
"...That’s dangerous."
If he activated the skill during a battle, his sole objective might become killing the monster before him.
In that state...
Would he even notice an ally about to be attacked?
Would he instinctively protect them?
Or would he ignore everything until the target was dead?
Kyle didn’t like the answer.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head. "I can’t rely on something like that."
Unless his objective aligned perfectly with everyone else’s safety, King’s Dominion was too dangerous to use recklessly.
For now, he would trust his own judgment over flawless efficiency.
"Well, enough thinking." He stretched as he got off the bed. "A cup of tea sounds nice."
He had barely taken a step toward the kitchen when his phone buzzed.
Picking it up, he saw Amanda’s name on the screen.
Her message read,
[Are you free to chat? It’s about Milli.]
The moment Kyle read those words, his expression hardened.
Without wasting a second, he tapped the call button.
’I hope everything is fine.’