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– Wraak –
Jyn looked utterly serene, his inner energy slowly ramping up in contrast to his calm exterior. He sat cross-legged on the rocky ground, his eyes closed as if tuning out the world entirely. His energy pulsed faintly, the even tempo matching some unseen rhythm.
Wraak, however, wasn't so lucky to ignore the idiocy brewing in the air.
"So," Zairen began, leaning against a tree with an infuriatingly casual smirk. "I get this is supposed to be super secret, but we're already here. Might as well tell me anyway, right Wraak?"
Edith shot him an annoyed glare. "You really are an idiot. Obviously, they're training."
Zairen rolled his eyes, his smirk never leaving his face.. "No shit. I want to know what they're doing exactly."
Wraak exhaled heavily, his tail flicking behind him. "If you both wish to waste time arguing, do it elsewhere. This space is for training. Nothing more."
"Waste your time?" Zairen tilted his head, his smirk back widening. "Nah, I just think I've figured it out. This is a hidden training method, isn't it? A shortcut to insane levels of power you've holding back, right?"
Edith looked confused for a moment. "Why would you think—" Then, her expression darkened, as if she realized something. "...You're talking about Jyn, aren't you? You think his strength is a result of Wraak secretly training him."
"Isn't it?" Zairen barked out a laugh. "He couldn't even finish the evaluation without collapsing a few months ago. Don't act like he just magically became someone Wraak needs to 'train with.'"
Edith took a step forward, her voice sharp. "At least use your brain before speaking. What's more likely? That Jyn is suddenly gaining some miraculous training technique from Wraak or he's teaching Wraak to use energy blasts? The thing you can't do?"
The smirk fell from Zairen's face, his expression twisting into irritation. "I don't need energy blasts to kick your ass, Edith. Watch it."
"Silence," Wraak growled, his deep voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
Both of them stiffened at the weight of his voice, turning to face him fully.
"You are behaving like children," he said, his tone calm but edged with authority. "Jyn and I are not hiding some grand secret. We are training together—teaching each other. His methods offer me insights, just as mine offer him guidance."
Zairen raised a skeptical brow. "Teaching each other? Really? You've been leading me and the others for months, but now you're acting like Jyn has something you need to learn? Come on, Wraak."
Wraak gave Zairen a look, studying the familiar look in the man's eye. He had learned much about him over the last few months—most important being his envy.
Zairen looked up to him, Wraak knew that, but he didn't do it out of admiration. He was simply power hungry, wanting to be the undisputed best. And he didn't care about keeping his pride intact to do so.
So Wraak knew exactly what Zairen wanted.
His gaze fixed on Zairen, then Edith, and he sighed deeply. "If you're looking to join us, you will be disappointed. This is not something you can simply participate in."
Zairen raised a brow. "And why not?"
"Because this is an exchange of knowledge," Wraak replied evenly. "Jyn and I are teaching each other. We both bring something to the table. Do you have anything to offer in return?"
Zairen hesitated, glancing briefly at Edith. She shrugged as if the question didn't concern her.
"I thought not," Wraak confirmed. "Then there is nothing for you here."
Zairen's jaw tightened, but before he could argue, Wraak turned and walked back toward his previous spot. He lowered himself into a meditative stance, closing his eyes. "You may leave now."
After a few seconds of silence, Zairen attempted to switch tactics.
He suddenly scoffed. "Wraak, What could Jyn even teach you that's worthwhile? He's—"
"Stop being a nuisance, Zairen," Wraak growled, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. He cracked an eye open, thoroughly done with this conversation.
Zairen's smirk faltered, but Edith looked unimpressed. She stepped forward, jabbing a finger in Wraak's direction. "Fine, so we don't have anything to 'offer' right now. That doesn't mean we can't learn by watching."
Wraak's tail flicked once, a sharp gesture that betrayed his mounting irritation.
Before he could retort, Zairen plopped down onto the ground, crossing his legs in an exaggerated imitation of Wraak's meditative pose. "Yeah and what if I just do this? You can't stop me from training."
Edith let out a short laugh before sitting down herself, mirroring Zairen's stance but with far more conviction. "Right! If you don't want to explain it, I'll figure it out myself. I'm not a dumbass like this guy."
Wraak stared at them, silently debating whether or not he should throw them across the field.
No, they would just come back and be even more annoying.
Instead of acting on his rage, Wraak simply closed his eyes and settled into meditation. "Do as you please."
'As long as none of the others come and disturb my training, I don't care,' He thought to himself.
The warrior of Waarthar closed his eyes, letting the hum of the clearing settle over him as he resumed his own focus.
'They will get bored and leave… eventually.'
– Jyn –
…Huh.
For some reason, I was mildly surprised when this part of my power was gamified as well. And honestly? That was on me. I don't know why I expected anything less of the system.
o–o
Welcome to Image Training!
Please Select an Opponent:
1. Edith [Lv.0/5]
o–o
After my Mind stat finally unlocked, trying to perform this technique was quite possibly the easiest skill I'd ever gained.
The psychic power felt like a sort of… gas, in my mind. All I had to do was lay that gas out to a flat surface within my mind and imagine the circumstances and poof!
Here I was, standing in a pitch-black room with a screen in front of me.
I was pretty sure the only I'd gained this skill so easily was because it was an intended function. Like the ID Create skill from that one Webtoon.
Only… I was an idiot and hadn't figured it out until months into my stay in this world.
Well, better late than never.
'I wonder how this works,' I thought as a reached out and tapped the #1. It was the only person I'd fought before. The world around me blurred, spinning rapidly. With a lurch, my surroundings shift to a stop.
I was back in class, Edith standing in front of me. If it weren't for the empty blank look in her eyes, I would've been convinced that this was the real Edith.
Another screen popped up before I could take a step forward.
o–o
Choose a Threat Level:
Past – [Reward: 1 Mind]
Weakened – [Reward: 2 Mind]
Present – [Reward: 3 Mind]
Optimized – [Reward: 4 Mind]
Future – [Reward: 5 Mind]
o–o
I stared at the screen, my gaze flicking between the options.
'Okay, I think I get it,' I thought. 'Five levels of difficulty for each opponent, and I can't really gain anything from training with them after completing it.'
If I had to guess, then Past, Present, and Future are just the system's interpretation of their combat at certain ages. Pretty self explanatory.
'Weakened' was also obvious. 'Optimized' was a little confusing, but it was either them at some pinnacle of power, or it was Edith if she used all her attributes and techniques with perfect precision.
Like fighting a TAS version of Edith rather than her normal self.
I tapped my chin, glancing over at Not-Edith, whose blank expression felt equal parts eerie and unnerving.
'I mean, it's not like there's a timer, is there?' I reasoned. 'I can just start with the weaker versions of herself and ramp up until it becomes an actual challenge.'
My hand hovered over Past. It felt like the safest choice to dip my toes in without getting absolutely destroyed.
I hesitated. My thumb hovered over Past, the promise of a manageable challenge whispering to me like a soft, beckoning breeze.
But where was the fun in that?
Before I could second-guess myself, my hand darted to Optimized, and I tapped it. The screen vanished, replaced by a soft chime that seemed far too pleasant for what I'd just signed up for.
The air around me shimmered, the classroom fading into a hazy blur. Then everything snapped into clarity.
This wasn't the Edith I'd sparred with.
Her stance was precise, almost mechanical in its perfection. Her every muscle seemed poised for action, her body a coiled spring of potential energy. Even her blank stare was unnerving, as if her mind was calculating a thousand ways to dismantle me.
And, unsettling as it was, she didn't seem to be breathing.
The atmosphere grew heavy, and I swallowed hard.
"Okay, maybe this wasn't my smartest idea," I muttered, shifting into a fighting stance.
I took a hesitant step forward.
She moved before I could react.
Her foot slid forward in a micro-movement, her form snapping into a new position. A feint? No—a fake. I recognized it too late.
The air cracked as her fist slammed into my gut.
I didn't even have time to process the pain before her other shot toward my face. I barely raised my guard, but instead of connecting, she twisted her wrist, pulling back mid-strike and sweeping her leg beneath me.
I landed on my hands, pivoting into a backflip as I launched myself onto my feet.
I stumbled, groaning as I bent over with my hands on my knees. "Hold on—"
Not-Edith didn't wait. Her strikes came in rapid succession, each one landing before I could even think to block. It was inhuman. Her punches landed with pinpoint precision, hitting every weak point in my guard like she'd known what I would do before I did it.
'No, that's exactly what she's doing—she's reacting before I even move.'
I staggered back, barely able to keep my footing.
Every time I moved, she was already there. She wasn't just fast—she was exploiting every split second of my hesitation.
I swung wildly, hoping to catch her off guard, but she ducked under my strike, pivoting to my side. Her elbow slammed into my ribs, followed by a palm strike to my chest.
I stumbled again, gasping for breath.
Her next attack came faster than I could process—a spinning kick that slammed into my ribs, sending me flying.
She didn't chase. Instead, she stopped, her stance perfect, waiting for me to make the next move.
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stand. 'Fine. If I can't match her in close combat, then I'll hit her from a distance.'
I gathered my ki, the energy sparking to life in my palms. My ki responded much faster than in the real world, instantly appearing in a pinch.
But when I launched it forward, she was already gone.
She sidestepped the blast with a casual grace, not even bothering to block. The attack sailed harmlessly into the distance, exploding in a burst of light far behind her.
Her blank stare turned to me, almost like she was mocking me.
"Mock this," I muttered, trying again. I fired off another blast. And another. And another.
Each one missed.
It was obvious what she was doing; Moving before the blasts even left my hands. It didn't matter.
She wasn't faster or stronger, but she could predict my every move. Yet, she wasn't really acting with any initiative. Her mind saw a single step ahead, and she didn't think any further than that.
I just had to think two steps ahead to win this.
Lifting my hands, I focused on the energy from my missed blasts. The sparks of ki still hovered in the air where they'd been scattered. My Ki Control was enhanced due to my real body still channeling, so I could do some amazing things here.
The glowing orbs stopped midair, quivering like static fireflies, floating all around her.
Each of them weren't full blasts of energy—I still wasn't as good as Piccolo—but even these tiny pellets of energy were enough for my purposes.
Sweat dripped down my temple as I poured all my focus into the swirling energy.
"Alright, let's see you dodge this," I muttered, lifting both hands high. "Hellzone Bullet!"
With a sharp motion, I clenched my fists.
The tiny pellets of ki shot toward her in an instant, streaking through the air like bullets.
Her body blurred as she moved, weaving between the blasts with the same frustrating grace. Left, right, a spin here, a roll there—it was almost mesmerizing.
The fact that her eyes tracked the blasts before she moved meant this wasn't the same as Ultra Instinct. It was close, but more similar to the Sharingan than anything else.
The explosions tore through the battlefield, each one lighting up the sparring room in brilliant flashes. Dust and debris filled the air, a thick haze swallowing her form entirely.
I waited, holding my ground as the last of the blasts detonated.
The smoke lingered, hanging in the air like a curtain.
I raised one hand, palm open. Light began to gather again, but this time, it wasn't for a standard attack. The energy compacted and compressed, glowing brighter and brighter until it was almost painful to look at.
The smoke shifted. A faint glint of movement caught my eye.
I smirked, stepping forward. "Gotcha."
And then I slammed my palm toward the ground.
She burst through the haze like a bullet, already aiming for my chest.
Too late.
The resulting flash was blinding, an explosion of light that painted the battlefield white.
Her reaction was immediate—a quick step backward, her arm raised instinctively to shield her eyes.
'Chance!' I thought, lunging forward with everything I had.
The flash had disoriented her just enough to close the gap. I drove my fist toward her side, pouring all my remaining strength into the strike.
But then she moved.
Not by sight—her head was still turned slightly, her eyes squinted shut—but by something else. Sound, maybe? Either way, her body twisted gracefully, avoiding my punch as if she could feel it cutting through the air.
My follow-up kick met empty space as well, her footwork carrying her smoothly out of range.
"Come on!" I shouted, frustration boiling over. I swung again, this time aiming for her center of mass.
Her hand shot out, catching my wrist mid-swing.
'Ah. I should've just kept quiet.' I lamented.
Her grip on my wrist was iron, and with a sharp, practiced motion, she yanked me forward.
The world tilted as my feet left the ground, and I barely managed to process the motion before she spun, using my momentum to hurl me downward.
The impact was brutal. My back slammed into the floor with enough force to rattle my skull, the shockwave making spiderweb cracks in the ground.
Pain radiated through my body, but it wasn't over.
Before I could even register what was happening, her foot came down—a blur of motion and overwhelming force.
SPLAT.
The world went black.
My chest heaved as I clutched at the ground beneath me, my heart pounding from the phantom sensation of death.
I sucked in a deep breath, blinking rapidly to clear my vision. The world around me came into focus—the clearing, the faint hum of distant wildlife, and the cool air brushing against my skin.
The sun hung lower now, dipping closer to the horizon.
Groaning, I stretched my arms over my head, feeling the dull ache of sitting in one spot for too long. Every joint popped in protest, but I pushed through it, glancing around the clearing to reorient myself.
Edith sat cross-legged a few feet away, her hands cupped in front of her as she cradled smattering flickers of energy in her hands. They glowed and wavered like starlight, but at least it was there.
A little further away, Zairen was... less composed. His face was scrunched up in concentration, veins bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth. His hands hovered in front of him, palms outstretched, but they were as empty as his patience.
Wraak sat across from me, his massive form hunched slightly. Between his claws floated a solidly formed orb of pulsating ki, its glow holding steady. His brow furrowed in concentration, though his expression remained calm.
Unlike the other two, his eyes weren't closed. He was staring directly at the orb with an intense gleam in his eyes.
"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice still hoarse.
Wraak didn't look up, his gaze fixed on the orb. "Quarter of an hour."
Fifteen minutes.
I let out a hum, glancing at the horizon again. The green sky had shifted ever so slightly to a shade of blue.
'So, time flows the same in the simulation as it does out here.'
That was both a relief and a setback. I couldn't grind out endless battles in a fraction of a second. No "thousands of battles in the blink of an eye" training montages.
Still, it was far better than nothing.
While everyone else had to recuperate in between spars and training, I could simply retreat to my mind and continue to train so that I wasn't tempted to overstress my body. An endless yet perfectly healthy path to more power.
Burnout? Stress? What's that? Is that a new method of training? No? Then I couldn't care less.
The grind would not be stopped.
– Wraak –
Even if Wraak wasn't looking at him, he could feel that shift of raw power in the air. It wasn't even remotely subtle—his energy had coalesced and risen in just a few minutes of sitting in place.
There was no mistaking it. Jyn had already accomplished what he came for.
He had awakened the mental side of his energy.
Wraak's grip tightened slightly around the fading ball of energy in his hands. It had taken him years of practice to reach the level of power he currently had, refining his connection to his energy through brutal discipline and relentless training.
And yet, Jyn had reached his level in what? A few months? And then had far surpassed him in just a few hours?
Ridiculous.
Even with natural talent, something like this should take time. It should take effort. And yet, Jyn sat there, stretching lazily as if he had just woken from a nap, oblivious to what he had just achieved.
Wraak exhaled slowly through his nose, suppressing the incredulous feeling rising in his chest. Instead, he focused on the facts.
Jyn's energy felt… different. Before, his ki had been powerful, but it had always lacked a certain refinement. Now, there was a balance to it—a harmony between mind and body that wasn't there before.
He wasn't just improving quickly. He was blowing Wraak out of the water. Evolving at a rate that he couldn't keep up with.
An undisputable genius.
The realization left a sour taste in Wraak's mouth.
Wraak finally spoke, keeping his voice level. "You succeeded. How?"
Jyn, staring into the open air, was muttering under his breath. His gaze was shifted left and right, his eyes glazed over as if he was reading something none but him could see.
Wraak blinked.
Silence.
He waited for a beat. Then another.
A slow exhale left his nose. "…So?"
Jyn's eyes flicked back to him, blinking as if just realizing he had been spoken to. "Huh?"
Wraak sighed deeply, rolling his shoulders in mild exasperation. Maybe calling him a genius was a mistake.
Still, idiot savant was a fitting label.
He patiently spoke again, ignoring his own irritation. "The technique you were trying to achieve. I assume you figured it out by now. But how did you do it? I barely gave you any help."
Jyn furrowed his brow in thought before shrugging. "Well… my ki control was and still is awful."
Wraak frowned. That much was true, but how was that relevant?
"I didn't realize how bad it was until recently," Jyn continued. "I was wasting most of my ki just to enhance my body. Instead of directing it properly, I was just flooding myself with energy like a busted pipeline."
Wraak's tail flicked behind him as he listened. The logic tracked, at least so far. Many warriors struggled with control at first, especially those with naturally high reserves of energy.
But Jyn had clearly taken a massive leap forward. How?
Jyn crossed his arms. "So, I started thinking—if I could get my ki control good enough, I'd be able to channel it instead of just dumping it everywhere. And if I could channel it, I'd be able to target specific areas of my body instead of just wasting all that potential power."
He stopped there.
Wraak stared at him, waiting for him to continue. But Jyn just kind of… sat there, looking off into the distance again.
A vein twitched in Wraak's forehead.
"…Go on."
Jyn blinked. "Oh. I thought it was pretty obvious from there. Sorry," He scratched his cheek. "Anyway, since my ki was usually spread out my entire body, I figured… why not put most of it into my brain?"
Wraak's entire body froze.
Jyn, completely unaware of the sheer absurdity of what he had just said, kept going. "And, uh, yeah. Turns out if you pump your brain full of all your ki, it kinda… boosts everything up there. A lot." He tapped his temple. "Next thing I knew, my mind was way faster than it should've been. And once my brain power shot through the roof, I could, well, feel the psychic power, y'know? Like, everything suddenly clicked."
He shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Once I had a grasp on my psychic power, I just used it to stir my mental ki awake and… here we are."
Silence.
Wraak could only stare.
Jyn had the nerve to grin, looking proud of himself.
"That's…" Wraak's voice trailed off. His mind reeled at what he'd just heard. Not because Jyn had tapped into his mental energy—no, that was as basic as it got.
No, the problem was how Jyn had done it.
Enhancing one's mind with ki? Sure. That was normal. Many warriors did it to improve reaction time and perception.
But to use the physical ki as a roundabout way to stir one's mental ki? That was—
That was—
That was like using your ki to enhance your ki. Or like separating the body from the brain so that you knew which was which.
It didn't make sense. It shouldn't have worked at all.
The implications of what this meant. If it was possible to do something like this, what else would be possible with a more precise mind? If you could find the mechanisms behind this, wouldn't you be able to create a technique that multiplies your energy?
Even if it was for a moment, that technique would be revolutionary. An unheard-of historic event.
…And yet the fool who discovered it used it for such a trivial technique.
Wraak exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "Idiot savant, indeed."
Jyn just grinned wider, completely oblivious to Wraak's inner thoughts. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Wraak let out a quiet grunt, his tail flicking behind him. His mind was still racing, still trying to process what Jyn had done.
But what could he even say or do about it? The result was the result, even if it baffled him.
He turned his gaze toward Edith and Zairen, both still struggling to follow their training. They hadn't noticed Jyn's absurdity yet, but Wraak knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.
As much as he wanted to keep this golden opportunity for himself, Jyn's brilliance shined too brightly to be kept in the dark. His power had already reached his own and doubled since then. If his rate of improvement stayed the same, he would surpass even Irelia soon enough.
If that happened, he wouldn't be the only one following Jyn around like a hatchling. Edith and Zairen would too, alongside all the other eleven recruits.
Well, ten recruits, most likely. He just couldn't see Irelia following anyone.
Unlike her, Wraak refused to let his pride get in the way of his path to greatness. It irked him something fierce to admit that this idiot was stronger and more talented than him.
Wraak tightened his grip, feeling the ball of energy in his hands shatter into motes of light.
But if that's what it took, he'd drag himself alongside Jyn's path.
Every breakthrough, every epiphany that this savant had.
Wraak would be there too, absorbing all the scraps of impossibility.
A/N: Now that I've set up that everyone will be following Jyn around because his system and meta knowledge make him do insane things in their eyes, I'm debating whether or not to cut straight to nine months from now when the training is about to end. I do have a few more scenes in mind for his training, but they're mostly miscellaneous things like a mock group battle, blaster training & the reasons they use blasters, etc.
The skip will happen at some point either way, just not sure if this is the right time.
What do you think? Do you feel we've developed enough to time skip to the end? Or should we wait a bit?
Reviews
Vukk: Well, if we timeskip or not, you'll find out his power level in the next chapter (It'll be in his Status most likely)
Hrenheim: I'm ngl, forum websites intimidate me. I've never used one before so I don't think I'll start now. But I might continue crossposting on Royalroad, Scribblehub, and WebNovel.