Chapter 95: Naive

Missions for the first-years would start the coming week.

Adam wasted no time returning to the training centre. He intended to take as much advantage of the facility as possible. His cultivation was steadily rising, his newly created skills waiting to see the light of day.

Some of his skills would really take his enemies by absolute shock. He was almost eager to show it off.

Force manipulation was really something else.

But aside from polishing his created skills, he got to creating the type of martial arts he had envisioned earlier, combining some of his newly created skills into a coherent set of arts. The excitement bubbling up within him could not be suppressed.

To protect his secrets and capabilities from the facility’s AI system, he played a little trick on the system, ensuring that what it saw and what he revealed and did differed.

Adam always began his training session in the gravity chamber, tempering his body under the immense pressure. He was now capable of bearing nineteen to twenty times normal gravity.

The chamber also doubled as a place where he deepened his understanding of gravity and how it affected objects and space as a whole.

Within the open space for martial arts training, Adam practised controlling several vector forces at once, trying to develop it into an instinctive set of moves rather than from conscious effort.

But the process was a lot harder than it looked.

Adam slid across the mat like an eel, reducing friction and air resistance around some areas of his body while increasing them at other areas. His moves flowed like a stream, producing very little sound.

Abruptly changing directions felt more like a suggestion than a fight against inertia. He was like essence itself, free and unfettered. He would sometimes stumble and fall, missing a few calculations.

But he did not let up.

He continued to push himself, his body getting familiar with the forces acting on his body and surroundings. Titan Genesis did exactly what it was made for, cutting down moves that wasted essence and stamina.

Adam practised nothing but perfecting his force manipulation for hours, his progress slow but steady. His indexes continued to rise in real time, putting a grin on his face. When he got tired, he would go to the cultivation chamber to cultivate, simultaneously splitting his attention to learn from the academy’s main system.

He was pushing his body and mind to the limit, keenly aware it would not succumb to exhaustion so easily. And the more he pushed his body, the more it adapted to the pressure.

[It’s 9 p.m., Adam]

Lucy, the training chamber’s AI system, reminded him.

Adam opened his eyes and let out a slow breath. He rose to his feet and exited the cultivation room. He clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling the power course through his body.

He had finally made a breakthrough, rising to the mid-tier of the first realm. Pulling up the system, he took a look at the numbers.

[Strength: 123 — 185]

[Agility: 114 — 188]

[Vitality: 123 —180 ]

[Perception: 111 —179 ]

The increase in stats increased the range of a few of his abilities. Adam could not help but smile. "With this and my ability to manipulate vector forces, I’ll be practically untouchable under the fourth realm."

His confidence was not misplaced. Although he had not faced a third realm expert since Ashvale, he remembered how powerful and fast they were. With his new set of skills, fighting and, most importantly, escaping would be a breeze.

Exiting the training facility, Adam got into his car and drove out of the facility. Once he got to the dormitory, he would have a small meal and cultivate some more. He did not have the luxury of rest, not when he was in danger anytime he stepped out of the academy.

The road leading away from the training facility was quiet, the night breeze blowing from the fields on both sides of the road. It created a serene atmosphere for thinking and planning.

’With so many skills at my disposal now, having a continuous source of Spark would go a long way.’

From these lines of thought, he wondered if he could create a way to speed up his cultivation. ’Maybe I can create a pass—’

A distant and sudden clicking sound echoed in his ears, breaking his line of thought.

"Shit!"

Adam cursed, his heart skipping a beat. He was all too familiar with that sound. Moments after the curse escaped his lips, a distant bang cut through the silence of the night. Without hesitation, he steered the car off course, but was a tad too slow.

Boom!

A projectile struck the spot the car had been moments prior, violently exploding the asphalt. The vehicle somersaulted off the road, the explosive shockwaves and heat tearing it apart.

It crashed into the fields, digging a trench as it skidded to a slow, screeching stop. Flames burned at the deformed vehicle, a thick trail of smoke rising into the air.

Coughing and bleeding from a cut on his head, Adam kicked the door off its hinges, crawling out of the burning car.

"I-I was naive."

He had thought no one would dare attack him on academy grounds. He had thought those after him wouldn’t take the risk with so many experts around.

He thought wrong.

The explosion had severely rattled his senses and body, making it difficult for him to stand straight. "I-I need to go..."

Right as he stumbled to his feet, his ears twitched again, picking up the sound of fast approaching footsteps. His heart skipped another beat as his instincts screamed danger.

"!"

An assassin dressed in all black with their face hidden behind a similarly helmet-styled mask appeared before him like a ghost, a blade tearing through the air towards his chest.

Before Adam could react, the blade pierced through his chest with chilling ease.

’...’

Time seemed to slow down as colour drained from his face. Adam’s eyes slowly widened as pain failed to arrive. His body jerked, blood gushing from his lips. He lowered his gaze, staring as the assassin slowly drove the blade deeper.

’Ah.’