1:09:45

"Keep the right wing clear, pull up the barrier for the unit and then move to Play 67," Seon ordered, eyes locked on the holoV as he paced in front of it. They had been at this for 24 full hours with no breaks what so ever.

Felix relayed the command, and drones surged forward, eliminating the low tier monsters on the right wing. The tanks moved in formation, clearing the way for the unit before barriers we pulled around them. The monster reared back, its head cocked in preparation to fire.

"Shield up. Fire the X-34 missiles from the right wing aim for the belly—now."

Missiles launched, striking the monster and staggering it. The tanks fired next, delivering the final blow. The creature collapsed, shaking the ground beneath it. The holoV went black and then the whole room went quiet, then the time 1:09:45 appeared on the screen.

The room erupted in cheers. Seon let out a breath leaning against a desk.

Grim walked toward Seon, a grin stretching across his face. It was their fastest completion time yet.

It was only Day 3, and Seon knew they could still improve but honestly, there wasn't much more he could do beyond practice. Everyone was already pushing themselves to the limit, both inside and outside the control room.

"You sure you didn't hack the system? Even I haven't hit that time yet—and I'm the unit leader," Grim said, staring at the screen in disbelief.

Seon shook his head, smirking. "Maybe you're just weak, old man."

He was satisfied. The first time they ran this simulation, half their unit had died. He could only give credit to to the teams they had memorized the plays faster than even he had calculated. If they'd been slower, they would have definitely failed.

Grim chuckled but didn't take his eyes off the screen. He was still in shock. No one had ever achieved this time—not in three days.

The team had already left for lunch, likely reviewing the monster files Seon had sent out. Every Edner needed to know the weaknesses of as many creatures as possible to act without waiting for orders. That knowledge could mean the difference between life and death.

Seon yawned. None of them had gotten much sleep. Not after the disaster of a simulation they ran earlier.

Most of the team had spent the morning rewatching the replay, analysing their individual mistakes. Even Seon had picked apart his own errors alongside the team's. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement of their victory, but in a real mission, mistakes meant real people would die.

After the debrief, Seon ordered everyone to sleep, despite it being midday. They were running on fumes. He included himself in that order—he had no use for a team too exhausted to function. Besides, he had a lesson with X in the morning. He needed to be in top condition.

Sleep came quickly. When Seon woke, the sky was just beginning to brighten. The entire building was silent. Too silent.

Normally, there'd be some kind of noise—discussions about plays, arguments over adjustments. But now? Nothing. He kne

He showered and headed downstairs, finding Felix at the kitchen table, editing plays. He looked like he'd just gotten out of bed so Seon didn't bother thinking too much about it. Seon grabbed an apple. Felix finally noticed him.

"Seon… do you mind if I lead the team today?" Felix asked, fiddling with his pen.

Seon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. I have class later, so you didn't have much of a choice anyway."

Felix nodded, scribbling something down.

Seon decided to train before class. He needed to ask Grim to adjust his program—his current regimen wasn't cutting it anymore. He was no longer levelling up with it.

After another shower, he put on his uniform. Back in the slumps, the idea of showering twice in one day would've been unthinkable. It felt like another life—like he had never been that Seon who rationed food to survive.

He packed his bag and, he made his way to class. As expected, he was the last to arrive. Except for X, of course.

Seon immediately noticed the others looked like a mess. It looked like he was the only one who had gotten a full night's rest. He didn't blame them though he was in the same state yesterday. Even A looked wrecked.

He took his seat and gave a nod.

"Why the hell do you look so put together? Did you just give up, huh, Z?" C smirked.

Seon ignored him, studying their faces instead. Were they this exhausted yesterday? Even B, their so-called "unbreakable tank," looked drained. Was the exam really that brutal?

Then X strolled in, wearing that same annoyingly cheerful smile. However, even he had some dark circles under his eye.

"Looks like everyone is studying hard for the upcoming exam," he said, flicking on the holoV.

The screen displayed the previous day's simulation times:

Z – 1:09:45 

B – 3:35:50 

C – 3:45:01 

A – 3:46:00 

"As you can see, these are the times from yesterday's simulation," X said, feigning surprise as he pointed at Unit Z's record.

The room's atmosphere shifted instantly. All eyes turned to Seon.

A shot up from her seat, slamming her hand on the table. "Bullshit! That's not humanly possible! There's no way a kid from the slumps beat us."

Seon clenched his jaw but stayed silent. He was just as surprised by the gap, but that didn't mean he deserved the insult. 

"Oh, trust me, it's real," X said, his tone shifting. "In fact, all the commanders and unit leaders were up all night reviewing the footage. Those are his authentic results. So calm down and focus on catching up, A."

A glared but sat down, seething.

"However," X continued, "I, too, would like to know how that's possible. Even as we speak, the footage is still being analysed." He turned his gaze to Seon.

[Foreign ability detected. Mind Fortress activated.]

Seon stiffened at the notification.

X laughed. "You, my friend, really know how to get a man's attention. Now, if you'll turn your heads to the screen, you'll see who you'll be up against."

The holoV displayed the matchups:

Unit Z – A 

Unit A – Z 

Unit B – C 

Unit C – B 

Seon wasn't worried. The goal wasn't to win, but to prove the captain could lead Edners. His goal was to make sure no one died on a real mission. The Exam didn't have a huge reward nor was it a quest so he only cared about making sure his team was the best it could be.

After the lesson, X decided he didn't want to go back the the higher ups and rewatch the footage so he decided no one was leaving yet. Instead, they sat down to work on their exams. Seon pulled out his tablet and checked the system replays from the morning's training session.

Without him, Felix had managed to average two hours in the simulation. Considering the average for the captains was 3 hours Felix had completely out done himself. 

Seon analysed the replays trying to figure out which plays and combinations he used. For the first time, Seon was genuinely surprised by Felix. Originally Seon had high expectations for Seon he was someone who was had natural talent yet he worked twice as hard and everyone else. However this time Felix had single-handedly created and implemented new plays. There had been some casualties, but that was expected with untested strategies.

Seon was only able to achieve so much because he had the system and it's abilities but Felix was able to do all that with out a system or mysterious abilities. he truly was remarkable. Not only that was he is also physically capable of leading the front lines.

Seon started tweaking Felix's plays, noting his clever decision to add medics. He focused of how to add more medics instead of sending then out completely with the frontliners he could keep the above do they can offer buffs. Without a second that Seon begun working on the idea. Lost in his work, he didn't notice the others watching him. Even X was observing, fascinated.

X had never ever seen someone think like Seon. Normally plays were designed by a team of specialists and even they couldn't produce these results, yet he moved through them effortlessly, making adjustments in real time. To the captains , his work looked like a foreign language—nothing like what they had been taught.

They had trained for this their entire lives. Their parents had spent millions on training alone to get them here in the position of captains. And yet, here was a kid from the slumps, performing better than them. Not only on the exam but during the first mission too. He was the only one along with B who completed the mission with out casualties and actually completed the mission.

They had trained for this their entire lives. Their parents had spent millions on training alone to get them into these positions of leadership. Yet, here was a kid from the slumps, outperforming them. Not just on the exam, but also during their first mission. Seon was the only one, along with B, who completed the mission without casualties, and not just that—he had actually completed it.

B, on the other hand, felt nothing but determination now. His pride had taken a hit, but it fueled him. Without a second thought, he pulled out his own tablet, immediately diving into the plays, comparing them to the ones X had displayed. It was only Day 3, but that didn't matter anymore. He had finally taken Seon's advice to heart, focusing on his team members the same way he had seen Seon do.

B clenched his jaw, bitter at himself for letting his pride get in the way before. But now, there was no time to dwell on past mistakes. With a steadying breath, he opened the files to his unit, ready to dive deeper into improving them, just as Seon had done.