Effortless victory

Chapter 19

Ronan finally arrived home after the most exhausting day one could ever ask for. The first thing he did was to check up on Noah, and he was relieved to find him sleeping in his room, carefully tucked in bed.

A smile curled on Ronan's lips. What would he do without Dean?

With a deep sigh, he headed to the bathroom to take his bath. He stood in front of the mirror, his gaze lingered as he watched himself. How much he had changed within such a short period—his face now had sharper features, and for the first time... he thought he looked good.

His body now looked a lot fitter and more muscular—his arms, shoulders, and chest—everything seemed more pronounced.

He soon realized he was staring a bit too much and quickly turned away. Imagine being so in love with your current look that you could stare at a mirror admiring yourself all day. He didn't want to end up like that.

Brushing off every other thought, he began to shower... but then, during his bath, his gaze flickered back to the mirror, and that was when he noticed something that had never been there before—a tattoo... a dragon tattoo just behind his neck.

He quickly moved closer to the mirror to take a closer look. A tattoo? He never got one, so where'd this one come from? With soap, he tried scrubbing the paint off, but nothing happened.

He tried and tried until the spot turned red, but still, nothing changed... The tattoo was drawn in black ink, a majestic dragon, eyes red, magic energy swirling around it.

Ronan couldn't wrap his head around how the hell a tattoo would suddenly appear on his body, or did this change happen after his level-up quest?

After moments of silent thoughts on different possibilities of how he could have gotten a fucking tattoo, he finally brushed it off and finished his bath... He couldn't bother caring at this point. It was just a damn tattoo. It couldn't be of any harm.

The next day, as usual... Ronan prepared Noah for school, made breakfast, and then headed to Sentinel Order after dropping him off with Dean. For Dean, he had quit working for now, waiting for his broken arm to recover. Besides, he hadn't yet recovered from the shock of a near-death experience.

Ronan arrived at Sentinel Order, stepping into the familiar underground facility. The air was thick with the scent of metal and sweat, a reminder of the grueling training that awaited him. He silently wondered just how much he had improved after the level-up quest he completed yesterday.

Jordan stood in the middle of the training arena, arms crossed. "Diana picked your opponent for today's match. Step forward, Theo."

Theo grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "About time I got a shot at the newbie."

The rest of the team gathered around, eager to watch the fight, but deep down, they already knew how it would end. No way was Ronan winning against Theo.

The moment Jordan signaled, Theo lunged forward, his movements sharp and aggressive. But Ronan sidestepped with ease. Too much ease. His body reacted faster than he expected, his reflexes honed beyond anything he had experienced before.

Theo threw another punch, but Ronan effortlessly dodged it, twisting around and landing a precise counter-strike to Theo's ribs. The impact sent Theo staggering back, his face twisting in shock.

"What the hell—?" Theo muttered, regaining his footing. How did he get hit so effortlessly, without him being able to counter or dodge?

Diana's eyes narrowed. "That was fast. He barely moved, but it looked effortless."

Theo clenched his jaw and rushed forward again, this time throwing a rapid combination of punches and kicks. Ronan weaved through them like they were in slow motion. It wasn't just his strength—his perception of time, his control, everything had evolved beyond what he thought possible.

The room grew tense. Casey whispered, "Did Ronan always move like that?"

Jordan's expression darkened. "No."

Frustrated, Theo gritted his teeth, his movements becoming sloppier as his frustration grew. His attacks became more aggressive, more reckless, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't land a single hit.

"Damn it!" Theo hissed, his patience snapping. His eyes burned with frustration as he clenched his fists. "Are you toying with me?!"

Ronan remained calm, barely even breathing hard. He wasn't toying with Theo—he was simply moving on instinct, and his instincts had become something far beyond human limits.

Theo activated his system ability. His muscles tensed, his veins pulsing with raw lightning energy. "Alright, let's see how you handle this!"

He charged again, his speed doubling. But even with that, Ronan only used half of his strength. With a well-placed counter, he flipped Theo over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground with a loud thud. Theo groaned, struggling to move. His body was still crackling with lightning, with enough voltage to shock anyone until they became unconscious, but Ronan barely felt anything.

After much grunting and struggling, Theo finally relented, his lightning dying down. His expression was a mix of disbelief and frustration, his hands clenching into fists against the cold floor. He wanted to argue, to say Ronan had been lucky—but he knew that wasn't the case. He had been thoroughly, undeniably outclassed.

Silence.

The rest of the team stared. It was obvious they were finding it hard to believe that Ronan just subdued Theo without much effort, even when his system was activated. Theo was among their best, and he was defeated so effortlessly by a newbie.

Diana spoke first. "That… wasn't normal."

Jordan studied Ronan carefully, his expression unreadable. "He's changed."

Ronan flexed his fingers, his mind racing. He had known he was improving, but this? The ease, the power—it was beyond anything he had imagined. And judging by the looks around him, everyone else had noticed too.

He had become something far more dangerous than any of them had anticipated. And now, how in the world was he supposed to explain that his system allowed him to evolve? No one else had the ability to evolve with their system. Any ability one got from a system remained the same. All one could do was train their body to gain more agility and skills. That way, they'd be able to put the power to better use.

It would be impossible for Ronan to suddenly become so strong in one day no matter how hard he trained, which only meant one thing—he could now activate his system at will, or he somehow evolved overnight.

Jordan suddenly started removing his jacket. All the team members turned to him, surprised.

"You want to fight him?" Diana asked, brows raised in surprise.

"Just wanna check something.... Ronan, I need you to go all out. Don't you dare hold back, 'cause I won't." Jordan smirked, slipping on his combat gloves as he stepped into the arena.

Everyone held their breaths. From that look on Jordan's face, they knew he was dead serious... and they all anticipated how this battle was going to end.