Chapter 32: String maneuvering trainning.

Solène grinned brightly, her golden eyes sparkling with excitement."Dante! I wasn't around to congratulate you — sorry about that!" she said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Dante smiled, genuinely happy to see her again. He had missed her warmth and chaotic energy."It's okay. I'm just glad you're back."

Solène leaned in close, as if about to share a world-shaking secret."Oh oh oh! I have amazing news for you! I found a super, super awesome coach! She's going to teach you how to play strings!"

Dante blinked, curious by what she just said."Wait, really? Wow… thank you, Solène. That's incredibly kind of you."

Solène giggled and waved her hands in front of her face, flustered and delighted by the compliment."Ehehe! Actually, I want to learn too, so I dragged you along so we can both have fun! Don't worry about money — leave everything to me! Come on, let's go! Consider it a champion's special reward!"

Dante chuckled, shaking his head in amusement and gratitude."You're amazing, Solène. I feel like royalty right now. Thanks a lot."

She gave a tiny hop, her white hair bouncing with her movement, and laughed."Heehee!"

The very next day, Dante and Solène rode together to the training grounds — in a private vehicle, no less. With a personal driver.

'Is she… rich?' Dante wondered, glancing at the elegant leather seats. The ride took them out of the city and into the quiet outskirts, about 50 kilometers away.

As the car rolled to a smooth stop, Solène turned to him with a bright smile."Wait here, okay? I'm going to get the coach!"

And just like that, she skipped off, leaving Dante momentarily alone.

Dante stepped out and took a look around the facility.

The place was massive — a wide training field filled with towering white concrete cylindrical pillars, each around 30 to 50 meters tall and about 5 meters in diameter. Scattered across the field were concrete boulders, dummies, and assorted training targets. Everything was deliberately arranged — this clearly wasn't some random abandoned lot.

'They built all of this just for training?' Dante marveled.

He was genuinely impressed. The sheer scale reminded him of skyscrapers from his old world — or the industrial wonders below Tessarune. And in the distance, he noticed something strange. Some of the pillars were shattered or cracked, even blown apart completely. Not by time or weather — these pillars looked new.

Some had what looked like massive fist-shaped indentations, each one half a meter to a full meter wide.

'No way… those are fist marks?'

He couldn't be sure whether they were made by humans or something else, but they were a clear sign of devastation — and power. Real power.

He had heard stories about Champions whose destructive force rivaled natural disasters. Up until now, he'd thought those were exaggerations.

But these marks… they were real. And they were terrifying.

Dante approached one of the untouched pillars, curiosity tugging at his nerves.

'I wonder if my bat could even dent this thing… or should I ask permission first? What if they laugh at me?'

He hesitated, then decided to try something else. Pressing his palm to the cold surface, he focused his essence into his fist.

"Fist Infuse — Breaker."

He punched.

Boom!

The impact sent a burst of force echoing through the air. A chunk of the outer shell exploded off, leaving a shallow dent.

That was it.

Dante stared at the small crater in silence.

'Wow… I'm weak.'

He looked back at the colossal fist marks on the ruined pillars, then down at his own hand.

The gap between himself and the beings who left those behind… it felt insurmountable.

An uncomfortable pit opened up inside him. He stood frozen, mind spiraling.

'How do you even reach that kind of power? Who could punch through concrete like that? Am I… just small?'

He didn't notice the sound of footsteps approaching until a familiar voice snapped him out of it.

"Dante, where are you? Come on over here!"

Dante blinked and turned.

Across the field, Solène was waving at him. Her white shoulder-length hair shimmered under the sun, and her golden eyes gleamed with cheer. She wore a flowing white-and-gold dress that danced in the breeze, and her smile was as bright as ever.

Beside her stood another girl — shorter, with short black hair, a cold, expressionless face, and a fitted gray-and-white outfit that looked tailor-made for minimal movement and maximum control.

Solène bounced a little on her heels and waved again."Dante! Come meet your new string maneuver coach — Lumix! She's amazing! You're gonna be so shocked your jaw will fall off!" she declared excitedly.

Dante raised an eyebrow, walking toward them."Whose jaw is falling off? Tch… anyway, nice to meet you, Miss Lumix. And thank you, Solène — seriously."

He shot Solène a half-playful, half-suspicious glance.'This girl really thinks everyone reacts like her. No way I'm dropping my cool.'

Lumix looked at him and gave a faint, almost mechanical smile. She stepped forward.

"So everyone's here. Shall we begin?" she said in a voice that was flat and devoid of emotion. Human, yes — but eerily robotic.

Dante instinctively tried to read her emotional wave with his ability.

Nothing.

It wasn't just still. It was too still. Not calm like a tranquil pond, but lifeless like a paused recording. No fluctuations, no undercurrents — just… silence.

'That's unnatural. No ripple at all? Are Artificers from this world all like that?'

"Eeee~ I'm so excited! I've always thought playing strings looked super fun!" Solène squealed, hopping again. "Let's get started, Miss Lumix!"

Her voice snapped Dante back to the moment, cutting cleanly through his thoughts. This time, though, it didn't annoy him.

He glanced at her again.

'She rented this entire training ground… hired a private instructor… and even invited me to join for free. Honestly, how can anyone stay mad at a girl like that?'

Lumix began channeling her essence. Dante, using his newly-installed component that could gauge energy levels, immediately sensed it.

His component couldn't reveal exact figures beyond the basics, but it gave him a rough estimate.

The average Roomborn had a power level between 1 and 10. He himself was a 4. Solène, out of expected, hit the max — a clean 10.

But Lumix…

The stream of essence radiating from her was immense — easily above 30.

'She's a Mindwired. Definitely in the Circuit Stage… and I can't even see where it ends.'

His detector was too simple to track higher tiers, but it didn't matter.

She was far, far above him.

And this was supposed to be a string maneuver coach?

Dante swallowed, a mix of awe and exitement pooling in his chest.

This was going to be one hell of a lesson.