Burn the Weakness, Build the Will

The System School's lower training complex was buried beneath six floors of reinforced steel and system-monitored concrete. A place built not for comfort, but for pain. The kind of pain Levi knew well.

He stood at the center of Training Room Gamma, breath fogging in the chilled artificial air. Lights buzzed overhead, sterile and harsh. His shirt clung to his back, soaked from sweat, and the wrap around his knuckles was already torn in three places.

"Again," barked Instructor Rhys.

Levi didn't argue. He stepped forward, exhaled through his nose, and threw the combo.

Jab. Elbow. Hook. Step. Twist. Phantom Step.

The echo of his phantom double launched forward, mimicking his form as it struck the kinetic dummy—a seven-foot-tall alloy brute that responded with force feedback.

[Strike Registered: 64% Sync – Incomplete]

[Warning: Phantom Echo Lag Detected – Focus Drain +2]

"Too slow," Rhys growled. "Your shadow's lagging behind."

Levi winced. Not from the pain his body had long since tuned that out but from the disappointment. The duel with Ronan had pushed him into a higher threshold. His system was evolving, hungrier now. But if he couldn't keep up with the output…

"You're operating like a man still thinking of his limits," Rhys continued, circling him. "Forget limits. Break them."

Levi wiped the blood from his lip. "They break back."

Rhys smirked. "Only if you stop mid-swing."

The dummy reset with a mechanical whir.

"Again."

Levi's fists moved on instinct. Strike. Pivot. Dash. Phantom Echo. Juggernaut Drive. His limbs screamed, but his mind didn't stop. Pain was no longer a signal to slow down it was data. Direction.

[Pain-to-Will Conversion Active]

[Core Stat Increase – Endurance +1]

A chime sounded as the strike connected hard enough to dent the dummy's torso.

Rhys finally gave a nod. "Better."

Levi staggered back, panting.

"You've been here four hours," Rhys said, voice even. "You should've collapsed after two."

Levi held up two fingers. "I've got… two more in me."

"No. You don't," Rhys said. "You've got one more in you. And that's the one I want to see. Let's go again"

"I want to see my sister."

Rhys paused.

Silence, sharp and sudden, cut through the training room.

Levi lowered his arms, eyes locked on the instructor. "Just for ten minutes. That's all I'm asking."

"You think seeing her will make you stronger?" Rhys asked, tone unreadable.

"I think not seeing her might make me stop."

A beat.

Then Rhys turned toward the system console at the edge of the room.

"Authorization request," he muttered. "Student: Levi Lupin. Temporary transfer from Tier-3 Isolation Status to Tier-1 Personal Contact."

[Override Protocol – Supervisor Approval Required]

He glanced back at Levi. "You'll need Arkan's permission. And you'll have to earn it."

Levi wiped his face with his wrist. "Then give me something I can break."

Rhys keyed in a few commands, and the walls around them split open.

Two combat drones emerged sleek, plated, and twice Levi's size. Red sensors glowed like hungry eyes.

"Break them," Rhys said. "No system tricks. Raw skill only. Win in five minutes or less."

Levi cracked his neck. His knuckles bled freely now, but he didn't feel it.

"Start the clock."

[Combat Simulation: Initiated]

[Conditions: No Augments | Time Limit – 5:00]

[Opponent Class: Dual Unit – Titan Class]

The first drone lunged like a tank on legs. Levi slid under it, fists blazing. No traits. No Phantom steps. Just muscle and instinct.

He ducked a claw swipe, rolled forward, and landed an uppercut to its joint. It barely registered.

The second drone was already behind him.

He leapt, twisting mid-air, boot landing on its head as he vaulted over it. He kicked off the wall, landed on the first drone's back, and jammed a torn cable into its eye.

[Damage Registered: 12%]

Still not enough.

He dropped, swept the legs, used momentum to spin his foot crashing into the drone's side, toppling it briefly.

Pain lanced through his shoulder. The second drone had landed a punch.

His body rolled with the blow. He came up coughing blood but smiling.

[Time Remaining: 3:21]

He didn't have the weight. So he'd have to use what he had: momentum, timing, and violence.

He let the drones close in.

When the first one reached out, he grabbed its arm, swung himself over it, and launched a heel into the second drone's torso. Then he bent backward as both tried to close in, sliding under their combined strike like liquid.

He popped up. Drove both fists into one's chestplate.

[Impact Force Accumulated – Joint Strain Detected]

Still not enough.

He gritted his teeth. Screamed.

And slammed his elbow into the cable point he'd damaged earlier.

[Critical Hit: 72%]

[Unit One: Disabled]

The second drone wasted no time.

It slammed him into the wall.

[Damage Received: High]

[Internal Bleeding Risk: Moderate]

He couldn't see straight.

But he could still move.

With a wild roar, Levi hurled a cracked metal shard into the drone's sensor.

Then, using the moment of blindness, he sprinted up the wall, flipped, and drove both knees into its head.

[Damage Accumulated: 85%]

[Shutdown Triggered]

The drone slumped.

Levi collapsed to one knee, panting.

[Timer: 0:42]

[Simulation Cleared]

He didn't even smile.

Rhys walked over, expression unreadable.

"You're a wreck."

Levi didn't look up. "So was the drone."

An hour later, Levi stood in front of a thick glass wall, eyes fixed on the small figure on the other side.

Lilith.

She sat on her bed, drawing in a tattered sketchbook. Her hair was tied back, the color a softer shade of Levi's. She hadn't seen him yet.

The system guard beside him nodded. "No physical contact. You have fifteen minutes."

The door slid open.

Lilith looked up.

And her face bloomed into the first true smile Levi had seen in what felt like months.

"Levi!"

He barely had time to kneel before she collided into him, arms wrapping tight around his neck.

"You're okay," she whispered.

He held her close, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I am now."

She pulled back, her eyes wet but shining. "You look awful."

He laughed. "I've been working out."

She hit his arm. "Don't joke. I've heard things. The other handlers talk. They say you're being pushed too hard."

"I can take it."

"You shouldn't have to."

For a moment, the mask slipped. He let her words settle into the cracks of his resolve.

Then he looked her in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

"With everything."

"Then let me finish this. Let me get strong enough that no one can touch us again. Not Viktor. Not this place. No one."

Lilith was silent for a beat.

Then she nodded. "Okay. But promise me something."

"Anything."

"Come back next week."

He smiled. "It's a deal."

The door buzzed. Time up.

He stood, and she hugged him once more, tighter than before.

As the door closed behind him, Levi felt the fire inside settle—not vanish, just focus.

Because now he remembered what he was fighting for.

Not revenge.

Not pride.

But freedom.

[System Log – Updated]

[Surge Points: +1 (Emotional Core Trigger)]

[New Memory Archive Fragment Unlocked: Lilith's Sketchbook – Entry 01]

Back in his quarters, Levi sat on the floor, meditating as Rhys had instructed. But instead of silence, the system filled his vision.

A sketch appeared drawn in clumsy pencil lines, shaky but full of heart.

It was him and Lilith.

Standing under a tree.

Smiling.

A memory not stored in Levi's mind, but Lilith's.

[Memory Archive Expanded – Sibling Link Detected]

[Unlocking New Passive: Endurance of Kin – Minor Regen when within 500m of Lilith]

Levi stared at it for a long time.

Then closed his eyes.

And whispered, "I'm not breaking."

Not tonight.

Not ever.