Chapter 122| Push Day II

Chapter 122: Chapter 122| Push Day II

He wasn’t surprised. Maren and Sunday morning training grounds existed in separate categories. She had earned that separation and exercised it with the same precision she brought to everything else. He still didn’t want to contact her personally, that meant disturbing someone who was already this hardworking and decided to take this day as a time for rest.

He walked to the wall.

Pressed his palm flat.

Looked at the new daily quest notification flickering on his vision.

’Overdrive activation window,’ he thought. ’Okay. Let’s go system.’

『 The system is ready. The system notes the host took 61 minutes to arrive at the wall after the notification surfaced. The system is not judging. The system is simply noting. 』

’I showered,’ he thought.

『 The system notes priorities. 』

Zane activated Overdrive.

Six consecutive activations. That was the task — not sustained output, not burst sequences, just the specific focused repetition of activation itself. The Intention was to execute six times in a row with full attention on compressing the window between the two. ’The system really wants to test my endurance’. He thought.

First activation.

0.73 seconds.

Second.

0.73 seconds.

Third.

0.73 seconds.

The system surfaced.

『 The system notes the host is on rep three of six. No improvement yet. The system recommends patience. This is a precision quest not a power quest. 』

’I know,’ he thought.

Fourth activation.

0.73 seconds.

Fifth.

Something shifted. Small. The specific sensation of a gap that had been fixed suddenly having movement in it. Not dramatic, just present. The intent reaching the execution point a fraction earlier than the previous four reps.

Sixth.

『 DAILY QUEST COMPLETE 』

『 Overdrive activation window: 0.73 → 0.70 seconds 』

『 Reward: -0.03 seconds banked 』

『 Progress to milestone: 0.70 / 0.50 seconds 』

『 Milestone reward: HIDDEN 』

’0.70,’ he thought. ’First completion.’

He stepped back from the drill position.

Rolled his shoulders. The six consecutive activations hadn’t drained his output significantly. Overdrive at activation only without sustained burst was considerably lighter than full sequence running. But the focus required was different from Impact Breaker reps. More internal. More about the specific mental architecture of intent than the physical mechanics of contact.

’This quest is going to be different,’ he thought.

After a few minutes of completing the quest sets he moved to the wall.

Impact Breaker — B-rank 20% full output. The shockwave rolled through the composite surface at 4.7 meters. The storage rack rattled from the contact.

’Still getting used to the range myself,’ he muttered.

He alternated between casual slight Overdrive activations and Impact Breaker reps. Not quest focused, just movement. Keeping the body warm. He only kickstarted overdrive by 0.2secs between each rep which was unnoticeable.The training grounds filled slightly around him as the morning progressed. A few more students were arriving. Someone started a casual sparring session in the far arena.

At 10:45 AM he finished.

He picked up his bag. Drank his water. Stood at the edge of the pad.

’First daily quest completion done,’ he thought. ’0.70 seconds. Seven more to the milestone.’

The system surfaced.

『 System Note: The system recommends not burning out on day one. Save the remaining completions for subsequent sessions. Consistency beats intensity. 』

’I know,’ he thought. ’Leaving the rest for tomorrow.’

He picked up his bag. Drank his water. Stood at the edge of the pad.

The training grounds without Maren had a different quality from the 6:20 AM version with her. Not worse. Just different. The absence of her burst sequences running behind him while he did wall reps was notable enough to notice on a morning when nothing else was demanding his attention.

’Weeks of training together had created some sort of wistful feeling with her absence ,’ he thought. ’Now Sunday feels off without her here.’

The system surfaced.

『 System Note: The host has registered Maren Cass’s absence from a training session she was never scheduled to attend. The system finds this data point meaningful. 』

’Don’t read into it,’ he thought.

『 The system notes it is literally designed to read into things. 』

Zane headed back toward the dormitory in total fulfillment of today’s light work.

His communicator buzzed at the east courtyard.

One message. Maren.

He checked it.

Maren: How’s Sunday training going.

He looked at it for a moment.

Zane: How did you know I came to training today.

Maren: I didn’t. Just guessed. Hit jackpot apparently ??

Zane: Let’s talk about luck.

Maren: ?? Don’t stress yourself too much. What are you even training for.

Zane: Just had to take care of a few things. Something personal.

Maren: Okay. I wish you luck. Let me focus on what I’m doing. Bye Zane ??

He stared at the heart for approximately three seconds.

’Maren sent a heart,’ he thought. ’That’s new. That’s a development.’

Zane: Same to you ??

He pocketed the communicator.

’The Maren I knew two months ago,’ he thought. ’Would already be staring at her screen going red right now.’

The system surfaced.

『 Maren Cass — Familiarity +3% 』

『 Current: 93% — Genuinely Close tier 』

『 System Note: She sent the heart first. The system notes this. 』

’I noticed,’ he thought.

He smiled. Didn’t try to stop it this time.

He pocketed the communicator and kept walking.

_ _

He arrived at Room 714 at 11:00 AM.

Dex was finally sitting up when he got back, vertically. His hair doing whatever it had decided to do overnight. A container of something open on his desk that smelled like it had come from Torre’s mystery supply chain.

Dex looked up when Zane came through the door.

Looked at his face. Then at his training gear. Then back at his face.

"Sunday training," Dex said. Not a question. Just noting it. "On your only day off."

"Had something to work on," Zane said.

Dex stared at him for one more second with the expression of someone who had opinions but had decided they weren’t worth the energy before 11 AM on a Sunday.

Then went back to his container.

Zane set his bag down. Changed out of his training gear. Lay back on his bed.

’He reads the room well,’ he thought. ’Maybe luck.’

Dex ate his mystery container food without further comment.

Gerald wheezed.

The Sunday afternoon settled quietly around room 714.

Tomorrow. Monday. Suit pickup from Mori. Dark green Code Zero outfit ought to be ready.

And the NSA assessment coming fast in one week.

He looked at the ceiling.

’One week,’ he thought.