Chapter 53: Clear the smoke

[ INITIALIZING SPECIAL GRADE TALENT: ENDLESS ADAPTATION ]

* Protocol: Evolutionary Override Engaged.

* Target Parameter: Gaseous UtilityTalent (100% Adapted)

[ PROGRESS BAR: 100% ]

* Status: Structural Threat Parameters Fully Digested.

* Protocol: Absolute Evolutionary Rewiring Complete.

[ DETECTING CELLULAR RECONSTRUCTION ]

* Respiratory Pathways: Altered via Smoke Filtering Synthesis (+80% Atmospheric Deprivation Immunity).

* Visual Receptors: Permanent Secondary Neural Loops Deployed (Absolute Blindness Immunity).

[ EVOLUTION COMPLETE: HOST BODY HAS TRANSCENDED ENEMY CAPABILITIES ]

The majestic, roaring vortex of green gale-force winds violently erupted from the upper conduits as Ryan hit absolute peak alignment. Wind God: Shu’s Scepter tore through the vaulted iron reservoir with a deafening shriek, the massive wall of compressed air violently scattering the thick white smog across the wet grit of the floorboards.

But right as the wind began to clear the room, Thomas felt a deep, chilling mutation take hold inside his physical vessel. The extreme cellular stress of the smoke-propelled constraints and the suffocating lack of oxygen had finally forced his Endless Adaptation talent to violently override his baseline biology. Behind his eyelids, the system’s progress bar hit its absolute peak, and a heavy, surging wave of raw structural clarity flooded his entire nervous system.

His lungs suddenly expanded, his internal pathways rewiring themselves to breathe seamlessly directly through the thickest columns of toxic ash without losing a single drop of stamina. His dark eyes adjusted instantly, his visual receptors cutting clearly through the remaining haze as if the air were perfectly clear glass.

More than that, Thomas looked down at his right hand and noted a strange, weightless distortion humming beneath his skin. He now possessed a minor form of gaseous exchange himself, his right arm capable of temporarily dissolving into a fluid, smoky mist to bypass incoming physical matter. It was heavily limited to a single body part for now because he had only just adapted to it, but his sharp intellect immediately noted that with proper, brutal training in the elite blocks, this new gift could grow every bit as powerful as the year two girl’s in the future.

The red-haired girl with the freckles violently recoiled as Ryan’s hurricane stripped away her surrounding defenses, her deep red eyes widening into circles of pure, unadulterated shock. Realizing her physical advantage was evaporating, she desperately unleashed her year two core, trying to fill the reservoir with massive, billowing plumes of white smoke once more to reclaim the dark

Thomas simply stood his ground, a smile permanently settling over his smooth mask as he looked directly into her face.

"It’s over, lady," Thomas said flatly, his voice carrying a razor-sharp grit.

Before she could even alter her velocity, Thomas shifted his stance into Gerald’s heavy combat form, his uploaded motor-skills integrating seamlessly into his muscles. With a sharp, crystalline crack, his entire right arm violently hardened into the hyper-dense, reflective armor of the Diamond Skin talent. He lunged forward like an absolute bullet, bypassing her frantic defensive guard to land a brutal, bone-crushing blow straight into the center of her stomach.

BOOM!

The immense kinetic density of the diamond punch struck her body before she could even react or attempt an intangible drift. The sheer force completely shut down her mana circuits, her red eyes rolling back into her head as she violently folded outward and crashed face-first onto the wet stones, passing out instantly in a cold heap.

The grey smoke completely died away, and the battle lines immediately shifted to the rear tunnels of the reservoir where Julian and Rei were actively engaging Darian Calagher.

To Thomas’s surprise, the year two mastermind was actually besting the two Grade S talents. Darian glided through the iron archways with a cocky, condescending laugh, his sky-blue eyes flashing with an absolute, volatile glare as his utility talent continuously predicted their trajectories before they could even cast their spells. Every time Julian tried to collapse a pocket of space, Darian was already a step ahead, evading the Crimson Void by a single inch while launching a rapid series of counter-strikes.

"Well that’s disappointing!" Darian mocked loudly, his voice echoing arrogantly off the rusted conduits. "Although you are both Grade S national treasures, you will still die here. My talent allows me to perfectly know every single move you intend to make as soon as you are about to make them!"

Rei stood beside Julian, her fluffy white bathrobe fluttering slightly in the residual gale as she brushed a long strand of vibrant violet hair away from her face mask. Since she was an upperclassman who knew the history of the year two blocks, she turned her sky-blue eyes toward Julian, her beautiful voice dropping into a serious weight.

"The bastard is speaking the truth, Julie," Rei murmured quietly. "The only reason Darian is not a member of the Horsemen of Calamity right now is because he was defeated in the semi-finals by Cecilia during our first-year tournament. But beside your sister, there are hardly any year two upperclassmen in this entire academy who can actually best him in a straight trade."

Then, a slow, cold, and exceptionally dark smile appeared on Rei’s pale lips beneath her green face mask.

"But luckily for you," Rei whispered, her voice suddenly dropping into a lethal octave that gave the entire vault actual chills. "I happen to be one of those very few."

BOOM—!!!

In a fraction of a second, an immense, law-defying wave of pure, unadulterated mana violently erupted outward from her body. The sheer density of her spiritual presence was so massive that it instantly fractured the stone floorboards beneath her bare feet, sending a visible shockwave of spatial distortion rippling through the central vault.

"Julie, sit this one out," Rei said cleanly, her sky-blue eyes completely flashing with a bloodthirsty intensity as she stepped past the freshman noble.

Julian stood perfectly rigid, his silver-rimmed glasses catching the harsh glare of her aura as a sudden, deep memory violently resurfaced inside his mind. He knew Rei very well because she is his childhood friend and fiance.

Rei had chosen to completely skip the freshman tournament during her first year at Blackspear, opting to remain entirely hidden in the shadows of the upper blocks. If she had chosen to participate and unleash that terrifying, unrefined core back then, she wouldn’t just be a casual senior, she would have easily been a member of the Horsemen of Calamity sitting right alongside his older sister.