The last spoonful of porridge disappeared, and Null set the bowl down with a quiet clink.
"Decent," he muttered.
[Conclusion: satisfactory nutritional intake,] Fantasy Omniscience responded.
Null nodded and stood up. For a brief, fleeting moment, he enjoyed the peace.
"Um... excuse me!"
He froze. A small group of girls had gathered by his table. One of them stepped forward, fidgeting. "Can we sit here? We've seen you around a lot, and we wanted to—"
"—talk!" another finished excitedly.
Null stared at them. A beat of silence passed. Then, he smiled politely. "Ah. A social ambush."
The girls blinked. "What?"
"Nothing." He picked up his tray. "I'm afraid I'm in the middle of an extremely critical mission."
They leaned in, curious. "What mission?"
Null turned to leave, his expression perfectly serene. "Escaping."
He slipped past them before they could react. Clean, efficient, and gone.
...
A few minutes later, Null stepped out of the cafeteria into the quiet courtyard, the noisy chatter fading behind him. "That was close."
[Threat level: moderate social engagement avoided.]
"I'm starting to think you categorize everything."
[Affirmative.]
"Well, that was indeed a life-threatening situation," Null murmured, heading toward a secluded sector of the Sanctum grounds.
Eventually, he stopped before a massive, reinforced door. This was the private training hall reserved exclusively for one person: Commander Dhomnac. Null pushed it open.
The moment he stepped inside, his instincts flared. The air was heavy, sharp, and predatory. There were no assistants, no trainees, and no noise. Only a hulking figure standing dead center in the hall.
Broad shoulders. A heavily muscled frame. Lion-like ears resting atop his head, and a pair of piercing golden eyes.
Commander Dhomnac.
The man looked to be in his forties, but his posture was coiled with a terrifying, restrained power. His golden eyes locked onto the doorway the instant Null entered.
Null stopped in his tracks. Oops.
Dhomnac's ears twitched. His voice was a low, commanding rumble. "You are late."
Null frowned. "But, teach—"
A vein pulsed faintly on Dhomnac's forehead. Null pressed on anyway. "I arrived exactly at the scheduled time. You're just early."
Dhomnac smiled. It was not a kind expression. "Just because I set a time does not mean you shouldn't strive to beat it," he said, taking a slow, heavy step forward. "If you had arrived before me, you would have had time to warm up. Center yourself. Reach peak condition."
He stopped right in front of Null, towering over him. "In fact, this was a test. And you failed." His smirk sharpened. "You have a lazy attitude. Let me fix that."
Null instinctively took a step back. "Now hold on—"
"And another thing." Dhomnac's eyes narrowed. "How many times have I told you to stop calling me 'teach'?"
Null opened his mouth, then closed it. "A respectable number?"
"Too many," Dhomnac growled, cracking his neck. "Call me Instructor Dhomnac, or I will enforce it."
"Right, Instructor Dhomnac—"
"Too late. Punishment stands. Today, your training regimen is doubled."
Null's expression went completely flat. "You're just making up reasons now."
Dhomnac stayed silent, his ear twitching.
Null narrowed his eyes. "You monstrous lion... the paperwork finally got to you, didn't it? You're just venting your desk stress on me."
Silence. Which was basically a confession.
Null sighed internally. This was the Commander of the Radiant Guards—one of the strongest forces in the world, an elite warrior buried alive under administrative duties.
A warrior forced into paperwork? It was a disaster waiting to happen, and Null was the only student available to absorb the impact.
There was a reason no one studied under him. The rumors of broken trainees and zero tolerance were entirely true.
And due to pure ignorance. Null had walked right into the impact.
'I really regret not checking his history first...'
[Master, do not worry,] Fantasy Omniscience chimed in smoothly. [Instructor Dhomnac is acutely aware of his limits. Despite his outward aggression, he does not exceed safe thresholds. Furthermore, His training intensity remains optimal for rapid adaptation to your current mana-awakened state.]
'Convenient for you,' Null thought dryly.
"Enough talk" Dhomnac turned toward a wall of weapon racks lined with swords, spears, and axes. "Choose. Today is going to be an eventful day."
Null stared at the rack, then at Dhomnac, and let out a heavy sigh. "Of course it is."
He walked over and pulled down a long spear. It was balanced, simple, and reliable. He tested its weight. "This will do."
Behind him, Dhomnac's predatory grin widened. "Good choice." He shifted his stance, and the air in the room suddenly tightened. "Now, show me what you actually learned out there."
Null exhaled slowly. His casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a quiet, razor-sharp focus. His grip tightened on the shaft.
"Alright," he murmured, a faint smirk touching his lips. "Let's try not to make this too one-sided."
Dhomnac's eyes flared with savage satisfaction. "Good. Come at me."
-
The first clash came and went before Null could even register his own movement. The only proof was a sharp, ringing impact, a violent shift in balance, and the sudden sight of the floor.
Hours blurred together. Morning bled into noon, and noon faded into a deep, heavy night.
By the time the moon climbed high above the Sanctum, Null collapsed flat on his back. His chest rose and fell in ragged, scraping gasps. His arms trembled violently, his fingers completely numb. The spear had long since clattered across the stone.
"I'm still alive, right?" he wheezed.
[Confirmed.]
"Good to know..."
He stared up at the flickering lights of the ceiling. Everything ached with a deep, thorough exhaustion that settled directly into his bones. It was a brutal ache, but it was the kind that promised rapid growth.
A massive shadow loomed over him. Commander Dhomnac stood unmoving, completely dry, and breathing steadily. The hours of brutal exertion had looked like a light warm-up to him.
Null stared up at him. "Monster."
Dhomnac's ears twitched. "I heard that."
"Good. It was meant to be heard."
Dhomnac crossed his arms. "That's enough for today."
Null let out a dry, ragged breath. "Today? It feels like a multi-day siege."
Dhomnac ignored the sarcasm. "You did well."
Null blinked slowly. "I'm sorry?"
"You improved faster than expected," Dhomnac said, his sharp eyes measuring the broken trainee. "You adapted to the pressure, corrected your stance mid-clash, and stopped overthinking your strikes. Your mana flow stabilized. More importantly, your metrics advanced to (F+)-rank."
Null lifted a weak hand toward the ceiling. "I did what?"
[(F+-rank) progression confirmed,] Fantasy Omniscience chimed in.
"Huh," Null muttered. "So that's why it felt like I was dying slightly less toward the end."
[Accurate.]
"Good to know the threshold for improvement is near-death."
Dhomnac looked toward the exit. "Because of that, you will take tomorrow off."
"I'm sorry? Instructor Dhomnac, Did you hit your head at some point during the paperwork?"
Dhomnac's tone remained flat. "Rest, recover, and return the day after. Consider it a reward."
Null turned his head slowly, his exhausted eyes full of suspicion. "This isn't a trap?"
"No."
"There's no hidden clause about extra training during the rest period?"
"No."
"You're not going to break into my room at dawn and call it a surprise session?"
Dhomnac stared down at him. "...No."
Null narrowed his eyes. "You hesitated."
"I did not."
"You definitely did."
Dhomnac turned away, his heavy boots echoing as he walked toward the door.
"Rest properly. Today's performance was acceptable."
"That's the highest praise I'm getting, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I feel truly honored."
Dhomnac stopped at the threshold. Without turning back, he added, "Next time, arrive early."
Null closed his eyes. "Of course." Because showing up on time was apparently a crime.
"And stop calling me 'teach.'" The heavy door clicked shut, cutting off the cold night air.
"Yeah, yeah. Teach," Null muttered with slight grudge.
He lay perfectly still for several minutes, letting his aching muscles settle into the stone floor. "Fantasy Omniscience-san."
[Yes, Master.]
"Remind me why I chose this path again?"
[To build strength and gain a foothold in this world.]
"Right. Next time, remind me to choose a path with significantly less suffering."
[Noted.]
-
Silence filled the training hall. Null didn't move. Hovering right between consciousness and complete shutdown,
He suddenly caught a soft, imperceptible sound.
The main door click-locked.
Null cracked his eyes open to see a girl with pure white hair and sky-blue eyes stepping into the room quietly.