SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 48: The Impulsive Ayra Sand!

The numerical display, already fried from trying to quantify the sheer lunacy of Daniel and Ayra’s power exchange, sparked and died.

With a final, deafening explosion, the pillar shattered. Not bent, not dented. It exploded outwards in a starburst of glittering adamantium shrapnel.

The crowd, already reeling, screamed and dove for cover.

Several nearby structures that had survived Ayra’s initial power-up now looked like they’d been hit by an artillery bombardment.

"Well," Roxa Rourke commented from behind an overturned equipment locker, calmly wiping fried food grease from her chin with the back of her hand.

"I think they voided the warranty on that one. And possibly the platform’s structural integrity."

Lia, looked towards the epicenter of the destruction, her calm grey eyes wide with a mixture of clinical fascination and profound alarm.

The sheer destructive output was beyond anything she had anticipated, even from two S-Grade talents. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

In the smoking crater where the pillar and much of the training field had once stood, Daniel and Ayra stood, panting, their fists still smoking.

The ground around them was a ruin of cracked plasteel and molten metal.

The wind, still howling from the force of their clash, whipped their hair around their faces.

Daniel felt... energized.

His A-Grade Phantom Edge Wraps had held up perfectly, channeling the force without a scratch, though his knuckles felt like they’d punched a small sun.

This was the kind of workout he’d been craving.Ayra, however, was swaying on her feet.

The power she had unleashed was immense, but her body, despite its S-Grade Berserker resilience, was clearly struggling to contain it.

"You... you actually... hit hard... for a... weed-clutcher," she gasped, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Then, with a soft sigh, her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the ground, her S-Grade power vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared. She was out cold.

The surrounding recruits stared in stunned silence. Ayra, the renowned S-Grade Berserker and pride of the White Lotus Clan, had just collapsed from overexertion following a ’duel’ with the Academy’s enigmatic statistical outlier.

Daniel winced. He genuinely hadn’t meant to push her that hard.

Lia was instantly at Ayra’s side, her hands glowing with a soft, emerald light as she began to channel her [Lifeweave Affinity].

"Severe internal energy backlash," Lia diagnosed calmly, her fingers tracing patterns over Ayra’s still form.

"She pushed her talent far beyond its current stable limits. She’ll recover, but she needs immediate stabilization."

Several female recruits, looking awed and terrified in equal measure, rushed forward to help Lia carefully lift Ayra.

"Take her to the advanced medical bay," Lia instructed, her voice regaining its usual composed authority. "I’ll join you shortly."

As they carried Ayra away, Lia turned to Daniel. He was still standing there, looking a little sheepish amidst the devastation.

He stumbled slightly, the adrenaline from the fight beginning to wear off, replaced by a deep-seated ache in his bones.

That final clash had been intense.

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Lia asked, her grey eyes scanning him with professional concern.

"You took the brunt of that final shockwave too."

"Peachy," Daniel grunted, rotating his shoulder. "Just... a little winded. It was an... enjoyable warm-up."

He tried for a casual grin, but it probably looked more like a pained grimace.

Lia raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Enjoyable. Right." She stepped closer, her hand glowing faintly. "Allow me."

Before he could protest, she placed her hand on his chest. A wave of cool, soothing energy flowed into him, easing the internal aches and the lingering heat from his Solar Flare Fist.

Her A-Grade healing was potent, far more refined than his own [Rapid Mend] skill.

"Thanks," Daniel said, genuinely grateful. "You’re good."

"It’s my function," Lia replied with a small, almost shy smile. "Perhaps you should get some rest as well.

And may I suggest a different method for acquiring bath herbs in the future?

"One that doesn’t involve unintentional spying or large-scale destructive fights?"

Daniel flushed slightly. "Point taken."

Lia nodded, then turned to follow the group carrying Ayra, leaving Daniel alone in the ruined training field.

He looked around at the destruction, the shattered pillar, the cracked ground, the terrified faces of the remaining onlookers and sighed.

This S-Grade power was going to make keeping a low profile extremely difficult.

His heart, however, was satisfied. He hadn’t used his SSS-Talent’s core absorption abilities, nor his A-Grade Kinetic Void Gauntlets, nor his full Earthquake Colossus Form.

His goal had been to test the raw, foundational power of his S-Grade Solar Flare Fist Art and his own rapidly increasing physical attributes against a genuine S-Grade close-combat specialist.

He discovered that, with careful effort, he could not only match but slightly surpass Ayra’s peak berserker state in raw power and endurance. The fight proved invaluable in helping him understand his own capabilities.

He returned to his dorm, the earlier awkwardness replaced by an unexpected sense of connection with the unconscious Ayra.

He reached his still-steamy, now slightly more ruined bathroom, and found his scattered SSS-grade body-tempering herbs.

The battle had definitely stimulated his body. Now was the perfect time for that soak.

He filled the tub, tossed in the herbs and sank into the steaming, golden-brown water. A deep, pervasive itch began almost immediately, spreading through his skin, his muscles, his very bones.

His cells felt like they were on fire, then being rebuilt, stronger, denser. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, more like an intense, full-body exfoliation from the inside out.

The power of the SSS-enhanced herbs, combined with his body’s post-battle receptiveness, was working wonders.

Overwhelmed by the sensation and the day’s exertions, Daniel fainted right there in the tub, his head lolling against the rim, a faint, contented smile on his face.

He woke with a start hours later, sometime in the dead of Platform Alpha’s simulated mid-night.

The water in the tub was cold, and a truly horrific, pitch-black. It stank like a swamp filled with regret and discarded gym socks.

"Ugh," Daniel groaned, hauling himself out. He felt... incredible. His muscles were sharply defined, harder than stone, yet incredibly flexible.

The impurities discharged into the bathwater were a testament to the deep cleansing and strengthening his body had undergone.

He felt a profound sense of gratitude to Ayra. That insane, apology-driven brawl had been the perfect catalyst for this body tempering.

She’d inadvertently done him a huge favor, even if she’d tried to use his face as a speedbag in the process.

She had inadvertently done him a significant favor, even if it involved trying to use his face as a punching bag in the process.

The next morning, the recruits gathered on the main training field, the one not currently resembling a meteor impact site.

Instructors, looking unusually grim, guided them into orderly lines.

Director Thorne arrived, his expression stormy. He walked to the center of the field, scanning the recruits before his gaze settled on the far end, where the shattered remains of the Adamantium Impact Pillar rested behind a barrier of hazard tape.

His voice, when it came, was a low, dangerous rumble that promised extra laps for everyone.

"Alright," Director Thorne began, his eye twitching slightly as he stared at the pillar’s grave.

"The Freshmen Impact Challenge will proceed as scheduled. However," he paused, taking a deep, calming breath that didn’t quite work.

"It appears one of our designated Impact Pillars has... prematurely retired. So, before we begin the official challenge..."

He turned, his gaze fixing on the crowd, a vein pulsing in his temple.

"WHO," he roared, his voice reverberating across the entire platform, making several recruits jump, "IN THE NAME OF THE SACRED STARGATE, DECIDED TO USE AN ADAMANTIUM PILLAR FOR SPARRING PRACTICE AND REDECORATE MY TRAINING FIELD?!"

Daniel, standing near the back, tried to look as subtle as possible, whistling innocently.

This was going to be a long day.