Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest



Chapter 975 226.1 - Future

The corridor leading to the changing rooms was quiet-blessedly so.

Astron stepped through the mana-scanned threshold, the door sealing behind him with a soft hiss. He didn't speak, didn't glance at the other lockers, most of which were unoccupied. His fingers moved automatically-cloak undone, gear stored in dimensional space, tunic peeled off with clinical efficiency. One by one, the layers

came away until only the low hum of cooling enchantments filled the space.

But his mind wasn't here.

It was still on the platform.

On the fight.

On her.

Julia Middleton.

He exhaled slowly, the faint warmth of exertion still clinging to his skin.

She's gotten better.

The illusion work had surprised him-not because of the concept itself, but because of the execution. It wasn't cast like traditional illusion spells. It wasn't projected with mana tags or visual refraction techniques.

It was built directly into her swordplay.

Woven.

A phantom edge layered into her movements-not artificial, but natural. Learned. Crafted.

That kind of adaptation didn't come from tutors or drills. It came from desire. From trial. From frustration.

Astron folded the inner layer of his tunic, eyes narrowing slightly.

She's evolving.

And not just physically.

To be frank, her swordsmanship had always leaned on brute dominance. Speed, power, bloodline-enhanced ferocity. The [White Tiger] style thrived on pressure- outpacing, outmuscling, outlasting. It wasn't built for subtlety. It didn't need it. But today?

Today, her rhythm changed. Her body slowed. Her instincts remained.

And that was what impressed him.

To fight like that-without her usual advantage-and still push that far...

That's the mark of a main cast.

He sat down on the bench near the far end of the room, running a towel across his arms, then the back of his neck.

Yes, he could have won.

If he'd revealed more, forced the tempo, used the deeper rhythms he'd crafted in silence and solitude...