Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 982 228.2 Thoughts

"... What do you think separates someone like Victor from the rest of us?"

Astron didn't stop walking, but his gaze shifted slightly-just enough to show he'd heard. The question hung in the air a moment longer, like he was weighing its value.

Then, softly, he replied.

"Definition."

Ethan blinked, glancing sideways. "Definition?"

Astron nodded. "Most cadets train to be stronger. Faster. Better. But that pursuit is vague. Shapeless. Even when they improve, they don't know what they're improving toward."

His hands slid into his coat pockets as they walked.

"Victor doesn't have that problem. His strength is defined. Structured. Controlled. Every movement you saw in that duel wasn't just instinct or raw power-it was a philosophy. A law he obeys. And forces others to obey too."

Ethan frowned slightly, the memory of his spear veering off course still vivid. "You're talking about that order thing he had said."

"Yes," Astron said simply.

They continued walking, the echo of their footsteps folding neatly into the silence of the corridor.

Ethan's brows furrowed. "He said something... 'Restore the order,' right before my spear missed. That wasn't just a catchphrase. It did something. I felt it."

Astron gave a faint nod, his gaze now ahead-watching the hall stretch toward the training center, but his thoughts clearly elsewhere. "It wasn't a spell. Not in the way you or I cast them. It wasn't a technique either. What you saw..." he hesitated, only for a breath, "was a phenomenon."

Ethan looked over. "A phenomenon?"

"Mana doesn't act like that on its own," Astron said, calm and certain. "It doesn't redirect attacks mid-flight. It doesn't suppress psionic backlash without visible runes. It doesn't drain lightning as if it were steam pulled into a vent. That's not a skill or a technique. That's behavior. Environmental restructuring"

He let the weight of that settle before continuing.

"Victor spoke a phrase-and the world agreed with him."