Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 985 229.3 - Anomaly

The door sealed behind Ethan with a soft hiss, leaving only Eleanor and Astron in the training hall's quiet. The low ambient hum of mana regulators pulsed steadily in the background, a constant rhythm-unlike the silence that now stretched between them.

Eleanor didn't speak immediately.

She watched him for a moment-how he stood, not tense, not relaxed, simply still. The kind of stillness that came from someone always measuring, always processing.

Her voice broke the silence, calm and level.

"I watched your duel with Julia."

Astron didn't blink. His gaze remained steady. "I assumed."

"I wasn't the only one," she added, stepping forward slowly, hands clasped behind her back. "But I doubt anyone else saw what I did."

He didn't respond-just waited.

"I've seen plenty of students adapt to pressure. Many can copy patterns, borrow forms, even mimic techniques. But that isn't what you did."

Eleanor stopped a few paces in front of him, her eyes meeting his directly.

"You weren't mimicking. You were comprehending."

Astron's brow twitched.

She continued, her voice low. "When you fought Julia... you held back. But not because you were unsure. You were experimenting. You were learning the blade in real time."

Another step forward.

"And your body responded like it already knew how to use it."

She let the words settle.

Then, with the kind of precision that cut deeper than most blades, she asked: "Do you want to learn the sword?"

Astron's eyes sharpened slightly. His eyebrows lifted-just a fraction-but enough.

His head tilted, that subtle, familiar gesture of quiet scrutiny. "Why would I?"

A fair question. His tone wasn't dismissive. Just... curious. He didn't move. Didn't deny. Just waited for her logic.

Eleanor exhaled softly through her nose. "You're not a swordsman. That much is true. Your class is registered as Daggerist, with a secondary in Archery."

She paused, watching for a reaction.

"And yet... the Archery class wasn't present at the start of the semester, was it?" His gaze narrowed, slightly.

"I checked the records," she said. "You registered your Archer class late. After the first month."

A beat.

Astron didn't hide it. He gave a small nod. "Correct."