CHAPTER 867 - 200.2 - NO TITLE

The dull thud of my foot meeting stone echoed through the training hall as my kick shattered the golem's core, sending its massive frame crumbling into dust. Another enemy neutralized. But even as I moved on to the next, my mind wasn't fully present.

My body responded automatically, weaving through the battlefield with practiced precision, striking at the weak points of each construct with ruthless efficiency. But my thoughts… they were still caught in the aftermath of Eleanor's evaluation.

'You've developed habits.'

I side-stepped a golem's massive fist, feeling the air pressure shift an instant before the impact landed. My blade slashed upward, severing its arm before it could retract.

'You've trained yourself to react to superior forces—not by clashing with them, but by adapting before they even press down on you.'

It wasn't a lie. In fact, it was probably one of the most accurate assessments anyone had made about me.

I had been subjected to many strong pressures before. Reina's was suffocating, a crushing force that threatened to break bones just by existing near her. Dakota's was sharp, precise, a pressure that cut through every layer of defense like a blade slipping through silk. There had been others, too—monsters, humans, beings that exuded power so suffocating it forced me to find ways to endure.

And yet, Eleanor's was different.

I pivoted, dodging another strike, then struck the golem's core in one fluid motion. It crumbled instantly, but I wasn't satisfied.

'Because you've learned to move around pressure rather than resist it, you've never fully tested your ability to withstand it.'

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