Jonah had expected the Ascended-rank seniors to leave, but Thanos simply stood there, a thoughtful expression on his face. The other students waited on his lead, their powerful auras a silent, pressing weight.

"I accept your decision to remain independent," Thanos said, his voice calm and steady. "It's a respectable choice. But rumors have a life of their own. They'll paint you as a monster, a miracle, or a fraud. It can be… distracting."

He offered a slight, knowing smile. "So, let's give them something real to talk about. A friendly demonstration. A wargame. To satisfy everyone's curiosity."

Jonah's gut tightened. This wasn't a request. It was a challenge, wrapped in a polite suggestion.

"What kind of demonstration?" Seraph's voice cut in from beside him, sharp as glass. She had appeared without a sound.

Thanos gave a slight bow. "Sergeant. Nothing dangerous. A test of skill, not strength. The Academy has a new holographic training chamber. I thought I might pilot one of the high-speed training drones. The goal isn't to destroy it, but to capture it."

It sounded simple. Jonah knew it wasn't.

________________________________________

Word traveled fast. By the time they reached the advanced training facility in the Academy's sublevels, a crowd had gathered. It wasn't the noisy, gossiping mob from before. This was a gallery of the elite – dozens of Bronze-Badge seniors, Group leaders, and even a few stern-faced instructors. They all wanted to see if the Headmaster's favorite could deliver.

The chamber was a massive, empty white room. Thanos walked to a control booth on one side while Jonah stepped onto a raised platform in the center.

"The simulation will be the Sunken City," Thanos's voice announced over the intercom, a teasing reminder of their last mission.

The white walls dissolved, replaced by a vivid holographic environment. Abandoned skyscrapers draped in moss rose from stagnant water, while a thick, unending mist cloaked everything in gloom.

"The rules are simple," Thanos explained. "I will pilot a Mark-IV training drone. It's equipped with a powerful, regenerating magic shield. Your task is to capture it, intact, within ten minutes. I, of course, will be doing my best to make that difficult."

A small, silver object appeared in the air. It was no larger than Jonah's fist, shaped like a metallic hummingbird. With a sharp, high-pitched whine, it launched into the air – zipping between ruined buildings and skimming low over the dark, stagnant water.

"Begin," the automated voice of the chamber declared.

Jonah knew this was a test. It was a test of what his power truly was. He started with what the others would expect. He summoned Nyx.

The Glimmer-Wing Striker appeared, Its iridescent feathers stood out sharply against the gloom. It let out a sharp cry and shot after the drone. The two blurs, one silver and one shimmering, engaged in a high-speed chase through the concrete canyons. But it was immediately clear Nyx was outmatched. The drone was simply faster, its movements too erratic. Nyx was a predator, but the drone was a machine with flawless, impossible reflexes.

A few students in the observation gallery scoffed. "Is that it? A fast bird?"

Jonah ignored them. Nyx was built to scout and strike. It wasn't built for this. He needed power. He dismissed Nyx and summoned Maul.

A collective gasp went through the gallery as the Rage-Hide Brute appeared, its massive size and fury making the air feel heavy.

"What is that thing?" someone whispered, barely able to look away.

"Break it," Jonah commanded, pointing at the silver blur.

Maul let out a deafening roar and charged. It was a force of pure destruction. But it was a clumsy one. The drone easily zipped around its grasping claws. Maul, in its frustration, smashed its fists into a crumbling building, sending a shower of holographic rubble into the water. It was powerful, but it was too slow, too destructive. This wasn't a fight of brute force.

"He can't control it," a warrior in the gallery murmured, shaking his head.

Jonah's jaw tightened. He dismissed Maul. Two minutes had passed. His conventional options had failed spectacularly. He was being judged, and he was failing.

He closed his eyes for a second, shutting out the holographic city and the judgmental stares from the gallery. He didn't need a faster bird or a stronger beast. He needed the right tool.

This isn't about power, he thought. It's about control. It's a different kind of fight.

He opened his eyes, his expression calm and focused. He summoned Specter.

The Phantom Weaver appeared silently at his side. The onlooking students squinted. They saw a distortion in the air, and then… nothing.

"Did it fail?" a student asked.

But Thanos, in his control booth, saw it on his sensor display. A new entity had appeared on the field, its energy signature a faint, ghostly whisper. His knuckles whitened on the controls.

Jonah didn't give a command. He didn't need to. He and Specter were connected on a deeper level. He simply shared his intent.

Anticipate. Capture.

Specter vanished, its True Invisibility skill making it a ghost. The drone continued its high-speed flight, its silver form a streak of light. Jonah, through Specter's eyes, saw the world in a hundred different ways at once. He saw the drone's current path, calculated its likely trajectory, and identified the perfect ambush point.

He gave the mental command. Now!!.

Specter used Phase Strike. It didn't fly; it simply teleported. It appeared for an instant in the air, directly in the drone's path, in a narrow gap between two leaning towers.

But it wasn't just Specter. Beside it, an identical, shimmering copy appeared – an Illusionary Decoy.

Thanos, reacting with incredible speed, swerved the drone hard to the right to avoid the first Specter. It was a flawless maneuver. But it was exactly what Jonah had been counting on.

The drone had dodged the illusion.

It flew directly into the path of the real Specter.

The Phantom Weaver didn't attack. Its limbs moved in a complex pattern. From its talons, a web of shimmering, dark energy erupted. It wasn't an attack spell; it was something else entirely. It looked like solidified shadow, and it wrapped around the drone in a heartbeat.

The drone's engines whined as it struggled, but the shadowy webbing held fast. It didn't do any damage, so the drone's powerful shield didn't even register it as a threat. It was simply caught. Trapped.

The clock in the corner of the chamber read: 6:47.

Jonah had won, with more than three minutes to spare.

He dismissed Specter, and the shadowy web dissolved, leaving the silver drone to land onto a concrete ledge.

In the observation gallery, there was dead silence. The students stared, their mouths slightly agape. They had seen Jonah's power before, but they had assumed it was all about creating monsters. They had just witnessed something else entirely.

They had witnessed a victory won not through power, but through intellect, stealth, and misdirection.

From the control booth, Thanos emerged. He wasn't angry or disappointed. He was looking at Jonah with a new level of respect.

"I see now," Thanos said, his voice loud enough for everyone in the gallery to hear. "Your power isn't a weapon, Jonah. It's a toolbox."

He met Jonah's gaze across the chamber, a genuine, impressed smile on his face. "And you just built the perfect tool for the job. Well played."