CHAPTER 32: A CLEAR OBSERVATION

The next day, Ren woke up to the blaring sound of an alarm. It wasn’t his, nor Botan’s, nor Isamu’s. It was the apartment’s alarm.

It only rang once, but that was enough to push him awake and make him sit upright in bed.

"What in the world? Is there an emergency?" Ren muttered in confusion.

He didn’t know what was happening so he jumped out of bed, slipped on his ZEAL jacket, grabbed his sheathed katana, and hurried downstairs.

Ren’s mind raced in panic. His thoughts swirled with, Are we under attack? Is someone invading the ward? Are the Shikkoku on the move?

But when he reached the first floor, all he saw was Botan and Isamu laughing while putting on their boots.

"Yo! Good morning, Ren!" Botan greeted.

"What’s happening? Are we under attack?" Ren asked, still in panic.

The two exchanged a glance and went silent for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Huh? What’s so funny?" Ren asked, completely baffled.

"Yo, yo, yo," Botan said, trying to stop laughing. "Oh man, I can’t stop laughing! Isamu, tell him."

"Cut the new guy some slack." Isamu said, smacking the back of Botan’s head. "First off, there’s no emergency. Second, we’re not under attack. This happens in every squad 7 apartment. Every morning at 6 a.m, an alarm goes off to wake everyone up. Most of us are already awake by then though."

"Oh, so that’s all it was huh?" Ren said with a sigh. "Pretty misleading for a new guy like me though."

"Yeah, we forgot to tell you last night." Botan said. "Sorry for startling you. But remember this, if the alarm stops after five seconds, it’s just a wake up call. If it keeps going, that means an invasion or something serious."

Ren nodded as he matched Botan’s serious look.

"Anyway," Botan added with a smile. "Since it’s just the morning alarm, and you’re already awake, you’re coming to watch us train, right?"

"Yeah. You better give it your all out there." Ren said with a smile.

He followed Botan and Isamu toward the training grounds. The ward in the early morning was calm and quiet and most people were still asleep. A light fog hung in the air, not thick enough to block vision, but just enough to make the air feel cool and peaceful.

As they walked, more squad members joined in, their small group of 3 people started growing slowly as the chatter got louder with each new person.

It’s getting noisier now, huh? Ren thought.

After a few more minutes, they reached the training grounds where Shin was already waiting for them.

The training grounds were exactly what one would expect, an open space about the size of a basketball court. There were no seats, no polished flooring, just bare dirt.

At the center stood the sparring platform, a rectangle shaped cement roughly 32 feet wide and 48 feet long. It was raised a meter off the ground, with no ropes or barriers, just an obvious stage for combat.

"Yo! Glad you could make it. Ready to see how we train?" Shin greeted with a smile.

"Well, with an alarm like that, I don’t think missing it was even possible." Ren replied.

Shin chuckled. "Yeah, fair point. Anyway, take it easy. We don’t have any seats here, so unless you mind a little dirt, you can just sit on the ground."

"Don’t worry about me." Ren said as a faint smile formed at his lips. "Just being able to watch you guys train is more than enough of an honor."

Shin stepped onto the sparring platform and clapped his hands once. The sound cracked through the morning air, and as if it were a signal ingrained into their bones, the gathered members lined up in perfect order before him.

There were more people than Ren expected. The total would be around 40 members, all wearing ZEAL’s signature jackets. Squad 7 had clearly grown in size since taking in the remnants of the Raging Waters. Counting those currently stationed on guard duty and the ones in front of him, their total manpower had to be somewhere between 50 to 60 members.

"We’ll stick to the usual routine, then move straight into sparring. Go!" Shin commanded.

At his word, the members went into motion.

Ren blinked in surprise, no one was using their Drive Core abilities. The training was purely physical. Calisthenics, partner hand to hand drills, and steady running laps around the grounds. It was simple, but disciplined.

Shin wasn’t just there to yell out orders from the sidelines, he was right there in the dirt with the rest of them, training just as hard as anyone else.

Hmm, judging from their movements. Ren thought as he observed the drills. I’d say most of the awakened guys, excluding Shin, are around 4 star level on average. Probably about 25 of them are. Even without seeing their Drive Core abilities in action, he could pick out who had that aura and who didn’t.

For the next hour, Ren stayed quietly at the edge of the training grounds as his eyes followed every motion. The most surprising part for him wasn’t the lack of Drive Core usage, it was their partner work. They cycled through different martial arts styles such as Grappling, kickboxing, takedowns, jiujitsu. And they didn’t just practice, they had above average mastery of them all.

Even without throwing a single punch himself, Ren could feel his eyes growing sharper as his mind absorbed the mechanics hidden in each movement.

After an hour, sweat dripped from their bodies freely as the squad readied themselves for sparring.

They were given a five minute break before the matches began.

"So? What do you think of our training regimen?" Shin asked as he sat down beside Ren with a smile.

"I’m learning a lot just from watching." Ren replied. "I think I’ve picked up most of the martial arts you guys are using. And honestly, I think even the non awakened members here could hold their own against low level awakened fighters."

"Right? These guys are all top tier. Everyone in this squad has their role." Shin said proudly.

But this guy.....

Shin glanced at Ren from the corner of his eye. I can’t believe he can already tell awakened from non awakened just by watching.

The five minute break ended in the blink of an eye. No one complained as every member was already gleaming with anticipation for the sparring matches.

Shin stepped onto the center of the platform, his presence alone pulled all eyes toward him.

"I won’t be participating in today’s sparring session." he announced. "I’ll pick the matchups at random, so be ready for anything!"

A wave of cheers and relieved laughter broke out. To them, Shin sitting out was the same as being spared from certain destruction.

"Nice! I might actually be able to fight at my best without getting flattened in the first ten seconds!" Botan grinned.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Isamu laughed.

But fate was like a comedian and decided otherwise.

"Botan. Isamu. You two are up first." Shin called out.

"Oh no," the two muttered in perfect unison.

"You know the rules." Shin continued. "No serious injuries. If one of you is knocked down, you stop. Got it?"

Both men nodded, though their faces said they’d rather be anywhere else than spar against each other.

Isamu and Botan squared off, their eyes locked against each other, and their muscles tensed up awaiting Shin’s signal.

Shin raised his hand, then brought it down. "Begin!"

Isamu burst forward in a blur as drive core energy crackled faintly around his limbs. Botan didn’t flinch, he simply waited, calm and still.

Isamu dropped low, his body twisting into a sweeping right uppercut aimed straight for Botan’s chin. Botan bent backward at the last moment as the strike sliced through empty air.

Without letting his competitor recover, Isamu spun into a sweep kick. Botan’s feet left the ground in a graceful backflip, landing just out of reach.

Ren narrowed his eyes from the sidelines. Why isn’t Botan using his drive core ability?

Isamu suddenly stomped the ground, scattering loose rubble. He lashed out with a kick, sending a chunk of stone rocketing toward Botan.

Botan sidestepped, his calm expression breaking into a faint smirk. In the same breath, he dashed in low, sliding under Isamu but Isamu tried to crush him with a downward stomp.

Then suddenly, a pillar of water surged from Botan’s right, slamming into Isamu’s temple. The impact sent him crashing into the ground as the force scattered droplets in the air like rain.

But Isamu wasn’t finished. He went back up on his feet and began circling Botan at high speed as his boots kicked up clouds of dust.

Botan’s eyes narrowed. A swirling pillar of water erupted around him, forming a moving shield that kept Isamu at bay.

Yet Isamu didn’t falter. He kept moving, faster and faster, knowing that no barrier could hold forever. Sure enough, faint tremors rippled through the watery wall, its surface shivering like it was about to collapse.

The instant an opening appeared, Isamu dashed in, spinning into a tornado kick. Botan sidestepped as a second water pillar shot up from the ground in retaliation.

But Isamu twisted in midair, his body spinning as he slammed a punch straight into Botan’s chest. The force was powerful enough to send Botan flying off the platform.

But then Isamu fell into a trap as another water pillar exploded from the ground beneath and blasted him clear out of bounds.

"Tie!" Shin’s voice echoed.

"Haha! That’s why I hate fighting Botan. He’s way too good at setting traps."

"Aww, come on. Isamu’s just too good at fighting!"

Both muttered as they lay on the dirt with smiles painted on their faces.

I get it now. Ren thought. That’s not just clever, it’s efficient. If you can dodge without using your drive core ability, you save energy for when it really counts, like setting traps. And Isamu, his instincts are sharp. He doesn’t rely only on his drive core ability. His physical enhancements work perfectly with his natural fighting sense, making him even more dangerous.

Ren’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he studied them both.

Shin couldn’t help but look at him from the platform with a smile. That guy looks like he’s actually learning from this.

"Next up! Riku and Minato." Shin called out.

Riku stepped onto the stage first, his muscles were huge, and with a face and ears covered in piercings, he shouted to hype himself up.

Minato followed, walking slowly and gracefully. His long orange hair swayed in the breeze, and his amber eyes caught the morning sun, glowing faintly as his slender frame stood calm and unshaken before his opponent.

"Begin!" Shin yelled.

Like Isamu, Riku’s drive core only boosted his physical abilities, but his kickboxing skills were nothing to underestimate. He charged forward, aiming a drive core infused right cross.

But in a split second, Minato spun and landed a spinning backfist, sending Riku rolling backward before he regained his footing.

Riku moved to charge again, only to realize his feet were bound by green, thorny branches.

"Tch! I’ve been caught," Riku muttered. "It’s over."

Minato dashed in, ready to land a devastating axe kick, but Shin stepped in. "Alright! That’s enough. Minato wins!"

"Whoo, I really thought I was done for." Riku said with relief.

"Don’t worry," Minato replied with a genuine smile, tapping Riku’s shoulder. "I wasn’t going to land that anyway."

Shin glanced toward Ren and noticed him completely shocked by the match’s result.

So? What do you think of Minato? Pretty good, right? After all, he used to be the vice captain of Raging Waters. Shin thought with a smile.

Meanwhile, Ren’s eyes stayed on Minato. "That guy, he’s strong." he muttered.