The days that followed settled into a new demanding routine for Ray.

In the morning, Ray was a silent fixture in Master Devasena's "Advanced Strategic Theory" class. The class was less a lecture and more a strategic war game, with the stern professor acting as a merciless opponent, deconstructing her students' arguments with the precision of a naval blockade.

Today’s topic was the disastrous Battle of the Weeping Plains, a textbook example of an Eldorian defeat at the hands of Valorian knights.

“The historical consensus,”

Master Fonseca stated, her voice cutting through the hall,

“is that the Eldorian Third Legion collapsed due to a critical failure in their supply lines. A logistical blunder. Simple. Obvious. And wrong.”

A senior student from a prominent noble house offered a counter-theory, which Master Fonseca dismantled in three sentences. It was then that Robert raised a hand, his expression one of polite, academic curiosity.

“Master,”

he began, his voice smooth and confident,

“we are assuming the supply lines were the objective. But what if the Valorian attack on them was not the primary assault, but merely the feint, designed to draw the legion’s reserves away from the main pass?”

Master Fonseca’s sharp eyes held a flicker of approval.

“A sound tactical observation, Advocate Brando. Continue.”

Robert nodded, but then he turned, his gaze falling directly on Ray, who had remained silent in the back. A challenging, friendly smile touched his lips.

“An excellent point, Master. But what if the Valorian supply lines were not the primary target, but merely the feint? Initiate Croft, with your unique perspective on unorthodox strategies, what are your thoughts?”

The entire class turned to look at Ray. He had been put on the spot, a deliberate and public test. The Scheming Courtier in his mind gave a silent, appreciative nod at the clever political maneuver.

Ray stood, his expression calm.

“Senior Brando's point about a feint is sound,”

he began, his voice clear and even,

“but it assumes the Valorian goal was purely military.”

He paused, letting his words sink in before delivering his counter-analysis.

“What if the target wasn't the legion at all, but the kingdom's morale? The supply lines weren't the feint; the entire battle was. They sacrificed a small, aggressive scouting force to create a public and humiliating narrative of Eldorian weakness. The real attack wasn't on the battlefield; it was on the northern grain markets, causing a panic that benefited their secret trade partners in Solara. The real battlefield wasn't the plains; it was the ledgers.”

A stunned silence fell over the lecture hall. Ray’s analysis wasn't just tactical; it was geopolitical, economic, and psychological. Robert’s smile widened, this time with a look of genuine, impressed surprise. He had expected a clever move in chess; Ray had revealed the entire board.

Master Devasena stared at Ray, her stern expression unreadable. After a long moment, a look of grudging, undeniable admiration appeared in her eyes.

“An… adequate assessment, Initiate Croft,”

she said, her highest form of praise.

“Continue.”

The rivalry was set. The intellectual sparring had begun.

In the afternoon, Ray would mentor Eliza. Her Lie Detection skill was growing stronger, and Ray with the help of the Gritty Detective would guide her through exercises in the bustling common rooms, teaching her to filter the noise and focus on a single target. Her ability to deconstruct the lies behind the polite masks of her fellow Statecraft students was becoming a formidable asset for analyzing the political currents of the academy.

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In the evening, he trained with Rina. She was becoming remarkably proficient in the Flowing Shadow Technique, her movements losing their hesitation and gaining a fluid confidence. Seeing her progress, Ray made a strategic decision, imparting the Stoic Assassin's Marksmanship (Thrown Objects) skill to her, making her a more versatile operative capable of neutralizing threats from a distance.

And late at night, his solo training would begin. He used the Tactical Replication Protocol to spar against the library of opponents he had gathered. At his current proficiency, he was focusing on the initiate-level fighters and spell casters. The goal was no longer just to survive, but to win with absolute efficiency, using each fight as a laboratory to master his own Art of Transience and its proactive, devastating The Fulcrum Principle.

In one such simulation, the hologram of a burly "Valor Initiate - Brawler Style" charged him. Instead of simply evading, Ray used The Fulcrum Principle, and caused the brawler hologram to stumble, Ray flowed in and delivered a single, precise Anatomical Strike to a nerve cluster in its neck, ending the fight in under five seconds.

[SIMULATION COMPLETE: VICTORY]

[PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: ADEPT]

[ANALYSIS: Host successfully neutralized a standard opponent with absolute efficiency. The proactive use of The Fulcrum Principle to create an opening, followed by a flawless Anatomical Strike for a non-lethal takedown, demonstrates a high level of mastery over the foundational principles of The Art of Transience. Standard Mastery Gain awarded.]

[MASTERY GAIN: Tactical Assessment +15%, Anatomical Strike +10%.]

[MASTERY CAPSTONE REACHED: 'Tactical Assessment' at 100%.]

[You have transcended mimicry and achieved true artistry in this skill.]

Ray read the final lines of the notification, a flicker of keen anticipation in his chest. He waited, expecting the second notification to follow the one confirming that the Understudy Protocol had leveled up, just as it had when he'd reached the capstone for Precision Engraving.

He waited.

The silence in the room stretched, and the glowing blue text faded from his vision, leaving only the quiet dark. The second notification never came.

A wave of disappointment, sharp and unexpected, washed over him. His initial theory was wrong.

Scholar: “Hypothesis invalidated, the previous event (maxing out Precision Engraving) and the current event (maxing out Tactical Assessment) both resulted in a capstone, but only the former triggered a protocol upgrade. The variable is not the capstone itself. The variable must be the type of skill, or the requirements are more complex than initially projected.”

The Eccentric Scholar theorized. Ray let out a slow, frustrated sigh. It seemed that simply mastering a skill wasn't the key. The system's deeper mechanics were still a mystery to him. His frustration shifted from the outcome to the lack of clear rules. He decided to stop guessing and ask the system directly.

System, what are the specific requirements to upgrade the Understudy Protocol?

[QUERY DENIED. THE REQUESTED INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED ABOVE YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM ACCESS LEVEL.]

Instead of an answer, the system delivered a response he had never seen before, a cold, bureaucratic denial.

Ray froze. His frustration was instantly replaced by a jolt of pure, shocked curiosity. Access level?

The Eccentric Scholar analyzed its voice as a torrent of manic, academic glee.

Scholar: “Fascinating! A tiered information system! Our hypothesis that the system was a flat, open-source entity was fundamentally flawed! This isn't a failure, boy; it's new data! A variable we hadn't accounted for! An unsolvable puzzle with hidden rules! Oh, the sheer, beautiful elegance of it! We must understand its parameters!”

Fueled by the Eccentric Scholar's manic curiosity, Ray immediately posed a new, more fundamental question.

System, what is my current system access level?

[CURRENT SYSTEM PHASE: POST-TUTORIAL (OPERATIONAL STAGE 1). ACCESS LEVEL: HOST.]

The system provided a title that was both informative and frustratingly vague, confirming he was no longer a trainee but not yet a master.

Host. The word was not a title of command, but of function. Armed with this new, lowly designation, Ray tried to find the path forward.

What are the requirements to reach the next access level?

[QUERY DENIED. THE REQUESTED INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED ABOVE YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM ACCESS LEVEL.]

He hit the same impenetrable wall, confirming that the path itself was a secret he had not yet earned the right to walk. Ray sat in the quiet of his training room. His earlier frustration about his training was gone, replaced by a new, deeper, and more profound mystery. He understood now that he was not the master of his own power, but merely its most privileged user. He had a new, long-term goal: not just to get stronger, but to earn the right to understand the very nature of the gift that had defined his new life.

He forced himself to stop, taking a deep, centering breath. The Grizzled Veteran's voice was a low growl in his Ambient Presence.

Veteran: "When you can't see the enemy, you fortify your own position."

The old soldier was right. If the path to understanding the system was blocked, he would focus on the path he could control: his own combat readiness. His mind shifted back to his last training sessions, to the exhilarating feeling of his new The Fulcrum Principle. He replayed the simulations, but this time, he wasn't looking at his successes; he was searching for the flaws.

Scholar: "A methodology reliant on external, uncontrolled variables is inherently inefficient! Your 'Principle' requires the environment to provide you with tools. What happens when the environment is an empty, barren room? Your art fails."