Once Albedo was done experiencing the raw power upgraded he had received, he quickly exhaled, the air shimmering with residual heat as he spoke.

"Training Room," he said aloud, his voice firmer than before. "Initiate Combat Simulation: Difficulty - High Gold. Let's see what I'm capable of now."

The training room responded with a hum, the array beneath the floor sparking to life. Pillars of light flared at the edges of the chamber as thick runes spun in a spiral across the stone floor, forming a triangular combat grid.

Reality twisted and with a roar of static and heat, three different monsters materialized with glowing rings for Albedo to battle.

The first was a Stonehide Tyrant - A twelve foot tall juggernaut of mineral flesh, glowing with lava-like cracks and armed with spiked gauntlets.

The second was a Gale Serpent - A long and sinuous snake formed of semi-transparent winds, with scales flickering in and out of site as the serpent drifted through the air like a phantom.

The third was a Bloodhowl Reaper - A lithe, humanoid monster draped in writhing tendrils of living blood. The monster's eyes were a hollow crimson, and its claws were sharper than enchanted steel.

Each of them were High Gold Rank, and would cause the previous Albedo lots of troubles to try to match in battle, making them perfect test subjects to see just how much he improved.

"ROARRR!"

The Tyrant roared as it led the assault, the ground shattering beneath its weight as it lunched with a stone fist the size of a battering ram.

Albedo didn't move until the last second, and when he did move, he just vanished.

No teleportation. Just pure speed.

The Stonehide's strike collided with air, sending cracks through the reinforced floor. But Albedo was already above it, upside-down in mid-air, eyes glowing.

"Graviton Mode."

He snapped his hand to the side, and Havoc materialized in a burst of crimson light. With a sharp mechanical click, the runes around the barrel rotated, locking into Graviton Mode.

~BOOM!~

The shot exploded downward, embedding into the Tyrant's shoulder and causing gravity to wrap around it, increasing the pressure around it like it was 10x heavier.

"ROOARRR!" The Tyrant roared in pain as it was barely able to stand, its joints cracking under the pressure as Albedo laid on shot after shot.

The Tyrant tried to swig and hit Albedo, but all it caught was another Mirage. Albedo laid on shot after shot onto the Tyrant, and just when the Tyrant was firmly on the back foot, he unleashed another spell.

"Crimson Hex!"

He casted, and a blazing formation appeared on the ground. Chains of pure Crimson Apocalypse Flames erupted and captured the Stonehide Tyrant by every single limb.

Then, a massive pillar erupted beneath the Tyrant, incinerating it until only ash remained.

~SHING~SHING!~

Just as Albedo had finished off the Tyrant, some wind blades erupted towards him, but all these blades hit were mirages created by Albedo's Gift, as he was already gone.

The Gale Serpent had coiled in from the side, trying to attack him as it launched a vortex of compressed slicing wind, the blades invisible and razor thin.

Albedo had reappeared on the other side of the training room, and raised his hand, mana flooding through his widened veins as he cast another spell,

"Incineration Wall."

~BOOM!~

A curtain of fire erupted in front of him, blazing ferociously as the wall clashed with the wind...and completely dominated it.

The gale exploded in a burst of steam as the serpent screamed and flew toward him, but Albedo just raised Havoc and Ruin once more, both of them in Infernal Mode as he fired.

~BANG~BANG!~

The guns hissed as they unleashed molten spires of crimson apocalypse flames directly towards the Serpent.

~BOOM~BOOM!~

The Infernal shots connected mid-air, causing an immense explosion that shook the entire training room, heat surging through the entire chamber as the Gale Serpent wailed, its incorporeal body losing cohesion as the crimson apocalypse flames consumed it rapidly and ferociously.

The Serpent flailed continuously, and then burst into wind, dissipating.

TWO DOWN!

Then, Albedo vanished into flames, reappearing across the room just in time to dodge a slash from the Bloodhowl Reaper that was behind him,

"Too slow," Albedo said coldly.

The Reaper hissed and began to flicker again, vanishing into the shadows as tendrils of blood licked across the floor in its take. Its presence was like a phantom's breath, a predator sliding between the veils of light.

But Albedo's eyes narrowed, and a smirk tugged at his lips. He raised Havoc in his left hand and Ruin in his right, both glowing faintly, then both barrels rotated at once.

"Graviton Mode, Dual sync."

~CLICK!~

The world pulsed for just a moment and a shimmer passed through the ground as Albedo directly fired into the air, seemingly at nothing.

~BOOM~BOOM!~

Two shots screamed upward, then bent mid-air, curving as if pulled by a magnetic storm.

The Reaper reappeared from behind a broken rune-pillar, lunging toward Albedo's blind side with both claws raised for a lethal strike—

But the Graviton bullets struck first, one slamming into its chest, the other into its knee.

The impact immediately crushed the Reaper downwards.

~CRACK!~

The Reaper hit the ground like a ragdoll under a mountain, embedded into the floor as its own weight quintupled under the gravitational field Albedo conjured. Its claws scraped uselessly at the stone, body pinned.

"Struggling?" Albedo asked coolly, stepping closer, "You should've stayed in the shadows."

The Reaper hissed, then shrieked. Its body twisted grotesquely as the blood tendrils began to harden into spikes, desperately trying to impale Albedo with a last-ditch suicidal counter.

Albedo raised both guns again.

"Infernal Mode."

The runes around the barrels rotated once more, smoke hissing from the runes etched along their sides.

"Crimson Crucible."

A spell and a shot combined a he fired them off simultaneously.

~BOOM~BOOM!~

The first shot detonated just above the Reaper, creating a dome of compressed apocalypse flame, like a kiln forged in the breath of the sun. The second shot passed into the dome, detonating inside.

What followed was a shriek of such intensity, the walls of the training room rattled, and then silence. The dome collapsed into cinders, revealing only scorched ground and glowing ash.

Three down.

Before Albedo could speak, the floor pulsed again, bright gold.

[ Additional Combatants Incoming. ]

[ Difficulty Scaling: High-Gold. Spawning Two New Targets. ]

Albedo's eyes lit up with anticipation, "More already? Good. I'm not finished testing."

Twin pulses of energy surged at either side of the room, and two new monsters materialized from the light.

The first creature was Volcrak, the Flame-Eater, a hulking beast covered in obsidian chitin and magma plates, a walking volcano with a maw of molten fangs.

The second creature was an Aetherborn Strix, a creature of light and distortion, formed from fragmented mirrors and lenses, its body refracting reality like a shattered prism.

The Flame-Eater bellowed, opening its mouth and spewing a wave of superheated flame across the chamber all the while the Strix floated upward, firing beams of light infused with mana that bent angles and direction like heat haze, aiming to burn through Albedo's vision and distort his perception.

Albedo responded with a grin and outstretched both hands.

"Mana-Drain Mode."

Havoc and Ruin rotated once more, runes pulsing as the air began to hum.

~CRACK!~

He quickly fired two shots, one toward the ground in front of the Flame-Eater's wave, and another directly through the light barrage.

The moment the Mana-Drain bullets made contact, they exploded into swirling vortexes, vacuum fields that absorbed the elemental energy directed at him.

The flame washed over the vortex and vanished into spiraling particles, sucked clean while the light beams bent toward him, but the vortex absorbed them too, shattering the illusions.

His mana surged as the stolen energy flowed back into his core.

"Thanks," Albedo muttered, "I needed a top-up."

He vanished again, speed breaking the sound barrier as he closed the distance to the Strix first.

The floating creature fired rapid pulses of distortion, but Albedo's widened mana veins and dragon reflexes let him glide through them like they were slow-motion.

~BOOM!~

He had already swapped Ruin to Graviton, firing a fierce slug to pin the Strix in place.

~BOOM!~

And using Infernal round from Havoc to destabilize its core.

Then, Albedo blurred forward, appearing just above the now-trembling Strix.

He extended a hand. Magic spiraled between his fingers.

"Dragonfire Lance."

A spear of swirling crimson-blue flame formed in his palm, coiling and spinning with destructive force, and he hurled it down directly at the Strix.

~SKREEEEEEEEE!!~

The lance impaled the Aetherborn midair, erupting in a massive explosion of flame and light. The monster flickered once, then split apart like glass, dissolving into fractured shards of mana and silence.

Only Volcrak remained, the beast roaring as its body swelled with immense heat, preparing another nova burst to take Albedo down.

Howeverm Albedo had already moved. His hands rotated Havoc and Ruin again.

"Graviton."

The first two shots struck the ground beneath Volcrak, pinning it in place.

"Infernal."

Two more shots, directly into the shoulders, weakening its lava channels.

"Mana-Drain."

Final two shots to the head and chest, draining its flame reserves, stealing the heat from its furnace.

Volcrak stumbled.

Albedo dashed forward.

And activated Execution Mode.

The pistols merged again, forming the long-barreled rifle. Crimson glyphs spun around the barrel, whispering in Draconic. He didn't hesitate.

"Ignis. Kalthur. Braxion."

The dragon tongue surged power into the core of the weapon, making his Execution bullets even stronger.

Albedo fired, each round causing immense damage like flaming comets of pure ruin.

The first struck Volcrak in the leg, breaking it.

The second in the arm, blasting it clean off.

The third tore into the chest.

And the final shot? Right between the eyes.

Volcrak didn't even have time to roar.

It simply fell.

The simulation shattered in a prism of light.

Albedo lowered the weapon as it disassembled once more, his chest rising and falling slowly.

No pain. No exhaustion. Only heat. Steady, calm and restrained. Now, everything felt so incredibly easy.

He looked at his hands again. He had just destroyed five High Gold threats, one after another, and not once had he lost control. Not once had he needed backup, he didn't even take a single hit.

His aura pulsed outward just slightly, and the flame runes carved into the walls flickered, bending in reverence.

And for a moment, even the enchanted room seemed to pause, acknowledging what now lived inside him.

The boy was gone.

What stood in his place… was something greater.

A Sovereign in the making.

A Dragon cloaked in human skin.