The battlefield was silent, save for the crackling of dying fires and the groan of cooling metal. The red fog had vanished, replaced by the crisp, salt-tinged air of the coast. The Titans stood like ancient statues in the rubble—scarred, dented, but victorious.
Below them, the cadets and commanders had disembarked. They sat in a loose circle on a collapsed highway overpass, their exo-suits scuffed and covered in soot. The adrenaline was fading, leaving a heavy, bone-deep exhaustion in its place.
Kiko Andersson stood up, wiping a smear of Kaiju blood from her cheek. She looked toward the horizon for a moment before her eyes found Xavier. She walked over and gestured for him to follow her a few yards away from the group.
"Reyes," she said, her voice lacking its usual sharp edge.
Xavier looked up, his face bruised and his hair matted with sweat. "Yeah?"
"I watched your data on the HUD," she started, crossing her arms over her white-and-gold chest plate. "The way you fought that Red Army mech... and that Rank 1. You've grown. Fast. Most people with your output would have frozen the moment the neural link flickered. You didn't."
Xavier offered a tired, genuine smile. "I had a lot of motivation. And for the record, you're still as amazing as ever. That axe work? I'm glad we're on the same side today."
Kiko looked at him, her blue eyes scanning his face with an unreadable intensity. Xavier, feeling a bit awkward under her gaze, started to turn his head toward the rest of the squad. "Anyway, we should probably check on Mikhail—"
Before he could finish, Kiko's hand shot out. Her fingers gripped his chin firmly, forcing him to face her again. Xavier froze, his heart skipping a beat.
She didn't say a word. She simply stepped in close, rising onto her tiptoes.
The world seemed to stop as she pressed her lips against his. It was a brief, soft kiss, tasting of ozone and adrenaline. Xavier's brain short-circuited; his eyes widened, and his hands hovered in the air, completely unsure of what to do.
Kiko pulled back just as quickly as she had moved. She dropped from her toes, her expression returning to its usual stoic mask.
"Don't get a big head about it," she said coolly, adjusted her gloves. "It's a one-time thing. A 'thanks for not dying' tax."
She turned and walked back toward the Kingdom Come transports without looking back. Xavier stood there, utterly flabbergasted, his hand slowly rising to touch his lips. He was starstruck, his mind a chaotic mess of did that actually just happen?
◇◇◇◇
The return to the Blood Hound base was a blur of debriefings and medical checkups. Once they arrived, Will Rogers gathered the exhausted team in the main hangar.
"You did well," Will said, his voice unusually soft. "The rookies especially. Most cadets don't see a Rank 1 for three years. You saw one in your first week and lived to tell the tale. Go get some rest. You've earned your flowers."
As the recruits filtered out, Will stayed behind in the command center with Trevor. The technician was hunched over a holoscreen, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he analyzed the mission data.
"Will," Trevor said, his tone turning serious. "I was just looking at the biometric logs for the mission. Specifically Reyes."
Will leaned against the wall, lighting a cigar. "And?"
"It's the output, Commander. Look at the timeline." Trevor brought up a graph. "Before the entrance trials, Xavier was recorded at 0.0%. A literal blank. During the trials, he hit 2.0%. That was already weird. But I did a deep scan on him after he took down that Red Army mech today."
Trevor pointed to a spiking red line on the screen. "10.5%."
Will's eyes narrowed through the smoke. "A 8.5% jump in a single week? That's not just 'normal growth.' That's biologically impossible. Even the most gifted prodigies in the 1st Garrison only see a 1% or 2% increase after their first real combat experience."
"Exactly," Trevor nodded. "His body is adapting to mana at a rate that shouldn't be sustainable. He's becoming a powerhouse, but if this keeps up, he might burn out his nervous system before the year is over."
Will looked out the window at the dark hangar where Ghost was being repaired. "Keep a close eye on him, Trevor. Don't report this to HQ yet. If they find out we have a 'Zero' who's doubling his power every seven days, they'll take him away for 'research.' And I'm not losing my best kid to a lab."
Later that night, the base was silent.
Xavier stood in the communal bathroom, the harsh fluorescent lights humming overhead. He splashed cold water on his face, letting it drip into the sink as he stared at his reflection. His face was pale, and the dark circles under his eyes were prominent.
I survivedtoday, he thought, his hands gripping the porcelain edges of the sink. Butwhataboutnexttime?
He felt the absence of the System like a missing limb. There were no status windows to reassure him. No shop to buy upgrades. Just his own raw, unrefined mana and the memory of the "Kid Dynamite" moves he'd practiced.
"I need to focus," he whispered to the mirror. "I can't rely on a screen forever. I have to be enough on my own."
He closed his eyes, trying to feel the flow of the 10.5% output in his veins. It was like a wild river, powerful but dangerous. He had to learn to dam it, to direct it.
Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind—the sensation of Kiko's lips on his.
His face immediately turned bright red. He looked around the empty bathroom as if someone might have heard his thoughts.
"A pretty blonde," he muttered, a small, lopsided grin appearing on his face despite himself. "I actually got my first kiss from a Kingdom Come Ace."
He straightened his back, the panic that had been simmering in his chest finally beginning to cool. If he could survive a Rank 1 Kaiju, a Red Army Mech, and a kiss from Kiko Andersson all in one day, maybe he was stronger than he gave himself credit for.
"I can do this," he told his reflection. "System or no system."
He turned off the light and walked back to his bunk, unaware that deep within his subconscious, a violet progress bar was beginning to flicker.
[UPDATE: 50% COMPLETE...]