I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1264: Drill Over

The arena shifted as the next combat drill began. The fifth group leader stepped forward.

It was Kade.

He wasn't tall. He didn't have an imposing build or a striking presence at first glance. His frame was average, his posture straight but unassuming, his expression calm and unreadable.

If someone passed him in a corridor, they might never guess what he carried inside him.

But the ground subtly reacted to his presence.

Kade's ability was destructive force control. Not raw explosions or uncontrolled bursts, but a precise, crushing energy that manifested wherever his power flowed.

Anything he touched while channeling it could be compressed, fractured, or erased entirely, as if the space within the object collapsed inward. Metal folded like clay, stone crumbled into dust. Even reinforced barriers failed in seconds if he applied enough focus.

It wasn't flashy. It was terrifying because of how clean it was.

Once, Kade had been an average soldier. He was a dependable and quiet man, and forgettable in a crowd. Then his power awakened fully when the Magic assimilated inside his body and everything changed. Now, among all the candidates, only Roland rivaled him in sheer destructive potential.

The four remaining candidates stepped into position across from him.

Their expressions were tense.

They were part of Kade's squad. They knew exactly what he could do. They had trained beside him, watched reinforced targets vanish under his hands, felt the pressure ripple through the ground when he lost focus for even a second.

Kade had never abused his power. Never lashed out. Never acted cruelly.

But he was cold when he was in a battle. Efficient and silent.

That made people wary of him in a different way than Roland, whose easy grin and loud confidence softened the fear he inspired.

Kade glanced at his squad and offered a small, reassuring smile.

"Don't worry," he said evenly. "I won't use excessive force."

The four candidates exhaled almost in unison.

"Thank gods," one muttered.

"Yeah… let's just get this over with," another whispered.

Above the arena, Erend, Adrien, and Billy leaned toward Jessica as she brought up Kade's profile on her tablet. Data streams and combat simulations flickered across the screen.

"He has destructive force manifestation," Jessica said. "Localized spatial compression. Anything he actively channels into collapses instantly if he meant it."

She swiped, showing comparison charts and recent logs.

"After the encounter with the Storm God's avatar that time he increased his training intensity. His control improved by forty percent and his output by nearly twenty."

Billy whistled low. "That's… yeah. That's scary."

Adrien nodded. "Impressive, though. Really impressive."

Erend's gaze stayed on Kade below. His expression remained thoughtful.

"Power like that can be dangerous," he said slowly. "What about his attitude under pressure?"

Jessica didn't hesitate. "It was stable. He was responsible. He has strong leadership traits. He doesn't abuse his power and actively restrains himself. His squad trusts him… when they are not on the receiving end of his power."

Adrien smiled faintly. "Then that's good enough."

Below, Kade took his stance.

The air around him felt heavier. The drill began.

"Alright. Start!" Adrien's sound reverberated.

The signal sounded sharp and clean. The first opponent stepped forward without hesitation.

He was a fire user, flames already licking along his forearms as heat shimmered around his body. His stance was aggressive, his feet planted wide. His shoulders squared as embers drifted upward with every breath he took.

Fire pooled around his fists, compressed and refined, a clear sign of solid control rather than reckless output.

Kade didn't move. He watched calmly.

The fire user clicked his tongue and lunged first, thrusting his arm forward as a concentrated wave of flame roared across the arena floor.

The heat rolled outward in a rushing wall. It looks powerful enough to scorch stone and force weaker opponents to retreat immediately.

Kade stepped into it.

The flames hit him head-on and… vanished.

Not dispersed or deflected. They just collapsed.

The fire folded inward as if crushed by an invisible hand, compressed into a dense flicker before snuffing out completely. The air snapped with pressure, and the heat died in an instant.

The fire user's eyes narrowed. He already knew this would happen.

Kade closed the distance in three calm steps.

He didn't throw a punch.

He reached out and placed his hand against the fire user's forearm.

The moment contact was made, the destructive force surged.

The gauntlet that his opponents wear crumpled like paper. The ground beneath the fire user's feet fractured outward in a spiderweb pattern as pressure slammed through his body.

It was not enough to break bones but more than enough to steal his balance and breath.

The fire user gasped as he was thrown backward, skidding across the arena floor before rolling to a stop.

Kade withdrew his hand immediately and stepped back.

"Stop it," he said calmly.

The fire user coughed once, then raised a trembling hand. "Y-Yeah. I yield."

Above, Erend's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That level of control…" he murmured. "He ended it the moment he wanted."

Adrien nodded. "No wasted motion or excess force. It's good."

Billy let out a low breath. "And that was him holding back."

Below, Kade turned back toward the remaining opponents. His expression hadn't changed, but the fractured stone at his feet spoke louder than words.

The others swallowed hard.

Kade didn't give the remaining opponents time to steady themselves.

The third stepped in with hesitation written all over his posture. He was a kinetic-type user who relied on momentum and rapid strikes.

He rushed forward anyway with teeth clenched, driving a reinforced kick toward Kade's torso.

Kade shifted half a step to the side and met the strike with his palm.

The impact never landed.

The kinetic force collapsed on itself the instant it touched Kade's hand, crushed inward and redirected harmlessly into the ground. He controlled and transferred the effect effortlessly.

The arena floor buckled with a dull boom, and the third opponent was thrown off balance, skidding backward before he could even react.

Kade followed, tapped his shoulder once, and released a precise burst of destructive force.

The man dropped instantly, unconscious but unharmed.

The fourth and fifth exchanged a glance.

Kade said for them to attack together.

One of them tried to flank while the other launched a Magic-enhanced strike from the front, hoping to overwhelm him through coordination.

It didn't work.

Kade moved through them calmly, almost gently, breaking their formation with minimal motion. His every touch ended the same way with compressed impact, sudden loss of strength, and then bodies hitting the ground before they realized what had happened.

Less than a minute later, all four lay defeated.

Kade stood alone at the center of the arena while breathing steadily. His uniform was barely disturbed.

Above, Erend watched in silence for several seconds before speaking.

"These squad leaders are solid," he said at last. "They'll be real assets when trouble comes."

Billy frowned slightly, brow raised. "When trouble comes? Are you saying there's going to be another trouble happened?"

Adrien, Jessica, Thomas, and Conrad all turned to Erend.

He met their gazes evenly.

He didn't answer right away.

"Well," Erend said finally. His tone calm, almost casual, "we can't really expect there to be no problems at all. Something like that always happens sooner or later."

The group fell quiet. No one argued. No one laughed it off.

The memory of disasters past lingered unspoken between them, heavy and familiar. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts, imagining scales of destruction they didn't want to see again.

Erend noticed their expressions and sighed softly.

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence with a small smile. "Don't think about it too much. It'll just stress you out."

Thomas adjusted his glasses and nodded, returning the smile. "You're right. No point spiraling over an unknown problem."

One by one, they agreed.

For now, they pushed the thoughts aside and turned their focus back to the arena.

The combat drill was finally finished and it was time to wrap it up.

The arena slowly settled as medics cleared the fallen and staff reset the field. Only those still standing remained. They were scratched, exhausted, but could still stand.

The candidates formed loose lines, their breathing uneven, eyes still sharp despite the strain. None of those sent to the infirmary were present.

Adrien stepped forward. The chatter died instantly.

He didn't raise his voice. His presence carried authority, the kind earned through battles no one here had seen.

He scanned the group.

"You did well," Adrien said. His tone was firm and steady. "Not just in strength. But also in discipline, restraint, and how you faced each other."

Some of the candidates straightened without realizing it.

"You've grown stronger than you were when this program began," he continued. "Strong enough that I can say this without hesitation. You have the potential to become our best defenders."

A ripple of tension ran through the group, mixed with pride.

"The threats we're preparing for won't come from familiar battlefields," Adrien said. "They'll come from unknown Magical worlds. Places that don't follow our rules or logic."

His gaze sharpened.

"Keep training. Push harder. Don't get complacent just because today went well."

He paused, then added, more plainly, "If you need guidance, you're not alone. You can consult me. You can consult Sergeant Drake," he gestured slightly toward Erend, "and Sergeant Brook," a nod toward Billy. "That's what we're here for."

Silence followed his words, heavy and respectful.

Adrien gave a single nod. "That's all."

He stepped back.

"You're dismissed."

The tension broke at once. The candidates saluted, some with crisp precision, others with tired but sincere motion, before turning and filing out of the arena.

Conversations began in low voices, relief and renewed determination mixing in their steps.

The drill was over.

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