I focused on the notification and accepted the rank up, and for a moment my entire body went hot, like someone had poured warm honey through my veins, and then the sensation faded and left behind something different. Something stronger.
◆ RANK UP ◆
Endurance [C] → [B]
New baseline established. Continue training to progress.
"Well?" Vale looked up from his tablet.
"B-rank Endurance." I flexed my hands, feeling the difference. My body felt lighter. More durable. Like someone had upgraded my frame from aluminum to steel. "I can feel it."
"Good. Now we can really get started."
I stared at him. "That wasn't getting started?"
"That was calibration. I needed to know your recovery rate, your failure thresholds, your essence consumption efficiency." He smiled, and it was the smile of someone who had just calculated exactly how hard he could hit something without breaking it permanently. "You can recover from anything I do to you. You understand what that means?"
