My Special Ability is Growing Muscles

It was a new day in Nexus Academy.

The morning sun spilled across the combat dome, a colossal training hall forged from blackstone and reinforced steel.

Its vaulted ceiling arched high above, echoing the restless murmurs of one hundred and sixty four Freshers as they gathered for their next core class.

Whispers darted through the crowd like sparks.

"Did you see Kairo knock Valek down yesterday?"

"Monster Trio or not, Valek bled. That… that damned slumrat did that."

"Yeah, but Valek will recover, just wait."

The tension was palpable, two factions glaring across the rows.

The nobles clustered around the Monster Trio, their pride stung, while the survivors of the scholarship path, battle-scarred youths who had endured the massacre of the coliseum clustered to themselves and around Kairo.

Mira leaned closer to Kairo, whispering, "You'd think they'd be too tired for posturing after yesterday, but guess what, they're not".

"It's crazy how relentless they can be," she smirked.

Kairo only shrugged. His eyes were shadowed, his body still aching, but his fists clenched at his sides.

And then, the atmosphere shifted abruptly as the sound of heavy boots thundered against the stone floor.

Professor Kaelen Dray entered.

Unlike the other lecturers that they had seen and be lectured by before since they started taking classes, this man was clearly someone carved by war, his broad frame armored only in scarred leather.

His knuckles were wrapped with faded bandages that looked older than some of the students. A jagged scar cut across his jawline, and his eyes carried the weight of decades on the frontlines.

The hall went silent as soon as he entered.

Kaelen stopped in the center of the arena, lifted a fist, and spoke in a gravelly voice that cut through the air like a blade.

He didn't bother about introductions, didn't bother about even mentioning the course name, he jumped directly to lecturing.

"Weapons fail, mana runs dry, but these…" He clenched his fists, veins bulging, scar tissue stretching. "These never leave you".

A ripple of unease and awe moved through the Freshers... why did this lecture tone and style feel so familiar already?

"This," Kaelen continued, pacing slowly, his voice like rolling thunder, "is Hand-to-Hand Combat. Not fancy swordplay, not pretty fireballs. This is what you fall back on when all else breaks".

He paused, his gaze roaming through the class. "This is survival."

Kaelen barked. "To become a master of Hand to hand combat, you will master six pillars".

He raised a finger with each word. "Stance, footwork, guard, flow, conditioning, and adaptability".

"Fail one, and you'll fall to the dirt like dogs."

He pivoted, slamming his heel into the ground.

The stone cracked. "A punch is just a punch until you lace it with mana, then it becomes a weapon of war. A kick is just a kick until it's driven with killing intent, then it becomes judgment."

Some nobles scoffed, rolling their eyes. But most students sat rigid, captivated by the confidence in his voice.

Kaelen's gaze sharpened. "Strength is nothing without composure. Brute force without control is suicide."

Kaelen paused, then let his next words drop like an avalanche.

"Normally, Nexus Freshers take lectures here in the protective confines of the Academy walls and train two months before their first supervised mission." His tone darkened. "Not this year".

A gasp surged through the hall.

"Orders from the Union and the Nexus Council," Kaelen continued, voice unflinching. "Your first mission will be in two weeks".

"This is not simulations, not practice. You'll step beyond these walls, into the wild where you'll face beasts, constructs, and maybe even worse. Real danger."

His words settled among the students like a decree, and the dome erupted.

"What?! Two weeks?!"

"That's suicide!"

"They can't be serious…!"

Mira's hand trembled slightly against her desk, but her eyes burned with fire. Kairo's jaw tightened.

Kaelen silenced the outcry with a glare and a surge of killing intent so raw it pressed on every chest in the dome. And once again, it reminded Kairo of the fact that none of the Professors in Nexus Academy were weak.

"Your opinions don't matter," he said coldly. "Only survival does."

"The purpose of this Academy is to forge warriors that will go on to represent the Union and the human domain. Here, weakness is not allowed," he sneered.

"Line up!" Kaelen roared.

The students scrambled to their feet, quickly forming rows. He marched along the line, adjusting stances with harsh slaps on their legs or shoulders.

"Feet apart. Balance! You fight like a court dancer, you die like one."

"Guard higher, or I'll break your nose myself," he threatened.

"Flow. Combat is not one punch, one kick. It's rivers, not puddles!"

Soon enough, the room filled with the sounds of flesh striking flesh as drills began, starting from simple jabs, to grapples, and then sweeps.

Nobles grunted, unused to being shoved into the dirt. The commoners strained to keep up with the relentless pace.

When Kairo's turn came, something primal flowed through him.

His body remembered the slums; the alley brawls, the knife fights, the survival scuffles. His punches weren't elegant, but they were precise. His dodges weren't rehearsed, but they were instinctive.

He slipped past a jab, hooked his partner's arm, and swept his legs in one fluid motion that caught the instructor's eye.

Kaelen's eyes narrowed in interest. 'That boy's body fights before his mind does. A survivor's instinct… rare'.

Around him, nobles sneered. "Slumrat's just lucky."

Mira facepalmed as soon as she heard it. 'Even after yesterday? C'mon, are nobles really that foolish?'

Two hours later, sweat drenched every student as bruises bloomed on faces and arms. Kaelen finally called them to order, his voice booming one last time.

"Less than two weeks, that's all you have. Out there, beyond these walls, no one will care if you're noble or slumrat. No one will care how many abilities you awakened, they'll only care if you bleed easy."

He swept his gaze across the exhausted Freshers.

"Prove you deserve the name Nexus student, or die."

Kairo exhaled, fists trembling at his sides, whispering to himself.

"Two weeks… I'll be ready."