NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29 - Evaluation #1
Nick woke with a start, his consciousness snapping into full alertness without the usual fog of sleep. His system interface automatically displayed the time: 4:53 AM. Seven minutes before Val's knock.
The difference from previous mornings was immediately apparent. His mind felt clear, ordered—not the chaotic jumble of competing awareness he'd grown accustomed to. The mental barrier that had once separated "Nick" and "Arlize" had dissolved, allowing thoughts and reflexes to flow freely between both aspects of his consciousness.
So Arlize and I are one now. System am I really me?
[You remain Nicholas Valiente. On going integration with Arlize Dentragon is stable. Ongoing knowledge transfer is proceeding at an optimal rate. Skills will emerge gradually as neural and physical pathways adapt.]
Nick exhaled slowly. He was still himself, that was good enough for now.
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM INTERFΛCE – BASELINE METRICS】🜂
[Integration: 52.4% Physical Recovery: 100% complete Mental Coherence: Stabilized (harmonizing) Projected Timeline: Optimal Tier 2 functions: Gradual activation in progress]
He studied the interface with satisfaction. His integration and metrics had been steadily improving since Monday. His integration percentage had climbed—no doubt a result of yesterday's breakthrough..
Nick shook himself. Let's not think about that right now.
Six precise knocks echoed through his door—three soft, three sharp.
"Today's evaluation day," came Francisco's voice through the door. "Common room, thirty minutes. You'll have a proper breakfast first."
Evaluations. I guess they'd want to see how much we've improved since Monday.
Dressing quickly, he headed for the dining hall for a quick bite.
The cafeteria was already buzzing when he walked in. Jordan and Maggie sat at their usual table, deep in conversation. Jordan's posture still bore the imprint of his military training, but the tension had eased—his movements looser, more at ease. Across from him, Maggie traced idle shapes in the air, her fingers trailing delicate lines of green-gold mana that shimmered briefly before dissipating.
"Morning," Nick said, sliding into his seat with a tray loaded with eggs, toast, a cup of fruit, a mug of coffee and a cup of juice. "Did you both hear about the evaluation?"
Jordan's expression remained neutral, but his posture shifted, a smile blooming behind his eyes. "Yah. I'm excited to see how good we've gotten."
Maggie's response was even more enthusiastic. "Dr. Velez says my resonance patterns are the most adaptable she's seen in a first-year candidate. I'd like to see how that translates in this evaluation especially if we have to do mental puzzles again." Turning to Nick she asked, "What do you think they'll throw at us?"
"No idea," Nick replied, taking a bite of his eggs. "It could be what we did on Monday, it could be something totally different. My abuelo didn't share any specifics."
Jordan nodded in agreement. "They may push us until we break, then measure how fast we recover, so I'd recommend eating a light meal." He said, watching Maggie finish her bowl of oatmeal and a cup of fruit.
A quiet "Good morning" caught them off guard.
Marcus stood beside their table, a cup of coffee in one hand and an arepa wrapped in a paper napkin in the other.
"We'll be evaluating your individual progress today—as well as your ability to function as a team." He checked his watch. "You have twenty minutes to finish and report to the central evaluation chamber."
As Marcus departed, Nick caught Maggie's eye. "Ability to function as a team? We haven't trained as a team yet."
Jordan's mouth curved into a mirthless smile. "That's the point."
"So it's either we drown together or we drown separately," Maggie muttered.
Jordan nodded, then shifted into planning mode. "I've been training in barrier techniques—multi-layered shields with selective permeability. I should be able to sustain approximately four minutes at full power before depletion."
"My mana mapping can detect structural weaknesses in both physical architecture and mana constructs," Maggie added. "Range is limited—fifteen meters reliably, thirty with significant degradation in accuracy."
Nick considered his own progress as Jordan and Maggie shared theirs. "I've gained access to some combat knowledge," he said once Maggie finished. "My reaction time and instincts are catching up—enough for my body to start keeping pace with what I know in theory."
The three spent the remaining minutes walking to the evaluation chamber outlining rudimentary coordination strategies—who would take point in various scenarios, emergency signals, basic formations. It wasn't much, but it was better than walking into the blind.
The evaluation chamber was massive—easily three times the size of the combat arena he'd trained in with Val. One section featured a series of individual testing platforms for solo assessments. The opposite end housed what appeared to be a holographic terrain generator for simulated combat scenarios. Between them stretched a stark open area that Nick suspected would become a battleground.
Francisco, Val, and Dr. Velez waited in the center of the chamber, along with two individuals Nick didn't recognize—a man and woman in the distinctive grey-blue uniforms of Arcadian Initiative. Marcus observed from an elevated platform, his expression unreadable.
"Welcome to Evaluation Day," Francisco announced when they had assembled. "We will begin with individual assessments across four categories: Combat Proficiency, Spiritual Resonance, Emotional Stability, and Mental Acuity. Following solo evaluations, you will face a team combat scenario."
Val stepped forward, her eyes cold and assessing. "Combat stations. Now."
The individual assessments were punishing but efficient. For two hours, they rotated through testing stations, each designed to quantify their progress in specific domains.
Combat evaluation with Val pushed Nick to his limits once more. She drove him through a series of increasingly complex attack and defense techniques, measuring his ability to access Arlize's combat reflexes without conscious effort. To Nick's satisfaction, he managed to maintain the integration state for nearly thirty seconds—a significant improvement from his seven-second bursts throughout the week.
Jordan excelled in the combat evaluation. His military training now meshed effortlessly with his evolving barrier techniques. Shields that once flickered under pressure held firm, absorbing hits that would've dropped him days ago. Each impact dispersed in controlled cascades, his defense flowing seamlessly into measured counterattacks.
The spiritual resonance evaluation with Francisco showed Nick's greatest improvement. Using the crystal orbs that fought him just yesterday, he now demonstrated a stable connection between his dual mana signatures for over two minutes. The patterns of his different colored mana forming beautiful spiraling fractals.
Maggie's performance at this station was truly remarkable. Her natural affinity for techno-mantic resonance allowed her to create intricate mana structures that were so mathematically perfect that Francisco studied them with undisguised fascination.
Dr. Velez conducted the emotional stability assessment, using a modified version of the Reflection Chamber's training matrix. Here, Jordan exhibited unexpected strength, his military conditioning providing a framework for processing emotional stimuli without becoming overwhelmed. Maggie also scored highly, her analytical mind helping to catalog emotional responses as data to be examined rather than experiences to be feared.
Nick's performance was steady, but far from remarkable. His breakthrough with Arlize and his abuela had eased the core barrier to integration, but the emotional residue remained. The trauma of his rebirth, the unresolved grief over his parents' deaths, and the weight of what their loss still meant all lingered beneath the surface. These layered with Arlize's phantom memories—centuries-old betrayal, anger, and heartbreak formed a volatile mix that continued to undermine his emotional stability under pressure.
The mental acuity tests conducted by Marcus himself revealed Maggie's dominance again in this area. Her quick, adaptive thinking allowed her to solve the complex theoretical-mana problems and spatial reasoning challenges with remarkable speed. Jordan performed adequately, his experience and trained mind compensating for his lack of academic background.
Nick, to his frustration, struggled most in this domain. The integration process had rewritten neural pathways, requiring his brain to establish new connections for even the most basic cognitive functions. While his intuitive understanding had deepened, his analytical processing had temporarily suffered.
"Acceptable," Marcus announced when the individual assessments concluded. "You have each demonstrated significant improvement in your areas of natural aptitude. The question now becomes whether you can function as a cohesive unit despite your specializations."
Francisco gestured toward the open area at the chamber's center. "The team combat scenario will begin in five minutes. You will face myself and two trained Arcadian security operatives, each of whom graduated from AIA. Your objective is simple: defend yourself for ten minutes."
"Defend ourselves?" Maggie questioned, her voice betraying her nervousness.
Nick, Maggie and Jordan quickly huddled to readjust the plans they'd come up with during their preparation time.
"I'll maintain a three-layer shield configuration," Jordan said, his voice low and intent. "Outer layer for impact absorption, middle for mana disruption, inner for physical protection. But I can't hold it for ten minutes straight—we need to rotate defensive positioning."
Maggie nodded. "I can map their attack patterns and identify optimal counter-timing, but I need at least thirty seconds of observation before the data becomes useful."
Nick considered their options. "I'll take offensive point initially. My combat reflexes should buy you that observation window, Maggie. Jordan, focus your shields on her first—she's our strategic advantage. Once we have attack pattern data, we reassess."
"Jordan, when I signal, shift to a spiral defensive pattern—I'll demonstrate." He quickly sketched the formation Arlize had described, explaining its advantages.
Jordan nodded, a hint of surprise in his eyes at Nick's tactical insight.
Their planning time evaporated all too quickly. As they took position in the center of the chamber, Nick felt the familiar shift in his awareness that preceded combat—senses sharpening, time perception altering subtly, mana channels dilating to increase flow.
Francisco and his two companions took position opposite them. The security operatives moved with the fluid precision of trained combatants, their mana signatures disciplined and focused. Francisco himself emanated a controlled power that made Nick's skin prickle with warning.
Marcus raised his hand. "Begin."
The attack came with devastating speed. The male operative launched forward, his body wreathed in crimson mana that amplified his physical strikes. The female operative hung back, her fingers weaving complex patterns that materialized as glowing projectiles of concentrated force.
Francisco made no move at all, observing with clinical detachment.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Now!" A voice in Nick's mind commanded, and Nick moved.
His movements were smoother than ever—not a jarring transition but a fluid merging. Nick intercepted the male operative's charge, parrying the first three strikes. The force behind them was staggering—each impact sending shock waves through Nick's forearms despite his enhanced defense.
"Redirect, don't block." The voice instructed as Nick absorbed another punishing blow. "His momentum is his vulnerability."
"Thanks," Nick grunted, as he adjusted his stance to to redirect the next set of incoming blows.
Behind him, Jordan erected his promised shield configuration, the translucent barriers shimmering into existence in concentric layers. Maggie crouched within, her eyes unfocused as she analyzed the attack patterns bombarding Jordan's outermost shield.
"Thirty seconds," Nick hissed, twisting just in time to dodge a mana-charged kick aimed at his ribs. The female operative's projectiles hammered against Jordan's shields, each impact causing the barriers to flicker dangerously. The spread of her attacks suggested she was probing for weaknesses, testing the shield's resistance to different mana frequencies.
"Pattern identified," Maggie called out. "Jordan, phase-shift your outer barrier to frequency 7.3—it'll disrupt her targeting algorithm."
Jordan complied instantly, his shield rippling as it recalibrated. The next volley of projectiles scattered harmlessly against the modified barrier.
Nick allowed himself a moment of satisfaction—their first coordinated defense had worked. That moment of distraction cost him dearly as the male agent landed a punishing blow to his sternum, sending him staggering backward.
Focus! The voice cracked like a whip.
"Switch!" Jordan called, extending his barrier to envelop Nick while simultaneously stepping forward to engage the male agent with a shield-reinforced counter-strike.
Nick fell back, gasping for breath as his system assessed the damage:
Francisco chose that moment to enter the fray. With a gesture so subtle Nick almost missed it, he sent a cascade of blue mana rippling across the chamber floor. The attack bypassed Jordan's shields entirely, momentarily disrupting the mana circulation in all three team members.
"Aurilian ground-phase technique" the voice identified immediately. "Where did he learn this..that doesn't matter right now. You can't do this yet. Let me.
"Grounding technique!" Nick shouted, implementing the defensive stance Val had drilled into him. As he got into the stance, all of a sudden he felt his feet firmly plant themselves, feet wide apart, and his arms came up, mana flowing from his core upwards towards the mana channels in his hands and a bright violet blue shield burst forth under Jordan's shield covering him and Maggie.
A second later Maggie recovered, her resonance mapping adapting to the changed conditions. "Good save. He used his mana to disrupt us—I'm not strong enough to counter it yet, but I can try to redirect it."
"Cover her," Nick told Jordan, moving to engage the female agent who had shifted to close-quarters combat now that her projectiles were less effective.
Jordan dropped to one knee, creating a dome shield that protected both himself and Maggie as she pressed her palms to the floor. The male agent hammered against the shield with relentless force, each strike draining Jordan's reserves, his shield fading from solid gold to translucent light.
Nick found himself outmatched against the female assailant . Her movements were flawless—each strike flowing into the next with devastating efficiency. Only Arlize's combat experience kept him from immediate defeat, allowing his body to predict and react to attacks he couldn't follow with his current perception.
"Thirty seconds to counter," Maggie called out, her voice strained as she worked to redirect Francisco's disruption field.
"Can't... hold... much longer," Jordan gasped, his shield, now translucent, began to splinter under the male assailant's assault.
Nick made a split-second decision. Abandoning his defensive posture, he launched a desperate attack against the female tester, sacrificing protection for offense. The gambit caught her momentarily off-guard, allowing him to land a solid strike to her solar plexus—not enough to disable her, but sufficient enough to allow him to create distance.
Then without understanding what he was doing, his body spin and unleashed a mana technique he'd only glimpsed in Arlize's memories—a mana pulse designed to temporarily overload an opponent's sensory perception. The wave of mana washed over the male tester, causing him to falter in his assault on Jordan's shield.
"Now!" Nick shouted.
Maggie completed her counter, sending a ripple of perfectly calibrated energy through the air, redirecting Francisco's disruption field. Simultaneously, Jordan channeled his remaining shield energy into a concussive blast that drove both agents back several meters.
For a brief, glorious moment, they had control of the battlefield. Then Francisco stepped forward, and everything changed.
The air itself seemed to thicken as he exerted some significant measure of power for the first time. With methodical precision, he dismantled their defenses one by one. A gesture collapsed Jordan's reformed shields like tissue paper. A whispered word countered Maggie's harmonization technique. A single, almost gentle touch to Nick's shoulder severed his connection to the voice and his body's combat reflexes.
In less than twenty seconds, all three lay on the floor unmoving, not unconscious but thoroughly incapacitated.
"Four minutes, seventeen seconds," Marcus announced from his observation platform. "Below threshold, but not entirely disappointing for a first attempt."
What the hell was that? I thought we were doing so well. Why did Abuelo have to show up. Also, voice, I'm assuming you're Arlize?
"I am. What you experienced was just the power level of someone who has achieved Tier 3 in the Arcadian System. Incredible masters at that level don't just use mana—they embody it. Their instincts, their reflexes, minds, even their emotions are fully synchronized with mana. They're known as the beloved of mana. My master Elan was one such master. To be taught by one such as he is an incredible honor.
You can talk to me now?
We are part of the same whole, yes. But I can't do it for long periods of time yet. We are both adjusting to my awakening and our consciousnesses are still integrating. I will speak with you again soon. And with that the voice stopped speaking in Nick's mind.
So pulling down the wall did more than just allow me to access Arlize's powers. Huh.
Noticing his grandfather helping Maggie and Jordan up, Nick went to get up, but again realized that he was still immobilized. So he just waited.
After helping Nick to his feet, Francisco addressed them all with a thoughtful expression. "You showed moments of effective coordination. The shield frequency adaptation was particularly promising, as was the sensory overload technique." He paused. "However, you fell into the trap of sequential rather than simultaneous action. In true combat, linear tactics lead to exploitation of predictable patterns."
Val's assessment was more blunt. "You're not a team yet. But don't worry, we'll fix that before the Academy, or you won't survive the first week."
The remainder of the day blurred into a series of drills designed to address the weaknesses revealed in the combat scenario. By evening, all three trainees were exhausted beyond measure, their bodies and minds pushed to absolute limits.
As they gathered in the facility's common room, barely able to remain upright, Marcus entered with an announcement that instantly cut through their fatigue.
"Congratulations on completing the first phase of your training," he said, a slight smile on his face. "While your performance revealed significant areas for improvement, you've demonstrated sufficient potential to proceed with Academy integration."
He paused, studying each of them in turn. "Francisco and I have decided you've earned a brief respite. Training will resume Monday morning. You have the weekend to rest and recover."
The relief in the room was palpable. Two days to rest. Two days without the brutal combat drills and pushing his mana to its limits.
As he was about to leave, he added—almost offhand, "Ms. Zhang, your parents will be arriving tomorrow morning. I'll be with you when they do, so you won't have to explain the... noticeable changes alone."
Hearing the news Maggie's eyes widened, color draining from her face. "My parents? Here? But how did they—"
"Security clearances have been arranged," Marcus replied. "They deserve to know what their daughter is becoming before she disappears into the Academy for the next twenty four months."
After he departed, Maggie turned to Nick and Jordan, panic evident in her expression. "My parents, here? How am I supposed to explain... this?" She gestured helplessly at herself, specifically the green geometrics patterns that had etched themselves into her arms and hands and fluctuated at her every movement.
Jordan, despite his exhaustion, managed a sympathetic grimace. "At least you get to say goodbye. I haven't spoken to mine in well over 3 years."
Nick wanted to ask more, but noticed the firm set of Jordan's jaw, and the hardening of his eyes.
Huh. There's more to this guy than I first thought.
Nick thought of his own family—his grandparents who had apparently been preparing him for this his entire life. Did they truly understand what he was becoming? Did he?
As the three sat in exhausted silence, each quietly reckoning with the path that had led them here and the uncertain road ahead, Nick's system interface flickered to life with its final update of the day.
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM INTERFΛCE – INTEGRATION STATUS】🜂
[Current Integration: 53.8%]
[Synchronization Stability: Improving.
[Team Compatibility Rating: Developing (potential detected)
[Cognitive Resonance Matrix: Online (limited functionality)
[Note: Accelerated integration may trigger dormant protocols]
The last line gave Nick pause. Dormant protocols. What else awoke within him in the integration progress? And would he still be himself after it finished?
Arlize, if you can hear me, when you can talk again, we have a lot of things to talk about.
Nick pushed the thought aside for now. For now, at least, they had two days to recover before the next phase of their training began.
Looking at his companions—Jordan slumped in exhaustion, Maggie frantically making notes with mana about what to tell her parents—Nick felt a strange sense of kinship. He was glad he'd met them in this life.
Full System Analysis of Nick's growth in the past week:
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM INTERFΛCE – CORE STATUS】🜂
Host Pattern Detected: Dual-Soul Fusion
Identity Verified: Nicholas Valiente (Ω-Class)
System Tier: INITIATE
Class Alignment: SHAPER (Tier I – Adaptive Manifestation)
Level: 1
Progression Rate: 53.8% toward Tier II
Vital Metrics:
HP: 135/135 | MP: 340/340
Core Attributes:
Strength: 66 | Speed: 78 | Agility: 67 | Stamina: 75
Wisdom: 73 | Intelligence: 77 | Vitality: 64 | Fortitude: 44
🜂【SHAPER ABILITY TREE – TIER I】🜂
Sensory Enhancement (Active) – 63% Mastery
• Enhanced Vision: Perceive mana flows and dimensional frequencies
• Heightened Hearing: Isolate sound signatures with precision
• Tactical Perception: Real-time analysis of movement patterns
🡆 Next Tier Requirement: Reach 80% mastery through sustained field use
Mana Projection (Basic) – 41% Mastery
• Energy Manipulation: Sustain low-tier constructs (1–2 minutes)
• Offensive Projection: Channel mana into ranged pressure strikes
• Defensive Redirection: Refract or absorb non-lethal mana bursts
🡆 Next Tier Requirement: Execute all three forms during live combat
Environmental Manipulation (Limited) – 27% Mastery
• Thermal Control: Adjust localized temperature (5–7 meter radius)
• Atmospheric Pressure: Create short-term pressure shifts
• Micro-Kinesis: Move objects under 5kg within line of sight
🡆 Next Tier Requirement: Maintain two simultaneous effects for 5+ minutes
Combat Enhancement (Refined) – 57% Mastery
• Strength Amplification: Channel mana through muscles for burst output
• Reflex Acceleration: Reduce reaction time latency by 14%
• Impact Resistance: Skin reinforcement active up to 2 direct strikes
🡆 Next Tier Requirement: Withstand direct engagement with a Tier II combatant
Tactical Analysis (Developing) – 41% Mastery
• Threat Assessment: Predict outcomes with up to 72% accuracy
• Pattern Recognition: Analyze and adapt to enemy strategies
• Adaptive Response: Generate multi-step counters in combat
🡆 Next Tier Requirement: Counter 10 unique combat patterns during live training
🜂【TIER II ADVANCEMENT REQUIREMENTS】🜂
Achieve 80% integration with Arlize's memory core
Attain 65%+ mastery in all Tier I abilities
Complete one successful engagement against a Tier II opponent
Stabilize neural-emotional pathways through sustained integration