SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 167: Thirty Seconds Over

The arrows kept coming.

Torren also joined the chase now that the core was no longer his responsibility.

The large tanker rushed forward.

Each of his steps shook the floor.

THUD

THUD

Arthur watched him approach.

"Wow. That’s a big guy."

Torren swung his shield.

Arthur stepped aside.

The shield smashed into a wooden post instead.

CRACK

Splinters flew.

But Arthur was already somewhere else.

STEP

Selene’s arrows chased him again.

TWANG!

Arthur slowed one.

Dodged another.

His grin never disappeared.

It wasn’t arrogance.

He was simply enjoying himself.

The others slowly realized that.

He wasn’t panicking or even desperate.

Instead he was having fun.

And that somehow made it worse.

Selene lowered her bow slightly for a moment.

"...Unbelievable."

Torren grunted.

"Kid won’t stay still."

Across the hall Nox squeezed the core tighter.

"Twenty eight..."

"Twenty nine..."

Arthur turned slightly toward her.

"Almost there."

Selene pulled her bow again for one final shot.

But before she could release..

Commander Lyra’s voice echoed through the hall.

"Time."

Everything stopped.

The arrow remained on the string.

Torren froze mid step.

Ryn lowered his blade.

Nox blinked.

"...Wait."

Then Lyra finished calmly.

"Winner of the drill. Team B."

For a moment nobody spoke.

Then Nox jumped into the air.

"WE WON!"

She hugged the glowing core like it was treasure.

Ryn laughed and stretched his arms.

"Not bad."

Arthur simply tossed the second core lightly in his hand before letting it float away.

His grin was calm.

But the entire hall could feel it.

This match had only confirmed that Arthur wasn’t just confident.

He had the strength to enjoy the fight.

The hall slowly settled after the commander’s voice ended the match.

For a few seconds no one moved.

The tension that had filled the room slowly faded, and the floating cores dimmed before drifting back toward their original positions.

Nox was the first to break the silence.

She raised both hands in the air.

"We actually won!"

Her voice echoed through the hall before she quickly covered her mouth, realizing she might have been too loud.

Ryn laughed beside her.

"Relax. But yes! We did win."

Arthur only smiled quietly as he stretched his arms. His breathing had already returned to normal. To him the match felt less like a battle and more like a puzzle that had been solved piece by piece.

Across the hall, Torren rolled his shoulders while Selene lowered her bow. Althea stood quietly, still thinking about the moment an arrow she had enchanted had been redirected back towards her.

Then the sound of steady footsteps reached them.

Commander Lyra was walking toward the group.

Her presence alone made the explorers straighten their posture.

She stopped a few steps in front of them and looked at each face one after another.

For a moment she said nothing.

Then she nodded.

"I’m impressed."

That simple sentence made a few shoulders relax.

"The drill showed exactly what I wanted to see," she continued. "You all showed your strengths. You adapted quickly and no one froze under pressure."

Nox looked proud of herself for a moment.

But Lyra’s expression slowly turned serious.

"That said... you still have work to do."

The mood shifted again.

The commander crossed her arms as she continued.

"This is why the next few days will be focused on training. Not missions. Not glory. Training."

Her eyes moved across them carefully.

"You’ll sharpen your own abilities first. Then you’ll learn how to work with the others. Future drills will mix the teams again and again until every one of you understands the others completely."

Ryn nodded slowly.

"That sounds painful already."

Lyra ignored the comment.

"You should also understand something else," she said calmly.

Her gaze hardened slightly.

"I didn’t recruit you because you were already famous."

That line caught their attention immediately.

"There are plenty of explorers in this stronghold with bigger names than yours," she continued. "I could have gathered them if I wanted."

Her eyes sharpened.

"But that’s not what I’m building."

Arthur listened quietly.

He had already guessed something like this.

Lyra gestured lightly toward them.

"I chose each of you because of what you have. Not what people say about you. Some of your abilities are underestimated. Some are incomplete. Some are simply not used properly."

Torren scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Lyra continued calmly.

"My job is to fix that."

Everyone in the stronghold knew her reputation.

Commander Lyra had turned strange abilities into powerful tools before. Explorers with skills that others called useless had walked out of her training stronger than anyone expected.

So no one doubted her.

If anything, the group looked more excited.

Lyra noticed that and gave a small nod.

"Good. Then let’s begin the evaluation."

Her tone changed slightly.

It became sharper.

More precise.

She looked directly at Ryn first.

"You."

Ryn straightened immediately.

Lyra continued.

"You read the battlefield well. As expected."

Ryn rubbed the back of his head.

"I try."

She didn’t smile.

"You didn’t hesitate when the opportunity appeared. Taking the core from Torren during the distraction was the correct decision."

Torren clicked his tongue quietly.

Lyra’s eyes shifted to him instantly.

"Which brings me to you."

The large tanker stiffened.

"A tanker cannot afford to lose focus," she said firmly.

Her voice carried the weight of experience.

"One moment of distraction is enough for an enemy strike to land. And when that happens the damage isn’t only yours. Your team suffers for it too."

Torren lowered his head.

"...Understood."

Lyra watched him for a second before continuing.

"Your defense was strong. But discipline must match that strength."

He nodded again.

She turned back to Ryn.

"You adapted quickly after stealing the core. Throwing it to Arthur was the correct response."

Ryn shrugged.

"Honestly I just trusted him."

Lyra nodded slightly.

"And that trust allowed your team to maintain momentum."

She paused for a moment.

"You also filled the battlefield space well. Stalling the enchanter prevented her from supporting the others."

Althea glanced at Ryn and sighed softly.

"Yeah... that part was annoying."

Ryn grinned.

"Sorry."