Chapter 87| 90% Sigils.

Chapter 87: Chapter 87| 90% Sigils.

Zane opened his eyes at 5:55 AM and lay there staring at the ceiling.

’All night,’ he thought. ’I’ve been thinking about what happened yesterday. Who would’ve thought the girl I initially thought wasn’t even my type ends up being the first person I’ve had sex with since I transmigrated.’

The system surfaced immediately.

『 Some events are unforeseeable. Don’t you think so? 』

’Meh,’ Zane thought. He looked at the ceiling. ’I can’t forget how soft she was. That petite waist. Her skin against my hands. And her butt... yeah. Petite women are something else entirely.’

『 The system agrees. 』

’Shut up,’ Zane thought. ’You don’t get to experience pleasure like that. You’re a system.’

『 The system is satisfied that you enjoyed the encounter. That is sufficient. 』

’Shush..,’ Zane said mentally.

He lay there for another thirty seconds letting his thoughts settle.

Then movement from across the room.

Dex sat up. Grabbed his toothbrush from the desk without looking at anything specifically. Headed toward the bathroom in the specific autopilot movement of someone running their morning routine on muscle memory alone.

"Hey Dex," Zane said.

Dex stopped. Looked at him.

"You were quiet yesterday," Zane said. "Did your girlfriend break your heart or something?."

Dex looked at him.

Then smiled.

But it was the specific kind of smile that didn’t reach the eyes, a performance of the easy energy rather than the real thing. Zane had been living with him long enough to know the difference.

’Ah,’ Zane thought. ’So that’s what that is.’

He filed it. Didn’t push.

"But chill up man," Zane said. " I’ve got things to catch up on later. We’ll talk."

Dex looked at him for one more second.

Then nodded once and headed into the bathroom.

Zane checked his communicator.

6:15 AM.

He got up. Pulled on his training gear. Headed out.

Gerald wheezed behind him.

He arrived at the training grounds at exactly 6:25 AM.

Five minutes late. The corner was already occupied by a familiar body.

Maren was on the pad running her pre-session stretches. She looked up when his footsteps registered on the composite surface.

They waved at each other.

Her face went slightly red. Not fully, just the specific flush that appeared at the edges when she glanced at him and then deliberately glanced away to the middle distance instead of holding eye contact.

They met at the pad.

"Morning," Zane said.

"Morning," she replied. Still not quite looking directly at him.

"Hope you slept well," he said.

"Yeah..," she said. "You?"

"It was wonderful," he said. "Especially after what happened yesterday."

Maren’s face went fully red.

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

"Zane," she said. Throwing a facial expression that sort of sounded like a warning to push further.

"I’m just saying," he said. "Hope you had fun too. We should probably talk about it at some point..."

"I’m continuing my training," she said.

She turned back to the pad. Picked up her water bottle. Set it down. Picked it up again. The specific movement of someone who needed to do something with their hands while their face returned to its normal temperature.

He almost smiled.

Then.. "Okay I’ll stop." He looked at the wall then back at her. "But first let’s engage in a pushup competition. We each have one minute. We time it on the communicator."

She looked at him.

"A game?" she said.

"Sort of," he said.

She considered this for exactly three seconds.

"Okay," she said. "But the person who loses has to do the other person a favour."

Zane thought about that.

’Higher probability she wins this,’ he thought. ’Overdrive gives her a significant speed advantage at full output. But what’s a favour I can’t do? And what kind of favour would she ask for?’

He looked at her.

’Actually,’ he thought. ’That’s interesting either way.’

"Deal," he said.

They set the communicator timer. One minute. Maren went first.

She dropped into position and activated Overdrive.

Full capacity. 100%.

The burst hit her system visibly — the specific speed increase of someone who had been running chain activation sequences every morning for six weeks and knew exactly where her ceiling was. Her hands moved with the rapid precision of Overdrive at maximum output. Fast. Controlled. No wasted movement.

’Going full output immediately,’ Zane thought. ’No hesitation.’

She finished. Stood up. Looked at him.

"Try to compete," she said. The smirk sitting on her face like it owned the place.

Zane looked at his hands.

’90% Overdrive,’ he thought. ’My new ceiling. Haven’t actually tested it in a physical output context yet.’

’Might as well,’ he thought.

He dropped into position.

Activated Overdrive at 90%.

The surge hit him differently from 60%. Considerably differently. The invisible electric current running through his muscles at a frequency that made 60% feel like a warmup setting. His hands moved faster than they had in any previous training session. The reps came in a controlled rapid sequence that surprised even him.

When the timer stopped he stood up.

Maren was staring at him.

"Zane," she said. "When did you get that fast."

"Training I guess," he said.

She looked at him for a long moment.

’She knows that’s not a full answer,’ he thought. ’She’s filing it under the same pending label everything else goes into. But nevertheless it’s an answer.’

They both looked at the communicator simultaneously.

Maren — 47 reps.

Zane — 43 reps.

"Four reps," Zane said.

"Four reps," Maren confirmed. The smirk doing what it always did. "A favour is a favour Calloway."

"I know," he replied.

"I might have won," she said finally. "But you genuinely surprised me." She tilted her head slightly. "You still owe me a favour though."

"Seems so," Zane said.

"Keep it in mind," she said. "I’ll ask for it when the moment’s right, let me finish up my routine."

She went back to her side of the pad and resumed her drill.

Burst sequences. Overdrive at minimum output. Cut before the fatigue window. Re-engage.

Zane looked at his hands.

’90% Overdrive,’ he thought. ’And I’m already this much faster. Imagine when Impact Breaker upgrades to B-rank. The output at that tier...’

He almost said it out loud.

Caught himself.

’So much possibility,’ he thought instead.

The system surfaced.

’Hey system,’ Zane thought. ’You still haven’t given me a daily quest. It’s been days. Kind of annoying. I keep training anyway and it amounts to exactly what a daily quest would ask.’

『 When Impact Breaker upgrades to B-rank a new activation speed threshold will be unlocked. The daily quest will resume at that point with a new target ceiling. 』

’So I have to upgrade the Sigil tier before the rewards kick in again,’ Zane thought. ’That’s a lot of hoops.’

『 Rewards are given through earned means independently. The system can only issue rewards that are available at a particular stage. Hoops are how progress works. 』

’Makes sense,’ Zane thought. ’ But still annoying.’

『 The system notes your annoyance. The system is unmoved by it. 』

’At least be sympathetic,’ Zane thought.

『 The system is sympathetic. The system is also unmoved. Both can be true. 』

He pressed his palm flat against the reinforced wall.

Impact Breaker at 90%.

The wave rolled through the composite surface — deeper than anything he’d produced at this wall before. The material doing considerably more work than it had at 75%.

’B-rank Impact Breaker,’ he thought. ’That’s the next target.’

He started his reps.

Maren’s burst sequences running behind him.

The Monday morning campus waking up around the training grounds.

Gerald wheezing somewhere in the distance.

’One thing at a time,’ he thought.