The days following the introduction of the Lion’s Roar Formation were so of the most grueling yet for Team 55. Morning drills had beco ritualistic—a relentless cycle of synchronization exercises, aura refinent, and combat applications under Klaus’s unyielding scrutiny.
The squad had learned early on that the technique wasn’t sothing that could be half-learned. If they didn’t execute it flawlessly, it beca a liability rather than an asset. And so, they practiced. Endlessly.
Juron, Alexandra, Finn, Darius, and Nolan were the chosen five. Klaus drilled them with an almost obsessive precision, making corrections where needed, refining their breathing patterns, and forcing them to repeat the formation over and over again until they could hold their combined aura for more than a few seconds.
But as the days passed, their progress slowed.
No matter how many tis they ran the sequence, the Lion’s Claw Strike never manifested with its full intended power. The spectral energy remained unstable, dissipating before impact or failing to rge completely.
Klaus knew sothing was missing.
And he needed to find it—fast.
* * *
During an evening break, Klaus found Alexandra sitting at the edge of the barracks, sharpening her blade in quiet frustration.
"Sothing’s wrong," she admitted without looking at him. "The formation works, but it’s incomplete. We’re missing sothing fundantal."
Klaus crossed his arms, watching the sky darken. "It’s your mana cores."
She stilled, then glanced up at him. "Explain."
He sat on a nearby crate, his tone as calm and instructional as ever. "To fully harness the Lion’s Roar Formation, your auras need to resonate at a higher frequency. Right now, Juron is brute-forcing it, and you’re compensating for the lack of cohesion. Finn, Darius, and Nolan aren’t matching either of you, which is why the power disperses before it stabilizes."
Alexandra frowned. "You think our cores are too weak?"
"They’re not weak," Klaus corrected. "They’re imbalanced. You’re all at different stages of developnt. Juron’s aura is stable, but Finn and Nolan are still struggling to properly control their output. The biggest issue is that you, Alexandra, are too close to a breakthrough."
She blinked. "A breakthrough?"
Klaus nodded. "Your mana flow is off because you’re unconsciously restricting it. You’re on the verge of advancing to a high-tier cyan core, but you haven’t realized it yet."
A hush fell between them.
Advancing a mana core wasn’t a simple process. Most warriors spent years refining their energy, gradually condensing it to move from one tier to the next. Even among White Lion, breakthroughs were rare and required dedicated cultivation.
Alexandra narrowed her eyes. "You think I can push through it?"
"I know you can," Klaus said without hesitation. "But you’ll need to stop holding back."
She exhaled slowly, then stood, rolling her shoulders. "Then let’s fix it."
* * *
The next morning, Klaus pulled Alexandra, Finn, and the others aside for mana refinent training.
Unlike their usual combat drills, this was a different kind of challenge—one that required them to sit in absolute stillness, channeling their energy inward rather than outward.
"I want you all to cycle your mana using a refined breathing technique," Klaus instructed. "Instead of forcing your energy outward into your strikes, let it circulate through your cores at a steady rhythm. The goal isn’t to burn through it, but to condense it. When done correctly, your aura will stabilize."
Juron groaned. "Sitting still and breathing? This is what we’re doing now?"
Klaus didn’t even glance at him. "Unless you’d rather keep failing the formation."
That shut him up.
They fell into focused silence, each closing their eyes and following Klaus’s instructions.
Alexandra felt it almost imdiately—the subtle, unnatural resistance within her core, the buildup of energy that she had unknowingly suppressed. The more she relaxed into the technique, the more she felt it pressing against an invisible barrier.
Klaus noticed her reaction. "Good. Now push against it—but don’t force it. Let your body adjust naturally."
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
And then—it happened.
Alexandra’s aura flared, brighter than before. The deep cyan hue of her mana core, once restrained, surged forward, sharpening in clarity. The sheer density of her energy expanded, and for a brief mont, the air around her vibrated.
A high-tier cyan core.
Juron opened one eye, staring. "...Huh."
Finn exhaled sharply. "That was—"
"That was a breakthrough," Klaus confird. "Your aura should feel smoother now. Try synchronizing again."
Alexandra smirked, rolling her shoulders. "Let’s see if this changes anything."
* * *
They returned to formation training that sa evening.
This ti, sothing was different.
As they stepped into position, their auras no longer clashed. Alexandra’s newly stabilized energy seamlessly connected with Juron’s, and in turn, Finn, Darius, and Nolan adjusted instinctively.
Klaus watched closely as the spectral Lion’s Claw flickered to life once more—except now, it held.
"Now!" he commanded.
The five of them moved in perfect sync, slashing forward in unison.
For the first ti, the Lion’s Claw Strike fully materialized. The shimring claw surged forward, ripping through the reinforced training dummy and leaving deep gashes in the stone behind it.
The impact sent a deep boom through the yard, kicking up dust.
Silence.
Then—cheers.
Juron let out a triumphant laugh. "Now that was a proper hit." Stay tuned with .Côm
Alexandra, still catching her breath, smirked. "Took us long enough."
Finn, Darius, and Nolan exchanged stunned glances, their exhaustion forgotten in the face of their success.
Klaus let the excitent die down before he spoke. "We still have work to do," he reminded them. "But this was the first real step."
The five fighters nodded, their confidence restored.
As the session wrapped up, Klaus lingered behind, watching as his squad dispersed. The sight of Alexandra effortlessly controlling her refined energy, of Juron finally working with his teammates instead of overpowering them—it was proof that Team 55 was becoming more than just an underdog unit.
They were evolving into sothing much more dangerous.
And as Klaus turned away from the training yard, he knew one thing for certain:
The next ti Team 55 faced a real opponent, they wouldn’t just hold their ground. They would dominate.
* * *
Later that night, Klaus sat alone in the training yard, flipping through the pages of the Phantom Step manual.
His own training had been progressing steadily. Unlike the others, who had to refine their auras, his challenge was different—he had to refine his movent to be unreadable. Phantom Step was not a technique that relied on power, but deception.
He took a slow breath, then stood, moving into the first sequence.
Step. Pivot. Vanish.
His movents left faint afterimages as he pushed further, his body shifting just outside the natural field of perception.
By the ti he stopped, his mind was already analyzing the next steps.
He still had work to do.
But so did everyone else.
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