“Enemy shields are down in lower forward starboard section, ma’am!”

  “Fire forward missile salvo,” I ordered.

  “Missiles away,” reported the gunnery officer.

  Valissa, the sensors officer, informed me that two of the missiles made contact, two hit the shields, and one was intercepted. I nodded and had them fire the aft missiles. They must have been better prepared for this one because they took out three of the missiles, with another two hitting the shields and only one hitting the ship.

  “Alert, captain! Our upper forward starboard shields are down to 17%!”

  “Helm, rotate one hundred eighty degrees.”

  “Rotating!” called the pilot. The interesting thing about a mostly-cylindrical ship in zero-g was that direction didn’t matter. That had been drilled into in Void Tactics over the past couple weeks, and I was finally starting to understand.

  “Rotation complete, ma’am.”

  “Captain, the opposing ship is also rotating.”

  “Have the fighters target the breach.”

  “Aye, captain,” the void officer replied.

  The battle continued, and eventually, both ships were missing enough of their shields that it came down to a missile battle. By that point, my role was largely finished, and I sat back and watched as the fighters and gunners attempted to shoot down missiles. In the end, our side had just a bit better accuracy, and the other ship was taken out of commission. While our ship was in bad shape, we still had life support and engines, so we won, as pyrrhic of a victory as it was.

  “Good work, everyone,” the instructor told us. “You’ll each receive a detailed assessment of your performance soon, as usual. Have a good rest day.”

  We filed out of the simulated bridge and headed over to pick up Kolo before going back to our rooms before dinner. On the way, we discussed our performance.

  “I don’t think there was anything you did wrong,” I told Valissa.

  “I agree. Sensors is a pretty straightforward position in battle, though not easy.”

  I nodded. “I think I was appropriately decisive, though I should have been a bit more proactive.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Well, I was largely waiting for everyone to report to me, rather than directing things more explicitly.”

  She shook her head. “No, I think that’s the right decision. You need to trust your crew to do what needs to be done, after all. If we’re doing our jobs, you’ll know what you need to know at the right time.”

  I thought about it for a few seconds before deciding she was right. “That’s true. The time for questioning or analyzing my crew’s performance is during the calm periods, not during battle. I’m better off focusing on my own job than worrying about other people doing theirs.”

  “Exactly. As captain, or any officer really, you have too much going on in battle to micromanage your subordinates. Focus on what you need to do and rely on others to support you.”

  I knew I struggled with that overall, having spent most of my life without anyone to rely on, but I was starting to learn how to accept the kind of support that others could give. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t risk relying on others too much, thanks to my big secret.

  We met up with Kolo and went back to the dorms. I was thankful that she hadn’t changed how she treated me in the weeks since finding out my secret—in fact, I occasionally forgot she even knew for short periods of time. I still wasn’t going to be telling anyone else, though. That would just be too big of a risk.

  A few days later, I was cultivating in the evening when something changed, and I just knew. Pausing my cultivation enough to leave but not so much that I lost the feeling, I ran out the door and down the hall to the bathroom.

  “Dax? What’s—” That was all that Valissa got out before I was gone.

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  As soon as I reached the bathroom, I stripped my clothing off and jumped in the shower. Sitting down on the ground, I resumed my cultivation, drawing in the ambient mana and converting it to essence, which was added to the shell forming around my core.

  Within a few minutes, something felt like it clicked, and I instinctively knew what to do. Using the same willpower that I used to draw in mana, I squeezed the outer shell as tightly and uniformly as I could. I couldn’t have told you how long I spent like that, just that my entire focus was on keeping a balanced pressure on my core.

  Occasionally, I’d slip slightly and the shell would start to bulge, but every time, I corrected it in time and smoothed it out. As time went on, the shell very slowly compressed, and the metaphysical pressure on my core was almost unbearable. Nevertheless, I kept pushing, ignoring the discomfort, until finally, something snapped. For a brief moment, I almost thought I had screwed up, but then everything became much easier.

  Over the next few seconds, I felt as the outer shell merged with my core, enlarging it slightly. Within a few more seconds, I couldn’t tell the difference between my original core and the shell. A few more seconds past that and my new Tier 2 core was stable.

  For a second, I thought that was everything, then, suddenly, mana burst out of my core, infusing my flesh. Every single piece of me was in pain, and I wasn’t even sure if I screamed. Fortunately, the pain only lasted maybe five or six seconds, but it felt like much longer.

  As the pain left, other senses returned, and the reason I had fled to the shower made itself known. I was covered in this dark goop that reeked, making me gag. Quickly, I turned on the shower and began to scrub everything off. Fortunately, it came off relatively easily in the water, and soon enough, the remnants of my ascension were gone, though the stall still retained a faint odor that would fade in time.

  I had experienced an ascension once before, but time had faded the memories of just how terrible the smell had been. It made sense, though, that the dead, leftover flesh that was partially replaced by mana would smell.

  Finally turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower to find Valissa waiting for me with my clothes properly folded and a subtle smile on her face.

  “Tier 2?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  Her grin widened slightly. “Congratulations. I wasn’t sure why you went running out, but when I found you in the showers, I had a pretty good guess. The smell later confirmed it though.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck before realizing I was still naked. “Um, you didn’t happen to bring a towel, did you?”

  Her grin turned into more of a smirk, and she reached behind her to grab my towel and toss it to me.

  “Thanks,” I said as I dried off then put back on my clothes.

  “No problem. Now, it’s nearly lights-out, so we should get back to the room.

  I nodded before following her, already feeling the slight increase in my physical abilities from the ascension. That of, course, was an important part, though most considered the doubling of mana capacity and production to be the bigger boon. I could Shield for twice as long now, and since my core would fill in the same amount of time, I had effectively doubled my regeneration rate. The change also should help improve my control, though that would be a bit more nebulous.

  It was hard to tell since it was new and I was tired, but I also thought my mind seemed a bit clearer than before.

  The next morning, something must have shown on my face, because Kolo immediately looked at me and said, “Spill.”

  I carefully let out my aura, just enough for my friends to feel it but no one else. They briefly leaned back before their eyes went wide.

  “Whoa!” exclaimed Delroy. “You’re Tier 2?”

  I nodded.

  “When did that happen?” he asked.

  “Last night.”

  “Was it as gross as the first time?”

  I rolled my eyes at his weird excitement. “Yes, it was disgusting.”

  He seemed happy about that for some reason.

  “Congratulations,” Gathrok stated calmly.

  “Yes, congrats,” added Kolo.

  “Thanks. I’m excited to see how PTT goes.”

  Sure enough, my performance in PTT was noticeably better. I ran faster, was stronger, and had better control. At one point, our instructor approached me during class.

  “Cadet, did you ascend?”

  “Yes, sergeant. Tier 2.”

  “Excellent. Make sure to report in to administration by the end of the day so they can update your file.”

  “Yes, sergeant.”

  During afternoon classes, I realized that the ascension had indeed helped my mind. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a bit easier to pay attention and I seemed to absorb the information a bit better.

  Once classes were done, Valissa and I met up with Kolo and headed for the administration building. Inside, I approached the secretary on duty and stood at attention, waiting for them to speak.

  “At ease, cadet. What can I do for you?”

  “Cadet Dax Juniper here to report an ascension, sir.”

  “An ascension? Please place your hand on the reader and activate your interface.”

  I did so, and I was pleased to see the Core Tier: 2 showing on the display.

  “Congratulations on your ascension, cadet. I’ll make sure your file is updated appropriately. Is there anything else you need?”

  “No, sir, that will be all.”

  “Then you are dismissed.”

  I gave the lieutenant a nod, and the three of us left the building.

  “I’m really happy for you,” Kolo said as we stepped outside. “I can’t imagine many cadets reach Tier 2 in their third term unless they start later than normal. After all, you don’t need to be Tier 2 in the navy until you’re ready to become a lieutenant.”

  I shrugged. Being a dragon helped a bit with cultivation speed, but, honestly, the main thing was that I had spent a lot of time cultivating before arriving at the academy. It wasn’t like I had all that much I had to do otherwise.

  “I’m sure you all will catch up soon enough. There’s still plenty of time.”

  Valissa replied, “Indeed. As you say, we do not need to reach Tier 2 for a couple cycles. It is a good reminder to make sure to keep up with our cultivation, though.”

  “Definitely.”