The combat rhythm changed after that.

The administrator stopped using projectiles and currents — it entered fully into hand-to-hand, with level five speed and strength plus access to all documented combat systems in Aethon.

Kai took more hits than he gave.

Not for lack of technique — for difference in processing speed.

The administrator had access to complete catalogs of movement patterns.

But Kai kept standing.

And every time the administrator used a new sequence, Kai took it once and didn’t take it the same way the second time.

The process was visible — painful, costly, with marks accumulating on his left forearm and right side and the knee that had been protesting since level 3 of the labyrinth. But visible.

The administrator noticed it after the sixth exchange.

"You’re learning in real time."

"Yes."

"At a speed not documented in any combat system in Aethon."

Kai blocked a hook and countered with a kick to the side.

"I know."

"How?"

"The system told me in Chapter forty-two."

The administrator processed this.

"Your own system informed you of your capabilities?"

"Late, but yes."

"Systems don’t do that spontaneously."

"Mine does."

---

[DraconicLegacy: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[Dr_Snow: the admin: "systems don’t do that spontaneously" / Kai: "mine does" — two words to close the argument]

[Drakeking: the admin is more interested in understanding Kai than eliminating him. the objective changed without it deciding.]

[Jack_Moore: @Drakeking Kai does that to everyone. Serah, Lira, Eris, now the admin.]

[Brandon_Haddan: the admin has a :D face but the voice doesn’t sound as sure anymore]

[RagingMutant: ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ KAI TURNING THE ENEMY INTO SOMEONE CURIOUS ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛]

[Jesse_Williams: at some point the admin is going to stop wanting to eliminate him. that’s the pattern.]

---

The administrator launched a combination of eight movements — four physical and four energy intertwined, the kind that leaves no moment between one and the next for the opponent to leave a reactive state.

Kai took the first.

Blocked the second.

Dodged the third.

Took the fourth — the energy one that the previous block had left uncovered.

Blocked the fifth.

Dodged the sixth.

Took the seventh — the right side, which was no longer in condition to absorb more without real consequences.

Dodged the eighth by two centimeters.

At the end of the combination Kai was standing, with his side protesting and his left forearm at the limit of what it could block without giving way.

Standing.

The administrator looked at him.

It said nothing for three seconds.

"That was enough to incapacitate any entity without defensive magic in Aethon."

Lira, from the edge, without raising her voice:

"We already said that."

---

[DraconicLegacy: LIRA DRY FROM THE EDGE ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[Dr_Snow: Lira speaking on behalf of the whole group of people who’ve tried to incapacitate Kai]

[Drakeking: Kai took seven of eight in that combination and is still standing. the admin genuinely doesn’t understand.]

[Jack_Moore: Kai’s side is at the limit. his left forearm too. but he’s still standing.]

[Brandon_Haddan: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ HOLD ON KAI ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[RagingMutant: ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ STANDING ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛]

[Jesse_Williams: the admin has spent this whole fight saying "that should be enough" and it not being enough. welcome to the club.]

---

Kai used the administrator’s three seconds of pause.

He launched his right shoulder straight to the chest — no prior initiation, no pattern to read, just his body going forward with Qi active from the first step.

Deep Resonant Impact — the variation he’d used against the level 4 boss, straight to the interior instead of the surface.

The administrator raised its arm to block.

Kai passed under the arm.

The shoulder reached the chest.

The two existing distortions expanded and met — the one on the side and the one on the neck, now connected by a line crossing the administrator’s suit like a crack.

The administrator stepped back two meters.

It stopped.

It looked at the crack in its own suit.

Then at Kai.

The :D didn’t change.

But when it spoke, the tone was different from all the previous ones — it wasn’t kind. It was something more direct.

"Fine."

A pause.

"Enough playing."

The administrator panel materialized in front of it — the same one it had used to search for Kai’s record.

It opened it in a different section.

[Access: Event modifications — level 5]

[Activating extended combat parameters]

The air in the chamber changed.

And along with it, something more.

The administrator’s suit transformed — not in form, in function.

The cracks Kai had created disappeared.

The surface became different, denser.

Two points of blue light appeared where the eyes should be.

And the administrator’s arms became covered in energy of the same blue.

"Now then," the administrator said, "we speak the same language."

---

[DraconicLegacy: (ಠ_ಠ) IT ACTIVATED HACKS (ಠ_ಠ)]

[Dr_Snow: the cracks disappeared. all the damage Kai did, erased.]

[Drakeking: energy integrated into the arms. every physical strike now transmits directly to the nervous system.]

[Jack_Moore: Kai has his side at the limit and his left forearm almost given out and the admin just activated real administrator mode.]

[Brandon_Haddan: (°ロ°) (°ロ°) (°ロ°)]

[RagingMutant: (╬ Ò﹏Ó) (╬ Ò﹏Ó) THE HACKS (╬ Ò﹏Ó) (╬ Ò﹏Ó)] 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[Jesse_Williams: Serah and Lira at the edge watching this. describe their faces.]

---

Serah had her markings at maximum intensity.

She had been watching Kai take seven of eight in that combination and then watching the cracks disappear and the administrator’s arms become covered in blue energy and the pressure in the chamber double.

Serah looked at Kai. The question was whether she would intervene.

Lira had her arms crossed and was looking at the administrator.

The answer was no.

Kai looked at the administrator with its arms covered in blue energy and the cracks disappeared and the pressure concentrated specifically on him.

Then he looked at his own hands.

Qi active. The new techniques. Deep Resonant Impact that had already worked for him before, ready to attack.

And the administrator with active hacks in front of him.

Kai exhaled.

"Fine," he said.

And smiled.

---

[DraconicLegacy: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ HE SMILED ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[Dr_Snow: Kai with his side at the limit and his forearm almost given out facing an admin with active hacks. smiled.]

[Drakeking: "fine" — the same word the admin says. both have the same level of interest in the combat.]

[Jack_Moore: Serah is going to intervene at some point. I see it in her markings.]

[Brandon_Haddan: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[RagingMutant: ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛ ┗(°0°)┛]

[Jesse_Williams: ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

[System — notification]

[Current viewers: 24,200,000]

[The system notes that the administrator activated extended combat parameters]