Webnovel's Extra: Reincarnated With a Copy Ability-Chapter 162: After the Applause
The courtyard felt strange after the arena.
Lucas noticed it immediately.
The place looked the same as always. Stone paths, trimmed hedges, the tall glass walls of the training halls catching the afternoon light. Students crossed the open space in small groups, talking the way they usually did after drills.
But the tone had shifted.
People weren’t just talking about mistakes or rankings anymore. They were replaying moments from the evaluation. Lucas heard fragments as he walked past one group near the fountain.
"You saw that second wave adjustment?"
"They held longer than I expected."
"No, the suppressor saved it."
Lucas slowed for a moment, listening.
Nobody mentioned ranks.
Nobody asked who won.
They were discussing decisions.
That alone felt unusual.
Dreyden walked beside him, hands loosely in his pockets. He seemed completely unaffected by the change in atmosphere, which made Lucas wonder if he’d noticed it at all.
"You feel that?" Lucas asked.
Dreyden glanced at him.
"What?"
Lucas gestured around the courtyard.
"This."
Dreyden looked briefly toward the groups of students talking.
"Yes."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"That’s it? Just ’yes’?"
"You asked if I noticed."
Lucas rolled his eyes.
"You’re impossible."
They kept walking.
Ahead of them, Raisel leaned against one of the stone railings overlooking the lower gardens. He looked relaxed, though Lucas knew better than to mistake that calm posture for actual rest.
Raisel noticed them approaching and pushed away from the railing.
"Well," he said, "that was interesting."
Lucas nodded.
"That’s one word for it."
Raisel glanced toward the arena building behind them.
"You handled the second wave well."
Lucas shrugged.
"I waited longer than usual."
Dreyden spoke quietly.
"You trusted the shift."
Lucas looked at him.
"Yeah."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Honestly, I almost tightened the formation early."
Raisel tilted his head.
"What stopped you?"
Lucas thought about it for a second.
"Instinct, I guess."
Dreyden didn’t comment.
Lucas glanced between the two of them.
"Okay, you’re both doing that thing again."
Raisel raised an eyebrow.
"What thing?"
"That quiet judging thing."
Raisel smiled faintly.
"No judging."
Lucas crossed his arms.
"Then what?"
Raisel considered the question.
"Observation."
Lucas groaned.
"You two are the worst."
They started walking again, heading toward the dorm buildings.
Students still filled the courtyard, but the earlier tension from the arena had faded into something lighter. Groups formed and dissolved as people compared notes, argued over small details, and occasionally laughed about mistakes that had looked terrifying a few hours earlier.
Lucas noticed someone jogging toward them from the far path.
Arden.
She slowed as she reached them, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
"You three leaving already?"
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah. My brain needs a break."
Arden smiled slightly.
"Fair."
She fell into step beside them.
"How did your formation go?"
Lucas glanced at Dreyden.
"Pretty smooth."
Arden looked at Dreyden too.
"You expected that."
Dreyden didn’t respond.
Lucas laughed.
"See? That silence right there."
Arden chuckled softly.
"I’m used to it."
They reached the stairs leading up to the dorm walkway.
For a moment none of them spoke.
The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the stone steps, and the air carried the quiet buzz of dozens of conversations happening throughout the courtyard.
Arden finally broke the silence.
"You know what today really showed?"
Lucas sighed.
"Please tell me you’re not about to give a philosophical speech."
Arden ignored him.
"Everyone’s adapting."
Lucas shrugged.
"That’s the whole point of training."
"Yes," Arden said. "But this time it’s happening faster."
Lucas frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Arden gestured toward the courtyard.
"A week ago, people were arguing about which method was correct."
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah."
"Now," she continued, "they’re testing everything."
Lucas thought about the conversations he’d overheard earlier.
She was right.
People weren’t defending their favorite approaches anymore. They were comparing results.
Lucas looked toward Dreyden.
"You noticed that too, didn’t you?"
Dreyden nodded once.
"Yes."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Guess the academy got what it wanted."
Raisel folded his arms.
"Not entirely."
Lucas glanced at him.
"What do you mean?"
Raisel nodded toward the arena building behind them.
"Today showed something else."
Lucas waited.
Raisel’s voice stayed calm.
"People perform differently when they know they’re being watched."
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"Yeah."
That part had been obvious.
Some students moved too cautiously during their rotations. Others rushed their decisions, trying to look decisive under observation.
Lucas rubbed his chin.
"You think Oversight was testing that?"
"Yes," Raisel said.
Lucas shook his head.
"That’s a little creepy."
Dreyden spoke quietly.
"It’s practical."
Lucas groaned.
"Of course you’d say that."
They reached the dorm walkway and stopped near the railing overlooking the training fields below.
Students still practiced in scattered groups across the grass, running smaller drills long after the official evaluation had ended.
Lucas leaned on the railing.
"You know what the weirdest part of today was?"
Arden glanced at him.
"What?"
Lucas watched the students below.
"For a few minutes in that arena... it felt like everyone was on the same side."
Raisel raised an eyebrow.
"You mean the applause."
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah."
He laughed softly.
"That almost never happens here."
Arden looked thoughtful.
"Competition usually divides people."
Lucas shrugged.
"Exactly."
He tapped the railing lightly.
"But today it didn’t."
Dreyden watched the training fields in silence.
Lucas looked at him.
"You’re thinking again."
"Yes."
Lucas sighed.
"What now?"
Dreyden nodded toward the students below.
"They’re practicing."
Lucas frowned.
"So?"
"The evaluation is over."
Lucas followed his gaze.
Groups of students were still running formation drills, adjusting their spacing and replaying hazard patterns with small projection devices.
Lucas blinked.
"Oh."
Arden smiled faintly.
"They’re not waiting for the next lesson."
Lucas leaned back against the railing.
"They’re teaching themselves."
Dreyden nodded.
"Yes."
Lucas thought about that for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Okay."
Raisel looked at him.
"Okay what?"
Lucas pushed away from the railing.
"Okay, maybe the Triangle isn’t completely insane."
Arden laughed quietly.
"That’s a bold conclusion."
Lucas shrugged.
"I’m not saying it’s perfect."
He glanced back toward the training fields.
"But if people start figuring things out on their own..."
His voice trailed off.
Dreyden finished the thought calmly.
"They become harder to control."
Lucas grinned.
"Exactly."
The four of them stood there a little longer, watching the students below continue their drills even as the evening light faded across the grounds.
No instructor guided them.
No observer recorded their movements.
Just students learning from each other.
Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You think Oversight expected this?"
Dreyden answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
Lucas laughed softly.
"Of course they did."
Behind them the dorm corridor lights flickered on as the sun dipped lower in the sky.
Another day at the Triangle was ending.
But something quiet had begun to grow in its place.
Not rivalry.
Not obedience.
Something harder to predict.
Students who had started thinking for themselves.
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