Webnovel's Extra: Reincarnated With a Copy Ability-Chapter 169: Pressure, Without Warning
The next change didn’t come with an announcement.
That was the first sign something was wrong.
Lucas realized it halfway through the morning block, right when the projection grid flickered before activating. It wasn’t the usual clean startup. The light stuttered for a split second, just enough to throw off the rhythm everyone had settled into.
He noticed it.
So did a few others.
No one said anything.
The wave came anyway.
"Left," Lucas called, stepping into position.
The arc curved in fast and low, almost identical to the standard opening pattern. He redirected it cleanly, the formation holding without strain.
But something felt off.
The timing.
The wave arrived a fraction earlier than expected.
Lucas adjusted for it without thinking, but the awareness stuck in the back of his mind.
"Did you feel that?" he asked quietly as the cycle reset.
Raisel nodded.
"Slight acceleration."
Lucas frowned.
"That’s new."
Dreyden didn’t respond.
He was watching the grid.
By the second rotation, it was obvious.
The projection system wasn’t behaving the same way.
Not broken.
Changed.
The patterns still followed recognizable structures, but the timing windows shifted just enough to disrupt muscle memory. Waves came slightly earlier or later. Angles adjusted mid-path more frequently.
Lucas stepped into another grid with a different group and felt it immediately.
The first wave hesitated.
Not long enough to be noticeable to most people, but enough to disrupt the instinct to move.
Lucas waited.
The wave snapped forward.
"Now," he said.
The formation collapsed cleanly.
One of the anchors exhaled.
"That almost got me."
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah."
The second wave came fast.
Too fast.
Lucas barely had time to adjust.
"Hold—no, move!"
The formation shifted awkwardly, but it held.
The arc shattered against the barrier.
Lucas stepped out of the grid when the cycle ended, his expression tightening.
"That’s deliberate."
Raisel approached from the side.
"Yes."
Lucas rubbed his jaw.
"They didn’t tell us."
"No."
Lucas let out a quiet breath.
"Of course they didn’t."
The training hall changed with the system.
It didn’t happen all at once.
It never did.
At first, people just adjusted.
A slight delay here. A faster reaction there.
But as the rotations continued, the friction from yesterday returned.
Stronger this time.
Lucas watched a formation near the center of the hall struggle with a mid-cycle shift. The suppressor reacted too early, expecting the arc to follow its usual path. It didn’t.
The wave twisted.
The formation broke.
Not violently.
Just enough to force a reset.
Lucas crossed his arms.
"They’re messing with timing now."
Arden nodded.
"It removes predictability."
Lucas glanced at her.
"Yeah, I got that part."
He looked back at the floor.
"But why now?"
Dreyden answered.
"Because people adapted to the previous pattern."
Lucas exhaled.
"So they changed the pattern."
"Yes."
Lucas shook his head.
"Of course they did."
The real problem showed up during the third rotation block.
It wasn’t the shifting patterns.
People were already adjusting to that.
It was what came after.
Lucas stepped into a grid with Raisel and two others. He rolled his shoulders once, forcing himself to stay loose.
"Don’t rely on timing," he said. "Watch the movement."
They nodded.
The projection system activated.
The first wave came clean.
Lucas redirected it without hesitation.
The second wave delayed.
He felt the hesitation in his own body.
A fraction of a second.
Enough.
"Now," he called.
Too early.
The formation collapsed before the arc reached them.
The wave shifted.
The pressure hit the edge of their formation and snapped outward.
Lucas stumbled back, catching himself before he lost balance.
"Reset," he said immediately.
No one spoke.
They repositioned.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"That’s on me."
Raisel shook his head.
"No."
Lucas looked at him.
"You felt it too."
"Yes."
Lucas nodded once.
"Alright."
He stepped back into position.
"Again."
The second attempt worked.
Lucas didn’t call the timing.
He watched.
The arc moved.
He adjusted.
"Now."
The formation collapsed cleanly.
The projection shattered.
Lucas stepped out of the grid and let out a breath.
"Okay."
He wiped sweat from his hands.
"That’s annoying."
Raisel smirked faintly.
"You prefer consistency."
Lucas gave him a look.
"Everyone prefers consistency."
By the end of the session, the entire hall had changed.
Again.
The hesitation from the previous day was gone.
In its place was something sharper.
People weren’t waiting for the "right" moment anymore.
They were reacting to what was actually happening.
Lucas leaned against the barrier, watching a group run a particularly messy cycle.
The formation didn’t look clean.
But it held.
He nodded slowly.
"They’re adjusting."
Dreyden stood beside him.
"Yes."
Lucas glanced at him.
"That didn’t take long."
"No."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Guess pressure fixes things faster than practice."
Dreyden didn’t respond.
He didn’t need to.
The session ended without ceremony.
No announcement.
No summary.
Just the projection grids dimming as the final cycles completed.
Students left in smaller groups than usual, conversations quieter, more focused.
Lucas walked toward the exit with the others, rolling his shoulders.
"Well," he said, "that was unpleasant."
Arden smiled slightly.
"But effective."
Lucas shrugged.
"Yeah."
He glanced back at the training hall.
"They took away timing."
Raisel nodded.
"They forced observation."
Lucas looked at Dreyden.
"And?"
Dreyden’s voice stayed calm.
"They removed the last layer of certainty."
Lucas thought about that.
Then he laughed quietly.
"Of course they did."
The courtyard felt colder that evening.
Not physically.
Just in the way people moved through it.
Students walked with more awareness now. Conversations stayed low, focused on what had gone wrong and how to adjust.
Lucas slowed near the center path.
"You feel that?"
Raisel nodded.
"Yes."
Lucas looked around.
"No one’s comfortable anymore."
Dreyden glanced toward the training halls.
"That is the point."
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"Yeah."
He shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Can’t rely on timing. Can’t rely on patterns."
He looked up at the academy walls.
"So what’s left?"
Dreyden’s answer came without hesitation.
"Judgment."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Great."
He started walking again.
"Guess we’ll see who actually has it."
