Webnovel's Extra: Reincarnated With a Copy Ability-Chapter 154: Pressure Tests

The first sign something had changed wasn’t the training halls.

It was the schedule.

Lucas noticed it when he checked his interface before breakfast. Normally the academy rotations stayed predictable for weeks at a time. Training blocks shifted slowly, and most students could guess what their next few days would look like.

Not today.

Half the morning slots had been rearranged.

Practice groups that normally trained separately were suddenly assigned to the same rotation. A-tier students were paired with B-tier formations. Even a few C-tier squads appeared in drills they normally wouldn’t touch.

Lucas stared at the screen for a few seconds.

"Well," he muttered, "that’s new."

Dreyden glanced up from across the table.

"What is?"

Lucas turned the interface toward him.

"They mixed the tiers."

Dreyden studied the schedule.

"Yes."

Lucas frowned.

"That’s it?"

Dreyden handed the device back.

"It was going to happen eventually."

Lucas leaned back in his chair.

"Why now?"

Dreyden didn’t answer immediately.

Around them the dining hall buzzed with the usual morning noise. Students moved through the lines with half-awake expressions, conversations drifting between classes and rumors about upcoming assessments.

Lucas tapped the schedule again.

"Don’t tell me they’re doing this just to keep things interesting."

Dreyden finally spoke.

"They want to see what survives contact with unfamiliar teammates."

Lucas blinked.

"That sounds unpleasant."

"Yes."

Lucas rubbed his face.

"Great."

The training hall looked normal at first.

Then Lucas noticed the formations.

Groups that had trained together for months stood awkwardly inside the practice circles, reading unfamiliar names on their rotation lists. People glanced at each other like strangers meeting for the first time in a storm.

Lucas stepped into his assigned grid.

Three other students followed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

One of them he recognized immediately.

Raisel leaned against the barrier rail, watching the grid with quiet interest.

Lucas pointed.

"You’re not supposed to be on my team."

Raisel shrugged.

"Apparently I am."

Lucas checked the roster again.

Sure enough.

Lucas, Raisel, a B-tier suppressor he’d seen once or twice, and a C-tier anchor who looked nervous enough to bolt.

Lucas sighed.

"Alright."

The suppressor folded his arms.

"What’s the plan?"

Lucas looked at the grid.

"Same as always."

Raisel raised an eyebrow.

"Which version?"

Lucas grinned.

"We’ll figure that out when things start breaking."

The anchor swallowed.

"That’s... reassuring."

Lucas clapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry. Just breathe and stay where you’re supposed to."

Across the hall, Dreyden stood inside another grid with an entirely different group. Two A-tier students, one B-tier anchor, and someone Lucas didn’t recognize.

Lucas noticed the moment their eyes met across the room.

Dreyden gave a small nod.

Lucas returned it.

Then the projection grids activated.

The first hazard wave rose quickly.

Lucas widened his stance immediately, letting the formation breathe while Raisel adjusted his angle along the outer lane.

The suppressor hesitated for half a second before committing to the arc.

Lucas noticed.

"Earlier," he said.

The suppressor corrected.

The hazard wave passed cleanly.

Lucas exhaled.

"Good."

The second wave arrived with a faster timing shift.

Lucas tightened the formation.

Raisel caught the change instantly.

The anchor almost moved the wrong direction but stopped when Lucas raised a hand.

"Hold."

The projections collapsed inward.

Lucas redirected them with a short burst of pressure.

The grid dimmed.

The suppressor blinked.

"That worked."

Lucas nodded.

"Yeah."

Raisel watched him carefully.

"You’re adjusting the pressure points."

Lucas shrugged.

"Trying to."

Across the hall another formation shattered against the barrier.

Lucas glanced over.

Someone had collapsed too early.

Dreyden’s grid remained stable.

Lucas smirked slightly.

Of course it did.

The second round started immediately.

This time the hazards appeared with almost no warning.

Lucas felt the pressure build before he even saw the arcs rise.

"Spread," he said.

The formation widened.

The first projection slipped between them.

The suppressor nearly chased it but Raisel stopped him with a quick gesture.

"Hold the lane."

Lucas redirected the arc at the last second.

The hazard dissolved.

The anchor exhaled loudly.

"That felt close."

Lucas nodded.

"It was."

He looked around the hall briefly.

Dozens of formations struggled through the same sequence. Some held together. Others collapsed and reset.

The instructors walked between the circles without interfering.

Lucas wiped sweat from his neck.

"You think they’re increasing the pressure?"

Raisel didn’t look away from the grid.

"Yes."

Lucas smiled slightly.

"Of course they are."

The third wave came harder.

Hazard arcs split mid-flight, forcing the formation to react faster than before.

Lucas tightened the spacing too quickly.

Raisel corrected it before the suppressor could follow the wrong movement.

The formation stabilized.

Lucas exhaled.

"Thanks."

Raisel shrugged.

"That one was on you."

Lucas laughed.

"Fair."

The grid faded again.

They stepped out of the circle.

The anchor looked stunned.

"I thought that was going to fall apart."

Lucas nodded.

"So did I."

Across the hall, the rotations ended at the same time.

Students stepped out of their grids breathing hard.

The noise level in the room rose slowly as people compared results.

Lucas spotted Dreyden leaving his circle.

"Hey."

Dreyden walked over.

"How was it?"

Lucas wiped his hands on his shirt.

"Messy."

Dreyden nodded.

"Good."

Lucas laughed.

"You’re enjoying this way too much."

Dreyden glanced around the hall.

The formations had already started discussing what went wrong.

New combinations of students trying to piece together what worked.

"They’re accelerating the learning curve," Dreyden said.

Lucas stretched his shoulders.

"Yeah."

He looked at the rotation board again.

More mixed-tier groups queued for the next round.

Lucas shook his head.

"This is going to get ugly."

Dreyden watched the students returning to their grids.

"Yes."

Lucas smiled faintly.

"Good."

Dreyden raised an eyebrow.

Lucas rolled his neck.

"If we’re going to get better, we might as well do it the hard way."

Dreyden nodded once.

"That’s the only way this place works."

The projection grids flickered back to life.

Students stepped into their new formations.

Different teammates.

Different reactions.

Same pressure.

And above them, behind the dark observation windows, the academy continued watching to see who adapted fastest when the environment stopped being comfortable.