Webnovel's Extra: Reincarnated With a Copy Ability-Chapter 155: Uneven Ground

The academy felt different after the mixed rotations started.

It wasn’t louder. If anything, the halls were quieter. Conversations still happened, but they carried a careful tone now. Students watched each other more closely, measuring reactions and remembering small mistakes that would’ve been forgotten a week ago.

Lucas felt it the moment he stepped out of the training hall.

Sweat still clung to the back of his neck as he walked into the locker corridor. The usual post-training noise filled the space: lockers slamming, boots scraping across the floor, low voices complaining about drills.

But the rhythm had changed.

People weren’t joking the way they normally did after practice. They were comparing notes.

"Your anchor stepped early on the third wave."

"That’s because the suppressor widened too late."

"No, the hazard angle shifted."

Lucas dropped his gloves on the bench and sat down with a tired exhale.

"Okay," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "That rotation was brutal."

Across from him, Raisel finished tightening the wrap around his wrist. He worked with quiet efficiency, pulling the cloth snug before tucking the end into place.

"You adjusted quickly," Raisel said.

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"That’s a polite way of saying I nearly wrecked the formation."

"You didn’t."

Lucas leaned back and stared at the ceiling lights.

"Felt like it."

For a moment neither of them spoke. The locker room buzzed with low conversation around them, everyone replaying the same sequences in their heads.

Lucas finally sat up again.

"You notice how nobody’s talking about ranks anymore?"

Raisel glanced up.

Lucas gestured around the room.

"It used to be all people cared about. Who beat who. Who moved up the ladder."

Raisel nodded slowly.

"And now?"

Lucas grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink.

"Now they’re talking about reaction timing and pressure shifts."

Raisel tied off the wrist wrap and flexed his fingers once.

"That’s improvement."

Lucas laughed quietly.

"Yeah."

He stood up and stretched his shoulders.

"Where’s Dreyden?"

Raisel nodded toward the exit.

"He left earlier."

Lucas frowned.

"Before the rotation ended?"

"Yes."

That made Lucas pause.

Dreyden didn’t usually leave drills early unless something was bothering him.

Lucas grabbed his jacket.

"Alright. I’m going to find him."

Raisel raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Because when Dreyden starts thinking too much, something weird usually follows."

Raisel considered that for a moment.

"That’s fair."

The courtyard outside had already started to darken.

Stone paths cut across the open space between the academy buildings, their edges lined with small lanterns that flickered on as the evening settled in. Students crossed the courtyard in scattered groups, heading toward dinner or late lectures.

Lucas spotted Dreyden almost immediately.

He stood on the upper walkway overlooking the courtyard, leaning against the railing with the relaxed stillness that made people underestimate how much he noticed.

Lucas climbed the stairs two at a time.

"You’re hiding."

Dreyden didn’t turn.

"No."

Lucas stopped beside him.

"Thinking, then."

"Yes."

Lucas rested his elbows on the railing and looked down at the courtyard.

Students moved through the open space in uneven clusters. Some walked alone, others in groups that shifted and rearranged as people caught up with friends or drifted away.

Lucas let out a slow breath.

"So what’s bothering you?"

Dreyden watched the movement below.

"The rotations."

Lucas blinked.

"You mean the mixed tiers?"

"Yes."

Lucas leaned against the railing.

"They’re rough, but they make sense."

Dreyden nodded slightly.

"That’s the problem."

Lucas frowned.

"How is that a problem?"

Dreyden gestured toward the courtyard.

"Look closer."

Lucas did.

At first he only saw what he expected: students heading to dinner, people talking quietly about the day’s drills.

Then he noticed the clusters.

Certain students had small groups around them. Others walked alone, even when they were surrounded by people.

Lucas narrowed his eyes.

"Okay... I think I see it."

Dreyden waited.

Lucas pointed toward a group crossing the courtyard.

"That guy ran the third rotation with us earlier. He handled the pressure well."

Three other students walked beside him now, listening closely while he talked.

Lucas shifted his gaze.

Another student walked alone a few meters away. Lucas remembered him collapsing a formation during the second wave.

Nobody walked with him.

Lucas slowly straightened.

"Oh."

"Yes."

Lucas rubbed his jaw.

"So the mixed rotations aren’t just about training."

"No."

"They’re showing everyone who adapts fastest."

Dreyden nodded.

Lucas watched the courtyard again.

Groups weren’t forming randomly.

Students who performed well during the new drills had people gravitating toward them. Others were quietly being avoided.

Lucas exhaled slowly.

"That’s... subtle."

"Yes."

Lucas leaned back against the railing.

"Kind of ruthless too."

Dreyden didn’t disagree.

Lucas let the silence stretch for a moment.

"You know what’s weird?" he said eventually.

"What?"

Lucas nodded toward the courtyard.

"They probably think this is happening naturally."

"Yes."

Lucas smiled faintly.

"But the academy set it up."

Dreyden looked back at the training halls behind them.

"They changed the environment."

Lucas folded his arms.

"And now everyone’s adapting."

"Yes."

Lucas laughed under his breath.

"That’s almost scary."

Dreyden shrugged slightly.

"It’s efficient."

Lucas shook his head.

"Remind me never to design a school like this."

"You wouldn’t."

Lucas glanced at him.

"How do you know?"

"Because you’d warn people first."

Lucas snorted.

"Probably."

He pushed away from the railing.

"Well, if they’re measuring who adapts fastest, we should probably keep training."

Dreyden nodded.

"That would be logical."

Lucas started toward the stairs.

"Come on."

Dreyden followed him down the walkway.

Behind them, the courtyard slowly emptied as students moved toward dinner.

Most of them didn’t realize the academy had already begun sorting them in ways that had nothing to do with rankings.

They thought the mixed rotations were simply a new training method.

Another way to improve.

But the Triangle rarely changed things without purpose.

The environment had shifted again.

Now it was watching to see which students noticed first... and which ones learned to move differently because of it.

:! X.z.C.l