Back in the dorms, Raze had woken up not too long ago and immediately noticed that Liam wasn't there.
"That's unusual…" Raze muttered.
He glanced around and saw Felix and Beatrix still asleep in their beds. After finishing his usual routine, he quietly exited the dorm.
The halls were mostly quiet since it was still early in the morning.
Raze made his way toward the VR pod room.
Yesterday, he'd planned to play Awakening Battlegrounds, but Felix had asked him to go out with them instead and Raze had agreed.
When he finally arrived at the VR room, he noticed it was emptier than the last time he'd been there.
Most likely because it was still early, and not many students were awake yet.
Raze approached the woman behind the counter and asked to use a pod for two hours.
Before paying, he'd had seventy credits. Now, he was left with fifty.
He made his way toward a VR pod. Before entering, he paused and looked around.
He noticed several students carrying beast weapons with them.
'Why are they carrying beast weapons?' he wondered.
Then he saw one of the students place their weapon into a rack mounted on the side of the pod.
Raze glanced at the pod in front of him and noticed the same setup. On the rack, a label was clearly displayed.
BEAST WEAPONS.
He hadn't noticed it earlier. And thinking back to Felix's explanation, he realized Felix hadn't mentioned this part.
Which meant that the students bringing their weapons with them…
Meant the game could recognize and replicate the power of beast weapons.
'Next time I come here, I should bring the
Grey Wolf Gauntlets,' Raze thought.
Without further ado, he entered the pod, and his consciousness was pulled into the game.
He found himself standing in the same endless white void as before.
Raze swiped his hand to the side, and a menu appeared in front of him.
[Training Modes]
— Solo Practice
— Duo Simulation
— Awakening Library
— Movement Drills
— Combat Scenarios
— Player Arena (Ranked)
He selected Solo Practice. Before queuing, the game prompted him to choose a difficulty level.
Raze thought about it for a moment. Since this was his second time playing—and his first time going solo—he decided to start at Level 1. He wanted to get a feel for the system before pushing higher.
The game chimed.
[Searching for Opponent…]
[Opponent found: Level 1]
In an instant, Raze was standing inside an arena.
At the far end stood another student. He wasn't holding a beast weapon, which eased Raze slightly.
The countdown finished.
The match began.
Raze moved forward cautiously, planning to observe his opponent before committing.
The student raised a hand and launched a small pillar of earth toward him.
The attack was slow. Raze jumped aside with little effort.
'Level one earth awakening,' Raze noted.
He surged forward again, faster this time. Before entering the match, he hadn't selected a simulated awakening—he wanted to rely on his own skills instead.
Raze fired off two Piercing Slashes, aiming for the student's chest.
The opponent raised an earthen wall to block, but the slashes pierced straight through, striking him and sending him staggering backward.
The student's HP dropped by thirty percent.
Recovering quickly, the opponent raised walls of earth behind and beside Raze, attempting to restrict his movement.
'Trying to box me in. Smart,' Raze thought.
He accelerated, closing the distance quickly.
Raze feinted a punch to the left, then activated Piercing Slash at close range.
The student reinforced his body with earth, but just like before, the slash tore through and struck him.
Before the opponent could recover, Raze pressed forward.
He released four Piercing Slashes but deliberately aimed them off-target.
The student didn't fall for it.
He coated his hands in hardened earth, shaping them into crude claws.
As Raze stepped in, the claw swept toward his neck.
Raze ducked and drove a punch into the student's stomach with full force.
The opponent's HP dropped by forty-five percent.
Before he could react, Raze followed up with another punch to the jaw—then finished with two cross-shaped piercing slashes using both his hands.
[Winner: SlayerVeil]
A familiar chime followed.
[Opponent defeated.]
[35 EXP earned.]
[185 / 800 EXP]
Raze blinked.
He hadn't expected the system to reward him with EXP for a VR match.
Then a smirk slowly formed on his face.
If this worked the way he thought it did…
Leveling up was going to be a lot faster than he'd expected.