Meanwhile, somewhere else in the training field, another battle was about to start. The group for the Lightning Awakening stood near their platforms, each student crackling faintly with electricity.
Among them was Felix, his usual grin faintly visible as sparks of red lightning flickered around him. Unlike the others, he was from an Original Bloodline which made him different among the group. The others were confident, but even they were cautious around him. After all, everyone knew what lightning clashes could turn into.
At the front stood Aria Veyne, holding a sleek tablet in her hand.
"Before we begin," she said, "you should all know the platforms will shift air pressure and reaction time. Remember, lightning is affected by air resistance. So adapt quickly."
A few students exchanged uneasy glances. Aria tapped her tablet, her eyes scanning the next pair before calling out, "First match: Thomas Dream versus Felix Blaze."
The crowd immediately buzzed with murmurs..
"Thomas Dream, He's a level 7!"
"That Blaze guy is a level 7+ though. The highest level. You saw what he did in the Elemental Class, right?"
"Guess we'll see whose lightning's stronger."
Before the students could debate on who would win, Aria gave them a sharp glare that said everything without words.
Felix stepped forward, red lightning flickering around him as he grinned. "Two lightning users, huh? Let's see who the storm favors."
Across from him, Thomas rolled his shoulders, his expression calm but confident. Sparks of blue lightning trailed up his arms.
"The Blaze bloodline," he said evenly. "I've heard the rumors."
Felix grin widened. "Then let's make them true."
"Begin!" Aria announced.
Felix didn't waste a second. Red lightning burst across the arena floor as he dashed forward, releasing a blazing arc of energy.
Thomas reacted instantly, side-stepping and countering with his own strike of blue lightning. Felix raised a hand, forming a crackling wall of red energy that absorbed the attack before breaking apart into particles.
"Not bad," Felix smirked, lowering his hand. "But still not good enough!"
His legs sparked with red lightning as he charged again, Thomas mirrored him, their lightning clashing midair as their fists collided. Red and blue sparks exploding outward. The impact echoed through the arena.
Felix shifted his stance, redirecting Thomas's punch before driving his own toward his ribs. Thomas barely leapt back in time, landing hard and sliding across the platform.
"Close one," Thomas muttered under his breath.
Before they could resume, a loud crash echoed across the arena, so powerful that even the lightning around them flickered.
Everyone's heads turned toward the noise. The sound had come from the far side of the training field… the direction of Raze's group.
A large chunk of the floating platform crashed to the ground below, kicking up a wave of dust and leaving a shallow crater in its wake.
"Just stay still!" Saren shouted, swinging his whip wildly in frustration.
Raze leapt from one floating piece of debris to the next, his body drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged. 'I can't keep this up. Even going all out, gravity users are a pain to fight. His muscles burned with every movement. If his awakening was even one level higher, I'd already be done for. Level four… I wouldn't even stand a chance.'
The number of stable platforms dwindled fast. Each jump felt heavier, and slower. His half-ling body screamed at him to use his skill Piercing Slash. But his mind refused. Revealing it now would expose him.
In this world, humans could only awaken one awakening in their lifetime. Choosing an awakening book was a once-in-a-lifetime decision, one that defined a person's path forever. Raze knew this better than anyone.
He could still play off his healing as some kind of late-blooming regeneration ability, but if he used Piercing Slash… it would raise too many questions. Regeneration and an attack skill? That wasn't something a normal human could have.
"What's wrong?" Saren taunted. "Your regeneration's slowing down, isn't it? Looks like you're running out of steam!"
Raze gritted his teeth. He could feel it too, his stamina was collapsing. Every dodge, every leap, every breath took more out of him. Then a system alert flickered into view.
[Your hunger grows.]
[Your hunger grows.]
[Regeneration will be paused until you devour food.]
[For the next hour, you will lose -2 HP until you consume a living creature's flesh.]
Raze's heart sank. His expression hardened as panic tightened his chest. He opened his status screen mid-dodge, narrowly avoiding another whip strike.
[User: Raze Zaden]
[HP: 41 / 100]
[Race: Half-ling]
[Level: 2]
[EXP: 150 / 200]
'One more hit and I'm finished! he thought. Why isn't the instructor stopping this?!'
Saren snarled, realizing his attacks weren't landing cleanly. He clenched his fist, gravity pulsing around him. Using his awakening, he launched forward at blinding speed.
Before Raze could react, Saren's hand clamped over his head, then slam! He drove him straight into the last floating platform, the shockwave cracking the surface beneath them.
[-25 HP]
[16 / 100 HP]
Raze's vision blurred to black. He lay there, dazed, Saren's grip still holding his head down. The world spun around him.
Saren leaned close, sneering. "How does it feel to be beneath me, weak level one?" His voice dripped with contempt.
"Can't believe I had to go all out against worthless trash like you."
Raze didn't move. He could barely breathe but the words echoed in his skull, burning deeper than the pain. 'I can't let him get away with that… I need to win.'
His fingers twitched. 'The instant level-up… the system wouldn't offer it for no reason.'
Then, something inside him snapped.
Raze's vision flickered. His heart pounded violently against his chest, the pain fading into something darker. Hungrier. His half-ling instincts began to stir, forcing their way through the exhaustion. Every beat of his heart echoed like a drum of war.
Saren smirked down at him. "Pathetic."
But before he could say anything else, Raze's hand shot up like a blur and clamped around Saren's throat.
The change was instant. His grip was tight, too tight, his eyes dimming into something feral. The veins in his arm pulsed violently as he squeezed.
"W–what the hell—" Saren croaked, his voice cracking.
Raze didn't speak. His instincts had taken over. With his other hand, he pulled back his fist and drove it into Saren's gut. Once. Twice. Then again. Each hit landed with a bone-rattling thud.
Saren's body jerked with every strike, the air forced out of his lungs. Raze's breathing grew heavier, his knuckles stained red.
"Raze! Stop!" someone shouted from below, but he didn't hear them. His body was moving on its own, driven by the primal hunger roaring inside him.
After the final punch, Raze's eyes flicked down at Saren, whose body now hung limply in his grip. His breathing was shallow, the fight completely gone from him.
Raze slowly rose to his feet, towering over him on the cracked, floating platform. For a moment, the two just stood there. The victor and the defeated, before Raze's foot came up and slammed into Saren's chest, sending him flying off the edge.
Saren's body fell, crashing into one of the lower platforms before rolling to a stop.
Raze stood there, breathing hard, sweat and blood dripping down his face. His mind was hazy, his heart still racing. 'What... what was that?' he thought. 'That wasn't me.'
The system chimed softly in his ear.
[Quest Completed: Defeat Your Opponent]
[Level Up!]
Below, the others stared in stunned silence. None of them truly understanding what they had just witnessed.
Even Ray, the instructor, remained frozen for a moment before muttering under his breath, "What... was that?"