Felix grinned, "Alright then, let's see what you can really do."
The courtyard shattered again as a new simulation began loading.
Raze stood ready for the combat scenario to load, but before the environment could materialize, a sharp chime echoed through the void.
A new screen slid into his vision.
[Before entering Combat Scenarios, please select an awakening.]
[You may choose from the Awakening List or proceed without selecting one.]
Below the message, the list unfolded and kept unfolding.
Rows upon rows of awakenings scrolled downward.
Fire Manipulation, Gravity Threads, Thunder Step, Iron Skin, Spatial Flick, Venom Pulse…it felt endless.
Raze stared at it, surprised by how many awakenings the game had recorded in its database.
Felix whistled beside him. "Surprised? Well, it should be expected. The game uploads every single awakening that is shared out there in the real world that we know today, but only the ones that are made public."
"Wait, so, is your awakening in the game?" Raze asked.
Felix chuckled, "Of course not. The game doesn't have original awakenings, so my awakening is not on the list."
Felix waved a hand toward the endless scrolling list. "Go ahead. Pick whatever you want. Any awakening here is fair game since it's just a simulation."
Raze stayed quiet as he kept scrolling. Fire… lightning… enhancement… elemental… it really did have everything. But the more he looked, the more wrong it felt.
None of these were his. None of these were what he was becoming. He felt that if he did decide to use one of the awakenings from the list, he'll develop some sort of habit of using it in the game and he feared that it may cause problems in the future.
'Using an awakening for the first time wouldn't hurt right…?' he asked himself. 'Plus I can finally experience how it feels using an awakening.'
After a few seconds of thought, he finally made his decision.
Felix nudged him lightly with his elbow. "Just pick one. You don't have to marry it. It's a game."
"Alright, alright, I'll pick one," Raze replied.
He continued to scroll, and the more he read, the more he realized something.
If he was going to try an awakening for the first time, then he might as well pick something insanely cool. Something he would never get in real life. Something that sounded powerful enough to shake the entire battlefield.
He stopped when one name caught his eye.
[Awakening: Starflare Burst]
[Generates explosive bursts of condensed light energy. Extremely high offensive power. Difficult to control.]
'Starflare Burst… that sounds ridiculous,' he thought. 'Ridiculous but cool.'
He tapped Stareflare Burst without thinking anymore.
The game chimed immediately.
[Awakening Selected: Starflare Burst]
Felix leaned in slightly, glancing at the window hovering beside Raze.
"...Starflare Burst?" Felix raised a brow. "Damn. You went straight for the dangerous stuff."
Raze shrugged lightly. "I want to try something… strong."
Felix smirked. "Strong? Try uncontrollable. Not many people choose that awakening even though it's strong. That awakening requires a lot of focus and training if you even want to use it in small bursts."
Raze looked at his hand, slowly forming a fist. He could feel a tingling sensation start to build around his palm, small motes of bright energy flickering like sparks.
The simulation arena began loading again.
Stone pillars rose from the ground. A faint mist rolled across the arena. Then a single humanoid opponent materialized at the far end, featureless, but its stance sharp and ready.
Its arms glowed with a deep blue sheen, water swirling around its fists.
[Awakening: Water Reinforcement. Level: 2]
Felix crossed his arms. "Beginner scenario. Good for you to get used to an awakened opponent."
Raze didn't respond, instead he stepped forward, ready to try out Starflare Burst.
A countdown appeared above them.
5…4…3…2…1…
[Combat Scenario: Begin.]
Raze ran forward.
The moment he moved, he could feel a build up of energy in his palm, like a star trying to escape his grip.
'So this is what an awakening feels like…?'
The Water Reinforcement opponent reacted instantly. Its feet slid across the stone floor with fluid precision, water spiraling around its forearms as it dashed toward him.
Raze tightened his fist.
A small sphere of condensed light snapped into existence in his palm, twitching and unstable. Like it might explode at any second.
'This is way stronger than I expected…'
The opponent closed in, throwing a reinforced punch straight at his chest.
Raze instinctively swung his glowing hand forward.
A burst of unstable light exploded outward.
The blast shot out like a miniature flare gun, colliding with the opponent's punch.
The explosion threw them both backwards. Raze slid back across the floor, while the opponent was sent several meters away, crashing into a nearby pillar.
Felix let out a whistle. "Damn, and you didn't even charge it too? That's some overpowered bullcrap."
Raze shook out his arm. His hand tingled painfully, like it had several needles stabbing into his hand.
'No wonder people avoid this awakening… I can barely control the output.'
The opponent rose again, arms reforming their water armor. Its stance tightened. It was taking him seriously now.
Raze lifted his hand again, energy began swirling around his palm again. Unstable but powerful.
'Fine… let's try again.'
He pushed off the ground, sprinting forward.
The opponent did the same, water surging around its fists.
Both of them clashed in the center of the arena.
Raze thrust his palm forward but the light burst too early, detonating between them.
A shockwave rippled outward.
Raze was thrown on his back this time. The pillars around him shaking from the blast.
Felix started to laugh. "Yup. That's Starflare Burst. Pure offense, zero stability."
Raze groaned, pushing himself up. "This is really hard to control…"
He looked at his hand again. Even inside a simulation, even without the system, it felt good to be strong. Even if it wasn't real.
Felix tilted his head. "Alright, you got the spark. Now let's see if you can actually aim that thing."
The moment Raze finally balanced his stance, the opponent was already closing the distance.
Raze ran forward again, but this time cautiously, trying to focus on controlling the light bursts and waiting for an opening in the opponent's stance.
They met in the middle again.
Raze dodged the first strike, then the second, then the third, slipping past each blow.
"Come on, Raze!" Felix shouted. "You got this!"
Raze grit his teeth, using Felix's encouragement to hold his focus. He kept dodging and redirecting until–
'There.'
The opponent overextended, its fist flying straight toward his chest.
Raze sidestepped, grabbed its arm, and pulled it forward. Light gathered in his other hand, building rapidly, glowing brighter and brighter.
He thrust his hand into the opponent's chest.
A massive explosion followed afterward, engulfing the both of them inside the blast.
Felix squinted through the smoke. Something about the way Raze fought bothered him.
'Strange… for someone with no awakening, he sure moves like someone who's fought before.'
When the smoke finally cleared, Raze was standing in the center of a cracked crater, his robe singed. His palm was throbbing again, small flickers of unstable light crawling across his fingertips before fading out.
The simulation chimed.
[Combat Opponent Defeated.]
The Water Reinforcement dummy shattered into particles, dissolving into the air.
Raze was rubbing his palm. Even though it was a game, Starflare Burst didn't go easy on the user.
Felix raised a brow. "Not bad. You did pretty good."
Raze lowered his hand slowly, shaking out the remaining sting.
Felix frowned. "Raze… there's something off about the way you move."
Raze froze for half a second, but he forced his expression to stay calm.
"What do you mean?" Raze asked, trying to sound calm.
Felix gestured loosely. "Most newbies panic. They overuse their awakening, or they freeze when something comes at them fast. But you?"
He pointed toward the crater beneath Raze's feet. "You reacted like you've been in real fights before.
Raze stayed silent.
Felix narrowed his eyes slightly. "Especially someone who doesn't have an awakening."
"I just… practiced a lot," Raze said.
Felix didn't push the topic. He simply gave a small nod, accepting the answer on the surface but not completely convinced.
Then he flicked his hand, pulling up a new menu.
[Time Remaining: 26 Minutes]
"We've got twenty-six minutes," Felix said. His suspicion faded instantly, replaced by a grin. "Perfect."
He turned toward Raze with a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"Oh, I know exactly how we're spending the rest of this session."
Raze raised an eyebrow, unsure where this sudden enthusiasm was coming from. For a moment, he wondered if Felix had caught something off about the way he moved but Felix didn't ask anything more. That alone made Raze exhale quietly in relief.
'Next time… I should probably use Starflare Burst to fake movement boosts.
It'll help cover up my real speed.'
Felix opened his duel menu, screens flickering around him. "Me and you. Against real players. A full 2v2 match."
"Already?" Raze asked. "What level are the opponents going to be?"
Felix shrugged casually. "Random. Remember when I told you the game matches people based on the level they set?"
Raze nodded.
Felix lifted a finger. "That's only if both teammates set the same level. If they're different like us then matching becomes random. We could get level threes. Level fives. Maybe even level sevens if we're unlucky."
Raze blinked. "...And that's a good thing?"
Felix grinned. "Of course. You want experience, right? Fighting bots won't prepare you for real people."
A new window appeared in front of them:
[Duel Mode: 2v2]
[Searching for Opponents…]
[Opponents Found: Levels 7 & 7]
Felix's smile vanished.