Raze didn't answer the bully right away and it wasn't because he didn't have a comeback.
It was the flashbacks.
The scene in front of him… it wasn't new. It pulled him straight back to his old school, back when he was still just a normal kid with nothing special going for him. Back when having no awakening made him an easy target.
He remembered being shoved around, mocked, ignored. He remembered teachers pretending not to see.
He remembered the whispers."Awakenless freak." "Why's he even here?"
And the worst part?
His parents weren't there to help. They were always gone hunting beasts, always away on some mission. Sometimes weeks. Sometimes months. Eventually… they just stopped coming back.
The bully in front of him now carried the same tone, the same easy confidence, like hurting someone weaker made him feel stronger.
It stirred something in him that he didn't expect.
The bully stepped forward, irritation written all over his face.
"If you're going to interrupt me," he said, jabbing a finger at Raze's chest, "then pay up with your credits."
Raze didn't move. Didn't flinch.
Instead, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips the moment he heard the familiar ping in his mind.
[An enemy awakening user has been detected! You have received a new quest!]
[Quest: Defeat the student known as Tyler]
[Reward: 50 EXP]
'Tyler, huh…so that's his name.' Raze thought.
The smile only lasted a second, but Tyler caught it. And it made him snap.
"Oh, you think this is funny?" Tyler snarled.
Before Raze could even respond, Tyler lunged forward, fist already pulled back.
"I'll punch that smile off your face!"
His punch flew straight toward Raze's face, reckless and full of determination rather than skill.
Raze react instantly and sidestepped, avoiding the attack.
Tyler's fist cut through empty air.
"What?!" Tyler stumbled, thrown off by how easily Raze had avoided him.
Raze didn't follow up.
"That all you got?" Raze asked quietly.
The words weren't loud, but they hit Tyler harder than any punch.
"You little freak!"
He charged again, faster this time, putting all his strength behind the next swing.
Raze lifted his arm and blocked the swing with his forearm.
The punch landed hard, but it barely pushed him back. Tyler's strength wasn't bad for a level 1.5, but compared to what Raze had felt before… it was nothing.
Before Tyler could pull his arm away, Raze pushed the punch off to the side and stepped in.
He threw a clean hit straight into Tyler's stomach.
The force made Tyler choke out a sharp breath, his body folding forward as he stumbled back, grabbing his stomach.
"H-How…?" Tyler managed to get out, his breathing uneven. "You're… level one…"
Raze didn't answer his question. He just stared at him with a calm expression, lowering his fist back down.
Tyler grit his teeth, trying to hide the pain.
"You think you're tough because you got one hit in?" he barked, taking a shaky step forward. His voice cracked slightly. "I'm not done!"
He lunged again, faster but sloppy, fueled by anger instead of control.
Raze stepped aside from the first punch, then the second, then the third. Each time, he calmly moved Tyler's arm away like brushing aside branches.
To anyone watching, it didn't even look like a fight anymore.
It looked like Raze was dealing with a feral beast that had lost its mind.
Tyler growled in frustration, swinging harder, trying to land anything at all. "Stand still!"
Raze didn't bother responding. He tilted his head and let another punch slide past his cheek, redirecting Tyler's arm with a flick of his wrist.
Off to the side, the boy Tyler had been bullying stood frozen in place, eyes wide.
'How is a level one doing this?' he thought, his heart pounding. 'There's no way… level ones don't move like that. They don't hit like that. Is he really a level one?'
He couldn't look away.
Raze adjusted his stance slightly, watching Tyler stumble forward from his own failed attack.
The fight was already decided.
Raze exhaled slowly and lowered his stance.
"I guess I'll end this," he said.
He stepped forward before Tyler could regain his balance from his own missed punch. One clean motion. No hesitation.
Raze's fist snapped upward, landing squarely against Tyler's jaw.
The hit wasn't flashy, not even loud but it was decisive. Tyler's eyes rolled back as his body went limp, collapsing to the floor in an instant.
[Quest Completed]
[50 Exp Awarded]
[50/800 Exp]
The hallway went quiet again.
The boy who had been bullied looked between Tyler's unconscious body and Raze, unsure whether to speak or run.
Meanwhile, Raze opened his system with a simple thought.
[User: Raze Zaden]
[Level: 4]
[50/800 Exp]
[Stats Available: 3]
He had almost forgotten about the points he earned from leveling up earlier. The reminder made him pause.
'Hm… which stats should I place these 3 stat points into?' he thought.
He stood there for a few seconds, weighing the options. Strength, agility, stamina. They all mattered. But if he was going to face stronger opponents, whether on the platform, in the portal outing, or anywhere else…
He would need to be able to survive the hits he couldn't dodge.
Raze selected the first two points and placed them into Endurance.
[Endurance: 15 → 17]
Then he placed the final stat point into Strength.
[Strength: 16 → 17]
After putting his stat points into Strength and Endurance. He could feel a warm tingling energy flow through his body. It meant that he was growing stronger.
He then closed the screen and glanced once at Tyler, then at the student who was bullied.
The boy still looked stunned, almost afraid to speak.
Raze simply said, "You should leave before he wakes up."
The boy nodded quickly and hurried away.
Raze turned and began walking down the hallway, his footsteps calm, as if nothing had happened at all.
'If a level 1.5 is that weak… then what about a level 3? Or a level 4? How big is the gap really?'
His fight with Saren replayed in his mind. If he hadn't worn the Grey Wolf Gauntlets, he wouldn't have had the speed to dodge the whip or the agility to move across the floating platform. And without the added strength, he wouldn't have lasted a second against the crushing gravity.
That fight made one thing clear. The gap between levels wasn't small. A level 3 and a level 1.5 might as well have been two completely different species.
Then a system notification flashed in front of him.
[Your hunger grows.]
Raze stopped mid-step
.
'Not again…'
His chest tightened as the next message appeared.
[Your hunger will return soon. Be prepared.]
His jaw clenched.
Last time, the hunger nearly took away all of his control. He wasn't going to let that happen again. But there were no beasts inside the academy… and slipping outside wasn't exactly easy. He had no idea when the hunger would hit, or how bad it would be this time.
He remembered the skill that unlocked after the deer.
Flesh Bank.
10 kg of stored flesh, ready to be used in emergencies.
'I can use the stored flesh to keep it under control for now… but once that bank is empty, I'll have to refill it.'
The thought made him uneasy but there wasn't much choice.
He started walking again, his expression calm, but his mind already planning ahead.
After a while of walking, Raze stopped walking for a second, staring toward the direction of the VR building.
'If I'm going to get stronger in two weeks… this is the safest way.'
He adjusted his collar and kept moving.
'If Felix said the game reads your movements, then I can practice every scenario. Fighting speed awakenings… elemental awakenings… strength awakenings… everything.'
He remembered Saren's whip, Felix's lightning, Beatrix's flames and the level 6 girl warning them about hierarchy.
'If I don't want to drag the team down… then I need a way to prepare for anything.'
Raze turned down the hallway that led to the VR pod room.
'If the system wants me to reach level 10… then fine. I'll reach it. But I'm doing it my way.'
With that thought, he pushed open the door to the VR building. The room was dim, lit mostly by the glow of the pod screens lining the walls. A few students were already inside, lying in their pods with the lids closed.
He walked up to the small counter near the entrance where a receptionist sat, typing on a tablet.
A sign was displayed right beside her:
[5 Credits → 30 Minutes]
[10 Credits → 1 Hour]
Raze checked his wristwatch, expecting to hae seventy credits but when his eyes landed on his balance, he only saw 10.
'Ten credits? Weren't we supposed to get seventy credits a week? I guess the military gave us all 10 credits on the first day…but if I use it all now… I'll have nothing left for the rest of the week.' He thought.
'But if I don't train… I won't be ready for anything.'
He stepped closer to the counter, ready to scan his watch.