Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Battle Against Zion
Stella was still confused by what she had witnessed when someone stepped into her office. The lingering image of Kael’s duel replay still flickered behind her eyes.
"I received your message," the man said. His voice was calm, but there was an edge of exhaustion beneath it.
"Professor Ralph, I understand that you received it, but what are you doing here?" Stella asked. She hadn’t expected him to come in person.
"Well, you wanted a low-ranked student to use the Virtual Simulation Rooms," Ralph replied, adjusting the stack of folders under his arm. "I just wanted you to be the one observing him. I’m quite busy with the tournament preparations." The weight of those preparations was clear in the dark circles under his eyes and the way he kept glancing at the clock.
Stella’s eyes brightened. That worked perfectly for her. Ever since Kael had arrived at the academy, he had become more troublesome than she expected. Every time she thought she had figured him out, he did something ridiculous. First it was defeating a second-year in a way that she was yet to figure out. Then it was asking for VR access, which she was blackmailed to give him. Now he was in the sims, and she needed to see what he was actually doing in there.
She stood up immediately. "I’ll be observing him then."
Ralph simply nodded. He didn’t argue. He rarely did when it came to problem students.
The two of them walked toward the monitoring room connected to the Virtual Simulation Facility. The hallway was quiet, lined with reinforced glass and warning runes. They entered the room.
Several screens filled the room. The monitoring chamber was larger than Stella remembered, walls lined with glowing panels that displayed live feeds from every active simulation. Some students were fighting monsters, their shouts muffled by the soundproofing. Others were practicing techniques in slow motion, movements broken into frames for analysis. A few were simply testing themselves against recorded opponents, resetting again and again in pursuit of a perfect score.
Stella quickly located Kael’s simulation pod. The moment she saw his selected opponent on the central screen, she sighed.
"He is going for Rank Two right off the bat."
Ralph looked over her shoulder. "Zion?"
"Yes."
"That’s ambitious." Ralph’s tone was neutral, but Stella could hear the unspoken _stupid_.
Inside the simulation room, Kael stood opposite Zion’s projection. The virtual student looked exactly like the real one. Sword. Uniform. Expression. Everything had been replicated perfectly by the system.
Kael adjusted his grip on his blade. His knuckles were white.
"Begin."
The simulation activated.
Kael moved.
A sharp pain exploded through his neck.
Everything went dark.
Kael blinked.
"What?"
The simulation reset. Zion stood in front of him again. Exactly where he had started.
Kael frowned. "I didn’t even see him move." His breath came fast,
<Do You Wish To Continue?>
"Yes."
The simulation restarted.
This time Kael focused entirely on Zion. He didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe. The moment the battle started, both of them moved.
Their swords collided.
Clang. The sound was too loud in the enclosed space.
Kael immediately felt pressure. Not just physical – Zion’s blade seemed to press down on his entire stance, forcing him to adjust.
Zion’s sword shifted. The angle changed in a way that shouldn’t have been possible without breaking the wrist.
A slash appeared across Kael’s chest.
Then another, opening along his ribs.
Then another, cutting deep across his throat.
His vision darkened as the system registered fatal damage.
The simulation reset again.
Kael stared at Zion. "That wasn’t the same attack." He remembered the first exchange. The movements were different. The rhythm was different. Zion wasn’t repeating himself.
But before he could properly identify it, he had already died.
"Again."
The battle restarted.
Kael pushed forward. He met Zion’s first strike head-on.
Their swords met.
He blocked once. The impact jarred his arm.
Twice. His wrist twisted.
Three times. His shoulder screamed.
A blur crossed his vision – too fast to track.
Pain shot through his shoulder as the system registered a deep cut.
Again.
Reset.
Again.
Reset.
Outside the simulation room, Stella folded her arms. "He is trying to understand the rhythm."
Ralph nodded. "It looks like it."
Kael wasn’t trying to win. That much was obvious. He kept forcing rematches. Every time he died, he immediately started another battle. Most students would have switched to an easier opponent by now. Kael wasn’t most students.
Inside the simulation, Kael rubbed his neck. His body wasn’t actually injured. The pod’s safety systems prevented real harm. But the pain felt real. The system was calibrated to simulate sensation at 40% by default, and even that was enough to make his stomach turn.
"Something is off." Zion wasn’t randomly attacking. The attacks followed patterns. The problem was that Kael couldn’t identify where one form ended and another began, although he was copying the technique, he couldn’t match the rhythm. [Perfect Copy] gave him the shape of the move, but not the flow between them.
After another defeat, he finally did try something different.
"VR System."
<Yes?>
"Could you make Zion announce the blade forms he’s using?"
A brief pause followed. <Affirmative>
Kael smiled. "That should make things easier."
The arena reset.
Zion stood opposite him. His expression hadn’t changed.
Kael raised his sword. "Begin."
The battle started.
"First Celestial Star Style Form: Guiding Light." Zion’s voice was flat, mechanical.
The thrust shot forward. Straight, fast, no wasted motion.
Kael’s eyes widened. "So that’s the first form. I’ve already learnt it." Their swords collided. The attack was simple. Direct. No wasted movement. He could replicate that.
The moment the exchange ended—
"Second Form: Falling Star."
Zion’s sword came down. The speed behind the strike increased instantly, as if gravity had doubled just for the blade.
Boom. The impact vibrated through Kael’s arms.
Kael barely blocked. His arms shook. The impact forced him backward, heels scraping against the virtual floor.
"Third Form: Constellation Dance."
The attacks began flowing together. One slash became another. Then another. The pattern connected, each movement feeding into the next.
Kael blocked several strikes before losing track. The transitions were too smooth.
The simulation reset.
But this time Kael was smiling. Now he knew how to match the rhythm, although it was just a little.
Again.
The battle restarted.
"Guiding Light."
Clang.
"Falling Star."
Boom.
"Constellation Dance."
Kael followed the sequence. The second form accelerated the attack. The third linked everything together. The realization made things easier. He wasn’t just copying shapes anymore – he was starting to feel the tempo.
Outside the room, Stella narrowed her eyes. "He’s learning a little too quickly. He was just copying the technique before now he’s matching his rhythm."
Ralph remained silent. He was watching the data feed, where Kael’s reaction times were improving by milliseconds with each reset.
The next battle started.
Guiding Light.
Falling Star.
Constellation Dance.
Kael survived longer than before.
The next fight. Then another. Then another.
Eventually—
"Fourth Form: Astral Crossing."
Zion disappeared. Not a dash, not a feint – he simply wasn’t there.
Kael froze.
The attack came from behind.
Pain erupted across his back. Then his side. Then his shoulder. The system hit him with three separate fatal strikes in under a second.
The simulation reset.
Kael stared at Zion. "That’s the fourth form."
Again.
"Fourth Form: Astral Crossing."
Zion vanished.
Death.
Again.
Death.
Again.
Death.
The fourth form became Kael’s wall. He couldn’t get past it. Every attempt ended the same way. He couldn’t see the transition, couldn’t predict the angle.
Outside the simulation room, Stella watched quietly. She’d seen talented students before, but none who kept throwing themselves at a wall like this.
Then Kael suddenly opened the settings again.
Her eyes widened. "Oh no."
"What’s wrong?" Ralph asked.
Kael spoke, his voice steady despite the sweat beading on his virtual brow. "Increase pain transmission to one hundred percent."
<Warning. Increased pain transmission may result in nerve damage.>
"Do it."
Kael clicked his tongue. The pod’s interface flashed red.
Then a new notification appeared.
<Overdrive initiated. Access Granted.>
Kael blinked. "I guess the system finally agreed."
Outside the room, Ralph looked at Stella. "You approved that?"
"I want to see how this progresses." Stella’s voice was flat.
Ralph said nothing. He just logged the override.
The simulation restarted.
Kael immediately charged. This time the pain became sharper. Every collision felt heavier. Every strike hurt like it would in reality, with no filter.
Their swords collided repeatedly.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
The impact traveled through his wrists. Through his elbows. Through his shoulders. Bone-deep ache.
But Kael ignored it.
Again.
Guiding Light.
Again.
Falling Star.
Again.
Constellation Dance.
Again.
Astral Crossing.
Death.
Reset.
The cycle continued.
Kael’s breathing became heavier. Sweat covered his face, stinging his eyes. Blood slowly dripped from his nose – a system effect to simulate stress, but it still made him gag.
Yet he continued.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Eventually he managed to react to Astral Crossing. Only slightly. He still died.
But he saw the movement. The faint distortion in the air before Zion reappeared.
That alone was enough.
A grin appeared on his face. "I saw it."
The battle restarted.
Guiding Light.
Falling Star.
Constellation Dance.
Astral Crossing.
This time Kael moved. His sword followed Zion’s position.
A fraction too slow. The blade still found his ribs.
But he smiled anyway.
Outside the room, Stella rubbed her forehead. "This idiot."
The next battle started. Then another. Then another.
Hours seemed to pass. The monitoring room’s clock ticked forward. Kael forced the simulation to continue repeatedly, ignoring the system’s prompts to take a break.
Until finally—
"Fifth Form: Meteor Shower."
Kael’s eyes widened.
Blades appeared from every direction. Front. Back. Left. Right. Above. Below. A storm of steel with no safe space.
He couldn’t even tell which strike landed first.
The pain exploded through his body. Every nerve fired at once.
Everything went dark.
The simulation reset.
Kael stared at Zion. His legs trembled. His vision blurred. The pain from their virtual battle had accumulated, stacking on top of itself even though the wounds weren’t real.
"So that’s the fifth form." His voice was hoarse.
Even with the safety systems active, he had pushed himself too far.
Yet he still selected Continue.
The battle started again.
Meteor Shower appeared once more.
Then darkness.
This time Kael didn’t get back up.
Inside the pod, his consciousness faded. The neural link cut off as the system flagged him for exhaustion.
Outside the room, Stella stood immediately, rubbing her temple. "When I gave him access to the simulation room, I didn’t expect him to actually try copying the strongest students."
She left the monitoring room. Her steps were quick.
"And I definitely shouldn’t have approved that request of increasing the pain threshold."
Moments later she entered the simulation area. The pod hissed as it opened.
Kael was unconscious. His face was pale, lips slightly parted. His hands still twitched, like his body remembered the sword forms.
Stella stared at him. "You really are troublesome although I was a bit irresponsible."
Carefully lifting him onto her shoulder, she carried him toward the infirmary. He wasn’t heavy, but his body was tense, locked from hours of simulated combat.
The tournament was getting closer.
And somehow Kael had already found another way to land himself in the medical wing.
