Chapter 45: The Ember Race

She spoke clearly, her voice carrying throughout the vast Void.

"You may refer to me as Combat Kydra. That is the official title for combat instructors in X Guard Academy."

As soon as she finished speaking, she extended both hands toward her sides, and the majority of the blue motes floating throughout the area immediately began drifting toward her palms.

The entire Void gradually darkened as the scattered lights converged around her, and once enough of them had gathered, they began revolving rapidly around one another until a holographic image slowly took shape.

The creature that emerged was enough to make nearly every student’s heart beat a little faster.

"This..."

Combat Kydra’s voice rang through the darkness.

"Is humanity’s greatest enemy."

She paused briefly before announcing,

"The Ember."

The alien creature standing beside her was enormous, even in holographic form, reaching a height of 3.0 meters.

Its body was humanoid, but heavily muscled and bulky, with four arms instead of the two possessed by humans, two emerging naturally from its shoulders while another pair extended from the sides of its ribs.

What immediately caught the students’ attention, however, was the strange horizontal line running across its stomach, beginning beneath the position of its right ribs and stretching all the way across to just beneath the left.

Two of its arms were folded across its chest, while the remaining pair hung loosely at its sides, each ending in long, sharp claws that gave the creature an almost devilish appearance.

Despite being nothing more than a hologram, the Ember seemed to radiate an overwhelming sense of confidence, as though it were looking down upon every student gathered before it.

[So that’s what the Humans call an Ember, huh? Interesting.]

The system suddenly blinked into existence before Declan’s eyes, fading away before Declan could pick at the message.

He paused, raising an eyebrow.

’What’s that?’

[Nothing.]

Declan’s brows knitted together suspiciously, but before he could press the system any further, Combat Kydra’s voice pulled his attention back to the lesson.

"The Combat Class during your First Year will be centered around one objective: learning how to defeat an Ember in a fight."

She gestured toward the holographic creature.

"And the first step toward achieving that is understanding what you’re actually fighting."

"A battle against an Ember isn’t a battle against another powerful being like yourself. You’re fighting something that is superior to you in every measurable aspect of the word."

She emphasized the final word.

"Superiority."

Her explanation clearly unsettled the students.

After all, they’d spent their entire lives being taught that humanity stood above the Ember.

"Let’s start with something basic. Height."

Combat Kydra pointed toward the hologram.

"The average Ember stands at 3 meters tall."

Declan’s eyes widened.

Three... three meters!?

"Yes."

Combat Kydra confirmed the disbelief written across the students’ faces.

"So, if you think I’m tall, remember that I don’t even make the mark when compared to the average Ember."

She continued without giving them much time to process it.

"Second, the base strength of a normal Ember is five times that of an adult human male."

"And when I say base strength, I’m referring purely to brute force."

She paused.

"That’s roughly 100 stat points."

[Remember, that’s the average of them.]

The system added as Declan exhaled quietly.

If the average human possessed 20 points, then imagining an entire race whose average was 100 made the difference almost difficult to comprehend.

"If all they possessed was superior height and strength, then things would be somewhat even. Humans can compensate for physical differences through robotic and reconfiguration surgeries."

Combat Kydra continued, her gaze remaining on the holographic Ember.

"But physical superiority isn’t what makes them a superior race."

Her hand lifted, pointing toward the horizontal line across the creature’s stomach.

"Arcane."

"Do you see that line on the Ember’s stomach?"

The students followed her finger.

"It is a mouth."

She corrected herself.

"More accurately, a maw."

"A very large one, and the only purpose they have for it is casting Arcana spells."

Combat Kydra’s expression became more serious.

"The ability to control Arcane, the energy of the Ember, is something humans simply cannot do."

"You may wonder why. The answer is simple."

"Arcana is a magical force that is planted into the soul of a being immediately before birth."

"It’s one of those things you’re either born with or you’re not, and humans simply weren’t born with it."

"That means we cannot even sense Arcana, much less control it."

She allowed the silence to linger for a moment before continuing.

"So, suffice it to say, having a human fight an Ember is like having a mortal fight a god."

"Every second of that battle becomes a test of defiance."

"A battle against the certain fate of Doom."

"This is the foundational understanding upon which the rest of this class will be built."

With those words, the holographic Ember began to dissolve.

The blue lights that had formed its body scattered throughout the Void, returning to their original positions until the surrounding darkness was once again evenly illuminated.

"Most of you are probably wondering why the Combat Class is held in a place like this."

Combat Kydra glanced around the seemingly endless environment.

"A glassy Void, so to speak."

Her eyes returned to the students.

"That’s because this Void acts as a simulation of reality."

The instant she finished explaining, every blue mote floating around them suddenly illuminated the Void with brilliant light.

Then, as though responding to an unseen command, each mote began floating toward a student and stopped directly in front of them.

One hovered directly before Declan’s forehead.

"You will all enter the simulation and face an average Ember."

"You won’t be harmed..."

Combat Kydra paused.

"...for today."

"But you will get to witness what Ember Arcana is like."

She raised her hand and made a simple motion with her fingers.

"Go."

Declan’s head instinctively jerked backward, his body attempting to avoid the approaching mote, but the light immediately slipped into his forehead.

His entire vision flashed blue, but then the golden system panel appeared immediately afterward.

[Invasion of a Simulation Force Has Been Sensed.]

[Containing Force...]

[Force Fully Contained.]

[Does Host Wish for the Removal of the Simulation Force?]

’You... you can stop the process?’

Declan was surprised by the system’s question, but after a moment of consideration, he answered,

’No.’

If he stopped the simulation, Combat Kydra would inevitably notice that something had gone wrong with him when everyone else had been affected normally.

That was a headache he had no interest in dealing with.

Besides, this was part of the class.

[Simulation Force Released.]

[Host Will Now Undergo Simulation in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1.]

_________________

HOOOOWWWWL!

Howling was the first sound that reached Declan’s ears, and his eyes snapped open, revealing a gloomy sky stretching endlessly above him.

Almost immediately, his body reacted on instinct as he launched himself from the ground, rolled twice through the air, and landed firmly on both feet.

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Mountains surrounded him.

Most had already been shattered, while others remained standing high above the stony terrain.

"This is a simulation?"

Declan spoke aloud, and his voice echoed clearly through the strange environment.

He rubbed his hands together.

It felt real.

Far too real.

Turning his attention back toward the landscape, he continued examining his surroundings until something caught his attention.

About 300 meters away, atop one of the few undamaged mountains, stood a blurry silhouette partially obscured by the dusty breeze.

"What’s... that?"

Declan narrowed his eyes and focused his vision on the figure.

Then he saw it.

A grinning creature.

He unconsciously took a step backward.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The top of the mountain suddenly exploded into rock debris as the figure tore through the air at monstrous speed.

Four massive arms came crashing down from above.

The sheer pressure caused the ground beneath Declan to cave inward, but he refused to retreat. He lowered his stance, planted his feet firmly against the ground, and crossed both arms above his head just as the attack arrived.

BOOOOOOOM!

The ground beneath him exploded, disappearing to a depth of half a meter as the overwhelming force drove his body downward.

Declan’s eyes widened.

It was heavy.

Ridiculously heavy.

This... this is 100 stats!?

He fought against the crushing force and forced his head upward, only to find a pair of crimson eyes staring down at him through a sickening grin.

Then, one of the Ember’s lower arms suddenly swung forward.

BAAAAAAAM!

Its enormous palm smashed directly into Declan’s face and sent him flying out from beneath its massive arms.

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

His body tore through three mountains in succession, reducing each one to debris before he finally tumbled across the stony ground and came to a stop face-first.

COUGH!

COUGH!

Declan coughed violently, droplets of blood falling from his lips and splattering across the ground as he slowly pushed himself upright.

He turned toward the Ember.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A rumbling sound rolled across the terrain like an approaching earthquake, and through the rapidly expanding cloud of dust, Declan saw the Ember charging toward him.

It wasn’t running on two legs. It was using all four arms to sprint across the ground like a wild beast, and the speed?

It was insane!

Before Declan could fully react, the creature was already in front of him, its claws slicing toward his shoulders.

Declan shifted one step to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as the claws hissed past him by barely an inch.

He immediately countered by driving his elbow upward.

BAAAAAANG!