NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41: 41:The Difference
After wandering around for a while, Hex began to wonder about the rankers.
That was when he learned that the Army campus was divided into different cities. Each city held a ranking list of 1,000 people. Hex's city was ranked second, catering to students from 1,000 to 2,000. But this made him curious.
"How did Lia and the others make it here?" he thought. "Their scores were quite low. Or maybe their scores were rounded up by their personal assistants."
Out of all people, Lia, being a healer, should have scored around five or ten, yet she was still placed in this city. "Maybe those who survived until the VR logged them out were given extra points," he guessed.
Except Lia,others were in different blocks away from them so he hadn't met them.As for Sammer,that guy seemed to have disappeared from sight.
As Hex spent his days learning the basics, he started to notice something that made him question the place. The instructors were not strict. If you wanted to study, you could. If you didn't want to, no one forced you, as long as you did not disturb others.
In almost every class, he saw girls dressing nicely and chatting with boys, and boys chasing after girls. Out of the hundred people he had met so far, about forty didn't seem serious at all. That confused him.
"You risk so much to come here, so why aren't you serious?" he asked himself.
"It's because it's not that hard to get stronger," Dein answered, picking up on Hex's thoughts.
"Huh? Really?" Hex raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. You can just increase your MI using serums produced by the Federation. You'll have access to them once you start earning contribution points," Dein explained.
Hex rubbed his chin. He hadn't heard about that before, but if he spent more time in GDN, he might be able to find more details.
"Won't it have any bad effects?" he asked.
"Yes and no," Dein said, standing up. "You can't take too many. Each serum has a cooldown period depending on your realm. At higher stages, the effects become weaker. And the stronger serums cost a lot."
"So that's why all I've seen are 3-Star instructors who have been stuck for ages. Basically, they're just poor."
Dein's lips twitched. "That's one way to put it."
"How much does it increase your MI?"
"They usually work in percentages. Like a five percent to twenty percent increase. But don't expect too much. The efficiency isn't great," Dein replied.
While discussing, they finally reached the Combat Class. This was the first time Hex had seen such a serious atmosphere. From a glance, he could tell the place was filled with strong individuals.
The combat class was a large program made up of several smaller lessons, starting with cosmic energy manipulation.
"So, I guess everyone is here, unlike the other classes." A woman with orange hair entered the room, her lips curved in a calm smile.
"I am Instructor Amanda Rover," she said. "I'll be responsible for teaching cosmic energy manipulation this year. As for the specific tailored courses, those will start after the first semester."
Amanda walked to the front, her heels clicking against the smooth floor. She clapped her hands lightly to gather everyone's attention.
"Before we begin, I should show you just how much things change when you climb in power."
She moved to the side and pressed a button. With a mechanical hum, a thick brick wall rose from the ground, its surface rough and solid like something pulled straight out of a city building.
She stood facing the wall, her expression calm, then threw a punch. The sound was dull, barely leaving a mark.
"That was the power of 1 MI. As you can see, it hardly did anything." She adjusted her stance and threw another punch, this one sharper.
The wall shook faintly and a small dent formed. "This is the power of 10 MI. A little stronger, but still limited."
The cadets leaned forward, eyes fixed on her. Amanda clenched her fist again and this time struck with more force. A sharp crack echoed as the wall cracked slightly. Dust drifted down, and a wave of murmurs passed through the group.
"That's the difference when you reach 50 MI. But watch carefully now." Her tone grew firm. "At 100 MI, you reach the level of a one-star."
She stepped back, raised her fist, and drove it into the wall. The impact shook the ground. A deafening boom followed, sending a shock through the training ground. When the dust cleared, a wide hole had blown straight through the wall, scattering fragments across the floor.
The cadets reacted instantly, voices mixing.
"Holy shit…"
"That's awesome."
"The difference is huge."
Amanda smiled faintly and raised her hand, silencing them. "This is why power scaling matters. At 1 MI, you can't break stone. At 10, you dent it. At 50, you begin to crack it. But at 100, you destroy. That's the first threshold that separates an ordinary fighter from a one-star."
The ground rumbled again as she walked to the other side of the wall. Her presence grew heavier, pressing down on everyone like a storm cloud.
The cadets straightened unconsciously. Hex felt the air tighten and leaned toward Dein. "Did you feel that?"
Dein's eyes gleamed as he nodded. "Anyone with good instincts can feel it. She's pushing her intent."
Amanda's gaze sharpened, and she let her fist fly one last time. The air warped around her knuckles, space itself seeming to ripple. A bubble of distortion formed for a split second before the strike landed. The explosion was violent, a shockwave tearing outward with a roar.
Dust and debris filled the air, and when it finally settled, half the wall had simply vanished as if it never existed.
The cadets stood frozen, jaws slack. The silence lasted only a moment before whispers broke out again, louder this time.
The demonstration had left them shaken. The difference between levels wasn't just numbers was worlds apart.
...…
[Author Notes.]
From now on,I will put the footnote every few chapters.
Hardening (D)[★★★]
• Agility Enhancer (D)[★★]
• Punch Blast (E)[★★★]
Permanent Slot:
• Chaos Absorption (B)