Chương 19: Not So Anonymous

The corridor erupted into cheers as Phora's avatar disappeared from the battlefield. The screen above the platform shifted. A System message appeared across it. [Next Match Beginning] The cheers grew louder. Ray glanced around the corridor. Dozens of Recruits were gathered around the platform, all of them watching the screen with varying levels of excitement. Some were talking amongst themselves while others stared intently at the battlefield. Then the screen changed.

[User: Recruit 01 (Stage: 1) VS User: Arthur Brode (Stage: 1)] A figure appeared on either side of the screen. The first avatar was a black cloaked figure with glowing green eyes. The second was a much shorter individual wearing a set of red battlegear. Ray tilted his head.

'That's me isn't it?' he thought.

'I didn't even register to battle.' A System message appeared. [Match commencing] The corridor went silent. Ray felt his body being pulled forward. His vision blurred for a moment before the world around him changed. The white corridor was gone. He stood in the middle of a massive arena. The ground beneath his feet was made of black stone, while enormous walls surrounded the battlefield. There were no spectators in the arena itself. Instead, dozens of small lights floated above the walls.

Each one represented a viewer. Ray looked down at his hands. They were exactly the same as they had been in reality. He flexed his fingers.

'This is pretty damn realistic,' he thought. The opposing avatar appeared across the arena. The red armored figure, or Arthur, immediately raised both his hands in a defensive stance. Ray felt his Mana Ways react. The Nexus had already begun copying his Abilities and Tech. A familiar sensation spread through his body. He smiled beneath his hood. The System announced the beginning of the match. The other Recruit immediately launched forward. Ray didn't move.

His opponent accelerated rapidly, closing the distance between them in only a few seconds. A fist came towards Ray's face. He carefully leaned backwards and stepped to the side as he grabbed Arthur's wrist. Arthur twisted his body, attempting to break free. Ray let him. His opponent stumbled forward. Ray kicked him in the back. The Recruit stumbled several feet before regaining his balance. Turning around and letting out a yell as he stared Ray down.

"AHHHH!" Arthur charged again, visibly frustrated. A burst of fire erupted from his palm.

'So he's a Fire Mana user,' Ray thought. Ray raised his own hand, willing Lightning Mana to pool in his arm. Golden streaks of lightning exploded across the arena. The fire bursting from Arthur's palm was torn apart instantly. A bolt struck Arthur directly in the chest. His avatar was sent flying. The crowd went wild. Ray stared at his hand.

'That's it?' he thought. Arthur struggled to stand. Ray didn't give him the chance. He seemingly disappeared, using Bolt to propel himself with bursts of lightning from the soles of his feet. A second later, he appeared directly in front of his opponent. His fist slammed into Arthur's chest. The avatar shattered. [Winner! User: Recruit 01 (Stage: 1)] Ray stood still as the battlefield disappeared around him. He was returned to the corridor, taken aback by the sound of the crowd of cheering Recruits.

Ray looked around.

'That was fast,' he thought. He hadn't even needed to use Coalescence or any other Abilities.

"That was ridiculous," a voice nearby said. Frangle stood several meters away. His avatar looked almost identical to how he normally appeared, although he had apparently chosen to keep his identity visible. Phora stood next to him, staring at the screen.

"Yeah," she said.

"Recruit 01 is good," Frangle mumbled. Phora crossed her arms.

"Good?" she asked. She looked at him.

"He demolished that guy." Frangle scratched his head before replying.

"Poor Arthur seemed kind of inexperienced."

"That doesn't matter," she interjected. Phora pointed towards the screen.

"Look at the numbers." The results of the battle had appeared beneath the victor announcement. [User: Recruit 01 (Stage: 1) battle statistics] [Battle Duration: 34 Seconds] [Damage Received: 0] [Abilities Used: 1] Frangle stared at the numbers.

"That's…" his voice trailed off.

"Yeah." Phora nodded.

"That's not normal." Frangle looked around the corridor. Several Recruits were already talking about the battle.

"Whoever Recruit 01 is, they've been hiding their strength," Phora said. Frangle frowned.

"Maybe," he said. He glanced at the hooded figure standing across the corridor. Ray had his back turned to them. The large teen squinted.

"Do you think…" Phora followed his gaze.

"Think what?" she asked. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Frangle lowered his voice.

"It could be Ray?" he whispered. Phora went quiet. She looked back towards the hooded avatar. The green eyes were glowing beneath the hood.

"Ray?" she asked.

"Yeah." Frangle nodded.

"Think about it. Ray is the only person we know who could do something like that." Phora shook her head before speaking.

"That's not entirely true."

"Why not?" Frangle asked.

"Because there are over a hundred Recruits," she snapped.

"Not ones who can kill a Stage 3 Beast," Frangle replied in a knowing tone. Phora froze. Frangle smiled.

"Exactly," he said. Phora looked towards the screen again. The battle results were still displayed. She thought back to their mission. Ray had been the one who saved them from the Killworm. He had been the one who kept fighting after everyone else had fallen. Then there was the strange way he moved.

"His movements were different," she said. Frangle raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ray doesn't fight like that," she continued. Phora hesitated.

"Not usually." Frangle looked at her.

"You're saying it isn't him?" he asked.

"No." She shook her head.

"I'm saying if it is him, he's gotten even better." Frangle smiled.

"That sounds like Ray," he said. Phora rolled her eyes, her opinion of Frangle's admiration of their Captain apparent on her face. - Ray, meanwhile, was completely unaware of their conversation. He was staring at the screen. A new System message appeared in front of him, blocking his view of the next battle. [Victory Recorded] [Ranking Updated] [User: Recruit 01 (Stage: 1) Current Rank: 37] Ray blinked.

'Ranking?' he thought. He looked towards the large screen above the platform. The results of his battle disappeared, along with the current battle happening. A massive list replaced them. [Recruit Leaderboard] [1. Jerome Emberfell — 1, 421 Points] [2. Kiara Vale — 1, 387 Points] [3. Phora Striker — 1, 205 Points] Ray's eyes moved down the list. Names filled the screen; every single one of them was familiar, the top 3 filling his chest with pride for his team.

Jerome, Kiara, and Phora hadn't reached those positions by standing around waiting for him. Each of them had fought their own battles and earned a place near the top. Ray felt a grin pulling at his face before he could help it. Maybe their team had more going for it than everyone being impressed by him. Ray looked around the corridor. There were armored figures. People wearing robes. One Recruit had somehow made himself nearly 10 feet tall. Regardless of their appearance, their names remained above their heads.

Ray looked up. [Recruit 01 (Stage: 1)] He paused.

'Why the hell am I the only anonymous one?' he thought. Ray opened the platform menu. Several options appeared. He quickly found the answer. [Identity Display] [Hidden] Ray stared at it. He considered changing it. Then stopped. Voices nearby caught his attention.

"Recruit 01?" one of them said. A group of Recruits had gathered several meters away.

"Wait!" they said. One of them pointed towards Ray.

"Wasn't that the number?"

"What number?" another asked.

"The first Recruit guy," they answered. Ray's eyes narrowed.

"What Recruit?" one asked.

"The one who woke up early," the first answered. The group went quiet. Ray froze.

'Oh,' he thought. He suddenly remembered something. He was Recruit 001. The first Recruit to wake up from the System's initialization. At the time, Ray hadn't thought much of it. It felt like a cool alias to use.

"You're full of shit," another Recruit said.

"I'm serious. Recruit 001. Everyone was talking about him when we first woke up," the initial Recruit said.

"So why would he hide his name?" another asked. The Recruit shrugged.

"Maybe because everyone knows who he is," they said.

"Not that he managed to avoid any attention, stomping Arthur like that and all." Ray slowly turned away from them.

'Fantastic,' he thought. Another voice joined the conversation.

"I heard he killed a Stage 3 Beast." Ray's eyebrow twitched.

"That was his squad," another Recruit rebutted.

"No. I heard Recruit 001 killed it himself," the first continued.

"My roommate's squad was there when they brought the corpse back." Ray started walking. He had absolutely no desire to remain there. Unfortunately, the conversation seemed to be spreading faster than he could move.

"Recruit 001?"

"The early one?"

"I thought that guy disappeared."

"Didn't an Admiral personally visit him?" Voice after voice joined in the choir of speculators. Ray stopped.

'How the fuck do they know that?' he thought. He turned his head. More Recruits were staring at him now. A few whispered amongst themselves. Ray sighed. Keeping his identity hidden suddenly seemed significantly less useful. A notification appeared. [Battle Request Received] [User: Marcus Tarrow (Stage: 1)] [Rank: 10] Ray stared at the message. Then at the leaderboard. Marcus Tarrow's name was sitting exactly where the System claimed. [10. Marcus Tarrow — 913 Points] Ray smiled.

'That works,' he thought. [Battle Request Accepted] The corridor vanished. Ray appeared inside the arena again. Marcus stood across from him. Unlike Ray, there was nothing anonymous about his avatar. His face was visible. His name floated directly above his head. The Recruit wore a set of dark metal armor with a massive axe resting against his shoulder. Marcus grinned.

"So you're Recruit 01?" he asked, his voice full of confidence.

"You think kicking Arthur's ass makes you strong?" Ray shrugged. [Match commencing] Marcus moved instantly. His body shot forward. The stone beneath his feet cracked. Ray's expression changed slightly.

'He's fast,' he thought. The axe swung towards his neck. Ray ducked, barely avoiding the strike. Wind tore past his hood as Marcus twisted and brought the weapon down. Ray activated Bolt. Golden lightning erupted beneath his feet. He disappeared. Boom! The axe smashed into the ground. Ray appeared several meters away. Marcus ripped his weapon free.

"Running?" he shouted, a smile adorning his smug face.

"No," Ray answered. He raised his hand, a smirk of his own appearing on his face. Lightning Mana gathered around his fingers. Marcus lowered his body. Ray felt something else stir inside him. Coalescence. He hadn't needed it against Arthur. This time, he wanted to test something. Ray focused. Golden lightning gathered above his palm as he willed Coalescence to activate. The Mana compressed. The golden light darkened. Ray's eyes widened. Black lightning crawled across his fingers. The arena went silent.

Even Marcus stopped moving. Ray stared at the crackling darkness in his palm.

'Oh,' he thought as an even wider smile slowly spread across his face.

'That went smoother than I expected.' Marcus seemed to wake up and charged. Ray pointed, his hand jerking slightly as he unleashed the Bolt. A streak of black lightning crossed the arena. Marcus barely had time to raise his axe. BOOM! The black Bolt struck him directly. His armor shattered. His body disappeared before it even touched the ground. [Winner! User: Recruit 01 (Stage: 1)] Ray lowered his hand. The arena disappeared. When he returned to the corridor, nobody was cheering. They were staring at him.

Ray looked up. The leaderboard flickered. Names shifted downward. Then a new name appeared. [10. Recruit 01 — 947 Points] Silence filled the corridor. Someone finally spoke.

"That's him, for sure," they said. Ray closed his eyes.

'Yeah,' he thought. He had a feeling staying anonymous wasn't going to work. Willing the System to disconnect him from the Nexus, Ray felt his vision warp, and his surroundings began to change. The inside of the helmet he was wearing filled his vision, and he removed it and stood in one fluid motion.

'That may have been a bad idea,' he thought. Ray left the complex with the VR stations and quickly navigated his way back to his room. As he turned the corner to the hallway his room was located in, he was met with an alarming sight. In front of the door to his room was a small crowd of over a dozen Recruits, each of whom immediately locked on to him as he rounded the corner.

'Shit.'