CHAPTER 211: CEDRIC VALTIERI [1]

The golden field stretched endlessly under the artificial sky of the Virtual Simulation.

Silver grass swayed gently in the breeze, brushing against Cedric’s arms as he crouched low. Every muscle tight and ready.

Sweat rolled down his temple. His breathing was calm but sharp, controlled. Both hands gripped his longsword, the blade catching the soft light like a mirror.

Boom.

A massive fist, thicker than a tree trunk and covered in volcanic stone. Slammed into the ground nearby.

The earth exploded in a wave of dirt and broken stone.

Cedric leapt back, flipping through the air, then slid into a crouch, boots grinding into the soil. His blue eyes locked onto the monster stepping out of the dust.

The Obsidiorn...

It let out a roar so deep it shook his bones.

It was twelve feet tall, a mountain of muscle and stone. Its skin looked like jagged black rock, cracked with glowing orange veins.

Both arms were covered in gauntlets of lava-coated stone, radiating heat. A sharp, crooked horn jutted from its snout, long enough to skewer a man clean through.

Hot air blasted from its nostrils as it focused on him.

It was Grade 1 Silver Beast.

Cedric’s fingers tightened on his sword. His golden hair was a mess, sweat sticking it to his face. His black combat uniform clung to him, soaked and heavy.

He didn’t even get time to breathe.

The Obsidiorn charged.

Each step shook the ground, cracking the earth under its weight. Cedric waited. Then, at the last second, he sidestepped.

Just barely. The horn tore past him, ripping his combat suit.

’Too close.’

He didn’t pause.

His left hand shot up.

[Solcrux]

A golden magic circle burst to life above his palm.

The air shimmered, and then.

Six giant crosses of glowing light appeared in a ring around the Obsidiorn, floating in the air like swords of the heavens.

Cedric clenched his fist.

The crosses slammed down all at once, stabbing into the beast from every side.

Holy light exploded from the points of impact. The Obsidiorn let out a scream as its body was forced to the ground, pinned and burning.

But Cedric didn’t relax.

The ground trembled again.

He looked down.

"...Shit."

The dirt beneath him exploded upward. He was thrown into the air. His legs flying out from under him.

Something huge came bursting from below.

A massive worm shot up from the ground. Its thick purple body covered in slick, pulsing flesh.

Its head was a giant, circular mouth filled with spinning rows of teeth. Each one long enough to run a man through.

The Abyssal Devourer.

Another Grade 1 Silver Monster...

Cedric’s heart dropped. He was still in the air, completely exposed.

The monster’s mouth opened wide, and a wave of hot, rotten breath hit him in the face.

He saw his reflection in one of the teeth.

Then his eyes flared with blue light.

[Blink]

A pulse of energy twisted the space around him. In one blink, he was gone from the sky and stumbling onto the ground twenty feet away.

His knees nearly gave out. He dropped to one hand, gasping. His head spun, his chest burned, and the sudden teleport left his insides churning.

Behind him. The worm’s jaws snapped shut with a thunderous crack, missing him by inches.

Wind rushed from the force, and for a moment all Cedric could hear was the blood pounding in his ears.

He wiped sweat from his face with a shaking hand, chest heaving.

"I completely forgot about him," he muttered, tasting copper in his mouth.

Every part of his body hurt. His sword arm felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and his legs shook with every step.

Two Silver-grade beasts already lay dead by his hand. Their bodies breaking apart into glowing pixels. But even that victory felt distant.

His mana was almost gone. That hollow, aching feeling in his chest told him he was running on fumes.

Sweat dripped into his eye. It stung. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, smearing dirt across his forehead.

His lungs burned. His body begged him to stop. A voice in the back of his head screamed to end the simulation.

But he didn’t.

Across the field. The Obsidiorn broke free from the glowing crosses that had pinned it. Fire flared around its fists.

Lava dripped from its gauntlets, hissing as it hit the ground. It let out a deep roar, shaking off the holy light Cedric had hit it with.

Below the ground, the earth rumbled again.

The Abyssal Devourer was still circling, waiting to strike.

Cedric didn’t flinch.

He wiped his brow, breathing hard, and tightened his grip on the sword.

He couldn’t make a single mistake now.

The Obsidiorn came charging in again.

Cedric ducked low, just barely avoiding the burning punch. The heat brushed over his head, close enough to singe his hair.

He didn’t stop.

He slashed upward.

His sword cut deep into the beast’s chest. A stream of thick, black blood sprayed into the air, hissing when it touched the ground. The monster roared, swinging wildly.

Cedric jumped back, barely dodging the blow. But didn’t fall back.

He slammed his foot into the ground and called on his Nature magic.

Vines shot up, wrapping tightly around the Obsidiorn’s legs. They wouldn’t hold for long.

They didn’t have to.

The ground rumbled again.

Now.

Cedric blinked. Vanished, just as the Abyssal Devourer burst through the earth, jaws wide open.

It snapped at empty air.

Cedric reappeared above it.

[Solar Lance]

A glowing spear of pure light formed in his hand. He threw it down.

It hit the Devourer hard, burning into its thick hide.

The monster shrieked, thrashing in pain as the holy light tore into it.

But Cedric was already turning.

He raised his other hand. Fire gathered there. Swirling red and gold.

He hurled the flame at the Obsidiorn just as it broke free from the vines.

Boom.

The explosion rocked the field. Smoke rose in thick clouds.

For a moment, Cedric thought he had done it.

Then...

A massive fist came flying out of the smoke.

Cedric tried to Blink away.

But his mana was too low.

The spell stuttered.

Wham.

The Obsidiorn’s burning gauntlet smashed into him.

He flew.

He hit the ground hard and rolled, bouncing across the dirt until he came to a stop. Pain exploded through his chest. He could taste blood on his lips.

His head spun.

But he pushed himself up.

"Not enough," he whispered.

He still wasn’t strong enough.

——————

’I couldn’t do anything.’

The thought sat heavy in Cedric’s chest, worse than any wound he had ever felt.

His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his skin. But he didn’t care. The pain helped him stay grounded, barely.

That moment played over and over in his head.

Kyle, stepping forward.

Power crackling around him like a living storm.

His body straining, bones cracking, blood dripping. Yet he still moved.

He saved them.

All of them.

And Cedric?

He hadn’t done anything.

Since he was a kid. People had whispered about him.

—"The golden boy of House Valteri."

—"The prodigy with two affinities."

Everyone praised him. Nobles smiled. His parents accepted the flattery with pride.

No one ever questioned it.

No one knew the truth.

On the night of his fifteenth birthday. He had a dream. A dream so vivid, it felt real.

Solmora stood before him. The goddess herself.

Her voice was like sunlight. Warm. But unshakable, like truth carved in stone.

"You will face a darkness that threatens this world," she had told him.

"And you must stand against it."

When he woke, everything had changed.

Flames danced from his fingertips. Light gathered in his hands. The earth shifted when he called.

Three new affinities. Just like that.

A blessing.

No.

A duty.

He pushed himself to his feet. His sword felt like lead in his hand.

Kyle had almost died saving them.

That image was burned into his mind. Kyle’s white hair glowing. His body torn apart by the sheer force of his own power. A power no normal person should have.

But Kyle wasn’t normal.

Four affinities.

That was supposed to be impossible.

Cedric clenched his teeth.

Kyle was like him.

Chosen.

He had the same kind of impossible gift. The same burden.

Cedric should have felt relieved that he wasn’t alone in this anymore.

But instead, something else rose in him.

Not anger.

Not envy.

Something stronger.

Fire.

If Kyle could reach that level. If he could unlock his blessing, push past the limits of what was human. Then so could Cedric.

No.

He had to.

Goddess Solmora didn’t choose him for nothing. She gave him fire, light, and earth.

And on top of that, he had his own. Nature and space.

Five affinities.

And when the time came to use them... he froze.

That would never happen again.

He wasn’t going to stand still while someone else bled.

He wasn’t going to be the one left behind.

He wasn’t going to fail.

Not again.

He would awaken the true power of his blessing. He’d train, fight, and push himself past every limit.

Because next time...

He was going to stand at Kyle’s side.

Not in his shadow.

——————