— "Next candidate."
The instructor's voice echoed without emphasis.
— "Keldis Yerger. SS Class."
This time, there was no excited murmur.
Just… a pause.
Even the students who had been talking until now fell silent.
Keldis stood up calmly.
No overwhelming aura. No intentional pressure.
Yet each step he took seemed to anchor the space beneath his feet.
Diopha watched him closely.
— SS Class…
— And yet…
There was neither provocation nor an attempt to impress.
Keldis stopped in front of the simulation portal.
He inhaled slowly.
— "No matter the opponent."
Then he stepped in.
Simulation — Initialization
Zone: Field of compressed ruins
Gravity: Unstable
Restriction: Power spike neutralization
Threat: Advanced adaptive destructive entity
The space contracted.
Broken slabs floated in a horizonless sky.
Each step altered the local gravity.
Then the opponent appeared.
A malformed humanoid mass, coated in layers of dark energy,
each movement leaving a trail of distortion.
— "This simulation…" murmured a professor.
— "It's designed to kill instantly."
Initial Impact
The entity attacked without warning.
One strike.
Not a blow. Not a technique.
A localized erasure.
Keldis' arm vanished.
Cleanly.
The audience held its breath.
But Keldis did not scream.
He looked down.
His arm…
Reformed instantly, flesh, bone, nerves, as if time itself had apologized.
— "…Interesting."
He raised his head.
The entity hesitated.
The Real Fight Begins
This time, the attack targeted the chest.
Keldis' heart was pulverized.
He fell to his knees.
Then rose.
His heart was already beating again.
— "He regenerates…"
— "No. He denies death."
The entity recoiled.
Mistake.
Keldis advanced.
Every attack he endured… left an invisible trace in his body.
When the entity struck again—
Keldis responded.
Same type of distortion. Same partial erasure.
— "He uses it…"
— "He reproduces what he endures."
Permanent Assimilation
The entity tried to cut off Keldis' head.
It succeeded.
Its head rolled on the ground.
Complete silence.
Then…
The body bent. Grabbed the head. Placed it back.
A dull snap.
Keldis inhaled.
— "It's my turn now."
The enemy technique was returned, amplified by mastery.
The entity was sliced.
It reformed.
But this time… slower.
Limit Reached
Suddenly, the simulation increased the pressure.
A power far beyond the expected threshold.
Keldis grimaced.
The ground exploded beneath him.
His body endured.
But this time—
Blood spurted.
— "Here is the limit…" murmured an instructor.
— "If the gap is too wide…"
Keldis was violently thrown.
His bones regenerated. But the pain remained.
— "You surpass me," he said calmly to the entity.
— "So… I suffer."
He stood up regardless.
End of Simulation
Keldis set foot on the ground.
And struck.
Not with a technique.
Not with a visible ability.
Just with everything he had assimilated.
The entity was pulverized.
The simulation froze.
— "Evaluation complete."
— "Result: critical success."
Back to the Arena
Keldis stepped out.
His uniform torn. His body intact.
He crossed paths with Diopha.
— "You break limits."
Then, without arrogance:
— "I endure them."
Mini-Zenkai smiled.
— That one…
— If he survives long enough, he becomes unmanageable.
STATUS WINDOW — KELDIS YERGER
(Update — Academic Analysis)
Class: SS
Type: Extreme Persistence Fighter
Status: Controlled Anomaly
Estimated Stats:
• Strength: 101
• Endurance: 134
• Agility: 96
• Mana: 89
• Willpower: 128
Stats passively increase through real combat.
Main Passive
Absolute Regenerative Assimilation
• Instant body regeneration, even after heart destruction or decapitation
• All attacks endured are permanently assimilated
• Enemy techniques become usable by Keldis
• The longer he survives, the more dangerous he becomes
Weakness:
• If the power gap is too large → damage received is amplified
• Assimilation becomes ineffective against overwhelming domination
Revealed Abilities:
• Instinctive Replication
Reproduces any attack endured without delay.
• Persistence Body
The body refuses death as long as the will remains.
Traits:
• Absolute Survivor
As long as he is conscious, the fight continues.
• Progressive Danger
The longer the fight lasts, the more unfavorable the outcome becomes for the opponent.
Conclusion: Keldis Yerger is not a fragile genius.
He is a fighter who becomes a delayed catastrophe.
To be continued…