“I see…”
Rank 1 extraordinaries — the classification used for beings equivalent to a Ki Master or an Elemental Adept Magus. That explained the current limitations. Victor had hoped to test himself against an opponent like Alphonse, a Nexus Temporal Magus, but it looked like he’d have to shelve that ambition for now.
Still, it wasn’t a total loss. Even within that limitation, there were plenty of challenging opponents he could pit himself against, and he could upgrade the building once he was certain of the building’s function.
“Coma, I want to use one of the combat chambers,” Victor said decisively.
“Understood. Please select your desired chamber and scenario,” the drone responded, its mechanical ears twitching slightly as it projected a miniaturized 3D holographic map of the interior chambers.
Victor pointed at one of the more isolated chambers along the far right corridor. “That one. Load up the scenario using the data from my battle with the matured elemental sprite lord — Kuhuk.”
Coma’s screen flickered for a moment. “Confirmed. Simulating the recorded elemental sprite lord entity based on the combat data in the Shadowlink Mark. Initializing environmental conditions to match the encounter. Estimated power output: High-tier Rank 1. Would you like to enable safety mode?”
“No need.” Victor shook his head. “I want to test what the Virtual Combat Chamber is capable of.”
To begin with, Kuhuk was a being that Victor could defeat without much trouble, unlike Alphonse.
“As you wish, Master,” Coma said. The selected door slid open, revealing a mist-filled chamber crackling faintly with elemental energy.
Victor stepped inside with anticipation before the door sealed behind him. As for Lizbeth, she said that she would wait outside the chamber.
Inside, Victor’s boots made no sound on the smooth obsidian floor. At the center of the room, a magic projection flickered into existence, gradually taking the shape of Kuhuk’s wind-and-thunder form.
“Who dares challenge the mighty Kuhuk?” the elemental sprite lord roared with a booming voice.
Strangely enough, once Kuhuk had fully materialized, Victor found it difficult to distinguish between a projection and a real one. Clearly, this Virtual Combat Chamber was truly an incredible building. As expected of a System building, it never disappoints me.
“Simulation beginning in 3… 2… 1…”
With a roar of thunder, Kuhuk’s projection lunged forward at him. Victor reacted instinctively. “{Warpblade}!” he chanted. A gleaming blade of condensed Cosmo energy appeared in his hand, and with a sharp swing, it clashed against the storm lord’s massive fist in a burst of sparks.
Kuhuk’s replica staggered but reformed itself completely, just as the real Kuhuk had. It immediately unleashed a swirling cyclone laced with crackling lightning. Victor countered with {Spatial Fold}, warping space to deflect the strike harmlessly into the distant wall, where it exploded in a rain of simulated debris.
This simulated Kuhuk is no different than the real one… down to the smallest fluctuation of mana. If I were to be hit by its attack, I would still take damage. This made him wonder: Could the Virtual Combat Chamber project these simulations outside the chamber? If so, even with certain limitations, it could act as a powerful defensive mechanism in its own right.
Suddenly, the simulation adjusted dynamically.
“Power output increased by 12 percent,” Coma’s monotone voice announced.
Then, from the surrounding haze, a second elemental sprite lord, nearly identical to Kuhuk, emerged to flank him.
Seeing this, Victor raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. So, it can handle multiple entities at once.” He quickly activated a sigil and cast {Gap Hole}, tearing open large spatial rifts that yawned like black maws in midair. The two elemental sprite lords were pulled in, causing their bodies to break apart into wisps of elemental energy as they were swallowed by the void.
No sooner after they vanished, more elemental sprite lords emerged to replace the fallen ones. They quickly surged forward to attack. Victor responded without hesitation, pouring more mana into his spell. The {Gap Hole} devoured them as well, one after another. Eventually, seven sprite lords had been consumed before the swirling vortex flickered and collapsed.
“Not bad,” Victor muttered. “I can actually kill seven peak Elemental Adept rank beings with a single sigil-powered up spell!”
It was a feat he wouldn’t have been able to pull off in real combat, not unless those enemies were foolish enough to rush him head-on. That made this test invaluable since he would be able to know the theoretical limits of his magic spells and power.
Victor pushed himself harder, unleashing more sigil-enhanced spells, unleashing an array of devastating Cosmo-based magic. Each attack dismantled the oncoming projections with surgical precision. Finally, as the last elemental sprite lord dissolved into mist, the simulated environment disappeared, and the lighting dimmed and then brightened, turning into a white room as the mist disappeared completely.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“Simulation complete,” Coma announced. “All metrics recorded and uploaded to your Shadowlink Mark.”
Victor exhaled slowly, dispersing residual mana from his body as he walked toward the exit. A satisfied smile crept on his lips, knowing full well that the Virtual Combat Chamber was a worthy investment that could push him beyond his limits.
Furthermore, Victor discovered that whether it was player-versus-environment challenges or combat drills against fellow acolytes, this facility could simulate it all. This chamber would allow players to fight against simulated monsters, bosses, and even past enemies using the mana-based projection system developed through the System. And all of the data would be available to him.
So, not only would he and the players improve and become stronger through actual combat experience, but the accumulated data could also be used for other purposes. For example, if he were to create mechanical golems or chimeras and feed them with the detailed combat records from the Virtual Combat Chamber, their battle performance would be significantly enhanced. They would be more adaptive, more efficient, and far stronger than their baseline versions — without needing to invest in extra resources or rare materials.
In other words, the Virtual Combat Chamber wouldn’t just be a training facility but also one of the foundations of the academy that would forge the future of the academy’s combat strength.
Speaking of which, there were the two Chimera-class battle beasts that Victor purchased from the auction. Since there were no strong guards at the mine at the moment, he decided to send them there to help with protection, overseeing the captured captives, as well as helping to mine mana crystals and other ores.
Without dilly-dallying further, Victor walked toward the obelisk in the center of the building and touched the crystal surface with his hand. Since it already had a preset overseer, there was no notification asking him to assign one.
Instead, a holographic screen appeared, displaying the current status of the Virtual Combat Chamber and its potential enhancements. Five levels of upgrades were available, each offering significant improvements over the last.
Virtual Combat Chamber 1 (Default Level)
- Supports simulations up to Rank 1 extraordinaries (Elemental Adept / Ki Master equivalent).
- Allows up to 10 individual chambers to be used simultaneously.
- Basic PvE and PvP functionality.
- Records and analyzes combat performance.
- Manual scenario customization.
Virtual Combat Chamber Level 2
- Simulation support up to Rank 2 extraordinaries (Nexus Temporal rank).
- Adds 15 more chambers, increasing total to 25.
- Introduces Team Combat Simulation (5v5, 3v3, etc.).
- Enables shared enemy data pool for training golems and chimeras.
- Activates Magic Spell Development Analysis, providing tailored spellcasting advice.
Cost: 5,000 AP
Virtual Combat Chamber Level 3
- Simulation supports up to Rank 3 extraordinaries (Sigil Conversion rank).
- Increases chambers to 50 in total.
- Unlocks World Event Simulations (large-scale battles).
- Enables Dynamic Threat AI for more realistic enemy behavior.
Cost: 50,000 AP
…
It could be said that the Virtual Combat Chamber resembled a futuristic facility more than a traditional magic building, but this wasn’t something worth being concerned about. As long as it could become a stepping stone to transform his academy into the most powerful and advanced training center in the world, Victor had no complaints.
Regardless, if the System buildings available at a level five academy were already this impressive, he couldn’t help but wonder what structures awaited at higher academy grades. With that thought in mind, he opened the academy’s main page:
Academy Name: Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi
Headmaster: Victor Asteriscus
Academy Points: 8920
Academy Grade: Level 5
Total Acolytes: 2015/5000
Total Professors: 6/5
Total Assistant Professors: 17/20
Progression Value: 2060/5000
Level 1 Academy Grade: Level-1 Nexus Tower, 1:1 time
Level 2 Academy Grade: Level-1 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, 1:1 time
Level 3 Academy Grade: Level-2 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, 2:1 time
Level 4 Academy Grade: Level-2 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, 2:1 time
Level 5 Academy Grade: Level-3 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, 4:1 time
Level 6 Academy Grade: Level-3 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, Mystical Dungeons, 4:1 time
Level 7 Academy Grade: Level-4 Nexus Tower, Magic Botanical Garden, Alchemical Hall, Artificer Hall, Virtual Combat Chamber, Mystical Dungeons, Planar Gate, 8:1 time
…
Mystical Dungeons and… Planar Gate? Victor’s brows rose. Wouldn’t the latter mean that in the future, he would be able to travel to other planes and worlds or even other dimensions, potentially establishing bases and branches across the universe?
How exciting!
Still, there was no use dwelling on distant goals just yet. So, he turned back his attention to the Virtual Combat Chamber. Due to his gacha spree four days ago, his current academy points reserves were limited, and he could only afford to upgrade the building once. But that was more than enough.
With a tap on the holographic screen to finalize his decision, Victor upgraded the Virtual Combat Chamber without a second thought.
[Virtual Combat Chamber has leveled up to level 2.]
[The simulation inside the simulation chamber can now support up to Rank 2 extraordinaries.]
Victor watched as streams of mana emanated from the black obelisk, spiraling into the ceiling. The walls of the building shimmered and expanded to accommodate more simulation chambers before stabilizing. Now, there were a total of twenty-five simulation chambers.
Coma floated beside him and informed, “Virtual Combat Chamber calibration complete. Rank 2 extraordinary profiles are now available for simulation. A new advanced scenario catalog has also been added.”
“Advanced scenario catalog?”
“Affirmative,” Coma replied. “They include small-scale battlefield replications, simulated siege battles, and other types of specialized combat. You may also choose a squad-based tactical simulation using prior recorded battle data.”
Excellent. This facility just kept getting better. Not only could it simulate increasingly powerful enemies, but now it could replicate entire combat scenarios down to the finest detail and outcome. It was no exaggeration to call it a game-changing facility. With this, Victor could simulate potential battles before they happened and determine the most efficient way to win.
Victor smiled in glee. “Good. Very good.”
With this new building, not only would his own growth accelerate, but the players and acolytes under his academy would progress faster than any academy had ever seen. Their tactics, coordination, and individual prowess would evolve at a pace faster than even the largest Magus institutions.
Just then, Lizbeth fluttered beside him, tugging gently on his collar. “Master,” she said, “there’s another message from the former headmaster… carved into the back of the obelisk.”
Victor’s eyebrow twitched. “Well, how typical.”
If you are looking for more to read, consider checking out my new series or join my server