Chapter 18: Constitution and the Possibility of Combat

“Student Xia Xingli, um… are you really Teacher Xia’s younger sister? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the teacher mention you before.”

“Well… it’s because my brother got separated after the apocalypse, and he also lost his memories from before…”

“Lost his memories… so the teacher had amnesia before… right, what about Student Xia Xingli’s parents? Are they in ‘Xia’ City?”

“My parents were killed by Aberrant Beasts.”

“Ah… sorry…”

To Erin’s apology, Xia Xingli simply shook her head, indicating that she didn’t mind.

“Alright, everyone line up quickly, no more chatting,” Sven’s voice came from the front of the line, startling Erin into quickly turning her head and standing properly.

The outdoor training class followed the same old rules.
The sixteen children stood in two rows according to height, except now there was Xia Xingli.
To Xia Xingli’s great frustration, among these children, she was the shortest, so she could only stand at the very back of the line, behind Erin.

‘This is subtly annoying.’

“Let’s stick to the usual routine for warm-ups, a three-kilometer jog.
Those who can’t handle it, do what you can, don’t force yourselves.
Xia Xingli, is your stamina okay?”

“Huh? My stamina… it should be fine…”
Only when Sven asked did Xia Xingli consider this matter.
She hadn’t paid any attention to this body’s condition, and during the regular holiday these past few days, she hadn’t had any time to test her stamina or anything.

‘Stephen’s dress-up hell left me no time to think about anything else, you know…’

“Should be.
Then pay attention later.
But generally, the physique of an ability user is stronger than that of an ordinary person, not to mention your rank is not low.”
Perhaps feeling that as an A-rank ability user, Xia Xingli’s physique shouldn’t be a problem, Sven only gave a reminder.

“Alright, run.”

As Sven’s voice fell, the two lines of children rushed out, sprinting at full speed under Sven’s stunned gaze.

It was a habit they had developed when Xia Lixing was still around.
Even now that Xia Lixing was gone, they still hadn’t abandoned it.
It was as if, if they ran just a little faster, they could catch up to that figure that had already disappeared.

“These little rascals…”
Sven shook his head helplessly and turned to walk towards the three-kilometer finish line.

On the other side, after running for just a few hundred meters, the stamina-depleted Erin stopped as usual, panting as she left the track.

The thirteen-year-old Erin was a “Healer.”
As the name suggested, a “Healer” was an ability user whose ability could only be used for healing.
Although under normal circumstances, the physique of an ability user was stronger than that of an ordinary person, Erin was born weak and sickly.
Even after awakening her ability, her physique was still weaker than an ordinary person’s.
This congenital weakness was not an injury or illness, so her healing ability couldn’t improve it one bit.

Fortunately, Erin was just a “Healer.”
Even if she didn’t go to the battlefield in the future, she could still play a significant role.

Out of breath, Erin left the group and sat on a large rock at the edge of the training ground.
Because the training ground was for ability users to train, it wasn’t built as flat and neat as an ordinary one.
The weeds on the vast training ground were not too lush, barely covering the entire area unevenly.
This was only because the regular holiday had just passed.
Otherwise, the daily outdoor training would have been enough to prevent these weeds from growing.

This large rock was conveniently located just a few dozen meters ahead of where Erin would drop out due to exhaustion.
From the first time she discovered this rock, Erin had always managed to hold on just long enough to reach it after becoming exhausted.
It wasn’t that Erin’s stamina hadn’t grown at all, but rather that Xia Lixing would make small adjustments to their starting position before each “warm-up,” so Erin’s limit was always just as she was about to reach the large rock.

“The teacher has always been silently taking care of us like this…”
Touching the large rock beneath her, Erin’s eyes reddened a little.
She quickly looked up at her classmates in the distance to prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.

“Eh? Is that… Student Xia Xingli?”

Looking up, Erin was surprised to find that not far ahead of her, a small figure had also left the group and was walking shakily to the edge of the training ground.

A little surprised that there was someone else besides her who couldn’t hold on after a few hundred meters, Erin propped herself up with some effort and walked towards Xia Xingli.

At this moment, Xia Xingli was half-squatting on the ground in a sorry state, panting heavily with a pale face.
She had never expected this body to be so weak.
She had felt something was wrong as soon as she started running, and sure enough, she couldn’t hold on after a few hundred meters.

“But… this… feeling of… stamina exhaustion… is… quite novel, whew…”

Panting heavily, a sharp pain came from her lungs.
Her legs were weak and couldn’t exert any strength, and were even trembling slightly.
Xia Xingli smiled self-deprecatingly.
For the former “Xia Lixing” who possessed the “Ethereal Flame,” stamina exhaustion was truly a novel experience.

It seemed that this body’s physique couldn’t be compared to that of a general ability user, probably only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.
Thinking this, Xia Xingli became even more certain that she was not Xia Lixing whose body had changed.
After all, she was already an A-rank ability user, yet her physique was still so weak.
This could only mean that this body had a congenital defect.

‘But having a body with a congenital defect is really a frustrating thing.’
First of all, the martial arts techniques from Xia Lixing’s memory were probably unusable.
Moreover, Xia Lixing had once combined ancient Eastern martial arts with the standard-issue giant blade to create a rather powerful set of “blade techniques.”
But given her current physical condition, it was uncertain whether she could even lift the standard-issue giant blade, let alone use that set of “blade techniques.”

‘It seems everything has to start from scratch.’

“Um… Student Xia Xingli, are you also unable to run anymore?”

Just as Xia Xingli was lamenting her body’s condition, Erin had come to her side at some point and carefully reached out to help the half-squatting Xia Xingli up.

“Thank you, Erin. I really can’t run anymore. My physique is indeed too weak.”

“Student Xia Xingli’s body is also…”
Erin carefully supported Xia Xingli.
“Um, should we rest on that rock over there?”

Nodding, Xia Xingli let Erin support her and walked towards the rock.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to walk on her own, but her legs temporarily couldn’t exert even a speck of strength.

The surface of this large rock was relatively flat, and its area was large enough for three or four people to sit on together, so it was more than enough for two thirteen-year-old girls.
But the two who had quietly sat down seemed to have fallen into a slightly awkward silence for a moment.

After all, they were just newly acquainted classmates, and neither of them had the kind of personality to easily strike up a conversation.

After a period of silence, Erin decided to find a topic first.
In her eyes, Xia Xingli was a new classmate.
Even if she wasn’t Teacher Xia’s younger sister, she was still a little sister who needed to be taken care of (subconsciously thinking this based on her height and appearance).
As a member of this class, it was her duty to take good care of Xia Xingli.

“Um… Student Xia Xingli, may I know what your ability is?”

Erin, who knew almost nothing about Xia Xingli, could only use abilities as a topic.
Of course, she herself was also very curious about what kind of ability the younger sister of that powerful Teacher Xia would have.

“My ability… of course.”
Xia Xingli nodded.
“Speaking of which, my ability is quite similar to my brother’s.”

“Very similar?”

Erin tilted her little head in confusion.
Xia Xingli just smiled mysteriously and then held out her right hand.

“Here, this is it. The ability named ‘Violet Spirit Ice Flame’.”

On Xia Xingli’s fair little hand, a flower of purple flame bloomed.
It was a flower made entirely of “flame.”
Each fiery petal danced, possessing a nimble beauty.

Erin’s gaze was completely captivated by this “flower of flame.”
She had seen many flowers, but among those real flowers, none were as beautiful and ethereal as the “flower of flame” before her.
Although, speaking of which, it was indeed an ethereal flower.

“Student Xia Xingli’s ability… must be very powerful.”

As if suddenly remembering something, Erin’s face darkened.
She was just a weak-bodied “Healer” who could only contribute her strength from the safe rear, unable to go outside the central city to eliminate Aberrant Beasts like other ability users.

“It’s alright…”
Recalling the “sublimated” apple, Xia Xingli said somewhat vaguely.
“But my body is too weak. I probably can’t even lift the standard-issue giant blade, let alone fight in close combat.”

As she said this, Xia Xingli’s head drooped, and the “Violet Spirit Ice Flame” in her hand continuously changed shape.
Although her new ability seemed very powerful, her lack of stamina completely limited her combat potential, which gave Xia Xingli a sense of frustration.

The former Xia Lixing had made it his goal to protect, determined to use his power to exchange for hope and a future in the apocalypse.
Xia Xingli, who had inherited Xia Lixing’s memories, was still in a state of self-confusion.
If even her own power couldn’t bring hope for the future of the apocalypse, then she would be truly and completely lost.

“D-don’t be discouraged, Student Xia Xingli. Even if you can’t fight in close combat, you can try other fighting styles.”
Erin comforted Xia Xingli in a flustered manner.
“You see… in some old games, there were classes like mages and warriors, right? Although Student Xia Xingli can’t be a warrior, you can be a powerful mage!”

“A mage?”

“That’s right! Student Xia Xingli’s control over her ability is very precise, so long-range attacks should be no problem. Fighting doesn’t necessarily mean close combat.”

Erin’s words gave Xia Xingli a sense of sudden enlightenment.
Perhaps because of Xia Lixing’s memories, she had been too fixated on the fighting style in her memory.
There was more than one way to fight.
Although the “mage” type pure long-range combat that Erin mentioned was a bit too idealistic, it also meant that an ability user with insufficient stamina like her could also have a special fighting style.

“Well, as expected of little Erin, who almost got a perfect score on the ability theory test.”

“Eh? What?”

“Nothing, just talking to myself.”

Xia Xingli shook her head, and the “flame” in her hand danced cheerfully.