After the last shard of glass from the mirror fell, Adam remained seated for a long moment, staring at the clotted blood on his palm. The pain wasn't what mattered, but rather that strange silence which engulfed him after his confrontation with himself. It was as if the room had been emptied of air, leaving only his presence behind.
At last, he stood, dragging his feet slowly toward the door. He opened it without hesitation, and a cold current of air rushed in from outside, brushing his face. It wasn't an ordinary current… it was as though the place itself was testing him: Will you remain here in isolation, or will you step out to face what awaits you?
He chose to leave.
The first steps outside the building were heavy, but soon they turned into a steady, firm rhythm, as if he were carving an unheard cadence of his own.The stone corridors felt different this time. On the first and second days, he had felt them as the walls of his prison. But now… they seemed like nothing more than a small threshold separating him from the world awaiting him.
He passed by the other survivors. Some were training in the courtyards, unleashing energy attacks or testing new abilities with visible tension. Others sat in small circles, exchanging clipped words that barely counted as conversations. They were all wrapped in anxiety and dread.
But Adam… did not look at them. He did not stop by anyone. He walked past them as though he didn't see them at all.And yet, his presence didn't go unnoticed: some halted their words for a moment, others slowed their movements, as if they felt a heavy shadow pass beside them. They didn't know why, but something in his cold eyes and steady steps made them subconsciously step back.
He reached a massive stone gate, half-open, leading out into the endless black forest. The air there was different, saturated with the dampness of earth and strange scents—a blend of life and death.
Adam stopped before it. He looked into the darkness swallowing the distant trees.He smiled faintly, without joy or mockery… but with something closer to acknowledgment.
"If the world wants me to be just a pawn in their game… then I'll turn the forest into my weapon. I'll train myself on land that knows no mercy. And if I die here, at least I'll die choosing my last step."
Then he crossed the gate, vanishing into the depths of shadows, leaving behind the place that had witnessed the breaking of his weakness.The others, who had noticed his departure, exchanged uneasy looks. One of them muttered under his breath:— "Where is the boy going…?"
But none dared follow him.There was a silent aura about his departure, as if it said: the path I walk is not for you.
Adam took his first steps inside the dark forest, and the silence there was unlike any silence he had ever known. The towering trees coiled around him like walls, their twisted roots like arms trying to seize him, and faint sounds drifted from the branches—sounds that weren't ordinary animals, but eerie whispers that did not belong to the natural world.
He wasn't afraid.Fear had died yesterday, before the shattered mirror.
Adam chose to begin his training in a way none of the others dared even think of: to make the forest both his enemy and his teacher.He carried no weapon. He didn't use any ability granted to him. Only his body, his senses, and his wits.He forced himself to walk barefoot on the muddy ground until the skin of his feet tore. The goal wasn't to walk, but to adapt to pain.Every thorn prick, every sharp stone, was a lesson: If my body screams, I'll forge from it a new language that doesn't know how to scream.
When he heard the rustle of leaves approaching, he didn't flee. He stood motionless until a small beast, like a wolf with glowing eyes, emerged. It lunged at him swiftly, but Adam didn't step back. He let it come close, close enough to feel its hot breath on his skin… then, only then, he bent aside and seized its neck with all his strength until it suffocated.He sat beside its sprawled corpse, staring at it for a long time."Fear kills faster than fangs…" he whispered to himself.
He climbed the high trees, though his hands were torn, and swung among the branches. It wasn't just training for leaping, but for risking.Many times, his grip slipped, and he fell two or three meters onto the hard ground. His bones nearly shattered, but he forced himself to rise again."If I don't break myself here… someone else will break me out there."
He decided to fast. No food, no water. Only breath.He sat on a moss-covered rock and closed his eyes, letting the forest devour his patience. The sounds of beasts, the rustling wind, the smell of blood carried by the breeze… all were attempts to shake him.But Adam endured. He made hunger his friend, and thirst his weapon. The drier his throat grew, the harder his resolve became.
He began attacking on his own.He didn't wait for the beasts to come. He sought them out. He entered their nests, tore them from their lairs, fought them with his bare hands. He didn't aim for quick victories, but to drag himself to the edge: to learn how to fight while exhausted, how to strike while bleeding, how to rise while fallen.
With every confrontation, he left a new wound on his body, but he never regretted it. In the blood, he saw lines drawing his path toward greatness.And one night, he sat alone on a fallen trunk, watching the pale moon through drifting clouds.His face was smeared with blood and mud, but his eyes gleamed with a strange coldness.
"The others will train with the abilities given to them…" he thought."But I… I'll train on myself. To become something they can't read."
He smiled slowly, a smile not entirely human."When the tournament begins… they won't realize I'm not among them. I'll be beyond their rules, beyond their game."
As he sank deeper into the forest, the sounds grew louder: a distant howl, rustling in the trees, a heavy slithering across the ground. It didn't take long before he faced his first true opponent: a D-class beast, like a massive black wolf with glowing red eyes and sharp fangs.Adam planted his feet firmly, watching his foe, recalling the words of Neil that never left him:
"Don't rely only on your strength, but on your eyes. Read the enemy's movement before he moves, and don't give him the initiative. Every body betrays its intent."
He remained still for a few moments, studying the rhythm of the beast's breathing, the tilt of its shoulders, before striking. When the beast leapt at him, Adam shifted sideways and drove his fist precisely beneath its ribs. He heard the cracking of bones, and the beast collapsed, writhing on the ground.
But he wasn't granted rest. From the shadows emerged more creatures: this time C-class. The difference was clear: B-class beasts were larger, faster, with predatory intelligence burning in their eyes—proof they were no mere animals.
When he faced one B-class beast, its massive body covered in iron-like scales, Adam realized he couldn't afford haste. Again, he recalled Neil's words from their training together:
"The secret isn't in many strikes, but in one strike that can bring down the world. Be patient. Wait for the moment the enemy opens a gap, even for just an instant."
Adam stood almost motionless as the beast circled him, trying to stir fear. His heart pounded, but his mind was sharp. And in the instant the beast lunged, its chest opening briefly between its scales, Adam moved like a shadow, striking with all his might at that spot.A piercing shriek tore through the air, and the massive beast fell to its knees before collapsing completely.
Adam didn't smile, nor shout in triumph. He only looked at his bloodied hands and muttered:"This… still isn't enough."
He delved deeper into the forest, knowing these encounters weren't the end, but only the beginning of a training forged with his blood and bones, far from any cursed ability the "game" had given him.
Then came a great beast—S-class.As Adam pierced further into the heart of the forest, he found himself before a creature unlike any he had seen.It wasn't just massive; its body pulsed as though the exposed veins carried molten fire. Its black scales were cracked, and between them oozed thick, glowing red blood that dripped onto the ground, scorching the grass instantly.
The beast roared, and with its roar droplets of that blood flew, each one melting a tree trunk like wax where it landed.
Adam froze for a moment, his eyes fixed on the scene with intense focus."That blood… it's more dangerous than its claws."
The beast charged, its claws ripping the earth.Adam leapt back, but the blood scattering from its movement nearly grazed his arm. He felt heat searing the very air around him.
"Read it first… don't rush."Neil's voice rang again in his mind.
Adam didn't attack. He observed:
The more the beast attacked, the more it bled.
The more it bled, the more ferocious it became—but the ground around it turned into traps of burning blood.
Adam realized this wasn't a battle of strength, but of distance and time.
He moved with measured steps, leaping from rock to rock, choosing clean spots untouched by blood.He was patient, steady, like a hunter awaiting the decisive moment.
The beast screamed, its body trembling, and lunged again, bleeding even more. Drops of burning blood shot out like arrows.One grazed Adam's shoulder—he stifled a cry as pain pierced through to the bone. But his eyes remained steady.
"No room for retreat… it's either me or it."
When the beast's massive body came crashing down to finish him, Adam struck at last.A swift sidestep, a low bend, then he rose straight toward its chest.
His fist slammed into the fissure between the scales, a spot gushing with deadly blood.An explosion of glowing red fluid engulfed the area, and the beast roared a cry that shook the forest.
Adam tumbled across the ground, blood searing all around him.The earth quaked beneath the beast's weight, its scorching breath exhaling black smoke between its fangs. The wounds on its chest closed, and its glowing blood became an added armor sheathing its scaled skin.
Adam stood firm, his body rigid, breath ragged. He had drained most of his strength in the first round, and now, the beast was stronger than before.
The beast roared and lunged with its giant body.Adam tried to dodge, but his speed wasn't enough.
A massive claw tore through the air, slamming into Adam's shoulder and hurling him violently against a colossal tree trunk.The sound of bones cracking echoed in the forest, blood spilled from his mouth, and his vision blurred.
He collapsed to the ground, his hands trembling as he struggled to rise.The beast raised its tail like a massive whip, aiming its fatal strike directly at him.
At that moment, the sound of air exploding rang out.
Romal Anderson appeared between them with a swift step, his right hand blazing with strange energy resembling a swirling vortex of wind.He struck the tail with force, knocking the beast back a full meter. It roared furiously, as though the sky itself had split.
Romal didn't look at Adam, but his voice came firm:— "It's stronger than you now. If you try alone… you'll die."
Adam spat blood from his mouth, slowly raising his head, his eyes still burning with their usual coldness.He uttered just one word, in a whisper:— "…Yes."
Romal stared at him for a moment, then smiled faintly:— "Good. Then fight with me."
The beast roared again, charging toward them, the air filling with the screech of its power.
Adam clenched his fists, and Romal prepared his energy.That night… it was no longer just a personal trial, but the beginning of a temporary alliance, a shared struggle against death lurking for them both.