"Trial Name: Virtual Survival Battlefield."
> "Objective: Survive for 3 days against unknown threats, beasts, and shifting laws of reality. Alliances are allowed. Kill count is recorded. Death results in elimination."
> "Even if you die, your body will wake up unharmed—but your mind won't forget the pain."
> "Begin."
A blinding white light engulfed all candidates.
---
Within the Simulation
Lucien opened his eyes to find himself standing in a fog-filled forest, the air thick with damp moss and a strange metallic scent. The atmosphere thrummed with mana. It wasn't just an illusion—it was real enough to fool the body and the soul.
The trees loomed like watchful sentinels, their gnarled roots slithering across the forest floor like serpents. The fog choked visibility to a dozen meters at most.
Lucien's red eyes gleamed faintly in the gloom.
He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
> Proficiency Panel Active
Iksha-Astra – Soulbound (Combat Mode: Dagger)
Shadow Arts: Abyssal Weaving (Lv. 2)
"Simulation or not, this place is perfect for hunting."
He vanished into the mist like a whisper.
---
Day One: The Ghost in the Fog
While most candidates stumbled around, panicking, forming shaky alliances or swinging their swords at the air, Lucien had already mapped a quarter of the trial zone.
He quickly discovered something crucial—there were subtle inconsistencies in the terrain. Illusions woven within illusions. Some trees weren't real. Some weren't trees.
Lucien smirked.
He baited his first kill with ease.
A muscular swordsman from House Grethar wandered too close to one of Lucien's decoys—a freshly painted blood smear and an abandoned dagger.
The moment the man bent down—
Thwip.
A thin, shadow-thread wire pulled taut, yanking a spiked log down from a nearby branch.
> Kill Count: 1
Lucien watched from above, crouched in the branches, grinning like a fox.
"One down. Now, let's try something more creative."
He found a bush with bright red berries, ground them down, and used the extract to coat a few darts. They weren't fatal—but they induced hallucinations.
Candidate #2 stabbed himself trying to fight off imaginary bees.
> Kill Count: 2
Candidate #3 was convinced the trees were whispering secrets and ran off a cliff.
> Kill Count: 3
"Nature is healing," Lucien whispered to himself, sipping dew from a leaf like it was a fine wine.
---
The Art of Mind Games
By the time the sun (or rather, its illusion) began to set, Lucien had already orchestrated chaos across three sectors.
He left behind misleading footprints, decoy camps, false distress signals.
He even disguised himself as a wounded noble heir at one point, limping into a trio of do-gooder mages from House Ellorin.
"Help me," he croaked, holding his side.
They let him sit by the fire. Offered bread.
Five minutes later, two were poisoned, and the third found herself bound in shadows, staring up at Lucien's lazy grin.
> "This is what you get for trusting strangers in a survival game. Ever heard of Among Us?"
> Kill Count: 6
---
Day Two: Lucien's House of Fun
The trial adapted. Beasts now roamed the forest—massive horned hounds with red eyes and smoke for fur.
Lucien didn't fight them. He lured other candidates toward them.
One poor soul found a bloodied map with the words "Safe Zone Here."
He followed it with hope in his heart.
He became dog food ten seconds later.
> Kill Count: 7
Lucien stood in the treetops, munching on roasted squirrel he'd trapped earlier.
"Natural selection is beautiful," he mused. "Also, these dogs have no taste. He looked like he smelled of onions."
He began to enjoy himself.
He set up a trap that involved a hidden pit, a net, and a banana peel.
Yes, a banana peel.
> "Was it necessary? No. Was it hilarious? Absolutely."
Candidate #8 slipped, fell into the pit, got stuck upside down, and was quickly finished off by a shadow dagger to the heart.
Lucien dropped down beside the body and drew a smiley face in the dirt.
> Kill Count: 8
Lucien leaned against a tree and looked up at the foggy sky.
> "They called me cringe. But in this world… I am the final arc villain."
He flipped his dagger like a gun.
---
Day Three: Meeting the Silver Dragon
By the third day, there were less than 30 candidates remaining out of 150.
Lucien's kill count was climbing.
> Kill Count: 9
But then—
His senses tingled.
A presence. Strong. Sharp. Serene.
Silver strands flowed with the wind like moonlight, a silhouette walking through the mist—calm, collected, untouchable.
> Liana Von Dragora.
She emerged through the mist like a goddess stepping from a dream.
Lucien stood before her, his crimson eyes sharp.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
She tilted her head, as if inspecting him.
> "So," she said. "It's you."
> "You're slower than I expected," Lucien replied, voice smooth.
> "And you're cockier than I imagined."
For a heartbeat, silence hung between them.
Their auras flared.
Lucien's shadows curled like smoke. Liana's silver mana coiled like a dragon's breath.
Iksha-Astra shifted into a long, sleek blade in Lucien's hand.
Liana summoned a lance of silver light, her eyes narrowing.
> "Are you here to ally?" she asked.
> "No," Lucien said, stepping forward. "I'm here to test something."
The forest held its breath.
And then—
They moved.
Their weapons collided with a crack of thunder.
Shadows and silver light danced in the clearing, illuminating the mist.
Lucien was fast—but Liana was elegant. Every move she made carried centuries of dragon instinct.
But Lucien adapted.
Every blow he failed to land taught him more. His proficiency panel ticked upward. Shadow Arts responded to her light, adjusting, weaving tighter.
> Shadow Arts: Abyssal Weaving (Lv. 2 → Lv. 3)
Lucien grinned.
> "You're fun."
> "You're annoying," she replied, breathless.
---
As their blades locked, Lucien whispered:
> "You may have plot armor… but I have a panel."