Some time later, Kyle lay on the ground of the training area, a little disappointed in himself.
It had proven true that without genuine combat skills, all his newfound strength, speed, agility, and stamina were entirely useless.
Na-Ri stood in one corner, silently counting how many times he had failed to land a single hit, even though they were practising the simplest combat techniques.
Although he was beginning to catch up with her, managing to anticipate some of her strikes as his eyes picked up details faster, he remained incapable of countering or fully evading her attacks, for he was still unversed in the fundamental rules of combat.
For a moment, Kyle's self-reproach intensified.
He was, of course, intelligent enough to recognise that it was not the world that he needed to change, but himself.
In that case, he only needed to change the player, not the game itself.
'...Yes, one more try. I hate being knocked down. Why am I still so weak?' Kyle reflected, a scowl settling over his features.
Determination flared in his eyes.
For the first time, he finally had the opportunity to grow stronger and improve his chances of survival, so why should he squander it simply because he refused to confront reality...
Obviously, the only reason Na-Ri was assisting him was that he had saved her life when she had been utterly hopeless.
The reason she had even ventured outside the settlement remained a mystery.
Furthermore, it was remarkable that no one within the settlement knew she had once been infected with Qi corruption.
As such, she felt a sense of obligation to help him improve, recalling that she had once begun in the same position.
He was by no means the first person she had guided in this way.
Glancing at Kyle, who had immediately picked himself up from the ground and rested his gaze on her with weariness, she said flatly:
"Let us go again, then."
In an instant, she was already a few inches from the young man, her hand outstretched as she prepared to strike him with full force once more.
If it landed, it would mark the thirteenth blow he had received.
The combat rule she had devised for his training was straightforward.
All he had to do was dodge her strikes and counter, thereby improving his chances of landing hits in any future encounter.
'Fuck. Here we go again...' Kyle thought, tracking her incoming strike, only for it suddenly to transform into a spinning kick.
"Are you fucking with me!?"
***
A couple of hours later, Kyle and Na-Ri had finished training, his stamina somewhat depleted from the continuous exertion.
Bruises and soreness marked his skin, but since his vitality now far exceeded that of an ordinary human, they would fade much faster than usual.
Even now, the lingering pain felt muted, as if his body were already repairing itself from the inside out.
As they climbed the stairway to the second level, they encountered the handsome youth running down. The moment he saw them, he halted and looked at them with evident concern.
Kyle appraised him from head to toe, holding the arm that had borne the brunt of many strikes, instantly recognising that something had gone terribly wrong and grasping precisely who it involved.
Na-Ri, for the first time allowing worry to creep into her tone, asked:
"What is wrong?"
Orion bit his lip, then spoke slowly:
'...Something is wrong with Adela's cultivation core, which is why she has not woken, and terribly so, because the...'
Abruptly, he paused and looked around. His eyes narrowed, while Kyle and Na-Ri instinctively took a step back.
Their eyes widened in horror, frozen for a heartbeat before instinct finally propelled them into motion.
Less than three seconds later, a cacophony of security alarms split the air with shrill panic as the ground fractured beneath them.
'...It's here.'
The words escaped Na-Ri with palpable fear, and without hesitation, the handsome youth vanished from his position, leaving trails of shadow in his wake as he raced towards Adela.
'No way. It has arrived earlier than expected. It was close all along...' Kyle thought, his chest pounding violently.
His breath escaped in thin, cold clouds.
The young man and the beautiful stranger exchanged brief, troubled glances before immediately breaking apart as a rift opened beneath them.
Orion appeared in Adela's room, where she lay unconscious on the bed.
Without hesitation, he lifted her onto his back and vanished once more in a trail of shadows.
***
From the centre of the settlement, a vicious darkness erupted, spreading rapidly across the ground in sharp lines and consuming everything in its path.
Winter intensified instantaneously, and a coil of ice whipped into the air, shattering every window in a cascade of glass and leaving the settlement shrouded in an unnatural blizzard.
A pressing vibration rolled through the air, producing a low, oppressive hum that resonated in every corner.
Screams tore through the streets as the refugees scattered, realising that a Trial Zone Breakout was underway.
The darkness formed a black void, ravenously consuming all in its path.
Those whose bodies could not withstand the Trial Zone's gloom were torn apart, their blood sprayed across the surroundings.
Panic metastasised as some froze in place, eyes wide with incomprehension, and the horror escalated with terrifying speed.
A few unfortunate souls were struck down on the spot.
The rest fled blindly, stumbling over the fractured terrain and slipping on the frozen ground, but the darkness was swifter.
It consumed them in a sucking, shuddering roar, dragging them into its obsidian core, where their screams were instantly devoured, leaving only silence.
...However, it did not stop there.
After consuming everything nearby, the darkness spread thousands of miles beyond the Safe Zone, enveloping the land entirely, and even some migrating mutated beasts were immediately drawn into its void.
Yet, something peculiar occurred.
Some beings began evolving within the darkness, while others were engulfed entirely without sustaining harm.
Above, the sky twisted tighter with the blizzard, coiling into a spiralling column that mirrored the abyss below.
Within moments, the Trial Zone had transformed the settlement into a ice land.
Kyle, Na-Ri, Orion, Adela, and all others had inevitably been swept into the maelstrom as well.
***
Three minutes later, Kyle's manual issued an alert as he plummeted from a high ledge into a vast sea of sand.
His eyes widened in shock, and his clothes hung in tatters, battered from the darkness.
***
Congratulations, [Clueless].
You have entered a Trial Zone!
[Good luck].
***
'...Oh, a new hell.'