-
Chapter 5: The Watcher's Trial
The capsule hummed like a living thing, low and insistent.
Kade's fingers hovered over the console, hesitating only a heartbeat before pressing Login.
The world returned with a violent flash of light. The familiar forest stretched before him, but everything felt… wrong. The shadows were longer, the wind colder, the trees whispering in tongues only the system should know.
[Watcher Tag Active]
[Hidden Quest Triggered: The Eye in the Dark]
The notification blinked in his vision like a heartbeat. His pulse quickened.
"Great… so they're really watching," he muttered. His lips curled into a grin, though a shiver ran down his spine.
---
He stepped cautiously toward the nearest path. The forest seemed alive, more aware than before. Birds froze mid-flight, squirrels froze mid-leap, even the sunlight seemed hesitant.
Ahead, a figure appeared. Not a normal NPC. Its form flickered, half-visible, like a broken hologram. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, and its voice came distorted, layered over itself.
"You… Graveborn," it said, voice echoing both near and far. "The Watchers see. Prove your right to exist."
A shimmering gate appeared behind it, jagged and pulsing, as if carved from cracks in reality itself.
[Enter Watcher Trial Dungeon?]
[Level Recommendation: ???]
[Reward: Unknown]
Kade exhaled, adjusting the Wolf Fang Pendant at his neck. The pulse of power was steady, reassuring. "Reward unknown… perfect. Let's go."
The gate swallowed him.
---
Light twisted. Sound bent. The forest dissolved into darkness. Kade landed on cracked stone floor, damp with something… warm. Not water. Not blood… something heavier.
[Zone: The Eye of Shadows]
[Enemies: Unknown / Level Scaling to Player]
[Watcher Presence: Active]
The air hummed. Kade's body tensed. Even in the game, he felt… it. A pull, like the forest, the dungeon, and the Watchers themselves were tugging at his mind.
His real body ached. Phantom scratches itched along his arms, his lungs burned as if claws had torn at them in real life. Hunger gnawed at him from somewhere deep, sharper than usual. He swayed slightly.
The bleed-over is stronger here… he realized.
---
From the darkness, figures emerged. Not animals. Not ordinary mobs. Their forms flickered in and out, impossibly thin, faces blurred. Eyes glowed with malice.
[Enemy: Shadow Wraith]
[Level: Scaling 8+]
Kade gripped his sword. The first swing was clumsy, but instinct honed it. The wraith dissolved into black mist only to reform behind him. He spun, slicing—HP dropped, his body flinched with pain mirrored from the strike.
[-40 HP]
[-Physical Feedback: Minor real-world pain registered]
He staggered. Nose bleeding. A dull ache pulsed across his chest. This wasn't just a game. Every wound, every death, reverberated through him.
[You have died.]
[Death Conversion Activated]
[+1 Strength / +1 Endurance / +1 Agility]
Kade gasped as light swallowed him. Respawn. Stronger.
He grit his teeth, grimacing as phantom pain clawed at his ribs. The dungeon waited, patient and cruel.
---
Death after death, Kade pushed through. Each Shadow Wraith was more aggressive, more unpredictable. Every strike carried a chance of permanent system damage—or worse. His body's fatigue mirrored the damage his Graveborn class endured.
By his seventh death, his swings began to land clean. The wraiths thinned, their forms disintegrating into shards of black light.
Breath ragged, Kade pressed forward.
Then he saw it.
A doorway carved from pure darkness, pulsing with faint silver runes. The Watcher's presence was stronger here. The air burned against his skin. Even the capsule in real life seemed to hum faster, vibrating against his shoulders.
Inside, something waited.
A figure larger than any Shadow Wraith, impossible to fully see. Its shape shifted, edges dissolving and reforming. Its eyes—one silver, one black—glowed faintly through the darkness.
[Watcher Entity: Level ???]
[Health: ???]
[Reward: ???]
Kade swallowed. His chest heaved. Phantom scratches itched along his arms. He could feel his heartbeat in the tips of his fingers gripping the sword. This wasn't just a boss. This was a test… a measurement.
The entity lunged. Faster than light. Claws slashed, tearing the air itself. Kade dodged, and the system registered real-world pain again—ribs aching, arm throbbing like it had broken, legs trembling.
[-50 HP / Real-World Feedback: Severe]
[You have died.]
[Death Conversion Activated]
[+1 Strength / +1 Endurance / +1 Agility]
Respawn. Stronger.
He gritted his teeth. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes. His real body trembled on the mattress in his apartment. Hunger, exhaustion, phantom wounds—but he pressed forward again.
This time, he anticipated the attack. Blade moved before the entity struck. He carved across its chest, the runes along its body flickering. It howled—a sound that echoed both in the dungeon and faintly in his apartment.
Each strike, each death, each respawn, pushed Kade further. By his ninth attempt, the entity staggered, wounded but far from dead.
He let himself fall once more. Darkness. Pain. Blood.
[You have died.]
[Death Conversion Activated]
[+1 Strength / +1 Endurance / +1 Agility / +1 Perception]
Respawn.
This time, he didn't hesitate. His blade struck, dancing with precision he had honed over dozens of deaths. Every swing counted. The entity roared, claws slashing, shadow spewing, but Kade pressed on.
Finally, with a final, twisting strike, the Watcher entity dissolved into shards of silver light. The dungeon trembled, warping around him.
[Watcher Entity Defeated]
[Reward: 5000 EXP / Shadow Fang Blade (Legendary) / Hidden Title: Shadow's Reckoning]
[Watcher Observation: Ongoing]
Kade collapsed, chest heaving. His muscles screamed. Sweat mingled with blood and tears on his face.
Then, a second warning:
[Real-World Alert: Watcher Mark Manifested]
He looked down at his arm. Faint silver lines glowed beneath the skin, like veins of light twisting across his forearm.
The game… had marked him in real life.
Kade's breath caught. He flexed his fingers. Pain lanced through his arm, but the glow remained.
The system had bled into reality. And the Watchers were watching. Always.
He swallowed hard, forcing a grin.
"Good," he muttered. "If they're watching… let them see what it means to die a thousand times… and come back stronger."
The Wolf Fang Pendant thrummed at his neck. His sword lay in his hand, heavier, sharper, alive with the essence of death.
Whatever this game truly was… it had just begun.
And Kade? He was ready.