The creature lunged forward like a freight train, its claws slicing through the air with a piercing hiss that made Tony's ears ring.
But this time, Tony stood his ground.
His fist, radiating with intense blue-white energy,collided with the beast head-on. The sound of the impact echoed like thunder through the narrow alley, sending shockwaves that rattled the nearby walls and caused dust and debris to fall from the old bricks.
The force of the blow sent the shadowy creature flying backward, crashing into a dumpster with a screeching sound of crumpling metal.
Tony's chest heaved as adrenaline surged through him. His knuckles tingled, as if current was coursing through his veins. He stared at his glowing fists, disbelief etched across his sweat-drenched face.
"I… I really did that."
The monster stirred, dragging itself from the wreckage. Its hoodie shredded, revealing a body of shifting darkness beneath, as if smoke and flesh had fused. Claw marks gouged into the ground as it pulled itself upright. Its grin hadn't faded. If anything, it was wider now.
Tony swallowed hard. His stomach knotted.
"Right. Of course. One punch doesn't cut it…"
The monster roared, its voice splitting into echoes, like a dozen throats screaming in unison. The sound rattled Tony's bones.
He raised his fists, fighting the urge to bolt. His body wanted to collapse and hide, but some new current inside him, maybe fear, maybe the system itself, kept him planted.
The system's voice cut through the noise, steady, cold.
[Player: Tony Donovan.]
[Condition: Critical.]
[Combat Guidance: Strike the core.]
Core?
Tony's eyes darted over the monster. Beneath its writhing smoke-like body, something glowed faintly near its chest. A pale, beating orb pulsing in rhythm with his own heart.
He didn't have time to think. The monster lunged again.
Tony ducked low, its claws ripping the air above his head. He stumbled, caught himself, then drove forward, fists blazing. His punch landed square in the creature's chest.
The orb flared.
The monster shrieked, staggering back. Smoke peeled from its body like burning paper, the glow of its core intensifying.
Tony didn't stop. He couldn't. He swung again, knuckles cracking against the light, ignoring the pain splitting through his arm. Another strike. Another. Each blow chipped at the orb, the monster's screeching wails filling the alley like a storm.
And then....
The orb shattered.
The creature convulsed violently, its body unraveling into ribbons of shadow that scattered into the air. Its face twisted in silent rage before it dissolved completely, vanishing in a swirl of dark smoke.
Tony staggered back, breath ragged, collapsing to his knees. His glowing fists flickered, then fizzled out, leaving only trembling hands scraped and bruised.
Silence descended on the alley. Only his ragged breathing remained.
He'd done it. He was alive.
But then the system's chime rang inside his skull.
[Trial Complete.]
[Reward: Granted.]
Tony blinked. A new glow bloomed in front of him, an object forming from thin air. When it solidified, it dropped with a metallic clink onto the concrete.
A small dagger. Black, with faint etchings of silver that pulsed like veins.
Tony reached for it cautiously, his fingers brushing the cold hilt. The instant he touched it, the system spoke again.
[Item Acquired: Shadowfang.]
[Grade: F.]
Effect: Allows the wielder to pierce low-tier shadow entities.]
Tony held the dagger in his shaking hand, staring at the faint shimmer running along its blade.
"…You've gotta be kidding me. A video game. I'm in a damn video game."
The reality of it crashed over him then. The glowing countdown still ticked at the corner of his vision. The trial hadn't been some hallucination, it was real. That thing had been real. If he hadn't fought, he'd be gone, erased.
His stomach twisted. He doubled over and vomited onto the concrete, retching until bile burned his throat.
When it was over, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, the dagger still clutched tightly in the other.
He couldn't go back to pretending. Not anymore.
The shadows on the rooftop last night. The shapes moving in the city. If those were real too… then this was only the beginning.
Tony struggled to his feet, his legs quaking beneath him. He tucked the dagger into his waistband, its unfamiliar weight oddly reassuring.
As he stumbled toward the alley's entrance, the voice of the system returned, softer this time, almost like a secret meant just for him.
[Good job, Player. You made it through. But surviving is just the beginning.]
Tony halted in his tracks. His reflection flickered back at him in the dim light of the shop window, a weary, pale face, eyes wide with fear and something more profound.
Determination.
The voice pressed on:
[They will come for you. Stronger. Smarter. Hungrier.]
[And when they do... you have to be prepared.]
The countdown in his vision continued to drop.
[70:55:12]
Tony swallowed hard, his heart racing, but he gripped the dagger with renewed strength.
He murmured softly to himself, his voice low and rough but unwavering.
"Then I'd better be ready."