A young man woke up from his sleep. As he rose from his bed, his eyes immediately focused on a portal in the middle of his room, radiating a red light, displaying the sight of a crimson plain within.
'Not yet… just a little longer.'
Although the existence of a portal inside a room was a strange thing, Kayen remained calm and walked out of the room as if he were already used to it.
In the hallway of the house, the silence felt pressing—only loneliness accompanied him. This clearly showed that Kayen lived alone. He stepped into the bathroom beside his bedroom.
After showering and cleaning himself, Kayen returned to his room. He put on a plain black shirt, paired with black shorts, a simple yet comfortable appearance. Then he stared at the portal still glowing in the middle of the room.
His appearance was a bit messy. His black hair was long since it had not been cut for a while, and the dark circles around his eyes showed his lack of sleep. However, even though he looked tired and disheveled, Kayen's handsomeness still stood out, becoming the only thing that balanced the unkempt impression of his appearance.
Kayen saw with his own eyes that the portal before him, which previously showed a crimson plain and radiated a red glow, now changed: the portal was now radiating a green light, displaying a vast green field.
'It's time.'
Kayen then stepped into the portal.
Instantly, he was transported to the green field. He looked back at where the portal should have been, but all he saw was emptiness.
After that, a system appeared before him.
[Welcome to Ivorn]
[You will soon undergo a Trial to obtain the Essence and Traits most suited for you.]
[Be careful during the Trial, for death in Ivorn is true death.]
After speaking briefly, the system then displayed a countdown of one minute.
'Alright… all preparations have been made. I can only hope my plan works.'
Kayen had prepared a plan that took one whole month solely for this Trial. With this plan, he was at least confident he could obtain Essence Rank Transcendent and Trait Rank Arcane.The reason?
Kayen immediately summoned something. In an instant, a black light burst out from his eyes. Seeing this, Kayen quickly positioned his hands like a bowl. The light then spun in his palms and began to grow larger.
The black light kept swirling above his palms before finally transforming into a vast map. Thin silver lines started to appear, forming the contours of mountains, rivers, and forests. Small red X-shaped marks flickered in various places.
"Truly lucky I was able to obtain this."
The map was then fully formed. Once it appeared, Kayen then summoned his status.
••
Name: [Kayen]
Rank: [Novice] (Level-1)
Title : —
Essence: —
Traits: —
Art: —
Relic: [Veridom Map]
••
Kayen then tapped the name of the relic.
[Temporary Veridom Piece Map] [Awakened]
Relic Description: [A map that allows the user to view a 10 KM radius in the Veridom Continent.]
Seeing this, Kayen couldn't suppress his smile. An extraordinary relic that revealed dangerous areas without him needing to approach them directly.
*"Too bad this is only single-use and will impose a one-month cooldown before I can use another Temporary Veridom Piece Map."*
Kayen lamented that fact. He then examined the map and studied the images it displayed.
Silver lines illustrated towering mountains in the north, their peaks wrapped in a thin layer of mist. To the east stretched a winding great river, cutting across the plain toward the south. A dense forest was marked with small deep-green tree symbols. Meanwhile, at the center spread vast grasslands.
Kayen also noticed several red X lines, indicating dangerous areas. Seeing that he was quite far from the nearest red X brought him relief.
Suddenly, the countdown reached zero, and the system appeared again.
[During the Trial, you are confined to an area of 15 KM.]
[The Trial begins now!]
Seeing this, Kayen immediately dashed toward the forest. Entering the forest was the first step of his plan.
Inside the forest, while running, he found a rusty iron axe leaning against a tree, waiting to be picked up by someone like Kayen.
'Luckily, I researched the best continent for someone like me to enter. Otherwise, I would've already lost my life.'
Kayen was an orphan without parents. So, if he had entered the red portal that led to the continent of Pyrhem, he would certainly have died since the chances of finding a weapon there were extremely slim.
Meanwhile, in Veridom—especially near a forest—the possibility of someone finding a weapon was very high. Truly perfect for Kayen, who had nothing and no one.
Picking up the rusty axe, Kayen swung it a few times at the tree where it had been leaning.
*THAK! THAK! THAK!*
Seeing that the tree now bore quite deep marks made Kayen pleased with the weapon he had acquired.
(The reason the axe Kayen obtained is not considered a relic is because it did not originate from a monster.)
Quite satisfied with his axe, Kayen then ventured deeper into the forest. He needed to kill in order to obtain better essence and traits.
After walking for a while, Kayen soon spotted a monster gnawing on the rotting flesh of a long-dead deer.
The monster resembled a rat but was about a meter tall. Its body was full of wounds, from its ears down to its back, where its flesh was exposed.
'Monsters that feed on corpses usually can't hunt, making them the perfect prey for my warm-up.'
With that conclusion, Kayen slowly approached the monster from behind. The creature was still feasting on the deer's carcass. Once he was close enough, Kayen swung his axe down.
*THAKKK!*
The rat, struck by the attack, did not die instantly. It staggered away from Kayen, blood spurting from the wound inflicted.
The rat trembled not out of fear but of anger. Immediately, it charged forward at Kayen, sprinting on all fours.
Seeing this, without hesitation, Kayen swung his axe down once more. It struck the rat's head precisely, and in an instant, the creature died. The system then appeared.
[Congratulations, you have slain a level 1 monster]
Kayen quickly split open the rat's stomach. As he did, its organs spilled out one by one. Kayen pushed them aside, searching for its essence stone. After some time rummaging, he finally found one.
A green crystal stone about half the size of Kayen's thumb. Holding the stone, Kayen immediately consumed it, and suddenly the system notification appeared.
[You have gained 5 Exp.]