For those who want to see Zael's status at this point.
[SYSTEM STATUS WINDOW]
[STATUS — ZAEL]
Level: 19
Profession: Sovereign strategist (combat scholar)
Strength: 68 (142)
Agility: 74 (155)
Vitality: 70 (138)
Perception: 81 (160)
Mana: 95 (220)
(Values in brackets = superimposed attributes)
(Profession in brackets=public)
---
[TALENTS]
Supreme Blessing (Mythical)
→ Allows all lower-grade talents to evolve beyond their limits
→ Passively enhances compatibility with all skills
Ascendant Echo (Mythical)
TRAIT —
Creates perfect autonomous clones based on user's current state
Clones inherit skills and partial talents
Clone can learn skills and awaken new talents
Damage transfers as fatigue instead of injury
SUB-TRAITS
• Ascendant — Synchronizes user with clone, granting access to clone stats & skills temporarily
• Echo Clone — Creates temporary clones at 50% health
---
[SKILLS]
Blade Domain (Legendary)
Creates a controlled combat field that enhances blade speed and precision
Void Step (Legendary)
Instant short-range displacement
Resonance Strike (Mythical)
Stores absorbed force and converts it into destructive counterattacks
Night Sever (Legendary)
Armor-bypassing strike that damages internal structures
Phantom Split (Legendary)
Creates layered afterimages to confuse perception
(Afterimages share attack value but cannot use skills)
---
---
The sky of the national dungeon darkened.
Not with clouds.
With system code.
Lines of pale red light stretched across the heavens like fractures in glass, and every contestant—no matter where they stood—felt it.
The system spoke.
> [FAILSAFE SYSTEM: DISABLED]
[All subsequent deaths are permanent]
[Revival protocols: OFFLINE]
For half a second…
No one moved.
Then panic spread like wildfire.
---
Some screamed.
Some laughed.
Some fell to their knees.
And some… smiled.
---
Lily's fingers tightened around her spear.
"…It's real," she whispered. "No resets anymore."
Her rank window hovered faintly.
[Lily — Rank 2 (Province 7)]
Zael stood beside her, blood drying along his sleeve from the last clash. His breathing was steady, but his eyes had sharpened.
"They've removed the safety net," he said quietly.
"Which means…"
He looked at the corpses behind them.
"…everything from now on counts."
Across the ruined valley, smoke still rose from broken trees and shattered rock where their battle with the rival province squad had ended.
A mythical awakener.
Two legendary-grade elites.
Dead.
And now…
Something worse had entered the field.
Black-robed figures had vanished into the forest after their ambush, leaving behind only one corpse and a truth that chilled deeper than any system message.
Rogue awakeners.
Servants of demons.
Enemies of the trial itself.
---
High above, the rankings updated again.
Not with celebration.
With blood.
> [Remaining Contestants: 263]
[Hour 1 Complete]
---
Somewhere else in the dungeon…
A sword carved through three contestants in a single swing.
Zane stood amid falling bodies, coat torn, eyes calm.
[Zane — Rank 1 (Province 7)]
"Permanent deaths…" he murmured.
"…Good."
---
In the western ruins, a woman with silver hair and burning gold pupils crushed a fleeing opponent with spatial collapse.
Christina — Rank 3 (Province 12)
Profession: Spatial Dominator
"Now it's honest," she said softly. "No more pretending."
---
In the northern basin, a massive man wreathed in magma laughed as his axe split another awakener in two.
Boros — Rank 5 (Province 19)
Profession: Worldbreaker
"Let them die," he roared. "Only the worthy reach the crown!"
---
And in the central forest…
Zael felt it.
Not mana.
Not killing intent.
Attention.
The dungeon had changed its tone.
Before, it had been a trial.
Now…
It was a hunt.
Lily exhaled slowly. "Zael… do you think the rogue awakeners will attack again?"
"They will," he replied.
"They're not here to win."
He looked toward the distant spires where the battlefield narrowed.
"They're here to thin us."
A new message burned into the sky.
> [SECOND PHASE: NIGHT CYCLE APPROACHING]
[Visibility Reduced]
[Predatory Entities Increased]
Lily grimaced. "Of course it's night."
Zael smiled faintly.
"Good."
"…Why good?"
He drew his blade.
"Because chaos hides power."
And somewhere far away…
Top-ranked awakeners were already moving.
Not toward safety.
But toward each other.
---
> [Remaining Contestants: 247]
[Hour 2 Complete]
The National Trial had crossed its true threshold.
From this moment on—
There would be no winners.
Only the last one standing.
---
Outside the dungeon…
The arena had fallen into stunned silence.
A hundred towering projection crystals floated above the grand viewing platform, each displaying a different sector of the National Trial. Blood still stained the images. Bodies lay where they had fallen. Rankings flickered too fast for comfort.
Then the system message appeared on every screen at once.
> [FAILSAFE SYSTEM: DISABLED]
[All subsequent deaths are permanent]
For a heartbeat, no one breathed.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
A woman in the upper stands screamed as she clutched her chest.
"Permanent?! You mean they can actually die in there?!"
"They're children!" another shouted. "This is a trial, not a war!"
The announcer's voice cracked as he tried to keep order.
"P-Please remain calm! The system has never—this has never happened before!"
On the main screen, a contestant was cut down mid-sprint.
The body did not dissolve.
It stayed.
The crowd finally understood.
This wasn't simulation anymore.
It was slaughter.
---
THE AUTHORITIES' CHAMBER
Deep beneath the arena, inside a sealed command hall layered with runic screens and mana conduits, alarms howled.
Red light washed over dozens of officials.
"Get me dungeon access, NOW!" a gray-haired man barked.
The insignia on his cloak marked him as a High Authority Overseer.
A technician slammed his palm against a glowing console.
"It's not responding! The dungeon interface is… corrupted!"
"Corrupted how?!"
"Something is jamming the control layer," another shouted.
"Not natural dungeon interference—this is intentional!"
Runic code streamed across the central projection.
> [EXTERNAL OVERRIDE: FAILED]
[ROOT SYSTEM: UNRESPONSIVE]
[CAUSE: FOREIGN MANA SIGNATURE DETECTED]
A woman in black armor stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
"…Rogue awakeners."
The room went quiet.
"They're inside the trial," she continued.
"And they're interfering with the dungeon core itself."
"That's impossible," someone said weakly. "Only the system can—"
"They serve demons," she snapped.
"They don't follow system law."
Another alarm rang.
> [ACCESS ETA: UNKNOWN]
A young officer swallowed.
"H-How long until we can force entry?"
The technician hesitated.
"…Hours. Maybe longer."
The Overseer slammed his fist into the table.
"Hours?! Three hundred elites are inside that dungeon!"
"And now," the armored woman said coldly,
"every death is real."
---
BACK IN THE STANDS
The projections updated again.
> [Remaining Contestants: 247]
[Hour 2 Complete]
Gasps spread through the crowd.
"That fast…"
"Fifty-three gone already?"
"They said only the top ten advance… but now…"
A man leaned forward, eyes fixed on one screen.
"That girl—Province Seven. Lily."
Another screen showed a lone figure walking through fallen enemies.
"…And that's Zane."
Someone whispered,
"Province Seven is going to dominate again."
But another voice, shaking, said,
"Not if the rogue awakeners get to them first."
---
THE AUTHORITIES' DECISION
Inside the chamber, the Overseer straightened.
"Mobilize strike teams."
"They can't enter yet," a commander said.
"I know," he growled.
"But the moment that interference drops…"
He pointed at the dungeon projection.
"…we tear the sky open."
The armored woman folded her arms.
"Until then," she said,
"they're on their own."
---
BACK INSIDE THE DUNGEON
Zael felt the shift before he saw the message.
A faint tremor passed through the mana field, like a heartbeat out of sync.
Then:
> [Remaining Contestants: 239]
[Hour 3 Approaching]
Lily looked up at the darkened sky.
"…They're dying fast."
Zael's eyes narrowed.
"And the ones hunting us aren't even competing."
Somewhere in the distance, a scream cut short.
Not by a skill.
By something else.
Something wrong.
Zael tightened his grip on his blade.
"Lily."
"Yeah?"
"From now on… we don't just fight contestants."
The forest rustled.
Black shapes moved between the trees.
"And," he added softly,
"we don't assume the system can save anyone anymore."
---