Jade crouched silently on the frozen tree branch, his breath visible in the cold air. Frost clung to the bark beneath his feet, and the distant wind carried the chilling presence of the forest.
Below him, the massive snow wolf still prowled across the battlefield. Its thick white fur shimmered faintly in the pale light, and its icy breath escaped from its jaws like cold smoke.
But Jade's attention was no longer on the monster.
Several glowing shards floated beside him.
They were the fragments his vines had just retrieved from the bodies of the dead snow wolves.
Each fragment shimmered with pale blue light, radiating a chilling energy that made the air around them colder.
Jade's fingers trembled slightly.
Not from fear.
From the cold.
The snow wolf's aura earlier had nearly frozen his body. Even now his muscles still felt stiff.
Jade stared at the shards.
"If these really contain the power of the snow wolves… maybe they can help."
Without hesitating, Jade picked up one shard and placed it in his mouth.
The moment the fragment touched his tongue—
It dissolved instantly.
Like ice melting in warm water.
A surge of cold energy rushed down his throat and spread through his entire body.
Jade's eyes widened slightly.
The feeling was strange.
Cold…
But powerful.
Encouraged, Jade immediately grabbed another shard and swallowed it.
Then another.
Soon he shoved the rest of the fragments into his mouth.
One after another they dissolved, sending waves of icy energy through his veins.
Then the system's voice echoed inside his mind.
"You have received one Ice Fragment."
"You have received one Ice Fragment."
"You have received one Ice Fragment."
"You have received one Ice Fragment."
The voice repeated again and again as the shards were absorbed.
Finally, the system spoke once more.
Ice Fragments: 36 / 50
Jade froze slightly.
He could feel something strange happening inside his body.
His energy felt different now.
Before, it had been vague… like a hidden force he could barely control.
But now—
It felt fluid.
Like liquid strength flowing through his veins.
Jade slowly clenched his fist.
He could feel the energy moving inside him.
Flowing.
Gathering.
Responding to his thoughts.
It felt as if his strength had become something he could control.
Even more surprising—
The cold around him felt weaker.
The freezing aura from the snow wolf no longer affected him as strongly.
The fragments had given him a form of cold resistance.
Jade then looked down at his arms.
His eyes widened.
All the wounds from the earlier battle were gone.
The cuts left by the ice arrows had completely healed.
His skin looked smooth again.
But when he pressed it with his fingers—
It felt harder.
Colder.
Stronger.
Almost like frozen stone.
"My defense increased…"
Jade muttered quietly.
Curious, he summoned one of his vines.
A thin vine burst from his chest and curled through the air like a living snake.
But this time Jade focused on the strange energy flowing inside his body.
He guided it toward the vine.
The vine trembled slightly as the energy flowed through it.
Its surface hardened and its speed increased.
Jade gave a mental command.
"Climb."
The vine shot upward instantly and wrapped around a distant branch far above him.
It moved much faster than before.
Jade smiled slightly.
"This energy really works."
It was only his first day inside the trial, and yet he had already gained this much power.
If he continued growing like this…
He might actually survive.
Just as Jade was thinking this, something strange caught his eye.
He looked down at the snow beneath the tree.
There was something there.
An egg.
It rested quietly in the snow, half buried beneath frost.
A soft aura surrounded it, releasing a faint but pleasant energy.
Jade frowned.
"An egg…?"
He leaned slightly to observe it.
But suddenly—
Something unexpected happened.
A thin thread of blood burst from Jade's chest.
The crimson strand shot downward like a needle and connected directly to the egg.
Jade's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!"
He could clearly feel it.
His blood was being drained.
Slowly…
But forcefully.
"Another blood draining beast?!"
Jade groaned.
"Come on… it's still in its egg!"
But what Jade didn't realize was that the egg was not attacking him.
It was absorbing his blood to rebuild itself.
Using his genes.
The egg suddenly began trembling violently.
Cracks appeared across its shell.
Jade jumped down from the tree and prepared himself.
His fist tightened.
He gathered energy into his arm.
At the same time several vines slowly emerged from his chest, ready to strike.
CRACK.
The egg split open.
Something small crawled out.
Jade blinked in confusion.
It was a cub.
A tiny animal with soft fur and small paws.
Instead of a terrifying monster…
It looked like a cat.
Jade stared at it.
"…A cat?"
But the shell moved again.
Another creature pushed itself out from behind the cub.
A tiny bird.
A chick.
Its feathers shimmered faintly with golden light.
Jade stared at the two creatures.
He had expected something dangerous.
But instead he got two harmless babies.
Just as Jade raised his fist to strike—
Two thin silver threads shot out from the bodies of the cub and the chick.
The threads connected directly to Jade's chest.
Jade's eyes widened.
"What is this—"
He punched the cub instinctively.
BAM.
The cub rolled slightly in the snow.
But it wasn't hurt.
Instead—
Jade suddenly coughed violently.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"What?!"
The system immediately responded.
"They have been bound to your soul."
"They have received your genes."
Jade wiped the blood from his lips.
"So if they are hurt…"
"…I get hurt too."
The system replied calmly.
"Yes."
Jade sighed heavily.
He looked down at the cub.
Its fur had black and silver stripes.
"…You're Little Black."
Then he looked at the bird with golden feathers and silver lines.
"And you're Little Gold."
Little Gold immediately fluttered its wings and landed on Jade's shoulder.
Little Black climbed up his arm and rested on his other shoulder.
Jade shook his head.
He still didn't understand how a cub could hatch from an egg.
But then he remembered his father's words.
"Inside the Trial… anything is possible."
Jade then looked toward the snow wolf again.
An idea formed in his mind.
He picked up Little Black and gently wrapped a vine around the cub.
The vine lowered the cub toward the ground.
The moment the snow wolf noticed Little Black—
Its icy eyes flashed.
It immediately abandoned its search for Jade and rushed forward.
The monster believed it had found easy prey.
Little Black trembled in fear.
Through their soul connection, Jade could feel the cub's emotions clearly.
Fear.
Confusion.
But Jade stayed calm.
The wolf opened its massive jaws—
Ready to devour the cub.
But just as its teeth closed—
Jade appeared.
BAM!
His Sharp Punch slammed into the wolf's jaw with explosive force.
The impact echoed through the forest.
The snow wolf staggered backward.
Jade had used the cub as bait.
Before the monster could recover—
Dozens of vines burst violently from Jade's chest.
But these vines were different.
Each one was infused with his flowing energy.
They moved faster.
Sharper.
More deadly.
The vines shot forward like spears.
They wrapped around the wolf's legs.
Its neck.
Its torso.
Then they tightened violently.
The creature roared furiously and tried to escape.
But Jade's vines struck again.
Several vines pierced directly into the wolf's body.
Their sharp tips stabbed through its thick fur and flesh.
Blood exploded outward.
The vines twisted deeper inside the monster's body and began draining its blood mercilessly.
The wolf struggled wildly.
Its claws tore into the ground.
Its body slammed against nearby trees.
But it could not escape.
The vines held it firmly.
Its strength faded rapidly as its blood was drained away.
Finally the monster collapsed into the snow.
The system's voice echoed once again.
"You have slain a Snow Wolf."
"You have received its data."
"Data Name: Ice Gene."
"Data Type: Gene."
"Data Rank: Initiate."
"Data Class: Ordinary."
Jade raised his hand.
"I summon it."
Instantly ice spread across his body.
His muscles expanded.
His entire form turned into something like a living ice warrior.
Cold power flowed through him.
Jade stepped forward and punched a nearby tree.
CRACK.
The tree split apart instantly, as if cut by a sword.
Jade looked at his fist in amazement.
Then the ice slowly melted and reabsorbed into his body.
He dismissed the transformation.
"…How did my gene fuse with the snow wolf's?"
The system replied.
"You obtained the Snow Wolf's gene data."
"You can temporarily fuse it with your own gene to increase your strength."
Jade nodded slowly.
Then he looked at his shoulders.
Little Gold chirped happily.
Little Black purred quietly.
Jade sighed.
"…Great."
"Now I have two little lives to take care of."
He paused for a moment.
"…Actually three."
Because in this deadly trial…
He still had to keep himself alive.