There was a reason Shyveon was so brutal.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah…"
Gasping for breath as if his next would no longer exist, Arcine gaped at the notification forced upon his gaze.
—Ding!
[ Trait Awakening has been completed! ]
[ Awarding trait, Indomitable Human Spirit… ]
[ Trait successfully awarded! ]
[> WIL: B-Rank (48/243) -> A-Rank (0/729) [Hidden: A-Rank (534/729)]
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Trait: Indomitable Human Spirit
Category: Racial Trait
Rank: B
Description: An integral part of Humanity, allowing them to become the most likely species to ascend to become Concepts.
Effect: A fully-awakened human automatically wields a WIL attribute of A, and can cultivate it to ranks beyond.
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"I… I see,"
And with that, Arcine passed out. Knees buckling from his stance. Vision going dark.
He was falling.
…Along with the others.
In a resounding—
—Thud.
* * *
I woke up with dirt in my mouth and the taste of regret.
Sunlight blinded me as I peeled my eyes open, squinting against the harsh glare. My body felt like it had been run over by one of those fancy hover-cars from Vircadia's upper districts.
Every muscle screamed in protest as I pushed myself up to a sitting position.
"What the hell..." I muttered, taking in my surroundings.
An endless expanse of wilderness stretched before me. Rolling hills covered in golden-brown grass, sparse trees dotting the landscape, and not a single sign of civilization.
The sky above was a perfect, cloudless blue, with the sun hanging directly overhead, beating down with merciless intensity.
I checked my pockets. Empty. No phone. No credits. Nothing.
Just me, my academy uniform, and this godforsaken heat.
A piece of parchment appeared before my eyes:
[ Third Examination: Survival ]
[ Duration: Three Months ]
[ Objective: Survive ]
[ Resources Provided: None ]
"Three months?" I laughed bitterly. "In this?"
I glanced up at the sun again. Something felt off about it. I had a feeling already, given my sense of humor.
It wasn't moving. At all. The shadows cast by the few trees remained fixed in place, unchanging.
I could clearly feel it with my body.
Time wasn't flowing.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. This wasn't just a survival test—it was more psychological torture. With no way to track time, how would anyone know when three months had passed?
We'd be left to wonder, to doubt, to slowly lose our minds under that eternal midday sun.
I touched the insignia on my hand—Lux's mark. It remained inert. No help there.
"Indomitable Human Spirit, huh?" I muttered, remembering my newly awakened trait. "Let's see how indomitable you really are."
I stood up, legs shaking but holding. The heat pressed down like a physical weight, already drawing sweat from my pores.
No food. No water. Just an endless day stretching before me.
First priority: find water. Second: shelter from this relentless sun. Third: figure out if anyone else was dropped into this hellscape with me.
I took my first step forward, feeling the dry grass crunch beneath my feet.
"Time to survive."
* * *
I trudged across the endless landscape, each hill promising relief only to reveal another identical stretch beyond. The unchanging sun beat down mercilessly and my clothes were now damp with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.
"This is ridiculous," I muttered, wiping my forehead for the hundredth time. "What kind of sadistic test is this?"
After three hours of hiking, my throat felt like sandpaper. My lips had cracked, and the beginnings of a sunburn tingled across my exposed skin.
Until now, the eternal midday showed no signs of relenting.
Then it hit me — I'd been thinking like a human, not a Shadow Demon.
Well, if I were really a Shadow Demon… I'd be dead the moment I stepped into the sunlight.
Anyways.
"True Shadow," I whispered, focusing on my racial trait.
My shadow stirred beneath me, darkening and thickening until it rose up like smoke. I shaped it with my will, forming a canopy above my head that blocked the harsh sunlight. The relief was immediate, cool darkness washing over me.
"Should've thought of this hours ago," I chided myself, feeling the temperature drop several degrees beneath my shadow shield.
I continued my trek with renewed vigor, manipulating my shadow to move with me, providing constant protection from the sun. The drain on my strength was minimal.
It was a worthwhile trade for avoiding heatstroke.
Two more hours passed, each hill looking identical to the last. My shadow shield held firm, but thirst clawed at my throat with increasing desperation.
Then I heard it.
The faint sound of running water.
I quickened my pace, cresting another hill to finally see what I'd been searching for: a winding river cutting through the valley below, its surface glittering in the sunlight.
"Thank god," I breathed, already imagining the cool water against my parched lips.
I half-ran, half-stumbled down the slope toward the riverbank, my shadow shield wavering with my faltering concentration.
Then I froze.
Along the riverbank, spread out in a loose formation, was a herd of beasts I recognized immediately.
Mana Gazers. Deer-like creatures with crystalline antlers that pulsed with magical energy. Their silver-blue hides shimmered with protective enchantments, and their six eyes — three on each side of their elongated heads — constantly scanned for threats.
I'd written them as territorial, aggressive, and capable of firing concentrated mana beams from their antlers that could cut through steel.
And I needed to get past them to reach the water.
"Ah, fuck." I cursed, lamenting my fate.
Just as my exhausted body staggered to the side, my instincts screamed.
With no time to think, I threw my head to the side. That concentrated mana beam I just recalled?
Yeah. It just brushed past my face.
"AH, FUCK!"
I scrambled backward, nearly tripping over my own feet as another mana beam scorched the ground where I'd stood moments before.
The Mana Gazers had spotted me, their six-eyed gazes locked onto my position with predatory focus. The herd's crystalline antlers began to glow with building energy.
"This is not how I die," I hissed through clenched teeth.
I bolted to my right, running parallel to the riverbank. The decision wasn't calculated—just pure survival instinct kicking in. A barrage of mana beams cut through the air behind me, the heat of their passage singeing the back of my neck.
My lungs burned. My legs screamed.
But the alternative was death, so I pushed harder.
"Just need water," I gasped between ragged breaths. "Just... water."
The Mana Gazers gave chase, their hooves barely touching the ground as they pursued me with unnatural grace. I'd written them to be persistent hunters, and now I was experiencing that trait firsthand.
"Damn them all!"
I spotted a bend in the river ahead where the bank dipped lower, creating a small inlet partially hidden by overhanging vegetation.
There, I told myself.
Without slowing, I veered toward it, praying the Gazers wouldn't anticipate my move.
Three more beams sliced through the air around me. One grazed my shoulder, burning through fabric and searing skin. I bit back a scream and pushed forward.
With a desperate lunge, I dove behind the vegetation and rolled down the embankment, landing with a splash in the shallow water of the inlet.
—Sssssss!
I almost moaned.
The cool liquid was heaven against my burned skin, but I couldn't afford to savor it. I pressed myself against the muddy bank, using the overhanging roots and plants as cover.
Above me, the thundering hooves of the Mana Gazers slowed, then stopped. I could hear their strange, whistling breaths as they searched for me.
Please…
I remained perfectly still, barely daring to breathe.
After what felt like an eternity, the sounds of the herd moved farther downstream, continuing their patrol of their territory.
Only when I was certain they were gone did I cup my hands and bring the precious water to my lips.
I was alive.