Chapter 8: The Survival Trial
727 Words
The wind was sharp as blades when Caleb opened his eyes.
He was no longer in the Hollow anymore.
The forest around him felt... wrong. The trees stood in silence. The moon above shed silver light that didn't shake or spin, as if time were frozen in the middle of being suspended in breath. His boots crunch into the frostbitten moss, and even that sound echoed unnaturally long.
[System Notification: Initiating Internal Challenge...]
Lunar Survival Trial: Level 1
Objective: Endure until dawn.
Restrictions: No healing, no external help.
Time Remaining: 6 hours, 12 minutes.
Threat Level: Variable.
Bloodlust Regulation Locked.
Note: Death in trial = System reset + stat loss.
Slowly, Caleb let out his breath. "So that is it. The system version of a training camp."
His muscles tensed. The air was heavy with pressure—like something ancient was watching him. Every branch of every tree appeared to be a claw about to swoop down. His instincts screamed that this wasn't a question of fighting, at least not now. It was about survival.
The first hour passed in darkness and silence. He crept along and conserved energy. But his own mind betrayed him. The system was not just giving him energy—it was probing the thresholds at which his mind would hold before it collapsed.
Then the first howl. Not a wolf.
It was guttural, distorted—like a drowning man screaming underwater.
Caleb kneeled next to a rock, eyes scanning. Out of the mist, a malformed creature forced itself into view. Its body was stitched together like meat stuffed into a sack, claws like broken glass. Big eyes. Hungry.
[Beast Identified: Hollow Shade Spawn]
Rank: D
Type: Aberration
Behavior: Aggressive
Weak points: Sensitive to light
No hesitation. Caleb pounced.
He clamped his claws into its throat but the beast howled and curled its arms around him. Its teeth ripped across his shoulder. Caleb fought back, slammed it against the tree, and ripped its belly wide open until it turned to dust.
Absorbed Essence: +12 LP
Bloodlust: Rising (82%)
Healing Disabled (Survival Mode Active)
His side burned. No regeneration. No turning back. Just pain—and time going on anyway.
The second hour contained a greater number of beasts. Three of them. They didn’t come all at once, but just enough delay to sap his strength out. Caleb fought with cold calculation. He ducked, countered, cut a tendon here, crushed a throat there.
One nearly clawed its claws into his chest.
[System Update: Instinct +1 | Strength +1]
Caleb leaned against a tree trunk. His hands trembled. His shirt was ripped, blood-soaked. His breathing fogged in the cold, each ragged gasp more desperate than the last.
This was more than the fight itself.
It was attrition.
By the fourth hour, hallucinations set in. Or maybe they didn't.
Shadows whispered like voices. Trees creaked. A figure appeared—his mother? No. A trap. He propelled himself to keep walking forward. Not because he knew. But because not knowing didn’t matter. Moving was survival.
The fifth hour arrived, and with it, the final wave.
Five creatures. One with bony armor plating. Caleb didn't wait around. His legs ached. Eyes blurring. But he charged—frenzied and merciless.
[Shadow Cloak Activated]
[Strike Bonus +25% in Night Terrain]
[Weak Point Exposed]
He hacked at them. His body burned. His teeth were clenched so hard that they broke apart. His mouth filled with blood. Yet, he didn't relent.
And then----
Silence.
[Trial Complete.]
Duration: 6 hours
Survival Grade: A-
Reward: Stat Bonus (All +2), New Skill Unlocked
Skill: Lunar Foresight (Lv.1)
Description: Briefly glimpsed 1.5 seconds into an enemy’s next move. Cooldown: 30 sec.
Bloodlust Locked at 90%. Reset recommended soon.
The world blurred.
And then he awakened.
Lying flat on the floor of his cabin, clothes shredded, fingernails cracked and blackened, a thin line of dried blood from his ear to his collar.
His muscles ached. Yet he was alive.
He slowly sat up, ignoring the pain in his ribcage.
[Stats Updated]
Strength: 29
Agility: 26
Instinct: 17
Resilience: 22
Bloodlust: 90%
Skill: Shadow Cloak (Lv. 1), Lunar Foresight (Lv. 1)
He had no idea if he'd passed some grand test or just barely scraped by.
But one thing was certain.
The system wasn't a gift.
It was a crucible.
And now he was just starting to burn.
- Writer
