Survival Exam — Zone C
Final Day — 06:12 A.M.
The morning fog tasted like copper.
Not dew. Not mist. Blood.
I stood at the edge of the clearing, eyes locked on the northern ridge. Seria was behind me, tying back her hair and preparing her third flame ward for the morning.
"Riven," she said, "your eyes are doing that thing again."
I blinked. The red gleam in my vision dimmed. The Sigil of Truth activated passively when danger drew close—only this time, it was humming nonstop.
Which meant one thing:
Something massive was coming.
The ruins around us had gone unnaturally quiet. Birds vanished. Mana in the air turned dense, almost muddy, like it was being sucked inward.
Melo was mid-yawn when he felt it.
The boy froze. Then snapped his head toward me. "That's… that's a Class Four signature."
"No," I said slowly, "it's Class Three. But corrupted."
Melo paled.
Arkan's voice cut through the clearing. "Get ready. Incoming."
—
System Alert – Special Threat Detected
Corrupted Alpha-Class Beast: Verdant Howler (Mutated)
Estimated Power Level: Class 3.5
Recommended Strategy: Evacuation or Teamwide Assault
Bonus Points: 800
—
From the shadows, it emerged.
Easily four meters tall at the shoulder. A wolf-shaped abomination of moss-covered bone and arcane circuits, with two heads and a tail that ended in a fan of rusted iron blades.
Its right eye burned purple. The left was hollow, leaking green mana vapor.
"Why the hell is this thing in a student exam!?" Melo shrieked.
No one answered.
Because that wasn't the right question.
I already knew this beast wasn't natural.
It wasn't just a survival exam boss.
It was a field test for us.
Or more specifically—for one of the game's main characters.
My eyes flicked to Arkan.
The instructors were waiting to see what he would do.
---
Back in the Game…
In the original timeline, this very beast would appear during Chapter 27 of the main questline—used to unlock Arkan Drehl's Awakening Trait.
An evolution-type trait called:
> Iron Bloodline: War King's Successor
Each time Arkan fights a stronger opponent, he absorbs battle data and gains stat bonuses. Upon defeating a Class 3 beast solo, he unlocks the passive trait: Steel Memory, permanently boosting his strength and stamina by 20%.
I wasn't going to stop that.
No.
But I was going to use it.
Because nearby, buried beneath this corrupted wolf's lair, lay another Hidden Piece—something even the game's original players often missed.
---
Combat Engaged – Party Split
Arkan charged first.
His blade met the beast's claw mid-air, and the shockwave knocked two trees sideways.
The wolf lunged, but Arkan twisted, his movements sharp and brutal, honed from a different class of fighter. He wasn't a student. He was a weapon.
Seria, to her credit, adapted fast. Her flame sigils multiplied, forming twin serpent arcs that bound the beast's rear leg.
I didn't join the battle.
Not yet.
Instead, I peeled off from the main skirmish and sprinted toward the base of a hollowed-out tree north of the lair.
Because under it, I remembered a collapsed shrine entrance.
I dropped to my knees, whispering the activation phrase.
"Rutus vera. Hollow root, speak again."
The ground rumbled.
Stone shifted.
A secret stairwell unfolded from the tree trunk's base.
And there it was.
Floating, untouched, atop a pedestal of silver light.
---
[Hidden Piece Acquired: Fragment of Abyssal Chain]
> An ancient artifact once used by archmages to bind dimensional creatures. One of nine fragments scattered during the Demon War. When wielded by a competent mage, grants high-tier sealing magic and resistance to spatial interference.
In the game, this item was acquired only during a secret side quest in Chapter 55.
New Skill Acquired: Abyss Bind – Immobilize a target for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Passive: Spatial resistance +10%.
—
By the time I returned, the beast had entered its berserk phase.
It had already ripped one of Seria's wards to shreds, and Arkan's armor was cracked along his ribs.
But his sword—his sword now glowed.
The first flicker of his trait.
Steel Memory.
I saw it activate. The runes on his blade aligned mid-strike, and his eyes flashed gold for half a second.
With a thunderous roar, Arkan slammed the mutated wolf to the ground—and drove his blade through both its skulls.
Mana exploded in a dome.
I covered Melo as the shockwave hit.
When the dust cleared, the beast was dead.
Arkan stood tall, breathing heavy but still standing.
He had awakened.
And so had I.
No one saw what I retrieved. No one questioned why I'd vanished for sixty seconds.
Because I returned with a smile and bloodied sleeves, pretending I'd fought something offscreen.
—
System Alert – Special Threat Neutralized
Team 11 Score: +800 Points
Ranking: 1st Place
Arkan Drehl – Trait Evolution Detected: War King's Successor
Bonus Trait Awakening Confirmed.
—
Evening – Return Portal Waiting Room
Seria, bruised but alive, bandaged Melo's arm. He looked pale but otherwise intact.
Arkan sat near the edge of the ruins, staring at the sky. His aura was different now—colder, more defined.
I sat quietly, sipping from a water flask and going over my skills.
Sigil of Truth. Witch's Root. Memory Echo. Abyssal Chain Fragment.
One by one, I was stacking what didn't belong to me.
And no one suspected a thing.
Yet.
---
Far Away – Demon Continent: Veil Fortress
"You felt it?" the commander asked, kneeling before the throne.
The Demon King of Gluttony grinned, sharp teeth gleaming in the dark.
"A tremor," he whispered. "One of the fragments… just awakened."
"What do we do?"
"Let it gather strength. Let it ripen."
The king's smile widened. "We'll harvest it when the world bleeds."