{Eren Brown's POV}
"Damn it."
I muttered as I pulled my spear from its storage ring and took a defensive stance.
You might ask how I'm carrying a spear without being stopped or prevented from entering this place…
Things like assassinations and surprise attacks are common in this world; almost everyone carries some means of self-defense nearly everywhere. You could say it's a form of "common sense"…
Or the author's laziness in finding an excuse for characters to always carry weapons.
Two men approached from my sides; it seemed they wanted to defeat me through numbers.
Fools. They don't realize that I'm stronger than both of them; and the fact that they're assassins means their defense is somewhat weak.
With a swift motion, I moved toward the man on my right and struck him with a lightning-fast thrust straight into the middle of his abdomen.
"Impossible…"
The man muttered as he fell to the ground. I made sure I didn't kill him—just a near-fatal wound. He'd die if he didn't receive treatment.
I don't really care; but I'm not looking to suffer an existential crisis in the middle of a fight because I killed someone.
I quickly turned to the second man. He seemed more cautious than the first, but I didn't care.
I stabbed him the same way I stabbed the first; his eyes couldn't keep up with me as he collapsed to the ground.
"Strange."
I muttered, wondering how these assassins could be so weak and yet dare to attack this place. Where did they get all this confidence?
You know those situations where you think things won't go wrong—
but they do… suddenly and catastrophically?
That's exactly what happened.
A loud roar echoed, nearly bursting my eardrums.
"What is that?"
I muttered as I watched a monster appear out of nowhere before me.
"What is Nian doing here?"
One of the examiners was the one who recognized the monster, shock clearly visible on his face.
I didn't know at the time that Nian was a C-rank creature…
"Nian."
I whispered in a low voice, bewildered by the weak, almost laughable name for the gigantic figure standing before me.
It looked rather strange: the body of a bull and the head of a lion. I didn't recognize this monster; I'm sure it wasn't mentioned in the novel, as far as I remember…
I quickly tried to ambush it before it noticed me—
which proved to be a truly terrible decision.
I was sent flying until I slammed into the wall, leaving a massive crater behind.
"Urgh…"
I groaned, spitting blood from my mouth—something that had started to become a habit since I arrived in this world.
"Go, Nian!"
One of the assassins shouted at the beast while holding a staff-like object with a red gem on it. It was clear he was controlling the monster through it.
One of the assassins approached me, his eyes glowing with murderous intent. It seemed the two I'd taken down were his friends, and he wanted revenge.
I was in bad shape: stuck in the wall, with my spear nowhere near me.
The man raised his hand as he approached, clearly intending to torture me before killing me. How did I know? He stood at a distance, preparing to throw his daggers at me, as if in some competition—and I was the prize he wanted to hit.
He threw the first dagger, striking my right hand.
"Ah!"
A muffled groan escaped my lips.
"That's for Victor… and this one's for Ward."
He threw the second dagger, hitting my left shoulder.
The pain was intoxicating. The sensation of the dagger piercing my shoulder and tearing flesh was anything but pleasant.
"Damn you."
The curse slipped from my mouth as my mind raced for a way out of this dire situation.
"And this one's for me."
The man threw his third dagger. Notably, it carried more power than the previous two—he clearly intended to kill me with this one.
At the moment the dagger neared me, I saw a flashing light strike it, knocking it off course.
"What the—"
The man couldn't finish his sentence before another arrow struck him directly in the throat.
It wasn't a pleasant sight to witness.
"Are you okay?"
I heard a gentle female voice approaching me. And apparently, it was…
"Ashley Graham."
"Looks like you haven't forgotten my name."
Ashley said as she pulled me free from the wall and handed me a mid-tier potion. How did I know? I healed instantly after drinking it.
"Thank you."
I thanked Ashley and began moving to attack the assassins; it didn't look like reinforcements would arrive anytime soon.
"Damn, there are really a lot of them… Is your family okay?"
I asked Ashley curiously as we tried to get closer to the others, running quickly while avoiding the monster called Nian.
"My mother is fine—she's hiding in a safe place… but I don't know where my father is."
She said the last part with anger clearly written on her face.
What should I do…?
I was lost in thought. We were in a tough spot. If survival were the only goal, I could hide from them and take out anyone who approached me until the heroes arrived.
But my presence had altered a few things, and I'd learned that I needed to maintain certain lines—most importantly, trying to avoid the deaths of key characters, so the future would be at least a little merciful.
Ashley could die here today, which would be a disaster for the future.
So I began moving left and right, dodging both beast and humans, thinking of a way out.
As I was thinking and forming a plan, a beast's roar approaching at high speed snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Damn it."
For a moment, my mind had wandered from the monster, making me realize just how foolish I'd been. Nian was close.
The problem wasn't just that—it was heading straight for me, and I didn't know why. How did I know it was after me? Ashley and I had split up, yet the monster seemed determined to pursue me specifically.
"Shit."
I cursed my luck as my thoughts raced frantically, searching for a reason why this damned beast was drawn to me.
I didn't finish my thought before a long tail came at me from the right.
But this time, I'd learned my lesson. I jumped to avoid the tail—
which turned out not to be the best choice.
Because I realized it was attacking me with its claw while I was still in midair.
As the claw neared me, a yellow beam appeared, striking its hand. Blood spilled, and an arrow lodged itself firmly in one of its palms.
"Get back quickly, Eren!"
Ashley shouted as she fired a volley of arrows aimed at the monster's neck.
But nothing in this world ever goes smoothly…
A strange aura appeared and surrounded the beast, protecting it from most of the arrows.
"A mana-using monster."
Things couldn't get any worse…
This was the second time I'd thought that—and it seemed I needed to learn how to control my thoughts so I wouldn't raise any flags.
Boom.
Another explosion echoed, and it seemed the place was on the verge of collapsing…++
"Just great."
I moved away from the monster as realization finally struck me—the way out was clear.
At the same time, the beast was busy removing the arrow from its hand, giving us a few moments to catch our breath.
"Ashley!"
I called out loudly, then moved closer and began whispering in her ear.
She listened carefully to every word.
When I finished, she looked at me in surprise, her expression saying—
"Are you sure?"
"There's no other choice… It seems another bomb will explode here if we don't hurry and defeat this thing."
"…Alright. Looks like we don't have another option."
Ashley said as she ran away from me—a sight I answered with a smile.
I turned to face the monster with the same smile.
"Come on… let's dance a little."
---
{Lucas Silver's POV}
Pant… pant…
"Damn this world."
With difficulty, I dodged a zombie's strike and fired another quick arrow at it.
The good thing is that these arrows never run out.
The bad thing is that my stamina does.
No surprise there—I've been doing this for ten hours straight now…
I tried to use the Author's abilities, but they were sealed for some reason.
Don't misunderstand me; I quickly deduced that they simply don't work in this illusory world, no matter how real it seems.
What truly frightened me was that man's words—that death here equals death in the real world.
I swallowed hard as I thought about it, because I hadn't written this setting into the novel.
Still, even if the credibility of such a claim starts low, it has a chance of being true—and I wasn't about to gamble my life to find out.
I bypassed another zombie and began searching for higher ground so I could catch my breath and recover some energy.
"I still have to last another fourteen hours… damn it."
I muttered while scanning my surroundings, looking for zombies to take out before they got close.
I have to say, the zombies evolve with each wave—another setting I never wrote into this story…
I gripped my bow and resumed fighting the zombies while retreating once more.
And so thirteen more hours passed, my mental energy teetering on the edge of collapse.
Fight… rest for five minutes, sometimes less… fight again…
I'd been trapped in this cycle for twenty-three hours now.
The good news: only one hour left.
The bad news: it was one whole cursed hour.
I heard a thunderous roar, and I was certain it belonged to the zombie boss.
I had written this setting into the novel, so I wasn't surprised…
The good thing is that I only have to run away from it.
The bad thing is that it's strong—always one rank above the examinee.
"Damn it."
I was hiding among the zombie corpses I'd killed, convincing myself this was all in my head—that I wasn't really hiding among rotting bodies. Who was I kidding? The stench was unbearable.
Unfortunately, the monster drew closer to my position. I don't know how, but it seemed to sense my location even though I'd concealed everything.
So…
I bolted from my hiding place and started running. I'm an archer—I can't fight at close range like that girl, "Ashley."
As I ran, a sharp pain shot through my right arm. I looked at the wound and froze in shock.
"My hand!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs as I saw my hand severed from my body, clenched in that bastard's mouth.
How or when it happened, I didn't know.
"Damn it!"
I ran, trying to blend in with the corpses as the pain began to cloud my thoughts.
"I'll pay you back for all of this, many times over—you who dragged me into this cursed world."
…
After hiding for another thirty minutes, only five minutes remained.
I was betting everything. I was running on sheer willpower alone.
"Five minutes, and I'm out of this hellhole."
But nothing ever goes the way one wants it to…
Suddenly, without warning, all the zombies I'd killed began to move, as if possessed by some kind of magic.
"Damn it."
This wasn't supposed to happen. You know, this was starting to make me angry—I like being in control of everything, yet nothing had gone according to plan so far…
I ran, my life dependent on how long I could keep going without collapsing.
But the wind never blows the way the ships desire…
A sharp pain stabbed into my back—it seemed one of the arrows I'd fired at the zombies had been thrown back at me, taking advantage of my focus on escaping.
"No!"
I screamed with all the strength I could muster as I staggered forward, my steps slowing and my vision blurring.
"I won't die in this place… I still have a debt to repay."
I struggled to stay conscious.
The zombies surrounded me from every direction, doing something strange—
they were eating me alive.
I fought desperately to push them away with my one remaining hand, tears streaming down my face.
"Why me?"
With the last of my strength, I tried to escape—until I heard the most beautiful thing in my life.
The voice I had hated so deeply became the one I most wanted to hear.
"Congratulations, boy. You passed."
The moment I heard it, I collapsed…
A smile spread across my face as tears poured from both eyes.
"I did it… I really did."
---
("Nian"… In the folklore of many cultures, New Year's celebrations are usually associated with joyful and exciting things—Santa Claus, gifts, and abundant food. But in Chinese tradition, the New Year is linked to something entirely different and utterly opposite. The Chinese believed in the existence of a terrifying beast in the form of a gigantic horned lion called Nian. This monster lives in the mountains, and once a year—specifically at the beginning of the Chinese New Year—it leaves its remote dwelling and descends upon cities and villages in search of its favorite food… human flesh, especially that of young children.)