Noah stepped forward.
The swirling dark-blue portal pulsed softly, casting a blue glow on his face as he approached.
The air around it buzzed with a quiet intensity, like the final breath before a storm.
He took one last look behind him—at the void that had tested him, broken him, and remade him.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped through.
A blinding light engulfed him the moment he crossed the threshold.
When it faded, the cold, damp air of the Forgotten Crypt rushed back in.
He was back.
Noah had no time to process what he was seeing.
His breath caught in his throat.
The Event Enforcer stood right beside him, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose like a man deeply regretting his life choices. "I hate this job…" he muttered under his breath, voice filled with exhaustion.
Noah's eyes darted forward, his pupils dilated—and his world tilted.
Lucas.
Pinned to the cold crypt floor.
His body was a mess of blood and wounds, barely clinging to consciousness, five swords driven into him like some twisted sacrifice. Blood pooled beneath him, seeping into the cracked stone floor.
And surrounding him…
The full strike team of the Azure Fangs, clad in matching gear, eyes cold, blades slick with blood.
They were waiting.
Noah's fists clenched. Phantom Step flickered beneath his skin, itching to be used.
The trial was over.
The real game had already begun.
Noah bolted forward without thinking.
He dropped to his knees beside Lucas, his hands trembling as they lifted his blood-soaked body.
"Lucas… no, no, no…" Noah's voice cracked. His chest tightened as he held his best friend—barely breathing, barely alive.
Lucas smiled weakly, eyes fluttering open just enough to see him.
"Don't worry about me…" he whispered. "Just run. I know... they'll come."
Noah shook his head. "Shut up. Don't say that. I'm not leaving you."
A slow, deliberate set of footsteps echoed through the crypt.
A figure stepped out from the circle of Azure Fangs.
Damian Kross.
Cold eyes. Crooked smile. Confidence radiating like a blade pressed to your throat.
"Don't worry," he said, voice dripping with mock kindness. "He's not dead… yet."
He tilted his head, eyes locking onto Noah's.
"Well, I'm not here for him anyway. I'm here for you. Or more specifically—your skills."
Noah stared at Damian, his breath shallow, vision blurring with rage and tears.
He clutched Lucas tighter.
"You're here… for my skills?" Noah whispered, his voice hollow.
Something snapped inside him.
A pressure surged in his chest—deep, dense, heavy. It felt like the world had tilted. His fingers trembled, then steadied. The air around him began to warp.
A low hum vibrated through the ground. Dust lifted from the crypt floor. The blades piercing Lucas quivered in place.
Damian frowned, taking an instinctive step back. "...What the hell?"
Noah slowly rose, letting Lucas rest gently on the ground.
Black-purple energy began to coil around him—rings of warped space folding in and out, like reality itself was buckling. His feet lifted an inch from the floor, but the ground beneath cracked as if he weighed a mountain.
[Skill Awakening: Gravity Core]
An unstable elemental force responds to your intent.
Gravity-aligned abilities unlocked.
The message blinked, then disappeared.
Noah's voice came low, steady, and unlike anything they'd heard from him before.
"You want my skills?"
He raised his blade.
"Then come and try to survive them."
The warped aura around Noah pulsed once—then collapsed inward.
For a split second, everything went silent.
Then—
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted outward, cracking the floor in a perfect circle around him.
Noah vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared behind the closest Azure Fang, mid-swing.
His blade, now glowing with black-violet arcs of compressed energy, tore through space itself.
[Skill: Gravitic Slash (lv.1) has been activated]
Compresses gravitational force into a single strike. Damage increases with emotional intensity. Ignores armor. Leaves behind a spatial rift.
The player didn't even have time to scream.
His body folded unnaturally—crushed, not cut—and was launched backwards, slamming into the far wall with enough force to shatter bone.
A small black rift lingered where Noah had swung, humming with unstable force.
The rest of the Azure Fangs froze.
Damian's smirk dropped.
"What the hell was that?"
Noah turned toward him, blade still thrumming.
"One warning," he said.
"Step away from Lucas—or the next one won't miss your heart."
Damian didn't flinch.
He stared down Noah's display of power like it was a minor inconvenience.
Then, he raised his hand.
"Kill him."
The Azure Fangs moved as one.
Noah stepped back, raising his blade—but the gravitational aura flickered, then vanished. The pressure in the air disappeared.
His body swayed. The exhaustion hit him like a wall.
He was out of energy.
Too soon.
The strike from earlier had taken everything Phantom Step didn't drain.
The first enemy closed in.
That's when it happened.
[Notice: Your inner potential has been realized.]
Limiters removed. All elemental paths unlocked.
You are no longer bound by a single affinity.
Welcome, Elemental Integration User.
Noah blinked. "...What?"
Flames erupted from his blade before he even finished the word.
He swung—pure instinct—and a blazing trail followed.
FWOOOM.
A crescent arc of fire exploded from his sword, incinerating the nearest attackers. Screams echoed through the crypt as flames engulfed them, leaving nothing but ash and molten steel behind.
The remaining Fangs hesitated, unsure whether to charge or run.
Noah didn't stop.
He lunged forward, striking with wild elemental surges—_a burst of wind here, a crackle of lightning there_. Every swing was unstable, unpredictable.
Too much power. Too fast.
And it was beautiful.
The battlefield was chaos.
Then—
His knees buckled.
The flames on his blade sputtered out.
His vision blurred.
[Warning: You have exceeded current stamina and mana thresholds.]
Noah collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, his sword clattering beside him.
All around him, silence.
Ash. Burned corpses. Scorched stone.
And standing amidst it all… Damian Kross. Still alive.
Expression unreadable.
"Interesting," Damian muttered. "Very interesting."
He stepped forward.
"Let's see how long you stay dead this time."
Damian raised his sword, the blade gleaming with killing intent.
Then—
BOOM.
The ceiling of the dungeon exploded in a rain of dust and stone as a storm of arrows screamed through the air, slamming into Damian and forcing him back.
Before the dust could settle, three figures dropped from above.
The first—a bulky warrior in black-gold armour caught Damian mid-air by the throat.
With a bone-shattering slam, he drove Damian into the ground, pinning him down.
Glowing chains wrapped around Damian's limbs, pulsing with suppression runes.
"Target restrained," the warrior growled.
The second figure—a slim white haired archer with glowing green eyes—landed gracefully beside Noah, quickly kneeling.
"He's still breathing."
Without warning, the archer spun and fired an arrow into an empty section of the crypt.
The arrow struck the wall—and vanished.
"Enough hiding," the archer called out. "Show yourself, Slow"
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward.
Dressed in a sleek, tight-fitting outfit with tactical lining, a small hovering camera perched on his shoulder, eyes sharp, analytical.
He gave a slight nod.
"Well, It took y'all long enough—I was gettin bored back there, man! Damn nearly DIED of secondhand cringe watchin that emo boy monologue!"
He pointed at Damian, still restrained.
"You—yeah, YOU! Sit yo flat ass Roblox haircut DOWN before I roast you and your whole squad!"
He turned to Noah, eyes lighting up.
"Ayo, that your final form or somethin? Cause that was kinda hard. Real talk."
The squad rushed to Noah's side as the smoke cleared.
The archer gave a thumbs-up. "Area secured. All threats down or restrained."
The bulky warrior kept Damian pinned to the ground, chains still pulsing.
From the trio, a girl with soft blonde hair and calm blue eyes knelt beside Noah—Leila.
She placed her hands gently on his chest, a warm glow spreading from her fingertips.
"Hold still," she whispered. "I've got you."
Noah's breathing was ragged. His eyes fluttered open, barely focused.
He tried to speak—but coughed, blood on his lips.
Leila leaned in, healing intensifying.
Then Noah's hand weakly lifted.
His trembling finger pointed… past her.
"…Not me…" he murmured, voice hoarse. "…Lucas…"
Everyone turned.
And their hearts dropped.
Lucas hadn't moved.
But now, from up close, it was clear.
So much worse than they thought.
The swords pinning him had begun to glow—runic symbols etched along the blades were pulsing, draining something from him.
His body was pale. His breathing? Barely there.
Noah tried to sit up, desperation in his eyes.
"Help him… please…"
Leila didn't hesitate.
The moment she saw Lucas's state, she darted to his side, kneeling beside him. Her hands glowed with intense light as she began pouring everything she had into healing him.
"Don't die on me," she whispered. "Not like this…"
Meanwhile, Aera and Terran turned to Noah—relieved, but clearly pissed.
Aera crossed her arms, eyes blazing.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Terran's tone was colder, more grounded. "Why didn't you come find us first? Why go in alone? Why be so reckless?"
Noah coughed, trying to sit up, but Terran gently pushed him back down.
"The only reason you're still alive…" Aera huffed, glaring, "…is because we were fortunately watching IShowSlow's stream."
She pointed toward the still-hovering camera, now circling above like a clueless drone.
Noah blinked, barely processing.
"…IShow... who?"
From the side, the chaotic streamer leaned into frame with a dramatic bow.
"THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER ALIVE, thank you very much! You're welcome for the clutch save, by the way."
The scene abruptly shifted.
From the chaos of the crypt, the world flickered. The vibrant lights, the heat of battle, and the crackling energy were replaced by the cold, sterile buzz of fluorescent lights.
An office. Rows of desks stacked with paperwork. Holographic screens flickered with reports and data feeds. It was a far cry from the life-and-death struggle just moments ago.
At one desk, a worker—young, focused, but clearly stressed—paused mid-type. His fingers hovered over the keys. His eyes flicked toward the live stream playing on one of the screens. His expression twisted in disbelief.
This guy…
His voice was low but full of awe.
"Did he really unlock every elemental affinity?"
He leaned back in his chair, frowning as the live feed of Noah's display continued to play out in front of him.
He muttered to himself, rubbing his temples.
"What kind of player did they put me in charge of?"
Just then, his screen blinked, and his monitor was overtaken by a massive logo.
The words:
"The Overseer's Bureau"
Flashed across the screen, cold and sterile.
Then, as if on cue, the camera zoomed out, revealing a long line of identical offices, all packed with workers watching streams like the one on Noah. They were silent, focused… and waiting for something.